about it. But I need something from you now.”
He ground his teeth, because he knew what was coming. “Havana, it’s not—”
“I need you to give me as much space as you reasonably can so I can move on. That’s all, Tate. You can at least give me that, can’t you?”
“You truly believe you’ll be able to see me as nothing more than your landlord? You really think it’ll be that easy for you to just cut me out of your life?”
Havana gave him a sad smile. “You were never really in it, were you, Tate?”
The door creaked open, and Bailey entered. She came to a sudden halt, her eyes widening. “Oh, um … I can go, if you guys are in the middle of something.”
“No, stay,” said Havana, glad of the interruption. The conversation needed to end yesterday. “Tate’s leaving now.” He didn’t move, though. Seconds of tense silence ticked by as he speared her with that unbearably intense gaze. The silence grated on her raw nerves.
Finally, he sighed, and his expression morphed into one of resignation. She’d finally gotten through to him; she could see it. But it was a bittersweet victory, because it meant they’d be virtual strangers from now on.
“You know where I am if you need me,” said Tate, his voice devoid of emotion. He gave Bailey a curt nod and then left.
As the door shut behind him, Havana swallowed hard, her stomach sinking. Hot tears stung the backs of her eyes. She wouldn’t cry. She wouldn’t.
Bailey arched her brows. “What just happened here?”
“I finally made him hear me,” replied Havana. “But not before he tried coaxing ‘one last kiss’ out of me.” She’d almost given in. Almost allowed herself that luxury. Which wouldn’t have stopped at a kiss—she knew that as sure as she knew her own name. In no time at all, he’d have had her pinned against the wall drilling his cock into her. And part of her lamented that she hadn’t just let it happen.
“It could be that absence is making his heart grow fonder,” Bailey suggested.
“It’s making his dick grow harder, that’s about it.” She nearly jumped as one of the machines buzzed having reached the end of its cycle. Damn, the bastard had left her a wreck.
“Don’t be so sure about that. I’m not. Hey, I’m surprised your devil didn’t surface and claw his face for pushing you.”
Havana’s brows met as she realized something. “Actually, she’s not as miffed with him as she once was, not even after all the crap that happened just now.” She still had that mental door firmly closed, though.
“Really?”
“Really. I mean, she wasn’t exactly pleased to see him, but she didn’t snarl or anything. She just watched him closely.”
Bailey grinned. “Ah, she’s impressed by his persistence. She likes that it hasn’t been so easy to send him on his way.”
“I guess,” said Havana. “I suppose it’s soothing her wounded ego.”
“He’s also proving himself to be strong, tenacious, and highly focused on you—she’ll like all that. She’ll even respect it.”
Havana lifted one shoulder. “Maybe.”
“You do realize that if he wins her over and you keep turning him away, she’ll go from being ‘off’ with him to being annoyed with you, right?”
Actually, no, Havana hadn’t thought of that. “It won’t happen. I got through to him just now. He won’t be back unless it’s to discuss a landlord issue or something related to the auction business.”
“Aren’t you even a little smug that he struggles so much to stay away from you? I would be.”
“Not smug, but it does make me feel a tiny bit better about the entire situation. It’s not a good thing, though, because I need space from him. I’ve made that clear.”
“Don’t expect it to make much of a difference. You’ve made a lot of things ‘clear’ to Tate since you chose to walk away. It hasn’t stopped him from coming back to you again and again. Face it, he’s hooked. He just hasn’t accepted it yet.”
“Can’t say I agree with you on that. In any case, I’m done talking about him. Why did you come looking for me? Is something wrong?”
“No, I was coming to let you know that Elle called and invited you, me, and Aspen to hang with her and Bree at the Tavern on Saturday night.”
The Tavern, a bar-slash-restaurant-slash-pool hall, was the pride’s local hangout. “What did you say?”
“I said I’d talk to you and Aspen and then get back to her. Aspen’s up for it. I’m all for a