terrifying, so I took off sprinting toward my future—changed my identity, changed where I lived, hid, fled, reappeared someplace new. Still, Abe shone a light on the tenderest parts of my soul; all the cobwebs, the old nightmares, the fears that plagued me. Those fears had led me to choose to be alone, even if it meant I was also lonely. Because my greatest fear was to be abandoned.
I’m still here. And I’m not going anywhere. Giving in to the temptation of Abe Royal was only going to devastate me if, ultimately, he left.
I reached forward and held his hand. “Thank you. For everything that you said. For listening to me. Last night, this morning, when we had sex. I can tell you more about myself, about my parents; it will just take time.”
“I’ve got time,” he said.
“Well, we don’t have that much time,” I said—hesitant but aiming for light. Fun. “Beyond the auction tomorrow night, don’t you leave for home soon?”
“I do,” he said—tone heavy. He didn’t look away from me. A new and surprising shyness gripped me, made me unsure of what to ask for next from this man who had so easily given me everything a few moments ago.
“So I guess we broke our main rule in a pretty big way,” he said.
“We sure did.” A wild vortex of erotic memories passed between us. I could see him getting hard again, the outline clear in his sweatpants.
He chuckled softly. “Not how I expected this morning to go. Figured our morning would be us watching Love Island and placing bets.”
I hummed a little. His hand left mine, cupped my cheek. I turned my head and kissed his palm. “I preferred my morning of being ravaged, thank you.”
A grin slid up his face. “We can’t go back, can we?”
No, we couldn’t. This sexual dam had been broken and we were swept away on the current now. “I believe you said you’d be more than happy to oblige my dirtiest desires. Fucked until I can’t stand being one of those promises.”
He tilted his head, assessing me with a steady expression. “I’ll put a stop to it immediately if it makes you uncomfortable in any way.”
I set my coffee down. Let my blanket fall away, revealing my naked body, tangled hair, marked skin. On my hands and knees, I crawled toward him. Captured his mouth with mine. The kiss was instantly frantic. My tongue met his, our lips danced together, a tease that became a bruise that became a brutal, hungry, snarling clashing. Abe had my hair gripped in his hands, and I stroked the head of his cock.
My cell phone ringing was the only thing that stopped our frenetic, sexual energy. Panting, I pulled back. Smiled at him with swollen lips. He was fucking insatiable, and I loved it.
“Are you going to get that?” he asked, voice tight.
“I am,” I whispered, kissing his cheek. “And I think we have to admit we definitely aren’t able to go back, Mr. Royal.”
He gave me a crooked smile. “Happy to oblige, as I said.”
I reached past him for my phone and enjoyed the delicious drag of his hands through my hair. Unclear future or not, I planned to revel in these sexy moments, taste them fully, memorize this heady feeling. These memories would provide a warm spark on a lonely night.
I huffed out a surprised breath when I saw who was calling. “Humphrey.” I showed Abe the screen. His brow arched.
I answered with a cheerful, “Humphrey Hatcher, is that you?”
Abe pulled me back down onto his lap while I set the phone to speaker.
“A hearty good morning to the enchantress!” Humphrey boomed. His roaring laugh brought a smile to my face. And even Abe looked mildly delighted. “It’s been years since we’ve last seen each other. Perhaps, even, a millennium. We must rectify this situation immediately.”
“I believe it’s been forty-eight hours,” I replied. Abe kissed the ball of my shoulder with a thoughtful expression. “But we would love to see you, of course.”
“And who is we?”
Abe pressed another kiss to my neck, and I giggled. My hand flew to my mouth. Abe’s expression was smug. The man barely knew me, and yet it was probably pretty obvious I wasn’t much of a giggler.
“Daniel Fitzpatrick is we,” I said.
“Valiant at last! Reggie and I are pleased to hear it. What do you say to accompanying my husband and me to a fancy little party? Our friend James whipped up a last-minute party at the