“Because we?—”
“Swear to God, if you say because we’re casual, I’m going to tie you to the bench and spank your ass raw with the cane.”
She pressed her lips tight before muttering, “But that’s the truth.”
“It’s not.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Why shouldn’t you?”
“I already?—”
“Why?”
“Because you’re you, and I’m just me. And I needed to remember that. Men like you don’t settle down.”
“Men like me? What kind of man am Iexactly?”
She gave a humorless scoff. “You know what kind.”
I had a reputation. I’d even been proud of it before the emptiness of the hookups had left me stewing in self-hatred.
But to hear Greer all but call me a manwhore had my self-loathing rising to new levels. I’d never promised or even hinted at more with anyone but her, but that didn’t matter.
“I’m not going to say I’ve been celibate my whole life,” I said slowly, trying to keep the hurt from bleeding into my words. It worked. It didn’t bleed into them. It saturated them until it dripped in the air between us. “But I’m not some asshole who can’t keep his dick in his pants.”
Her brows lowered, and she shook her head. “I’m not… No. What I’m saying is you’re you. Tripp Carter. You can have any woman in the world. Men with those kinds of options don’t settle down. And if they do, it’s not long before they regret it when they see what they’re missing out on.”
Her words buzzed at the back of my head like a song I couldn’t place. Then I did. It was the same warped shit Clark had said at Christmas. “Am I being punished for my father’s sins or yours?”
“Neither. Both.” She scrunched her face and shook her head. “It doesn’t matter, it’s the truth.”
“It’s not.”
“Yes, it is. You want me because I didn’t fall at your feet like every other woman. I was a challenge. If I gave in easily, you would’ve been bored in a week. I’ve been through this.”
“So now I’m being punished for my father, your father, and your shitty-ass ex who made you think your perfect pussy tasted gross and that your oral skills were bad when I can confirm, without a shadow of a damn doubt, that both are amazing enough that I’d sell my soul for more?”
Greer rocked back into the wall with a thunk but otherwise showed no reaction.
“I told you that I’ve wanted you since the moment I saw you on that roof, even when I thought you were a figment of my damn imagination.”
“No, you wanted to fuck me since then. And you have, so now it’s done.”
It was my turn to rock back. “What?”
“That’s what you said before we had sex for the first time. That you’ve wanteditsince the roof.”
“I meant you. Beingwithyou. It was never just about the sex for me.”
“It doesn’t matter.” She tried to avert her gaze, but I moved a hand to grip her jaw and keep it in place. Keepherin place. “Let me go.”
“No. I’mneverfucking letting you go.”
“You have to.”
“That’s not how this goes. You can tell me what to do with my schedule, but outside of that, I make the rules. You agreed.”
