Page 31 of Tomorrow Belongs to Us
“I couldn't think about anything but my niece and my brother-in-law. He was in a coma. My sister had died. My family was grieving. What part of that don’t you understand.” He’s angry.
“I was a mess. You left me to fend for myself. Do you know what it was like having to hear the rumors?”
He looks confused. “But you left school.”
“I still lived in the same small town. Erica and Jensen got picked on at school. The rumors didn’t stop just because you left town and because I left the school. They suffered the humiliation of their sister having a relationship with the teacher—”
“But we didn’t tell anyone,” he points out, naively.
“Even in town, I had people point fingers at me, people whispering and saying that you’d been forced to leave because of me, otherwise you were going to get fired. People looked at me like I was the town whore.”
“Don’t say that.”
“They did.”
“I'm sorry. I didn’t know.” He tries to frame my face with his hands, but I wrench myself away.
“Well, you do now.”
My emotions are in tatters, conflicted thoughts poison my mind. I want him in my bed, I want more of him, all of him, but it will be a minefield of regret to go there. Not just because of my family, but because the past should be buried and stay in the past.
He's so much older than I am. We can't do this.
“I wish I’d been there for you.” His gaze dips to my chest and lingers on my thin shirt, which will give away evidence of my arousal. My breasts feel heavy. I pull the edges of my jacket together.
“You left me.” I step back. His eyes glint dangerously.
“I told you why.”
I’m deliberately picking a fight. It’s what I do sometimes. But this is warranted. “You used me.”
“That's not how I remember it, and I’m sure you don’t, either.” His palm folds around the back of my neck and he claims me possessively. “Don’t you remember what you did, Megan?” he rasps, his breath hot and sweet in my face. He presses against me, poking my stomach with his steel hard cock. Liquid heat melts between my legs and I huff out a ragged breath. Excitement courses through me. Delicious angry sex beckons.
I do remember. My clothes were wet, and I took them off. I knew what I was doing. He's not to blame, but ...
“You wanted me,” I whisper.
“You were naked in front of me, offering yourself to me. I tried to resist you and I couldn’t. You made it impossible. You knew what you were doing.”
“You were too scared to act on your emotions.”
“I was responsible.” The Adam's apple in his throat bobs. “I did want you, just like I want you now. I never forgot you, Megan. I wanted to reach out to you, but it would have complicated things. You were on the cusp of a new start, a new life and a new adventure in college.”
“You left me, and I was in love with you.”
His mouth falls open, the hand on my neck loosens. He steps away, looking confused.
I've revealed too much.
“Love?” he asks, softly.
I get my wits together. “Lust would be a better word for it. It's a good thing you stayed away. My family hated you so much. They would hate you now if they knew you were talking to me.” Luckily they won't have heard of his heroic exploits because they don't live here.
He shakes his head. “From hot to cold, in the blink of an eye. Did I do this to you? You can be so cold and so distant, like you can switch off in an instant. You were never like this.”
“It’s called survival.”
He peers down at me as if he can’t work me out. “Is that what you’ve been doing?”
