“Is he the reason you decided celibacy was a good idea?”
She nodded. “You heard what Aimery said that day.”
“And you heard what I said, as well. It’s obvious that he thinks a lot of himself,” Cobra said, refilling their glasses of wine. “Men like him will shift blame every chance they get—even about their failures in the bedroom.”
“It wouldn’t have hurt so much if he hadn’t invited another woman to come to his home to take my place before I could even leave. Not only was it hurtful, but it was also downright humiliating.”
“He’s a huge ass. You deserve so much better.”
“There is something that I need to admit to you,” she said, hesitantly.
He raised a brow. “What is it?”
She nibbled nervously on her bottom lip. “I didn’t like you, even before I met you.”
“Why?”
“Camille called it envious resentment syndrome. Those times when I did talk to Granddad, he would always mention you. I was jealous that you had the kind of relationship with him that I so badly wanted. He taught you how to play chess. Whenever I asked him to teach me, he would make up an excuse about not having time. So, I had to take care of it myself.”
“How?”
“I joined the chess club in college and got pretty good at it. Granddad doesn’t even know that I was part of Rhodes College’s chess team.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thanks. But my jealousy of you wasn’t just about chess. You had access to Richard that I never had, and every time something happened that highlighted that fact, I would get angry. The few times I did come home, he would always sing your praises, like you were the grandson he never had. And yet, there I was, the granddaughter he had…and didn’t want.”
Hearing the hurt in her voice, Cobra honestly didn’t know what to say. Telling her that she was looking at things the wrong way would not help matters. There were just too many misunderstandings between her and Richard.
“I think you should share how you feel with your grandfather.”
“And I will one day.”
“I’d make it sooner than later, Desiree. That’s the only way to resolve the issues between the two of you and move on. You and Richard need to talk.”
“You’re right. I guess in a way, it’s about time.” She sat back and took another sip of her wine. “So what’s your story, Cobra? I’ve heard a lot of gossip about you, including from the women I overheard talking in the ladies’ room, but I want to hear the truth from you. Why did you make a bet with your brothers that you could remain celibate for a year?”
And then leaning in closer, she added, “And I want to know what diabolical role you thought I would play in it.”
CHAPTER 19
Cobra began talking, and Desiree listened. But she did more than listen. She studied his facial expressions, saw the anger in his eyes, the tightening of his jaw, and the flaring of his nostrils. Telling her about that night was not easy for him. It was making him furious all over again. The tone of his voice said it all.
When he finished, he took a sip of wine as if to wash down the memory. “And what scares me shitless is knowing that I could have lost everything that I worked so hard for, just because of one night’s indiscretion, and one woman’s lies. I think that’s when I knew I had to do something. I’ve always been a one-and-done man, a guy who enjoyed the opposite sex too much to ever seriously consider settling down with one. But in one night, I discovered that the way I dealt with women could have ruined my life.”
“So, it was your idea to abstain from sex for a year?” she asked.
“Not entirely. For years, my best friend Liam Strawberry, whose nickname is Straw, and who happens to be the sheriff of Savannah, would tell me that I needed to put a lock on my zipper. He felt I was getting too comfortable with the one-and-done lifestyle. Although he knew I was discerning when selecting my bed partners, he was sure that one day, someconniving woman would inevitablyevade detection. And he was right. That is what happened that night. I had a lapse in judgment, and it almost destroyed everything I’d ever worked for.”
He shook his head. “Both of my brothers showed up at the police station—Tez to represent me, and Colton to offer his support. Straw brought up his suggestion that I consider locking my zipper for a while, and my brothers agreed. I thought about it and decided to do it. They didn’t think I could, and that’s when we made a bet on whether I could remain celibate for a year. I felt it would give me time to re-strategize. Maybe come up with ways to be more careful, so nothing like what happened with that woman would ever happen again.”
He looked at her. “So, that was my plan. To go without sex for a year, then return to my regular routine, only being more cautious about it. At least, that was my mindset…until I met you.”
“Why me?”
“I was immediately attracted to you in a way I hadn’t been to any other woman. Since I knew I couldn’t sleep with you without losing the bet with my brothers, my diabolical plan, if you want to call it one, was to prime you sexually, so that when my year of celibacy ended, I would make love to you and you would want me as much as I wanted you.”
She tilted her head and stared at him. “Did it ever occur to you what priming me might do to me?”
