“I do see you. I do care.”
“If you really cared, youneverwould have let your mother speak to me that way. It’s unforgivable.”
“I already told you, that only would have made it worse. She would’ve made things a thousand times harder for you, Stevie. You don’t know her like I do. That’s how I—”
“Cope. Right.” She huffs a joyless laugh, swipes hair out of her eyes. “I comforted you when you were coming apart, breaking down in front of hundreds of people. I wasthere, Lex. I held your hand. I let you…” She swallows. “I let you kiss me.”
Guilts saws through me, a searing jolt to my veins. A wicked, awful feeling.
When I needed her, she was there. No hesitation, no questions asked.
And when she needed me…
Where the fuck was I?
Lost.
Checked out.
Doing what I always do.
Doing what my mothertrainedme to do.
Stevie lifts her eyes to me, searching, devastated. “That wasn’t real though, was it? That kiss?”
My vocal cords strain, struggling for a voice. “That was real.”
“It wasn’t.”
“I wanted to kiss you.” I take a step toward her.
“Stop.”
“I still want to kiss you.”
“You want touseme!” She lifts off the piano, face crumbling.
Before I know what’s happening, I watch as she yanks her black dress over her head and tosses it at my feet.
My mouth dries. My heart flounders.
I can’t prevent the dip of my eyes as my gaze lands on her full breasts spilling out over the cups of her turquoise bra. Porcelain skin, soft curves, matching lacy underwear hardly covering her lower body. The image shoots lightning bolts of arousal straight to my cock.
I force my attention back to her face.
I’m stunned.
Frozen in place.
“Use me, Lex,” she bites out, eyes volatile, cheekbones flushed pink. “Go ahead. You’re good at it. You’reamazingat it.” She shoots forward, hands balling at her sides. “Come on. Take what you need. It’s what you do, what you’ve always done.” Another forceful step toward me, causing me to teeter backward. “You used me for comfort when we were teenagers, then left me all alone, broken and stranded, forced to pick up the pieces of my shattered dreams. You used me to put yourself at the top of Hollywood’s A-list with your sanctimonious television show that made a mockery of everything I held dear. And you’re using me now, fooling the world into believing this sham of a relationship, just to help you sleep at night.” She’s practically foaming at the mouth, her nostrils flaring with indignation. “Are you sleeping, Lex? Huh? Have I finally been able to bring youpeace?”
We’re chest to chest.
I don’t know where to look, what to say. She’s caught me off guard, rendered me speechless, and when she drags her hands through her hair with a little cry of hopelessness, I react, snatching her by the wrists.
I spin her around and pull her to me, her back flush with my chest. “You’re right,” I breathe out, my voice dropping to a low growl. She’s breathing heavily, her body shaking with emotion in my grip. I press a flat palm to the space between her breasts and glide my hand down, watching over her shoulder as her nipples pebble through the thin fabric of her bra. “You’re absolutely right, Nicks. I keep coming back, keep dragging you down with me.”
She sags against me with a defeated gasp, her hair tickling my chin.
