ia'

e. But on the nightstand sat a black credit card and a n

k card on a nightstand; now he'd returned the favor. I picked up the card, examined it, then tucked it in

nder house arrest. So while Henry was out, I did wh

looked around the study again. Everything screamed Henry: expensive, tasteful, cold. I wandered aimles

e box from before. I knew spying was wrong-but he'd bulldozed

erable teenage years: how childhood illness and medication had made him gain weight; how, even though he was the Clark heir, no one at school knew it.

chaos, a girl in a school uniform dropped down, grabbed Henry's hand, and dragged him into the sun-smiling at him so brightly he thought she'd swallowed the sun itself. She to

rless grin, the light she carried, the way

bench, the sun beating down. A volleyball landed in his lap, and when he looked up, she was grinning at him, eyes dancing. She asked why he was sitting there alone; when he glanced at the crowded, shad

as the happiest gy

reedy for her light but terrified of rejection. For more than a year, nothing

ugh me. In every drama, a boy who could never forget his first love would spend years searching for her. They'd reunite, and everyone would

like hers. What if Henry slept with me in Haw

nry came home ea

I forced a polite smile. "Want some noodles?" I asked stiffly, more out of courtesy than si

n nodded, sat down across from me, and took t

iou

the kitchen and cooked another bowl. By the time I returned, he'd f

e was there-heavy, sharp, unrelenting. After reading his diary, knowing his heart belonged to someo

done a DNA test. You know Emma's your child. S

tead, he asked softly

to get rid of me, claim Emma, a

didn't even know you were her father until recently. All I want is Emma. If you give her back, I'll disappear from your lif

ned. "All you

ckly. "Yes!

ou love someday... you

said softly

he spat, voice l

med into his study, and slammed

I thought grimly. All cap

he still hadn't come out, I quietly locked my bedroom door.

a

orway, broad shoulders filling the frame, a broken doorknob clenched

e door?" he demanded

t, heart pounding. "To protect m

three strides. He grabbed the blanket and tore it from my hands, tossing it aside. His h

t, his voice rough. "You think I

breath. His hand slid into my hair, tugging until I gasped, and he swallowed the sou

my lips, each word laced with fire. "You

rve of my waist, igniting my skin. My protest dissolved into a whimper

.." I b

you", he

r, until the only thing I could feel was him-his w

fabric down my shoulders. The silk pooled at my waist, leaving me bare under his burning gaze. H

ng tremors of heat spiraling through my body. He traced the dip of my throat, the curve of my breasts,

in. His hands roamed lower, thumbs brushing my hips before gripping them hard enough t

ely a whisper. His name fell from my li

with emotion so raw it le

en

sperate. His tongue tangled with mine, deep and possessive. I wrapped my arms around his nec

t aside. His hands moved reverently, almost angrily, cupping my breasts, thumbs

ough, "but every time you look at me like that

yed on my thighs, parting them. His gaze dropped, eyes dark

voice trembling with r

til he hovered just above where I needed him most. I squirmed, a strangled cry slipping from my throat. H

g against me with devastating skill. Each stroke of his tongue shattered me, left me g

didn't let me go. He rose above me, eyes dark with feral hunger. H

said fiercely against my

ied out, my body arching up to meet his. Every inch of him felt scorching, ev

s and ragged moans. He held me like I was the only thing anchoring him to this world, each thr

my neck as he came, his body shaking with release. He collapsed

red me close, his arms iron bands arou

roughly, his voice barely more than

st time, I dare