“Our cover,” Hazel whispered, pressing her fingers to her lips. “I was wrong. You’re not the asshole. I am. I have to go.”
“Hazel.”
She brushed past me, her perfume a gentle touch of rose, and made for the sidewalk. She had her phone out, but before she could summon a cab, my chauffer pulled up in the SUV. She got in and leaned forward, speaking to the driver.
I strode down the steps and got into the car after her. “Home, please, Geoff.”
“Yes, sir.”
Hazel glared at me, teary-eyed, then turned her head and stared out of the window.
I didn’t dare touch her.
The ride was silent. We exited the car at the house, and Hazel got out before I could open the door for her. She strode up the stairs, hitching up her silk dress so it wouldn’t catch on her shoes.
I entered the house, hot on her heels, stripping off my tie and unbuttoning the collar of my shirt. “Hazel.”
“I don’t want to talk anymore.” She made for the stairs that would lead to her room on the second floor. Her room without me.
“Stop.”
“No.” Her heels clicked on the stairs.
“I told you not to fall for me.” The words came out angry. “I warned you.”
She halted on the stairs, her knuckles white on the polished balustrade. “You arrogant, son of a… you—”
“So you haven’t fallen for me,” I said, and the knot of tension in my chest eased. If she wasn’t in love with me, then there wasn’t a problem. I followed her up the stairs and stopped behind her. “What’s the problem? I thought, for a second, that you were jealous.”
“You don’t understand anything.”
I placed my hand over hers. She flinched.
“Then help me understand why you would want to back out of such a good deal. Are you really going to jeopardize everything for… what? You still haven’t told me.”
“Your father is a horrible man.”
“That’s why you want out? Because you can’t stand Mortimer?” I laughed, my mirth bitter and barely audible. “Welcome to my world.”
“I don’t want to aid and abet him,” she said, but it smacked of a lie. There was something deeper going on here that she wasn’t telling me.
She’s fallen for you. That’s got to be it. “If you have feelings for me,” I said, “you need to tell me now.” I nuzzled her neck with my nose. “I won’t touch you if you do. I won’t make it worse for you, because there will be nothing but heartbreak in it for you if that’s the case.”
“Dickhead.”
“Tell me why you want out. I can fix it.” I ran my hand up her arm to her neck, brushing her hair back then planting a wet, hot kiss on her flesh. “Is it that you want me still? It’s the sex. You miss it. You wish we’d agreed to thirty days rather than a weekend.”
“I can’t do this. It’s wrong.”
“But so right,” I replied. “Do you feel guilty about it?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“The sex isn’t part of the agreement. It’s just a happy coincidence. Remember that.” Another soft kiss.
What are you doing? What the fuck are you doing, asshole?
“Were you jealous?” I asked.
“No.”
“Jealous because you want to fuck me,” I clarified, so she wouldn’t have to admit to being emotionally invested in this. I refused to believe she was. It would be easier if she despised me again. “You hated the thought of me fucking someone else when you want it so bad. Is that right?”
“No.”
“Don’t lie to me,” I replied and slipped the ring out of my pocket. “Tell you what, gorgeous.” I took her hand and spun her around to face me. “I will fuck no one else but you for the next thirty days if you stay.”
“I’m not a whore,” she spat, but her pupils were dilated. The thought of me inside her already planted in her head.
“That’s not what I’m saying. It’s not part of the contract. No deal involved. It’s a promise between you and me.” I slipped the ring back onto her finger, trying to ignore the quickening pace of my heart at the sight of it there. “I won’t make you jealous again. I won’t let another woman near me. I won’t let that picture enter your mind for the next thirty days.” I grasped her hips and pulled her close, so she could feel my erection. “I will fuck you every morning and every night. I’ll take you in the afternoon. I’ll satisfy you sexually for the next month. My personal ‘thank you’ for helping me out.”
Hazel’s breaths came in gasps, and her nipples were erect, pricking the silk dress. I flicked one of them idly.
“We can hate fuck,” I said, chuckling. “Come on, Haze, we’ve always had sexual chemistry. It’s the reason you lost your virginity to me. It’s the reason you’ve been pining after me for years.”
“I haven’t.” But she didn’t move away.
“If you want me to satisfy you, I can. Make it easier for you to fake the engagement, wouldn’t it?”
She didn’t answer.
“Tell me you want to stay.” I wanted her in this house. I wanted to enjoy what was left of this month with her. I could focus on the aftermath later.
Hazel’s lips parted, but no sound came out.
“Show me you want to stay.”
28
Hazel
In a crazy way, Damien was right.
Then again, everything about this situation was crazy, so what had I expected?
It was a dumbass move to throw away all the “work” we’d put in so far just because I couldn’t handle my envy. And yeah, I liked believing that the jealousy was just for the physical stuff. Maybe, if we got that out of the way, I’d have some clarity.
Weak. Weak. Weak.
And scared too.
I was terrified of walking away from this shitty agreement because it
