Page 101 of Pretend To Be Mine

“I’ve got you,” Adrian whispered. “I’ve got you.”

His hand found mine, fingers interlacing as he pinned it gently above my head. The other hand slid under my lower back, tilting my hips so he could go deeper. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him closer.

The pleasure built slowly, steadily, like a sunrise spreading across the sky. Every thrust brought me higher. I could feel Adrian getting close too, his movements becoming less controlled.

“Come for me,” he said against my ear. “I want to feel you.”

His words pushed me over the edge. The orgasm rolled through me in waves, like the warmest ocean. I heard myself crying out his name. Adrian followed seconds later, his body tensing as he buried himself deep, groaning into my shoulder.

He kissed my cheek and then wiped the tears once again. Adrian shifted, carefully withdrawing and disposing of the condom before pulling me against his chest.

I curled into him, my head on his shoulder, his arm around me. Nothing had been resolved, but for now, I felt safe.

33

ADRIAN

Iheld her close, feeling the dampness of her tears against my chest. I wasn’t the type to get emotional about other people’s problems. My brothers used to joke that I was made of ice, all business and no heart. But seeing Elizabeth hurt like this was brutal in a way I’d never experienced before.

I wanted to fix it. Wanted to call her mother and tell her exactly what I thought of a woman who made her daughter feel guilty for pursuing her dreams. I wanted to shield Elizabeth from every painful thing in the world.

The intensity of that desire should have terrified me. It didn’t. It just felt right.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled against my skin. “I’m being ridiculous.”

“You’re not.” I ran my fingers through her hair, marveling at how soft it was. “You’re allowed to be upset.”

“I just ruined a perfectly good morning with my family drama.”

“You didn’t ruin anything.” I tilted her face up to mine. “Elizabeth, I want to know about your family drama. I want to know everything about you—the good, the bad, the complicated.”

Something flickered in her eyes. Hope, maybe. Or fear. “You do?”

“I do.” And I meant it more than I’d meant anything in a long time.

I could have stayed like that for hours. Days, even.

But reality had other plans.

I glanced at the clock on the nightstand and felt my stomach sink. “Elizabeth, I hate to disturb you, but we need to get ready.”

“Mm?” She sounded half-asleep, her voice muffled against my chest.

“The flight to Paris. We’re supposed to be at the airport in an hour.”

She groaned but didn’t move. “Can’t we just stay here forever?”

“I wish we could.” I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “But Briggs will kill me if we miss his show. And trust me, you don’t want to see what an angry attorney looks like.”

That got a small laugh out of her. “Is he really that scary?”

“Terrifying. He once made an opposing counsel cry just by looking at him.” I reluctantly released her, already missing the warmth of her body.

Thirty minutes later, we were on our way to the airport. I held her hand the whole way.

The flight from London to Paris was mercifully short, at just over an hour. And unfortunately, I had to work the entire hour. There was a ton of crap that needed to be handled. Briggs had texted me details about a venue issue. Apparently, there had been a miscommunication with the Versailles administration about which rooms we had access to, threatening to derail the entire setup.

While I talked, I watched Elizabeth sketch in her notebook. She was frantically working on refinements to the three dresses she’d be creating. Even though the show was at risk, I found it hard to care as much as I should. Mom slept the whole way, not used to all this excitement these days.