Page 79 of Born for Starlight

Her eyes welled. It about killed me.

Please, let her remember these words when everything goes to shit.

She studied me for a long moment. I opened myself up. For the first time since my mother died, I let somebody see me. See what was swirling around in my gut. The ache in my heart.

She blew out a long breath.

"Okay." Her voice went quiet. "Then here are my terms. You don't decide what I can handle. You don't manage me. If something is dangerous, I hear it from you first, not from a receptionist. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

"I told my grandmother I trust you." She stood up. She came toward me slow, and my heart forgot its job. "Don't make a fool out of me, Matthew."

Now I wanted to cry.

Too late, baby.

Weeks too late.

I pulled her in, and she came.

She kissed me, and I could taste her forgiveness.

I was destined for hell.

For some reason that I couldn't figure out, Angelica seemed to want to go fast. I had carried her to the rumpled bed, and she had flung off her t-shirt and bra and was frantically tugging at my belt.

"Slow down, baby, we'll get there."

"Not fast enough. I need you."

I ignored the sight of her beautiful breasts, instead focusing on her face. I saw a look of almost maniacal need that made no sense.

"Hey, what's going on?"

Her look turned helpless. Hopeless.

"I just know that we're walking into hell tomorrow, and from what Layla told me, there aren't officials that can be trusted to stop things. So, it's up to you to make sure that this auction doesn't happen. And I need..."

"What, baby? What do you need?"

"I just need to know that everything is going to be all right. That at least one thing in this fucked-up world is good. Us, Matthew. That we’re all right. That we’re going to go in there together. United. And we have a damn good chance of stopping that abomination from happening. Are we, Matthew?”

I stared at her, and she continued.

“So I need this now. I need us to be together. I need us to make love. Real love, like you just told me. Because I love you down to my soul. And I need our bodies to connect, I need that proof. Does that make sense?"

I tried to untangle everything she'd said, but I kept circling back to her telling me she loved me down to her soul. Was there anything more important than that? Maybe. Maybe when she said we were united in stopping things.

Grainger, stop!

Concentrate on giving the woman you love what she needs. Give her the connection she so desperately wants.

I leaned down and started to pull her into my arms.

"No. Belt off. Shirt off." She said it in a pouty voice, and I laughed. Actually laughed.

I took them off.