It had shocked the shit out of me when I’d glanced at the security feeds on my office wall and spotted Autumn at the concierge desk. Even after not seeing her for two months, I’d instantly known it was her.

Something had to be very wrong for her to be in my hotel when she was supposed to be in Africa. Fear had constricted my chest as worst-case scenarios flashed through my mind. She’d looked even more gorgeous than I remembered, but she’d also looked exhausted.

I’d walked from my office to the lobby with single-minded focus, ignoring anyone and everything along the way. Her health was my main concern, but I’d also wanted to reach her before someone let it slip who I really was. When I got to her, she looked dead on her feet, but her beauty still stole my breath. Concern overpowered my desire though and my eyes swept over her, looking for signs of injury.

Then she’d asked me if I was Andrew Lennox, and I’d wanted to ring Juan’s fucking neck. This wasn’t how I’d wanted her to find out. I’d expected to go to her when she returned and explain everything.

The lobby certainly wasn’t the place to have this discussion, so I hurried her onto an elevator and headed for my penthouse suite.

Autumn’s eyes were narrowed on me, a mixture of anger and suspicion swirling in the dark orbs. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. I didn’t even know how to start this conversation.

“No, it wasn’t a coincidence.” I brushed a few pieces of her wild curls back from her face and was relieved when she didn’t flinch or pull away. “When I saw you in the lobby that first time, I was immediately captivated. I had to know you. So, I orchestrated the whole thing to make sure that we met.”

Autumn’s face softened for a second before hardening again and glaring up at me. “While I find that surprisingly sweet, rather than ‘creepy-stalkerish’ as you put it, it doesn’t explain why you lied to me about who you are.”

I scratched my beard as I tried to think how best to explain. “Sunshine…” I started, only to be interrupted.

“Don’t ‘sunshine’ me right now, Andrew Lennox,” she snapped.

I knew it was the wrong time to be amused, but she was just so fucking cute. So full of fire. I ran a hand over my face to hide my smile.

The elevator reached our floor and the doors whooshed open. With my hand at the small of her back, I steered her towards the large double doors that led to my living space.

The pad next to the entrance lit up when I pressed my thumb on it, then it beeped, and the doors unlocked. Autumn’s eyebrows rose but she didn’t comment as she brushed past me to enter the room. My gaze was drawn to her perfect ass as she walked into the large living room. I took a deep breath and willed my dick to back the fuck off. Now was not the time to be fantasizing. He limped a little, but I still had to adjust myself so my lustful state wasn’t so obvious.

Autumn plopped down onto one of the plush, beige couches and leaned back into the soft pillows. Her face betrayed her fatigue and concern creeped back in.

“You look spent, baby. Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked as I strolled over to her. She watched me warily, so I took a seat at the opposite end of the couch, rather than right next to her, where I wanted to be.

She waved her hand with a careless shrug. “It was a long trip. Now, let’s get back to the important stuff.”

I frowned, ready to point out that her health was the most important, but she still looked pissed and she did deserve an explanation. She kicked off her shoes with a deep sigh and brought her knees up and wrapped her arms around them.

Gently, I pried her arms loose and pulled her feet into my lap. My fingers dug into the arch of one foot, and her groan of pleasure went straight to my cock.

“As I was saying, I was determined to meet you and”—I shrugged and grinned—“I’ll be honest, to fuck you.” Autumn’s lips pinched but I saw the barely-there up tick at the corner of her mouth.

“Once I approached you, I was awed at how easy it was to talk to you. You were so fun and energetic and even sexier up close. It was so relaxing to have fun without worrying that you were working any angle to get to my money and connections.”

Autumn stiffened and glared at me, clearly affronted. There was also a spark of hurt in her eyes, so I hurried to reassure her. “It was clear that you were nothing like that after only a few minutes with you, sunshine.”

“Then why didn’t you trust me enough to tell me?” she asked crossly.

“It wasn’t about trust, Autumn. I knew you didn’t want anything from me except my company. But, I didn’t know if you would look at me differently when you found out. I’d already decided to keep you, and I wanted to stay in our tranquil little bubble for as long as possible.”

“Keep me?” she repeated with a stunned and slightly indignant face.

My eyes narrowed and I lifted my chin in a show of resolve. “You’re mine, Autumn. I told you when we first made love that it was a point of no return. I’ll admit to my error in judgement and work hard to gain your forgiveness, but make no fucking mistake, baby, you belong to me.”

I moved my hands up her legs in slow circles, working the muscles and helping the blood flow. I was playing fucking dirty, and we both knew it. Her eyes were getting heavy, though she was trying desperately to stay alert.

“Sunshine, why don’t you get some sleep, and we can talk more after you’ve rested?”

She shook her head adamantly and pointed at me. “Keep going. You still haven’t convinced me that I shouldn’t kick your ass for lying to me.”

I started to laugh but swallowed it and resumed rubbing. “I’d just like to point out that technically, I omitted…” I stopped that train of thought when she scowled, and her expression became livid. I didn’t want to piss her off any more, so I cleared my throat and continued. “After that, there were several opportunities to tell you, but I always talked myself out of it.”

I looked directly into her eyes and let her see the raw emotion on my face so she would know my next words were sincere. “In only two days, you’d grown to mean more to me than anyone ever has, sunshine. I was torn up inside at the thought of you leaving me for a year. I couldn’t stomach the idea of doing anything to lose you forever.”

To my utter relief, her face softened and she smirked. “You wanted me to be your nothing, huh?”

I chuckled at her reference to our talk of pickup lines. Taking a chance, I removed her feet from my lap and scooted closer. When she didn’t get mad or back away, I grabbed her hips and lifted her so she was sitting sideways across my legs.

“Sunshine”—I touched my forehead to hers—“I want you to be my everything.” Autumn gasped and tears filled her eyes, causing me to panic. “Baby? What’s wrong? Did I say something to upset you? Please don’t cry.”

She shook her head and buried her face in my chest. “I’m just emotional,” she said, her voice muffled. “Nothing is wrong. What you said was perfect.” She sniffed and lifted her head, a watery smile on her pretty lips.

I clasped her chin gently and lifted her mouth to mine for a tender kiss. “Do you forgive me, then?” She ran the fingers of one hand through my hair and nodded. Her puffy lips were tempting as hell but when I leaned in for another taste, I ended up kissing the back of her hand. She’d covered her mouth as she released a huge yawn.

“Sorry,” she mumbled sleepily.

“Time for bed,” I announced with a look that made it plain that I wouldn’t put up with argument. Keeping her in my arms, I stood before stalking toward my bedroom. By the time we reached the bed, she was already asleep. Carefully, I kept her cradled against me as I reached down to turn down the duvet. Then I laid her down and removed her shoes. I was going to stop there, but I wanted her to be comfortable, so I also took off her jeans before covering her with the blanket.

I wasn’t tired, but I needed to hold her. So I stripped to my boxers, climbed in on the other side of the bed, and scooted to the center. I pulled her close and shifted her so her back was to my front. A contented sigh escaped my lips as I wrapped her up in my embrace and buried my face in her neck.

Part of me couldn’t believe she was there, in my arms. I’d dreamed of this every night and I was afraid that I would wake up any second. It was then that I realized I still didn’t know what had brought her back to me. It was tempting to wake her and demand answers, but she obviously needed rest and she looked so peaceful, I decided against waking her.

I would find out tomorrow and figure out how to fix whatever the problem was. She was finally back where she belonged, and I wasn’t ever letting go again.