Page 28 of The Billionaire's Angel

I missed the relief of solving our disagreements with our fists. These days, our problems couldn't be solved with something as straightforward as afistfight.

Aiden still blamed me for his parents’ deaths, and I couldn't do a thing about it. Worse, I was starting to think that he was interested in Sophie, which, in a way, was a much bigger problem. Hugh and Olivia's murders were in the past. Sophie was here, andnow.

Aiden had talked a big game about staying away from a woman working in our home, but the way he'd said it… I couldn't stop wondering. Hearing them laugh together. Seeing the smile on his face freeze as I opened the door to his office. Aiden wasn't a big smiler. It could've been innocent. I was sure it was on Sophie'spart.

But Aiden… Was Aiden warning me away from Sophie so he could have his own shot withher?

She wasn't exactly his type, with her practical clothes and neatly braided hair. Aiden went for glamour. But Sophie, Sophie was naturally beautiful. She didn't need a ton of makeup and a couture wardrobe to highlight herassets.

I didn't want to think about what a bombshell she would be if she bothered with all of that. I could barely keep my hands off her as it was. If she was irresistible in a floor length nightgown and thick cotton robe, I couldn't imagine how I would stay away if she started flashing cleavage and left her hairdown.

My mind raced over the problem of Aiden and Sophie. She'd been living here six months. Maybe Aiden had seen her dressed up and realized shewashis kind of woman. Maybe he was taking his time in hiscourtship.

I knew he hadn't kissed her. I couldn't believe he'd touched Sophie the way I had. She’d responded like a woman who hadn't been kissed in years. If Aiden had managed to get his mouth on Sophie, he wouldn't have let hergo.

If we hadn't heard that sound in the library, I wouldn't have either. I'd almost fucked her right there in the kitchen, so drawn in by the feel of her in my arms, her mouth under mine, that I hadn’t cared where wewere.

I needed to see her again. I thought about hunting down Sophie and Aunt Amelia, and just as quickly rejected the idea. Amelia had sharp eyes, and I didn't want her to see my interest in Sophie. She'd either get in my way, if she disapproved, or, possibly worse, try tohelp.

I didn't need Amelia's help with Sophie. I needed to get my shit together. As pissed as I was after that conversation with Aiden, he'd had a point. I wasn'tdependable.

I wanted tobe.

I had been, for years. Any one of the guys on my team would've beaten the shit out of my cousin for calling meundependable.

I understood why my family might see me that way, but I'd spent the last thirteen years in the Army defining the concept of dependable. I always followed through, always completed the mission, and I never left one of my guys behind. Fuck, the insurgents who’d grabbed me in the desert, miles from our base, only got me because I was buying time for my team to finish the mission and getclear.

When you went to the heart of it, Aiden was wrong. I was dependable. I was loyal. And I would fight for the people I loved. But in another way, he was right. I didn't have a job. I still wasn't sleeping. I was plagued by nightmares. Loud noises set my heart racing and left me fighting the urge to dive for cover. I was too quick to anger, and I couldn't control myemotions.

Gage Winters was dependable and steadfast. But some time during my six months of captivity, I'd lost touch with that Gage Winters, and I hadn't quite found my way back. Sophie deservedbetter.

Not Aiden. He couldn't have her. He was too stiff and formal for Sophie. I didn’t see her wanting life as a society wife. She'd want a home and children and affection. I didn't know if I was the man to give her that. But I knew I wanted to findout.

Chapter Eleven

Sophie

Ishould've stayedin bed. The night before, I'd been smart. Instead of roaming Winters House when I couldn't sleep and risking a run-in with Gage, I’d curled up in the window seat in my bedroom and stared out into the darknight.

Things had gotten out of control with Gage in the kitchen. I couldn't afford to let it happen again. Just the memory of his mouth on mine, the feel of his hands on my skin, and I was wet. No man had ever had this effect on me. One minute I was admiring his eyes, or the stretch of his shirt over his shoulders, and the next I was dizzy with lust, willing to risk everything for just one more minute with him.Stupid.

I knew better. I loved my job. Getting involved with Gage was a complication that could drive me from the only home I’d had in years. I’d decided to do the only responsible, mature thing—I was avoidinghim.

I hadn’t seen him since he'd interrupted my meeting with Aiden. He hadn't come to lunch or dinner for two days, staying closeted in his room. I knew I shouldn’t, but I couldn't help worrying abouthim.

A somber mood hung over the house, infecting everyone. Amelia, Mrs. W—even Abel seemed subdued. When I asked Mrs. W about it, she explained that it was the anniversary of Hugh and Olivia Wintersmurder.

When Charlie still lived in the house, she’d told me, Aiden would come up with a business trip that required both of them to leave town until the anniversary had passed. Even when the children had still been young, Mrs. W said Aiden had emptied the house every year rather than face the memory of the night his parents had been killed. She said she wasn't surprised he’d left again this year, only that he hadn't taken Gage withhim.

Pouring myself a cup of tea, I'd said, “They don't seem to get along verywell.”

Mrs. W rarely gossiped about the Winters family. She was loyal to the core and loved them like they were her own, so I was surprised when she said, with a shake of her head, “Those boys. They were tight as ticks when they were young. But after Gage left and Aiden had so much on his shoulders…” She trailed off. Briskly assembling a snack plate for Aunt Amelia, she went on, “They'll work it out. They just need some time. But I don't like Gage on his own. Nottonight.”

She slanted me a look I couldn't read. No one in the house knew that Gage and I had met in the middle of the night more than once. As far as everyone else was concerned, we were strangers, sharing a few meals at the dinner table and nomore.

But the way Mrs. W looked at me, the suggestion I thought I saw in her eyes—did she know? Sometimes it seemed like Mrs. W knew everything that happened in Winters House. Maybe shedid.

I couldn't get her words out of my mind. I'd managed to fall asleep when I tucked myself into bed, but I'd woken not long after midnight from a nightmare of grasping hands and swingingfists.