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She scooted away from me and wiped at her face.
My heart wouldn’t stop hammering against my chest.
Every single time I tried to open my mouth to say something, the only words I could conjure up were “I’m sorry.” And I couldn’t say them. I wasn’t supposed to.
It wasn’t part of the plan.
So, I said nothing.
And I listened to her softly cry next to me.
Funeral indeed.
If she had any clue how much I needed her, if she had any clue how much I wanted her in that moment, wanted her to yell at me, to fight me like she always did, to even hold my hand, she’d be stunned.
We all had our parts in this play.
Mine wasn’t to play her hero.
And hers wasn’t to save me from myself.
It would be a tragic ending.
Queen takes the pawn.
Checkmate.
I checked my phone once we got to the boutique hotel; it was some modern masculine looking penthouse suite that looked over Lake Michigan, and it thankfully had two bedrooms.
Champagne was chilling for us, along with a shit ton of food and changes of clothes.
She was still sitting on the bed ten minutes after I brushed my teeth and had pulled open my shirt and tossed my tie, jacket, and shoes.
I wasn’t drunk.
I was barely buzzed.
I was too stressed and needed to be alert.
I could both hear and see her deep breath. Damn, her dress was gorgeous on her. Seductive and sweet, not too sexy, I’d been tempted so many times to run my hands down her arms, to even just brace her shoulders. The sheer number of times I wished she’d trip during our first dance, so I’d have an excuse to touch her more, was embarrassing.
She stood and turned to me. “Can you help me take off my dress?”
Yes. No. My tongue wasn’t working, and my mouth wasn’t opening, so I just nodded and reached for the top clasp near her neck.
“So, my dad really will kill you if you touch me, hmmm?” she asked.
My fingers froze. “Yes, and he felt the need to repeat it so many times I lost count, why?”
She shrugged. “Then it would be him holding the knife to you, not me. I’d be innocent in all of this.”
“I’m not tempted.” I lied as I made my way down every button in her dress until my hands grazed right above her ass where her nude thong made itself known.
Shit.
It didn’t help that she was wearing a matching strapless corset that accentuated her hips.
“I don’t need to tempt you. I just want to strike a bargain.”
