Broken Illusions (His Agenda Volume 3) by Dori Lavelle Read Free Book Online Page A

myself to shut off the spotlight shining on the past and focus on Dustin and our romantic night ahead.
    “You hardly ate anything. Are you okay?” he asked, sipping his water.
    I smiled and looked down at my full plate. “I’m just not hungry. I ate a big meal at my meeting.”
    He leaned forward and took my hands. “I can tell when you’re lying, you know.”
    I sighed and squeezed his hands. “You know me too well.” I paused and looked around the almost empty restaurant. Many people were already at the lake. “It’s hard not to think about it.”
    “It will always be hard. Just live your life. One day it will be less painful.” He winked. “Take it one step at a time. Start with being here with me.”
    “I am. I promise. No more talk of the past. At least not tonight.”
    This was exactly why I couldn’t tell Dustin about all the weird things that had been happening around me in the past few weeks. His tone of voice told me everything. He wanted to be there for me, to help me heal, but he also wanted us to move on from the pain. I was finding it hard to let go of that pain and all my fears, but I couldn’t tell him that. I didn’t want him to worry, didn’t want to put our lives on hold. 
    Still, something was eating at me. I had no idea what. It was more than pain, more than fear. It was a deep-rooted dread that something was not right, the kind of knot in the stomach that never goes away, no matter what. Even after two years, I was still waiting for the other shoe to drop.
    “We better get going. We only have two hours before the sprinkling of the petals.” I lifted my napkin from my lap and placed it on the table.
    “I think you’re right.” Dustin’s gaze moved from my eyes to my breasts. “Have I told you how fuckin’ sexy you look tonight?”
    “About a hundred times.” I often preferred my comfortable jeans and t-shirts, but tonight I’d wanted to look nice for him.
    I wore a peach lace cocktail dress with a plunging neckline that didn’t leave much to the imagination. He had bought the dress for me when he’d traveled to Milan last year. Instead of heels, I wore cute matching ballerinas, to make walking around at the lake a little easier.
    “Well, you better get used to it because you’re going to hear it a hundred more times.” He waved for the waiter and paid for our meal. Even though Dustin was a billionaire, I still felt bad for wasting my food, so I asked for a to-go box. Dustin raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything.
    The waiter bowed to Dustin as we left. As we were about to step out of the rotating doors of the hotel, Dustin pulled me back into the lobby and told me to wait as he talked to one of the receptionists.
    “I want to show you something,” he said when he returned to me. He took my arm and led me to the elevators.
    “Dustin, we’ll be late. Your mother is waiting for us to pick her up.”
    “Two hours is a long time. If we’re late, we’ll just take the jet there. Of course, it would be almost impossible to find a place to land.” He laughed and wrapped a hand around my waist, pulling me close to his side.
    “You’re a silly man. What do you want to show me anyway?”
    The elevator arrived and he guided me inside. “You’ll see soon enough.”
    The doors slid shut and the buttons of the individual floors flashed green one after the other, and then the elevator stopped. It took a moment for me to realize that Dustin was the one who had halted it.
    He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. “I booked us a room for ten minutes, but I can’t wait to get there. You’re too hot. I need to have you right this minute. If you’ll have me.”
    “Oh my God. You are insatiable, Mr. Brannon.” Even as I said the words, I was kissing him hard on the lips.
    Within moments he was pulling my dress up my legs and pushing my lacy panties down my thighs. My breath caught in my throat and my pulse raced as he pushed me against the cool mirrors of the