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“I hate you.” The words were precursory to her bubbling sobs, also uninvited. She dropped her head against his chest and bawled. “I hate how bad this hurts.”
He engulfed her in a hug, rubbing her back, and smoothing her hair. Making it worse.
“Mia, doll. I know sorry doesn’t do shit. But God help me, I thought I was doing the right thing. That you were better off without me. That I was protecting you.”
If he thought that, then he was stupid. She had fallen for a moron. But she kept that secret and didn’t move from the warm, tear-dampened place against his chest. She wanted to crawl into his cradling arms. She wanted to feel him care.
“I was scared,” he said. “For so many reasons. I don’t get scared. I don’t know scared. But I was… I am scared out of my mind.”
“Why?” she whispered without moving her head. Her hands were still wrapped in his shirt.
“Hell, I don’t know.”
It was like a sledgehammer of reality, reminding her of him. She pushed away and out of his arms before he could protest. “Then that’s something you should’ve figured out before you got here.”
“Mia, you’re not moving. You’re not going anywhere.”
“Typical subject change. Resort back to orders. Classic, almost cliché.”
“I’m serious.” He looked serious, but he was always serious, and when it came to them, he was wrong.
“Your directives don’t matter anymore, Winters.”
“Stop calling me Winters, damn it.”
She ignored him, needing space for clarity, and shuffled toward the kitchen. Regaining her wits, she said, “I’ll call you whatever I want. Asshole. Jerk. Liar.”
He stalked close. “I never meant to lie to you. I don’t even know how I lied.”
“You led me on. And the whole it’s-not-you, it’s-me spiel? I expected more creativity.”
“I was protecting you.”
“For God’s sake. From what?” she screamed and threw a mug against the wall. “I survived crazed men and kidnappings. Plural!”
Standing in the middle of the shattered mug, he paused and took a breath. “None of that would’ve happened if it weren’t for me. If you didn’t know me, no one would have chased you, no one would have kidnapped you.”
Mia wanted to run away, but the ceramic shards and bare feet kept her in place. “If I didn’t know you, then I’d be dead in a cheap motel room in Louisville, Kentucky. You saved me.”
They were in a standoff, need versus emotion. Their eyes locked. Her stomach tightened, electricity buzzing around their showdown.
Crunch. He stepped closer.
“Don’t you dare kiss me, Winters.”
“Colby.” He took another step. His boot crunched more broken mug. “The name’s Colby.”
“Let me make this clear to you. You hurt me, and you should leave.”
“I hated every single fucking second away from you.”
“Get out.”
His last step closed the distance. “Not a chance.”
He clasped his hand under her hair, leaned over, and breathed in. Her heart stilled. Her breathing stopped. His sweet lips crushed over her mouth, and the world froze before her lips swept against his. His tongue delved into her mouth and dueled with hers. A velvet stroke. Shivers raced down her spine, but she was hot to her very center.
She drew back from his kiss, starstruck.