she hadn’t even known for one day. A man who would be going back to where he’d come from, and she’d be a mere speed bump in his path that he wouldn’t even think about tomorrow.
The next thing she knew, Donovan had taken her hand and was pulling her into the living room. He sat on the couch and tugged her arm until she fell down on top of him.
“Don’t move,” he ordered when she started to get up.
Her traitorous body relaxed.
But her anger reignited and this time … this time the tears followed.
DONOVAN HAD KNOWN FROM the second he’d set eyes on this woman that she had a shitload of emotions bottled up inside. That was evident in the way she walked, the way she held herself, even the way she talked. She didn’t take shit from anyone, but she hadn’t yet figured out how to let it all go.
And he’d also known when she’d propositioned him that she had intended to use him. Only Kora wasn’t the type. When they’d been in that storage closet, she’d given in to him completely and not just for the pleasure he could bring her. She had needed something more, someone who would prove to her that she was the most important thing.
Now, as she wept in his arms, her face buried in his neck, Donovan sensed those walls she’d erected around her heart were beginning to crumble. She had no excuses anymore. She’d made it through the hard part, and it was time she took control once again, without all the animosity. Without the lies.
This woman intrigued him in a way he hadn’t experienced before. She wasn’t the type who needed a man to coddle her, dote on her. Because of the status of his bank account, Donovan had met plenty of those. The ones who expected him to put them on a pedestal, to spend money hand over fist. And in those cases, he’d found them bitter and shallow—traits he didn’t find appealing.
But not Kora. She needed a man who would stand beside her when times got tough, one who would be there for her when she fell, one who would show her she deserved to be the center of his world. Donovan wanted to be that man, and he knew without a doubt a shrink would have a field day with that, but he didn’t much care.
For a while, Donovan just held her, his arms around her, his hand gliding up and down her back. He didn’t move, didn’t try to get her to talk until she’d cried herself out.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled.
“For what?”
“For blubbering on your shoulder. It’s not pretty.”
Donovan smiled. “When’s the last time you cried?”
Kora shrugged and he knew that was the truth.
“Why did you let Sam off the hook?”
She sat up, and he noticed the spark of anger was back.
“What makes you think that I did?”
“Because he cheated on you, not the other way around.”
“How do you know that?”
It was obvious she didn’t think anyone knew the truth.
“Because he told me.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You’re lying.”
He couldn’t keep from smiling. “Fine. Because I know my brother. He’s an idiot.”
“He is that,” she said, relaxing once again.
“You let everyone believe that you were the one who cheated. Why?”
“What difference does it make?”
“Because Sam needs to be held accountable for his actions,” he told her, a thread of anger weaving its way through him. Sam had done the unthinkable, sleeping with Kora’s sister and then letting her take the fall for it all. The man deserved to be dressed down in front of his family and friends.
“And that would help the situation how?”
And now she was beating him at his own game. She was using logic. And fine, she had a point. He didn’t like it, but she had one.
Kora shifted, her ass grinding against his cock, making him come to life once again. He didn’t want her to think this was about sex, but there was nothing he could do to hide it, so he pretended it didn’t matter.
“Sam cheated,” Kora explained. “Trina cheated. Neither of them are innocent in all of this. But as far as I’m concerned, they’re both going to pay the ultimate price. If they don’t love each other—and I suspect they don’t—life isn’t going to be roses and rainbows. They’ll have a child to raise, yes. And I know Sam; he’ll stay with Trina until he’s old and gray and hating himself for what he did. That, for me, is punishment enough.”
“What