Page 57 of Words We Didn't Say

“I’m seeing it. I am. I’ve been lying to myself for a long time, saying I was working so hard for you…and I was, but…”

“Your work has always been about you.”

“It is.Was. Tonight, at the stadium, when I snapped at you, I felt it”—I slapped my palm over my heart—“right here. My insecurities, my goals, just how much I’ve been putting them first. Dad’s been telling me for years to stop and notice the good things in my life. I didn’t, Eden. I didn’t see the best thing that ever happened to me until you walked out my door.”

“Just more words.”

“I’ll prove it to you,” I said. “Actions.”

Eden eased back. Her lips pressed in a fine line. “More gifts?”

“Whatever you need. Anything you want.”

Her chin lifted. “Beg me.” Her glare was defiant. “On your knees.”

My gaze bounced off the checkerboard tiles. “Eden?” I grimaced. Sparkling basins and the slightly offensive smell of too much air freshener, and I’d guarantee this place was cleaner than the men’s, but it was still a bathroom.

Eden scoffed at my hesitation. “So,notwhatever I need?” She peered down the end of her nose at me, one brow lifting in a challenge.

I didn’t always say much, and when I did, it usually stuttered out of me, but I’d never begged a day in my life.

And yet…

My joints protested with a hot squeeze as I sank to my knees. When Eden’s slender fingers speared through my hair andyanked back my head, forcing me to look her in the eye, her smile was feral.

“How many times did you see me on my knees in front of you?” she asked.

So many. “You were beautiful.” She was.

“You liked it, Zach?”

Was there any point in lying to her? “I loved it.”

“You like being in control?”

“Yes.”

Eden’s head cocked. “Me too.” She scoffed a noise. “Too bad I can’t act like you and just take what I want.”

I reached out, my fingertips brushing the smooth skin of her ankle. “You can.”

Bone-achingwantflared in my chest. The barometer of Eden’s mood was shifting—cool, detached. She wanted to take control. I’d let her. She could coax me into a stall and demand I lift her dress. I’d welcome it. I’d push her knickers aside, tug her leg over my shoulder, and press my face between her thighs. I’d groan when her rough hand threaded in my hair as she ground her hips against my face.Fuck yes.I’d crawl across a festering truck stop for that.

Hell, I’d beg Eden simply for a smile.

Her attention.

Anything.

Acid leached in my gut. My hand fell from her ankle.

This persona of Eden—the Ice Queen—had never been about sex. She flipped the switch when the balance of power shifted between us in those moments when she’d been thrown out of the pilot’s seat and was still flailing midair, not quite on the ground, not sure how to land.

I’d never shown her. And that was my job.

I’d forgotten her so many times she felt like she needed to beg for my smile, my attention, myanything. The realisation punched me in the gut.

I lifted my gaze, and when our eyes met, I hoped she saw mine weren’t filled with lust. Only regret. True remorse.

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