When I returned to the bedroom, he was sitting on the bed, two glasses of alcohol in his hand, his gaze focused on the floor. He passed me my glass, then patted the space next to him. “Sit down.”
Under different circumstances I wouldn’t have followed his command, but there was something in his voice—an urgency—that made me listen to him.
That, and the fact that the room had no other sitting opportunities.
It was just the bed—a bitter reminder of our time together.
At last, I sat down, watching him. In the silence of the room, he took a few sips from his glass, his gaze avoiding me.
“I admit I wasn’t always truthful,” he started. “I admit a few wrong things.”
“You married me to get my inheritance,” I said coldly.
“I can’t deny that,” he whispered and closed his eyes. “But it needed to be done.”
Tears began to sting my eyes, and bitterness rose in my chest. Somewhere at the brink of my mind, I realized that everything I had feared was true. He had been after my inheritance all along. He had used me. And now he was talking more bullshit.
“Wow. You’re an asshole.” I almost choked on my voice. “You don’t even try to claim otherwise.”
“I told you a few lies, Laurie. But not everything I told you was a lie.” He took a deep breath. I could see that he was struggling with something.
“Yeah?” My eyebrows shot up, my voice dripping with bitterness. “Like what?”
“Like the fact that I’d never harm you.”
“Really?” I laughed. “Liar.”
He lifted the glass to his lips, but didn’t take a sip. “It’s not a lie.” He frowned. “I really like you.”
“Liar.”
He turned his head to me, his eyes meeting mine. “Not a liar enough to know that I’m attracted to you. I’m also not afraid to show it, as opposed to you.”
“Liar,” I whispered again. “And I’m not attracted to you, which is why there’s nothing to show.”
His eyes narrowed on me. “Now, who’s the liar here? I know for a fact you’re attracted to me.”
His ego was taking new proportions.
“How would you even know that?” That he thought so made me angry.
“I can feel it.” His fingers brushed my neck. His touch, warm against my still damp skin, felt electrifying. “The moment I met you, I knew something would happen between us. Trust me, I didn’t mean for this to happen. I was never supposed to fall for you, Laurie.”
His words caught me off guard, and my heart gave another almighty thud.
He was playing with me. He had to be because Chase Wright couldn’t possibly have feelings for me.
And yet, for a moment, I wished I could believe him.
“I can’t say I’m sorry for what I did,” he whispered. “I can’t even say I’m sorry for being attracted to you or for fucking you. I know you have many questions, and I’ll be more than happy to explain.”
I closed my eyes. My head was spinning with the same thought.
He had married me for my inheritance.
“I can’t,” I whispered.
“I’m still the same man, Laurie.”
I let out a sarcastic laugh. “No, you’re not. You’re someone I don’t know.”
“Meet me in an hour, and I’ll show you who I really am. I’ll explain everything.”
“Even if I let you explain, you really think I’d believe you?”
“Yes,” he said quietly. “You trusted me with your virginity, and now I ask that you trust me once more.”
“You compare my virginity to your deception?” I laughed. “Nice try.”
“Please, Laurie.” He looked at me. “We still have a contract. I know you have feelings for me.”
I rolled my eyes. “You should really have been an actor, Chase, or should I call you Kade?”
He gave an exasperated sigh and stood. “I already told you my name’s Chase.”
“No, it isn’t.”
He cocked his head, his tone low and dangerous. “How would you know?”
“Because I do. I’d rather trust my instincts than you.”
“Well, you have your information wrong,” Chase said coolly.
My mouth clamped shut. I eyed him cagily, my thoughts racing.
If Chase was his real name, then that could mean that things might still be the same between us. He was still my husband. We were legally married.
“Look, Laurie. I owe you an explanation,” Chase said, interrupting my disturbing trail of thoughts. “It’s one of the reasons I came here to see you.”
I shook my head as I remembered my resolve. “I’m not interested in your reasons. What matters to me is that you lied to get close to me. That was all I needed to know.”
