Page 52 of Power and Possession

But now I regretted saying it.

The second I said the words, the pleasure abandoned her features, and fear and disbelief were left behind. Her eyes took in my entire face, almost as if she was waiting for me to wink or laugh, as if it were a joke.

It was anything but.

Her hands came up and pushed my shoulders, forcing me out of her as she rolled over, grabbing one of the blankets and holding it over her body.

“Ashlynn—”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Her eyes were red, and I could tell she was seconds away from letting her tears flow. “You can’t love me! I certainly don’t love you.” She backed into the corner, like a frightened animal.

“I think you do,” I said, getting to my feet. I moved towards her, but she flinched.

“I don’t! I could never love you. Ever. This stops, right now.”

“You can’t stop what’s started here. We’re like an avalanche racing down a mountain—we’re only picking upmomentum.”

“Screw your avalanche!” The tears came in earnest now, her face turning blotchy. I used to want her to suffer and cry. Now I desired nothing more than to kiss her tears away.

“Ashlynn, don’t walk away from this. You know what we have is good.”

“Good sex! That’s all this was! You’re an evil man—plain and simple. I can’t believe I let myself get close to you.” Disgust flushed over her face, and my heart sank. Her denial wasn’t unexpected, but the ferocity in which she refused our feelings was much more intense than I’d imagined if we ever came to this point.

Before I could utter another word, she was outside the library door, slamming it behind her. The glass vases near the window shook with the vibration from the door. I could hear her feet on the steps, her usually light steps harshened by anger.

I ran my hands through my hair. Damn it. I found my boxers on the floor and pulled them on, not bothering to get fully dressed. If I could just make her see reason, we could be back in my bed in ten minutes, continuing where we left off.

I didn’t see anyone on my way up the stairs, but I was sure Glinda was staying out of sight. She knew how I usually handled my affairs, but she hadn’t commented much on Ashlynn. I knew there would be talk all throughout the estate tomorrow, though.

The door to Ashlynn’s room was closed. I knocked gently.

“Go away!”

“Denying this isn’t going to make it better or change the fact that we care for each other.”

“I don’t want you killed, but I don’t love you. Not wanting you dead isn’t the same as love.” Her voice was muffled, as if she was crying into a pillow.

“Please come out here so we can talk. I’ll break down the door if I have to.”

She didn’t say anything more, but she didn’t come out. My threat to break down the door was as weak as all my other threats were. Instead, I sank down on the floor outside of herclosed door, with my head in my hands as I listened to her quiet sobs.

I woke up with an ache in my neck and my legs stiff. I’d stayed outside Ashlynn’s door all night long, hoping she’d change her mind and come talk to me. If not that, I was anticipating catching her as she went to the kitchen for something to eat. But it was five o’clock in the morning, and the door hadn’t opened. I pressed my ear against it, but I couldn’t hear anything. Her sobs ceased around midnight, and I was glad she’d stopped crying. Part of me was furious at her for denying what we had, but the other part of me, the part that loved her far more than I realized, just wanted her happy.

I stood up, stretching and cracking my neck a bit, trying to loosen up my muscles, and then I made my way down the hall to my own bedroom. Stripping my boxers off, I got in the shower. I still smelled like sex, our mingled arousal dried to my skin. She had barely let me finish before she shoved me off. It was just a knee-jerk reaction, I tried to convince myself. She would come around.

I stepped out of the shower and dried off, then I heard my phone ring. Shit. I’d left it on my nightstand all night.

Fourteen missed calls from Cooper.

I pressed one of his missed calls and the line rang. “What the fuck, Steele? I was just about to come over and see what the hell was going on. You never abandon your phone like that.”

“It was just a long night.”

I could practically hear Cooper’s grin through the phone. “That good, huh?”

I ground my teeth. “I’m not going to talk about it.”

“Okay man, I get it. Are you ready for tonight?”

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