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She sank into a beanbag chair with a sigh. What a total fucking idiot she’d been. Here, she’d been going quietly nuts all week, every spare moment spent thinking of, dreaming of, longing for Beau. Meanwhile, the prick had probably forgotten her the moment he’d so unceremoniously dumped her at her door.
It really drove home how little she actually knew about the guy, outside of the scene and academia. Hell, maybe that woman had been waiting in the wings the whole time. Maybe she wasn’t the only one. After all, Beau was drop-dead gorgeous, highly accomplished and supremely self-confident. For all Lia knew, he might have a whole string of sub girls waiting at his beck and call.
The really stupid thing—the infuriating thing—was that she knew better. People generally tell you the truth about themselves if you take the time to listen. Beau couldn’t have been clearer the last time they’d spoken.
“Sometimes a strong BDSM connection can feel like more than it is… I look forward to our continuing friendship… I wish you the very best.”
Those were not the words of someone who was into you. Just because she had desperately wanted him to reciprocate her feelings, wishing didn’t make a thing come true.
Hope is the thing with feathers that soars, only to crash headfirst to the ground.
“Fuck hope,” she said aloud, clinging to her rising anger so it might displace her despair. “And fuck Beau Jackson.”
≈
As Lia roared away, Beau reached a fumbling hand into his pants pocket. Shit. He’d left his keys in the apartment, not to mention his phone and his shoes. He nearly collided with Renee as he rushed back to his door.
“Beau, what is going on, you big silly? Why did you run away like that? Don’t you get it? I’ve come back to you. Your one true love has returned at last.” She looked him up and down with a critical eye. “Your feet must be freezing on that cold concrete. Come inside and let your sub girl warm you up properly.”
“I don’t have time for this, Renee,” Beau said brusquely, pushing past her and into his apartment.
Before he could stop her, Renee followed right behind him. Once inside, she kicked off her heels and dropped her designer bag. Reaching back, she unzipped her dress and let it puddle to her feet. Underneath, she wore a white satin bustier with pink ribbons. Matching pink garters held up sheer black stockings. She wore no panties.
She looked as gorgeous as she ever had but the sight of her left him cold. And furious.
“God damn it, Renee,” Beau began, but before he could finish the sentence, she ran laughing from the room.
“Catch me if you can, Beau Bear.”
“Fuck,” he swore as he took off after her.
She easily found her way to his bedroom. As he entered the space, she lowered herself to her knees and placed her hands behind her head. “I know I’ve been a very bad girl. But I’ll make it up to you. I promise. Everything will be all right now. I’ll never abandon you again.”
Beau reached her in two strides. He swallowed hard in an effort to wrestle his rage under control. At the same time, there was no sugar coating what he had to do. Renee was intent on creating a false narrative in which he had zero interest. The sooner she got that through her head, the better.
Reaching down, he grabbed her arm none too gently and hauled her upright.
“Renee, listen to me,” he said, gripping her by the shoulders. “I don’t know what made you think you should track me down and just show up at my door after three years of radio silence. But now you need to listen to me. Whatever we might have once had, it ended a long time ago. There’s nothing left between us. Do you understand?Nothing.”
Her pretty face crumpled, a tear appearing artfully on her cheek. “Oh, Beau Bear. You don’t mean that.”
“I’ve never meant anything more in my life.”
Letting her shoulders go, he again gripped her arm. Keeping a firm hold, he dragged her stumbling from the bedroom. “Now, you need to put on your clothes and get out. I have somewhere I have to be.”
“You’re just upset. I should have called first. It’s all too much of a shock for you,” she tried, though surely even she couldn’t believe what she was saying.
To his relief, she plucked her dress from the floor and dropped it over her head. When she turned for him to zip it, he did so, but only to speed her on her way.
Lia’s stricken expression loomed large in his mind as he grabbed his keys and wallet and slipped his feet into his loafers. “After you,” he said, pulling open the door. When Renee didn’t move, he propelled her out onto the walkway and slammed his door behind them.
“I’m sorry you wasted your time with whatever the hell this was. Good luck to you. Now, I’ve got to go.”
He left her standing there, gaping in apparent disbelief. Racing toward his car, he unlocked it as he approached and dove behind the wheel. As he pulled out of the lot, he opened his mouth to tell his car’s Bluetooth to call Lia.
But at that moment an incoming call came through. Without waiting to see who it was, he accepted the call. “Lia?” he cried breathlessly.
“It’s Mark,” said a decidedly masculine voice. “What the hell is going on, bro? Lucia just told me Lia’s a mess. What the fuck happened? More importantly, how are you going to fix it?”
