Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101622 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101622 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Opening the door a little wider, she says, “I could but . . .” She starts taking off the pair of boxers she borrowed from me.
“Don’t, Delaney.” I hold my hand out as if she needs the visual to back my request. “You need to go.”
The boxers drop to the floor and then she starts on the Harvard sweatshirt she stole from me. It’s one of many things she’s taken without my permission, including my . . . I won’t go there. Those emotions aren’t real. She’s proven me right like everyone else.
“What are you doing?” I ask, my voice lower, quieter in the candlelit space.
She whispers, “We didn’t finish the movie.”
“You’ve seen the movie just like I have. There are no happy endings.”
“This isn’t the end.” She drops the sweatshirt to the floor. “Not our ending.”
My eyes roam over her skin and the bare parts of her body she’s revealed. That I’m hard for her isn’t a surprise. She’s fucking stunning like I knew she would be. But that doesn’t change what happened. It’s not something that can be taken back. I inhale and release it on a sigh. “I’m not giving you the money. I’m not a fool who will cave under seduction.”
“Seduction?” The word causes her to cringe. “Can we not use that term? It’s dated, and it’s not what I’m doing.”
“Sure looks like it.”
I catch a roll of her eyes, but she course corrects quickly. This is the first time it doesn’t bother me. I barely noticed since her tits are displayed for me. She says, “Listen—”
“I did listen and then you asked me for five million dollars like I would just hand it over, like I could.”
Planting her hands on her hips, she huffs, and then starts twisting her hair on top of her head and secures it. “You’re not making this easy, Warner.”
“I’m so sorry for foiling your plan.”
“That’s just it. There is no plan other than me apologizing.”
I laugh like an idiot, no humor or authenticity to it. “Come on, tell me the truth.” I need to hear her say the words to my face; we’re not married. I could probably be convinced to give this another try if it weren’t under duress. But the lies will destroy anything good, leaving us with only hate for one another otherwise.
“I’m judged for my business dealings. Not because I do anything immoral or illegal. Some people just don’t care for those in the business of taking over other businesses. That’s fine. They have a right to their opinion. It’s never hurt my feelings. I’m not taken for a fool, though.”
“I don’t think you’re a fool. I think you’ve lost touch with who you really are, though.” Standing naked in my bathroom, she hasn’t once cowered or grown coy. She’s not shy and hasn’t covered any part of herself. Her truth is laid bare before me.
There’s something remarkable about someone seeing you so clearly that they pinpoint exactly how you’ve felt for years and kept hidden. And incredibly dangerous that she already knows who I am and seems to care. Maybe this started off as a heist of some kind, but I’m starting to think that it wasn’t only my heart stolen. Hers was as well.
I’m an accomplice.
Fuck. I don’t know what the right thing to do is in this situation, but it doesn’t feel wrong. I hold my hand out for her to take. When she puts her hand on mine, I curl my fingers around hers, trying to find any excuse to keep her around a little longer. “Why did you ask me for money tonight?” I know why, but I need to hear her say it.
She dips her foot into the tub, and as I hold her steady, she slinks under the water and lies down on top of me. With her back pressed to my chest, she leans her head on my shoulder. “Truth?”
“It fucking better be.” The heaviness in my chest is vanishing the more our bodies connect. Call me weak to a sexy woman. I don’t care. I can have sexy any day of the week. This is about Delaney and how she makes me feel like I’m someone special. Let’s just hope I’m not making the biggest mistake of my life. I slide my arm around her, resting my hand on her stomach to keep her right where she belongs.
“I got caught up in the money. God’s honest truth. When I finally wrapped my brain around the fact that not only you but so many others there tonight had donated such a huge sum of money like it was nothing—”
“It’s not nothing. It’s one of my largest donations of the year. I carefully choose where every dollar is going. I want it to matter.”
“It’s only one of your largest. Jesus.” She releases a heavy breath and rolls her head to stare at the window. The shade is down, so I reach up and hit a button near the switch for the jets. As the shade gathers upward, I catch a smile from her profile. It’s not showy, but it’s real like this moment we’re sharing.