Page 112 of Titus

One hand still lightly clutched the edge of the iPad as strands of dark hair spilled across my pillow.

My pillow.

Fuck.

I stared at her longer than I should have. Long enough for something dangerous to settle heavily into my chest again.

Longing. It wasn’t the usual lust I typically experienced. Hell, it wasn’t even possessiveness. It was all building up to something worse if I couldn’t keep these emotions in check.

Because somewhere between Malibu, San Francisco, and her falling asleep on my bed, Catalina Veléz had become the first thing in years to make the empire waiting outside these walls feel insignificant.

And that realization was catastrophic for a man like me.

Carefully, I removed the iPad from her hands and set it on the nightstand. She shifted softly beneath the blanket but didn’t wake as I made sure she was covered.

I should have left the room, gone downstairs, handled emails, and prepared for my trip to Europe in my formal office. I should’ve naturally returned to the version of myself that existed before her.

Instead, I sat quietly on the edge of the bed, watching the woman sleeping in it as the city glowed outside the windows behind us.

God help me. I hadn’t even left yet, and I already missed her.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

The warm Newport sun reflected off the storefront windows at Fashion Island as Amelia walked beside me. I carried our shopping bags while she strolled along, sipping the sparkling juice she’d ordered when I bought my latte.

After weeks of bed rest, Amelia had been going stir-crazy at the house, so after her last check-up, Mickie was pleased with her status and finally gave her permission to take walks—as long as she avoided any stress.

Naturally, Amelia took that to mean we should go shopping.

“You’ve checked your phone about four times in the last ten minutes,” Amelia informed me.

“I’m working.”

“That’s interesting, considering you smiled at the last text,” she said, nudging me.

I adjusted my sunglasses and ignored her rather than arguing, because, unfortunately for me, she wasn’t entirely wrong.

It had been two weeks since I’d seen the side of Titus that I’d unexpectedly developed a desire to be around. I hadn’t realized any of this had gone beyond simply pulling the man out of his billion-dollar world and into mine… until about three days after he left for work overseas.

I shouldn’t have felt so caught up in thoughts of him, but here I fucking was. He’d been gone for two weeks now, shuttling between Monaco, Barcelona, and London to handle business for his company.

I knew this lifestyle was typical for a man like him, so why the hell did I find myself daydreaming about having more days like the ones we spent at the beach before everything was abruptly cut short by his company’s demands?

This was unlike me. I never missed anyone. I was a woman fully consumed by my own life, my own world, and, honestly, that had always felt fucking great. Never in my life had I spent quiet evenings thinking about a man.

I fought it off well at first, but with business slowing down recently, distractions became harder to come by. And what Amelia and I were doing right now was definitely meant to be one of those distractions.

Unfortunately, even this wasn’t helping because Titus had somehow worked his way into my world through random texts. I either woke up to one or got one in the middle of the day—like just now.

The scary part? I found myself looking forward to it… to hearing from him and wondering what he’d say next.

My phone vibrated inside my purse again.

Amelia immediately looked over. “Is that him again?”

I ignored her as I pulled out my phone.

Titus: Enjoy the day with your sister. I only wish I could be with you instead of at dinner again with investors. -T.H.