Shopping for a Billionaire 3 Read Online Free PDF Page A

ask.
    Without answering, he climbs on the bed beside me.
    “ I, uh, I don’t want to get pee on you.”  
    “Isn’t it a little early in our relationship for golden showers?”
    I sputter, then gag, then cough for too long. I think I damn near fill the bag. “No, I mean…” I gesture to my pee bag.
    “Oh. That.” With a flick of his wrist he moves a tube just so. I’m on my side, so we spoon, and whatever he did makes it all work somehow . His hot thighs press against my backside, arm reaching over my waist and pulling me in. His touch is tender and careful, gentle and safe.
    “Or do you have a hospital bed sex fetish?” I ask, yawning. I mean, really—hot, rich guy who saved my life and he’s cuddling with me while I have a tube shoved up my urethra and I’m peeing in front of him? Only real in Fantasyland. Or Fetishland.  
    He lets out a low sound of amusement. “Believe me, of all the fetishes I could have, this is the last one on earth I’d want right now.” I must have given him my yawn, because he joins in.
    “You must be exhausted, too,” I whisper. “I pumped you full of epinephrine when I injected you. I’m so sorry.”
    He hugs me tighter. “It was an accident. And it’s been, what—most of a day now. ”
    How can he be so forgiving? Steve would have ranted for days about my injuring him, as if it had been a character flaw of mine. Declan takes my k lutzy mistake in stride.
    I pull away and half- turn to face him. “Accident or no accident, I put you in danger.” I feel stupid and confused. The bed is small but his warmth feels so good.
    “All I have to do is process out some extra adrenaline. My organs can take it. You came damn close to…” He won’t say the word, so I do.
    “Dying.”
    Tension fills his entire body from knees to hands. “Yes. Andrew came close when we were kids after a wasp sting . The whole family carries extra Benadryl at all times, and he has two E pi P ens, too. It’s not something you take lightly, and if I’d have known about your allergy, I never would have…” He sighs. “ I would have made different decisions.”  
    “That’s my fault.” My voice cracks. “I don’t like to let it limit my life, and when you asked me for an outdoor date I didn’t want to be—” I pause and yawn again. The room is getting dimmer and I hear the beeping from various machines down the hall. Machines that monitor heart rates and IV flow, that keep people safe and alive.
    “What?” he asks gently.
    “ That girl. That weird girl who is sensitive and who lives a restricted life. Who imposes that on you.” It occurs to me that maybe Steve didn’t like picnics because of my bee allergy. That makes me frown. Perhaps he thought about me with more care than I realized. I seize inside, even though I do not have the energy for any of this.  
    Why am I thinking about Steve as Declan’s scent fills me like the perfect prescription for healing?
    “You wouldn’t impose anything on me. I’m a grown man who can make his own choice s.” His voice is gruff. I don’t feel vulnerable, though. This is an open give-and-take. I’m his equal. His very tired equal.  
    I yawn again. “Then I guess I was worried I’d give you one more reason not to choose me.” I squeeze his hand and he squeezes right back.
    “Why?”
    “Because this is unreal.”
    He shifts against me, the rough denim of his jeans sliding against my bare legs. Sinking into the comfort of him, I sigh, a long, luxurious sound that feels like an endless exhale. As if I’ve been holding my breath for a year and can finally let it go. If you can’t tell someone how you feel right after they’ve saved your life, when can you? Besides, if he doesn’t return the feelings I can blame delirium on my confession.  
    “It is for me, too, Shannon,” he says softly, his breath sending strands of hair against my cheek.
    Oh! He’s joining in. This is new territory.  
    He continues. “I can’t believe that I