Page 6 of The Billionaire's Angel

I wasn't sure if I was dreading or anticipating seeing her again. Both. It wasboth.

Dreading, because I owed her an apology. I still couldn't believe I’d grabbed her in the dark like that. I'd terrified her. It killed me to know I'd scared any woman, but especially thisone.

And anticipating… Fuck, once I'd gotten a good look at her, how could I not anticipate seeing Sophieagain?

When I'd first walked into the library, all I'd seen was a shadow, moving in the dark in a room that should be empty. In that room. The library carried too many memories. More than memories, nightmares of the last time I'd walked into a scene that didn'tbelong.

My head wasn’t screwed on right these days. I'd come back in one piece physically, but mentally—let's just say I was doing better than expected, but I wasn't quite back to normal. Not yet. Maybe I never wouldbe.

Bad dreams. Insomnia. Jumping at loud noises. I'd been around long enough to know what post-traumatic stress looked like. I'd seen it in other guys. Even talked to them about it, encouraged them to get somehelp.

So easy, when it wasn'tme.

I laid in bed at night and closed my eyes. All I could see were things I wanted to forget. The fucking flashbacks were the worst. I knew they weren't real. In my mind, I knew I wasn't back there, locked in acage.

My body disagreed. When they hit, I broke out in a sweat, my heart raced, and every part of me was convinced I was in mortaldanger.

I knew what was wrong with me, but I wasn't incontrol.

If I had been, I never would've grabbed Sophie likethat.

At first, my arms had closed around her, and I'd been ready to throw her to the floor, to restrain her as if she'd been the intruder I thought shewas.

Then, I'd smelledher.

Such a simple thing, scent. It sneaks into your brain, provoking a response before you can process. My instincts told my body to relax before my brain got in gear. Nothing that smelled like Sophie could be athreat.

I kept trying to figure it out, but I couldn’t break it down. Her scent was a contradiction. Sweet and sultry, like flowers and spice. Innocence. Seductive, sensualinnocence.

I’d grabbed her because I thought her an intruder, but I held on because I wantedmore.

Her body was soft, rounded and warm against me. It wasn't until I realized how fast her heart was beating, how short her breath was, that I letgo.

Fuck, I owed her anapology.

I'd wanted to comfort her, but I was aware enough to realize that as the person who'd scared the crap out of her, my comfort wouldn't bewelcome.

And, if she realized I was half hard after holding that soft body against me, it would've made everythingworse.

I could've stayed in the library with her all night. Just her scent and her low, soothing voice had been enough. But when she turned on the light, the sight of her was a punch to thegut.

Sophie was a tiny thing, at least compared to me. There was no way she was much more than 5’ 3”. In her tightly belted white robe, silvery blonde hair spilling over her shoulders, she'd looked like an angel. Except no angel should have a body like that. The robe hid everything, but I'd held her againstme.

The feel of her ass would keep me up at night, not that I'd complain. Remembering her soft curves was a much better reason for insomnia than flashbacks andnightmares.

I wanted to see her again. Hopefully, she wasn't one more person in this house who was pissed atme.

Reminding me that not everyone was mad, Mrs. W returned with a plate filled with cheese eggs and sausage. If I kept eating like this, I'd have to get back into the gym. I planned to do that anyway. Physically, I was ready. I wasn't made foridleness.

Aiden was nuts if he thought I was just going to sit around for the next three weeks. I'd find a way to get what I wanted, one way oranother.

I ate my breakfast, savoring every bite, and headed down to the lower level of Winters House. Smaller than the main level of the house, the lower level had only three rooms, but all of them werehuge.

I passed the cavernous space Mrs. W used for kitchen storage. I didn't even think about opening that door. No one went in that room without Mrs. W's express permission. I have no idea what she kept in there, but I suspected it was some combination of extra food and the many linens and place settings she used in the diningroom.

Whatever. I didn't want to know. A little further down the hall was the gym. It probably wasn't getting much use thesedays.

I swung open the door to see that Aiden had upgraded since I'd last been home, adding a brand-new rowing machine and a new treadmill. The free weights and Nautilus looked the same. Someone had set up an area with yoga mats, probably Charlie when she still livedhere.