Page 45 of Tease Me

From the corner of his eye, he saw her turn in his direction. He didn’t say anything—he wanted her to speak, to share.

“You were the one to break past my hard exterior. I shared things with you I didn’t share with anyone else. I trusted you to keep my secrets, to protect me and to love me.”

Hadn’t he done just that?“I don’t understand.”

“Then you left. And I was back to having to protect myself and defend myself against getting hurt. I never dated after you broke my heart. I just... fucked guys when I needed to.”

His fingers flexed around her hand. He didn’t like to hear about what she did for the four years they weren’t together. It wasn’t like he could judge though; he hadn’t dated other women, but he had fucked other women when the need arose.

“And now you’re back, promising me the world again.”

“I’m not going anywhere. You have to know that.”

She nodded. “You also said that last time and look what happened.”

Okay, he’d own that one. “That was on me. I was being a fucking idiot. I thought I was doing what was best for you—that’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.”

“What would’ve been better is telling me the truth.” She didn't say the words with any scorn or derision. She was just stating a fact.

“What does this all mean, Vee? For us?”

“I need you to understand that I can’t give one hundred percent of me to you; I just can’t. Last time, you almost broke me. If it were to happen again, I think I’d simply stop existing.”

“Okay,” he replied slowly. It was a shitty situation, but he’d take what he could get.

Evangeline nodded sharply. “Okay. I just need you to understand we’re on the same page here.”

“Does it change our arrangement in any way?”

“No, why should it?”

“So I still get to come and see you.” She nodded. “Can we maybe hang out sometime? Catch a movie? Have dinner?”

“That’s too much. If we spend extra time together, it’ll chip away at my resolve to keep my distance. I need to keep my distance with you, Beau.”

Well, he didn't like it, but he respected her wishes. She had no idea how hard he was going to work to prove he wasn’t going anywhere.

“If we’re going to continue with this relationship, we need to be honest with each other.”

“I completely agree.”

She glanced at him. “Okay, answer me this then: have you dated anyone else in the last four years?”

Beau could practically feel her fear, and he was suddenly ashamed for even entertaining the idea of dating Lisa.

“Beau?”

“Yes,” he said, his voice hoarse. Clearing his throat, he said, “Yes, I dated someone.”

She pulled her hand from his. “How long did you date?”

Blowing out a breath, he tried to focus on the traffic ahead. “We dated for six months.”

“Where did you meet?”

“At the gym. She was a private client.”

“Why were you drawn to this woman?”

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