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I’ve got a higher chance of keeping my panties on over here.
With a sharp hiss, he pushes himself off the counter and stalks toward me. I retreat for two steps but I’m not quick enough to dodge his reach. He pulls me into his orbit and carries me over to a counter, sliding my ass back on the surface. I struggle to jump down, but he steps between my legs and cages me in.
He stares down at where his hands grip my thighs. “I’m trying to make it up to you. Trying to show you how much I care about you.” His eyes lift to mine, soft and tinged with something that doesn’t suit him. Desperation. “I’mgroveling,Queenie. But you need to let me.”
My heartbeat slows, as if dunked into syrup. The butterflies in my stomach take flight, but it feels like they’ve come out of hibernation too early. I’m still too bitter and hurt to take his promise at face value, which I guess is why my next words slip out of my mouth.
“Say please.”
His gaze darkens. “Please what?”
“Ask me out to dinner, but sayplease.”
His nostrils flare, and by the way he glances at the ceiling, I know he’s wondering if I’m worth the humiliation. But then his stare falls back to mine, his jaw tight. “Penny, would you do me the honor of letting me take you out for dinner?” He grits his teeth. “Please?”
Despite not being able to decide whether I want to claw his eyeballs out or not, pleasure skates down my spine. I think I enjoy it when that word slips from Rafe’s lips. “Hmm,” I muse, leaning back on my palms and pretending to weigh up my options. “Are you paying?”
He laughs. “What kind of question is that?”
“Will there be dessert?”
“Of course.”
“Can I have two?”
“You can have anything you like.”
I scrape my teeth over my bottom lip. “I don’t know. I have other options—”
“Your only other option is getting bent over my knee and spanked,” he snaps, dragging his hand off my thigh and reaching for his belt buckle. “You can have two of those, too.”
“All right, all right,” I squeal, wriggling out of his grip. “I suppose I have time for dinner. I’m not changing my clothes, though.”
He sweeps a look of disbelief over my gray sweatpants, hoodie, and messy bun. “It’s a nice restaurant.”
“Are you saying I don’t look nice?”
He pauses, then flashes me a plastic smile. “You’d look beautiful in a potato sack,” he says insincerely. He hoists me off the counter and sets me on my feet. “Come on.”
Less than five minutes later, we’re crossing the road under the shelter of Rafe’s umbrella, his men trailing our shadows. Excitement hums under my skin, and there’s a reckless taste on my tongue. Maybe I’m a sadist, but I love the idea of Rafe groveling. It feels like the ultimate game, and it’s one I get to set the rules for. Hell, I don’t know if he’ll win or not, but I’m sure as shit going to put him through his paces to find out.
He holds the passenger side door open for me. I glance at his men getting into the convoy of sedans behind. There’s more of them than usual, and there’s not a single face I recognize. Then I remember Rafe saying something about Griffin trying to kill him, and shudder.
That would explain the sudden change in lackeys.
The moment I slide onto the seat, my excitement sours. The smell of warm leather entwined with Rafe’s cologne. The way the backrest perfectly hugs my hips. My slippers are still sitting in the foot well. The familiarity that lives between these four vehicle walls punches me in the gut.
Rafe must sense the switch in my mood when he slides into the driver’s seat, because he tenses. There’s aclick-thudas he locks my door. “You’re not changing your mind. I already said please.”
I stare at his profile, emotion swelling in my throat. “Why are you bothering?”
His gaze is lazy, trained on the windshield as he pulls out onto the road. “Because I love you,” he says simply.
Another hit to my gut, but this one feels more like a jack knife.Because I love you.Even though they were said so flippantly, soindifferently,his words ricochet around the car and deafen me. Despite suddenly struggling to breathe, I manage to shake my head.
I understand how and why I love him, despite hating him with a passion. But that’s because I didn’t rip myself away from him. Hechoseto tear us apart with a million-dollar check and a confession.
And despite his betrayal, I can understand his reasoning.
