The paper dropped from her hand and fell to the floor.
“Apparently, so were you.”Her lips barely moved.“I can’t believe I let myself fall for the hatchet man.”
Betrayal sliced through Lexie.She stared at Cam and fought not to cry.She’d woken up alone, and she’d gotten up to try to convince him to come back to bed.She didn’t like sleeping solo anymore.Even more, she didn’t like how hard he was working himself.She’d been concerned about him.
Talk about a rude awakening.
Her gaze swept over the paperwork on the coffee table.She couldn’t believe what he’d been doing behind her back.She might be sleepy, but she had eyes and she had a brain.There were notes everywhere on her proposal—slashes through some things and underlines highlighting others.What other reason could he possibly have for going through her work like that?He was stealing her idea.
He took a step towards her.“Let me explain.”
“I am such a fool.”
It didn’t matter how he spun it.She knew betrayal well enough now to recognize it.She knew the way it cut off your breath with surprise, only to work its way deeper as facts became clearer and motivations became more painfully obvious.Disloyalty had smacked her over and over again.She had a father who hadn’t told her she had a sister, much less anidentical twin.Yet that same twin had accepted money to keep quiet about their relationship.
And now her lover…
Her breath caught in her lungs as the betrayal began cutting straight to her heart.Was she that gullible?Did everyone just take one look at her and think patsy?God, she never would have thought he could sink so low.
Her fingers curled into her palms so tightly her fingernails dug into her skin.“Were you going to give me any credit at all?Maybe my name in a footnote somewhere?”
Cam’s bare chest worked up and down.“Damn it, Lexie.You know me better than that.”
No… No, she didn’t.She’d let her emotions get in the way of clear thinking once again.She’d been leery of him from the beginning, yet he’d been there every time she’d needed support.He’d taken her side whenever it had felt like it was her against the world.It had been almost too easy to let herself lean on him.
Now she knew why.
“Roxie warned me not to trust you,” she said, voice shaking.“Blaire too, but I defended you.”
He came at her so fast she didn’t see him move down the steps.The paperwork in his hand slapped down on the coffee table, and he reached for her.“Don’t do this.”
She stepped back before he could touch her.
“They said you were ruthless.I can’t believe I forgot that the job always comes first with you.”She looked at him incredulously.“You got me toquit.”
His eyes narrowed.“Is that what you think?Do you honestly believe I’d take you to bed to steal an idea?That I’d need to?”
“According to your reputation, you’ve done worse.”
His shoulders stiffened, and she literally saw him turn from the man who lay beside her in bed to the corporate shark he was.
“So it was some evil master plan that made me press you up against a jukebox in a crowded bar to get a first kiss?Letting you ride me like a wild woman was a twisted business ploy?”He stepped closer.“I was scheming when I bent you over that dresser and fucked you from behind, making you moan and beg for more?”
Lexie jolted.She couldn’t listen to this, not while she was wearing his clothes.The silk blend of his shirt was caressing her skin, tickling her thighs and sensitizing her nipples.She still wanted him, but she now knew the price she’d paid to have him.She spun around, desperate to get away, and suddenly found herself nose to nose with the crystal paperweight on the mantel.
It was in her hand before she knew it.
And it left it just as quickly.
She heaved the crystal as hard as she could.It flew over the sunken living room and across the foyer before smashing into the wall beside the front door.The sharp edges punctured the drywall, creating a jagged hole, before the crystal fell.Almost in slow motion, the heavy piece of glass dropped to the floor and shattered.Pieces scattered everywhere, reflecting the light from the lamp in a rainbow of color.
As pretty as it was, the beauty was broken.
And as loud as the crash had been, the silence that followed was even louder.
Cam’s head snapped back towards her, surprise clear on his face.Lexie couldn’t look at him.All she could do was stare at the damage she’d done.She hadn’t been able to do that when Julian had betrayed her.
“Lexie,” Cam said softly.
