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“Thanks.” I studied the chicken and vegetables- anything to help take my mind off her. Even sitting close to her was causing my body to react- to tingle.

We ate the rest of our meal in silence, neither one of us looking up.

When she was done, she walked over to me and held her hand out to take my empty plate. I handed it to her and our fingers brushed one another, causing my cock to twitch like it had touched a live wire.

Our eyes locked and my body felt like it was on fire as I held her finger gently under the plate with the tip of my pinky… yearning for that connection, dreading when she took a step away, but she didn’t.

She didn’t move.

She stood there, frozen like a deer.

Fuck!

She was off limits! She was off limits!

I removed my finger, severing our connection. “Well, I’m going to bed.”

She nodded. “Yep. Sounds good. You too… I mean me too… me too.”

She sat the plates on the floor in the hall and then shut the door and looked at me. “You don’t have to sleep down there, you know?”

“Yes, I do.”

“The bed is big enough for the both of us.”

“No.” It was the only word I could get out. Simple and effective.

“Why are you acting like this?”

“Like what?”

“This.”

Because I want to take you in that bed and fuck you until the morning sun comes up. Until you can’t walk anymore. Until your throat is hoarse from yelling my name out. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’ve seen the real you. The one you are when your guard isn’t up.”

“You haven’t seen the real me.” I said flatly, and it was true. She hadn’t and she never could. The real me was a dark and troubled man who would get pleasure out of hurting her.

No, the real me needed to stay locked away and hidden from her, but I could feel him there, wanting to get out.

“Right. Because you’re a bad guy. What if I want a bad guy?”

“No.”

“So you don’t care about me… is that it?”

“No.”

“No? No reason… just no?”

I could tell she was getting flustered, but I didn’t say anything, and she sighed in disbelief.

She glared her eyes at me, then took off her shirt and slid out of her skirt so she was standing naked again.

“What the hell are you doing?” I barked.

“I’m going downstairs to get some dessert.” She said, walking to the door.