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He plunged deep, took more.
He could not be the lover she wanted, could not let himself be that vulnerable ever again.
As her second orgasm gripped him, he felt his seed—hot, hard, unstoppable—gathering at the base of his spine. He pulled out just in time to spill it on her belly.
She lay exhausted on the sofa, her emerald eyes glossy with afterglow, but the sadness remained. He gathered his strength, to stand and lift her into his arms. She curled into his embrace, the shuddering sigh making his heart ache. He’d hurt her, and he wanted to make it right.
He carried her into the bathroom, switched on the power shower. And washed her with gentle, supplicant hands.
They stood together under the steamy water and he saw the water run down her cheeks, her expression so lost he couldn’t tell if tears were mingled there.
She shivered with the emotional impact of their joining, and he felt like a bastard.
He placed her in the bed, and prepared to leave, but she reached out and caught his arm. ‘Can you stay with me tonight? Just this once? I won’t ask any more. I promise. But I don’t think I can be alone.’
It was such a small thing, and so easy for him to acquiesce. So he broke his own rule and moved into the bed beside her, held her gently in his arms and felt her fall into a deep dreamless sleep.
But he stayed awake for hours, thinking of the young girl, left destitute by an alcoholic mother. And the boy, who might once have been able to open his heart to her—but had been lost long ago.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
JUNO WOKE THE next morning, her body aching, but her heart hurting more. The bed was empty beside her.
She closed her eyes as the pulse of pain wrenched a hole in her chest.
She’d risked everything, and it hadn’t been enough. When would she ever learn?
She was going to miss Leo. So much. And this beautiful Christmas. But it had always been a fantasy, a time out from reality, a moment she couldn’t trust.
We can’t have any more. I thought you understood.
Leo was a forceful man, and every inch a king, was it really any surprise it wasn’t her he wanted?
He had so much love to give, she was sure of it, trapped inside him with that little boy, but she wasn’t the one who could find it. And she had to accept that now, or she would end up like her mother, pining after a man who could never love her back.
She stretched, her body protesting slightly.
As if conjured by her thoughts, Leo appeared in the doorway carrying a tray laden with something that smelled delicious and her aching heart leapt painfully into her throat.
‘Good morning, Princess,’ he said.
Wearing nothing but boxer shorts, his hair ruffled, the scruff on his cheeks having turned into the beginnings of a very sexy beard, he looked like a man instead of a king.
She forced a bright smile to her lips. Maybe she couldn’t have him always but now, today, this morning, he was hers and no one else’s.
‘Good morning, Your Majesty,’ she said, dragging herself into a sitting position, and holding the sheet to her breasts, strangely shy as his gaze dipped to her cleavage.
He set the tray down on the bed beside her.
‘Mmm...’ She took a deep breath in of the aromas, trying not to let on that the last thing she wanted right now was food, her stomach too jumpy and unsettled. ‘It smells really good. You’re obviously a natural.’
But as she lifted the napkin he’d placed by the plate, she spotted the plastic stick in clear wrapping resting beside it.
Her jumpy stomach somersaulted up to her throat.
‘I thought we could do the test after breakfast,’ he said, matter-of-factly, as her stomach went into freefall.
How could she have forgotten this had always been the plan? And why did the thought of the pregnancy test feel fraught with so many more problems now than it had yesterday, before she’d blurted out how she felt?
