I paused at the foot of the stairs leading upstairs. Ryder gently squeezed my hand; we had been holding hands in the library as we discussed South America.

That squeeze sent a thrill up my arm and into my heart. This was the man who had slipped into my bedroom last week—the man who aroused me deeply.


His eyes conveyed that this visit was as meaningful to him as it was to me. He was undoubtedly thinking about it again now. "I suppose I'll see you later," he murmured.

"Yeah," I whispered back. "I guess so."

He gave my hand a final squeeze and withdrew. As he ascended the stairs, I returned to the dining room, now deserted except for the servants tidying up after dinner. Levi and Charles were nowhere to be seen.


I sighed. Ryder and I must have been in the library a lot longer than I thought. I should have gone to the kitchen and gotten something to eat, but when I passed the front parlor, I saw someone moving outside.

I thought at first it must be one of the security guys, but when I checked, I realized it was Charles. He was back on the terrace where I found him before.


I stepped outside. 'Are you okay?"

He gazed up at the lighted windows of skyscrapers in the distance. 'I'm fine. You should go inside. It's cold out here."

I sidled over to him and slipped my hand into his. His hand felt so different from Ryder's. Ryder's hands were slender and artistic, not muscular like Charles's.

Should I have felt guilty for holding Charles's hand so soon after holding Ryder's? I seemed to have traveled a long way away from all those considerations. I had already been fooling around with both Levi and Charles. Now I was starting to get close to Ryder too.

'Don't you want to take a walk?" I asked. 'It isn't that late."

'Not really. I have too much on my mind."

'Do you want to talk about it?"

He shot me a hard glance, and I trembled in spite of myself. He had been so warm and close this last week. He never looked at me like this before. In fact, I couldn't remember him ever looking at me like that in all the years we'd known each other.

'What are you doing with Ryder?" he demanded.

'Huh? I'm just considering his proposal. I told you. I'm doing exactly the same thing with him that I'm doing with you."

His face went even blacker. That was obviously the wrong thing to say. 'You better not be doing the same thing with him that you're doing with me."

'I didn't mean that. You're here so we can get to know each other better and I can make a decision about who I'm going to marry. Now he's here for the same reason. I would be letting my family down if I didn't give him the same consideration."

'He's your enemy. He's your family's enemy. His family is out to ruin you. You know that, right?"

'His family might be, but I can't believe that about him. He's different." I tugged his arm. 'Come on. Let's take a walk. It will help take your mind off it."

He didn't budge, not until he glanced over his shoulder. I didn't have to turn around to know what Charles was seeing back there. Nico stood in the doorway. He shadowed me everywhere now.

Ever since Nico came back from the hospital, he had been even more determined not to let anyone near me. He stood guard outside my bedroom door at night. I didn't see when he slept or ate because he was always, always there, even when I didn't want him to be.

I should have appreciated his actions. He never left me alone for a second because he wanted to make sure no one came near me the way Ryder did.

Nico was just trying to protect me, but his constant vigilance made it impossible for me to sneak off with Charles. We hadn't done it since Nico came back.

Charles softened at the sight of Nico. 'All right. Fine. We can take a walk."

We headed off on our usual route. Nico shadowed our every move. Neither Charles nor I had to turn around to hear Nico's footsteps about ten feet behind us.

The shadows enveloped us. This should be our cue to start making out and then maybe getting busy in the bushes, but neither of us made the move.

'You aren't seriously thinking about Ryder Navaro, are you?" he asked again.

'I'm definitely thinking about him. He's interesting, and he knows a lot about almost everything. I've never met anyone like him. I'm starting to like him."

'So does that mean I can go home now?" he demanded. 'Are you finished with me?"

'Finished with you?" I wheeled around to stare at him. 'What are you talking about?"

'You like him, so that means we're all done. I can go back to Poughkeepsie or wherever. I don't need to hang around watching you fall for another guy."

I gasped and stopped dead in my tracks. 'No! It isn't like that."

'So who are you going to marry—him or me?"

I shrugged and tried to start walking again, but he didn't move. He stood rooted to the spot. 'I don't know, okay? I'm not ready to make a decision. I don't even know Ryder very well."

'You know enough. He's been attacking your family for years."

'His family has been. He hasn't been involved in that."

