Page 81 of Unbuttoning Her Brooding Boss

‘What?Whatdo I need to be sorry for?’ He reached out and grabbed her hips, stopping her from stepping back. ‘How have I hurt you?’

She didn’t deny that he had. He’d hurt her when he’d ripped her open and then walked away without a glance. And he’d hurt her now.

‘You think I prostituted myself? That I only had sex with you because I thought it might help my case?’ She jabbed the air with her finger. ‘That’s ridiculous—I’dneverdo that. If anything, I knew that sleeping with you would jeopardise my chances... But I went ahead and did it anyway because I wanted to. I wantedyou.I said yes.’

‘Only because I made you... There was no real choice.’

‘You hardlyforcedme.’ She rolled her eyes in frustration. ‘If I hadn’t wanted to go with you I wouldn’t have. If I hadn’t wanted to sleep with you I wouldn’t have. But I wanted to. Ilikedit.’ Breathing hard, she let her volume reach epic levels. ‘And how could Inotlike it? You did everything in your power to please me. You putmypleasure ahead of your own. You weregenerous—not selfish. At least physically.’

He’d visibly paled. ‘Thank you,’ he muttered. ‘I’m sorry.’

She drew breath and saw that old lonely look in his eyes. ‘Whyare you sorry?’ she whispered. ‘Why, really?’

‘When I was younger I asked my parents about my birth father,’ he answered quietly, his hands still holding her hips, keeping her close. ‘They said they didn’t know anything about him. But I saw the look in their eyes. The worry. The sadness. I’ve always known it wasn’t going to be good. But I needed to know. Ihadto know.’

‘Of course you did.’ She was unable to stop herself reaching out, raising a hand to his cheek, trying to soothe him.

‘But the truth was theydidn’tknow—theyweren’thiding anything from me. Theythoughthe must have been abusive... but they didn’t know for sure. Turns out he was. Heis.He’s a bully. And I got worried that I’d bulliedyou.That I was like him.’

‘Oh, Jack...’ Of all the crazy, heartbreaking things.

‘And then Tara called and I found out you hadn’t told me about your brother. After what we’d shared the night before.’ He gazed up at her. ‘What Ithoughtwe’d shared...’

She swallowed, her heart tearing all over again.

‘I was hurt,’ he whispered. ‘To learn you were holding back something so huge. So important. I figured I wasn’t at all important to you—I’d clearly made no dent in your defences if you hadn’t wanted to tell me something so massive for you.’

‘You had enough to deal with,’ she whispered.

‘So didyou,’ he argued. ‘I would’ve helped.’ He looked hurt all over again. ‘You told me there was nothing you wanted to escape from and that wasn’t true.’

‘He’s my brother and I love him—I want to help him.’ Tears loomed in her eyes and she tried to pull away.

‘How come it’s okay for you to comfort me but I can’t comfort you?’ He tugged her back, pulling her closer still, to stand between his spread knees. ‘That’s not fair, Stephanie. You deserve better than that. And so do I.’

She stilled, stayed in place. ‘You want tocomfortme?’

‘Of course I do.’

She couldn’t have faith in what she thought she saw in his eyes. She couldn’t believe in it. It frightened her too much.

‘This is ridiculous,’ she muttered. ‘We’ve known each other only a few days—’

‘Do you believe in love at first sight?’ he interrupted.

She hesitated. Silenced. Scared.

‘I do.’ He laughed softly. ‘Or I sure as hell believe in the possibility. Because I know that the moment I first saw you something clicked within me. There was thestrongestreaction—physical, for sure. I was attracted. But then I started to get to know you. And what really gets to me is your strength. Your loyalty. Your generosity. I want that forme.’ He sighed. ‘I’ve always felt this little gap—right about here.’ He pointed to just below his heart. ‘Just a little gap at the bottom there. I thought if I found out about my birth father that gap would be filled. That I wouldn’t feel that fear any more. Because I’dknow.Only it worsened. It wastheworst. But not because of who he was, or what he was like. In the end my feeling so bad was nothing to do with him.’ He lifted his hand and cupped her cheek. ‘I didn’t realise it at first, butyou’dalready filled that gap—with light and laughter. I want that back. I want to be with you. Because when you were gone... When I’d lost you...’

She curled her hands into fists. So tense. So terrified. ‘I don’t want to be dependent on you...’

‘You trust Tara... you let your other friends help you... why not me?’

‘I don’t feel the same way about them as I do you,’ she whispered.

‘I’m kinda glad about that,’ he whispered back. ‘So howdoyou feel about me?’

‘It’s so intense it’s terrifying,’ she admitted. ‘One look from you and I’m ready to—’

---