Hannah is quiet as our driver pulls up in front of The Luminare. I clench my jaw; it’s obvious that Hannah didn’t like hearing me say no to Paul. The question is… why didn’t she? A part of me that has been frozen for a long time wants to believe it’s because she feels the same magnetic pull between us that I do, but the rational part of me dismisses that nonsense. Still, there’s no denying that it hurts something inside me to disappoint her.

“You own this whole hotel?” Jessie asks, her little elfin face shining with awe as she plasters her nose to the town car’s window.

“We do,” Paul tells her, obviously just as taken with the little girl as I am… and much more comfortable showing it.

He grins down at her and launches into an explanation of all the hotel amenities, and as her eyes grow wider and wider behind her oversized glasses, Hannah smiles down at her indulgently.

She looks beautiful

Radiant.

I want her.

I look away, giving an unnecessary instruction to the driver simply to buy a moment to get myself under control. My reactions to Hannah are unlike any I’ve ever felt for a girl, and that most definitely includes the ex who betrayed me, Gretchen.

Every cell in my body screams that Hannah is mine, and I simply want her too much to risk going along with the crazy plan of presenting her to the Kohs as my fiancée. I suspect that keeping my hands off her while pretending I have every right to touch might be beyond me, and I’m a better man than that asshole at Romano’s. I’m a man who has the self-control to say no.

At least, I do until the decision is taken out of my hands.

The Kohs are just entering The Luminare as we step out of the town car, and when Mr. Koh catches sight of us and nudges his wife, she turns to greet us with a warm smile. “Mr. Masters! Mr. Davis! What a pleasant surprise,” she says in her softly accented voice, pausing in front of the hotel’s entrance. Then her eyes light up as she catches sigh of Hannah and Jessie behind me. “And is this your lovely family?”

She glances between Paul and me as she asks the question, waiting to discover who the ladies belong to.

I bristle when Paul grins back delightedly, having no doubt that he’s about to launch the plan that I was foolish enough to suggest earlier that evening with himself in the role of Hannah’s fiancé.

“We’re all a happy family here at The Luminare,” Paul says, throwing me a playful glance that—at the moment—just makes me want to punch him.

I narrow my eyes at him in a silent warning not to try it, but just as I reach out to tug Hannah against my side and stake my claim, Jessie steps forward with a precocious smile.

“Hannah and I belong to Luke,” she says, pushing those adorable glasses up when they start to slip. “I’m Jessie, and Luke’s going to marry my sister! Are you a friend of his?”

Mrs. Koh gasps, putting a hand to her chest. “You’re engaged!” she says to me, looking absolutely delighted. “What a wonderful surprise!”

She crouches down to Jessie’s eye level and holds out a hand. “I’m Jia Koh, Miss Jessie, and yes, my husband and I are hoping to become very good friends with your future brother-in-law and his business partner.”

“Luke is very nice,” Jessie whispers, loudly enough that I catch sight of my driver hiding a grin. “And Paul is fun, too, as long as you don’t mind being teased.”

Mrs. Koh laughs, obviously charmed, and Hannah leans against me like she really does belong there, looking like she’s trying to hold in a laugh, too.

“Jessie,” Hannah says, clearly trying and failing to sound stern.

Jessie turns to look up at her sister with wide eyes. “It’s true, isn’t it, Hannah?”

Hannah hesitates, her cheeks suddenly flushing pink, and when she darts an uncertain glance at me I know she’s remembering the way I shut down this plan earlier in the car. I suspect she’s worried that I’ll be angry with Jessie for forcing the issue, but it’s not anger I’m feeling.

It might be relief.

It’s definitely anticipation.

And above all, it’s a fierce, raging satisfaction. Mine. It’s like I want to brand it on her for the world to see.

I tighten my arm around Hannah’s waist, ignoring the sting in my knuckles as the move stretches the broken skin there, and lean down to place a chaste kiss on her temple.

Her skin is impossibly soft and smells of honey, and she shivers as my lips brush her. It’s intoxicating.

I drag my attention away and smile at the Kohs. “I hope you don’t mind that my fiancée will be joining us for some of the entertainment we have scheduled during your stay,” I tell them.

“Not at all!” Mrs. Koh responds immediately. “Cheng?” she prompts, turning to the quiet man at her side. “Won’t it be lovely to get to know the future Mrs. Masters?”

Her husband nods, but I miss whatever he says in response—distracted by the soft sigh that escapes Hannah’s lips. It’s too quiet for anyone else to have heard, but to me, it sounded full of yearning.

