Page 33 of A Little Broken

“Because we already agreed to one night only and you’re not allowed to chase me.”

“Then don’t run,” I suggest.

Unamused, she drops her head back toward the ceiling. “Pax…”

“Give me a chance,” I push. I don’t know why. I’ve never been interested in more than a night, but this one? This one felt different. She felt different. I can’t be the only one who felt…something. Can I? “Give me a chance,” I repeat, more resolute than before.

“No.”

“Why?”

With a sigh, she rolls her head forward, her eyes glazed with indecision. “Because I’m…”

I wait for her to finish, but when I’m only met with silence, I argue, “Don’t tell me you’re not interested, Birthday Girl. I had you moaning my name less than five minutes ago.”

Her mouth lifts an inch. “You’re good in bed, Pax. That doesn’t mean you’ve earned my number.”

“What about before?” I demand. “What about the restaurant? I’m not saying I want to marry you, but I’m also not stupid. You had fun tonight. Webothhad fun tonight, and if you’re gonna play hard to get, I have no problem asking Dodge?—”

“You can’t do that,” she rushes out. Her indifferent facade cracks, giving me a front-row seat to her panicked expression. Hell, she doesn’t even look panicked, she looks…downright terrified.

My Adam’s apple bobs in my throat as I study her carefully. She’s hiding something from me. I just can’t figure out what it is. “Why won’t you give me your number?” I ask.

“Because I’m…because I’m already with someone.”

“With someone,” I repeat, feeling less than convinced. This girl spews more bullshit than a lactose intolerant person after a pound of cheesecake and a bottle of Ex-Lax to wash it down. But the panic? The terror? It’s real.

What are you hiding?

“Yes, with someone.” She scowls at me, clearly picking up on my suspicion and unafraid of backing down. “I’m engaged.”

My muscles seize, and I swear my vision cuts to black before I blink it away. But here she is. Standing in the middle of the hotel room. Looking thoroughly gorgeous in a just-fucked kind of way. Her hair a mess. Her lips swollen from my mouth. How did tonight turn upside down so quickly?

She lets her confession hang in the air. Lets it fuck with my head. Lets it taint the high of our night together, leaving me empty and confused and…fuck, is she really serious? “What did you say?” I breathe out, convincing myself I misheard her.

“I said, I’m engaged,” she repeats. “That’s why you can’t see me again. Why you can’t ask Dodger for my number. Because if you do, my fiancé will find out and?—”

I surge to my feet. “Who is he?”

She flinches. “What?”

“Who is he? What’s his name?”

She’s gotta be lying. No one cheats on their fiance like that. Like we just did. No one spends the night connecting with someone—sharing pieces of themselves with someone—only to walk away without a backward glance. It’s bullshit. It has to be.

“I— You—” She shifts away, reminding me of a cornered alley cat. “You have no right to ask me that.”

“Cat got your tongue, Birthday Girl?” I demand. My cock is still hanging out for the world to see, but I don’t give a shit. Not right now. I’m too fucking pissed. “What’s. His. Name?”

“Archer,” she blurts out. “His name’s Archer, all right?” Regret and shame flash across her pretty face, proving I’ve hit a nerve. And for the first time since we finished having sex, I’m afraid she’s telling the truth.

Fuck, is she telling the truth?

“Now, will you please just…let it go?” she whispers.

“Let it go,” I repeat, convinced I must’ve rolled off the couch mid-orgasm and hit my head or something. But I didn’t. No. Instead, I’m standing six inches from the girl who cheated on her fiance with me. A girl who I actually felt a connection with. And fuck, it hurts and only pisses me off more. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I ask, “What was this?”

She stays quiet, her lips forming a small ‘o’ as she breathes out whatever’s left of her indecision and straightens her spine.“This was my last…hurrah before being tied down,” she clarifies. “And who wouldn’t want to take advantage of a night with a rockstar, you know?”

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