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‘You saved him.’
‘I am not a hero, Kat. Do not look at me that way. I hate bullies and I didn’t think before I acted...much like tonight.’
It wasn’t just what he said, it was the fact he seemed to want to hurt her.
‘You sound as though you regret it.’
She left him the space to say no, that it had been one of the best things that had ever happened to him, but the space stayed empty and instead his eyes drifted away from hers as if the contact was something that made him uncomfortable. ‘It was a mistake—you must see that.’
Kat said nothing. She was actually afraid if she tried to speak she’d start crying.
‘For starters, Alekis trusted me. I have betrayed that trust and betrayed someone I respect.’ But, man, is he good to hide behind. Ignoring the sly insert of his subconscious, he appealed for her understanding. ‘You must see that.’
‘Why should I care about what Alekis thinks?’ she flared back. ‘Anyway, what about me? Don’t I deserve a little bit of respect?’ she choked out.
‘Please do not become emotional...’
‘Seriously! We just made love.’
‘Had sex.’
The rebuttal made her pale.
‘And do not imagine this is the start of some sort of love affair.’
She sat there shivering while he got to his feet and dragged his clothes on. There was a pause before he extended his hand to her; she ignored it and got to her feet.
‘I know you want a happy-ever-after thing, a husband and children, which is fine, but I’m not the man for that and if I’d known you were so inexperienced I would have—’ Innate honesty made him pause. If he’d known he would not have stopped—nothing would have stopped him.
‘Don’t put me in one of your little boxes, and don’t presume to know what I want from life! You know something, Zach, I really don’t think I’m the one with the problem. I didn’t expect you to declare undying love. I just wanted a little bit of...well, respect would have been nice. But no, you had to spoil what happened by turning it into something nasty and sordid, because you’re too scared to risk feeling anything that you can’t control. You know what I think?’
His jaw clenched as he struggled to control his anger. ‘Is there any way I can stop you telling me?’
‘You won’t have any sort of a future until you come to terms with your past and stop letting it rule you.’
‘Who’s presuming now?’ he growled out.
She picked up her skirts in one hand, decided not to look for her shoes—they had killed anyway—and started back across the sand toward the lights of the house.
Zach, who experienced a stab of visceral longing as he watched her progress, dignified despite the fact her entire back, including the upper slopes of her pert bottom, was exposed, managed to wipe his face of expression as she suddenly swung back, her anger cancelling out mental censorship as she had the last word.
‘You’re not the only one with trust issues, Zach. Why the hell do you think I was inexperienced? Though, for the record, I was a virgin! And as it turns out a stupid one because I thought I had found someone I could let my guard down with. You know what, though, I’d prefer to be me and make a mistake than you, who spends his life pretending you don’t feel anything...’ Her eyes searched his face. ‘But I don’t believe that—you did and for me!’
The level of his self-loathing went up several notches as he watched her flounce away.
