Page 154 of Burning Daylight

I’m not above begging.

Alex:

And I’m not above bribing.

I chew on the corner of my lip.

Me:

…what do you want?

Alex:

Haven’t decided yet. Let’s make it an IOU. Give me twenty.

Sighing in relief, I slip my phone back into my clutch and look in the mirror, running a hand down the front of my cocktail dress.

I’m just about to walk out the door when it pushes back against me, and I gasp, the apology on my lips for almost running into someone.

But before I can say anything, Roman’s face fills my vision, his eyes stormy and his jaw set.

My jaw drops, and my stomach flips. “What are you?—?”

“Shut up,” he demands, walking into the restroom and flicking the lock back on the door behind him.

My heart thumps erratically in my chest as I gaze at him and then the door and then back again. “What are you doing here?”

He laughs humorlessly, his hands ripping through the roots of his hair. “Is he your man now? Are you with him, Juliette?”

“Is he my…?” My eyes widen, satisfaction curling like ribbons through me. “You’re jealous.”

He gives me a grin, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Just wondering if you two were together when you were begging me to fuck you with my fingers.”

I cross my arms, my eyes narrowing. I’m not going to sit here and tell him what he wants to hear just to soothe that giant ego of his. If he wants to believe the worst about me, some preconceived notion like everyone else seems to have, then who am I to stop him?

But it hurts he’d think that of me at all.

And maybe it’s because I’m already on my last goddamn nerve, and maybe it’s because everyone and their brother seems to know everything about me based on assumptions and what other people tell them, but I’m tired of defending myself against something I didn’t even do.

I lift my chin. “Who I’m with is none of your business.”

He chuckles darkly, but it’s a humorless sound. He points at me. “Wrong answer, Little Rose.Youare my fucking business. Do you want to know why?”

Swallowing harshly, I don’t reply.

“Because no matter how many times we say that we’re nothing to each other, I can’t get you out of my goddamn head.”He slams his hand against his chest. “Can’t get you out of here, either, so fuck me, I guess, right?”

I throw my hands in the air. “I don’t know what you want from me.”

“I want you!” he exclaims, his arms dropping helplessly to his sides. “I just wantyou.”

My heart free-falls at his words, and tears spring behind my eyes, the burn fierce as I try to keep them from falling.

“You’ve been the only genuine thing in my life since showing up to this fucked-up little town, the only thing that feels real, and now I don’t know if eventhat’sthe truth.”

He takes a step closer to me, and I step back.

“I want to stop craving you with every breath.”