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“So many times. Once upon a time you were dressed in crimson from head to toe. Only your head and shoulders visible. Some event or another. I watched you dance with those rich, spoiled men. Keeping your head up as you stared them down. As they backed away, slunk away in defeat.”
I smile. “I remember that dress. It was beautiful but really awful to dance in. I was bored. I didn’t want to be there, but I needed to close the deal.”
“Did you close the deal?” Taylor asks, and I can almost hear him smiling.
“Of course, I did.”
“I loved that dress on you. You looked like a queen, untouchable, unbreakable. You looked like you should have been mine,” he whispers, and his lips ghost my temple.
“Why didn’t you come and talk to me?” I murmur.
He stills, stopping our graceful movements, and then steps back. “You have two weeks left, Scarlet. And then you have to leave.”
I stare up at him. My heart pounding, aching, tearing apart. “I know.”
“Try not to forget that.”
“I don’t forget anything, Taylor.”
He pauses. “In another lifetime, Miss Scarlet.” He sounds so regretful that it makes me ache. My eyes burn with unshed tears. He turns away and spins back, advancing so suddenly that I only make it two steps before his arm around my waist stops me and his lips find mine.
I arch my back, opening to him. It’s an onslaught, devouring me, stealing everything, and leaving me changed. He tastes like honey, I think absently. My hands curl into his shirt, pulling him closer. Because I need…I need him.
He tears himself away as suddenly as he captured me. Leaving me standing in the dark. The only light is from the moon and the glow of the house where all my dreams and desires tempt me. I feel like the stars, lost in the dark, alone.
Taylor calls me to his office the next day. I’ve been waiting and dreading to see what his next move would be. It’s inevitable. Taylor and I have a pull that can’t be denied. We both know it. But will our clash be one of destruction or bliss? I’m not even sure. Jet leads me to the office and smiles as he opens the door. Then he pulls it closed behind him and disappears.
I straighten my shoulders and move to sit opposite Taylor with his huge desk in between us. He looks up from his paperwork, and for a second, I think I see fire and hunger, but then it’s just cold curiosity.
“I need a new perspective, and I think you can help me,” he says, leaning back in his chair. He looks so tired, it doesn’t show in his appearance, but his eyes look drained. “This might be a bit hard to stomach, but I promise you if there was any other way, I would do it.”
I watch him, wondering what the hell he’s about to ask.
He takes his time; I don’t rush him. “When your pack decided not to include you in their pack, how did you feel?”
I stare at him, trying to contain the rage that’s coiling inside me. “How do you think I felt?”
Taylor looks at his fingernails. “Unworthy, unloved, alone.” He flicks his eyes up to my face, and what I see in them tempers the anger.
I lean back, crossing my arms over my chest. “How important is this story?”
He considers his answer, and I appreciate that. “Quite.”
I bite my lower lip. “Fine. My pack didn’t want me. I knew that already. I didn’t want them either. So love or yearning for pack mate bonds weren’t there. What I did feel was a rejection from someone I thought was a friend. I felt rage that they’d not had the decency to tell me to my face. Even standing there that morning, they couldn’t seem to manage the words. It was the disrespect and dishonesty that was the biggest issues causing my negative reactions.”
I let my eyes drop and ponder his question.
“No, I was angry that I’d taken care of them. I was furious with myself for being so blind and settling, and I was devastated I was going to lose my baby.”
“Baby?” Taylor asks sharply.
“My business.” I fold my arms over my chest and slide down into the seat. “I worked hard on that, and they sold it. That was my love child.”
“Did you want to kill them?”
I shake my head without hesitation. “Why bother? They’re going to make themselves miserable in months. That’s all the revenge I need. I’m sure not a single one knows where the mop is.” I mutter. “The roaches will carry out my revenge.”
Taylor clears his throat twice and then takes a drink of his water. I watch curiously and smile.
