The Man Who Has No Love (Soulless 3)

“Don’t say that.”

“What?”

“That I’m brilliant.”

“But you are brilliant, Deacon.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to hear you say it.”

She cocked an eyebrow.

“I like that you like me for me…” When we were alone, she never asked me about topics I didn’t want to talk about, like my research, my aptitude scores, stuff like that. We talked about each other—or didn’t talk at all.

“Deacon, I’d be lying if I said your brilliance wasn’t a huge turn-on.”

My eyes narrowed on her face a little more.

“Not that it means everything, but it’s definitely sexy.”

Instead of being annoyed by her admission, I actually liked it. I wanted to know anytime Cleo was aroused by me, what she liked and didn’t like.

Her hand moved to my arm, and she gave me a gentle squeeze. “Obviously, you’re hot, so…that’s a turn-on too. But your soul is what turns me on the most.” Her hand glided to my chest, right over my heart.

Anytime she touched me, I felt hot everywhere. But right now, she made me feel something else.

“Because your soul is so pure.” She dropped her hand and stared at me for a while, the sincerity in her eyes.

Derek’s voice came to us. “Okay, I’m getting this one.” He ran to us, carrying his backpack.

It was one of the few times when I wished my son would stay away. I yanked my gaze off her face and looked down at my boy.

He held up the backpack. “What do you think?”

It had a picture of a grizzly bear in the wilderness. “It’s nice, Derek.”

“It’s like the cabin,” he said. “I mean, we haven’t seen a bear, but maybe soon!” He ran off again, expecting me to hold on to his stuff as he collected it.

I hooked the backpack over my shoulder and turned back to Cleo.

“I hope for all our sakes we don’t see a bear—”

My hand cupped the back of her head, and I pulled her in for a kiss, my lips striking her warm mouth like an asteroid hitting the sun. I parted her lips and kissed her like we were alone together, giving her a bit of my tongue, a bit of my warm breath.

Instead of pushing me away, her arms circled my waist, and she kissed me just as hard, forgetting about Derek as he picked out the things he wanted.

I had to force myself to pull away, to remove my hand from her hair and step back. But the look in her eyes matched what I felt inside, the need, the desire. I’d never intended to make out with Cleo in front of Derek, but I did want Derek to see the way a man treated a woman, the way he showed affection, the way he took care of her. Because my marriage to Valerie didn’t show any positive qualities. He had no idea what a happy relationship looked like, what kind of woman to look for, and how to treat the woman he did find. My father loved my mother with everything he had, even when he didn’t say it or show it. It was obvious in the subtle things he did around the house, when we were out to dinner, all kinds of things. I wanted Derek to see that too.

Cleo looked at me like she wanted the kiss to linger, but she let the touch dissipate.

I dropped my hand. “What were you saying?”

“Uh…” She shook her head. “I can’t remember.”

Derek came back to us. “Dad, what’s this?”

I looked down at the silver instrument. “A compass.”

“No, it’s not.” He held it flat, like he was trying to find north.

I chuckled. “A geometry compass. You don’t need that right now. Put it back.”

“Alright.” He walked back to put it away.

I turned back to Cleo. “Do you like the beach?”

She stared at me blankly, like she didn’t understand the question. “In general, yes. But I can’t remember the last time I went to any beach, to be honest. Sometimes, I plan parties in the Hamptons for my clients and I can see the water, but my feet never hit the sand.”

“I was thinking of buying a beach house in the Hamptons. Derek had a lot of fun last time we went.”

She tilted her slightly. “It’s a great idea, especially as an investment. But honestly, I think Derek prefers the cabin. It’s different, unique, something he’s not used to.”

“And what do you prefer?”

She stared at me blankly.

“It’s only forty-five minutes away, so it’s much closer. It’d be easy for us to get away.”

Both of her eyebrows rose. “As romantic as that sounds, I’m happy just having you in my apartment. All I need is a bed…and the occasional burrito.”

I chuckled slightly. “I thought it would be nice to have two places.”

“Well, my heart is already pretty soft for the cabin…”

As was mine. “Do you know of any properties available?”