'What makes you so sure? Did you ask him?"

'Of course not! I could never ask him that."

Charles turned away and started walking by himself. He still held my hand, but he didn't seem to be aware of me anymore.

Did everything just come to a crashing halt between me and Charles? Did Ryder showing up here spoil everything? Maybe Charles was right and I made a big mistake giving Ryder a chance.

We strolled under the trees. It got much darker, and Nico didn't come into the woods with us. He stayed on the grassy path, but he could still see and hear us.

Charles let go of my hand, and we wandered for a while without speaking. There had to be a way to reconnect with Charles. Would I have to send Ryder away to get back what Charles and I had, or was it gone forever, never to return?

What if I married him and we never rekindled what started in these very woods? I couldn't think of anything worse than that.

I glanced up at one of the guard towers, and before I could move, Charles came up behind me from the shadows. He rushed me so fast I didn't see him coming.

The next instant, he wrapped his arms around me from behind and clasped his arms around my stomach to pull me against him.

He pressed his mouth to my ear, and his hot breath seared my brain. 'Would you like me to fuck you right here in front of Nico? Would you like him to watch me fuck you right here? Would you like that? Would you like him to know what a filthy little animal you are for me?"

He rotated me sideways so I could see Nico beyond the tree trunks. Nico wasn't looking at us, but I never doubted he was aware of everything Charles and I were doing.

The thought of Nico knowing how filthy and animalistic I was got me all hot and bothered. I shoved back against Charles and felt him getting hard against my ass, but neither of us took it any farther.

I didn't want to do it in front of Nico—not like that—not after what he said about how he felt about me. It wasn't his fault he was born on the street with no family. It wasn't his fault he didn't stand a chance to offer himself as one of my suitors like these other men.

I couldn't shove it in his face like that, not after the way he got hurt protecting me. That would be inhuman.

I still wasn't sure if I should tell Levi and have Levi replace Nico as my bodyguard. That would be the kindest thing to do for Nico, but Levi thought the sun rose and set on Nico. Levi didn't want anyone else guarding me, and now I understood why.

Charles let go of me and turned me to face him. I couldn't see his features in the darkness. The light from the estate shone around his hair and shoulders in an unearthly halo.

He looked so mysterious and haunted in the shadows that my heart skipped a beat. He bent down and kissed me with his whole mouth open. Our tongues met, and my breath quickened with excitement. Was he really going to go through with it? Was he really going to take me right now with Nico watching?

My body burst into full-blown desire, but Charles pulled away without even touching me. He glanced behind him toward where Nico stood. Talking about Levi watching us or the security guards watching us was one thing. Actually doing it right in front of Nico was taking that game too far.

We strolled back to the house, and Nico dropped a few dozen yards farther behind us. I took the opportunity to broach another subject that had been on my mind for a long time now.

'Have you ever had a threesome with two other women?"

Charles jolted, and his jaw dropped staring down at me. 'Where the hell did that come from?"

I blushed and tried to look away, but his eyes held me captive. 'I was just wondering… since I'm a newbie with no experience."

'Why do you ask about that? You don't want to know all the crazy, stupid things I did in my misspent youth."

I laughed. 'I definitely do. I want to live through you since I don't have any crazy, stupid experiences of my own."

He chuckled. Was he blushing? I couldn't tell in the dim light. 'You promise you won't get jealous or anything?"

'Of course not. It's… exciting to think about."

He stopped and pulled me closer. 'Does it excite you thinking about stuff like that?"

I nodded, too breathless to answer.

'All right. Yes, I have."

'What was it like?"

He laughed again. Now I knew he was blushing. 'It was really hot. Two girls together is really hot."

The blood rushed to my cheeks, not from embarrassment but from excitement. We were really talking about this. 'Have you ever been with a girl at the same time as another guy?"

He shrugged. 'I might have been." Then he laughed.

'Was that hot too, or was it just weird?"

'It was hot too." He studied me. 'Why are you asking me about this?"

'I'm just wondering."

'It's always hot watching a girl getting fucked, even if it's by another guy."

'So…" I glanced over my shoulder. Nico was far enough behind us that I hoped he couldn't overhear us. 'So when you talk about someone watching us…"

'You said it turns you on."

'It does," I murmured. 'A lot."