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“Thanks.” She picked them up and swallowed them down, her gaze staying on him. “So will I have, like, bruises and stuff? I kind of feel like I got tackled by an NFL lineman.”
He leaned against the counter, arms crossed, leaving his food untouched next to him. “You shouldn’t. That particular flogger is pretty harmless in that regard. Though you may get tiny speckle bruises where the tips wrapped around your hip.”
“Oh.”
“Does that bother you?”
She pushed a syrup-soaked bite around her plate with her fork. Great, she couldn’t even look at him. “I don’t know.”
He carded a hand through his hair and sighed heavily. “I knew I shouldn’t have gone there with you.”
She looked up sharply.
“I’m sorry. Last night . . . it never should’ve happened.”
“Right.” She shook her head, smirking, and shoved her plate away. “Look, thanks for breakfast, but I’ve got to go.”
“Cela,” he said, pushing up from the counter. “Wait. Don’t leave yet. We need to talk about last night. If I freaked you out . . .”
She grabbed her keys off the edge of the counter and looked at him. “You didn’t freak me out, Foster. I freaked myself out. A few weeks ago, I was virgin. Now I’m waking up in some guy’s bed feeling like I’ve been rolled over by a truck and can’t even find my panties.”
Some guy. The words punctured his chest like rusty nails.
“This has become too . . . intense. And I’m starting to like this, you, too much. You told me you want to own a woman. And as I was lying in your bed this morning, can you believe I actually found myself wondering what that would be like?” She looked heavenward. “How fucking insane is that?”
His heart leapt at the mere mention of her even entertaining that notion, but reality quickly kicked it right back down. Clearly, she wasn’t happy about that thought. And she was leaving. Leaving. He had to get that through his head. “Cela . . .”
She continued like he hadn’t even spoken. “Being with you has been—well, I can’t even describe it. But Foster,”—she met his eyes and put her hand to her chest—“I don’t even know who this person is. I’m not sure I want to know.”
Tears brimmed in her eyes, and he couldn’t stop himself from walking over to her and pulling her against him. She let him fold her into his embrace. He set his chin on the top of her head. “It’s going to be all right, angel. You’ve just been through a lot of big life changes these last few weeks. You’re still the same person you always were. I’m sorry I added shit to that mix that made you even more confused.”
She sniffed against his T-shirt. “You didn’t make me do anything. I brought this on myself.”
“Shh, you’re just going through life trying to figure stuff out like all of us are. In a week, you’re going to go back home to your family and the job you’ve worked so hard for, and things will get easier. Everything will fall into place.” The words hurt coming out, but what else could he say? Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy . . .
Shit. Now he was quoting ridiculous pop songs. This girl was making him lose his mind.
Cela pulled back and looked up at him, gaze somber. “I can’t keep doing this. It’s starting to hurt.”
He wiped a tear off her cheek. “I know, angel.” Me, too.
She nodded, resigned. “Maybe if I didn’t have to leave, but . . .”
He pressed his fingers against her mouth, unable to bear the conjecture. “No what-ifs in life, just what is, right? Let’s not go there.”
She grabbed his wrist to move his hand then pushed up on her toes to brush his lips with a soft kiss. “Thanks for giving a small-town girl a walk on the wild side.”
He forced a smile, even though the words were way too reminiscent of how things had ended with Darcy. Maybe he’d always be relegated to that role in his life—the kinky guy to have fun with for a while before a woman went looking for something real. Something normal. “Hey, the pleasure was all mine.”
She smirked. “That is definitely not true.”
He laughed despite himself.
“I’ll make sure and stop by before I head out of town. And tell Pike if he has any more questions about Mo
nty to call me.”
“Will do. Do you have everything you need for the move?” he asked, moving into safe conversation, topics that wouldn’t remind him that he would never touch her again.
