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I grinned. “You like?”

“Like? I’m fucking obsessed.” He crossed the room, gaze smoldering on me before he took my mouth with his own.

It was a desperate kiss, crushing with its intensity, its weight.

So different from the fun and playful kisses or slow and savory ones we’d shared in the past. This one carried a different type of need. One I couldn’t identify.

But I loved the way he devoured me. Ripped the dress down my arms and tugged at my thong until it came apart, turning to threads in his hand.

His lips stayed on my body as he laid me back on the bed, already reaching for a condom in his nightstand drawer.

His rush made me worry, but I tried to brush it off and stay in the moment. Maybe it had been too long since we last touched this way, and there would be more time to slow down this weekend.

But I held on to his shoulders as he thrusted into me. Savored the feeling of every inch of his skin on mine. I’d missed this closeness with him, along with all the little touches. I hoped it would be sooner than later when we could spend more nights together. When I could feel his arm curl protectively around my middle. When we could savor kisses that turned into slow burn touches and then intimacy with fireworks that lit the skies of my life.

I wanted all of it with Gage. This man who fucked me and made love to me and made me feel like the sexiest woman alive either way.

Thinking of our future, of how I felt for him, mixed with the pounding rhythm of our sex, the slapping of skin, his harsh breath on my cheek, it tipped me over the edge. I cried out his name as I tightened around him, the sensations too good to deny.

And when we were done, he stayed silent, tossing the condom in the trash and putting on his underwear before sitting on the edge of the bed instead of sliding in under the covers with me.

My throat felt tight, because this wasn’t the Gage I knew. There was no smile in his eyes. No kind words or adoration on his lips.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, sitting next to him, placing my hand over his beating heart and looking for some sign that if things weren’t okay, then they would be eventually.

He shook his head slightly.

Dread filling my stomach. “What happened? I know the soap dish shipment fell through, if that’s it, but I’ll be able to find a replacement in time.”

He kissed my forehead, silent for a long moment. “It’s not about The Retreat.”

“Then what?” I asked, feeling so much more naked than before. “Because you’re scaring me.”

He turned his gaze on me, blue eyes dark, and then looked away again without a word.

I almost felt dizzy with worry. Was this it? The part where he got what he wanted and then left? Was he giving up on making amends with his parents? Or did he just not want me anymore?What?

I wanted to voice all my fears aloud, but I stayed silent, watching him as he put on his stony exterior, the one that didn’t let me see past the walls he erected around himself.

It was the old Gage. Not the one I knew.

Not the one I loved.

“My meeting with Jason didn’t go as expected,” he finally said.

Relief swept through me. There was an issue with his partnership. Not with us. I rubbed his back, but he seemed to tense even more. Letting my hand fall, I asked, “What happened?”

His eyes landed on mine, darker, emptier than ever before. “He said our...relationship is damaging to his campaign. He said if I wanted this partnership to go through, I needed to end our relationship, publicly.”

My lips parted, but inside, I was screaming, flailing. Gage’s partner wanted him to end things with me? Why?

Was my relationship with Gage really that detrimental to him becoming governor, or was it something else entirely?

“Wh-what are you going to do?” I asked, afraid to hear his answer. But I needed to know. And if I was being honest with myself, I knew it would always come down to this:

Would he choose his business?

Or would he choose me?