Sable
The devilin his features flared when he tugged my arm. My intention was not to set Milo off by coming here, but when did anything ever go according to plan when it came to him?
“Let go of me!” I wiggled against his strong hold to no avail. “I didn’t come here to fight with you.”
“You didn’t come here to fight with me?” He laughed as he released my arm. “But yet, you came here to throw my generosity back in my face. How did you think I would react?”
“Like a civilized human being.” I rubbed my arm. “How did you think I was going to react when I found out you paid my rent for the next few months and deposited money into my account?”
“I thought you would accept it and move on.” He paced in front of his desk. “We both know you need the money.”
“I don’t need your money.”I need you.“You left me in the woods. Why would I want anything from you?”
I wanted everything to do with him, but how could I be with a man who wanted to kill my brother? If anyone should have understood family loyalty, it should have been him.
“I fought hard for us.” He pointed at me. “I gave your brother more chances than he deserved. I agreed to your terms when you asked me to set him up with a new life.”
“I know.”
“But he fucked up again when he tried to traffic a woman,” Milo shouted. “Once my father got involved there was nothing I could do.”
When he ran his fingers along his perfectly groomed beard, my gaze fell to his lips. How I had missed his mouth on mine. I ached for his touch. I hadn’t slept in days because I couldn’t without him holding me.
“Chance didn’t have a choice,” I said. “Bello made him do it.”
“You can’t help yourself.” He clutched the edge of the desk. “Are you ever going to stop making excuses for him?”
“Milo, it’s not like?—”
“Stop it!” He slammed his hand on the desk. “I don’t want any more excuses. Chance did have a choice. I removed him from Bello’s orbit, but he couldn’t stay away. He couldn’t resist the opportunity to stick it to me. He put himself in that situation. The only reason he’s still breathing is because of you.”
“Because of us.”
“No! You made me weak.”
That statement sucked the breath from my lungs. Whether it was true or not wasn’t the issue. Hearing Milo admit that he thought he was weak gutted me. And knowing that he thought I was the reason made me realize we were never going to be together. How could we?
“Because of your brother, I jeopardized my family,” he said. “That can never happen again.”
“It won’t.” Knowing he didn’t want to be with me made his demands to take care of me infuriating. “That’s why I’m here. I don’t want anything from you. I don’t need anything from you.”
“Really?” He gazed down at my old clothes while he stood before me in a fifty-five-hundred-dollar suit. “How are you going to pay your rent if I don’t do it? We both know Chance can’t contribute.”
“I’m not your concern,” I said. “We’re over, remember?”
The words stuck in my throat, hitting me with enough mental force that I wanted to fall to my knees. But if I did that, I would lose every ounce of self-respect I had left as I begged for him to take me back.
It had been a few days, and I still couldn’t process how we had gotten here. I trusted him, depended on him, and let him take care of me. That had to stop if I intended to move forward.
“How could we have ended like this?” I whispered, not realizing that I had spoken that out loud until he responded.
“We’re over because you can’t let your brother grow up and fend for himself.” Milo stepped toward me, causing me to retreat. “You don’t get to tell me what to do.” He kept stalking forward until I hit the door. “Your rent is paid, the money stays in your account, and I’m having the clothes at my house sent to you. Don’t argue with me.”
I needed his control. The struggles in my life had drained me. I had gotten used to giving my responsibilities to Milo. Craving the comfort his structure provided gave me a strange sense of stability.
He pressed his hands against the door on either side of my face, holding me hostage with the blazing fire in his eyes. I breathed in his woodsy scent, missing the way it lingered on my skin hours after we had been together.
“Are we clear?” He focused on my lips. “I won’t have you suffering because Chance screwed up your life.”
