“It’s not.”
“Liar.” Her lips part like she’s about to speak, but I don’t let her get that far. “I felt it last night. I feel it now. Since you value the truth so much, tell me you don’t.”
The muscles tense beneath her clear golden-brown skin, disrupting the fine line of her jaw. “Wallace and I—”
“Yeah, how do I get rid of him?” I ask abruptly.
“You’re asking how to get rid of my boyfriend?” Dark brows wing over the scorn in her eyes. “You don’t.”
“Do us all a favor. When he asks you to marry him, just let him down easy.”
“He hasn’t—”
"He will, and when he does, tell him no.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because.”
“This isn’t second grade, Maxim. ‘Because’ isn’t a sound or compelling argument.”
“Because me. Better?”
“Your arrogance is truly astounding.”
“Thank you for that.”
“Not a compliment.”
“I make my own compliments. How does it feel knowing you could bring a man like me to my knees?”
“I don’t want to.”
“Oh, don’t worry. You’ll be on your knees, too. Should I tell you what you’ll be doing when you’re down there? Or do you remember?”
I lean forward a little, lower my voice.
“Do you ever think about how it felt to have my cock in your mouth, Nix?”
“Stop,” she grounds the word out, not looking at me, her fingers trembling around her teacup.
“To know that in that moment, I was completely at your mercy. That I belonged to you.”
“I don’t—”
“Because I think about you like that all the time. I want you like that again. Every night. Naked in bed and completely mine.”
“In what world could you possibly think I would belong to you?”
“In the one we make together.”
When I say it, whatever guard she had in place slips. Just for a second, and I see something in her eyes that tells me I’m not crazy. That tells me I’m not wasting my time. That tells me there’s more to her resistance than Wallace and our past and my mistakes and lies. I don’t know what’s behind that guard, but I’ll be damned if I stop pursuing her until I do.
“You did this on purpose,” she finally says. “Waited until the whole team was in place and we’d officially signed with Owen to show your hand.”
“Yes.”
“Because you think I want to win so badly I won’t back out?”