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"This thing between us can never work," I told her, hating the words

Hating the truth

She shook her head, her long,back and forth across her shoulders "You’re wrong I know you are I’e, Dair I’m a person, a wolint in her eye

I had exactly a zero percent success rate at denying her, and I doubted today was going to be the day that changed

In fact, if I were a betting man, I’d have put odds that I wouldn’t even want to in about five more minutes

"Tellwasn’t randohther head before I’d finished "No," said Iris fir that to you, not with how you’re reacting to the last thing I told you"

I shut my eyes, frustrated beyond all reason "But you could tell s you’re able to tell me, if you so desired?"

"I shouldn’t It’s for the best if I don’t, but I’d been considering it Before"

"Before?"

"Before I saw your reaction to e If that bothered you thisout about the other"

I took a few deep, cal with me now

It wouldn’t be the first ti at her, eyes still closed, but I felt herprecious time here, baby," she said, soft voice breathless

I openedto be able to resist her

Twenty-four or eighteen, hostage or hustler, sinner or saint, whatever she was or wasn’t, whether she lied to my face or taunted me with hints of the truth, all of this seemed always to defer to the more pertinent fact at hand

She was mine

Inconceivably

Undeniably

Mine

It was that devastating and that simple

In a last ditch, desperate effort, I putoff that look of hers from several feet away "Iris, please"