Page 42 of Bitter Secrets

Roth turned off the car and braced his arm on the steering wheel as he turned toward her. “What happened at Tuxedo Park won’t happen again.”

“What won’t happen again? You trying to break my arm or you choking Thea?”

“Both.”

“How can you guarantee that?” When he didn’t reply, she glanced at him. “Is that what you did after you dropped me off in New York? Put more safeguards in place, so there won’t be any more hiccups?”

The only sign that hit home was a tick under his eye. If she wasn’t paying attention, she might have missed it.

“How far will you go to protect your secret?” she whispered.

He stared at her from the shadows, unmoving and silent.

“Thea’s the closest thing I have to a mother. She’s been there for me as long as I can remember. Now, she won’t even return my calls.”

“I was told the damage was minimal.”

When she surged forward, her seat belt locked. She undid it with such vigor that the metal end smacked against the window as it retracted. She whirled on him, one hand braced on the console while the other splayed on the sleek, wood dashboard.

“There shouldn’t have been any damage to begin with!”

Her shout ricocheted in the small space.

Her throat contracted as she tried to find the words to express the rage and horror his actions evoked. “You just went for her, Roth. You didn’t care that she was a woman, that she was elderly. How could you do that?”

“I’ll make it up to her.”

“How could you possibly—?”

“I underestimated Maximus. I kept my word and made the mistake of thinking he would keep his. I took my frustration out on the messenger. That won’t happen again.”

She didn’t realize she was rubbing her wrist until he grabbed her arm and brushed back her sleeve to examine the dark smudges.

“This doesn’t count,” he said as he took over the rubbing for her.

“It doesn’t?”

His ministrations stopped. “You liked it.”

When she tried to pull away, he let out an impatient sound and captured her chin.

“Don’t deny what’s between us. You got off on it, same as me. You wanted me to fight you for it. You’ve always provoked and teased me, and then played hard to get when I made a move.”

“You’re living in the past,” she said tartly as she jerked her chin out of his hold. She turned toward the door before she realized he still held her arm. “Let me go.”

“Why would I live in the past when my present is better than I envisioned?”

He raised her arm. She wasn’t prepared to feel his lips against her sensitive inner wrist.

“Maximus fucked up, allowing me into his inner circle. A man like me had no business having access to an innocent like you.”

He easily retained possession of her arm when she gave a vicious yank.

“That night, I watched you talk to some of the most ruthless businessmen in the country with a smile on your face.” His tongue slid over flickering tendons as her hand balled into a fist. “It was easy to track you through the crowd. You made ripples wherever you went. You had all these messy curls, and you were wearing this pink dress…” He smiled against her palm. “Princess.”

She stared through the windshield as she tried to suppress memories of the night they met.

“In a room full of powerful elite, of men vying for your attention, you chose me.”

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