Page 152 of The Bet
Chapter 43
He’d wanted to kill him. Gideon Fucking Shoemoney. One of Wall Street’s finest. He and his wife were the wealthy A-list power couple at all the New York society galas.
He couldn’t sleep after what Izzy had told him. Not just because of what she had suffered, but because he was now more conflicted than ever.
The weight of needing to confess was like a detonator around his neck.
With Valentine’s Day just over a week away, the pressure was on. Izzy didn’t want to make a big deal of it. She told him she didn‘t want any fancy dinners, or fancy clubs. She had an accounting test and two case studies to get through in the next few weeks. Valentine’s Day wasn’t her focus.
And that was fine with him. Except that, as he got to know her better, he knew that she valued honesty and trust, over an expensive box of chocolates. He needed to tell her, so that they could start from a clean slate, but fear of how she would react, kept him silent.
He wrestled between telling her, and keeping silent. Izzy would never find out, Luke would never tell her, and their stupid secret would be safe forever, but he didn’t feel right keeping this from her. Not after everything she had already confided in him.
It had to be tonight, he decided, walking her back to her apartment. They’d gone out to dinner again, only this time she’d suggested one of her favorite student haunts, a noisy bar downtown. A night of cheap pizza and watered down fizzy drinks. The place was rammed with people, some of whom she knew. But it wasn’t conducive to talking, and once again, he’d backed out of his confession.
And now that they were back at her apartment, his intention was to see her in, and tell hersomething.
But they were already kissing by the time they’d walked in and closed the door.God, no.Kissing her, touching her, being with her drove him to the edge of distraction. She shrugged out of her coat, and with her hands around his neck, and her breasts hard against his chest, started to lead him towards the bedroom.
He resisted the movement. “No.”
Surprise filled her eyes as she looked up at him.Hell, no. His defenses were crumbling.
“No?” She bit his lower lip, then sucked it slowly.
He felt himself stiffen. It seemed to be something that happened on contact with this girl. It happened all the time, and it was going to do serious damage to his manhood, him having to jerk off as often as he did.
“Why no?” she asked, provocatively.
He pushed her back, steering her away from the couch, steering her someplace else that might be safe, places they hadn't already made out on.
“I want to talk.”
She laughed, throwing her head back, forcing him to stare at her neck and try to resist planting his lips there.
“We've just been talking,” she said, lowering her head and looking at him again. His heart was full of so much want for this girl, so much desire, and that, coupled with the feeling of wanting to protect her, make things be good for her, pushed him into an unfamiliar place.
He’d rushed into relationships, some just random dirty encounters with girls he’d barely known for more than a few days. This was new; strolling, not rushing, discovering, not fucking. His need for her was no longer driven by pure lust, but by the desire to know her heart and soul.
She fell back onto the ottoman, and he fell to the floor , looking up at her because he needed to see her face, needed to know what her reaction would be when he told her.
“You want to talk?” she asked, sitting back, her knees up against his chest. “Do you really want to talk, or is this another one of your moves?” With her hands on his shoulders, she leaned forwards and kissed him, and because he could never resist her, he kissed her back.
She shifted closer to him, moving her legs apart, their lips sealed hungrily as his tongue swirled around in her mouth, trying, trying, trying not to get too caught up in her.
Trying and failing miserably.
“Cara?” he said, using the word like a contraceptive.
“Isn’t here,” she replied, her glistening lips, red and swollen, were giving him ideas.
But his conscience was pressing on him like a giant fist.
Now.
His heart thundered.
He had to tell her,now.
