Page 33

But as soon as she opened that door again, he slammed it right back. And then he turned her to face him again.

As soon as she looked into those caring, kind, deep blue eyes she’d come to love so much, she broke down. It was too much for her. She was drowning in pain.

William lifted Joy into his arms and carried her to his bed. She couldn’t even protest, although he knew she wanted to. But he had to make it right. He laid down on his back, with her on top of him, and allowed her to sob in his arms.

The agony of just hearing this sweet, upbeat, effervescent young lady crying as if her world was crashing down, emasculated him. He felt lower than the lowest thing crawling at just the thought of the pain his reckless action was putting her through. She could not stop sobbing.

He closed his eyes. His heart was panged with every sob. Because he knew it was all his fault. He knew he had managed to do the one thing he promised her he’d never do to her. But he did it to her anyway.

He hurt her.

Deeply.

His actions, and the fact that his brand-new wife had to see him online making love to another woman for all the world to see, and the fact that the woman was married to his client at the time, and the fact that his actions with that other woman was going to cause a lot of pain and embarrassment for a lot of people who had their hopes and dreams tied to her, shattered him. Neither woman deserved this. His innocent Joy deserved it least of all.

He closed his eyes as tightly as he could. But when he opened them again, the pain was still there. It wasn’t going anywhere.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Two hours later, they both were barely awake, but William was deep inside of her. She was still on top of him, and they both were naked.

He was moving so slowly inside of her that it felt like he was branding her with his overpowering body, his heart and his soul, with every stroke he made. She felt as if she was losing herself inside of him; as if she was giving in against her better judgment, but it felt too good for her to stop it.

She was laying in his arms looking at their clothes strewn all over the bedroom. She remembered when she stopped sobbing and how William kissed her to keep her calmed down. She remembered how that kiss turned into more affectionate kissing. When she didn’t resist him, she remembered he was undressing her, and then himself, and then he was prepping her, and then entering her.

It was the easiness that kept it going for so long. It felt so easy and so relaxing that Joy remembered dozing off. But she knew that wasn’t an accident. William knew how to calm her down. He knew what it took. And the way he was making love to her, that ploddingly slow, invigorating way without being too passionate too soon, always worked. And when she was no longer dozing but enjoying every second of that feeling, she realized it was working to perfection.

William was holding her, and was deep inside of her. She felt like this was the man she married. This was the man she wanted. This was the man she loved.

And even when they came, it wasn’t their usual electrifying cum. It was as easy as the buildup. But it felt just as intense.

And then, because it worked like a charm, she fell asleep in his arms.

They slept all night.

But early that next morning, Joy finally woke up.

She was amazed she had slept through the night, but she knew it wasn’t just because of that great way William made love to her. It was also because of the enormous emotional baggage that weighed her down so much that it knocked her to the ground.

Because she woke up still in anguish.

She woke up still remembering every single thing about the night before.

And she still couldn’t bear it.

She woke up.

She leaned up and looked at William. He looked as if he was at peace with the world as he slept. He was still on his back. With her still locked in his arms. As if they were this loving couple still in their honeymoon phase.

Only the honeymoon was over. And his arms around her didn’t feel comforting at all. She felt trapped. She felt stuck to a man that could only bring her more heartache. So much so that she had to get out of there. She didn’t know where she was going. She just had to go.

She eased out of his arms, careful not to awaken him, and began dressing. As soon as she put on all of her clothes, she picked up her shoes and began to head for the exit. But she was only halfway to the door when William woke up.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he knew what he was seeing. Joy was dressed and had her shoes in her hand. She was easing out the door. She was leaving him.

“Joynetta?”

She stopped in her tracks.