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But would I wake up in twenty years and regret that? Would I look back on this moment and think, what if I said yes? What if I took my happiness into my own hands and did something selfish for once?

“Tell me you hate me. Tell me that there is no chance of you ever loving me. Tell me that you never want to hear from meor see my face again. Tell me that while looking me in the eyes and I’ll respect your wishes. I’ll step back. But until you say those words and mean them, I won’t stop fighting for you. I’ll do anything to convince you to be mine.”

This is why I didn’t want to talk to him. This is why I gave him the silent treatment and drowned out his voice with my headphones every single day. Because every word that leaves his lips gets under my skin and into my veins, traveling straight to the center of my heart and causing it to beat to his name.

“I push, and I push, and I push, but you just keep getting sucked back into my orbit. Why?”

“Because I’m desperate for you, Verity.” Cullen ghosts a hand along my hip. “And I’m not ashamed to beg for your attention.”

I want him.

God, I want him so bad.

“Why do you keep going so far? Why do you keep doing so much? You walk me to work, you send me flowers, and don’t even get me started on the handbag.”

“So, it did arrive.”

“You didn’t need to get me something like that.”

“I wanted to. I saw the one you brought to work every day; it looked like it was going to snap at any moment.”

How did he notice something that minor? Why does he care so much?

I attempt to strengthen my resolve one last time, one last-ditch effort to push him away.

“That’s beyond the point. You didn’t need to get me something that expensive. I don’t need designer things.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s too much.”

“Verity, nothing in this world is too much for you. Do you not see your worth? I could spend every cent in my bank account, and it still wouldn’t amount to how invaluable you are.”

“I’m no one. I have nothing.”

“You’re everything.”

My attempt fails, and my resolve fractures. My nose prickles, tears welling up in my eyes. The emotions are too much for me to handle.

My free hand moves on its own, reaching up to grab his suit vest and pull him closer to me. His grip on my other wrist tightens, and he slides my hand farther up the wall as he erases all distance between our bodies. Those fingers that were trailing my hip stop and squeeze the flesh, bunching the silky fabric of my dress. My pussy throbs with an undying need for him, sending heat throughout my body.

“Tell me, Verity. Tell me to leave. Tell me to stop touching you. Tell me you don’t want to kiss me as badly as I want to kiss you.”

I can’t. I can’t do any of that.

Because I want this. I want this so much it feels like I can’t even breathe.

So, I sayfuck it. For one moment, I’ll live for myself and deal with the consequences later.

I lick my lips, staring Cullen directly in his molten eyes, and tighten my hold on him.

“Kiss me.”

TWENTY-SEVEN

CULLEN

Our kiss is an explosion of pent-up lust and frustration. It’s heaven and hell crashing together in sinful harmony as our tongues intertwine.