Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 142214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 711(@200wpm)___ 569(@250wpm)___ 474(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 711(@200wpm)___ 569(@250wpm)___ 474(@300wpm)
“I told you I don’t play games.”
“Then be direct with me! What do you want?”
The air sparked with a mixture of tension and aggression. He appeared upset but also angry.
“Answer me, Greyson. Everything you’ve ever asked of me, I’ve given you, yet you can’t even give me an explanation about what we’re doing. What is this?”
He closed the distance, quickly rounding the counter. She took a step back and looked up at him. Shaking under his hard, punishing stare.
“I deserve the truth, Grey.”
His nostrils flared, and his mouth formed a flat line. “Fine. I can’t be your friend anymore.”
His words cleaved through her heart like a blade, knocking her off balance as her vision blurred with unshed tears. “Get out.”
He caught her arm. “No. I warned you. Once crossed, some lines can’t be uncrossed.”
She did this. She ruined everything. Looking down, she nodded. He needed to leave before she completely fell apart. “Please, just go.”
His laugh turned cold. “You think you’re getting rid of me now? You made me your problem.”
Her stare jumped to his, confused. “I thought—”
He sealed his mouth to hers, demanding and possessive, tasting of coffee and desperation, his stubble rough against her skin as if trying to erase the memory of all other kisses that came before. Tears sprang to her eyes, but now for different reasons.
Was this really happening? Had Jocelyn’s advice actually worked?
She pulled back in shock, afraid she was reading him wrong. “Are you sure?”
“No,” he admitted. “But I don’t have a choice.”
She frowned, confused by his answer.
Tinsel peeked out of his coat collar and meowed. “Not now, Rat.” He stuffed the kitten back into the shelter of his jacket.
“You’re still calling him that?”
“It’s his name.”
She untangled herself from his hold. “I think we should talk.”
“I don’t want to talk.”
“Well, I do.”
He yanked her close again. “I’m through talking.”
“Greyson, stop. You can’t keep distracting me with kisses whenever I ask for a real explanation of your feelings.”
He released her to pace the tiny kitchen. “I’m not Soren. I don’t perform.”
“I’m not asking you to perform. I’m asking you to be honest about your feelings for once and have a real conversation with me.”
Tinsel climbed out of his coat, using his body as a jungle gym.
Wren wasn’t going to be distracted. She’d waited him out for fifteen years. After everything that happened, he owed her an explanation. Soren was willing to open up. The least Greyson could do was admit he cared on some level.
Several minutes passed in unmoving silence as she waited for him to talk.
“Say something!” she finally snapped.
“Are you into him?” he barked, his anger startling her. “Honesty, Wren. I want the truth.”
“So do I.”
The hard glint in his eye told her he wouldn’t confess anything unless she talked first. But what if she confessed her feelings and he rejected her all over again. She wouldn’t be able to bear it.
“You know I like you, Grey—”
“Do. You. Like. Soren?”
She swallowed around the lump in her throat. “I don’t know.”
For once, Greyson didn’t look unaffected. “I see.” He only took a small step back but it felt like an uncrossable abyss forming between them.
Tears rushed to her eyes. “You’re the one who told me to date whoever I wanted.”
“I did.” He scooped Tinsel off his shoulder and subdued him with a scratch between his ears. “Soren’s a good guy.”
“Don’t do that!” she snapped. “If you don’t want me to date him or kiss him, then make me a better offer. You know you have an advantage.”
“Yeah, right.”
She scoffed. “You say you want the truth, but you’re too afraid to give it back. You know there’s a difference, Greyson. Everybody knows. And if you’re really going to stand here and deny it, then you’re the one lying.”
“You have no experience with these things—”
“Why?” she snapped. “Because I’m a virgin? This isn’t about fucking, Greyson! This is about honesty. It’s about communication.” The word love rested on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. “I’m literally right here, waiting for you to admit how you feel, but you won’t. I’ve waited a lifetime for you to confess you care about me, but you just keep pushing me away.”
“Because you’re you!” he yelled. “I’ve been protecting you from assholes all my life.”
“You’re not an asshole!”
“I am! If you knew what lived in my head—”
“Oh, please, Greyson. I know you better than anyone. You’re not a bad guy.”
“I’m not a good guy either. What you want, Wren, what you deserve, I won’t be able to give it to you.”
“You don’t know the first thing about what I want.”
“I know you as well as you know me.”
“Well, you don’t know the future. You’re so afraid of disappointing me, you won’t even try.”
“Because I know enough.”
“So, what? You want to fuck me but not be with me?”