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The salad in front of me had become obsolete because the nerves that had been on edge under my skin had suddenly shifted into anger. How fucking dare he say that? It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what he was hinting at. I debated throwing my fork at him, but that would get me nowhere.
“You’re disgusting,” I said.
His expression didn’t change. “Because I asked a question?”
“Because you know exactly what that question sounds like.”
“Do I?”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “You’re being a dick on purpose because you want me to say the words you’re implying out loud.”
He leaned back slightly, as if giving me room to back myself into a corner with my own accusation. “Then say them.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t perform on command.”
“You’ve been performing since you walked in.”
My hand tightened around the water glass. He wasn’t wrong. “Careful.”
His gaze dipped to my fingers, then returned to my face. “You think I’m asking for sex.”
There it was. No euphemism was needed, apparently. And surprisingly he hadn’t continued on this merry-go-round in an effort to get me to admit it first.
“Aren’t you?”
“No.”
The answer landed strangely because I didn’t trust the man in front of me as far as I could throw him. “No,” I repeated. “Just no?”
“Not for this.”
“For this,” I said. “How specific of you.”
His mouth barely moved. “If I want you in my bed, Sutton, I won’t need to hide the request inside a negotiation about your friend.”
Something hot and furious moved through me. “That is not the reassuring statement you seem to think it is.”
“I wasn’t trying to reassure you.”
“Of course not. That would be too close to human decency.”
His eyes stayed on mine. “You asked to speak with Cassie. Direct contact is not on the table tonight.”
I felt my stomach drop, but I refused to let my face show it. “Then we’re done.”
“No,” he said. “We’re not.”
“I asked for one thing.”
“And you asked for too much.”
I laughed once, sharp and humorless. “I asked to make sure my best friend is alive.”
“You asked to contact her.”
