“No. I’ll read them after you leave,” he said, a bit curt. “I’ve burdened you enough. I just wanted you to know that I’m not going to run from this anymore.”

“You’re not burdening me, Reese.” She wanted to be someone he could count on. Someone he could share everything with. But now, just when they were on the brink of understanding each other, their time had run out. “I want to know what you’re going through and help if I can. Even if we can’t be together anymore.”

“I won’t subject you to more of my problems,” he said flatly. “You are moving on to a new chapter in your life, and that’s … as it should be. But I will say this: If you’re ever in trouble, you know where to find me.”

Sophie’s eyes stung with unshed tears and she glanced at the clock on the mantel, desperate to make the hands stop moving. In less than an hour, she’d be in the hackney cab on her way to Fiona’s house. And if she ever saw Reese again, it would likely be from a distance or in a crowd of people. She’d never have him to herself again. Not like this.

“Come back to bed,” she whispered in his ear.

He reached up and cradled her head in his palm. “The morning’s almost over, and I was going to bring you breakfast.”

“I don’t want to eat,” she said, running a hand over the smooth planes of his chest. “I want to make love with you.”

He hauled her onto his lap and searched her face, his eyes dark with desire and regret. “How can we, when we’re about to say goodbye?”

“I can think of no better way to spend the minutes we have left,” she said.

For several seconds he sat there frozen, his expression unreadable. Then he stood, hoisting her in her arms, and strode toward the bed. As he laid her on the mattress, his arm muscles flexed, and his hair hung low over his brow. He looked gorgeous and dangerous, like an angel of darkness.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked.

She tugged at the sheet, slowly unwrapping herself. “I’ve never been surer.”

Reese ignored the warning signals in his head—the ones that said he should safeguard Sophie’s heart, and his.

He pulled her close and ran his hands over her body, savoring every sweet indentation and curve. When she threaded her fingers through his hair, he ground his hips against hers. She wrapped her legs around his and slid against his cock, driving him wild. Everything about her was perfect, from the satisfied sounds in her throat to the intoxicating taste of her skin to the unchecked passion in her eyes.