He frowned and something flashed across his handsome face. “Aren’t you the slightest bit interested?”
“I am. In fact, I’m very curious,” I said. There was no point in denying the obvious. “I’m just not interested in hearing more of your lies. Seeing that you lied once, how can I possibly trust your words again?”
“You have no guarantees. You’ll just have to believe me.”
Nodding, I smiled grimly. “That’s true, but I’m not willing to do that. So stop asking me to meet with you. Because I won’t.” My voice broke and I cleared my throat to get rid of the lump lodged inside. “I won’t get involved with you again.”
“I don’t believe you.”
I laughed, the bitterness creeping into my tone even though I didn’t want him to see just how affected I was. Somewhere at the back of my mind, countless alarm bells went off, and bitterness settled in my chest.
I got up, my thoughts racing, my heart breaking as I spoke the words I had prepared.
“It was just sex, Chase,” I whispered. “We fucked. We had a good time. And then I left. People do it all the time. Get over it. Maybe last night I was ready to repeat the experience with someone else, and the guy just wasn’t that into me.” I shrugged as I stared him down.
His blue eyes turned into icicles. If looks could kill, he’d have me pinned to the ground fighting for my life.
“I know you. You might be a lot of things, but you’re not that.” His voice came low, definite. I had never seen him so angry. Then again, his anger was no match for mine.
What the fuck was ‘a lot of things’ supposed to mean? And why not ‘that?’
How could I fight against his overconfidence when it became a lost battle the moment I let him be my first?
How could I fight with myself when my feelings pushed me to do things my mind didn’t want to?
“You don’t know me at all, Chase,” I reminded him.
“I believe I know you better than anyone else,” he said coldly. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but when we were stuck in that elevator, you told me secrets you’ve never told anyone else.”
My jaw dropped, and then closed again.
My whole being was on fire, twisting, shaking, as I watched him stand.
“Get dressed, Laurie. I’ll pick you up for lunch in an hour.”
An order. Cool. Composed.
Fuck it. He was hot as hell.
I stared at him. “Why do you think I’d ever do what you say?”
“Because you want to get rid of me.” That rendered me silent. “I’ll only leave after telling you why I did what I did. Beside bailing your pretty little ass out of jail, it’s the least I can do for you.”
“I didn’t need your pity. I’d have—”
“Stop being difficult,” he cut me off and wrapped his arms around me, pressing me against him, so close I could barely breathe. “I owe you an explanation, okay? So you’ll get one. And then, only then, I’m going to leave because that’s what you want. Deal?”
I drew a sharp breath, ready for another snarky reply, but no words came out.
His words had affected me in more ways than I cared to admit.
No, scratch that.
His presence pulled at all my strings. Everything about him did. His gaze. His breath on my skin. The way his eyes seemed to brush over my lips, leaving them tingly and in dire want of his kiss.
Cradled in his arms, with my head leaned back to glance all the way up into his eyes, I could feel the heat eradicating from his body. I could feel the layers of my anger melting and my resolve slowly fading.
His gentle touch on my arm was a direct opposite to the cold stare he gave me.
“So, I gather I have no choice?” I asked.
“No.”
I sighed, my chest strangely heavy, my voice choked. “Just answer me this: Who are you? Is Chase really your real name?”
Hesitating, he let go of me, his blue eyes shimmering like an ocean in the morning sun focused on me. He was fighting with himself, probably wondering whether to disclose the truth or how much to tell me.
“Not here, Laurie,” he whispered. “I’ll pick you up at twelve. And wear the red dress.” The tone of his voice was strangely soothing and built an unnerving contradiction to the grip he still had on my upper arm. And then he let go of me and walked out, closing the door behind him.
As if I was the one intruding on him.
For a long time, I stood frozen to the spot, my mind processing.
The truth was, I wanted to know. I wanted more. And yes, my pride and ego were standing in my way, as well as my fear that giving in could mean I might lose myself again—that I might get lost in Chase’s eyes, in his being, in everything he had to offer.