Page 93 of One Bossy Disaster

A horrible idea stabs my brain.

Was this why she brought me here? Was this recklessnessplanned?

I bitterly wonder if that’s why she got me into the sticks and why she seemed so relieved the instant she found out Miss Cho couldn’t join us.

The perfect ambush. A chance to seduce me.

So she could reduce me to the self-destructive beast I am.

And just like she hoped, I obliged.

Fucking idiot ass-clown.

Or maybe Hannah’s right.

Maybe I do have trust issues.

Snarling, I back up, pushing off of her, running a hand across my burning face.

Destiny jolts up, too, brushing sand out of her hair as she stares at me desperately with painful questions hanging on her lips.

Why not?

What did I do wrong?

She doesn’t ask, but I hear them anyway.

“Sorry,” I grind out. “That was damn inappropriate, Miss Lancaster.”

I stand and stride away from her, adjusting the bulge in my pants as I go.

I don’t want to look at her now.

Will she be gone in the morning, leaving a mess of tears and new hell posts online? Joining the chorus of people who already think I’m a predatory shithead?

And after what I just pulled, I wonder if I am.

I’m hardly innocent.

Still, she has to know.

She must know I brought her into the fold for a charity gig intended to brighten the company’s reputation, and nothing more.

It certainly wasn’t to fucking kiss her face off like a goat hopped up on blue pills.

Doesn’t matter that she wanted it, too—or maybe the fact that she does just makes it worse.

“Wait!” she calls after me shrilly. “Foster!”

I move faster, away from that blinding firelight and into the darkness where I can try to find my wits again and tether them down.

“Shepherd.” She chases after me. “Wait, just so you know... I’m not upset. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Didn’t I?

I whip around and glare at her.

Why can’t she understand?

---