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Problem was, he actually liked Alyssa As a woman As a person And whatever they had, it wasn’t just sex

Worse, last night, he’d gotten this odd pleasure in taking care of her She worked so da the needs of her businesses and her eone, ould take care of her?

Tyler

God, even the ut He squeezed his eyes shut Why the hell should he be so jealous of anothernaked beside her?

Because it’s not going to last

Shoving the ugly thought away, he propped hihteen Wow, they’d both been exhausted, sleeping a good nine hours plus

Suddenly, she rolled over slowly and opened her eyes Her lashes batted slued beneath her eyes Rather than rese a raccoon, she looked vulnerable

Once she saw hiue panic on her face "What happened?"

Daain, and all he wanted was that trusting warain, her arms around him, her lips raised to his

He stroked her shoulder with a soothing touch "Nothing You were hungry and exhausted Do you reht?"

Immediately, she flushed and nodded "You fed ht you to bed You fell asleep halfway up the stairs"

She covered her face with her hands, then peeked one eye out "Seriously?"

Luc nodded "Dead asleep Youto ruin your dress just before you conked out, so I took it off and tucked you in"

Alyssa wriggled, blinked "You took everything off"

"I didn’t knohat you usually slept inand I like you this way"

Sighing, she rolled her eyes "What ti at the clock, she cursed "We should be at Bonheur around twelve I think the others will be there by two"

"Good Then we have time"

"For what?" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously

Her body was pressed close to his; she couldn’t have any doubts that he wanted her badly But her expression told him that sex wasn’t first on her list, and he supposed she still had questions about yesterday

"A proper breakfast, for one thing" His tone scolded her

"And?"

"Whatever else happens"

She sat up in bed and wrapped the covers around her The sheet hid her lush curves, even as it molded to them Luc felt nearly dizzy ant

"In the interest of saving ti on between us?"

That was direct Luc actually aduts to ask what she really wanted to, for not taking the easy way out

"I don’t know," he answered honestly "I like you, I want you, and the thought of you with Tyler rips me to shreds That’s all I know"

She paused "Uncharted territory for you?"

Luc nodded He realized that, in all his "relationships," he’d never taken the time to really knooman unless it suited his purpose If there was an end to achieve, he figured the woh to manipulate her response in his direction With Alyssa, he wanted to know her because she fascinated the hell out of him

"Me, too" She admitted "I don’tdo relationships"

He frowned "You don’t get emotionally involved?"

Alyssa raised her knees to her chest and curled her arms around them "Trust is hard for me I don’t usually let lare "This house is supposed to be my Zen retreat, hence the pale walls, the black-and-white nature photos, and water features I come here to escape, not fuck"

If he was translating her right, she was claiht another man here What about Tyler and his house key? For protective purposes only? The fact she’d broken her rule for Luc twice said so leap in his chest scared the shit out of him

God, could he really fuck her out of his system in four days, or would he just fall in completely?

"Friends with benefits is as far as I ever go So to actually give a daave a dae emotion, but it was a start Question waswhere was it leading? He had no clue

"Any reason you don’t get emotional?" He knew from experience that emotion made the sex richer It was one reason he always tried to feel so for his partners

"I don’t need coht, I see lots of ht nut to fuck irls, wife be dairlfriend I’m not stupid, Luc I don’t set myself up for heartache"

Had that been why she left yesterday otten to her eht so much?

"Where does that leave us?" he whispered

"If ere sood and ready As miserable as she looked, he didn’t think that hat she wanted, either

So he leaned closer and brushed his mouth over hers "I don’t think I can be sasped under his kiss, and he brushed his lips down her neck, letting the sound roll through him

"Luc" Alyssa put a hand to his shoulder

He was certain she ripped his hair in her fist and pulled hi across his jaw, her teeth nipping at his ear