LITMIR.BIZ

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heart thumped so loudly Sloan’s next words were almost blocked out. “But most importantly, she served as the inspiration behind some of my new lingerie pieces. She taught me a very important lesson—the most amazing thing you can do in life is to be true to yourself. Not what people want you to be, the mold they shove you into, but to be what you want in life. That’s the greatest challenge. She encouraged me to create some of the designs you saw tonight, and it’s one of the most fulfilling things I’ve ever done. I hope my father would be proud.”

      He turned, staring straight at the spot where she trembled backstage. Gooseflesh prickled her bare arms as she listened.

      “Please welcome Ziara Divan, my executive assistant at Eternity Designs.”

      When his hand extended toward her, she knew he meant for her to join him. Her mind was numb, yet she forced one leaden foot in front of another. As she stepped from the shadows out into the bright lights and applause, her mind came alive, racing with a dozen questions.

      She ignored them, intent on reaching Sloan’s side to slip her shaking hand into his outstretched one. Leaning down, he buried his head once again in the hair near her ear. “I love you, Ziara.”

      She shook her head, pulling back to stare with wonder into those glittering blue eyes. “What about—” she began in fear.

      Sloan silenced her with one warm finger against her lips.

      She heard the crowd erupt into applause, but she could only lose herself in Sloan’s hot gaze and hope the fears would disappear like mist under the heat of his desire.

      * * *

      Later that night, long after the last guest was gone and the last dress packed away, Sloan found himself enjoying a very different kind of show in the privacy of his luxurious bathroom.

      “Sloan, I really can’t do this.”

      “Ziara, look at me.” Sloan gently cupped her chin, guiding it up so she could watch the two of them in the full-length mirror. He knew she didn’t want to see herself, but he wasn’t going to let her hide. His gaze devoured her sensuous curves in the coppery silk. He probably shouldn’t push her tonight, after everything she’d been through at the show, but part of him needed her to see the truth.

      When he’d said she had been the inspiration for his lingerie pieces, he hadn’t been lying. But this particular piece had been created for her—and him—alone. Like layered veils of transparent copper, burnt-orange, pale yellow and gold, the floor-length sheath both covered and revealed the curves of her body. Tempting him with her exotic beauty, showcasing the woman she was meant to be.

      “Are you your mother?”

      Her sharp intake of breath threatened to strain the zipper, but he wasn’t backing down.

      “Answer me.”

      “No, not even a little bit,” she said, her assurance translating to her body. Her shoulders straightened. Her tension dissolved.

      “Are you a beautiful woman who deserves to wear pretty things? Who wants to see how strong and sexy she is?”

      Swallowing hard, her constrained voice came out a whisper. “Yes.”

      “Then wear this. For me.”

      Sloan let his eyes wander down her reflection. Luscious mounds of plump flesh overflowed the cups. While the effect wasn’t quite pornographic, his body responded by tightening immediately, hard and throbbing. He’d fantasized about Ziara in various pieces of the lingerie he’d designed, but they hadn’t gotten around to her wearing any for him. The reality was more spectacular than he’d imagined.

      Unable to wait any longer, he did the one thing he’d been dying to since he’d seen her backstage earlier that evening—covered her lips with his own.

      She pulled back way too soon. “Please understand, I didn’t do this for any other reason—” He could almost hear her throat close, hear the fear she hid inside.

      He knew of only one way to convince her of his love, to prove how much she deserved to be cherished and respected. That he wanted to be with her for an entire lifetime. Only one way to break through her barriers and convince the woman within.

      He eased his hands up her back. When he buried his hands in her hair, pins clattered to the tile floor. He ran his fingers through the thick silk, searching for any remaining pins, then massaged her scalp until she relaxed, tension easing from her muscles. She melted against him. Tipping her face up to meet his, he was surprised to find silent tears trailing down her cheeks.

      “Oh, baby, don’t cry,” he murmured.

      “I’m not,” she insisted. Swiping a hand at her cheeks, she stared at the moisture on her fingers in disbelief. He barely caught her whisper. “I’ve never cried, not since I was fourteen years old. Until I met you.”

      He guided her gaze up to meet his with a finger under her chin. “There’s no need to, because I believe you. I believe in you.”

      A hopeful expression lit her darkened eyes just as her legs gave out. He clasped her to him, picking her up and striding down the passageway toward his bedroom.

      He laid her on the bed, then explored her slowly, tracing every tantalizing curve through the soft fabric—her shoulders, neck, hips, calves, then back up to her stomach and breasts. Every hitch of her breath, every tremble in her limbs drew him closer, tightening the connection that bound them together—mind, body and soul.

      “I can’t believe how this feels,” she whispered. “How you feel. I never want it to end.”

      “Me, either,” he said before burying his face between her breasts. The round, soft weights tempted him, and were almost as distracting as her dark, tight nipples. Pulling the cups aside, he savored them as much as he did her silent declaration. One day she’d be ready to speak her true feelings. Though he had a reputation for pushing to get what he wanted, this time he’d wait as long as necessary.

      Finally, widening her thighs with his knee, he settled over her.

      “Now I know why having you is so different for me,” he said, lifting his gaze to watch her in the shadowed moonlight.

      “Why?”

      “Because I love you.” With those words, he pressed inside her, savoring the slick heat of her body, the arch of her back and the gasp from her lips.

      No other words were spoken between them as they strove for release, each giving as much as taking until the world exploded around them. Long moments later, Sloan opened his eyes to find Ziara staring at him. He quirked a lazy eyebrow, savoring their still-connected bodies. “What is it?”

      Her words were hushed, as if in reverence to the intimate connection between them. “I can’t believe you believe me, after all she must have said to you. How can you still love me?”

      He thought for a moment, choosing his words with care. “I should have remembered that Vivian has her own kind of ruthlessness. I’d already started to suspect, but never dreamed she’d lose her cool enough to admit her involvement with your mother.” He looked into eyes surrounded by the thickest lashes he’d ever seen. “I never dreamed I’d be stupid enough to fall for it.”

      Trailing his knuckle along the curve of her cheek, he said, “My father was right.”

      “About what?”

      “He said loving my mother was pure magic.”

      He felt her awe in the softening of her body, the tiny smile that visited her lips. As he settled once more within her arms, his hand stroked along her thigh. His mind soaked in her presence. “I love you, Ziara,” he said.

      “I love you, too, Sloan.”

      Joy burst under his skin. He brushed a tender kiss along her temple, pausing a moment to savor her declaration. Tonight truly was magic. He’d fought for what he believed in and won. As he whispered erotic intentions in her

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