Page 28 of The Consequence of You
A mistake?
She was as turned on as I was. She nearly orgasmed from my mouth on her tits, so I don’t believe a word of her bullshit.
“You’re living a half-life. That’s what I think. I remember what you were like before I spent that year abroad. You were completely different. You were like sunshine.” I’m on a roll now and I barely consider my words as the spew out. “Now you’re more like a storm cloud. You hide your real self from everyone. You’ve been doing it for years. Was it when your mum died? Is that when you gave up on yourself?”
She gasps.
“That’s fucking low. Even for you.”
I shrug and cock my brow.
“Am I wrong?”
She hesitates, and I plough on. “You suffered a tragedy. Your mum died.Youdidn’t.”
She rears back like I’ve slapped her.
Hell, I probably deserve it, but it needed saying.
The limo pulls up outside her house, and for a second, I think she is going to run again, but instead, she turns and pokes me hard in the chest.
“I’m only going to say this once, so listen carefully. You know nothing about me. You know nothing about what my life has been like, or what happened with my mum. You knownothing,Asher. And I will not explain it to you, because I don’t want you to know anything about me. I like it that way.”
She puffs out her chest as she jabs at mine. Prodding at me with every sentence, trying to make her point. But she underestimates me. I don’t care about her warning. I don’t care that she doesn’t want me to know because I’ve already seen the chink in her armour. I saw it the other day. For a few minutes with me, she forgot where she was; she just let herself go.
She can deny it all she wants, but she is holding herself back from living. She has been for years, and while her mum’s death might have been the catalyst, I suspect there is more to it.
So, ignoring her warning, I grab hold of the delicate finger she pokes at me. I hold it tightly in my fist and she freezes. Electricity jolts through me, and I drop her hand as if it were a real electric shock.
I quickly regain my composure and soften my voice, because I’m not a complete arsehole.
“That’s as may be. But I’m only going to say this once, too. You lost your mother. You must have been fucking devastated. But I don’t believe you’ve entirely forgotten who you were before. I think you’ve chosen this.” I place my hand on her chest gently, over her heart. “You’ve given up. And that? That is on you. So, when you talk to me about my soul, I think you’re being awfully fucking hypocritical, Calliope Messina.”
She blinks hard and swallows.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
ASHER
My words hang between us.
Fire flashes in her dark eyes as I watch her warring with herself about what I said. Maybe it was crueller than necessary, but she needs to hear the truth from someone who isn’t afraid to say it.
She quietly seethes beside me, and I wonder if I’ve gone too far, but then she fixes her eyes on me. Her pupils dilate, and she drops her gaze to my mouth.
I like her like this; fired up and angry.
Even if it is directed at me.
Especially when it’s directed at me.
I move my little finger, brushing against hers where our hands rest on the leather seat. Her breath hitches as I repeat the action. The tension in the car is palpable as she hooks her pinkie around mine.
The heat between us is undeniable, and I want nothingmore than to pull her into my lap. I won’t do it though. Not after she rejected me the other day. She needs to make the first move.
I don’t need to wait long.
She moves her hand on top of mine, intertwining our fingers together.
