for them. And with me, you care—you care so much.”
Damn her, I want to deny it.
Instead, I pull her closer, gripping her wrists, and this time she makes no effort to stop me.
“I know it hurt, but you should forget her. Any woman who’d throw away the chance to be with you because your parents belong in a nuthouse isn’t worth your time. You’re no loveless beast. You’re just a bossy grump who doesn’t know how to let down his guard.”
Before I can blink, her mouth attacks mine.
I open, tracing her bottom lip with my tongue, needing her taste more than I need oxygen right after I’ve flayed myself open.
My brain throbs like hell, trying to figure out why.
Or am I just struggling to admit the reason because I fucking know?
Paige trembles against me as her arms tighten around my neck.
She pulls away just as I slip my teeth into her lip, gasping for breath.
She’s not alone.
Goddamn. This girl pierced my armor.
My defenses are useless around her, and I have no idea how I’m supposed to walk away from this when our contract is up. So I kiss her again, deliriously stumped, and all because I want to find out how to reach deeper than her body and taste her soul.
I know how absurd this sounds.
I know how dangerous.
I know how I feel about her—far stronger than I have any right to feel.
Could I do this to her? If I’m not sane enough to walk away when the contract ends, could I condemn her to being a Brandt?
Would she even agree to it after meeting my mother?
It’s one thing to offer comforting words. It’s another kind of hell to actually live in this family and the never-ending mess.
“Paige, if I asked you for something, would you do it?”
“If I could,” she says.
“Don’t come in this room again. Put your clothes in my closet. Don’t wait for Grayson, I’ll move them myself.” I knot my fingers around the comforter and wait.
Wait, because her answer matters more to me than it should.
More than anything, Winthrope included.
Her mouth answers with a crush of sweetness and such force my head hits the mattress again.
Fuck, do I love the way her tongue moves in my mouth, like she wants to inhale me.
I pull her on top of me and mold her body to mine.
She takes several ragged breaths before breaking away in a whisper.
“Done.”
One word from her heart-shaped mouth, and I’m grinning like a fool.
She’s agreed to share my room even after meeting Giselle Satan Brandt.
Maybe she would agree to my insanity? If only I’d let her.
Standing, I grab her and sling her over my shoulder.
“Hey, what? What are you doing?” She squeals and starts pounding my back playfully, kicking her long legs.
“Taking you to our room,” I growl, holding her tighter as she giggles.
“Ward, I’m so glad you chose me to—to be—”
I know what she means even if she can’t finish the words.
Smiling, I readjust her so I’m carrying her like a bride now.
“Yeah, sweetheart. Me too.” I set her on my bed, lie down beside her, and wind my arms back around her where they belong.
“Why did you come home early today?” she asks, twirling her hair in that way that murders me.
“You want the truth or a pretty lie?”
She pauses and stares, eyes lit like a purring cat’s.
“The truth, bossman. Never anything else,” she says.
“When you didn’t come back to the office, I knew something was wrong. I had no idea it was as bad as meeting my mother, but I know when you’re off.”
“So, you were worried? That’s adorable.”
I glare at her.
“No,” I lie.
She laughs and kisses me on the cheek.
“Are you sure that’s all she said? Picking at our arrangement? You were upset. I’ve never seen you so shaken, honestly. Worse than the day your ex showed up at the art gala.”
“She wished me luck—if we’re real. I know it shouldn’t have upset me so much. We’re not real, but I didn’t like how she acted. Like she couldn’t even fathom you choosing me. And I hated how she blamed Beatrice for basically everything.”
“She despises Grandma and always has. Mother blames her for the financial collapse she found herself in later on, and the divorce. If Grandma hadn’t cut them out of the trust, she thinks they’d still be married.” I shrug. “Who knows. Money’s all they care about. In fairness, Grandma knows about it, and approved of this arrangement. She even thought it’d be fun.”