Bound by the Millionaire's Ring by Dani Collins

Author:Dani Collins [Collins, Dani]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarlequinUKLtd
Published: 2017-09-01T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

THIS WOMAN. SHE was driving him insane, revealing exactly what kind of fire burned inside her before tearing him down and locking him out.

The things she had revealed the night of the party had been a shock, and he hadn’t dealt with it well in the moment, had been too sexually frustrated to process all that she had revealed—and how much shame she had sent crawling up inside him. But he’d had plenty of time for self-castigation since.

He had underestimated her feelings for him over the years, thinking them superficial because from the time he had become sexually active, he’d been treated as a trophy. Even the racing fans who “preferred” him over his brother were more interested in the driver than the man. Besides, Isidora hadn’t been mature enough for anything more than surface infatuation, he had always believed.

But he couldn’t stop hearing her say “if I thought you wanted me.” Like she believed herself interchangeable with the women he’d encountered over the years.

She wasn’t. Deep down, he had always known an affair with Isidora would be the furthest thing from impersonal. That’s why he had held her off so uncompromisingly. Emotional intimacy made him close up inside.

He had told himself he was protecting her, denting her ego, not her heart, but he wasn’t so devoid of conscience he would pimp her out with topless photos, and it wasn’t just because the idea of any man seeing her naked was abhorrent to him.

Really abhorrent.

“No, I wouldn’t ask you to strip down to divert attention from my sister,” he stated, biting out each word. “Effective as that might be.”

She took up her fork and dipped her head, brows pulling with consternation as though she wasn’t sure whether he was complimenting her or what.

It struck him afresh that his discouragement over the years had affected her far more seriously than he had intended. Looking back, he could see that a young woman’s confidence could be impacted by such things, but at the time—He sighed with self-disgust.

“I shouldn’t have taken advantage of your loyalty as badly as I have. I know what a precious commodity it is. Anyone else would have sold us out, or pushed me into traffic by now.”

“If the doors to the terrace had been open the other night...” She stuffed a cherry tomato into her mouth, sealing her lips over the threat she didn’t finish. But even as she chewed, he saw the faint tremble in her lips. His few words of culpability affected her.

He wasn’t someone who apologized, and barely had just now, but she was moved. In that moment, he understood, really understood, what kind of power he had over her.

Maybe he had always known, because he tensed even now, wanting to turn away. He had the intelligence to know that the flip side of a power coin was responsibility. He already carried a lot of obligations. He didn’t want more.

But there she perched, teetering in the place between his conscience and his sense of duty, whether he wanted to accept her presence or not.

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