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That’s the only reason I walked aith her"

"You told her not to say anything about you two, didn’t you? You told her to keep quiet about what she is to you

Too bad Magdalene screwed that up"

And dalene had planned it that way

Corinne knew Gideon well enough to anticipate his ht’ve been easy for her to plan around his reaction to her unexpected appearance in New York

Which shed a whole new light on why Magdalene had calledat the Waldorf when Gideon and I spotted them

To was going to happen for them while I was in the picture, and because of that, I couldn’t rule out the possibility that they ether

"I wanted you to hear it frohtly

I waved that off,now

"I saw Corinne get into the Bentley, Gideon

Right before I came up here"

His other brow rose to match the first

"Did you?" "Yes, I did

Can you explain that?" "I can’t, no"

Injured fury burned through me

I suddenly couldn’t bear to even look at hiet back to work"

He didn’t o: Do you believe I fucked her?" Hearing him say it aloud made me flinch

"I don’t knohat to believe

The evidence sure - " "I wouldn’t care if the ’evidence’ included you finding ether"

He uncoiled so swiftly, I stumbled back in surprise

He stalked closer

"I want to know if you think I fucked her

If you think I would

Or could

Do you?" My foot began to tap, but I didn’t retreat

"Explain the lipstick on your shirt, Gideon"

His jaw tightened

"No"

"What?" The flat-out refusal sent me into a tailspin

"Answer my question"

I studied his face and saw the mask he wore around other people but had never ith me

He reached his hand toward ertips, then pulled back at the last minute

In that brief instant in which he pulled away, I heard his teeth grind, as if not touching rateful he hadn’t

"I need you to explain," I whispered, wondering if I iined the wince that crossed his face

So so badly, I deliberately nored painful reality

"I’ve given you no reason to doubt

Withdrawing

He was standing in front of me, but he seemed miles away

"I understand you need time before you share secrets that are painful for you

I’ve been where you’re at, knowing I needed to talk about what happened to me but just not ready

That’s why I’ve tried very hard not to push you or rush you

But this secret is one that’s hurting me, and that’s different

Don’t you see that?" Cursing under his breath, he cupped o out of my way to make sure you don’t have any reason to feel jealous, but when you do get possessive, I like it

I want you to fight for me

I want you to care that much

I want you crazy about me

But possessiveness without trust is hell

If you don’t trust oes both ways, Gideon"

He sucked in a deep breath

"Da to figure out who you are

Where’s the ht out and said he wanted to fuck me? The man who didn’t hesitate to tellup with him? I believed you’d always be brutally honest like that

I counted on it

Now - " I shookelse

Grimness thinned his lips, but they stayed stubbornly closed

Catching his wrists, I pulled his hands away

I was cracking open inside, breaking

"I won’t run this tiht want to think about that"

I left