Page 95 of Corrupt Game

The thought of a future with him made my blood warm. I wanted to be with him, even if I hadn’t managed to entirely rule him out as the killer. I needed to know.

I was still tired enough to simply give him the facts. “You were gone. I felt abandoned. All my life people would get close to me and then be gone. It was terrible. I wsn’t thinking clearly. ANd just now, when I woke up here, I realized that I’d done the same thing that your mother did.”

He sat and stared like he was piercing straight into my heart. I couldn’t help but give him more because I wanted more.

“It was a reflex for my feelings. I wasn’t hungry, and it was too late when I started not feeling well. Then the world went black when I got mad at you. Pissed that I wasn’t good enough and you’d thrown me away. You made me want you and then you just left me.” Tears welled up in my eyes, and I balled my hands into fists to keep from bursting into tears. I kept my gaze glued on his though, I wasn’t so weak that I couldn’t face my problems head on.

Ian let out a growl and said something under his breath that I didn’t quite catch before running his hands through his hair.

That was something he did when he was frustrated. Something I’d said had bothered him. Then again, what part of all of it wasn’t going to make him mad? I’d done everything wrong.

His pacing stopped, and he turned to me with a fire in his eyes.

“You need to eat.” The gruff tone was hiding something, I just wasn’t sure what.

With a sudden movement, he scooped me up into his arms and carried me to the condo’s dining room.

The elegance of the room wasn’t lost on me and could have graced the cover of any home interior magazine.

He gently placed me in a chair before looking me in the eye.

“What would you like to eat?”

That was an unexpected question, as was the tenderness in his touch.

I’d craved feeling it again so much over the past few days I had to hold back a sigh as he touched me.

“If I can’t cook it for you, then I’ll have it delivered. I just want to make sure that you’re fed and taken care of.”

Biting my lip, unsure if he would really do as I asked, I made the request.

“Grilled cheese with apple slices cooked inside.” His attentiveness shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did.

A little off kilter about the whole thing, I sat there while he puttered around the kitchen. Watching him doing something domestic, for me, was the sexiest thing I had ever seen. I softened for him more, but it didn’t ease the clamp around my heart. I screwed up bad enough that he would take it as me wanting to leave. To never talk to him again. That was the last thing I wanted.

Not long after, he put a plate in front of me with a bag of chips.

“Here you go, milady.” He made a sweeping bow. “Eat up so that you don’t faint on me again.”

While I knew that it was more about the fact that I needed to stay healthy, I couldn’t help the warm glow inside that he cared for me.

“If you eat all of this, then I’ll do something a little more elaborate for dinner. It’s going to take a bit to get you back up to your normal energy levels.” He sat down next to me and let me eat on my own.

Still awed that he was willing to cook for me and take care of me even though I’d screwed up, I melted just a little bit.

He must cook for himself on occasion because he seemed comfortable in the kitchen. It was as if he wasn’t some rich kid that simply had staff to wait on him, but could take care of his own needs.

Watching me eat each bite, I could feel him anxiously urging me to get better. It was as if he had always hand fed me to keep things monitored.

I took small, tentative bites, and chewed slowly. I was tired and eating was taking a lot out of me.

“I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking about how my actions must have triggered you.” I swallowed another bite full.

He’d left me, and I was apologizing to him. Then again, he couldn’t have realized that I would react in that manner.

“You don’t have to apologize. It was selfish of me to leave without telling you what was going on. Your reactions were your own. I never wanted to change who you are. Being with you has caused a reaction that I wasn’t expecting to have.” He laid a hand over mine.

“I was letting you in and was scared that you were going to get close before leaving me. It’s something I’ve always worriedabout. Then I got a call about some unfinished business and had to fly out of the country. It took a little longer than I’d planned.”

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