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“See? Nothing.”
Jac throws the bag down. “Okay, but—”
“Look.” I glare from one hot, gorgeous man to the other. “Do what you want. Both of you. I’m done here. I’m also done with both of you. This was just my way of tying up the loose ends, maybe making some money in the reward fee. But…” I take a breath. “Finally, finally being able to touch, just once, the infamous Heart of Dark Desires. Fight over it for the rest of your lives. I really don’t care.”
“Fuck all this.” Jac glares, turning and pointing a ringed finger at me in his darkest amber suit with black, red and green plaid. “And fuck you. I’m out.”
He storms out the door, slamming it behind him.
I turn to Hendrick.
“You fucked him right after fucking me?” He shakes his head. “Of course you did.” He won’t look at me.
I deserve it. I know that. Not just for fucking Jac the day after fucking him. Which, to be fair, isn’t anything new in our fucked-up scenario, but I deserve it for what I’ve just done.
Going down on my knees, my cheeks burn, and if Jac was here, he’d make a comment about this being my favorite position or where I belong.
What the hell’s wrong with me? I’m pretty much in love with the man who won’t look at me and I’m half in…I don’t know what with Jac. There are times I could fall for him, times I actively hate him, and yet with it all, I want him as much as I want Hendrick.
I crave him. Crave how he treats me.
I finish putting my things in my bag and get up. I look at Hendrick, but he’s still not looking at me, and I can’t find any words.
I just stood here and let Jac maul me. So did he, I guess, but it was my body Jac’s talented hands roamed over.
There’s nothing to say, so I just head for the door.
“Fuck, Cat. Don’t.” Hendrick moves fast, and he catches my shoulder when I’m about to turn the handle. He pulls me to him and I go. As his arms come around me, I hold him, too. I need this. Him. The heat. The beat of his heart, the scent of him. All of it.
I might actually love him.
I squeeze my eyes shut.
“Cat, I don’t know what the fuck you’re up to, but I don’t want you to leave. I… I care about you.” He takes in a shuddering breath. “I get it. That means nothing. How can it? But even if we can’t make it work, we can have fun in the short term.”
I’ll want to be with Jac. Just as much as I want to be with him.
“Don’t say it,” he says. “I hate him, but you also want him.”
“I can’t explain it, Hendrick. I wish I could, but…”
“Jac and I’ll ride it out to the end, which is going to come. Neither one of us is going to give up on this. We’re too stubborn for that, you know this. The feud runs too deep, and now that feud, that competition, is amplified because it involves you.”
“I’m not a prize,” I reply. “Far from it.”
He frowns, and there’s pain in his gaze. Pain I’ve caused. “Is there anything I can do or say to make you forget him and be with me. Only me.”
I pause. I know I can’t give him the answer he wants, the one he deserves. I’m no better than them, am I? I’m a selfish bastard, too, because I want them both. Even after everything.
“Hendrick,” I whisper, glancing away, “please. I-I—”
He straightens, and for a long moment, he’s quiet. A sudden coldness takes over his expression, and he nods. “I see.”
I was expecting to be treated like the criminal I am. Get shoved under a microscope and not believed. But it seems the biggest threat is the one I didn’t see coming. The fact we stupidly fell for each other.
I know I have to go. I have to walk on him, on Jac. Stick to my plan. But my heart hurts.
He hasn’t trusted me enough to tell me about Lili, who I know that pink diamond engagement ring was for. Who he loved, man to woman. Who Jac loved, brother to sister.
