“Were you expecting something else?” he asked as he pulled his shirt over his head.
My jaw clenched and my chest burned. “This will do.”
“Good.” He tugged at my sweaterdress and I pushed off the wall slightly to let him lift it off of me. “Hmm,” he leaned in, kissing my collarbone. “You smell like rose petals.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t talk.”
His eyes met mine and he grinned. “Fine. Maybe you shouldn’t look at me while I fuck you either. Turn around.”
I did as he asked and felt him freeze behind me. A moment later, his lips pressed softly on my shoulder while his hands roamed my body slowly.
He stroked me for a moment before entering me. Slow and careful at first, then harder with rough strokes.
“What about this part, baby?” he asked against my ear. “Was this part real?”
I whimpered. Tempted to sayit wasn’tjust to anger him more. But I’d told my last lie yesterday and I was done.
I nodded.
“Did you lose your voice?”
“Yes,” I cried. “Every part of it was real.”
He bit down on my shoulder and pumped harder, bringing me closer with each thrust. I cried out, tears at the brink as I came.
He followed with one final thrust and a curse before emptying inside me and pulling out slowly.
We stood like that for a moment, him breathing at my neck while I urged myself to pull it together before I had to turn around.
He won’t see me cry.
“Come to bed with me,” he whispered tenderly after a long moment.
“What?”
“Elle,” he turned me. “Stay the night.”
“Why?”
He took a moment before answering. “Because I’m not ready to let you go.”
My eyes welled again. It wasn’t because he was in love with me. It was because he wanted to have his cake and eat it too.
I pushed him off of me and picked up my dress. “You don’t get a round two to say your goodbye.”
“Isabel.”
“Don’t call me that,” I shouted before slipping my things back on and racing out of his room.
I heard him mutter a curse behind me. I slipped my shoes back on just as he caught up with me in the foyer, shirtless but with his sweatpants back on.
I couldn’t hold my tears any longer. Screw my dignity, I’d already lost it ten minutes ago. I released them when he twisted me to face him.
“I am not a liar. I am not a fraud. I made the mistake of putting my career first,” I swallowed, “instead of trusting the man I’d fallen in love with.”
His expression softened but I had heard enough tonight to know there was no hope for us. “I should have known better than to think I could make it all work out in the end.” I tried to push past him but he held a tight grip. “And I should have known better than to come here tonight. So please let go of me.”
His mouth opened but he was speechless.
