Page 210 of Rush

I squeeze my eyes shut.

Don’t do this. Don’t fall. Don’t beg.

“Alex,” I whisper. “Let me go. Or I’ll scream.”

My resolve crumbling the longer he holds me.

His breath ghosts my cheek. “You used to melt at my touch—begged me for it.”

And I know—he wants to hear me say it.

Hear me tell him he still holds a space in my heart.

But I can’t let him see it. Not while he drags me on this merry-go-round of half-truths, broken promises, and mixed messages.

He wants me, but he’s with her.

He misses me, but he’s with her.

He’s not with her, but he’s here with me.

My chest cracks open, unable to stop a tear that slips free—hot and silent.

“Please,” I plead, so soft it barely counts as sound. “Let go of me.”

Alex’s thumb brushes the tear. Then he steps back, hands falling from me like dead weight.

“I’m sorry, I—I don’t know what came over me.” He stares back at me. “You moved on so fast with him…did I mean nothing to you?” he says, his eyes glassy with unshed tears.

I suck in breath that isn’t laced with his presence, breathing it in. The cold air hits fast. Too fast.

I miss the heat instantly.

God, what the hell is wrong with me?

My heart beats a rhythm reserved only for him. Did I move on too fast? My stomach flips at the thought.

“You don’t get to be jealous,” I mutter, wiping my face with the back of my trembling hand. “You left an opening—and he filled it.”

I shake. Head to toe.

“So get out of my dressing room.”

“Elena, please, there’s so much you don’t know…I’m—I wish I could,” he hesitates. “I’m lost without you,” he cries.

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t.”

His evasiveness only frustrates me more. “Then crawl back to Madison and figure it out. Forget about me.”

He goes to reach for me. “Darling. I’m sorry.”

I step back, creating distance.

The air between us warps. He stares, gray eyes burning into mine.

“Get out!” I scream.