Lacybourne Manor(54)

So much for Royce and Beatrice’s reincarnated souls shaking off the curse in an earth-shattering moment of glory the minute they consummated their passion.

He’d felt the earth move but it started and stopped with Sibyl bucking under him and moaning his name with her intense cl**ax that he could not, for the life of him (even as cynical as he was), believe was fake.

It had taken him some time to settle her obvious nerves, either this was her first time selling her body or she wasn’t used to it. But once his mouth and hands were on her, she melted, and even if she was truly a consummate actress, he didn’t care.

She was, quite simply, the best he ever had.

And he’d had a lot.

She did taste as fantastic as she felt and smelled (tonight, she smelled of fruit and flowers and it was a thoroughly intoxicating scent).

He’d never felt the driving need, the insistent demand of his body to possess anyone like he’d felt the need to possess her. Colin could barely contain himself, nearly didn’t have the patience he needed to calm her nerves and incite her passion before he drove into her. He was ready for her before they’d made it to the bed.

And it had been everything her luscious body, her brilliant eyes, her phenomenal hair and her fiery temper promised it would be… and more.

Two months of her might not be enough. If it got any better than this, he’d buy two more. He’d double the price if needed to keep that magnificent body writhing under him, her mouth on him, her legs open for him.

As he had these thoughts, she whipped her head around and her hair slid along her back.

“I have to let Mallory out for a break.”

She said this in a quiet voice but he saw, with some surprise, that even though she’d obviously wiped her tears on the pillow, she’d been crying.

Something about this cause an unpleasant twinge of a feeling Colin never felt before to cut through his gut.

Before he could process the feeling, Sibyl twisted on the bed and got up. Walking quickly to her discarded clothes, she pulled on her jeans without putting her panties on. He rolled to his side and put his head in his hand, elbow to the pillow to watch her dress. He so enjoyed the show that, with disgust, he realised he’d watch her scrub a toilet and likely be aroused by it.

She reached into the wardrobe and pulled out a huge sweatshirt that said “University of Colorado” on it and yanked it over her head. Then she sat on the edge of the bed and leaned over to take her sexy sandals off.

“Are you going home?” she quietly asked the floor.

“No, Sibyl,” Colin answered. “I’m spending the night.”

She nodded, her shoulders slumped deeper and her hair shook with her head, shining in the light of the lamp. He had to force himself not to lean forward, wrap his fist in it and turn her head to his so he could kiss her again.

He remembered the taste of her mouth, it was just as intoxicating as the rest of her.

“Would you like me to come with you?” he asked, his voice gentle and he had no idea why.

He wasn’t normally gentle with women, nor was he rough or brutal or cruel, usually simply cold or reserved. They used him, he used them, it was the unspoken deal and both parties understood.

But he had been all those things to Sibyl and he didn’t understand his intense reaction to her or the reasons he was driven to these behaviours.

He was disappointed that she’d accepted his offer, proven herself to be everything every woman in his life had ever been.

However, Colin was used to that and should have been able to accept it but when she slapped the lid on the briefcase, he felt the need to punish her for not being what he wanted her to be.

Given that, when she’d said “thank you” in that soft, sweet voice as if the fifty thousand pounds was the answer to fifty thousand prayers, for some reason his chest had squeezed and a sharp pain sliced through his gut.

He’d never had that reaction either, not to anything, but the demands of his body wouldn’t allow his mind the delay it would need to understand his reactions and he’d dragged her upstairs and been anything but gentle with her.

At the current moment, though, everything about her screamed for gentle. She was walking around if she was made of glass and even a loud noise would make her shatter.

“He doesn’t like his walks, he’s too lazy.” She was talking about Mallory. “I won’t be long.”

She yanked out some shoes from the wardrobe, shoved her feet in them and left the room quickly. Then he heard her calling for the dog as she descended the stairs.

In her absence, Colin looked around the room. Even though he’d been in it for an hour, he was seeing it for the first time.