. The air was thick with the smell of old wood, expensive liquor, and regret. Arlie was hunched over t

st edges of her pain, replacing it

stool next to her. "A beautiful wo

at him so full of raw, undiluted misery that

He discreetly picked up her phone, which she'd left on the counter. He scr

r of the bar was thrown open with such

streetlights. He scanned the dim room, his eyes nar

ped at the bar, and his jaw cl

owd like the prow of a ship. He shoved aside anot

or snarled, his

s on her shoulders, his grip firm

her to recognize him. When she did, a slow, goofy grin sprea

the state she was in. The raw vulnerability in

the door. The bartender nodded, and a moment later, one

d. He didn't touch her again. The guard took one arm, steadying

Connor's Aston Martin was parked illegally at the curb. He opened th

ross her body and click it into place, his movement

reach for him, but he caught her wris

id, the words a com

egister anything beyond the cold glass against her cheek. He's just doing his duty, she thought dimly, the idea drifting t

ip the steering wheel so ha

ternating between calling him a jerk and a bastard, and crying,

ed the steering wheel, his knuckles white, his carefully c

o her side. He pulled her from the car and carried her to the elevator, his fa

aid her down on the massive bed. He meant to just l

he front of his tie, her grip surprising

pped, hovering inches above her. Her eyes, hazy with drink, stared up into his.

lained, her words slur

ily reached behind her back, fou

, luminous skin of her collarbones and the soft curve of h

breath. The last thread

his mouth d

that had been simmering inside him for days. It was a kiss of possession, of despera

limbs and frantic hands. His hand slid

en he

tear trickling

ter dumped over his head. The

as he

she was drunk and heartbroken because of hi

e looked down at her, at the tear tracks on h

pulled it up, covering her completely,

familiar safety of his presence. Her eyes fluttered

g her. He looked at her tear-stained face, and a wave of self-l

-suite bathroom. He stripped off his clothes and stepped

nothing to quell the fire of his desi