There’s a fire in his eyes again and he launches from the bed after me. This time he grabs me before I can dart out of reach, and stares hard at me.
“Come on, don’t be like that.” He pulls me to him and kisses me hard, and it hurts my heart. “You know you’ve enjoyed this as much as me. Don’t pretend you didn’t.”
I shove him away, and in a moment of dark anger, I raise my hand to strike him across the face … but at the last second, I just drop my hand and head straight for the door. He stands there in shock as if I actually did hit him, the fullness of my anger finally dawning on him.
I stop at the door just long enough to look back at him. My words are filled with spite and venom. “You’re a cruel man, Blair Rashnikov.”
I storm out, ignoring the flood of excuses he keeps hurling at my back. I snatch my bag from the counter and tug out some random clothes and start hastily dressing, keeping my back to him. Truth is, I can’t look at him because I don’t want him to see the hot tears swimming in my eyes and pouring down over my cheeks.
I am devastated. My heart is completely broken. I knew better, and yet, here I am; taken in by one of them once again.
I grab my bag as soon as I’m half-decent and head for the door, fully ready to sleep on the streets rather than spend another moment with a traitor … but Blair isn’t having any of it.
He throws himself in front of me, barring my path.
“Where are you going?” he demands.
“I’m leaving. I’m not staying with someone who’s going to love me in private and hate me in public. I’m worth more than that,” I tell him, and I mean it. I jut my chin out, but I know it’s not as fierce as I’d like it to be—what with all the tears streaked across my face.
Blair doesn’t budge. “No! Listen, Teddy, see reason here.”
“I think it’s a bit late for that,” I say.
He just goes on. “You can’t go out on the streets here at night, not like that. I know you hate me. I see that now … and I see now that I was wrong to bring you here in the first place.”
His words deflate me. The words sting worse than his betrayal. The one thing I can’t hear right now is that he regrets this weekend.
He sees the fight leaving me, and he pounces. “Stay here, just for the night. This city … it isn’t safe. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you.”
I sigh and the weight of the world is once again on my shoulders. I know he’s right. I know full well that I shouldn’t be out alone in Manhattan at night with nowhere to go. I should be smart about it.
“Fine. I’ll stay, but I’m sleeping in the guest room, and I don’t want to see you.” I turn and stomp to the guest bedroom, slamming the door behind me only for him to follow me in.
“Can’t you see how I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place?” he says. “This isn’t easy for me either.”
I drop my bag and go to him, facing him fiercely. “If you don’t walk straight back out that door, I’m going to purposefully go find the dirtiest, darkest alleyway and I’m going to sleep there just to spite you.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Don’t try me.”
He reexamines me and clamps his mouth shut. I push him backward and close the door again, locking it so that he can’t get in this time.
The door groans beneath the weight of him leaning on it from the other side. He’s silent for a long time until, finally, he just says, “I’m sorry Bunny, I’m really so very sorry.”
“Go away, Blair,” is my response. I sit on the bed and turn the volume up on the TV to drown him out. I don’t know how long he stays on the other side of the door. He could be there for minutes, he could be there all night.
I wouldn’t know. I don’t give myself the chance to find out.
I’m done with Blair Rashnikov.
If only that were true.
Chapter 4
Blair is waiting for me in the morning.
He stands up and faces me as soon as I walk into the living room. He’s got a duffle bag beside him on the sofa.