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He sighed.“Dammit, Bethany, stop these games.”
“Fuck you, Zach.You don’t get to say that to me.If there’s even a tiny shred of game-playing, it’s not on my part.If you trust nothing else, trust me on that.You’ve taken pleasure in fucking with my head since we met.You won’t be given the opportunity to mind-fuck me anymore.”
“I know you want answers?—”
“Answers, which you’ve made clear you’re not prepared to give me.Knowing I’m not worthy of your trust hurts, and I refuse to hurt anymore.So unless you’re about to propose anything remotely close to what I need, I fail to see the point of this phone call.”
“The fucking point is I need you.I miss you.I can’t sleep without you.I can barely fucking function,” he growled.
She stumbled, hating herself for the betraying flow of warmth that started in her belly and arrowed straight between her legs.Spying a coffee shop ahead, she quickly darted inside and found a pre-lunchtime empty seat.
“I know you’re not functioning well either, baby.”His voice softened, almost crooning in her ear.
“Right.And you know this how?”
“Because I know you.Inside and out.Tell me where you are.I need to see you.We can talk.”
“By talk you really mean fuck, don’t you?Because you know there’s only one thing I want to talk about.And since we both know you don’t want to talk about that, there can only be one thing on your mind.”
He sighed.“I need more time, Bethany.There are other factors involved beyond me revealing what happened six years ago.But I’m working on it.”
Her heart slowed with a painful thud.“You know something, Zach.Ever since we met you’ve used some variation of that line to keep the important parts of your life from me.Why did you even bother to tell me about your… about Farrah?Oh, wait, you didn’t.I only found out because you were dreaming about her while you were in bed with me.”
“Christ, Bethany?—”
She gave a laugh that scraped her throat and drew the wary attention of the guy on the next table.“And now I sound like a fucking neurotic bitch for wanting to control who you dream about.That’s what you’ve reduced me to.You need more time?Sure.Go ahead and take all the time you need.”
She ended the call.Her phone rang immediately.She flipped it to silent and sucked in a shaky breath.
The guy glanced at her again.His expression slowly turned from wary to appreciative.She stared back, forcing herself to look properly.He wasn’t bad looking.He was well built with a pleasantly charming face and thick brown hair that flopped over one eye.Earphones rested over his buff shoulders, and he was dressed in a casually trendy way that flattered his body.
Her gaze clashed with his again.His interest was definitely sparked.
Once upon a time, she would’ve been extremely flattered.
Now, she felt nothing.Not even the mild feminine satisfaction of catching another man’s attention.
Because the only attention she wanted was Zach’s.First and always.Except Zach had only one interest.Her body.
She looked away from the guy and didn’t even feel bad when she sensed his disappointment.Her heart hurt too much.Her body hurt even worse.
“Zach Savage Withdrawal” was a condition she’d become agonizingly familiar with over the past seven days.The ache hadn’t been gradual.The pain of walking away from Zach had been immediate.And excruciating.
She’d shut down completely once she’d boarded his plane to come home.She’d slept the whole journey, as if her body was preparing her for the rough ride ahead.
When she’d woken a half-hour before they’d landed at Newark, she’d relived the events of the night before and been stunned Zach had let her leave.
She may have been angry when he’d reminded her just now, but the truth was that if he’d asked her to stay she would’ve seriously considered it.In that moment after his stark declaration, he’d been vulnerable enough for her to have pulled the information out of him had she so chosen.
Of course, shock had played a huge part in rendering her mindless for those precious minutes.The triple whammy of Zach being married for just one day before he… he…
God.She couldn’t think about that last statement.No matter how much it’d knocked about in her head, demanding an answer, she couldn’t wrap her mind around Zach’s stark confession.
I’ve never wielded an axe in my life…
He’d said that to her in Paris.He’d looked like he’d meant it.And seriously, if Zachary Savage, billionaire extraordinaire, had taken an axe to anyone, surely it would’ve made breaking news?
A bark of hysterical laughter startled from her throat.