Perfect Fit by Naima Simone Read Free Book Online

him. Oh God , she prayed. Thank you, thank you.
    Grinning, she leaned back far enough to plant a huge, hard kiss on his smiling mouth.
    “I take it you’re happy,” he drawled.
    Rowyn mimicked the gesture she’d come to think of as his trademark and lifted her brow. “What gave you that idea?”
    He chuckled and swept a caress down her spine. “I don’t know. The wild ecstatic shriek, the half nelson on my neck, the kiss…”
    “I don’t shriek,” she informed him, but ruined the dignified denial with another hug. Happiness. It filled her to capacity, invading her lungs, replacing her breath. “The necklace. Can you mail it to me?”
    “I can do better than that.” He hitched his hip up and removed a slender cell phone from the front pocket of his pants. With one hand he tapped in a number and pressed the small phone to his ear. “Hey, Valerie,” he greeted. “I need a favor.” Minutes later he ended his call, having instructed his assistant to pick up the jewelry from his house and overnight it that day.
    “Thank you,” Rowyn said, voice hoarse. So many words— Thank you for caring. Thank you for holding me while I cried. Thank you for finding that piece of my heart and protecting it —jumbled in her head. And none of them could adequately express what he’d done for her that day. So she bowed her head, pressed her face to the warm crook of his neck, and whispered it again. “Thank you.”
    Once more, he tucked her into the haven of his body, his arms a harbor that shouldn’t have felt so safe, that shouldn’t have offered protection.
    It would be the height of stupidity to get used to Darius’s arms around her.
    She’d never considered herself a foolish woman… Guess it really was a day for firsts.
     
     
    Chapter Five
     

     
    “However, this evening she lost track of time and left only at the final stroke of midnight…”— Cinderella
    “I feel like Pretty Woman …but without the whole prostitute thing.”—Rowyn Jeong
     
    “Just give me about ten minutes to change clothes. Then we’ll swing by your house so you can change, and then we can head out to dinner.” Darius glanced over his shoulder as he swiped the magnetized key card through the electronic door slot. Reassured by Rowyn’s nod, he pressed the handle down and pushed the hotel room door open.
    They moved into the large and elegantly appointed living room. Boston’s skyline at sunset presented a vibrant, gorgeous backdrop through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Darius crossed to one of the tables that flanked the couch and tugged the chain on the lamp to illuminate the shadowed interior. He turned to her, and his breath caught in his throat. Rowyn had that effect on him; she had since the moment he’d laid eyes on her months ago, sitting alone down the length of the nightclub bar.
    Thinking back on how they’d met and spent their first—and only—night together, Darius could imagine why Rowyn believed he picked up women and often indulged in one-night stands. He wasn’t a saint—his halo would’ve been repossessed a long time ago—but it had been years since he’d done anything so promiscuous. Rowyn had been the exception to the rule. And their time together would have exceeded more than a few hours if she had remained in his bed…remained with him.
    No, he hadn’t fallen in love with her that night, he admitted, studying the straight line of her spine as she crossed the room to stand before the window. But images of her, of those sex-filled hours, lingered in his head, never fading. And when he saw her the evening before in her parents’ home, an inexplicable joy had seized hold of his chest. He felt as if he’d found something precious that had been lost to him.
    Lost. It described the heartbroken woman he’d held in his arms a few hours ago. Jesus. The ragged cries had ripped his heart from his chest. Without conscious thought, he rubbed his breastbone and imagined he could massage away the echo of pain