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.It was, she realized, his default answer whenever things turned intimate.As if using the term helped him keep his distance.“I’m not a kid,” she reminded him.“I’m a grown woman.”“I know.” He shot her a look that would melt steel.“Believe me, I know.”“So, I don’t understand.What’s the problem?” Any other man would be leading her to his bedroom by now.“Is it me?” Of course it was.Stupid question.His horrified expression was little comfort.“Oh sweetheart, no.”She wanted to believe him.She did.“Then.?”“Because I like you.”Her heart stuttered.Ian rose and walked toward the rear window.“I’ve got a list of amends a mile long,” he told her, looking out into the darkness.“Do you have any idea how many people I’ve let down over the years?” What he was really saying was how many women.“I don’t want to see you dragged down, too.”“In other words, you’re being noble.” Funny, for a rejection—and a clichéd rejection to boot—the words went straight to her heart.Call it wishful thinking, but his expression reflected in the glass looked so regretful it made her feel special rather than cast aside.Pulling herself from her paralysis, she joined him by the sill, her heart cringing when he looked away.Up close, she saw traces of self-reproach mixed with his regret.Further proof of his sincerity.This time it was she who brushed his cheek.Her silent way of telling him nobility wasn’t necessary.“You deserve—”“Shhh.” She didn’t want to hear the protest.Not when, right here, right now, she knew there wasn’t anyone in this world better than the man next to her.They’d been dancing around this moment all weekend; both of them afraid of what would happen if they let their guard down.She was tired of being afraid.She wanted him.Wanted him in a way that went far beyond sex.“I’ve got all I need right here.”In case he didn’t believe her, she forced his gaze to meet hers.Every muscle in his body was tense, shaking from restraint.In the shadowed blue light, she saw the desire struggling to break free.“Right here,” she repeated, and brushed a kiss against his lips.A groan tore out of his throat and he wrapped an arm around her waist.Chloe found herself yanked tight against his body.“Do you have any idea how difficult you are to resist?” he growled.The roughness in his voice turned her insides raw.“Show me,” she challenged, her rasp matching his.He did.CHAPTER NINECHLOE LAY ON her side watching Ian breathe.Sleep managed to do what consciousness couldn’t, and that was to erase the stress from his face.He looked younger, less burdened.She traced the planes of his face in the air above him, down over the curve of his shoulder and along the scar on his arm.The raised cord was the only imperfection on his flawless body.She followed along to his wrist, ending at the hand splayed next to his pillow.One hand from a pair that had so masterfully played her body.While she wasn’t as experienced as she often pretended to be, she recognized a skilled lover.Why then, if Ian was so amazing, was she wound tighter than a drum?You know why.Ian was different than other men.Waking up and seeing him lying next to her felt way too natural.He inspired words like complete, real and forever.Scary, troublesome, dangerous words—at least for her.She felt as if she stood on the edge of a steep cliff, one with the lip pulling away from beneath her feet.Every instinct told her to take a few steps back.But then she’d remember last night, not the lovemaking, but the fullness that had gripped her heart when Ian revealed his surprise, and the words took hold again.“You look a million miles away.”She started at the sound of Ian’s whisper.Pulling away from her thoughts, she looked over and caught the gleam of his eyes as he watched her in the dark.“What time is it?” he asked.“Four o’clock.”“What are you doing awake? Everything okay?”The darkness made the concern in his voice sound urgent.So much so that for a second, she worried he’d heard her thoughts.“Fine,” she lied.“Couldn’t get comfortable is all.I didn’t mean to wake you.”“You didn’t.I wasn’t sleeping all that well to begin with.” He scrubbed his hand over his face, his strangled sigh loud in the darkness.“Too much on my mind, I guess.”Regrets? Her insides steeled, ready for rejection.“Anything I can do?”“You’ve already done more than enough,” he replied, rolling to his side.“In fact, you’ve been pretty darn incredible.”Chloe fought the urge to burrow under his arm.Afterglow compliments were no doubt standard operating procedure for a man with Ian’s experience, and he still managed to say the words with such tenderness, her insides melted.“Are you trying to make me blush?” she asked, grateful for the darkness.“I do like the color your skin turns.” He nuzzled her curls.“I knew,” he murmured against her temple
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