BegMe (15 page)

“Get out.” The tone she used was laced with venom. She might
be afraid but she would never show Jared.

As if sensing he wasn’t going to get anywhere playing the
bully, he took a deep breath and stopped. He raised his hands slowly in
surrender. “I just want to talk.” Moving forward, he sank onto the bottom step,
back against the wall, and looked up at her. “Just hear me out.”

Tessa stared down at him from the top of the staircase. The
pinched features, the lines on his furrowed brow, made him look years older.
Her heart ached for him. Ached for what they could have had together.

Mirroring his actions, she sank down, perched on the top
step and held onto the banister. She wanted a firm grip on something solid if
she needed to bolt for the bathroom. It was the only door in the house that
locked.

He leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes.
Moments ticked by. “Nick was telling the truth. In the past, we have shared
partners. He was a good friend. We used to be inseparable until I grew up and
finally realized what an arrogant prick he is.”

His eyes opened and he fixed his intent gaze on her. “But
that was all in the past. Years ago. Every one of my partners was willing. I
would never make anyone do something they are uncomfortable with. Ever. Things
change, Tessa. People change. I hadn’t taken a woman in months. Everyone and
everything in the lifestyle bored me. Women treated me like a plaything.
Something to show off. A rich, successful Dom as a play partner.” He ran his
hand through his hair. “I wanted more. I wanted a woman to be my equal outside
the bedroom.”

Tessa sighed. Her head pounded. A heavy feeling of despair
lodged in her stomach. Words were just words. Sure, he would say that now. Now
that he’d been caught out.

“So you weren’t expecting me to have sex with him?” She
shrugged. “You weren’t grooming me to share with your buddies like some sordid
sex toy?”

“No. I never want to share you with anyone.”

The conviction and longing in his voice made her want to believe.
“I don’t believe you.”

He raked a hand through his hair. A gesture she’d come to
associate closely with Jared when he was nervous or contemplative. She wondered
which one he was now.

“Tessa, you have to believe me…I…”

“You what?” She spat out the words. “What were you going to
say, Jared? Surely the big, bad playboy isn’t lost for words.”

Before she had a chance to blink, he launched himself off
the stair and scrambled toward her. He grabbed her arms, and they struggled for
dominance. Tessa clawed her way out of his grasp and clamored up the last step,
away from him. He tackled her, pinning her to the floor. His hands on her body
were rough. Blood rushed to her head, pounded in her ears. Adrenaline surged.
She had to get away from him.

“Fuck, Tessa! Stay still! I was gonna tell you I love you!”

She went pliant in his arms. Completely still. “You can’t
love me. You don’t know me.”

Jared turned her over and she stared up at his face. His
brow was furrowed, his eyes stormy-green orbs that danced with conviction. He
placed his palms on the floor. “I know enough about you. You’re driving me
insane. You’re under my damn skin.”

Her chest heaved up and down and she felt like she’d been
slapped. Her muscles ached, her cheeks burned. “That’s called lust.”

He laughed. “You drive me fucking crazy, you know that?”

He couldn’t possibly love her.

She lifted her chin defiantly. “Screw you.”

“Oh no, sugar. We already did that.” A hopeful smile
appeared on his face.

Tessa scowled.

“I don’t know when it happened, but I love you.” He caressed
her cheek. “I love your fire and your intelligence. Your passion. I love you,
and I have no fucking idea what to do about it.”

The look of desperation, of confusion, in his eyes made her
reach up and touch his brow, smoothing away the lines etching the skin. All the
fight seeped out of her.

Relationships confused her. Sex, she understood. Basic human
desires, she understood. When it came to emotions, her own emotions, she had no
clue.

Jared dropped his forehead against hers. “What do you want
me to do about it?”

Make love to me, sweep me off my feet, stay with me.
She
made a mental note to beat the crap out of her subconscious once the situation
was over.

He sighed. The sigh spoke volumes, like he held the weight
of the world on his shoulders. “I want you to give us a chance at a real
relationship.”

Her heart skipped a beat. “And if I say no?”

“Then you are gonna find a stalker on your ass from now ’til
infinity.”

She gave him a wry look. “Don’t jest about such things.”

“I’m deadly serious.”

Gulp.

“You’re killing me here. Give me a chance. Give us a chance.
Let me make it up to you. Put the kink aside. Give me time and I know you could
grow to love me too.”

Was that vulnerability written all over his face? Yep, it
sure was. She was a sucker for vulnerability. The ironic part was, she already
loved him. Total, flat-out, full-blown beating heart, head over heels in love.
Now he offered all her secret desires on a platter.

Maybe it was time to fess up.

“I don’t have to grow to love you,” she whispered. “I
already do.”

He tilted his head and frowned as if he hadn’t heard her
right. He studied her face. She smiled at him. A broad smile that curled her
lips, that made her jaw ache.

A slow smile replaced his frown. “Say what?”

“I love you.”

The smile turned into a grin. “Say that again.”

She thumped him lightly on the chest. “See, I knew this
would happen. Dance with the devil, and you end up stroking his oversized ego.”

He rolled his hips against hers. “Not the only thing that’s
oversized.”

Tessa groaned at his bad pun.

Flipping onto his side, he rolled Tessa with him so she lay
pressed against his chest. “Does this mean we’re a couple?”

She reveled in the feel of him against her. Warm, solid,
sexy as hell. It was a cliché but maybe love did conquer all.

Nah.

A grin tugged at her lips. Jared had a lot more groveling to
do before she could forgive him. A hell of a lot.

“This means we are a couple.” Deciding it was time to turn
the tables on Jared, she straddled his waist and flashed him a wicked smile. “For
now.”

The End

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