Page 48 of Impulsive Saint
“No need.”
She blinked at him, “I just meant… you should come back to bed with me.”
“No.” he said more firmly and this time her smile fell, just as he’d known it would.
The loss of it felt like a blow. He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want to hurt her. But he had to shut this down before it went any further and the only way to do that was to make her understand that what they’d done last night had been a mistake.
“Are you upset I slept in?” Ashtyn frowned, “Because you could have woken me up if…”
“It’s not that.” he cut her off, pushing the box of donuts onto the dresser along with the coffee so that his hands were free. “We need to talk.”
Ashtyn sat upright in the bed, holding the sheet over her breasts, “About what?”
“Last night.” He started to move towards the bed to sit beside her and then thought better of it. He couldn’t join her on the bed. He couldn’t be that close to her. Not yet. He perched on the edge of the chair instead. “What happened between us, it was a mistake.”
Ashtyn’s mouth gaped open, “What?”
“It shouldn’t have happened. I shouldn’t have let it happen and I’m sorry that I took advantage of you that way.”
“What?” she repeated, her voice rising, “Are you kidding me?”
“No.”
“You didn’t take advantage of me.”
“I did.”
“You didn’t.”
“Ashtyn, you’re in a sensitive position right now.” He leaned forward, elbows propped on his knees. “You ended a serious, long-term relationship by running away from your own wedding less than a week ago. You’re vulnerable right now and I took advantage. I shouldn’t have slept with you. I should never have let that happen and it can’t happen again. It was a mistake.”
She stared at him for a long moment and he was thankful that she seemed to understand. She wasn’t arguing with him. He thought that had to be a good sign but then, as the silence grew, he watched as she began to shake her head, slowly at first and then more firmly. When she finally spoke, she surprised him by uttering a curse he had never expected to hear out of her sweet mouth in that soft voice.
“Fuck you, Tyler.”
He flinched backwards, “Excuse me?”
She was still shaking her head but her eyes had narrowed angrily, “I can’t believe that you’re doing this.”
“Doing what?”
“The exact same bullshit that every other man in my life does.” She ripped at the sheets as she tried to keep them around her naked body and scoot to the opposite side of the bed, away from him, at the same time.
“Ashtyn, I…”
“Shut up.” she snapped, whipping the sheets around her as she stood, turning back to hit him with that fierce glare again. “Just, shut up. You got to say what you wanted to say. Now it’s my turn.”
It was also his turn to stare, and he couldn’t look away. Hair mussed from sleep, nothing but a sheet wrapped around her body, her cheeks flushed with anger, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. He wanted to kiss her but he reminded himself that he’d already taken that off the table.
“I thought you were different.” Her anger seemed to falter and she bit her lip, looking away.
He wondered if there were tears welling in her eyes. Dammit, he hadn’t wanted to make her cry. He hadn’t thought she had real feelings for him. But if she was crying maybe she did and he had stomped all over them by calling their night together a mistake. He’d just opened his mouth to apologize again when she jerked back towards him and made him shut his mouth without saying a word.
“You’re just like all the rest of them. You think your opinion is more important than mine.”
“No, that’s not...”
“I said, shut up.” she snapped, swiping a hand over her cheek before he could even tell if a tear had been there, “You think you have the right to invalidate my choices? You don’t.”
