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But I couldn’t ignore or forget what he had done to me.
Me
Bale …
Within a second of hitting Send, my phone rang withUnknownon the screen.
Calling me, in my private room, minutes before Luke entered.
I shouldn’t be surprised.
Bale was wild. He gave zero fucks.
Or maybe I was the wild one for bringing the phone up to my ear, preparing to answer, knowing his voice would make me feel better.
But, really, was there anything he could say that would make our situation hurt less?
Could he take away the pain in my chest, the tightness in my throat, the tears I’d shed up until I entered Lush just minutes ago?
Could he change the outcome of our story?
“I fucking need you,” he roared when I answered. “And, goddamn it, Pepper, I know you need me too.”
Goose bumps broke out across my skin.
Wetness instantly formed between my legs.
I couldn’t find my breath to respond, his voice causing my lungs to empty, my chest to pound as hard as my pussy.
Luke couldn’t do this to me.
No one could.
Only Bale.
I wiggled on top of the table, pulling my robe tighter across my nakedness, and gasped, “But that doesn’t change what happened, what you did—”
“I know I can’t fix the past.” His voice was so low and silky that it felt like smooth river rocks tracing down my spine. “You said you didn’t know me, that I was a fucking monster. But everything you needed to know, you knew. When you felt me, my name didn’t matter. When I held you, my occupation made no difference. When I kissed your cheek on the way to your mouth, the location of my home wasn’t significant. You can try to fight our connection all you want, but I own you. The same way you own me, Pepper.”
My head fell back as I tried to inhale, the tingles so overwhelming now that the air scorched my throat. “All of that is true, but what about your client? What about the information you gave them? The result of it all?” I paused, the hurt a constant nag. “Look what it’s done to me, Bale.”
“And now, you’re in your private room, waiting for a man to join you, unable to take your robe off and lie down because you can’t fucking stomach the thought of him touching you. That’s the result I see. Whoever it is, Pepper, he’s not me.”
I straightened my head and stared at the armoire as though it were Bale. “What are you saying?”
“I want you. I want us.”
“But there is no us.”
Even if I wanted there to be.
Even if it was the wrong thing.
Or the right thing.
I didn’t know. I couldn’t piece anything together anymore.
He released a soft, achingly sexy groan. “You can say anything you want, but I see the truth. In your eyes, on your lips. I can see that the only thing on your mind right now is how it would feel to have my hands stripping that robe off your body. How hard you would climb when my tongue was licking your clit.” He paused. “Am I wrong?”
