Page 120 of Never In My Wildest Dreams

“I didn’t say you were.”

“You didn’t have to. You’re painting me with the same brush. You just heard me say I’m meeting with my partners to change the terms of my contract, but you didn’t ask what my plans were. You didn’t want to hear them. You trusted your ex, your best friend, and your mom. They were your family, and they fucked you over. But I’ve never lied to you, and I’d never betray you. Never.”

He watched the battle play out in her blue eyes, and he didn’t know what to say to convince her, but he had to try. “You heard me tell George I’ll never have something this good again. That I need to prove to you I’m all-in. It took all of twenty-four hours of being back with you to figure that out. So, if you’re not painting me with the same brush as those fuckheads, why are you walking out that door?”

He saw the moment the battle ended, when the fight left her body. “Because I’m scared. I’m scared to trust you. With my ex, it threw me into a tailspin, and I lost myself. But I didn’t have feelings this big. Slick, you have the power to destroy me.”

“Why would I destroy the person who means the most to me? Why would I hurt the person who makes me the happiest I’ve ever been?”

She was struggling, wanting to believe him but letting fear win. He could see it play across her features and in her eyes. “Because you’ve been hurt.”

“Yes, I have. But I’m fighting like hell here to walk through it. To walk toward you and Stevie. Don’t put obstacles in my way. Give me a chance.”

“Oh, damn you.” She was staring at his mouth.

He might not have seen it in a while, but he knew that look. “You better stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?” But her eyes had gone half-lidded. “We’re having a conversation.”

“We’re having two conversations,” he said. “One with our mouths, and the other with our bodies.”

“Well, I’m sorry you’re so stupid-hot. I can’t help my reaction to you.”

He grinned. “You think I’m hot?”

“You know I do.” She pressed her palms flat on his stomach—whether to keep him from coming closer or to bridge the distance, he couldn’t tell.

Then again, from the way she’d just licked her bottom lip… “And you can’t keep your hands off me.” He might’ve used a teasing tone, but he was painfully hard and wild with need.

“It’s not easy, no.”

He grabbed one and placed it on his chest so she could feel his thundering heart. “You feel that?”

She nodded.

“That’s what you do to me.” He looked into eyes that burned with yearning, and he didn’t see a shred of doubt or fear. His gaze traced a path across cheeks rosy with need and down to a mouth softened and ready to be kissed. “But I’m not going to kiss you.”

“No?” She sounded strained. “Not even one little one?”

“If I do…” God, he wanted her. He wanted everything with this woman. “There’s no going back.”

“That’s what I want, Slick. I want it all.”

ChapterTwenty-Three

Everything changed in that moment.

Lorelei didn’t know the chains around her heart existed until they hit the floor.

She didn’t know the fear that held her hostage until she broke free.

And what a burden she’d carried. She’d thought the worst thing that had ever happened was her ex cheating on her with her best friend. Instead, it was her mom lying about her dad.

It was about growing up believing her dad didn’t want her.

Because that was thereasonshe’d stayed with a man who didn’t love her.

But this man? He looked at her with a desire so powerful she felt it coursing under his skin.

---