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A dark figure appeared out of the door, but I instantly knew who it was. He came toward me in a black blur, yelling my name as I squeezed the trigger with a scream of my own.
“A man when he is making up to anybody can be cordial and gallant and full of little attentions and altogether charming. But when a man is really in love he can’t help looking like a sheep.”
? Agatha Christie
§§
Devin
Nina lay on her stomach, facing away from me as I traced the curve of her spine with my fingertips from her neck down to her lower back. We both lay quiet after I’d made love to her then fell asleep. When we woke this morning and she realized I hadn’t left, I saw the surprise on her face when she opened her eyes. She turned away from me as I continued to stroke her. I was sure my confession and my tender touch had stifled her into this silence. She finally turned to look at me, and I saw confusion and pain in her cloud-filled eyes.
“I’m leaving her.” Emotion crossed her features in what looked like a hint of relief, but it quickly disappeared. Before I could say anything else, she rose from the bed and shut the bathroom door behind her.
I’d left her alone to shower as I sat in her bed admiring her beautiful frame while she polished her face in the mirror.
“I meant it when I said I loved you, Nina. I meant it. I think you know it. I think you’ve known it.”
“Devin, why are you doing this? If this is a pissing contest between you and your cousin,
I’ll be the first to break the news. He broke it off the minute we left the fundraiser.”
I tried not to show my relief, but she was watching me closely, and it was evident.
“You don’t belong with him.” I pulled at my pants, trying to hide my growing erection from simply watching her. Now was not the time.
She turned in her chair to face me, a makeup brush in her hand. “And I don’t belong with you. Sex is all we’ve ever had between us.”
“Bullshit.”
“Really?” She stood, walking over to stand in front of me. “My shrink told me you conditioned me this way. Is that true?”
“Your shrink.” I sat slightly stunned before realization hit me. “Fuck that, Nina. Of course he would speak ill of me. With every breath he takes he lies.”
“Seems to run in the family. Besides, we didn’t speak of you at all, because I didn’t know for sure the two of you were connected until last night. I would ask you what your beef with him is, but I’m pretty sure it would be another lie.”
“My beef?” I tried to mask my chuckle. I wanted to grab her and ravage her again, but her body language told me I was about to be thrown out. When I discovered the door unlocked last night and found her in bed writhing and needy, I thanked God, Santa Clause, the fucking lucky leprechaun, and whoever else was responsible. Walking away was not fucking happening and touching her again felt like returning to heaven after a long stint in hell.
In the back of my mind lingered the thought he’d tainted her, but I wouldn’t let him have her. I’d never let him have her.
The minute I saw that son of a bitch clasp her hand, all bets were off. She was mine. I would make her mine again. I would prove my worth, my love, my devotion. I would keep her safe and to hell with the consequences. She was worth losing it all.
Looking at her now as she stood in her silk camisole and matching shorts, tapping her brush on her thigh, it was clear I should have made the decision a lot sooner. Still, the jealous bastard in me had to ask.
“Was it intentional with him?”
She watched me in the mirror as she circled a soft brush on her cheekbones. “I’m no longer capable of being that callous.”
“So you are telling me this is just coincidence?” Unfuckingbelievable.
She nodded once, as if she didn’t care one way or the other whether I believed her. This was going to take work—a lot of work.
“Why do you two hate each other?”
When I hesitated, she noticed, but I stayed silent, trying to figure out how to tell her the truth. She was looking for a quick explanation I didn’t have. The contempt she had for me at that moment told me it was definitely not the time. The truth would only push her further away. It was over between them. That’s all the mattered. “As much as I love not getting any answers from you, I have to get to work.”
“It’s complicated, but I promise to tell you everything. Just let me have the deed to the land and I’ll—”
“What?” She was shrieking now.
