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She blinks rapidly then tosses her head. “Is that your excuse for everything you did? Is that why you were in your house, in your bedroom, consoling her, when you knew I was on my way to see you?"
"It’s true. I told Giorgina I was home from the shoot, knowing she’d mention it to you. And I banked on your coming to talk with me, and I orchestrated it so you’d see us. But I had no idea she would be get so emotional and —"
She makes a noise at the back of her throat. Her green eyes flash. "You know what? Fuck that. And fuck you. And fuck whatever stupid idea you've come up with."
"Language," I growl.
"Typical double standard. You can swear aloud, but I can’t. Well, fuck that, too."
"It's only because your gorgeous mouth was made for other things, baby."
She blinks, then the meaning of my words sinks in. Color flushes her cheeks. "How dare you?"
She slaps her hands against my shoulders, and the touch of her sinks through my sweatshirt and into my skin. My cock twitches. She must sense the effect her touch has on me for she swallows. "Let me go, Declan."
"No. Not until you listen to what I have to say."
"No, you listen to me. You had your chance and you screwed it up, and I'll be damned if I’m going to let you do that to me again."
Bam-bam-bam. My heart slams into my ribcage. My pulse rate speeds up. My insides seem to have been dumped into the blender, the way they’re vibrating with apprehension. Fucking hell, from being at the top of my game to sinking to my knees and asking her to hear me out, I’ve swung from one end of the spectrum to the other. I shove aside my unease and school my features into a look of disdain. "If you don’t listen to me, it’s going to cost you."
"A-n-d, there you are. For a second there, I wondered if you’d changed, but clearly not. You still measure your worth and mine in money and fame and influence."
I blink. "So do you."
"But not to the extent you do."
"I don’t know what you mean."
"Of course you don’t. You’ve still got your sights on your career goals. On being number one. On becoming the most popular star in the world."
I lower my chin to my chest. "I’ve never shied away from my ambitions."
"And you’ve assumed it means as much to me to be the most popular in my field."
"And it did. You were hidden away by your family. You weren’t given the opportunities to find out who you were. You didn’t have the means to share your voice with the world. I gave you that chance. That springboard to showcase your talent to the world. To bare yourself and strike that chord with people who understood you."
She swallows. "And I’m grateful for that. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have embraced who I truly am. I wouldn’t have discovered how much I love to perform, how much I thrive on being on the same wavelength as my fans. How much I adore being able to share my creativity, my passion, my everything with the world, and have them reciprocate, but—"
"But?" I growl.
"But I don’t want it to the extent you do. I’m not willing to sacrifice my truth, who I am, my words, the inherent reason why I began singing in the first place. I don’t want to change who I am to fit in with the concept of what the world thinks I should be. I don’t want a label dictating what I should sing. I don’t want a partner who thinks he needs to protect me from whatever depraved tastes he has in sex."
I lurch back. "The fuck you talking about?"
Her lips curve a little. "You think I don’t know how much you enjoy S&M? That you need to be dominant? That you thrive on seeing me submit to you? You think I didn’t understand that the first time I went to the Club? You think I don’t enjoy you being in charge?"
"You don’t know what you’re saying."
"Then tell me. Tell me why you had to go to such lengths, pretending to be engaged to someone else, knowing it would upset me and I’d break things off with you?"
I begin to rise to my feet, but she grabs hold of my arm. "Oh, no. You don’t get to leave without talking to me."
I glare at where her fingers are locked around my wrist, then back at her. Her features pale, but she doesn’t falter. Interesting. Apparently, the little rabbit has found her mettle.
"Let go of me."
"No."
