He doesn’t respond as I push past him, fighting a shiver when my arm brushes against his. I want to go inside, and I want him to leave. Well, mostly.
I punch in the code for my door and manage to get the lock disengaged without shaking too much, thanks to Bentley watching my every move. I turn to him, standing in my doorway. “What are you doing here, Bentley?”
He runs a hand through tousled hair. “I know what happened, and I think we need to talk about it.”
“Well, good for you for finding out all on your own, even though you had someone trying to tell you the truth to begin with. But I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” I step further inside, and I’m tempted to close the door in his face, but he speaks before I do.
“So, that’s it? Because I didn’t do things right when you wanted to, you’re done with me? That’s not what I expected out of you,” he says, and a fire reignites inside me.
I grab his shirt and yank him inside the apartment before slamming my door closed. My neighbors don’t get to see me rip this man a new asshole and gossip about it later.
“Listen here, prick. Don’t fucking put this only on me. We all have choices to make, and I’m making the best one for myself. If that doesn’t suit you, then fuck off. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
My chest is heavy, and my hands are curled into fists at my sides while I stand mere inches from Bentley who is flat against my wall.
He cocks his head to the side. “Do you really believe that? That you didn’t do anything wrong?”
No, but I’m not telling him that. Not now.
“I’m done with this conversation,” I say and turn for the kitchen behind me. Never before have I hated my small space so much.
He gently grabs my wrist. “Well, I’m not done with you.”
My head turns slowly toward him, and my eyes are burning. “You should have thought that sooner.”
I jerk out of his grasp and open the fridge. I don’t know what I’m looking for, but I don’t want to look at him anymore.
Bentley steps closer, the heat from his body searing into my back. “You are the sun to my storm, McKenzie Chase, and I’m not ever going to be done with you. Now, you’re going to talk to me freely, or I’m going to tie you to your bed until you see things my way.”
Fuck. My traitorous body clenches and heats, but I stay facing the fridge.
“No.” The singular word leaves my mouth while I fight a grin.
“No? No, what?” He presses forward, one of his hands snaking around my waist.
I shiver under his touch. “You’re not playing fair.”
“All is fair in love and war, and that’s what we have here. I’m not your prince charming, Kenzie. I’m the man who will push your buttons and drive you mad, but I’m also the only man who can make you feel the way you do right now.”
My breath catches. “Which is how?”
His teeth nip at my ear, and he whispers, “Like you want to fuck me until all the anger inside you has diminished, but I’m not going to let that happen.”
His last few words help clear my mind, and I whirl around. “Why the hell not?” Not that I would have fucked him, but he doesn’t get to deny me. Not in my own house.
“Because I’m going to make love to you until all the anger is gone.”
My lips move, but no words come out. That one sentence leaves me speechless. A feat that doesn’t happen very often.
His hands cup my cheeks, and my back presses against the still-open fridge. “I love you, McKenzie Chase. I love you even when you drive me to the brink of insanity. I love you even when you hate me. But mostly, I love you when you love me back.”
I straighten my shoulders, trying not to melt into a puddle right in front of him. “I don’t love you.”
He smiles for the first time. “Yes, you do.”
“I don’t want to. You left me high and dry,” I say with resolve, because it’s the absolute truth.
His thumb strokes my cheek. “I know, and I’m sorry. I never said I was perfect, but I can learn from my mistakes, and walking away from you is one I won’t repeat.”