Of course, it’s much more likely that I’m simply imagining what I want to hear… or simply that Jessie was right and Hannah really is a wonderful actress; good at pretending.

Paul notes how distracted I am and takes the lead in the conversation, ushering all of us inside the hotel.

“Have you checked into the penthouse suite we’ve provided for your stay, Mr. Koh?” he asks as our party reaches the VIP elevator and Paul hits the button for the top floor. That floor is divided into four penthouse suites, each the size of generous New York apartments. Paul and I each live permanently in two of them and the other two are reserved for VIP guests.

“We have,” Mr. Koh answers. “It is lovely. Thank you.”

I’m still holding Hannah, and when the elevator doors open Jessie is the first one to bounce inside. “What floor are we on, Luke?” she asks, finger hovering over the buttons as she grins and blinks those big eyes up at me.

Mrs. Koh laughs. “I think that Mr. Davis isn’t the only one who teases,” she says to Jessie, winking down at the little girl. “I assume you and your sister are staying with Mr. Masters in the penthouse across from ours, yes?”

Jessie’s eyes go wide, but when she looks back at Hannah, Hannah gives a subtle nod and something inside me relaxes.

“Of course we are,” Hannah says softly, pressing herself more firmly against my side and smiling at the Kohs.

Jessie presses the appropriate button, launching into a series of rambling anecdotes that keep the Kohs laughing during the elevator ride, and I smile, the expression feeling wolfish on my face. After all, I did promise Hannah a room at The Luminare tonight, and given the circumstances, it will have to be mine in order to maintain the charade, won’t it?

My cock fills at the thought, and I will it to behave. Sharing my suite certainly doesn’t mean sharing my bed, but having Hannah under my roof will still satisfy some of the raging possessiveness this girl brings out in me.

For now.

“Hannah,” Jessie says the minute we’re inside my suite, rounding on her sister with her hands on her hips. “You’re going to ruin this if you don’t do a better job acting like you’re into Luke.”

“Jessie,” Hannah says sternly. “That was totally out of line. Luke made it clear that he didn’t want—”

“Yes,” I interrupt. “I do want.”

I probably shouldn’t encourage the child’s behavior, but in this case, she’s done me a favor; one I may not survive but am unable to deny myself.

Clearly, I’m not cut out for parenting, because by my calculations, Jessie should be rewarded, not chastised.

Jessie grins. She can obviously tell I’m a pushover; something I didn’t know about myself until tonight, given that I’ve never spent much time around charming children who are too clever for their own good.

Hannah’s eyes went wide at my interruption, and now that lovely pink color I’m already getting addicted to causing is staining her soft skin again. “You… want?” she repeats. “But in the car… you said…”

That breathless, yearning voice she uses is my undoing, and I pull her against me, knowing I shouldn’t. “I want, Hannah,” I growl, my sudden need for this girl making me temporarily forget that we’re not alone.

“See?” Jessie says, bouncing on her toes with a grin and bringing me back to my senses. “He’s doing a great job of selling it. You’ve got to act like that, Hannah. I know you’re no good with boys—”

“Luke isn’t a boy, honey,” Hannah interrupts, her cheeks going an even brighter shade of pink as she lowers her eyes and bites that lip I’m dying to taste. She clears her throat, still not looking at me… but also not pulling away. “I mean, Jessie, it isn’t your place to say things like that. We need to… to get you ready for bed.”

“No,” Jessie says stubbornly, crossing her arms and jutting her lower lip out. “I’m right, Hannah. And this is your job. You’ve got to act like you’re really going to marry him. You’ve got to kiss him. Go on.”

I grin. Yes.

“Jessie,” Hannah gasps.

“I agree,” I say, promising myself to keep it chaste because of our audience. I tip her chin up, forcing her to meet my eyes again. “Kiss me, Hannah.”

She trembles, blinking up at me, and when she gives the tiniest of nods, my promise flies out the window. Tangling one hand in the back of her silken hair, I tip her head back, pulling her delectable body flush against mine. Her breath quickens and I’m lost. I lower my mouth to hers and taste her for the first time, groaning softly when her plush lips open on another of those delicious gasps.

Jessie was right; Hannah is clearly inexperienced.

I think I’m her first.

I want to be her last.

I need to make her mine.

Her hands clutch my shoulders, then slowly slide around the back of my neck as I deepen the kiss. She melts against me as if she’s welcoming me with her whole body. I accept, taking even more; licking my way into her honey-flavored mouth and swallowing down the delicate moan I get in response. By the time I finally force myself to come up for air, Jessie has made herself scarce.

I do like that child.

And I like Hannah even better.