Elastic Hearts (Hearts #3)(33)

“I’m this close to losing my job, my license, and everything I’ve worked so f*cking hard for,” he said, his voice rough and low, and way too close to my mouth.

“Because you want me,” I said, rather than asked.

“Because you keep looking at me like you want me,” he said.

I pushed his chest with both hands, and he took a step back.

“You have to be the most self-assured person on planet Earth. You’re the one calling meetings at crazy hours.”

“And you’re the one who’s coming, no questions asked.”

“That’s how I usually like to come. No questions asked,” I said with a smirk. He took in a deep breath, let it out slowly, heavily, loudly.

“Fine. Yes, I want you,” he said.

His admission shocked me into silence. We both looked at each other, stared at each other, and I was sure my heart was bound to leap out of my throat and into his if he didn’t break the silence. He didn’t, so I finally swallowed and spoke.

“Why did you need to see me?” I whispered.

With the way he still looked at me, I was starting to feel really hot, like lava pent-up in a volcano dormant for too long, and I was afraid that at any minute this thing between us would make me completely explode. God knew it had been a while. For me, at least.

“What were you doing at the award show?” he asked. I could tell he was practicing restraint in keeping his voice reserved, and the thought of the way he held his ground and practiced control made me tremble.

“He asked me to go and I agreed,” I said.

“That wasn’t part of the agreement,” he growled.

“I know,” I said, my voice low as I tore my eyes from his and looked at the ground between us. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I thought you would try to talk me out of it.”

“I would have.”

“I know.” My eyes snapped to his. “Why does it bother you so much?”

His eyes narrowed. “Because it does. And I want you out of that f*cking house.”

“Really? Out of my house?” My eyebrows rose at his tone. I’d already decided to get out of there, but having him demand it pissed me off. “And where would you suggest I go, Mr. Know-It-All?”

“Anywhere. Anywhere is better than living under the same roof as him. If I wasn’t your attorney, which I swear to Christ I’m close to being just that, I’d haul your ass out of there and make you move into my house temporarily.”

“Oh, temporarily,” I said, narrowing my eyes as I took a slight step forward. “Until you got sick of me and moved on to someone new? Isn’t that your MO?”

“My MO?” he asked. His voice suddenly dropped to a quiet seethe that made my heart drop into my stomach. “I’m not the one who f*cks people and then goes off and gets engaged a few weeks later.”

Oh my God. I wanted to strangle him. For a second I thought I could try, but then I would have to hop on a chair so we could be at eye level and that would tip him off. I took a breath and counted to five, then took another deep breath for good measure.

“In case you forgot our conversation the other day, you were the only one I did that with.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better, Nicole.”

“What does it make you feel?” I asked, tilting my face in challenge. “We had sex. Great sex. You broke it off, and I went and married another guy, one who wanted something more with me. Something more than just f*cking me. Fucking sue me.”

“I just might.”

I laughed. “Oh. This is good. On what grounds?”

“Obliterating my f*cking ego. Temporary insanity. Sucker punching my . . . my . . .”

“Your heart?” I asked in a whisper, and waited on bated breath for his response.

Damn him for thawing the shell I’d managed to start rebuilding around my heart with three simple, stupid incomplete sentences. His eyes widened slightly, as though he’d never even considered his heart in this, and I almost smiled. I’d never seen him look puzzled. Or unsure. It was endearing.

“Maybe,” he said, frowning.

Sort of endearing.

“I don’t think you realize how much I stand to lose here, Nicole. You keep making these jokes and—” I inched closer, pressing my chest against his. He sucked in a breath. “And doing this.”

He stepped back again and searched my face. I hated it when he looked at me that way, like he was rummaging around in my thoughts, kicking shit around until he found something he could use against me. He licked his bottom lip, and I did the same, forcing his gaze to drop to my own lips.

“You can keep tempting me, but it won’t work. Not after I saw you acting like everything was fine in paradise. Not after I saw you making out with your supposed soon to be ex-husband,” he said.

“What do you want, Victor? You’re like that goddamn Katy Perry song. I never know what I’m going to get with you. We talk, we argue, we f*ck, and then you dismiss me because you have a client to tend to.”

He shot me a glare. “Don’t bring that up anymore. How the f*ck was I supposed to know you wanted more? You were the one trashing marriage, bashing relationships left and right, saying you didn’t want anything long-term.”

“I said those things because I thought that’s what you wanted to hear.”