Sleeping with the Boss (Anderson Brothers, #1)(30)

“And you used me, Will. You never cared about me. You saw a way to get information, and being military-trained, you selected the most effective weapon in your arsenal, your body. And I fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker. Well-played.”

He slid off the seat and scrambled toward her, then stopped on his knees just short of her. Her heart hammered in her chest as the smell of him filled her nose. Her heart and mind may have been furious with him, but her body was still gunning for a joyride.

He took a deep breath. “Listen to me. From the moment I touched you in your office, I knew you were incapable of doing something underhanded like divert deals.”

“How on earth could you know that by touching me?”

“I’ve spent years of my life relying on instinct to keep me alive. I can tell a lot about a person simply from watching them and even more from talking to them. But when I touch you, there is nothing false. No layers. If you were hiding something, you wouldn’t be like that. Hell, you certainly wouldn’t be walking on the edge by going out with me.”

He almost fell over onto her as the limo swerved and pulled to a stop.

“We’re here, Mr. Anderson,” Jacob’s voice called through the speaker.

“Thank you.”

She gathered her purse and scooted to the edge of the seat to launch. Will put his hand on hers. “Please, Claire. I never thought you were the spy.”

She ached seeing him on the floor of the limo on his knees like that. “Michael does.”

“No, he doesn’t. That’s why he’s frustrated and mad at me. We have no clue who it is.”

Jacob opened the door.

She started to exit the car and Will tightened his hold on her hand. “Don’t. Nothing I said or did was a lie. You know it. We have something. You feel it, too.”

She did feel it. She was falling for this man and it was killing her. She had to end this now before she was in so deep she’d never climb out. She pulled her hand away and stepped out of the car. “I’ll be in the office in the morning to get my things. Consider this my resignation.” She spun on her heel and headed up the sidewalk, hating how dramatic that had sounded. She couldn’t go back to the office, though, knowing they thought she was a thief.

She heard his footfalls on the sidewalk behind her. Why hadn’t he just stayed in the car? This sucked so bad she couldn’t stand it, and prolonging the inevitable was making it worse. She was done.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop right outside her doors. “Look at me. Really look at me.”

She raised her eyes to his and her heart pinched at the absolute sadness in his expression.

He released her. “I understand why you’re mad. You have every right to be. I’d be mad, too. God knows I’ve been screwed over by someone, and I know exactly how you feel: betrayed and used, and it makes me sick that of all people, I’m the one who made you feel that way.”

She had to look away. It was like slowly ripping a scab off a wound to see the pain in his eyes.

With his fingertips, he gently turned her face back to his. “I did not use you, Claire. The only calculation behind touching you was to bring you pleasure. I spent time with you because for the first time in almost a year, I wanted to be with someone. I still want to be with you, but if you can’t, I understand. I’ve been where you are, and it’s a shitty kind of hell.”

He looked away with a defeated shrug. “In retrospect, I should have told you about the investigation, but honestly, it was a nonissue as far as you and I were concerned, and I expected to find out who it was and end the matter altogether. I didn’t want to muddy up our two weeks.”

She really didn’t know what to say. Her mind kept flipping from images of them together, to the horrible sinking feeling of hearing Michael yell about investigating her on the phone, to Will’s explanation just now. She was afraid if she said anything, it would open the floodgates. She needed to rip the rest of the scab off quickly. “Good-bye, Will.”

She barely heard his quiet response. “Good night.”

Determined not to stand and watch him leave, she walked away first, not looking back as the doorman held the brass and glass door and it closed with a whoosh behind her. It wasn’t until she had shut and locked her apartment door that she allowed herself to break down.

…

Will didn’t know how long he stood outside Claire’s building. It wasn’t until Jacob cleared his throat that he realized he was standing anywhere at all. He had been lost in his own selfish, inner temper tantrum, railing at life, fate, and himself.

Dammit. He wanted this woman. He wanted her more than he’d wanted anything ever, and not just physically. That was the real problem; he didn’t just want a two-week f*ck-a-thon before she took off. He wanted her to stay.

He had hurt her. She’d trusted him and he’d betrayed her. Not intentionally, but intentions didn’t matter in a case like this. She hurt as much as if he’d done it on purpose, and he was completely helpless to do anything more about it. The ball was in her court now.

Jacob cleared his throat a bit louder this time. “Are you okay, sir?”

Will took a deep breath. Letting her go was the right thing to do. He’d stay away from her and let her heal. “I’m fine, thanks. I’m ready to go home.”

Jacob opened his the limo passenger door. “Not to the office, Mr. Anderson?”