“Fuck the past!”
She shook her head and pulled away. “We can’t ignore it, not after everything that’s happened.”
“Okay, we can’t ignore it, but together we can get past it. You love this house and I’ll only be happy with you here. We can make it work. Carmen, you have to be part of it.”
She paused, looked back.
“I can’t do it without you,” he stated.
“That’s blackmail.”
“No, it’s the honest to God truth.”
She seemed to teeter on the edge, visibly torn.
The sound of tires on the gravel and headlights flashing through the windows on either side of the front door told him time was short. Carmen looked back, alerted to the presence of the taxi.
“I forbid you to leave,” Rex blurted, his entire being opposed to the idea. It was a crazy move, but he couldn’t help himself. He was desperate.
“This isn’t a game, not anymore. And I’m not a possession you can order about, not now.” She gave him a sidelong glance and it held a warning. “It’s time to say goodbye.”
She stared at him, determination and sadness showing in her expression.
He gritted his teeth, massaged his temples and forced himself to face up to everything that had happened in the past few hours. He had to get some form of compromise from her. “So, you need time out, a break away from the house. I understand that. It’s been hard on us both, but that doesn’t mean we have to lose what we have.”
“What do we have?” She looked at him, leveling him as she asked the question.
“You said it yourself—it’s been great between us. I want to be with you.” He heard it in his own voice, the sound of a relieved laugh, and wondered why it had been so hard to say that. What had started as an interesting challenge had become so much more. “We’ve been through so much.”
“That’s it exactly. There’s no need to put ourselves through any more.”
It wasn’t what he wanted to hear. I want you, I want you. The words echoed around his mind. The weight in his chest grew heavier, leaving him thwarted and angry.
“It won’t always be like this, you have to see that.” This was tearing him apart inside. He gripped her shoulders tightly.
She tried to wrench free.
“I can’t let you go.”
“You have to.”
“I won’t!” His grip on her tightened, his anger and denial a swelling tide that obscured everything but his goal.
Color flamed across her cheekbones and her eyes looked wild with anger. “Boo, damn it! Boo!”
Rex froze, as did she. The safe word. She’d used it, after all.
Her eyes glittered with tears.
He could hear the sound of his own angry heartbeat in his ears, the physical evidence of his volatility shattering the silence.
“Boo,” she repeated in a strangled whisper, and a tear fell to her cheek.
Rex released her. It was the hardest thing he’d ever done. “Fine. Go, then. But you’ll be back.”
“For more of your fun and games? Is that what you think—that you can wish it all away with a session in the sack?”
“I know it’ll take more than that. Give me a chance to prove it.”