AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I don’t know what you think you saw,” she said quietly, “but there’s nothing between us.”
Luca turned away from her, drinking his coffee, his back ramrod straight. She stayed where she was, trying her hardest to make sense of what was happening.
“That changes things.”
Her heart stammered. “Why?”
He finished his coffee, placing it on the benchtop quietly before turning to face her.
“I thought this was safe.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I thought you were with him and that I could be here, see you, be near you, without hurting you. Because you had him.”
It made no sense. “I don’t understand.”
He expelled an exasperated sigh. “I don’t trust myself not to touch you again, Bronte. If you were with him, then it was easy – nothing could happen between us.”
Her lips parted. “You don’t want anything to happen between us. You made that perfectly clear last time we – last time I saw you.”
A muscle jerked in his jaw.
“You told me it was just sex.”
He nodded slowly.
“And you believed me,” he said, shaking his head as he moved towards her, his eyes glittering with ruthless control.
She shivered, standing, moving away from him even when her body was wanting to pull towards him like a magnet.
“Of course I believed you. You’d said that all along.”
“I lied.”
The words were so simple yet they made no sense.
“I have lied to you three times, Bronte. Three.” He lifted that many fingers in the air. “When I told you that all we had was sex, when I said I wouldn’t develop feelings for you, and just now, when I told you I’ve come to London because of Watney.”
She sucked in a sharp breath.
“Why did you come to London?”
“Why do you think?” He closed the distance between them. “I came because I couldn’t stay away from you. I came because I finally realised that I felt more alive in the few days I spent with you than I ever have in my life. I came because I needed to be close to you, even when I still didn’t feel we could be together. I just have to be in your life, in some way.”
He lifted his hands to her cheeks, holding her face beneath his, so she stared up at him. “When I thought you were with him, I was so jealous, so unbearably jealous, but I was also glad. I hoped he could make you happy and I could just be a part of your life, even on the periphery. Then I wouldn’t ever hurt you, and I’d know you were happy.”
“Stop it.” She wrenched her face away, tears clogging her throat now. “You’re so bloody messed up, Luca. You keep talking about not wanting to hurt me, but don’t you see? You’ve already done that. You hurt me, you destroyed me. The damage is done.”
He flinched. “I know.”
“No, you don’t know.” She gestured to the armchair. “I knew I was in love with you, that day in your office. I thought that was the start of something new for us – something more than a fling borne out of a lie. But you slapped me away so hard and fast, my God. You barely looked at me afterwards. I have never felt so cheap, so unwanted, as I did that day. And by you! A man who’d made me feel – so good, when I needed it most. It was a betrayal I never expected from you.”
He swore in his native tongue. “I know that. I saw it all on your face and don’t think I didn’t hate myself too, that day, Bronte. I was terrified of hurting you and so pushed you away as quickly as I could. I figured it would be a short term pain.”
“You were wrong,” she snapped. “It’s permanent. I will never forget how that felt.”
“Don’t say that,” he demanded, bracing his palms on his desk.
