Free The Billionaire Bargain (Millionaire's Club) by Barb Han Page B

elbows into her chest and rubbed the goose bumps from her arms. “I was six when he turned me over to CPS.”
    Anger flashed across his features. “Why would any man do that?”
    “He was injured. Couldn’t work. We were starving.” She didn’t expect a man like Daegen to understand the hopelessness that came with not being able to provide for a family.
    He flattened her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. “Do you know what happened to him?”
    She shrugged. “We had no other family to help us out. He said I was getting too skinny.” A beat later came, “I’m not sure who cried harder the day he turned me over to child welfare services.”
    “What happened to you?”
    Pain ripped through her chest like a serrated knife. “I was sent to a farm to live with foster parents. There were half a dozen of us sleeping in the same room. They took in kids to keep the farm going. Guess we were cheap labor.”
    Rage flashed across his features for an instant. His expression was otherwise kind, understanding, and not at all what Rae expected. Her heart warmed.
    “That explains a lot.”
    She watched him intently. “What does that mean?”
    “Why you seemed so focused on your work before. I’d never met anyone so fiercely determined to make it on her own.”
    The words were a reminder of how much she’d failed. They stung. “And here I am depending on you.”
    “Accepting help when needed doesn’t make a person weak.”
    She lifted her brow. “When was the last time you counted on someone else?”
    He locked onto her gaze. “Today.”
    The cloak of darkness that had enveloped her heart far too long released its grip. A little more light. A little more warmth.
    She took a deep breath and continued. “By the time I found my father again, he was dying in a low-budget government run home.”
    “But you saved him.”
    An avalanche of emotion flooded her. “I got him this far.”
    “I sure as hell hope he’s grateful.”
    A puff of air burst from her lips. “He doesn’t even want to live.”
    “Why would you think that?”
    “I don’t. I know. He doesn’t have to die. He’s given up.”
    Daegen’s lips drew together thoughtfully. “He isn’t going to want to live any more if he knows how tired you are. He’s most likely blaming himself. If you look exhausted, he’ll feel even worse.”
    Stunned, her mind spun and she needed a chance to carefully process Daegen’s words. “I-I can’t think about myself right now.”
    “When do you ever?”
    Panic gripped her. This was too much, too fast. She gathered herself, sitting up. She had to put up a wall between them if she were going to survive. Sharing as much as she had felt about as comfortable as opening a vein and bleeding out. What made matters worse was how close she felt to him. Dangerous emotions.
    She couldn’t afford to lower her defenses.
    She’d been foolish to think any real happiness could last. She would not leave herself vulnerable to that kind of pain again. Because she could scarcely breathe as it was.
    Rae craved the comfort of home.
    Only where was that?
    Because she’d come dangerously close to believing home was wherever Daegen was. And how ridiculous was that?
    Daegen was logic personified. He’d taken an emotional blow. He reached out to her and shared a piece of himself for the first time. It wouldn’t be long before his sensible mind took over and he closed himself off again.
    And there she’d be...her heart wound tight in a dark blanket.
    Everyone leaves.
    It was too easy to forget the fact when staring into those dark exotic eyes. Eyes that were too dark to be brown and weren’t quite black.

Chapter Seven
    “Do you want food? You didn’t eat much at lunch,” Daegen said. His concern was evident in the lines on his face.
    “I can try.” Knowing her father was on his way and receiving the best possible care settled her nerves. She was surprisingly hungry. She should work, but campaign files were the last thing she could