Panic and horror flit across his face. “What? Buy you?No.I just want to talk.”
Anger and devastation flood me, goading me to tug at the silky tie holding my black robe closed and pull the fabric to the side, exposing what’s underneath.
Camden hisses in a breath, and with a mutteredfuck, he looks away.
Bile rises in my throat. He can’t evenlookat me now that he knows where I came from.
I wrap the robe around myself, holding it to my chest, and swallow back a sob.
This is pure torture. Seeing him here. But it hurts so much more knowing he doesn’t want to see me.
“Wow, you really did just want to talk,” I huff, spinning toward the door. “Keep your money.”
“Savannah. Please.”
I peek back over my shoulder, a mess of pain and confusion and maybe even a little hope.
He doesn’t look up. His focus is fixed on his feet. Even as he begs me to stay, he can’t look at me.
“The last thing I’d ask you to do is fucking strip for me,” he growls at the ground.
That pain in my chest spreads, and tears prick my eyes. Could this man really be this disgusted by me? “Is it because I’m a stripper now, or is it because you fucked my mom? Which one disgusts you more?” I say through tears.
Camden snaps his head up, his blue eyes blazing. “You have it all fucking wrong.”
“Oh yeah? You can’t even look at me.” I swipe the tears from my face, hating how weak I am.
“Savannah,no.” He stalks toward me.
I back up until I bump into the door. Even then, he doesn’t touch me. He only searches my face, shaking his head.
I hold my breath, refusing to inhale his familiar scent, and I try like hell not to look into the eyes I once believed were my forever. It’s nearly impossible, though. I want to sink into those depths. I want to throw myself into his arms and never let go.
“That’s not what’s happening,” he grits out. “But I’m not taking advantage of you right now. Just come home with me, baby girl.”
My heart cracks in two. “Home? I have no fucking home. And I never have. Not with my mom or the joke of a father who never wanted me. Then you told me to leave. You sent a fuckingtext message. Not sure my mom was right when she told me I would have been better off if you’d been my father. Doesn’t matter, though. You’re not, so if you don’t want to touch me, then get out so someone else can take their turn putting their hands on?—”
He cups a hand over my mouth, his irises so dark they blend in with his pupils in the terrible lighting, looking like black holes of anger.
“Fuck. That,” he forces out through gritted teeth. “No one is putting a finger on you unless they want it broken. And we both know I’m nothing like either of your parents. Maybe I woulda been a better father than that asshole, but baby girl, I’mnot. So no, I’m not disgusted that you’re Tara’s daughter. She ruined enough of my life already. I won’t let her ruin this too. You are mine, Savannah.Mine.And you dohave a home.” His voice cracks on the last word. “With me.Please, baby girl, just come home with me.”
“Stop calling me that.” Tears stream down my face. I want to believe him. So badly. But when I needed him the most, he turned his back on me. He disappeared. “How did you even know I was here?”
“Everyone’s worried about you. Everyone loves?—”
This time I’m the one who holds up a hand to stop him from speaking. I can’t hear him tell me he loves me. That anyone does.
And he didn’t answer my question. How did he…
It hits me then, and my heart sinks.Josie.I didn’t tell her what I was doing, but during our conversation tonight, I think she figured it out. “Wow, she really stabbed me in the back, huh? Were you there when she called me?”
“Savannah, please,” he rasps, his eyes filling with tears. “Please let me explain. Please give me a chance to make this right.”
I shake my head, not trusting myself to speak. Not trusting my stupid brain or my traitorous heart. Both want to give in. Both long for him. But I feel so betrayed. By him. By Josie. By my parents. By every single person who was supposed to be on my side.
“Please go,” I whisper, dragging my gaze to the floor.
He drops his forehead to mine, but I close my eyes to shut him out.
