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‘No,’ she agreed ‘I suppose not’

It wasn’t the answer she’d hoped to hear, that much was obvious, and Cristiano could hardly blame her Who wanted prevarications at a moment like this? She wanted him to sweep her up into his arms, kiss her and tell her he loved her He couldn’t do that, but two out of three wasn’t bad, was it? It was all he had to offer All he had to give

He pulled her closer and pressed a kiss to her forehead, then to her lips Gentle kisses that were h of what he could not say

And Laurel accepted the to his Desire flared inside hi to connect in this moment, not to feel alone Not to be solitary, even if thatweakness In thishis hands through her hair, searching for her and branding her Seeking solace asboth in this In them

Laurel answered hied, their bodies co and deep it felt exquisitely painful She didn’t protest when he held her by the hips and hoisted her up onto the balcony railing She wrapped her legs around his waist as he stroked her, finding her ready for him

It was a matter ofwith it in his haste, then thrust into her, the sense of co him so that tears came to his eyes

Laurel arched closer, drawing hi every thrust as they both found their release

Cristiano cried out, the sound splintering the still night air, his heart thudding against Laurel’s as he rested his forehead against her and drew shuddering breaths

His body felt sated, drugged with the after deep inside hih, wasn’t any longer

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

HOLDING ON TO happiness felt like trying to cup water in your hands No matter how you tried, it still trickled out Two days passed, lovely, golden days, yet they possessed an urgency, a fear, that they hadn’t before Laurel felt it in herself, and she also felt it in Cristiano Ti out

And, even though it didn’t have to be this way, even though Laurel knew if Cristiano asked her she would stay, she would try, she would risk it all, she knew in her bones, in her very soul, that he wasn’t going to ask

He thought about it She saw it in his eyes—the faraway look that ca of his features into an unwelcoainst She wanted to rail and weep—to de safe was so i life and love with her orth it—but she didn’t because, when it came down to it, she was afraid too

The possibility of a face-to-face, outright rejection fro ones she didn’t want, kept her silent She didn’t care about her dignity or her pride, but she didn’t think her heart could take one of his crushing set-downs Not after all they’d shared

As for the possibility of pregnancy… With every passing day Laurel wondered and hoped, even though logic told her it was unlikely And yet…as a nurse she kneasn’t out of the question that she ht, no matter how she’d once scoffed at such a notion

It still see, yet she feared it was the only way Cristiano would come-old trap of wanting a baby to snare a man Was she that weak? That desperate?

Twelve days after Laurel had first stumbled into Cristiano’s penthouse, she lay in his bed, her head resting on his shoulder, her fingers trailing a light path down his et tired of touching hi hi the planes and angles of his well-defined body

And yet so hter they’d shared, the surprising conversations, the si in his company Yet the next two days pressed down on her, an unbearable weight Was it really going to end so soon?