I couldn’t get enough of her. I needed more — had to have more.

I had to possess her in every way.

I didn’t leave her room right after, either. Any other woman, and I’d have been out of there. Gone, back to my own world.

Not with Bella.

After I’d taken her like that against the glass, I’d scooped her up and brought her inside. I ran a bath in the huge whirlpool tub, and brought her in with me, letting the water and the jets soothe her.

And then I’d kissed her, and we’d started all over again.

That time, she rode me slowly, our eyes locked, her small body trembling as she came again and again on my cock. That time, I took my time, making her come more times than she could count before I roared my release into her mouth and filled her with my cum.

I’d dried her, brought her to bed. I’d even laid with her until I had to go.

But after that, there was no way I could sleep. After that, she was just…there.

Deep.

Hooked in my heart, buried deep inside somewhere I’d never felt before. Not even back with Helen before things went south.

I’d never felt this, not for anyone.

And it terrified me.

It shook the firm, iron-fisted control I kept over all aspects of my life, both personal and business. I didn’t know what the hell to do with a wild card like Isabella Wilder.

Well, I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to stay with her in that room. I wanted to close my eyes and sleep with the feel of her breath on my chest.

I wanted to hold her forever.

Jesus.

There was no way — no way that would ever work.

She was what, half my age? Besides that, she was my employee. And then there was the shit with Helen.

No, it couldn’t be.

I hated the thought. I raged at the thought, because it wasn’t fucking fair. In Bella, I saw something I’d been looking for, well, forever. But things out of my control kept me from having her the way I wanted.

I could take her in the dark shadows of her room, claim her body, explore it all with her and show her things she’d never felt. I could draw the moans from her lips, the pleasure from her body.

But I couldn’t possess her heart.

And it burned me.

* * *

My heart jumped a little as I saw her come down at breakfast the next morning, my children in tow.

God she looked good with them. They beamed, giggling and hanging off of her, happy in a way I hadn’t seen them since the crash.

They deserved this.

She turned to me and smiled, blushing red; I knew why.

And I loved it.

But there was something else on her face.

Something dark, reserved.

She brought the kids to the table, getting them settled and ordering from our waitress in perfect French before looking quietly at her plate.

“Everything okay?”

She looked up quickly, blushing again as we made eye contact before nodding. “It’s nothing.”

I glanced at my kids, totally pre-occupied with something animated on their iPad, before I glanced back at her. “Tell me.”

“It’s nothing, Col— sir.”

“Last night?”

My brow raised. I couldn’t have that. Last night had meant a lot — much more than sex. We’d gone past that and I knew we both felt it. But I didn’t want her to have reservations, not about me and not about what we’d done.

But Bella shook her head, blushing. “No, not— not that.”

“What?”

“It’s just personal stuff, you don’t want to hear.”

“Trust me, I do.”

She looked up, nodding quietly as her eyes darted across my face. “Okay.”

“What is it?”

“My mom, she…” She trailed off. “She might be sick.” Her voice quavered, her eyes watering, and I could tell she was doing her best not to cry.

“Come with me.”

I stood, pulling her aside and moving to a deserted corner of the mostly empty restaurant where we could still see the children. “Come here,” I pulled her in, wrapping my arms around her as she sunk into my chest.

“What sort of sick?”

“Cancer,” she whispered.

I tensed, my eyes closing. “Bella, I’m so sorry.”

“They don’t know yet, she’s going for a test today.” She quickly shook her head, looking away. “I’m sorry, this isn’t professional of me. I just read the email, and— and—”

“Bella.”

She looked up. “Sir?”

“Right now I’m Colin.”

She smiled, brushing a tear from her eyelid. “Thank you.”

“Take the day off.”

“No, that’s— it’s my job to be here for your kids.”

“It’s your job to do as I say,” I said sternly. “Take the day, please. Relax in your room, get room service, go do some holiday shopping, anything. I’ve got the children.”

She glanced up at me, her face falling. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

“I would hope that’d be obvious,” I murmured. “Whatever you need, tell me.”

She smiled again, chewing on her lip. “Thank you.”

* * *

With Bella off to her room after breakfast, I took the children with me and called our pre-arranged chauffeur. Help was always good, but then, I wanted this time with my kids too. After all, this was Paris and it was almost Christmas.

We skipped the museums, because as much as I wanted to culture my children, honestly, six and four were no age for sanity in a place like the Louvre. Instead, we went to La Petite Pâtisserie for scones — my favorite place to go in all of Paris. We went to the ice rink and the Luxembourg Gardens, me carrying the two giggling kids half the time I skated the ice.

And it was perfect.

But it was later, when we got back to the hotel, that the voice from my past chilled my blood as it came across the lobby.

The one I never wanted to hear again, and the one that never brought anything but darkness and anger.

“Hello, Colin.”

I whirled, shoving my kids behind me as I narrowed my eyes at her.

“What are you doing here, Helen,” I said with ice in my voice.

“I just wanted to stop by,” she smiled thinly. “You know, say hello. Be cordial.”

“Mommy?” Beckham said softly, peeking out from behind my leg.

“Hello, sweetheart!” Helen’s eyes were glassy, her voice slightly slurred — not much, but enough that I could tell, and I felt my jaw tense in fury.

Goddammit.

“Come say hi to mommy, honey!”

Beckham stayed behind me, his little hands gripping my trousers tightly.

“Helen,” I growled. “You know the restraining order. You’re not supposed to be within two thousand feet of them, let alone in my hotel, in Paris for Christ’s sake.

“You can’t keep my kids from me, Colin!” she suddenly snapped.

I leveled my eyes at her. “You’ve been drinking.”

“I have not.”

“Leave.”

“Or what?”

“Or I get confrontational,” I said darkly.

“Oh,” she laughed. “Is that a threat? What, going to be rough with me, Colin?” Her smile curled wickedly. “You know, I heard you’ve got someone new for that now.”

I froze, and her eyes flashed.

“Leave, Helen.”

“How old is she, Colin?”

Jesus, no.

I felt my heart freeze as the grin spread across Helen’s face.

“Let me see my children, Colin.”

“Not a chance.”

“Then I’m going start playing dirty.” She laughed. “But I guess you already did which just makes it easier for me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You know what I’m talking about. You know who I’m talking about.” She glared at me. “You let her near our kids, Colin.”

“It’s not like that.”

She barked out a mirthless laugh. “Oh? What’s it like then. What, you love her?” Helen rolled her eyes. “Please, she’s just some young tramp you’re having a mid-life crisis with.”

I turned abruptly, scooping Lillian up and taking Beckham’s hand. “Let’s go, guys. Mommy’s feeling sick.”

“Don’t you walk away from me!”

I didn’t turn back once as I made my way to the elevators, my heart thundering in my chest.