"I know his name." Something flickers in his expression. "You work for him."
"With him. It's not—" I stop. What is it, exactly? "It's complicated."
"Yeah." His hand moves across the table, stops just short of mine. His fingers are tattooed, scarred. I remember how they felt twisted in my hair. "Looks complicated."
I can't breathe properly. "Grayson?—"
"You ran." His voice drops lower. "From the alley. From me."
The words hit like a physical thing. "You stopped."
"Because you deserved better than that." His jaw works. "Not because I didn't want you."
The confession makes my chest tight. "I know."
"Do you?" He finally pulls his hand back. "Because you're looking at me like you think I rejected you."
"Didn't you?"
"I told you to leave if you wanted to." His eyes are intense. Dark. "You didn't leave, Bea. You stayed and gasped my name while my forehead was against yours and?—"
"Stop." My face is on fire.
"Why? You were there. You remember." He leans forward slightly. "Or are we pretending that didn't happen?"
"We're not pretending anything." My voice comes out sharper than I mean it to. "We both know what happened. And we both know you stopped it."
"For good reason."
"I know that." I do. I really do. But it doesn't make it easier. "You were being respectful. Giving me a choice."
"And you chose to stay." He's still looking at me like he can see straight through me. "Until you ran."
"I panicked, okay?" The words tumble out. "You had your hands on my hips and your forehead against mine and I couldn't think and I—" I stop. Breathe. "I panicked."
"Because of me?"
"Because of me." I look down at the table. "Because I don't know what I'm doing. Because one minute I'm trying to keep my distance from all of you and the next I'm?—"
"Making out with him in full view of the front windows?"
My head snaps up. His expression is unreadable, but there's something in his eyes. Heat. Dark interest.
Oh god. He watched.
"It just happened," I say quietly, but my face is on fire.
"Did it?" His voice drops lower. Rougher. "Because from where I was standing, it looked pretty deliberate. You climbed him like a tree, Bea. In the middle of his store. Where anyone walking by could see."
My stomach drops. "Who else?—"
"Relax. It was after five. Most shops were closed." His eyes hold mine. "But I saw. And it was... educational."
The way he says it makes heat pool low in my belly. He's not angry. He's turned on.
"Educational," I repeat weakly.
"Mmm." His hand moves closer to mine on the table. "Watching you lose control like that. Seeing what you look like when you stop thinking and just feel." A pause. "Yeah. Educational."
