Page 14 of Reveal

He opens his mouth and shuts it as his expression falls. “And what about for trying to protect you?” His voice breaks, and I hate that every part of me wants to crumble at the sound.

“The last I checked, destroying someone and protecting someone aren’t the same thing.” For the first time in this conversation, my voice lacks all emotion, because I see it now. I know it now.

His shoulders visibly sag, and for a beat there’s defeat in his posture, but just as quickly as it came, it goes. “So what does that mean?” He strides across the room and puts his hands on my arms, the connection, his nearness, the somberness in his eyes all but breaking me.

And it takes a second for me to find my bearings again. It takes a moment for the hurt to subside long enough so my reason can reign.

I take a step back to create some of the distance that he’s clouding. “I’m sorry, Ryker, but Wicked Ways is no longer allowing you to use their services. Your access has been revoked.”

“I don’t care. I don’t want their services. I just want you.”

I hiccup over the sob I emit. “I just need—” To believe you. To trust what you’re saying. To know this was real. “Time.” The lump in my throat now almost chokes me. “Can you please just go now? Haven’t you caused enough hurt already?”

“Don’t throw this away. Us away.”

You already did.

“Please . . .”

My back is to him, my hand on the door. My emotions turbulent. My heart breaking.

“I’ve fallen in love with you, Vaughn.”

And if anything is going to spark the fight back in me, it would be those unexpected words.

“No!” I spin around and stare at him, not caring about the tears suddenly painting my face. “You don’t get to say that to me! You don’t get to use those words to fix things.” I suck in a ragged breath.

“But it’s true.” He gives me the most nonchalant of shrugs to match his matter-of-fact tone.

I push my fingers against my eyes and shake my head back and forth as I try to reject the words I’ve never allowed anyone to say to me. The ones I’d never wanted anyone to say until twenty-four hours ago. The ones that just twisted the knife in my chest and made this whole thing hurt that much more.

Because I love him too.

But not like this.

Not after he used me. Not after he showed me that a woman at his disposal is all he’ll ever see. Not after he thought it was okay, regardless of the circumstances.

“Please leave or I’ll call the cops. I don’t love you in return,” I lie.

Emotions play over every muscle in his gorgeous face. Without another word, he turns around and walks out the front door, never seeing my hand in the “hang loose” sign hidden behind my back.

CHAPTER THREE

Ryker

You said you loved her.

I stare at the city streets twenty floors below my penthouse. Taillights brighten and dim, steam rises and dissipates, and people move quickly in and out of my line of sight, but all I see is the turned-off front porch light of her house when I stood on her driveway. How there was a blue hue on the other side of the closed curtains where she probably had those beloved black-and-white movies of hers playing to comfort her. All I can feel is the goddamn panic I felt when I forced myself to drive away after sitting there for an hour after she kicked me out.

You used those damn words out of desperation to salvage your fucking colossal mistake.

When my fist slams through the drywall, I don’t feel an ounce of pain. Hell, I didn’t even realize I threw it.

All I know is the hole in the wall has nothing on the hole currently eating its way through my fucking chest.

Dignified and always-in-control Ryker Lockhart just punched the wall like a thug.

That’s what this woman does to me. She makes me lose all sense of myself, every ounce of reason . . . and fuck if she hasn’t made me love every second of it.