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My car is only a block away and I settle her in before hurrying around to the driver’s side. By the time I round the car, she is patting at her eyes, trying to get her crying under control. As soon as I take my seat, she swats me in the arm. “I wish I’d never gone to that auction,” she says, futilely wiping away her tears. “Even if it meant I’d be homeless now.”
My blood turns to ice. “Do you hate me so much for bidding on you?”
She turns to me, her mouth hanging open. “Hate you?” she asks bitterly. “I love you, Easton. I always thought you were such a great man, and then you proved it, but you also made me fall in love with you.”
Biting my tongue, I hold back a laugh because she’s so clearly distraught. “That doesn’t seem like a problem,” I say. Her tears start up again and she grabs handfuls of her skirt, wrinkling up the fabric in frustration. I tip her chin to look at me. “Tell me what you want, Sloane.”
She jerks her face away. “It’s something you can’t give,” she says miserably.
Wrong. She’s so wrong. “Tell me anyway.”
With a huge breath, she lets it all out. “I only want to be with a man who loves me back, not someone who pities me so much he has to pay a fortune to keep me from falling into the hands of some old pervert.”
I really do laugh then. I can’t help it. She not only admitted she loved me, but she didn’t understand. I did what I did because I love her. Maybe I didn’t know it then, but I do now. What started as an obsession has turned into the purest feelings I’ve ever experienced. And I’m not giving up on her. Or us.
I start the car and ease into traffic and she asks where I’m taking her.
“Home,” I say, heading back to the hotel.
I keep a firm hold on her arm as we walk through the lobby. Once in the elevator, I hit the floor to that damn suite I’ve been hiding out in so I can be close to her. She doesn’t seem to notice until we’re in front of my door.
She looks around as if she’s just waking up. “This isn’t my room.”
“It’s mine,” I say, opening the door. “It’s ours.”
I tug her inside and close us in, but she shakes her head. “I can’t, Easton. It hurts too much.”
I press my hand against her heart, then pull her into my arms. “Oh, my silly little girl. How can you not see how much I love you, too?”
Her head rocks back to look at me. There’s disbelief and hope in her eyes. I just have to get rid of that disbelief. “What?” she asks.
“I love you, Sloane. I didn’t tell you until we got here because I knew the second the words were out I’d need to be inside you, and damn it, I’m not fucking you in the car.”
Yes, this is how I want to see her, always. Radiant with newfound happiness. She throws her arms around my neck, her body pressed close to mine, exactly where it should be.
“I think it would be kind of fun in the car,” she whispers against my neck.
With a groan, I take her hand and lead her back toward the door. “Let’s go, then.”
She bursts out laughing and digs in her heels. “Later,” she says, drawing me back to her. “Next time.”
It’s good to hear there’ll be a next time, but all I can concentrate on is now. She wraps her arms around my neck and I pull her so close her feet leave the floor.
“I was worried,” she tells me, tipping her head back to search my face. “People thought you were missing.”
I lean down to nuzzle her neck. “The only thing I was missing was you.”
She slides down my body, running her hands through my hair. Moving forward, I walk her back toward the bed as I continue to taste her warm skin. “I’m just lucky I ran into you coming out of your office or I would have been going crazy looking for you,” she says.
Halting, I set her away from me and shake my head. Even six inches of distance between us feels like too much, so I pull her to me and squeeze her tight again. “That wasn’t luck, Sloane. I was coming after you. If you hadn’t run into me, I would have scooped you up.” Her eyes still shine with disbelief. “Tell me you know why,” I demand.
A lovely rosy hue floods her cheeks. “Because I’m yours,” she says.
“Damn right,” I say, pleased with how sure she finally sounds.
“Why aren’t you kissing me, then?”
With a laugh, I swoop in to claim her mouth. Her lips open eagerly as she pops open each button of my shirt to run her palms down my chest. She murmurs something I don’t understand, but when she reaches my waistband and presses her hand against my throbbing cock, I go a bit crazy.
