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She smirked. “Oh, yeah?”
He placed his hand on the back of her chair and leaned in. “With a few minor concessions on your part, I think we can make it work.”
She studied her half-empty glass, and then traced her finger around the rim. “And those would be?”
“There are a few. But, for starters, you need to understand what pain is. And how to live with it. You’re capable of more than you think…”
Jess raised her brow. “What makes you so sure?”
“Instinct,” he said as he stood and reached for her hand. “And the fact that I’ve always liked a good challenge.”
She smiled. That, he was certainly in for. She pulled away.
He leaned in closer. “This isn’t going to be easy, you know?” he whispered. She narrowed her brow and considered the implications of what he’d said.
Myles didn’t wait for a response. He simply grinned, grabbed her arm just above the elbow, and led her out of the bar and back to his room. Pain was a given, she’d just realized. And sometimes, you just needed to give into it—no matter what form it showed up in.
Chapter Thirteen
Myles paced the length of his hotel room and checked his watch. Thankful he’d gotten her out of that bar, he realized there were just twelve more hours, and they could get the hell out of this place. The hotel walls were beginning to close in on him, and he had never looked more forward to getting back to the States. Jess stood looking at him, clearly a little unsure what to do with herself. He punched the code into the small safe, then handed Jessica her next dose of medication and walked to the sink to wash his face. He paused and studied her reflection instead. How did someone let a woman like that get away, he wondered to himself? The blessing and the curse was that he knew the answer. No matter how hard you tried, you could never be what they needed. Never enough. A woman like that, and this he knew for sure, would consume you. She’d eat you whole if you let her. But how could you not?
Myles watched the relief play across her face as the pills slid down her throat. He noticed the length of her neck as she tossed her head back. It was all he could do not to go to her, to wrap his hand around her neck, and to do things to her that he was fairly certain hadn’t been done in quite a while. There was going to be something magical about this one, he understood, as much as he tried to fight it.
On the other hand, he had an addict on his hands, and while a part of him knew he couldn’t keep doing this, he couldn’t just walk out either. Things had to change, and the way it looked from where he stood, both of them were about to find out just how much they could take. He could do this, he assured himself. Part of loving someone was giving them what they need. He’d planned it out—the next step was to place a call to the agency and set everything up. But first, she’d have to agree.
“Have a seat,” he ordered catching her eye in the mirror.
Jess frowned. “You want to talk? I had something else in mind…”
“Sit down, Jessica.”
She plopped down in the chair, crossed her arms, and stared out the window.
Defiance. She was a natural. “If we’re going to do this… if I’m going to stay, then you need to know the rules.”
She smirked. The rules.
He lowered his voice. “This isn’t funny.”
Jess met his eyes, narrowed her gaze, and then looked away.
“Sit up and have some respect. And look me in the eye,” Myles demanded.
She frowned but did as he’d asked. “What is wrong with you?”
“This isn’t a joke. We either do this my way or it won’t work.”
She kicked off her heels, leaned forward, and rubbed at her toes.
Myles backed away putting some distance between the two of them. “Do you know what re-socialization is, Jessica?”
She looked up, clearly caught off guard, and shook her head. “What?”
“There are generally four types of training techniques used in the re-socialization process. Brutalization, classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and role modeling. I realize this probably means nothing to you right now, but it’s what I need you to agree to—if I’m going to agree to stick around.”
She tilted her head. “Brutalization? That sounds crazy.”
“It is crazy.” He eyed her intently. “But it works.”
