Chapter Twenty-Six
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
MY HEART IS ON THE LINE
EZRA
I escaped back to the city before I could do something stupid.
There are few people on this earth, if any, who would use that word to describe me. But after letting myself fall in love with a woman who fights every emotion like it’s her damn calling, it’s the only word I can think of.
And what can I do about it? Kidnap her? Hold her in my arms until I force her to love me back?
Shake the fear out of her beautiful body?
Instead, I hang my head with a long sigh, and try to get back to work. But the emails don’t hold my attention the way they used to. And when my assistant reminds me of my eleven o’ clock meeting, I try my hardest to power through.
Ivan isn’t at the office. I don’t know where he is, and if I’m being honest, I’m happy not to have to deal with him. Not when things have been brought to my attention that require more effort on my end. More digging, more finding out what the fuck has been going on around here, right under my nose.
I reach for my phone and open my text messages, disappointment poking fun at me when I don’t see any new messages from Eloise.
I’ve heard nothing since the day she left my house.
An uninterrupted day that haunts me still. I’ve had her in my bed, in my shower, on my kitchen counter.
And the next day, I had to get the fuck out of that house.
Because nothing fucked with me more than the memory of each orgasm I greedily took from her. Nothing made me quite as useless as the thought of her, back in town, pretending none of it happened.
I’d wanted to know her better, read the book, spent more time with her.
But the more I got to know her, the more I felt her slip from my grasp.
Without a word, I toss my cellphone in my desk drawer and slam it shut.
For the first time, I have no desire to play cat and mouse with her.
Because when my heart is on the line, it isn’t as fucking fun.