The mattress dipped behind her, the weight of his presence pressing into the bed. Their bodies came together, intimate yet unbearably foreign. Charlotte could sense the shift in him, feel it ripple against her skin, uninvited, unwelcome. Her body stiffened as if turned to stone, her words cutting like shards of glass. Julian, is Claire not enough for you?

She knew himor at least she thought she did. He was not the type of man who needed to coerce to get what he wanted. And ...