“Are you about to cry because I didn’t fall for your games
and play into your act? If you’re going to kiss me, you’ll kiss
me like you mean it or not at all. You’ll kiss me because you
want me, not because you want to bend me or break me.
You’ll kiss me because you want to stay, because you’re so
desperate that you can’t imagine a single second going by
where you don’t kiss me because it’s torture. You’ll kiss me as
in invitation, or you won’t kiss me at all.”
Maybe Haley really was an innocent, because she appeared
stunned. “You…”
“How could I have possibly guessed your intentions of
seduction so you could cry foul to your dad and get out of that
agreement? If you’re going to dabble in the art of seduction,
you should become more skilled at it. Your intentions are
written all over your face, sweetheart.”
An undignified huff got sucked in between Haley’s teeth. “I
should be more like you, then? A statue? An ice queen? So
frigid and unrelenting? Let me guess, you had a shitty
childhood and it made you who you are today, and I should
feel sorry for you because you have this horrible sob story to
explain yourself.”
Claire laughed. She moved swiftly, retrieving the chair that
Haley had sent careening into the bookshelf behind the desk.
She sat down gracefully, making a point of crossing one leg
over the other and swinging her foot like a pendulum.
“Nothing of the sort.” Liar. Everything of the sort. “What I
learned, I learned because I had a desire.” A desire to heal. To
get out of the fucked-up nightmare that had become my life. It
was actually her therapist who suggested that she try
something different in order to forget what happened to her