Cherish and Protect by Lori Ryan

Author:Lori Ryan [Ryan, Lori]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781941149805
Publisher: Lori Ryan
Published: 2018-02-12T16:00:00+00:00

19

Hours later, they had moved to the bed. Presley lay in James’s arms, running her hands up his arms where they wrapped around her. She had the feeling he was with her now, more so than he had been when she’d first arrived. When he brought her to the loft, there had been a desperation to the way he took her. Not the kind of desperation that said he wanted her and couldn’t hold back.

This was a soul-deep need to be held by someone. A soul-deep need to feel. To touch. To connect. To connect, even though she would swear he wasn’t entirely with her earlier. Wasn’t entirely there.

Right now, she was with James and he was there with her.

“Tell me about the spaces you looked at today,” he said.

She did. She told him about the little house and the larger building. About the windows Seth had talked about cutting into the brick.

“That sounds like a good plan. The bigger space will be nice.”

“It will be,” Presley said. “And I don’t think it will be too big. It should be just right.”

“Seth is someone you know?”

Presley wished she heard a note of jealousy or tension in him. It was foolish, but she wished that this was something more than it was. His voice was steady, though, holding nothing more than the basic curiosity of a man wanting to know who all the players in the story were.

“Yes, he and his brothers own a building company in town and they own a few properties. He thinks his brothers will be open to selling the building instead of leasing it. If they aren’t, I can always lease it and hope they want to sell later.”

“Or lease it and buy another space after your business is established.”

Presley smiled and let her head rest on his warm arm. The thought of her business being successful made her smile. Would she be thriving and growing in a year?

“Presley,” he said, and something in his tone made her still.

“Yeah?” She tried to keep her tone light. Tried like hell to protect herself for what she knew was coming.

“You know I can’t give you anything more than this, right? I won’t be able to let this be more than just this, what we’re doing right now.”

Presley nodded, still feeling the warm heat of his skin against her cheek. She didn’t need more than he could give her right now. Because, for once, the man she was laying with was being brutally honest with her. He wasn’t trying to pretend to be something he wasn’t. He wasn’t trying to make her believe in something more. He was only telling her exactly what he could offer and what he couldn’t.

That meant something to her. No, not something. It meant a lot. A hell of a lot.

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