Chapter 82

“Is that what you think? That you’re distasteful to me?”

“Well, it seems pretty apparent to me.” Her anger crept into her voice.

“Obviously you hate me. So why pretend you want to sleep with me?”

Of course, he couldn’t admit the truth. That where she was concerned, his emotions were so raw he’d proposed to sleep with her just to get her out of his office.

Even when he knew she was manipulating him he wanted her. Even when she was using him to get money. He was still drawn to her. To her sheer bravado. To her wild streak of rebellion that she could never keep down for long.

And that was the fatal flaw in his plan. He’d thought to push her away with his arrogant, obnoxious behavior. With any other woman it might have worked. But Candace was at her best when backed into a corner. She was at her loveliest when fighting—whether it was for a hopeless cause or in defense of someone she cared about. Right now, fighting him, she was every inch the girl who’d stolen his heart.

If he wasn’t careful, he’d fall in love with her all over again. Hell, he’d be lucky if he got out of here without dropping to his knees and begging her for forgiveness.

She was looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to answer. Since he had to say something, he bluffed with a half lie. “Have you heard of Occam’s razor?”

“Of course. The scientific principle that the simplest explanation is the most likely.”

“Exactly.” Because admitting he desired her physically was much easier —not to mention safer—than admitting the truth. That she appealed to him on every level. That he just wanted her. “The simplest explanation for why I entered this arrangement is because I desire you. I want you in my bed. I told you that already.”

“But you don’t even like me anymore.”

“I’m a man. I don’t have to like you to find you physically attractive.”

“Well, I’m a woman, and generally speaking, we aren’t attracted to men we don’t like. Which is just one more reason I’m not going to sleep with you.” Her eyes were filled with pure defiance and daring. He almost believed that she meant it. That the passion between them had been completely buried by the bitter emotions.

But it hadn’t been for him and he couldn’t believe it had been for her. And he couldn’t live with himself if he didn’t figure out if she was bluffing, just as he was. And the only way he’d know the truth was to kiss her and find out.

She didn’t really believe he was going to kiss her, until the instant his lips met hers. For a moment, she fought against the embrace. She didn’t struggle. Didn’t try to squirm out of his arm. Didn’t demand he release her. But she resisted it. Tried to maintain her emotional defenses. He wanted to kiss her? Fine. He wanted to humiliate her? Okay, maybe after hurting him she had it coming.

However, she had no intention of letting it go further than this. She didn’t believe for a minute that this had anything to do with sexual desire. His touch was too impersonal. His embrace too cold.

But then, in imperceptible increments, the kiss changed. His lips softened, his hands warmed, his body leaned into hers. She didn’t see it coming. It happened before she could raise her defenses against it. Before she could do what she should have done before: end the kiss and put physical—not to mention emotional—distance between them.

The very air around them seemed to shimmer and shift. To vibrate with familiarity.

Suddenly, she wasn’t kissing a cold-hearted stranger. That man disappeared. And in an instant she was kissing Nolan.

Nolan. The man she'd fallen in love with. Who'd made her laugh. Who’d listened to her. Who’d made her stretch. Made her yearn. For her, Nolan was youth and hope. He was strength and defiance. He spoke to the wildness of her soul. To the restless, untamed corners of her spirit.

With his lips moving over hers, with the scent of him in her nose, she felt like she was sixteen again. Full of hope and lust for life. Thrilled with the pleasure humming through her veins. Giddy with the power to give as much pleasure as she received.

Lost in that thought, her whole being sank into the kiss. Her arms snaked up around his shoulders. She shoved at the lapels of his jacket, working it off his shoulders. For an instant, he released her, allowing the coat to drop to the floor.

Despite herself, she relished Nolan's embrace and the feeling of his hands on her. Like she’d finally come home after months of being lost in the big wide world without him.

She wanted to go on kissing him forever. She wanted to spend hours— days even—exploring all of his body. She wanted to strip off her clothes and lose herself in mindless, pounding passion.

She threaded her fingers through his hair, deepening the kiss, plastering her body against his. Every cell of her skin prickled to his touch, but he kept his hands firmly on her shoulders. Then he took one step forward, edging her backward. And another.

She felt the wall against her back providing leverage she used to buck her body against his. But she wanted more. She didn’t just want to touch him, she wanted to crawl inside his skin. Burrow into the sanctuary of his soul and never leave.

Then, as abruptly as he’d started the kiss, he ended it. Wrenching her hands from him, he set her aside and stepped away from her.

“Well.” He dragged his thumb across his lower lip as if wiping away her touch. “That was interesting.”

She blinked, too shocked to do more.

“Obviously you’re more attracted to me than you thought you were,” he said.

He paused, appraising her coolly. Making her painfully aware of her rapid breathing. Of the heated blood thrumming through her body. Of the very pulse of her desire.

Slowly he turned away, his expression blank, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. “I, however, find that I’m not as willing to overlook your flaws as I thought I would be. Then again, maybe I lied. Maybe this really is about revenge. Because I find I can’t make myself go through with this after all.”

“Wait.” She stepped forward, reaching out her hand but then dropping it to her side again. “Where are you going?”