Page 109 of The Heart You Kept

Hard.

I watch it until the end and I rewind it and watch it again and then again. He did this for a reaction, he’s putting the ball in my court.

What do I do, what do I do?

I get up and walk around the store as I think. I need to be strategic about this, he came here with the specific purpose to bait me.

Any normal woman would cave under these circumstances…hell, I want to so badly.

What would happen next if I played into his hands?

I pace back and forth as I think, I would call him, he would talk dirty and ask if he can come over. We would have wild sex and then he would leave in the morning and because nothing has been established or talked about other than sex I probably will never hear from him again.

I drag my hands through my hair, honestly…. How can I not call him?

No woman is this strong.

And he knows it, he’s weaponizing my sexual attraction to him. Baiting me into action and trying to force my hand. I already know that I like him too much to be a casual fuck buddy.

But what do I really want from him?

Effort.

It doesn’t have to be a marriage proposal, and hell, we probably wouldn’t last anyway, but I want to feel respected. I want a real chance of something more.

I continue to pace as I think.

If I was going to do the exact opposite of what he’s expecting…what would I do?

Not call him.

Make no contact and pretend I didn’t watch the tapes as if unbothered.

I put my head into my hands, I honestly don’t think I’m that strong.

Do you want him for one night or do you want a chance of forever?

Okay, determination runs through me.

I haven’t come this far with him to only come this far. We already did the fucking thing and it nearly broke me. I’m not doing that again.

I walk back into my office and send the security footage to my email; I check that it arrived and then I resend it again just to be sure.

I can’t lose this footage whatever I do, it’s my new favorite show.

I screw up my face as I delete it off the security tapes, Ouch…this feels like a crime to humanity.

I flop back into my chair. I’m not calling him. I’m not even acknowledging that I saw it.

I get a vision of him spitting into his hand and I smile, it’s going to be a long hard night with my vibrator.

EDWARD

In the darkness I pace back and forth on the deck of my yacht, I check my phone.

No missed calls

“Call me, fuck it,” I murmur, infuriated.