“Do you understand?” he asks.
“Yes, no baking.”
“Do you understandwhyI don’t want you to bake?”
I try inching away so I can look into his eyes, but he doesn’t let me. Instead, he fills his big hands with my hips and hauls me across the room to sit on the bed.
I straddle him, getting comfortable. Everything inside me starts tingling. He doesn’t like my baking, but he’s here... he didn’t leave. He’s not ignoring me.
“Are you afraid I’ll slip something in the cookies to kill you all and make a run for it?”
His eyes pop, then crinkle when a genuine smile lights up his handsome face. I love when he smiles. It always makes the blood sing in my ears.
“No, pretty girl. There’s nothing in this house you could poison us with.” He lifts one hand to brush my hair over my ear, then ghosts his fingers down my cheek.
I lean into his touch like a puppy seeking comfort. “Then why? I promise my brownies are nice.”
“I bet they’re nice, but I don’t want you to bake because you’re doing it for the wrong reasons.”
I grip his t-shirt, anchoring myself in place so he can’t push me away. “I wanted to do something nice for you.”
“Exactly. You got up at six to bake because you think you need to earn my attention. I read your texts with Alex. You did that with him all the time.”
I swallow the bitter pill of another privacy invasion. There’s no point getting worked up over it. Given how long he’s been lying to me, I’m sure he’s done much worse than just read my texts.
“I wanted him to stay,” I say, staring at my index finger curling around the drawstrings of his sweats. “I thought that if I made something he liked, he’d find a few minutes for me... but he never did.”
“You don’t have to work for my attention. It’s on you all the time. I’m here. I listen, okay?”
“But you don’t want me. Not the way you used to.”
“There’s nothing I want more, pretty girl. You have no idea how much restraint it costs not to barge in here every time you play with yourself when you know I’m watching.” He traces my bottom lip with his thumb, eyes like molten steel.
“Then why don’t you?”
“Because you don’t trust me. You still think I’m using you. You think I’ll leave you behind once I have the evidence.”
“You will,” I whisper, my fingers climbing his chiseled chest, tracing the contour of his muscles there, then around his neck. “But that’s okay. I’ll take what I can get now.”
He blinks his eyes as if my words are hurting him. “This is my fault. You didn’t doubt me until I gave you a reason.” He presses his lips to my forehead. “I’ll fix it.”
He sounds so genuine... he holds me like I’m the most precious thing in the world, but... Alex was the same when he wanted something, perfect when he had an agenda. The rare occasions I refused to let him touch me, he showered me with affection until I was no longer useful.
And Carter’s already proved he has an agenda.
He could’ve told me the truth at any point. He could’ve been honest, but he chose to lie, even though he knows that I love him.
He might have feelings for me, but they were born from necessity. He only got close to me because he was ordered to. He earned my trust to infiltrate my mind.
He’s doing the same thing right now. He’s lost my trust, and thinks if he doesn’t earn it back I won’t tell him where the evidence is—if I ever remember.
“You don’t have to fix anything,” I whisper. “If you want to do one thing for me, then please... stop pretending, okay? I don’texpect any declarations. You’ll find out what you need to know as soon as it comes back to me.”
He grits his teeth, frustration evident in his dark eyes. “I’m not pretending, Hailey. I want you and I’m not leaving. I’m not letting you go.”
“If you want me...” I run my fingers back down to his hard abs. “Take me.”
“No. I want you to give in to me because you know I’m not using you, not because you think we only have a few weeks left together and you’re making the best out of a bad situation.” He stamps another kiss on my head. “No baking, Hailey. Not unless it’s to bringyoujoy.” He lifts me off, setting me down beside him, and gets up, heading toward the door.
