Chapter 20
Ledgar
She tilts her head to look at me and there it is.
That flicker of desire is there in her eyes.
Just like it was in the cameras, in the elevator after her world started to unravel, even at the party.
It’s stronger now. Like now she is trying to let herself feel, make herself feel anything other than pain.
I shouldn’t notice. I should definitely not care that she looks at me like I’m the rebound.
But I do. Something shifts in me. Curiosity and a little shock that I would proudly be her rebound.
A night with me and she would never think of what happened mere hours ago again.
She shifts slightly, like she’s trying to figure out her reaction to the way I’m looking back at her.
Like she doesn’t know if how she is feeling is normal.
“Tell me,” I say, setting my glass down on the desk.
“Do you always demand that much attention, or was tonight different?” Her eyes narrow, her shoulders square, and she lifts her chin up to me like she’s bracing herself.
There she is. The spitfire of a woman who has invaded my mind since that night at the party.
“Is this the part where you tell me how lucky I am?” She shoots back, her voice stronger now than it was when she entered, but with an edge. Curiosity eats at me to test her. To see how far I can push her before making her cave, but now’s not the time.
“It’s not,” I say, tilting my head slightly, watching her. “This is the part where I figure out if you actually deserve it.”
My words land exactly how I intended them to. Her eyes flash with enough emotion, it gives her away. “I didn’t realize I was being evaluated,” she quips back, a hint of defiance in her words.
“You are now.”
A thick silence stretches between us. Deadly.
Deliberate. She doesn’t look away, and that’s her mistake.
Because now I can see everything in those chocolate brown eyes.
The way she’s barely holding it together.
The betrayal. The pain. There is something raw and vulnerable underneath it all. I shouldn’t want to claim it.
As I step closer, not enough to crowd her, but just enough that she feels it, I whisper, “You don’t look like someone who just won.”
Her jaw clenches. “Maybe, I’m just not in the mood to celebrate.”
“No,” I say quietly, my gaze dropping to her lips for a half second before meeting hers again.
“Apparently not.” Silence stretches between us for a second before as we stare into each other’s eyes.
“You look like someone who just lost something instead.” Her breath hitches, barely noticeable but I catch it anyway.
She hates that I can tell how hurt she is.
It’s written all over her face. The crack that my words just tore up more.
“You don’t know anything about me,” she says weakly, her voice laced with vulnerability.
“I know enough,” I reply, taking another step closer to her. She doesn’t move an inch. Doesn’t lean back. Doesn’t try to run.
“Enlighten me then,” she says, sharper than any time she’s spoken to me before. She straightens. A silent challenge no doubt. A dangerous game to play, but my favorite, nonetheless. I take another step closer to her, leaning down where we are face to face.
“Challenge accepted,” I whisper into her ear. A slight shiver, followed by goosebumps break out along her skin. “You walked into a room tonight hoping for one thing…” Her eyes don’t leave mine. “And walked out of it with something else entirely.” Her fingers dig into the palm of her hand.
“You’re pissed,” I continue, my voice barely above a whisper.
“But that’s not what you’re really angry about.
” I shift closer, placing my arms on the chair, caging her in.
I’m close enough now to see every shift in her, every breath she takes.
“You’re not upset that he betrayed you,” I pause, letting it sink in that I know.
“You’re upset because a part of you already knew. ” That does it.
“Stop,” she snaps, her eyes turning glassy with unshed tears.
“Why?” I ask. “Am I wrong?”
She tilts her head up, our mouths only centimeters apart. I can taste her breath. “You don’t get to stand there and act like you have me all figured out,” she says. I don’t step back. I don’t move away. The fire in her stare just pulls me closer. There’s my forbidden ace.
“Then prove me wrong,” I whisper against her lips, my gaze never leaving hers.
“Tell me I’m wrong.” But she doesn’t, and that silence…
it’s louder than any words she could have spoken at this moment.
She wants to feel anything, but what she does.
It’s in every breath she takes, every shift of her expression, every word she speaks.
My chest tightens as the tension between us becomes almost too much.
I could take her. Right here, right now, and I doubt she would stop me.
Instead, I straighten slowly, giving her room to breathe, but not enough where she can’t feel the heat of my skin anymore.
“Careful, Miss Reith,” I say, my voice smooth and controlled again.
“People always come in here thinking they are in control…. but that’s never the case.
” I let that hang there between us, expecting it to hit her the way my threats usually do.
But it doesn’t. And that surprises me. She exhales slowly, like she’s containing herself.
Her eyes find mine again, and the fire is there, but now she’s calmer. Too calm.
“Is that supposed to impress me?” She questions. I don’t answer right away.
She uncrosses her legs, slowly, intentionally brushing one of mine in the process.
I inhale sharply. “You think because you can read me,” she continues, tilting her head as she looks up to me.
“Like you have everything figured out because you watched me for god knows how long out those windows.” There’s no hesitation, no softness anymore, just defiance.
“Maybe I did know,” she adds, shrugging her shoulders.
“Maybe I knew exactly what he was doing.” That stops me.
There is no way she knew. Not with how she responded.
She leans in further, brushing my lips with hers as she speaks.
“And maybe I decided to stay anyway, because it’s the only thing in my life that actually felt like mine. ”
She leans back, creating space between us again.
“Ever think of that…Mr. Hartley.” I study her for a long minute.
Longer than I should be, than I need to be, because that is not what I expected her to say.
“So, tell me,” she adds, her eyes flicking over me once…
twice…before settling back on mine. “Since you’re the one who is always in control of everything,” she pauses, stands, coming chest to chest with me now.
“What happens when something doesn’t go your way? ”
My control nearly snaps. Most don’t challenge me. They fold the minute they are in the same room, but she doesn’t. And I can’t decide if that’s a problem, or the most captivating thing I have ever seen. “Careful,” I murmur, a silent warning in my voice, but she doesn’t flinch.
“Or what?” The corner of my mouth almost lifts in a smirk. Almost.
“Or you might just find out what happens to those who challenge me,” I reply under my breath. She inhales sharply as she holds my gaze, like she’s daring me to make the next move. And for the first time, I don’t take control of this moment. I let her have it. Because it isn’t just mine anymore.