Page 12 of The Billionaire's Angel

Instead, against my better judgment, I imagined kissing Gage Winters. That lower lip, full and soft. The way he looked at me, the heat in his blueeyes.

When he’d pulled me against him, my nipples had gone tight, and warmth had gathered in my belly and between my legs. I hadn't felt desire for a man since my wedding night. Years had passed, and my body had been dry and disinterested. Sex was something other people enjoyed. Notme.

All I had to do was think about kissing Gage, and my body came tolife.

That couldn't be good. I was not going to sleep with my employer’s cousin. Iwasn't.

I wasn't going to kiss him. I wasn't going to flirt. I was going to be completely professional and appropriate. Just like I alwayswas.

That didn't mean I couldn't daydream about it. Rolling over and wrapping my arms around my pillow, I smiled to myself in the dark. I wasn't going to kiss Gage Winters, but knowing that I wanted to, that my body could still feel desire for a man—that was a relief on a level so deep I couldn't fully process it. I just let the knowledge slide throughme.

I wanted to kiss Gage Winters. And in my dreams, Iwould.

Chapter Four

Gage

Islept latethe next morning. I'd fallen asleep with the scent of Sophie in my nose, sweet and sultry and out of reach. Just being near her was soothing. She had an inner calm, a strength about her, beneath the gentle exterior. When I was with her, something deep inside me relaxed, even as other parts of me came to life. The sound of her voice eased my mind, but being near her woke mybody.

I was starting to love that shapeless, bulky, cotton robe. It showed absolutely nothing, but when I'd pulled her against me, and those soft breasts had pillowed against my chest, it had taken every ounce of restraint I possessed to content myself with stroking my fingers down her arm. She probably knew I'd wanted to kiss her. Any other woman and I mighthave.

I wasn't sure if I held back because I was afraid to scare her off, or because I didn't want to take advantage of a woman who was essentially an employee in my home. I hadn't hired her, Aiden had. Still, it was a fine and fuzzy line, one I was sure Sophie was acutely aware of. I'd meant what I said. She was safe in Winters House. Safe withme.

I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to strip off that robe and get my hands all over the soft curves beneath. The flush in her cheeks when I'd pulled her to me, the way her breath caught in her chest—I wanted that. I wanted more. I just had to figure out how to swingit.

It felt good to have a project aside from getting my life back in order. I couldn't remember the last time I’d been this interested in a woman. In getting laid, sure. Who wasn't interested in getting laid? This wasn’t so simple. I didn't just want to fuck Sophie and leave her. For one thing, we were living in the same house. A one night stand was essentially impossible. And, not to knock anonymous sex, because anonymous sex could be great, but Sophie was more thanthat.

Just the sound of her voice was enough to calm something inside me I couldn't reach myself. I wanted her in bed, no question, but almost as much as that, I simply wanted to be withher.

When had I ever wanted conversation with a woman almost as much as I wanted to fuckher?

The last thing I needed was one more problem to solve, but the challenge of Sophie felt less like a burden and more like a puzzle. I could be patient, but I would figure herout.

I already knew she was skittish about men after her marriage. It was probably for the best that she hadn't wanted to talk about it. I needed some time to get used to the idea that she'd been married to a man who had, at the least, left her so tied up in knots she couldn'tsleep.

How he'd done that… I'd find out from her eventually. I wasn't going to push. There wasn't any doubt in my mind that he'd hurt her, one way or another. There'd been such relief in her eyes when she told me he was dead, it had been a punch to the gut. I'd take my time with Sophie, give her the space she needed, but she’d decide she wanted me as much as I wanted her. I refused to doubtthat.

I took a quick shower and jogged down the stairs. With her exceptional radar, Mrs. W met me in the front hall, a regretful expression on her face as she informed me that I'd missed breakfast, and Abel, the cook, was out at themarket.

I started to shrug and reassure her I could wait until lunch when she said she’d just served tea and a snack in the living room for Sophie and AuntAmelia.

I shot Mrs. W a grin that had her smiling back before I turned to the open double doors of the formal living room. Voices came from inside, Sophie's and Amelia's. No oneelse.

A quick check over my shoulder told me that Mrs. W had disappeared, leaving me alone in the front hall. A furtive glance into the room revealed Sophie and Amelia at the far end, side-by-side on a couch by thefireplace.

Sophie's lap was covered with some kind of white netting. A stack of ribbons lay over one knee. Wedding stuff. Amelia sipped tea from the tray on the table in front of them. They hadn't spotted me or heard my conversation with Mrs. W. Probably because they were bickering good-naturedly over the tea tray. I leaned against the wall beside the open door andeavesdropped.

“Hand me another cookie from the tray, would you?” Ameliaasked.

“No more cookies. We'll see what we’re having for lunch. Depending on how it will affect your blood sugar, maybe you can have another cookiethen.”

A suspicious silence, then I thought I caught the sound of skin striking skin. In an indignant voice, Amelia said, “Did you just smack myhand?”

In a calm, low tone, Sophie said, “I told you, no morecookies.”

“You can't spank me like I'm atoddler.”

“Then don't act like one,” Sophie said, a thread of amusement weaving through her words. “Why don't you let me talk to Abel about trying some of the low-sugar dessert recipes Ifound?”