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“Not as much as an empty belly.”
Sorrow effused through her eyes, softening them, and I stiffened, my walls coming up.
I didn’t need her pity, and I definitely didn’t need her here, fucking with my plans.
I was here for a reason — to have my revenge on Saul. I’d done everything possible for the woman—it was her choice to ignore me.
And..
Well her presence here was fucking with my control.
If I started breaking my rules now, I would break her.
And she was too young and naive, almost a former version of me.
“Why are you here, Summer?”
"I need to know that you won't hurt me," she said, "If I choose you."
Not for the first time, I cursed her father for not exposing her to the realities of our world. He'd been too soft-hearted to crush her innocence, but it was going to get her killed.
“Who says I want you?”
“I do.”
“And Tucker?” I responded, giving her a cool look. “He’s handsome."
"True," she held up the frame, showing me what I already knew to be the only personal picture I had in the room. "Is this your girlfriend?"
"Something like that." I didn't mention that, even though Tatiana and I had fucked several times, it had only been a matter of convenience. We’d been friends, close even, if you could call us that, and nothing more. We'd never loved each other like that.
That was a long time ago.
She tilted her head to study me. "I don't believe you."
I shrugged, not answering.
"If that were true," she continued as she slowly made her way towards me, stopping to look at the Rodin statue on my desk, lovers mid-kiss, "you wouldn't have kissed me." She picked up the statue and gestured with it. “That’s if you’re faithful to her.”
“And who says I am?” At the swipe of my finger, my computer went black and I shut it. I deliberately locked it in my drawer, then leaned back in my chair to study her. “Or,” I said, “maybe she doesn't mind if I play with others." Which had been true, except Tatiana and I weren't fucking anymore. Her husband would kill me, first. Literally.
"No," Placing the statue back down, she suddenly made her way towards me, her determination clear in her gaze. She needed to learn how to hide her feelings better. She was desperate for this, and I wondered what made her change her mind about Tucker. Or if my warning to him had actually worked. "I don't believe it. You're single."
"And why do you think you know me so well?”
She sat on the desk and I ignored the temptation to lean forward and touch her. To run my finger over her cheek. Brush her hair from her eyes. To grip her hips and pull her to me.
She's barely eighteen, I reminded myself. Douglass’ daughter. I promised to protect her, not corrupt her. And we were in a library, for fucks sake. There were families, children, right outside my door.
"Because," she stared into my eyes, the color bright and so alluring. It was like staring into the clear blue ocean looking into those eyes. So fucking pure. So fucking innocent. I wanted to mar them with the same darkness that had been meted out to me when I was her age.
I wanted to destroy it—that sweet, sweet, seductive innocence.
She was playing a dangerous game and it was going to fucking eat her alive.
"Because," she finally answered, a smirk to her lips. "You're too disciplined. You work too much to have a girlfriend. You need organization in your life, and… side pieces are too messy."
I frowned in frustration. She might be innocent, but she wasn't stupid.
