Page 51 of Never Enough

Nemo backed off her, but not enough to let her escape.

“My brother is an asshole. My team are assholes as well. They think they know me, but not a single one of them has ever asked why I am the way I am. Why I chase tail on a daily basis.Sometimes multiple times.” One hand moved from the countertop to her face, laying against her cheek and jaw. “It’s you, Haskell. It’s always been you. I couldn’t forget you, so that first year, I tried to lose myself in every woman I could find just to prove that you could be replaced. You couldn’t.”

His thumb slid between her lips, and her traitorous tongue reached for it, wrapping around the invading digit, her eyes fluttering closed as she sucked on it.

“And then, by chance, we met again.” She felt his forehead touch hers with his confession. “It all came rushing back. I couldn’t have stayed away from you if I’d tried. So I let my dick take control, and I fucked you again. Not sorry in the least. I missed you. I ached for you. So, yes, I’ve fucked my way through as much of the female population as possible, hoping against hope that somewhere along the line, I’d meet a woman who could replace you in my head, but that’s the problem. Every single one of those women paled in comparison. There is no replacing you.”

She bit his thumb. Hard. A bark of pain caused him to withdraw it from her mouth.

“You need to work on your game. If you thought telling me thehundreds of women you’ve fuckedmean nothing to you, I’m not going to fall for that shite.”

“Nothing to fall for, kitty cat. Just being one hundred percent honest. I can’t change who I was or what I’ve done. But now that you’re here, there won’t be anyone else because I finally understand. My heart doesn’t want anyone else.”

She ducked under his arm and fled to the center of the room. “So let me get this straight. You’ve comparison-shopped fucking me with the other half of the earth’s eligible women that you’ve fucked, and that’s supposed to show me that I’m the only woman in the world for you? That makes no sense whatsoever.”

He turned to face her, his arms hanging loosely at his side, his posture communicating he had no fear of her getting away from him. “I’m trying to explain that there never was a comparison. I never could get you out of my system. You’re like an addiction. Even though I can function when you’re not around, you’re always there.” He turned and went down the hallway just past his kitchen. He opened a door and gestured through it. “If you want to rest before we meet up again later. Everything’s clean.”

She stood where she was, barely breathing. She refused to trust him. She’d tried to forget him over the years. Tried to see other people. Even tried to work her way to sleeping with a few. Cerberus was the closest she’d ever come to that, but he came with his own issues, and those were ones shecouldn’toverlook. In the end, they were made to be close friends, so he knew all about her issues with “the guy” from her past. The only guy who’d ever broken through her defenses. The only man she’d ever wanted. The only man she could never truly have. The only man who’d made her feel like a woman to be desired, not a colleague, a tomboy, or even a precocious child.

He walked back toward her, coming within three feet but making no effort to reach out to her. It was as if he could read her mind. “The room’s never been used. You’re the only person who’s ever been in my apartment other than my teammates, and definitely the only woman. I don’t even think Flame’s been in here.”

“Flame?”

“TB’s woman. She’s a romance novelist. Of the three women here—Kubrick, Cherry, and her—she’s the one I’m closest to. We almost lost her a couple of months ago to sex traffickers.”

“You’re closest to a woman who’s seeing someone else?”

“Settle down, hissy. It’s not like that.”

“Nemo. Look. I think I deserve to be a little hissy. I just spent six weeks moving across Africa avoiding the Kaders, and now it appears the Salieri as well. I was nearly blown up today for something that has nothing to do with me. I’ve been hustled into some weird-ass building that’s both a workplace and an apartment building to a company that employs mercenaries, and they don’t seem very prone to letting me go on my way. One of those mercenaries is a two-time mistake I’ve spent the last four years regretting. It’s a bit much, you know?”

Nemo closed the three feet between them, their bodies so close that when they breathed in sync, they brushed against each other on the exhale. “Now there’s a lie if ever I heard one.”

“What’s that?” she whispered.

“A two-time mistake you’ve spent the last four years regretting.”

“I do regret it,” she assured him.

“You regret that it’s been four years since we’ve seen each other, maybe, but you don’t regret me. Not even close.”

His mouth was on hers before she could deny him. And truth be told, he wasn’t wrong.

And then he was gone.

When she opened her eyes, he was nowhere to be seen. She whirled around to the door to the outer hall that was closing, the back end of Scheherazade and her tail wagging out of control as she followed Nemo out of the apartment. “I’ll be back at just before six p.m. Get some rest.”

The door closed, and she heard a series of beeps, signifying that the alarm had been engaged. Her shoulders slumped, and her head tipped back so she could contemplate the ceiling. Finding no answers there, she collected herself and headed down to the guest room he had opened for her.She figured she might as well get a nap as she didn’t have the strength to do anything else right now.

Before turning into the offered room, she stared hard at the closed door across from it. Given the layout of the apartment, it was likely Nemo’s bedroom. She was guessing each bedroom had its own bathroom, and a quick head-duck into the guest room showed that, yes, she did, in fact, have her own.

Her hand reached out to turn the knob of the door across the hall, her burglar’s curiosity getting the better of her. But for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to actually turn it and open the door. It felt… wrong. And that wasn’t something that rested easy within her. Being a thief meant her moral compass was askew. Between that and her last several years working with Mythos, snooping was ingrained in her as much as breathing. However, she did have lines she wouldn’t cross, and apparently, snooping through Sawyer’s things was one of them.

She let go of the knob like it burned her flesh and took a full step backward. She did not like the implications of that choice, so to avoid dealing with the sudden attack of conscience, she went into the guest room. Once the door closed behind her, she locked it and leaned against it. Shower. Bed. Deal with the rest of the nonsense later.

19

SEPTEMBER 9, 2022

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