Page 70 of Haunted Love

“As much as I love being buried inside of you, we’re not risking that again. Becs will come looking for you soon.”

Aspen straightens herself up, and when she looks at me, there’s a deep disappointment shining in her beautiful green eyes, and fuck, it kills me. Since we started doing this, I’ve never told her no. Well, at least not when she was asking me for more.

“Right. Got it,” she says. “How fucking stupid could I be? You were just looking for a quick fuck, and I was just the desperate whore you knew you could get it from. Thanks a lot.”

My brows furrow, but before I get a chance to even question her, she’s out the door, kicking it shut behind her with a heavy thump.

Fuck. What the hell just happened?

Needing answers, I follow her out of the office, but as I walk back through the same maze of hallways and back out to the club, I find no sign of her. “Hey,” Austin says, stepping into me as he gazes out at the crowded dance floor. “Have you seen Aspen? I can’t find her.”

Panic soars through my chest, and I shake my head, hoping like fuck he’s not able to get a good read on me right now. “I umm . . . I think she said something about going to pee,” I tell him, watching as he physically relaxes.

He leans over and whispers something to Becs, his hand dangerously low on her back. Her phone is in her hand, the screen lit up, and as she glances down and looks over a text, her body stiffens. Then in an instant, her gaze snaps up and meets mine, and the chill within them sends a wave of unease blasting through me.

She knows.

Then without another word to Austin, she steps around him and walks away, her shoulder ramming into my arm as she passes.

23

ASPEN

Hangovers suck, but hangovers that include an accidental screw in a back hallway suck even more. Don’t get me wrong, it was a lot of fun—until it wasn’t. When Izaac stormed through the club and took me down into the employee section, I honestly thought I was about to receive the lecture of a lifetime, but when he put his hands on me and shoved me against the door, I knew exactly what he needed because it was everything I was needing too.

He broke all the rules. No sex outside of Vixen.

I mean, surely he knew I was willing to break them, but him? I didn’t expect it, and it wasn’t until we were in his office that it really occurred to me what was happening. Izaac Banks broke the fucking rules.

He complicated things.

But that’s nothing compared to the realization that it meant nothing to him, not like what it meant to me. I thought maybe this was a huge step in the right direction. He said things he’s never said before, admitted how I could bring him to his knees, and the moment he was done and that coldness crept back into his gaze, I realized how fucking stupid I’d been to believe him.

It was nothing but desperate sex for him, and he was willing to say whatever he had to say to get it. Joke’s on me.

He played against my feelings, and it fucking sucks. Hell, I think I would have preferred he took some other woman back there and saved me all of this heartache.

For the past few weeks, I’ve felt the shift between us, but since we started this teaching experiment a little over a week ago, I’ve seen him more than I ever did. I’ve been with him four times this week, each session becoming more intense as we learn the limits of each other’s bodies. But last night, that was different.

Each time we’ve been together, it’s only gotten better, and I foolishly convinced myself that this was heading in the right direction, that if we just kept going at it, he’d eventually fall in love with me, but Becs was right. He’s never going to want me. But I should have known better anyway. When this first started, Izaac warned me point-blank that he was never going to feel for me what I’ve always felt for him.

Maybe Becs was right. Maybe I need to walk away before he truly breaks me and I end up at the point of no return.

What the hell am I supposed to do?

I trudge through my small apartment, my head pounding as I search for Aspirin and a glass of water. Hell, I could use a massage and a spa day too, but something tells me that’s not in the cards for me today. Instead, I settle for UberEats and a day of tormenting myself.

After finding the Aspirin, I crash on my couch, and as I reach for my throw blanket, my phone rings from somewhere in my bedroom. Groaning, I get up and make my way into my room and find my phone on my bedside table, still plugged into the charging cable.

Walking around the side of my bed, I step up to my bedside table and gaze down at my phone, my heart sinking when I find Izaac’s name across the screen.

The call rings out, and the moment the sound fades from my room, I let out a shaky breath. Talking to him is only going to make matters worse. I need a day or two to nurse my wounds before facing that, but what it comes down to is that this thing with Izaac . . . I need to end it. Only I’m not sure I have the strength to physically say the words.

Grabbing the phone, I turn on my heel and stalk back to the couch, but before I crash down against the soft cushion, my phone rings again. Against my better judgment, I let out a heavy groan and accept the call. “Is there something you need from me?”

“You told Becs?” Izaac demands, disbelief thick in his tone.

“Are you kidding me right now?” I ask, my eyes widening at the audacity of this man. “That’s really what you want to talk about? Get fucked, Izaac.”

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