Chapter 11
The instant his body stopped quaking, she rolled off him, pushing him away when he reached out to hold her.
“No.”
“Jewel, I—”
Pain and sadness mingled with fury in her expressive eyes.
“Thank you.” She gave him a mocking smile, utterly false and breaking his heart. “We shouldn’t have—”
“Don’t.” When he reached for her again, she dodged, climbing from the bed to stand, arms crossed, glaring.
“I haven’t been so thoroughly used since—”
Shoving himself up, he grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her. “Shhh. You know better than that.”
“Do I?” She held herself stiffly, finally moving away. “I’m not sure who I hate most,” she said. “Myself or you.”
With that, she stalked off, not bothering to put on her clothes.
He followed. “What’s wrong with you?”
“As if you didn’t know.”
“Idon’tknow. We just made love and, as far as I can tell, both enjoyed it.”
“Made love? Is that what you’re calling it now?”
He sighed. “You know as well as I do that we’ve got something special between us.”
“Do we?” One delicate brow arched. “I don’t think so. That was lust. Raw lust. We scratched an itch. Nothing more. And I always feel like dirt afterwards.”
He went still, searching her face. “Was that all this meant to you?”
“Does it ever mean anything else?” Her voice was bleak.
The tightness in his chest eased. “This isn’t your past, you know. This is your future.” Aching to hold her, he settled for reaching to tuck a strand of wayward hair behind her ear. She flinched away as if she thought he meant to hurt her, making him bite back a curse.
“What did he do to you?”
She shook her head, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “Don’t touch me. Not right now.”
“I won’t.” He kept his voice even, controlled, showing no sign of the inner ache. “Jewel, if you really feel that way, why’d you initiate it?”
“I had no choice.”
“You always have a choice.”
“Maybe you didn’t listen.” Her mouth a tight line, she wouldn’t meet his gaze. “I told you, I can’t control myself.”
“Control what?”
“My need.” Her laugh sounded hollow, bitter. “Leo loved that about me. I swear he tried to make me…”
“If Leo were here right now, I’d kill him.”
“So would I.”
