"Tell me this first: will you stillloveme then? Can I still trust you?"
Hope began to slip away. Numbly, she shook her head. "I couldn't allow you to demolish my father's legacy, no matter the reason. You couldn't expect me to."
"So there it is." Though his features were as rigid as a mask, anguished rage flashed through his eyes. "All your talk of love, of trust... in the end, it amounts to nothing. You're no different than the rest."
"Now wait one minute—"
"You thought you could manipulate me. Thought you could wind me round your finger and convince me to release your brother." His hands braced his lean hips. "When were you planning on giving me the ultimatum?"
Enough was enough. Despair gave way to anger.
"I am not planning on giving you an ultimatum, you bloody ass," she said between her teeth, "because I am going to win the wager. The trouble is I fell in love with you—although at the moment I am seriously questioning my judgment."
"Just like a woman to change her mind," he sneered.
"I amnotyour mother. I'm not going to abandon you," she shot back.
Perhaps she'd gone too far. The dark flare in his eyes made her take a wary step back. He stalked toward her, backing her against the bathing room wall.
"Words, Persephone. They mean nothing if they're not backed by action." His gaze flicked deliberately to her towel. "Will you commit yourself to me?"
Her mind spun even as her traitorous body thrummed in response. Questions battled with feelings. "Trust goes both ways," she managed to say. "You cannot expect me to trust you if you do not return the favor."
"I have shared more with you than I have anyone." His jaw looked harder than basalt. "Yet it still isn't enough for you."
Forcing herself to take a breath, she said, "You haven't told me why you want to destroy Fines & Co. If I understood, we could work together toward an alternative solution." She gave him a beseeching look. "If you could just trust me."
When he didn't answer, a sinking feeling entered her midsection. She'd told herself that his intensity, his possessiveness was his way of showing his love for her. That his behavior spoke of the words he'd never been taught to say—that she would eventually reach him. But what if she'd been wrong? What if his past had irreparably damaged his ability to love and trust?
Meet me halfway,she begged silently.Love me as I love you.
His scar tautened. "You cannot handle the truth."
Her temper snapped. "For the last bloody time, I am not some insipid miss! If you think so little of me, I might as well leave right now." She shoved at his chest.
She gasped when he took her wrists, pinning them at her sides. A dark storm flashed in his eyes, the charge running through the sliver of air separating their bodies. Quivering, Percy waited.
"It has to do with... Morgan," Gavin bit out. "This is between him and me."
"You meanNicholas?" she said, bewildered. "You know him?"
Before he could answer, a shot tore through the night.
Gavin's head snapped up. "What the devil was that?"
Unintelligible shouting sounded through the walls. Another shot fired.
Releasing her, he yanked on his clothes. He strode to the doorway. Stopped. "We'll finish this later," he said. "For now, you stay put, do you hear me?"
Questions and worry warred within her. "Be careful," she said, her voice trembling.
He looked as though he might say more, but he gave a curt nod and exited.
30
Stewart metGavin at the door to his apartments. "'Tis Fines. He's out in the alleyway—drunk and with pistols drawn."
Hell's teeth. Just what I need."Did he say what he wants?"
