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Before he could respond, Everleigh stepped forward and slid her arms around his waist. He froze, even though his body responded, desire and a fierce need coursing through him at her touch.
Bit by bit, he relaxed. He settled a hand on her back. The warmth of her skin seeped through the material of her dress. His fingers started to move of their own accord, drifting up and down in a light caress.
Everleigh looked up at him. Their eyes locked and the night ground to a shuddering halt. He wanted to lay her down beneath the branches of the cypress trees, kiss her naked skin as he undressed her and savor the sounds of her desire, the moans and sighs that had whispered through his mind and tortured him ever since he’d claimed her body as his own.
It wasn’t just pleasure he craved, though. Sex with Everleigh had been more than physical enjoyment. With her, he’d felt alive, and the emotions she’d brought out in him had taken their lovemaking to new heights he’d never enjoyed with any of his past bedmates.
He’d told her everything—laid bare every secret he had to hide—and still Everleigh stayed. What would it be like to fully give in to the need pulsing through him, drawing his heart closer and closer to the woman he held in his arms?
A camera flashed, the light making them blink and break their eye contact. Everleigh stepped back, her hand flying up to shield her face, and Adrian uttered a curse.
“Sorry!” an older man called from across the courtyard.
His wife chastised him about looking like a tourist as she pushed him down the walkway and into another part of the garden.
Suddenly Adrian felt the night which just a moment ago had cradled the two of them in an intimate embrace press in on him. The allure of opening up to Everleigh, of trying something new, was gone. Fear sank its hooks into him so deep he couldn’t shake loose.
“It’s getting late.”
Everleigh glanced down at her watch. “It is.”
She looked up at him, eyes wide and uncertain.
“We should go.”
Not the words he wanted to say. But he couldn’t do it. Even if he could overcome his past, he’d spent eleven years turning himself into the opposite of the kind of man Everleigh deserved. As much as he wanted her, he would never cause her the type of pain that had been inflicted on him.
Everleigh deserved warmth, affection, love. Everything he couldn’t give her and never would.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
FOURDAYSLATER, Everleigh walked into the soaring front hall of Casa de Cabrera, exhaustion tugging at her body. Her interview with Adrian’s HR panel had taken over an hour and a half. She’d answered each question confidently. They hadn’t thrown anything surprising at her. But, once she’d shaken the hands of all the committee members, thanked them for their time and walked out of the conference room, the motivation that had energized her had abruptly disappeared.
The last three weeks—the uncertainty, the rollercoaster of emotions that had taken her to extraordinary highs and horrific lows—had all hit her at once.
Halting steps carried her up the stairs and to her suite. She walked into her bedroom, dropped her purse on the floor and collapsed on the bed. The last week had been a blur of working with Jade and her team during the day on marketing campaigns for Fox after the sale was announced and spending her evenings reviewing every piece of information on Fox and the North American wine industry she could get her hands on.
The few times she’d seen Adrian they’d exchanged polite greetings, but nothing more. There’d been no glimpse of the raw sorrow she’d seen in the Alhambra gardens, just a bold billionaire who commanded respect by walking into a room.
Every time she saw him—every time that tantalizing cedar scent summoned memories of being wrapped in his muscular arms—she’d barely stopped herself from reaching out and touching him.
He’d made it clear that one night was all they’d have, and she’d accepted that. But it didn’t stop the flood of emotions he’d released with his caresses, his attention, and—whether he wanted to admit it or not—the trust he’d placed in her when he’d shared his painful past.
She sat up and buried her face in her hands. As much as she wanted to deny it, she was falling for Adrian Cabrera. And acknowledging it left her at a crossroads. One road led to the safety she’d come to crave over the past ten years—firm ground, built by things like Fox Vineyards, that at least until recently had been invincible. Another was a twisted path that led to God knew what. Happiness? A future with the family she’d always wanted yet hadn’t quite believed could be hers?
Would Adrian entertain the possibility of a relationship with her if he knew how much she was coming to care for him?
Or was she just setting herself up for more heartache?
She pushed herself off the bed and shed the burgundy business suit Isabella had lent her for the interview. Isabella had shared the fact that she’d invited Adrian to lunch, and that she was finally going to talk to him. That tidbit of information had sent Everleigh on another emotional rollercoaster ride. Would talking with Isabella heal some of Adrian’s old wounds? Help him realize that loving someone didn’t always have to end in pain?
The white cotton sundress she’d bought this last weekend in Granada whispered over her skin as she pulled it on, the feel of the soft fabric soothing her inner turmoil with its gentle touch. She released a pent-up breath and walked to the door of her balcony, soaking in the view of the majestic mountains stretched tall against the sky.
Even if Adrian felt something for her beyond casual desire, a literal ocean separated them. Granada was beautiful—an oasis in the midst of so much turmoil. But Fox Vineyards was still her home. How could they make a relationship work with thousands of miles between them?
With a frustrated sigh she turned, grabbed a pair of sandals and walked out of her room. Once more she navigated her way through the palatial home, out through the patio doors and across the manicured lawn to the gate that led out into the vineyard. The one place in Spain where she truly felt at home.
Home.
