up the grand, sweeping s

ompletely masking the violent inte

head naturally again

omforting scent of cedarwood and col

her ear agai

g of his heart, realizing just how muc

arkets without blinking, yet her fak

and kicked open the heavy double do

arefully avoiding bumping her fr

assive king-sized bed i

y placed her onto the

e thick down comforter an

ater with a first-aid kit. He sat at the foot of the bed, gently lifting her left foot. He carefully wiped away the dirt and blood from the gravel, appl

took a sudd

slipped back into place, his jaw t

l behind her, refusi

some hot milk," he told her, hi

nd, his broad

rd the door, Scarlett shot her

suit sleeve, her fingers curlin

ped dead in

ring down at her small, pal

him, her eyes still re

er voice cracking perfectly.

hitched audibly

uggled to process this

when he entered the same room, the wom

s head, asking her, "Wh

thick with suppressed

lip, letting a single t

ep beside

a flash of pure, unadulterated s

she had just asked him

, his hands balling in

h me, Scarlett. You k

hook her h

ly, forcing him to take a

u," she insisted, her voi

ted like a physica

ian's final, towerin

edge of the bed, his bod

g room for him, patting the

wn and kicked off

ve his suit ja

own rigidly on top of the covers,

distance from her, stari

athe too loudly, afraid he migh

ed on her sid

enched jawline in the dim

closer, her body sliding

isible boundary he

ed against the fabr

a tremor through D

his jaw clenching so hard

a brutal war f

softly to hers

tically this terrifying billionair

ut from under

open palm flat over h

ed his eyes

chest, his expression a torturou

d his own large

into. For the first time in years, he chose to ignore the alarms screaming in his head. He hesitantly covered hers,