“You’re a bastard, Nick,” she told him.

“I might be, but that doesn’t change the fact that you want me,” he told her.

She desperately wanted to deny his words. But they would both know she was lying, would both know it was nothing more than air escaping in a last attempt to save her sanity. She knew if she told him to let her go, he would do just that. And he wouldn’t be any worse for the wear if she walked away. Only she would be hurting.

So what did that mean? What was she to do?

“Believing in magic doesn’t make it real. You either grow up, as you so emphatically told me, and face reality, or eventually you’ll crash and burn,” he told her.

Sucking in her breath she glared at him. “Are you talking about yourself or me?” she asked.

“I guess that’s yet to be seen,” he said as if he’d already won his little battle. The problem with a war was that there had to be a loser, and Chloe had no doubt she was the only one to be defeated in this battle Nick had waged.

“I honestly don’t know what you’re expecting me to do,” Chloe told him.

“You took a job. Are you going to see it through?” he asked.

Yes. He’d gone mad for sure. “The job is finished, Nick, and we both know it,” she told him.

“Then walk away.”

He backed up, leaving her enough room to scoot around him, but not enough space to think properly. He wasn’t telling her to leave, but he was giving her the opening she’d thought she wanted.

Chloe told her legs to move, but she stayed glued against the wall. This was her chance to run, to try to gain a bit of freedom. The problem was that she didn’t have anywhere worth running to. She hated the man standing before her, and yet she was also drawn to him in a way that didn’t allow her to walk away.

“I didn’t think you were going anywhere,” he said. Victory was radiating from him as he stepped forward again, this time his body brushing hers, his lips an inch from her own. This time it was with purpose and desire.

Chloe now knew it was possible to hate and care for a person at the same time. Nick had brought something to life inside her, and she feared she wasn’t going to be the one to walk away from it, even if she’d had every intention of doing so. They both knew she wasn’t going anywhere.

No matter how much she despised what he was doing to her―to the fragile relationship they’d started―she still desired him, still craved him. She wanted to pull away but she wouldn’t.

When his finger softly rubbed her cheek, Chloe realized a tear had escaped. She hadn’t even known it was falling. His thumb wiped away the evidence of her weakness before tracing her lip. Something softened in his eyes, but he quickly pushed it away, the hardness she’d been witnessing the past few hours back in place. That was the last tear she would shed in front of him, she vowed.

He left his thumb on her lip, and she opened her mouth. It slipped inside, and she bit down on it with enough pressure to make him feel it. Instead of the gesture angering him, she watched passion flare in his eyes.

Of course. There was no other way for their night to end. Without sex, they were nothing. And sadly enough, she cared about him enough to want him to touch her, to want to feel that closeness she’d never felt with another.

“You have proven repeatedly that I want you, that you can have my body whenever you command. But that’s all you’ll get of me,” she told him, needing to at least make it appear she was using him as much as he was using her.

He smiled, not at all offended by her words. The look on his face called her a liar. She held her chin up in defiance.

“You foolish, foolish woman. You just can’t stop lying, can you?” he said, sounding almost amused. “It’s not just sex between us. We both know it. Something is burning inside me I’ve never felt before. And I see the same thing in your face. You can lie to yourself all you want, but don’t think I will believe it,” he told her.

Chloe was melting. She knew it was the closest she’d ever get to hearing him confess to having real feelings for her. It felt like it was enough. Soon, she vowed, she’d be strong enough to not accept anything less than everything from a man. But she wasn’t there yet.

“We shouldn’t do this right now. Too much has been said―been done.” It was a weak attempt, but she had to say it.

He moved in even closer. “No, we shouldn’t,” he admitted. But then his lips brushed across hers, just a whispering of skin against skin. It was perfect, and yet it wasn’t even remotely enough. Chloe shook as he pulled her into his arms, his strength and passion overwhelming her. He pressed his arousal against her, sending heat straight to her center.

She saw the moment he decided he was done talking. And she felt relief. He leaned in and took her mouth, this time without hesitation. Anger, passion, and emotions flowed through his lips, poured through her veins.

Chloe reached up and grabbed him. She was through fighting.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Control had come and gone. Nick was lost the moment his lips connected with Chloe’s. Though he was sure she had deceived him, was in fact still deceiving him, he couldn’t stop himself from wanting the connection with her, wanting to accept the lie.

There was something so vulnerable in the way she looked at him, in the words she so carefully uttered—especially in the things she didn’t say. He’d noticed how she’d flinched at the mention of her father, saw the pain in her eyes at remembered memories.