Page 60 of Chandelier Sin
Think.
Her heart pounded against my chest, her breaths short and her moans soft.
The mysterious woman I’d coveted back at Pendulum was in my arms. I’d wanted Eve more than I’d wanted anything. That longing returned to haunt me. I recalled in vivid detail the time I’d first seen her at Pendulum, strolling down the endless hallways like an enchanting vision.
I’d wanted to possess her then.
Now, the cost would be exorbitant.
Her lips were swollen from the intensity of our kisses. The thought of lifting the hem of her dress and ripping off her panties so I could take her was irresistible.
Until it wasn’t.
I pulled away as reality came screeching back.
She showed her frustration that I wouldn’t allow her to have this one thing.
Me.
“I have to go.” I moved away.
Fire burned in her eyes, a spark of want and need that reminded me of the first time we’d spoken in the wine cellar.
Fucking her would seal a rare and terrible bond between us, something I shouldn’t do. Tearing myself away would be the wisest decision I’d made in decades.
In a lifetime.
Again, I tried to move away, but her hand pressed against my chest.
I tore away from her and made my way back down the hallway and into the living room.
“Atticus.” Eve caught up.
I paused and stared down at her. “What?”
“If you report this, I won’t tell you anything about Pendulum.”
“Maybe I’ll find out the truth another way.”
I wondered what kind of emotional trauma she’d endured to make her like this. She was unreasonable in all the worst ways—the kind of irrational that battered women displayed.
That thought burned my conscience. Had she endured that kind of violence?
No, don’t do that to yourself. Don’t go along with her need to be seen as the victim. Don’t let her manipulate you to get her own way.
I took a wild guess as to why she was helping Ben, and it left a bad taste. They were lovers, perhaps?
I tried once more. “What’s the worst that can happen if we get him further medical care?”
She shivered at the thought.
Tenderly, I cupped her face. “Eve, I may be Hell-bound, but I swore the Hippocratic Oath to protect my patients.” I jabbed a finger toward the hallway. “He just became my patient.”
“Yet you’re walking away?”
I clenched my jaw, stepping back from her.
She grabbed my sleeve again. “You can’t kiss me like that and then walk out and betray me.”
