"Want to know a secret?" I murmur, dragging my gaze to his.
"What's that, sugar?" he mumbles, pushing my silk robe aside and grazing his fingers over my collarbone.
A shiver runs down my spine. I squeeze my thighs tighter and slide my hand through his hair, knocking off his cowboy hat. It drops to the floor with a thud. I grip his thick, wavy locks and tug his head back.
He groans, keeping his eyes on me, pushing his erection against my stomach.
I let my tongue graze his earlobe, purring, "The only liar in the room is you."
He freezes.
I release his hair and step to the side, but he steps with me.
He pins his elbows on the wall, cages his body against mine, and slouches so his darkened face is an inch above my mouth. His drawl is as slow as honey sliding down a blade. "Sugar, the only person I ever lied to was myself."
"Oh?" I barely get out, doing everything I can to not move an inch. If I do, my lips are going on his, and I'll regret it.
He lowers his head, quickly shifting my robe and dragging his tongue over the curve of my neck.
I inhale sharply.
A monsoon of sensations comes flooding back. His lips. His breath. His tongue. It's all the same but more potent. More experienced. More lethal.
I blink hard, trying to stay focused, demanding, "Tell me."
He kisses the side of my neck, moving dangerously close to my mouth, then stops.
My knees wobble. I grip his biceps.
He pins a stormy gaze on me, pauses, then announces, "The lie I told myself is that I could survive without you."
Tense silence explodes between us. Neither of us move.
Minutes feel like hours until he runs his finger over my lips, breathing long, deep breaths. He murmurs, "Do you know how many tortured hours I spent reliving the memory of your lips?"
I close my eyes. Wyatt was always a lot to handle. But now? With all the history between us? He's a pack of dynamite waiting to blow up my entire world.
His lips hit my ear. "Don't go. Stay and let me show you how much I've missed you."
I open my eyes, and all the hurt and rage come back with a vengeance. "Is that what you think I'll do? Slip into your bed and sneak out before the others wake up, just like before?"
His face hardens. "No."
I push at his chest, needing space, and shake my head. "This isn't happening, Wyatt. Not tonight or ever. Understand?"
He reaches for me, but I duck around him. "Willow?—"
"No. Like I said, you don't know me anymore. And I learn from my mistakes. I won't make the same one again," I seethe.
Pain fills his expression, crushing me, but I'm not falling for his old tricks. He asks, "That's what you think we were? A mistake?"
I scoff. "What would you call us?"
He pins me under his brooding gaze so long, I shift on my feet. Then he says, "We weren't a mistake. The way I handled things was, but we weren't."
I huff. "The way you 'handled things'? You mean running off the minute the going got tough?"
His jaw tics. He glances at the ceiling.
