Page 61 of Perfect Satisfaction

Her lips firm before she spits out, “Go to hell.”

“Want to join me there?”

She appears to consider it but comes back with, “An interesting offer. I have a better one for you.”

My blood travels south straight to my dick as I try to imagine why Ursula is standing here. I’m fairly certain the herd of lawyers said we’d meet for the first time at our new lodging. I lace my fingers behind my head. “What’s that?”

She sways her hips forward, dropping her briefcase in my lone visitor chair. Every inch of my skin is on fire as I realize this isn’t a figment of my imagination. She hikes her hip on the corner of my desk showing off a few inches of her upper thigh. I immediately glance downward.

But her next words have my hands freezing and my mouth hanging wide open. “You can get the fuck out of my life, Arek. I believe you’ve been asked plenty of times to just sign the divorce papers. This farce could have been over between us long ago.”

“Excuse me?” She can’t be here now to plead for a divorce.

Her eyes are glacial when they meet mine. “What was it you said to me the day you admitted to selling out my best friend’s tragedy for money? Oh, that’s right. ‘You might not always be able to protect the people you care for, Ursula.’”

Christ, I did say that. How did I forget saying something that cold? Is that why she turned to Basset?

Just as I’m beginning to see our past through her eyes, she slams my chest with a verbal wrecking ball. “Now, if you elect to leave my life, you won’t have to wait a year. Joshua has agreed to hand over your money now. We can be rid of this farce of a marriage you’ve insisted on holding onto.”

My feet hit the floor with a thud. I push myself to my full height. “Excuse me? I’ll be fucking damned if I’ll allow your lover to pay me off.”

Ursula merely shrugs.

“You took vows you swore you would never break. You have the fucking nerve to flaunt a relationship with Joshua Basset at every turn? You have the unmitigated gall to sit here in front of me and order me about like I’m some kind of lapdog?”

She runs a finger beneath her lower lip. “If I remember correctly, lapping things up was one thing you did extraordinarily well.”

Seething anger pulses through me and I finally say to her face what I’ve been calling her in my head for months. “You goddamn bitch.”

“Tsk, tsk, Arek. Such language. Besides, it’s not like your nights have been lonely.” She stands until our bodies are brushing but unlike the dark nights before, when her fingers begin scoring up my chest, her breathing doesn’t accelerate.

Nothing moves on her magnificent face to signal my presence means a damn to her.

Why would she come here? All she has to do is suffer with me for one year and the money is hers, the same as me.

“Why would you ever agree to this, sweetheart? Other than to have someone warm in your bed instead of the icebox you’ve been sleeping with.”

Not even her long lashes blink when she rises up on her toes to whisper against my lips, “Forgiveness. I vowed to myself I’d find it somehow. Once I finish this last penance, I’ll be able to walk away knowing I sacrificed everything for it.”

“Including when you broke your vows?” I taunt.

She steps back. “Believe what you like. Besides, it was so comforting to have the picture of you kissing your lover presented to me on the day my father died. Classy. Truly.”

I’m frozen by what she says and the stupor of having her breath entwined with mine.Lover?

She turns on her heel and strides away, snatching up her briefcase on her way out the door. The clicking sounds follow her down the hall at a faster clip than when they announced her presence.

It’s too late when I realize she’s disappeared. That’s when her words finally penetrate. “Wait? What? No!”

It takes longer than I care to admit to get myself under control.

I never expected that kind of cold fury from Ursula and it leaves me with the feeling I may have set myself up for my own downfall.

She actually believes I could do that to her?

No, she couldn’t. Because if so...

I sweep my arm across the desk in my fury. Everything lands with a crash to the floor.