Billie and Ellie had been right.Fuck them. She was so angry. Her friends being right only made her emotions more intense. To have heard Max speak like that about another woman. No way was she going to let him get away with that. And she didn’t even know who she was.
She stood firm, angry as he approached her.
“It wasn’t.”
“So fucking what. You said it. You’re not the man I thought you were.”
He kept coming towards her. Something changed in his demeanour—he looked angry too.
She held her ground, not backing off. She didn’t realise how close he would come to her. But she wasn't scared, no she was so angry she knew she’d take him on.
He pushed his body into her, he was hard, and she sensed he was going to take her right here. Rough. Dominant. She wasn’t going to let him. Ever again. That was no way to treat a woman.And if he treated a woman like that what was to say he would treat me any differently. Emotions whirled inside of her. She was falling for him, but she pushed that thought away with the force of her anger.
“I could take you here,” Max said.
“So, that’s what sort of man you are?”
His eyes widened.
A hint of shock spurred her on. “One that can’t get a woman for himself because he’s so hated he has to take one with force? That’s why you’re alone in this world. You’re so busy taking, your heart is hardened against the reality of what you’ve become,” Zoe spat the words at him.
“You’ve got no idea,” he growled back at her.
He was so close she could smell his familiar scent, his breath on the skin of her face. She held her resolve. There was no way he could come back from that.
“I have. You saying that you can take me. That’s what you want? Cold sex? Well, go pay for it.” She turned away.
He grabbed her arm. She stopped and turned to face him, not pulling out of his grip. She knew she could. Power rippled through her.
“You don’t know what I’ve been through,” Max said, his voice edged with a tone she didn’t like.
“No, I don’t. So be a man and tell me.” She waited, holding her breath, hoping he would tell her. That he would allow the protective shell around his heart to break and truly let her in. That’s what she really wanted. Not this aggressive behaviour and possessiveness. His lips remained closed. His eyes were a turmoil of emotion. She waited. Giving him the time to speak and to tell her why he would behave so poorly towards her, especially when it was becoming obvious they were developing emotions. Her gut clenched tight. The reality hit her and not him.He can’t do it.Tears filled her eyes. “I thought so. You can’t.”
He let go of her arm.
That was his answer.
She spun on her heels and ran from him. A small part of her thought that maybe he would manage to come after her.
But there were no sounds of footsteps behind her so she kept walking away.
What the fuck have I done?His voice caught in his throat. I can’t tell you how much I’ve been hurt in love before, and how I nearly lost everything that was meaningful in my life. He wished he could yell the words after her. He wished he could take back the fucking insensitive comment he’d said in the bar. Somehow he’d managed to upset two women, and ruin his own chance of love.
I was going to take a chance with you, though.Old habits were hard to break. The wall around his heart which had kept women away for the last few years was strong and made him act poorly.
I’m an idiot.
It wasn’t an excuse.
He didn’t want an excuse.
He wanted Zoe back, to have her in his arms, to wake up next to her in the morning, every morning, and hopefully at his farm. But he’d let his temper get the better of him, and she’d seen a part of himself that even he was beginning to despise.
Max knew this behaviour had completely pushed her away and that there was no way he could turn this situation around.
Fuck it.He turned to go back into the bar.I don’t want to be with a woman anyway.
