“I can’t control myself around you,” he whispered. “You unseat me at every turn.”
“Then let go. Just for tonight.”
Unblinking, Dorian considered her words, his gaze soulful and passionate and so vulnerable it made her heart hurt. Looking into his eyes was like getting a glimpse into a parallel world—the life she could’ve had if only she’d made a right turn instead of a left.
Dorian leaned forward, the barest brush of his lips flooding her core with heat and desire. Her thighs clenched, every nerve tingling with anticipation. She parted her lips, seeking the familiar warmth of his kiss, no longer caring what it meant—if it even meant anything at all.
Forever, for a night, for one single minute—she just wanted to taste him again.
But at the last possible second, Dorian pulled away, his face going blank as he reined in his emotions, shoring up those walls again.
The room turned as cold as the icepacks sliding down her chest.
Rising from the floor, he ran a hand through his hair and cleared his throat. “You should get some sleep. We’ll talk again in the morning.”
Charley pressed her fingers to her lips, still on fire from the near kiss. She ached for him, her body wound tight, every need unfulfilled, her heart tearing in two. “Dorian, please don’t—”
“No,” he said firmly. Edged in anger, the sudden resolve in his tone startled her. “It can’t happen again. Ever. I mean that, Charlotte. We’ve got enemies in common, and because of that, I’m willing to help you—to keep you and your sister safe.”
“So that’s it?” Her head spun, the floor dropping out from under her. “You’re only helping me because we’ve got enemies in common? Are you listening to yourself?”
His only response was a glare.
“That’s bullshit, Dorian. I know you don’t trust me, okay? I know I fucked up. But you can’t look at me the way you do, and say the things you say, and touch me like that, and nearly kiss me, and set my whole body on fuckingfire, and expect me to believe you don’t care about me.”
“What youbelieveis irrelevant.” Dorian’s eyes blazed with fresh anger. “Regardless of my feelings for you, that’s as far as our arrangement goes. If you’ve got other ideas, kindly show yourself the exit.”
“IfI’vegot other ideas? You’re the one who practically jumped me! And what was all that, ‘it wasn’t a dream, try as I might, I can’t promise you it won’t happen again’ bullshit?”
“Apparently this is me, trying as I might.”
“You’re driving me insane! You can’t just—”
“Goodnight, Charlotte. I’ll see you in the morning.” With that, Dorian clicked off the lights and stalked out of the room, closing the door behind him and leaving Charley alone with her guilt, her regret, and an ache between her thighs that would remain forever unquenched.
He’d made good on his word. He’d ruined her for all other men.
She readjusted the ice packs on her shoulders, trying to get comfortable, but it was no use. Her whole body was vibrating from Dorian’s touch, her head throbbing, a single refrain echoing between her ears.
If only… If only… If only…
If only she and Dorian had met under different circumstances.
If only she’d been honest with him from the start.
If only she’d been born to a different family.
If only she’d made different choices.
That last one stung the most, because for the first time in the dumpster fire that was her life, Charley was finally starting to realize her own responsibility in lighting the fucking match.
For more than a decade, she’d been a willing criminal. Ignorantly, yes, but Dorian was right—it’d still been a choice. One she’d make again to keep her sister safe.
But Sasha hadn’t always been a factor, had she? Charley had worked with her father and his crew for years before Sasha arrived, and even though she’d never dreamed of standing up to her father back then, maybe she could have.
Maybe sheshouldhave.
Charley closed her eyes, dismissing the pointless thoughts. No good ever came from lingering in the past. All she could do now was move forward.
