She watched him from where she stood, leaning against the sink as he quietly ate his sandwich. Rafe, the Rafael DeLuca II, award winning, well known and respected billionaire business mogul had run away from home and the pressures there. It wasn’t work, she was sure of it. Why else would he come here and terrorize his employees? He could do that just fine back in Italy. There was something at home that had made him say ‘enough, get out now before you suffocate’ and now here he was, half naked, eating a bacon sandwich in her tiny apartment. He ran away and he was still running. Was this a stop or a temporary respite as she just happened to be the one who could help him solve not one but two problems: insomnia and erectile dysfunction? Don’t think about that! She stepped back and did a quick turn on her right foot, her right hand reaching for the fridge door, pulling it open with her momentum. She stuck her head into it and let the cold freezer air hit her in the face. Just the sight of

Naturally he denied it vehemently. He was Rafael DeLuca II, he didn’t have panic attacks. There was nothing wrong with his sanity, but he knew deep down that it was a possibility. The shame that came from that drove him to adopt his old pastime. Needing a distraction, he bedded every willing woman he could get his hands on, hoping that with each girl, he would find some escape, a way to forget the cage that was his life and his failing mental state. Just for a little while, he wanted to feel carnal pleasure, dopamine that would keep him high for as long as he needed it before his next fix. But that soon stopped working, then his dick followed suit. He could only conclude that his penis was tired of the faceless and easy vagina diving. With a deprecating smile he admitted to himself — now he was able to admit that — that hadn’t been the reason. Whatever he had been looking for in all those random nights, he hadn’t found it, that is, until Talia McKenna. Why was she differ

“I don’t follow.”Yeah, Talia was just as confused. In the hours they spent having marathon sex, there were moments she felt him with her, like their souls were meddling, flying together. Then there were moments where she felt like he wasn’t there. He would be looking right at her as he moved inside her but he wasn’t present. He could have been anywhere and with someone else while he was physically with her. At those instances, when she met his blank gaze, she too would be pulled out of the moment as questions bombarded her head only to get chased away by a soul shattering orgasm. Present or not, the man knew how to pleasure a woman. Oh yeah, she thought self-deprecatingly, by his own confession she was one of many, so his skills in that area were honed.Though she was feeling a little betrayed and used, she couldn’t help but think about the reason why. The distant deer caught in headlights look in his eyes as he mumbled incoherently

He’s using you, use him back. Carrie’s words echoed in her mind. When she’d said that Talia had refused to sleep her project into international success. But, as Carrie said, it was clear she was the only one getting emotional over their sleeping together. So why shouldn’t she get what she wanted for this arrangement too? He was clearly using her weakness for him to his advantage, she might as well come out of the other end with more than just a broken heart. Decided, she followed him into the room. It irked her that he was already laying on the bed naked, as if knowing she would come.Fine! Shoving her shorts down she said, “This is the last time we are doing this. Next time you come here it’s to sleep. Deal?”Hands behind his head, a smug smile on his lips he said, “You sound like you are about to have a root canal.”“Same process. Deal or no deal?”“If it makes you

She wanted to do this for him, knowing very well how much not being able to get it up had factored into his anxiety. This was her, willingly giving him treatment. She pushed her ass out then shoved it back, hard. He gasped, his thigh muscles under her contracting and pushing her up. She reared back and did it again. Whatever he’d been trying to say died on his tongue. His lips parted with each heavy breath, his brows pinched tight as he stared down at the place where they were joined. He suddenly pushed himself up, leaning on one taunt arm, hand pressed flat on the mattress of the bed. The other arm around her waist, he moved under her, rocking against her. He looked like he was in pain, distressed, exerted. He took control, moving forward to meet her as he pulled her with that arm around her waist to crush against him with each deep stroke. As close as she was to her third flight, it still didn’t seem to be enough for him.  He pushed his pelvis up, pushing them bot