Page 71 of Make Me Yours

A comfortable silence settles between us as a faraway look enters her eyes.

It doesn’t take long before a frown mars her expression.

“Penny for your thoughts,” I say softly.

A weak laugh tumbles from her lips as she takes a sip of her wine like she’s trying to buy time.

My mouth curves into a grin as I catch the slight color that blooms in her cheeks. “Wait just a second. Are you actually blushing?”

She raises a hand to her face as it floods with more color.

“Okay, now yougottatell me what you’re thinking about,” I say with a low laugh, nudging her gently.

She groans. “No, I can’t.”

That’s all it takes for my brows to rise.

In all the years I’ve known Lilah, she’s never shied awayfrom talking to me. So whatever this is, it matters. And there’s no way in hell I’m walking away until I get to the bottom of it.

23

LILAH

Unsure how to respond, I take a deep gulp of my wine.

“Holy shit,” he says with even more amusement. “Does this conversation really call for liquid courage?”

“Maybe,” I mutter, lowering the glass. “This is so embarrassing. I don’t want to tell you, okay? Can we just drop it? Please?”

He shakes his head. “No way. Spill.”

I glance at the wine, watching the deep red swirl in the glass. “Ugh.” It takes several seconds to work up the nerve to speak again. “So, I told you I walked in on Devon and Marissa while they were…”

“Fucking,” he supplies, the humor in his voice vanishing like smoke.

I swallow hard and take another drink, finishing it off. “Yeah. That.”

The memory presses in, hot and sharp. “He had her bent over his desk and his hand was in her hair, gripping her ponytail. He slapped her ass a few times, all the while talking dirty.”

I finally dare a glance at him from beneath my lashes. Hisface gives nothing away, but the intensity in his eyes is palpable, as if he’s absorbing every single word.

“It felt like I was staring at someone I didn’t even recognize,” I whisper. “Like she was able to unlock a part of him that I couldn’t.” I glance down at my empty glass. “I need a refill.”

He takes it gently from my hand and sets it on the console table. “No, you don’t.”

The way he looks at me sends a jolt straight through my body. His gaze flickers to my mouth and then back to my eyes.

I blurt out the one thought I haven’t been able to make sense of. “He was never like that with me.”

A taut silence stretches between us until it’s on the verge of snapping.

“Is that what you wanted from him?” he asks.

I freeze as he moves closer, invading my personal space.

Unable to hold his gaze, I look away.

His fingers slip beneath my chin, coaxing my attention back to him. “Is that what you wanted from him?” he repeats, gentler this time.