Gathering her in my arms, I held onto her then pressed my nose into her neck, inhaling her scent before I left a soft kiss on her forehead. “I’m sorry, but I’m leaving for a short while.” Maybe it was high time I moved back to my house in Pacific Heights until I sorted myself out. Adding Rose to the equation would only complicatethings.
“When it comes to you, I’m always on the losing end…When will I ever learn?” she mumbled to herself, shivering inmyarms.
Hardening my heart, I repeated how sorry I was, but she wasn’thavingit.
“I’m not going to wait for you, you know.” She sniffed, her beautiful face twisted in unbound pain. “I’m not going pine until you’ve gotten bored with Rose and come back to me so you can indulge having a little thrill messing around with me. I won’t let you treat me that way. If you choose to leave and temporarily move in with her, I won’t ever welcome you back in my bed again, Jared. Not next month. Not next year or in five years’ time. If you leave, you leave it for good.” Tilting her stubborn chin, chilling gray eyes bore into myblueones.
An ultimatum. She was throwing an ultimatum…because she didn’t want to let me go. I didn’t deserve her. Maybe Wyatt Rinaldi would be perfect for her. Admitting it didn’t sit well with me, but I was left with no choice. The sacrifice was too great if I pursued this route with Gisele. The woman had the capacity to break down my barriers. She had gotten me to kiss her after ten years of keeping my promise to Paige. If Gisele accomplished such a feat in less than a month, how long would it take her for to capture my heart? I didn’t want to know. Leaving her to secure my lucidity was far more important than indulging in erotichighs.
“Forgive me, but my mind’s made up.” My eyes never left her beautiful ones, feeling wounded all of a sudden, as though I had lost something significant with her. I probably did. Iwouldn’tknow.
Disentangling from my arms, Gisele proudly gathered her robe. She didn’t function in haste. She took her time sliding her arms into the silk gown before she tied it aroundherbody.
“Give my kind regards to Rose.” She granted me one icy look before walking away, out of the walk-in closet and out the door of thebedroom.
I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until I heard the loud thud of the doorbeingshut.
Hollowness pitted in my stomach, but I ignored the plaguing feeling. Letting her go was for the best. She was too young, too everything. And if I was being truly honest with myself, Gisele petrified me since controlling my urges whenever she was around seemedfutile.
My fate was sealed, a fate that didn’tincludeher.