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“It wasn’t the idea of—” Kenny started.
“No,” Dom jumped in, his voice firm, mixed with a slight hint of anger. “No, it’s not you, Kenny.”
Tilly had just taken a sip of her drink when Dom said that. She almost choked on it. It wasn’t Kenny that was the problem. Her stomach rolled as she pushed her glass away. She glanced around, wanting desperately to escape, but how did she leave without drawing attention? Then she thought fuck it. She reached for Kenny’s hand, his worried eyes turning to her. “Thank you. Your confidence in my work means so much.” She glanced around the table; Dom’s hard eyes were focused on her. She lifted her glass. “A screaming orgasm probably wasn’t the best drink choice.”
“You think?” Dom bit out, the underlying conflict only evident to them.
Tilly felt the burn behind her eyes when she told the table, “Please excuse me.” She rose, reached for her purse on the floor and told them, “I think I’m going to call it a night. Those drinks went to my head quicker than I thought.”
“Don’t you think you should eat something?” Kenny quickly chimed in, concern in his tone.
Tilly gave a small wave. “I’ll order room service.” She gave him a small smile. “Night.” She told the table. All wishing her a good night except for Dom who held silent.
There was a crowd at the elevator. She was grateful. As she waited, she thought about Kenny’s proposal. As much as she loved the idea of spending time with Gage, she understood Gage’s resistance to it. He was right. Opening that door, dangling temptation in front of them day in and day out...no good could come from it. And even thinking that knowing that their lives would turn upside down, there was a part of her that wanted it.
She stepped onto the elevator; hit the button for his floor. She wasn’t feeling so good herself, fearing what she was going to be walking into. All the time they’d talked, she’d never seen Gage like he’d been downstairs. It was a little scary, and with the hard looks Dom had been shooting her, homewrecker that she was, she mentally braced for what awaited her. Reaching his floor, she walked down the hall to his room. She took a deep breath that did nothing to calm her and then she knocked.
CHAPTER TEN
Gage paced the room, ahand running through his hair as he took long, steady steps. He glanced to the mini fridge that’d been calling his name since the heavy metal door closed behind him. If he didn’t stop, he’d have to pay for the rut he put in the carpet.
When the knock sounded, he reached the door in two strides and flung it open. “Get in.” He told her, his voice harder than he wanted it to be.
Tilly hesitated, the sound of his voice had her taking a step back. Looking into his hard eyes, had her own burning, but she stepped into his room. She felt self-conscious walking into a space that she’d found so much pleasure in only a few hours ago. Awkwardly, she stood as far from the bed as she could, fiddling with her purse strap and waited for the storm.
Once Gage heard the door shut, he turned to her. She looked so small in a room that took up her presence earlier. He started to pace again, talking to her, and no one. “He wants to team up.” He stopped, looked at Tilly and bit out, “You know what the fuck that would do for my business?”
Her eyes stung from unshed tears, her voice small when she said, “Yes.” Her voice cracked. He was right, it wasn’t just them, it was his livelihood, his life. “It was a bad idea.”
“What was a bad idea, Tilly, huh?” Gage snapped.
She understood his anger, but it hurt having it directed at her. “Me working with you. It’s a bad idea.”
“No shit, Till.” Gage said. “Teaming up with Kenny, we could take the fuck over. But,” His hard eyes drifted to Tilly’s. “I can’t.” He stopped, waved a hand between them. “We can’t work together. This is my life, Till. What I do supports my family. My wife, my kid.” Gage halted his words when he realized the words he shot at her.
Earlier, the atmosphere in the room was filled with want, need, even lust. Now, the tension was so thick. Gage held her eyes.
Tilly’s head was down, as she tried to blink the tears away. They knew there would be consequences; she just didn’t expect them so soon. The dream turning real, so fucking fast. She didn’t look up at him when she said, “I know.” She whispered. “This is your life, this is real. I understand. I do.” Then she said the words that killed her to say, “I’ll get my things.”
“Fuck,” Gage shouted in rage. “You know just as well as me that this is all so fucking wrong, Tilly.” Gage said, not letting her put it all on him.
She lifted her head then looked him right in the eyes. “I do know it’s wrong. I knew it was wrong before we even started it. We’re talking about your business, your career. I won’t be responsible for fucking that up, I know what it means to you.”
Gage’s voice was more steady, even lower when he told her. “It’s not only what it means to me, Tilly, but it supports my family. And not taking this opportunity not only affects me, but you. It could take your career to new fucking heights.”
“If Kenny likes my work so much, others will too. But you… It was a fantasy, and it was incredible, but we both knew it couldn’t last. Reality would eventually pull us from it.”
His eyes stared into her watery hazel eyes, his chest tightening, hands itching to grab for her. “Why did we think we could do this?”
She couldn’t hold back the tears. “Because we wanted so much for it to work.”
The woman who occupied his thoughts for months, a woman he had in his bed hours ago, stood before him, tears rolling down her cheeks. A woman he tried to walk away from, tried to forget, but never did. His voice was raspy when he declared, “We tried to walk away before, what makes us think we can now?”
Tilly wiped at her cheeks. The truth was she couldn’t because even if she managed to put physical distance between them, he’d always have a piece of her. She met his gaze and answered honestly, “I don’t know.”
What Gage was feeling internally, Tilly wore on her sleeve. In those minutes, he thought about never looking into her eyes again. Never hearing the softness of her voice. The feel of how she touched him, so gentle. Not ever watching the flush in her cheeks, the gaze in her eyes when she came. Remembering the pain he went through not talking to her. The way his life never turned right side up after he walked away from her. Gage closed his eyes, watching the pain in her face becoming too difficult.
His voice was a whisper. “I can’t do it.” He opened them and held hers. “I can’t walk away again, Tilly.”
