A Forbidden Love (Eligible Billionaires Book 9) by Maggie Marr Page B

against his body and, oh yes, he was hard. He was always hard for her. His lips found her neck.
    “Great ocean view,” he murmured. “Steps from the beach. Rent can’t be beat.”
    Her heart fluttered. Was he suggesting that she stay with him?
    “Come stay at my place.” He spun her around in his arms to face him. The sparkle in his brilliant blue eyes made her want to blurt out “yes,” and yet…
    “Really? Doesn’t it seem—” She glanced away.
    “Fast?” He lifted her chin and stared into her eyes. “Uh, yeah, I guess it should. It probably would, with anyone other than you.”
    He pressed his lips to hers, and any reservations or fears Ilana had melted in that one delicious kiss. Sure, she could pack her things and pretend that she’d go stay at Amelia’s house, just like she could pretend that she’d been staying at her own apartment the last two weeks. But she hadn’t. She’d spent absolutely zero nights in her own place since the first time she and Devon had made love.
    He pulled back. “Can I take that as a yes?”
    Ilana laughed, nodding. “I love the guy who runs the place. He’s pretty easy to get along with.”
    “Yeah? And I love my new roomie.” Devon’s arms tightened around Ilana as he kissed her again.
    The amount of time didn’t matter because the relationship growing between them felt one hundred percent right. But fear still gnawed at her heart. She wanted to give him all of herself, her love and her future. But after seeing what her mother had gone through, could she really believe a man’s love could be trusted?

 
Chapter 7
     
    By the time she had turned the lock on the front door behind their last students on Friday of the Center’s opening week, Ilana could barely remember her name. Fatigue flowed through her body. Two more days and they’d have Monday off. She loved the Center and the kids and the enthusiasm the community had for them—she did—but she was exhausted. She stood at the kitchen counter laying out last batch of just-washed paintbrushes from the day’s classes. Her ankle throbbed. She arranged the brushes on a layer of paper towels to dry and then limped into the art room to double-check that she’d put everything away.
    Amelia called out from the front room, “I’m going to head home and get ready for tonight.”
    Ilana jumped, startled. “What’re you still doing here? I thought you left an hour ago?”
    “Wanted to hang some of these pictures first.” Amelia ducked her head into the art room and beckoned Ilana toward the front room. “Come see.”
    Ilana followed her friend. “Oh my gosh!” She clasped her hands together and raised them to her lips. Amelia had covered the front windows with the kids’ stained–glass tissue paper art projects. The setting sun beamed through the translucent, multicolored paper, and the front room blazed with rainbows of color.
    “See the butterfly?” Amelia nodded toward a purple-and-red-winged butterfly. “That’s Jake’s.”
    “So beautiful!” Small for his age and speech delayed, Jake had been brought to the Center by his foster mother, who frankly confided to Ilana and Amelia that every doctor she had seen believed he would never speak or read. But there was so much going on behind Jake’s eyes. He said so much with his smile and the emotion that traveled through his gaze. Now this. This brilliant beautiful butterfly with its red and purple wings. “Absolutely beautiful.”
    “I told him that. You should’ve seen the look on his face.”
    Ilana could picture Jakes smile. She’d already, in one week, seen joy spread across his face a half dozen times. He was adorable and sweet and exactly the kind of kid the Center was meant to serve. His foster mom had thanked them over and over again, because Ilana and Amelia had made Jake their first full-scholarship student.
    “Your flowers still look good.”
    Heat flamed Ilana’s cheeks. The huge bouquet of peonies and freesia Devon had sent on opening