Page 66 of One Reckless Night

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AMELIA

“Are you sure?” he asked.

I had to draw on every bit of self-control and willpower I could find to stay strong. This thing between us had to end before it blew up in both of our faces..

“No,” I said. “I can’t. We can’t.”

“We can and we did, and we did it well,” he said with that smile.

The man was too damn cocky for my own good.

“But we won’t again,” I said.

“Why not?” He shrugged. “What’s going on? What changed in the last eight hours? Amelia, I was there. I felt you. I tasted you. I know you liked it.”

I felt my cheeks burning. I wasn’t really embarrassed, but damn, he did make it hard to resist him.

“I can’t just be someone you see when you want my body,” I said, my voice trembling despite my best efforts to sound strong. “I’m not built for that kind of relationship.”

He frowned. “What does that mean?”

I took a deep breath, reminding myself to be strong. Don’t cave into that naughty little voice in the back of my head telling me it’s okay to flirt with this hookup.

“It means I don’t do casual,” I said. “I can’t just be a piece of ass when you’re in the mood.”

“You know that’s not what this is,” he said.

“No, I don’t know that,” I replied. “You want sex. I get it. Yes, it’s good, but I’m not the kind of person that can distinguish between casual and meaningful. My body is meaningful to me. I don’t want to change. I don’t want to be the kind of person that will hop in bed with a guy because it feels good in this moment.”

He stared at me. I watched his face go through a myriad of emotions. For a fleeting second, I thought I saw something soft, something vulnerable, but then—just as quickly—it was gone. That coldness crept back into his eyes, and my stomach dropped.

He looked away. “Amelia…” he started, but there was hesitation in his voice, and that hesitation told me everything I needed to know.

I swallowed hard. My heart felt like it was physically shrinking, pulling itself inward, trying to protect what was left of my dignity.

I didn’t want to hear the rejection. “I’ve been alone my entire life, and it’s not what I want for my future,” I said. “So this is over. It was fun, but no more.”

His jaw tightened. His eyes, those same eyes that had once looked at me like I was the only thing in the world, darkened. “Amelia, don’t do this.”

I let out a hollow laugh. “Don’t do what? Have self-respect? Set healthy boundaries?”

“That’s not what I meant,” he snapped, then sighed, running a hand through his hair. He looked frustrated, as if I was the one making things difficult. “I just… I don’t do relationships.”

I nodded slowly, letting the words sink in. “I know.” My voice was barely above a whisper. “You told me that from the beginning. But I thought—” I stopped myself because what I had thought didn’t really matter anymore.

I had thought I could change things. I had thought I was different. I had thought, deep down, he cared more than he let on. But I had been wrong.

He took a step toward me, his movements cautious, as if he wasn’t sure if I’d bolt. “Amelia,” he said again, softer this time. “What do you want me to say? That I want the same things you do?”

I flinched. “That’s not what I need, no.” I met his gaze, searching for something, anything, that would make this hurt less. “I just needed you to care enough to try.”

His lips parted, but no words came out. For once, the ever-composed, ever-controlled man standing before me looked utterly lost.

I shook my head, stepping back. “I can’t be the only one who feels this way, can I?”

He swallowed hard. “You’re not.”