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She crossed her arms, hugging tight. “No. Not a chance in hell.”
“Please.” He reached out and cupped her cheeks. To his surprise, she didn’t shove him off right away. “I’m sorry I lied to you. Sorry I made you feel as if I didn’t care. I did. I do. So much, sweetheart.”
She tilted her chin up. “You lied to me. Used me.”
“I know.” He hesitated, feeling compelled to explain himself. To make her see why he’d done what he had. But he couldn’t think of how to say it. The words wouldn’t come. He was choking up and ruining everything. “I—”
She pressed her lips together. “You blackmailed me. And lied to me. That’s all I know, and all I need to know.”
“I won’t lie to you anymore.” He caught her gaze, hoping she could see that he was telling the truth. “Ever again.”
She laughed bitterly. “Bullshit. Everyone lies.”
He ran his thumb over her lower lip. “Why are you always so sure you know everything?”
“Because I do.” She slapped his touch away. “Please stop doing that.”
His blood pounded. She’d gone soft under his fingers before she rejected him. She might want to be over him, but she so clearly wasn’t. “Tell me you haven’t thought about me since you left.”
“Jake.” She pushed him off. “What game are you playing? Why are you really here? Is something wrong with the code I gave you? Are you here to arrest me again?”
“There’s no game. No blackmail. Not this time.”
“Then what do you want from me?”
He stood and pulled her to her feet, not dropping his hold. “I’ll tell you what I want. I want a second chance.”
“Someone once told me second chances were a waste of time.”
He cringed. “He sounds like an asshole.”
“He is,” she agreed.
“I fucked up. In order to protect the one thing I care about the most, I screwed everything up.” He ran his fingers down her cheek, and she trembled. She might be protesting her desire, but she still wanted him as much as she had before he’d betrayed her. She didn’t want to admit it. “Give me a chance to do things right.”
She watched him suspiciously, her brows low. “Not if you were the last man on earth, and we were the only ones left to carry on the human race. Not if God himself came down from the clouds and asked me nicely. Not if—”
“—there was a zombie apocalypse?”
“I’d sooner eat your rotting flesh,” she said in a rush.
His lips twitched, and he let out a laugh. She looked at him in surprise. “See? That’s one of the reasons I need you. You make me laugh when I’d thought I forgot how.”
“So do funny movies.” She stood up. “I suggest you watch one of them and leave me out of it. I’m not yours anymore.”
Yes, she was.
He stalked toward her. She backed against the brick wall. She’d retreated, but she still stared at him defiantly. As if she wasn’t scared of anything he might do to her. As if he held no power over her anymore. If it she didn’t give a shit about him anymore?
He was fucked.
Burying his face in her neck, he inhaled her sweet scent. She shivered and gripped his shoulders, a small sound escaping her lips. He waited for her to push him away. To reject him. But she didn’t. He nibbled on her shoulder, right next to her bikini strap. “You said you wanted to save me. I figured out how you can do that. Don’t send me away.” He pulled back. “Don’t shut me out now. Save me.”
She wiggled free. “It’s too late. You’re too late.”
She shut the door, and he covered his face with his hands, taking a steadying breath. Okay. That hadn’t gone as well as he’d planned, but that was all right. He’d do better next time. She needed to a few hours to come to terms with his presence, and then he’d come back. But first? He’d plan his next attack.
This was a war of sorts.
