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“How about a dog or cat?”
While my lips curl in a grin, my chest aches with deep-rooted sadness.
I’ve never allowed myself to get tied to anyone even after I escaped him. Because he killed everything I loved. A little bird I made friends with and a stray cat I shared my food scraps with. He used everyone I cared about to break me a little bit more.
“I grew up in a foster system. I was five when I was moved to live with my foster parents in the States.” And he was evil incarnated. I shouldn’t have trusted his enigmatic smile and promises, but I did. And he broke me, twisted me.
“I’m sorry, Mark. It must have been incredibly hard to be this alone in the world.”
I switch her legs and start working, thinking how deep this conversation will go.
“Have any of them been good to you?”
Most of the people try to deflect the conversation, not comfortable to poke demons residing in the past. But not her. She’s diving straight in.
“I made it at the end.” I try to give her an out, not ready to speak about my complicated life.
“Are you always keeping people at a distance and then showing them out through the door whenever they get close to you?”
I still, locking my hard gaze on her as something fierce explodes in my chest.
I didn’t employ her to share my secrets. I needed her close to protect her from the dangers and maybe tell her the truth so she won’t live with guilt for the rest of her life. I owe that much to Logan.
No, I owe him my life. But Cassandra Cade is challenging my resolve.
“You are my employee, Cassandra. If I allow you an inch closer, you’ll be naked, screaming your release while I taste your dripping pussy on my tongue.”
Her chest rises and falls, responding to my heated words I don’t want her to heed. She withdraws her leg from my grip, her eyes blazing at me like two blue stones.
Shit, I probably come across like a harassing bastard.
“I didn’t mean . . .” I try to curb the violent longing so she wouldn’t need to taste the edge of my anger. “I’m sorry.” But she pushed my boundaries until I became a reckless idiot. Dammit!
Remember, she is forbidden fruit. Ripe and delicious but not meant for you to taste.
Her perfect eyebrows arch and her lips flatten in warning as we stare at each other for one condemned second. But when she starts to laugh, the tension dissipates like smoke.
“It won’t end well for you, Mark, if you try.” Then she stands, dusting her clothes and putting her feet in her heels. I follow suit.
“I’m sorry, it was out of line.” I close my eyes, rubbing my face as if I could erase what I said.
“I understand, my question was out of line too.”
We stand for a while studying each other, looking for something to smooth it over.
“What have they done to you?” she probes, not missing a beat even if her throat bobs with nerves and her pulse jumps like a scared bird under the paws of a cat.
I don’t believe she expects my answer, but I give her one.
“Your scars, Cassandra, are precious road maps on your skin.” I trace one with my eyes. “They tell stories about people you’ve loved and the ones who loved you back.”
Her hand rises as if to touch one as I step closer, crowding her.
Her gaze is liquid marble, swirling like a storm. “And mine are soul-deep wounds sucking the light out of me.”
I brush her loose hair away from her face to see them better. Helpless to deny myself, I softly graze one of them, and she gasps, surprised. I retreat before I lose control and taste the forbidden fruit.
She isn’t yours. But my heart thumps in my chest, claiming she is.
