A Little Harmless Submission(71)
“Don’t.” The plea almost sounded like a sob. He stepped back then turned her to face him. The tears in her eyes cut at his heart. He couldn’t stand to see her in pain.
He lifted his hand and gently rubbed one tear away with his thumb. “Don’t cry, baby.”
“Please, don’t do this to me. I’m trying to give you what you want. I can’t play these kinds of games.”
He would have laughed from the joy of hearing her misery over leaving him but he knew it would hurt her. He cupped her face and tilted it up to see her. God, she was a mess. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, and her nose was already red. He’d never seen a more beautiful sight.
“I won’t as long as you promise me one thing.”
She sniffed. “What?”
“Don’t leave me. It’ll break my heart.”
Her eyes widened, and she shook her head as she tried to step away from him. He just backed her up against the table.
“I said don’t mess with me.”
“You have to give me some time to get things in order and then we can go to DC.”
“What?” she squawked the question.
“I’ll have to hand in my resignation and get everything in order. Plus, you have to meet my folks.”
“Meet your folks?”
“I think you should meet them before we get married. And they are going to want a ceremony there, so you’re just going to have to put up with that.”
“What wedding?” she asked.
“Ours.”
“Forgive me, but I don’t know if I heard you ask the question.”
“I didn’t ask.”
She wrestled herself away from him. “You don’t want to marry me.”
Her voice was now turning a little hysterical.
“What do you know about that?”
“First, I’m not going back to DC.”
He frowned, confused. “But you said you were.”
She drew in a breath, closing her eyes. He got the impression that she was counting backwards from ten. When she opened her eyes, she was spitting mad.
“I resigned from the FBI. There, you have it. I’m not going back there to live. Yes, to finish out all the paperwork, get rid of my apartment, then I’m moving back to Dad’s place.”
“That works. You can just move in here.”
She shook her head. “I haven’t said I was going to marry you.”
“But you are.”
“You don’t love me. I am not going to settle for anything less ever again.”
She said it with such force, he knew she was serious. He knew what she had been through as a child, what she had missed out on. Still, she was a first rate FBI agent, strong, dependable, and the sweetest woman he’d ever met. The fact that she had that hard outer shell made him love her even more.
“I do love you.”
“No, you don’t.”
That wasn’t the reaction he expected. “Yes, I do.”
She was already shaking her head, and now he was getting pissed.
“I do love you. I may not like you right now, but I love you. Jesus.” He shoved his hand through his hair. Women never ceased to amaze him.
“Tell me one thing that tells me you love me.”
“One thing?”
Rome was still trying to come to terms with the fact that he’d told a woman he loved her for the first time in his life, and she was telling him he didn’t.
“See.” She brushed past him. “You don’t love me. You feel guilty, or maybe you’re feeling bad for acting like a jackass. I get it. Don’t worry. I’m not loveable.”
He caught up with her as she opened the front door. He slammed it shut, and she opened her mouth to yell at him.
“Shut up,” he roared. “God, you’re a pain in the ass, you know that? I tell you I love you, and you want proof. I’m willing to move to a city I detest to be with you, and you don’t see it.”
“I don’t like your tone.”
He ground his teeth as he grabbed her suitcase and tossed it across the floor. It thudded against the wall.
“Why of all the nerve—”
“I said, shut up.” He started pacing. “Why do I love you? Prove it? Woman, you know how to push a man’s buttons, don’t you?”
She opened her mouth, and he shot her a look that had her snapping it shut.
“Don’t even start comparing me to other men. Not your father or any of your old lovers. I love you because you’re strong. So strong you think you have to carry all your problems on your own. You don’t ever want a helping hand.”
“I’m not strong.”
She whispered the comment, and he heard the shame. He stopped pacing and walked to her then. She looked so fragile at the moment he was afraid if he touched her, she would shatter.