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The truth of his response is like a smack to the face, and I rear back in his hold. “How can I trust you when I know you’ll lie to me?”
“I will lie, cheat, steal, and kill if that’s what it takes to keep you. You’re all that matters to me.”
“Even if I hate you for it?”
He flinches at the question, as if taking a bullet to the chest. “You can hate me for now, but not forever.”
“You can’t control that, Hayden.”
“True,” he says between clenched teeth. “But I can control everything else.”
I drop my gaze, not wanting him to see the agony that’s sure to be in my eyes. This man admitted that he wanted to possess me, and I ran. Do I have the strength to try again? Does it matter when my chances of success are minimal and part of me doesn’t want to leave in the first place?
I’ve never understood how a person could love and hate someone simultaneously, but Hayden has enlightened me.
“Let go of me,” I say, my voice calm despite my inner turmoil.
Hayden places his index finger under my chin to lift my head. “Never.”
I stare up at him, not bothering to conceal my fury. “I don’t want you touching me right now.”
“Miss Green, I wish you would try to stop me.”
The futility of my situation rises like steam to heat me all over. I shrug from his hold, but his grip is too strong, frustrating me all the more. In one last-ditch effort to get free, I fling the pearls at him. The iridescent orbs hit him in the face and his chest, bouncing off to clink on the floor.
He releases me. I press my lips together to keep my jaw from dropping, unable to believe that worked. Without his hands on me, my thoughts clear, and I can put this fucked-up situation into perspective.
“Hayden, I care about you. More than I want to admit right now.” When he quirks a brow in disapproval, my stomach dips. “But you have to see this from my point of view. How would you like it if someone violated your trust and invaded your privacy?”
“Everything is about motivation. If a mother kills someone for hurting her child, would you condemn her?”
I shake my head. “That’s different. She didn’t hurt the person she loved.”
He stiffens.
“Regardless if you want to admit it or not, you’ve hurt me with your actions. I need time to…”
“To. What?” he asks, the words clipped.
“To figure out if I can move past this.”
Hayden smirks and the mocking expression has the hairs on my arms lifting. “And if you can’t?”
“I—I don’t know.”
“Let me be clear, Miss Green. That’snotan option.” He leans forward, placing his lips by my ear. “You can run, but I’llalwayschase you.”
I take a step back, and he lifts his head, his gaze trailing my every movement as I cross my arms. The action is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to put a barrier between us, but I need distance from him in any way I can.
“You can come after me physically, but here?” I say, pointing to my temple. “This is a place you can’t follow me, no matter what you do.”
He frowns, his confident air disappearing. The blues of his eyes glitter with uncertainty and something I’ve never seen—fear. It stabs me, cracking the facade of bravery I’m shielding myself with.
“Hayden,” I say, struggling to keep my voice stern, “there’s nothing left to talk about. We’re at an impasse.”
He doesn’t move, not even to acknowledge what I’ve said. Or maybe that’s on purpose to show he disagrees.
“I’m going to call it a night,” I say.
