Page 41 of Her Double Desire

Chapter 15

Shawn

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She fits perfectlyin my arms.

I'm still kicking myself for not storming over to Oliver and telling him to back off. Jared had felt the same as me, I could tell by looking at his hand crushing his glass. His knuckles were bone-white.

But before either of us could act... Veronica had walked away.

“Where are you going?” I ask.

“I'm leaving. I can't stay, Shawn.”

“It's Sir—”

“No,” she snaps, but the bitterness in her tortured face isn't meant for me. “It's not Sir. Not anymore. I messed up, I couldn't... I couldn't do it.” Tears glisten on her bottom lids, spilling over in a single streak. I ache to wipe them away. “Shawn, I'm so sorry. I really am. I swear, I tried, but I couldn't and now everything is messed up, and I have to get out of here.”

“Veronica, wait.” I can't handle the pain in her beautiful voice. I grab her wrist; she tugs to escape, but I don't let her go. “Just calm down. If you're upset because of the debt, I—” What am I doing? “I can pay it for you.” I force a smile, hoping she'll copy me and cheer up. “You said it before, I'm well off. This is nothing for me.”

“This was never about money,” she whispers. Her head hangs low, her hair falling forward to hide her from the world. “Money can be replaced. But the way Oliver will think about you and Jared now, that's unfixable. I messed up so badly, Shawn. I should have left that first day and let you tell Oliver what had happened. That would have been easier on you.”

My mouth tenses in a scowl. “How can you say that?” Her chin comes up, her wet eyes sparkling with confusion. Cupping her cheeks, I pull her closer to me. “You really think that if I could go back in time, I'd erase these two weeks with you?”

A force I can't name drives me forward until my lips touch hers. It's a kiss I'd convinced myself I'd never get to experience, not with Oliver around.

But she's not his.

She never was.

“Come with me,” I say, breaking away. She stands there with her lips parted, their surface shiny, begging for me to kiss them again. Resisting, I pull her gently up the stairs.

“Where's Jared?” she suddenly asks.

Guiding her away from that room full of slaves and masters and people still trying to figure out which they really are, I don't look back as I answer. “He's waiting for us.”

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