Page 82 of Bitter Confessions

“Do you know what would happen if you tried?”

With Roth crouched over her, the city illuminated her face, while his was cast in darkness. She kept her eyes soft, unafraid, even though her heart was stuttering in her chest. How the hell had her joining him at the gym turned into this?

“I don’t need to know what you’d do, because it’ll never happen. I don’t want anyone else.” She leaned forward, ignoring the way he squeezed her throat, so she’d keep her distance. “You’re all I want.”

Before her lips could touch his, he released her and stepped back. “I need to shower.”

She reached for him. “Roth.”

He sidestepped to avoid her touch. “I have to get to the office. I’m late.”

She could taste his seething fury. It crackled in the air around him. He was trying to cram his anger into the murky depths where he put all unwanted emotions, but she wasn’t going to let him.

As he started for the hallway, she came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his middle. “Punish me.”

He stopped in his tracks. Her throat constricted as adrenaline coursed through her veins. She was playing with fire, waving a fucking red flag in front of a rampaging bull, but her need to provide an outlet to cure his temper outweighed the fact she could be gored in the process.

“I know you want to,” she whispered.

“I forgave you,” he said in a tone so devoid of emotion she knew she was on the right track.

“But that doesn’t take away the anger, does it?” She kissed his sweaty shoulder. “How do you want to punish me? On my knees? On all fours?”

“Don’t tempt me.”

His voice was as cold as the temperature outside. The fact he was trying to shield her from the darker aspects of himself made her even more determined to unleash his beast. She was his partner; his equal. That meant taking on the good and bad. And this bad... she had a feeling she could turn it into something that would satisfy them both. Although she was enjoying his sweet side, it was his aggression and rough edges that had attracted her in the first place. She knew what he was capable of and was in the mood to live a little dangerously.

“I’m giving you free rein to do whatever you want. I’m in the mood for a little pain.” She sank her teeth into his bicep to provoke him, but he didn’t move a muscle. “What’s your dirty fantasy, Jamie?”

No response.

“Why are you holding back?” She reached around him and ran her hand over the rock-hard bulge she suspected she’d find. “You’re gagging for it.”

He swung around to face her. “I said things would be different this time around.”

“They are different. You want me to beg you for it.”

“You don’t want to be a part of what’s going on in my head.”

Instantly, her face creased in concern. “Is it because you had a nightmare? Did you…?” She dashed around him to block his path when he tried to walk away. “Talk to me.”

“I don’t want to talk!”

The blast of venom almost made her lose her nerve. He was panting slightly, feet braced, and hands balled into fists as if he was ready for a fight. Her flight instinct kicked in, but his wild, turbulent gaze, hardened her resolve. She couldn’t leave him like this. He needed her, he just didn’t know it.

“Okay, no talking,” she said mildly as she unzipped her jacket, toed off her shoes, and shimmied out of her pants. “What do you want?”

His eyes were the only sign of life in his otherwise expressionless face. They glittered like the surface of the ocean on a full-moon night as they slid over her, clad in a sports bra, underwear, and socks.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said in a guttural voice that told her he was struggling to hold himself in check.

She lifted her chin and was grateful her voice didn’t betray her nerves as she said, “What if I want to be hurt?”

“You don’t know what you’re asking for.”

She sneered. “You’re practically a virgin compared to me.”

He cocked his head to the side. “You think fucking a bunch of men makes you more worldly than me? I’ve seen the worst things a human can do to another play out right in front of me. It turned my stomach even as it embedded itself into my psyche and plays in my mind when I least expect it. I abstained because I knew if I acted out what I saw, I’d develop a taste for it.” His eyes raked over her flushed face. “You have no idea what I could do to you.”

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