Page 83 of The Damaged Billionaire's Obsession

I watch her sleep for a long time, wondering why she was raised by her nan when she has parents.

Or does she not have parents?

“Good morning, Bonnie.”

I enter the room and approach her slowly, fully expecting her to freak out once she remembers what happened yesterday.

I deliberately left the bed early this morning to give her space, although it was hard, seeing as she was still sprawled all over me. It was torture getting through the night. At some point, she was literally humping my leg and moaning. I figured that she was in the middle of an erotic dream.

It took all my willpower not to flip her over, wake her up, and sink my leaking, achy cock into her warmth until my balls emptied.

But knowing that she was exhausted and out of her mind with grief stopped me. For all I know, she could wake up regretting her spur-of-the-moment decision to come to me.

“Hi, Ethan,” she greets me with a groggy and shy smile.

Okay, so far, so good. I drop the covered plate of buttered toast and an omelet on the coffee table.

“That smells divine.” She takes the tall glass of water flavored with mint and a lemon slice and chugs half of it in one go. “Just what I needed, thank you. My mouth felt so dry.”

Then, she looks at the contents of the glass and rolls her eyes. “What’s with the fruit and the vegetable, Harvard? A plain bottle of water would have been just fine.”

My lips twitch. And the brat is back.

“And here I was, thinking you’d appreciate the princess treatment. You need rehydration and vitamin C. Drink up, we don’t want you getting sick after the stunt you pulled yesterday.” I snark back.

She goes shy, her eyes falling away from mine. She pulls at an imaginary piece of lint, and I see her face slowly start to pinken.

“I-I’m…”

I want to laugh so badly, but I reel it in and say gently instead, “It’s okay, Bonnie, don’t overthink it. Someone very close to you died. You needed me, and I was there. Simple as that.”

“I’m usually tougher than this." She says, "It was just a shock, you know. And the way she died made it worse. She fell in the bathroom. She hit her head and might have broken her hip again, I don’t know, but she couldn’t get up. No one came until she had already passed.”

I take the glass out of her hand and hug her. “Aw, that sounds awful. I’m sorry, baby.” I pat her back gently. “You don’t have to be strong all the time, though. That’s why I’m here.”

She nods her head and accepts my comfort. We remain like that for some time. She doesn't seem to be in any particularhurry to leave my arms and I'm happy to hold her for as long as she wants.

“Bonnie, what about your parents?" I ask against her temple.

She remains silent.

"Which side of your family was your nan on?” Surely she can tell me that.

She shakes her head like she doesn’t want to answer but eventually does. “She's my dad’s mother. But, Ethan, I don’t want to talk about them. Please.”

Christ.There’s pain there. A lot. “Them,” she says.So, they’re alive, then. Both of them.

I nod. “Okay baby.”

I hold her tighter, and she lets me, taking the consolation she needs.

“There’s a flight to Dublin leaving at eight tonight,” I tell her when she draws back. She looks around, and I know she’s searching for a clock. “It's just before noon now. Plenty of time to get ready.”

I rise and pull away the curtains, letting in a stream of light, which bathes the room. The sudden influx of light blinds me, so I reach into my sweatpants pocket for my glasses.

“We can swing by yours and get your things, then I’ll take you to the airport,” I say as I go to sit down on the other side of the bed.

She keeps staring at my face.