Luke kissed me as if my mouth was his favorite meal. He was aggressive, needy, and hungry as if he were searching for something. My muscles tensed, and my senses stirred up. His hand dropped to my waist, then his fingers slowly slipped into my shirt. I shivered. Immediately, I caught his hand. I’d almost forgotten we were in his office. Anyone could enter at any moment.
He stopped the kiss. Our mouths parted slightly, but his gaze remained on mine. My lips felt swollen. I didn’t think I could resist him anymore. I wanted him to kiss me again, but I was afraid of the aftermath. This wouldn’t change the fact that he was hiding something from me. I know I shouldn’t care because it’s his life, but when it comes to Luke, everything became a real deal.
“We can’t.” I swallowed hard. “We can’t make this work.”
“Why not?” he muttered. He brushed his fingers along my jaw, his eyes fixed intently on mine.
“I think you know why. You’ve been lying to me.”
“No. I never lied to you, Scarlet.”
“But you’re withholding the truth.”
“Look at me,” he ordered in a rough voice. The tip of his nose touched mine. “I need to ask you something.”
I gazed back at him.
“Would it matter?”
I blinked. “What?”
“Would it matter if I told you about this?”
“Of course it would,” I admitted. “I understand that this is your privacy, but I at least need to know if I’m about to cross a line and hurt someone. Stacy, for example.”
He pressed his forehead to mine. “She’s nothing to worry about. I told you a couple of times already.”
“But you won’t tell me who she is?”
He scowled, then parted from me and sat at the edge of the desk. “If I tell you what will change? We did not agree to disclose anything as you decided not to tell me about your marriage. I don’t want to talk about it, but I am telling the truth. You have nothing to worry about with Stace. She’s an acquaintance. That’s all I can say to you.”
I snorted, but I felt my cheeks flush. I didn’t know he was still thinking about it. “So that’s it? You are just using my own issue against me? My case is not the same as yours.”
He shut his eyes and clenched his jaw. “No. You listen to me. How did you even find out about her?”
“I accidentally read her text.” I bit my lip. “I didn’t mean to, I swear. But she called you babe.”
He slightly nodded but surprisingly unbothered. “As I have guessed.”
“Just think about this. What if it was me? What if you read it on my phone and that I was going to meet someone else after I just agreed to have sex with you?” I crossed my arms across my chest. “Do I have no right to ask you?”
“Yes, I couldn’t imagine if I read something like that on your phone.” He gritted through his teeth. “And of course, you have the right to ask me, and I am here now telling you the truth.”
“So, you did meet up with her that night.” It wasn’t a question.
“You read that, too?” He scowled. “I did, and just like I told you, I wouldn’t lie to you, but it’s another case. I’m not in any sort of relationship with her.”
My heart clenched. He didn’t deny that he saw her. I wanted to believe him, but it was jealousy eating me up. Not to mention, he told me that we should be exclusive. What’s the exclusivity with that?
“Then if I want to meet with someone, I should too, right? While we are in this kind of relationship—no, I mean, this“What do you mean you would meet someone?”
“Well, I went on a date with someone.” I shrugged. “Since I guess exclusivity doesn’t matter anymore,” I said in a casual tone.
His expression turned furious. He tensed up and grabbed my arm. “What did you just say?”
“Ouch!” I tried to jerk away, but he didn’t let me go. “You’ve been doing the same thing, so why can’t I?”
“And you think that’s how a mature woman acts?” he growled.
“What are you so mad about?” I shot back. “You wanted honesty, right?”
“Did you fuck him?”
My jaw dropped. Oh, God. I couldn’t believe it. “Is that what’s important to you?”
“It’s important to me. Don’t make this harder for us than it already is. Now answer me…” he breathed. “Did you fuck him?”
“No,” I murmured.
“Good.”
“What?”
He slipped his arm down to my waist. “At least we are now clear that whatever we do matters.”