“You’re not serious,” she finally whispered, as they drew to a stop in the front of the Sinclair mansion.
“Look at me, Jaci.”
She shook her head.
“Look at me, dammit.” His voice throbbed with command.
She turned her head slowly, seeing his eyes, darker, brighter than before.
“When you were twenty-one, I wanted you until it was a fire in my gut. Waiting until you were old enough to understand what I wanted from you was hell. Seven years has only made that burn worse, and one night sharing it hasn’t eased the fire. You know what I want from you. You know what I need, Jaci. It’s your choice. But if you don’t want it, then stay the hell away from me. Stay far, far away from me. And make damned sure you stay away from Chase.”
Her heart jumped to her throat.
“It’s an either/or?” She felt strangled by the knowledge.
“I can’t change who I am.” His hand jerked out, cupped her neck, held her still. “And I can’t let you go now. Not on my own.”
“I won’t change who I am.”
“Then stay clear of me. Walk away when you see me coming. Turn and run if Chase comes your way. Listen to me.” His voice turned hard, brutal, as her lips parted and anger fired inside her. “I can seduce you. You know I can. I know I can. If you don’t want the man I’ve become, then stay the hell f**king clear of me.”
“Have the control not to come near me, then,” she snapped out, trying to jerk from his grip.
“Didn’t we figure out a long time ago that control doesn’t exist?” He pulled her to him, his lips almost touching hers, almost tasting her. “We both know there’s not a chance in hell of that.”
8
Stay the hell away from him. Run if she saw him. Run if she saw Chase. She was supposed to take responsibility for all this? When the hell had that happened? Somewhere, somehow, Cam had come under the illusion that she was a wimp, and she wasn’t enjoying the consequences.
It was all the running she had done for the past seven years, she told herself. That little investigation he had done on her had evidently led him to believe she ran from her problems rather than deal with them. And hadn’t Chase accused her of it as well? She was tired of it.
Jaci stalked into the Sinclair mansion, casting Cam a glare as he sat in the car watching her, his gaze stroking her even across the distance.
“I hate men,” she muttered, before turning and coming face-to-face with a grinning Chase.
Charm oozed from him. Wicked, wild, amusement gleamed in his gaze and in his too handsome face, as he leaned against a door frame, watching her.
“Excuse me while I walk instead of run,” she stated with completely false sweetness, her hand clutched around the handle of her briefcase in a death grip.
That was what she got for trying to figure out men, or these particular men. Warnings and dark rumblings, and a complete inability to give her a single straight answer.
Chase’s brow lifted, though he didn’t lose his smile. If she remembered Chase correctly, it took a lot to make him lose his smile.
“When have I ever wanted to see you run, pretty thing?” He straightened from the frame and dropped his arms from his chest, watching her with that ever-present amusement. “You look pretty as hell when you’re pissed off at Cam, but I’d rather see a smile on your face.”
“Bite me,” she muttered.
White teeth flashed in a wolf’s smile. “I thought I did that the other night.”
The contrast between Cam and Chase would end up making her crazy. It was like dealing with the opposites of a coin. Night and day. Cam was dark, forbidding, the dominance that was so much a part of him flashing in his eyes and in his expression. Jaci had a feeling that when it came to Chase, a woman would be left reeling, when finally shown that dark, inner core that he kept hidden.
“It’s a good thing I’m a reasonable, patient woman,” she told him as she headed up the stairs. “Otherwise, I might have to kill both of you.”
She heard his chuckle behind her before he moved away, and though his presence was gone, she could still feel the effect of him. Or was it the effect Cam had left her with?
Damn those two. She didn’t need this in her life right now. Two men to deal with instead of one? Most women were lucky and just didn’t know it. They only had to deal with one man at a time; but no, Jaci Wright just couldn’t do it the easy way, could she? She had to go out and get herself tangled up with a man who thought he should be able to share everything, things about her that he should want to keep for himself.
Moving along the hallway, she turned the corner to the residential wing of the house and moved toward Courtney and Ian’s suite. As she neared the door, it opened and a stranger stepped from inside.