Page 20 of Revamped Rucking Reaper

“Then don’t leave.”

“I don’t want pity, Mr. Grimm.” The pain in her blue eyes is unmistakable. An invisible hand squeezes my heart tight. “Please let me go while I still have a trace of dignity.”

I’ve had it! Why the hell can’t she keep her mouth shut and allow me to think for a minute? “Holy shit, woman, at least give me a chance to speak before you launch off like a ballistic missile.”

Chapter 13

Eve

Iwalk past him and out the door. My house, the one I’d like to burn down, is only three or four blocks away. I don’t even feel the chill of the night air. I was freezing when we first went out to sit with our feet in the pool, but then the heated water and wine kicked in. Not to mention how the heat of embarrassment raised my temperature and burned so hot I could’ve toasted a marshmallow with my bare hands. I haven’t accurately felt the outside temperature for hours.

“Get in the car, Eve.” I close my eyes as Tate calls to me from a fancy black sports car crawling down the road next to me.

Ignoring him, I hold my phone to my ear and pretend I’m on a call. Maybe the best way to face what I’m going to find in the house is with a few drinks in me. If I tell him where I’m going, he’ll act chivalrous and try to stop me. I need to do this. I continue walking, not bothering to acknowledge him.

“Damn you, Eve. What the hell did I do this time? I need a damn translator or a how-to pamphlet to help me talk to you.”

Ass. “Go home,” I answer back, the fight drained out of me. “We’re not friends, and you don’t have to pretend you want to spend time with me anymore.”

“It’s not safe for you to walk by yourself,” he calls after grumbling something inaudible. “It’s dark and late, and it’s a twenty-minute drive to your house.”

I don’t respond, thinking he’ll give up and turn around. He doesn’t. I’m not sure if that bothers me or flatters me, because as much as I want him to turn and speed off, I want him to stay even more.

The black sports car spins its tires, perfuming the air with the scent of burning rubber as he pulls over to the curb and parks a few feet in front of me. Tate jumps out of his car and, with one hand on the hood, practically jumps over it, landing on the sidewalk in front of me. I hastily end my faux conversation and tuck my phone in my rear pocket so he has no opportunity to grab it.

“Listen, Mr. Tate.” I feel a little off balance and wonder if this dizzy feeling is a reflection of a growing attraction to him or if the wine got to my head. “I’m great!”

“No, you’re not. Hell. You keep mistaking my first name for my last. It’s not a good idea for you to be out here.”

Again, I’m unsure if it’s an insult or if he’s acting from a good place. I want it to be the latter, but I can’t trust my judgment. I never even suspected Brandon had a secret house that I’d donate a kidney to live in.Or that he was involved in an ongoing affair. Why else would she have belongings at the house? All I know is that I was naive, weak, and vulnerable with Brandon. I can’t be that woman anymore.

“I don’t know what kind of women you surround yourself with, buuut I don’t need a man to take care of me.” I don’t need a man to take care of me, but it would be nice to have one that wants to be with me.

“I know you’re strong. That’s not why I’m here.”

“Good. Do you know that I took care ofeverythingin the house? Not just the cooking and cleaning. Nooo. I hung pictures—repaired things, too. Hell, I even took care of my own orgasms.”

His eyes look off to the side as he clenches his jaw. He looks pissed. What the actual hell?

I inch closer to him so that we’re toe to toe. “Did I say something to upset you?” I whisper.

The lump in his throat bobs as he swallows, but he doesn’t speak. I can almost hear the seconds tick as we remain in this moonlight standoff.

His dark eyes look as black as the night sky as they meet mine. He doesn’t just look angry. He looks toxically enticing, and it makes me want him more.

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