Stepbrother Romance 2 - Consumed: A New Adult Alpha Billionaire Romance by Tawny Taylor

generous? That forgiving? Or was he hiding something?
    Oh God, what should I believe?
    I was afraid to accept his explanation at face value. What if he was just telling me what he thought I wanted to hear?
    Then again, why would he lie? He didn’t need to, if all he was after was sex. He was the one who’d stopped at a kiss tonight. He was the one who was saying he wouldn’t have sex with me again.
    I asked, “Why would you stay married to a woman like that? I don’t know anyone who would put up with it, let alone support her and her lover.”
    “Because in my eyes there’s only one reason to get a divorce.”
    When he didn’t elaborate, I asked, “And what would that be…?” because clearly it wasn’t infidelity.
    “The only reason to divorce is to allow one or both partners to marry someone else. She was content to keep things the way they were, since the father of her child can’t marry her. And I never had any intention of marrying again.”
    “But then you did file for divorce. So what does that mean?”
    He didn’t answer right away. The silence was absolute torture.
    He looked me directly in the eye and said, “Let’s just say lately a certain woman has made me reconsider my thoughts on a lot of things.” He squeezed my hand.
    My heart swelled to at least twice its normal size. The certain woman was me.  Me! Just knowing that the notion of marrying someone else had not only occurred to Kent, but he’d actually taken action to make it possible cast everything in a totally different light. Kent’s feelings for me were strong enough for him to consider something he’d previously dismissed.
    He shifted, turning his body to face me. “But Shayne, I don’t want you to read too much into this. I’m not ready to make any kind of commitment to you, or anyone, for that matter. There’s still a lot we need to deal with. And, to be honest, I’m not sure it’s possible to overcome some of the issues we’ll be facing.”
    “Well, it’s not like I’m expecting a proposal right now,” I told him, smiling, even though my heart was thumping too hard and too fast.
    “I know, but I think you wouldn’t mind hearing some things I can’t say yet.” He cupped my face and looked deep into my eyes. “I can’t tell you I love you, Shayne. As much as you want to hear it. I want you. Desperately. Because I want you to be mine. All mine and only mine. The thought of another man touching you makes me crazy. But that isn’t love. I can’t love you. Not yet. Not until I’ve dealt with some things first. I can’t be the man you deserve until then.”
    I would be lying if I didn’t admit, if only to myself, that I was a tiny bit disappointed by what he said. He didn’t love me. I was crazy in love with him. But I had to respect his honesty. If I didn’t, I risked him lying to me in the future. And, above all else, I needed him to feel he could be honest with me about anything.
    He added, “And I will not take you again. Not until we can belong to one another, if that’s at all possible. It isn’t fair to you.”
    My mood sank even lower.
    With Mom and Dirk’s house in ruins, I would be sleeping in the room next to Kent’s again. Close to him. Too close. Every night, I would ache for his touch. Every hour I would hunger for his kiss.  I would see him. I would smell him. But I couldn’t touch him? It would be pure torture.
    Making matters worse, soon Kent would be free. He was filing divorce so he might possibly, someday, be married again. That was one huge hurdle cleared. One less reason why we couldn’t be together.
    But I couldn’t hug him? Couldn’t kiss him? Couldn’t touch him?
    How would I survive?
    “That isn’t to say I can’t touch you, can’t kiss you, can’t make you scream my name as you come,” he added. “Because I don’t think I can live without your touch, your kiss.”
    Well, that lifted my sagging spirits a little. He wanted me. He longed for me. And he wasn’t going to