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CHAPTER 14
By now, she was sampling the textures with both palms. She could imagine Damien working on it, chipping away, studying the angles until he found just the one that worked for him. Which was the same way he approached life. He wasn’t the type to listen and work with an outside element.
She smirked, her hands stilling. Of course, this was an element he had ultimate control over. Suddenly, Regina was aware of that masculine heat at her back, blocking her in. Damien’s hands slid down her arms to cover her fingers where they curved around the rock. His breath accelerated, stirring the hair lying heavy against the back of her neck.
“Damien…” she whispered, not sure if she was begging him to stop or to continue.
He said nothing, his fingers caressing hers. Tingles of fear and e
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TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 15
Finally, they reached the glass door marked Management. Betty led them through an outer office into a bigger room with casual office decor.“Damien, Regina, thank you for coming,” Bateman said, shaking their hands. He watched as his wife was met with a warm hug, but his own greeting was more reserved.“Betty had someone inform me that you were walking the mill floor. What did you think?” Damien detected a note of pride, but also a concern in Bateman’s voice.“For now, everything looks good. I saw that the equipment has been updated.” Bateman smiled slightly.“In the long run, it’s more cost-effective to do so.”&nb
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 16
Regina had been so fascinated watching Damien work, seeing his mind process the problems, that she wasn’t prepared when he made excuses and motioned to the door. Her gears didn’t change quickly, but the quivering urgency beneath his polite facade propelled her out the door ahead of him. He turned the opposite direction from which they’d arrived, and his steps picked up speed.“Damien, wait!” she called. “Damien, where are you going?” She struggled to keep up with his pace, trailing behind by several feet. His steps were quick, and he never looked back. Her heart pounded. A seriously wrong vibe made the fine hairs on her arms stand on end. Regina followed him around twists and turns in the long hall
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 17
Twisting her around, Damien pulled Regina off-balance to meet him like the last time. His breath hissed through his teeth as her cold clothes pressed to his bare chest, but he didn’t care. He was too busy anticipating her taste.“Chilly?” she teased, but it didn’t hide the way her body trembled beneath his hands. Then he was hit with her scent… Jasmine or maybe lavender… It was a scent so soft he could breathe her in forever. Every centimeter of his body stood up and took notice. He stared through the gloom. The wealth of hair, now curling in the humidity, hid the vulnerability of her neck. The thin shirt outlined the soft rounds of her breasts. The pale skin of her collarbone. The awareness he’d been fighting since that first night exploded like a sizzle b
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 18
Still in total shock and extremely hurt, Regina grasped the handrail extra hard to keep herself steady. She wanted to be anywhere else but in that house, with Damien. Or Theodore… Regina just felt the need to go downstairs, open the door and run as far away as possible from all the Kennedys… Even if she was now, at least officially, one of them. But she knew she had to stay and pay her dues… Take care of Iris, June, Briar, Nicole… They all were her responsibility. They were depending on her to go through this ordeal…“One year… Just one year. Take one day at a time, Reggie… Hangin’ tough, girl,” she whispered trying to motivate herself and then swallowed hard. Walking with her head high down the main staircase, Regina forced one foot
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 19
“Oh, God! This is way too much, old man!” he said slowly and shook his head feeling a shiver up and down his spine. Damien stared at the monstrosity of a monument Theodore Kennedy had erected for himself before turning away in disgust. He walked away from the crypt and the bronze coffin, leaving Regina behind as she greeted those still lingering at the graveside. Practically the whole town had attended the funeral, which made sense. The Kennedys were known by everybody in the town and outside of it. Theodore would have expected the town to pay homage to him in his death. Damien just wished he could ignore the twinges of guilt Theodore’s death had given him. Those final words, spoken in anger, left him feeling lower than low. ‘I wasn’t better than him,’ Dam
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 20
Damien pushed open the study door with anticipation sizzling through his veins. An older man stood at the far window. When Briar had told him who was waiting, Damien had been surprised. Cliff Barnes’s background and business had been an obsession since the trip to the mill. His showing up at Kennedy Mansion and asking specifically to see Damien was a stroke of luck. Whether good or bad remained unclear. But it could give Damien a chance to face off with the competition on home turf. He observed Barnes for a moment. The man’s chubby hands curved around the carved wood borders of the shelves on each side as he surveyed the farmland as if he already owned it. ‘Well, old man, you’re in for a rude awakening,’
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 21
As Barnes’s gaze inventoried the room once more, Regina eased farther into the background. Damien’s libido kicked into gear as he saw the emotions shift on her face. The same wave that had washed over her when she was defending his helpless mother. She was so passionate when it came to protecting others. Or when she was so pissed off that she forgot to be a polite little lady. The temper churning in those chocolate eyes shouldn’t turn him on. Luckily, Barnes couldn’t see it.“But I understand Kennedy Mill is special,” the man said, a small grin stretching his full lips. “And this house would fit me just perfect. I figured, after everything I heard about Damien, we could come to some sort of… compromise.”“I see,” Damien said, not giving the other man any clues. “What sort of…
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 22
Regina stalled as she entered the study. She was the last to arrive, thanks to lingering with Iris and Nicole for longer than she planned. Avoiding the inevitable, as if that was possible. After all, will or not, Damien would leave. His smooth good looks and smoldering intensity had seduced her into forgetting that. Too bad his temperamental attitudes weren’t enough to cool her newly awakened libido. She paused beside Briar, whom she’d been worried about since Theodore’s death.“How are you holding up, Briar?” The butler rested his sad eyes on her.“I know it was his time, Mrs. Regina. I really understand that. But this will be a big change.”“Yes, Briar,” she replied and
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