The Marriage Mistake(56)
Shaking with pent-up emotion, she gave a jerky nod and sat down on the nearest stool. She watched Sawyer drag him away. Why was he doing this? He didn’t want her enough for himself, but refused to give her the opportunity to belong to anyone else. The sick game they’d played over the past few months twisted her in knots.
One song passed. Another. She watched the crowd lose themselves in the music and jumped up from her seat. Screw Max. Screw Sawyer. Screw them all.
She was going to dance.
Carina pushed herself onto the floor and gave herself up to the music.
• • •
Max was used to dealing with a range of emotions. When he was finally old enough to learn the truth about his father, he experienced wrenching anger. Black, coiling fury that twisted his insides and choked him with strength. So, he used his youth to make himself worthy. Enough so that his father would eventually seek him out and claim him as a son. When he failed once again, he experienced the bitter taste of defeat, grief, and a desire for revenge.
Nothing compared to the moment he’d seen Carina in Sawyer’s arms.
He followed Sawyer to his private table, where the scent of Carina still lingered in the air. His fingers flexed and he panted like a boxer going a dozen rounds, refusing to succumb to a knockout. “What are you doing with Carina?”
Sawyer smoothed out the wrinkles in his shirt and gave him a warning glare. “The only reason you were able to touch me was because I let you. Once, my friend. Don’t test me again.”
“You have no right to touch her, and I can kick your ass as well as I did ten years ago.”
A touch of a smile curved Sawyer’s lips. “Ah, I remember that. But I was drunk at the time. You won the woman that time. As usual you didn’t keep her for long. This time, I think you are too late.”
Max paced the room in an effort not to jump him and beat the shit out of his old friend. “Listen up. She’s an innocent, and Michael’s younger sister. If you touch her, he’ll fly here in a heartbeat and make your life a living hell.”
Sawyer waved his hand in dismissal. “I’m not so easily cowed if I see a woman I want. A woman worthy of the fight. Didn’t you give her up? I made sure to question your relationship and she told me several times you are not together.”
“Of course I’m not with her! I’d never betray Michael or fuck up her life. You’re into a different lifestyle, Sawyer, stuff way over her head. She deserves better than you or me. She needs a committed relationship.”
Sawyer studied him for a while, his dark eyes cutting through the bullshit and hitting the core. “Carina never stated she wanted someone long term. In fact, it seems the opposite. You have always enjoyed being the dominant partner in your sex life. Why are my choices so different?”
“It’s not all about power and sex with me. Merda! She is a virgin!”
“Why are you so afraid of her virginity? I think you’re more attached to it than her.” He pointed a finger at him. “Have you really looked at her? As soon as I took control she practically melted in my hands. She has submissive tendencies and will do best with a dominant lover, someone to push her boundaries. I normally like a woman who’s a bit more worldly and experienced, but Carina is bursting at the seams for a sensual experience. She just needs the right man.”
“That man’s not you. You’ve never crossed the line with business before. We have a deal on the table.”
Sawyer walked over to the bar and poured two glasses of cognac. “Carina is no longer working on this deal. She quit.”
“Yes, but she still works for the company.”
He handed him the glass and Max threw back the liquid in one clean shot. “She confessed something to me today. She seems on the verge of making a decision about staying with the company or choosing a different future, but I don’t think she’s ready to acknowledge it yet.” Sawyer grinned. “She’s a spitfire trapped in an innocent shell. Once she finds her passion she’ll be unstoppable.”
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The idea she’d engaged in such an intimate conversation with Sawyer rattled his nerves. He slammed the glass on the table and raked his fingers through his hair. What the hell was happening? He grabbed onto the only thing left to control. “I’ll call Michael tonight if you touch her. He’ll ruin you and I’ll put you in the hospital.”
His friend roared with laughter and only pissed him off further. “Do you even hear yourself? Carina’s not a toy or a possession but a grown woman. But it seems you know that. You just don’t want to think of her like that because then you’d have no more excuses.”