Love Triangle Six Books of Torn Desire - Willow Winters Page 0,451

trade up. I can’t put my girls through that again.

“Maybe you can, but I’m not willing to take the risk.”

“So… What?” She reels back, her eyes on fire, her voice a high-pitched shriek. It’s a complete one-eighty from her kindhearted demeanor a second ago. “That’s it? All you were interested in was an occasional booty call whenever it suited you?”

“You knew what this was when you signed up, Skylar. I never misled you.”

In a last-ditch effort, she grabs my belt, tugging me toward her. She palms my crotch, but my body refuses to ignite. “Can you really stand there and tell me you’re willing to walk away from this?” She lifts herself onto her toes, her lips trailing along my neck. It still does nothing for me. “Even you have to admit the sex has been amazing.”

“Yes, it has.” I grasp her hand and remove it, stepping away. “But I’ve had amazing sex before. Hell, I married amazing sex. And it walked out on me, on all of us, when something better came along. I’m glad you’re looking for something more serious, and I’m sure you’ll make another man very happy. I won’t lie to you and promise to try when my heart isn’t in it. No one deserves to be played with, and that wasn’t my intention. If you feel I did, I apologize, but I can’t give you what you want. If you can’t accept that, I don’t know what else to say.”

Her lip curls, the coldness in her eyes causing a chill to trickle down my spine. Before I can placate her further, she reels back, landing a hard slap to my cheek, momentarily surprising me. It stings, but I suffered much more brutal attacks on the ice. Her palm against my face is no more than a pinprick in comparison.

“What was that for?” I ask, unfazed.

“For using me.”

“I’m sorry you think that,” I answer in a calm tone, which only makes her even more upset, the vein in her forehead twitching, her face reddening.

“You think you can just fuck me for six months, then when I want to get serious, use those kids as an excuse?”

I remain silent, refusing to respond to her outburst. This isn’t the first time a woman I’m casually seeing wants to take things to the next level. It usually happens around the four-month mark. But I’ve always remained clear in my intentions. I’ve never engaged in conversations regarding any dreams for a future. I even told them they were free to move on or see other people when they felt the need. It may make me sound like a prick, but it’s the best I can offer anyone at this point in my life.

“Well, I have news for you. You won’t always be able to use them as an excuse. One day, they’ll be adults and in relationships of their own, leaving you all alone, wishing you didn’t turn me down.”

“Perhaps, but right now, those kids are my priority. And as long as they remain my responsibility, my stance on this is firm.”

She pauses, stammering, trying to come up with anything to convince me to reconsider my position, but nothing will. Realizing that, she huffs, stomping toward the doorway. As she’s about to disappear down the hallway, she whirls around, her eyes on fire.

“For the record, I’ve had better sex.”

“Duly noted.”

My response not what she expected, she opens her mouth, then snaps it shut, storming off.

I hold my breath, waiting to see if she’s going to stomp back in for yet another attempt to persuade me to change my mind. When she doesn’t, I slump into my chair with a sigh, rubbing my temples.

“I’ve got to stop sleeping with girls under thirty,” I mutter to myself.

“That’s probably a good idea,” a female voice quips.

I whip my head up. My heart immediately drops to the pit of my stomach, and I can’t help but think I did something to piss off the big man upstairs. First, Skylar shows up to convince me to take things to the next level. And now Carla. Again.

“What do you want?” I bark.

She hesitates, chewing on her bottom lip, tugging on the hem of her suit jacket. The way she carries herself makes her appear nervous. When we were together, she didn’t have a shy or uncertain bone in her body. She did what she wanted without a care for what anyone thought.

“Do you mind if I sit?”

I glower at her. “It doesn’t matter what I want.