sticking it in her mouth.
Her intent was to suggest she was hungry.
But when Pierce’s gaze immediately heated her plans changed.
If Pierce could think of himself and what he wanted then maybe she should do the same.
And what she wanted was to bring back the Pierce she craved.
CHAPTER 15
HE’D HAD YEARS to prepare for a moment like this. One that tested all the work he put into being a better man.
And this woman tested him like nothing else.
“I wouldn’t be penciling those plans into your calendar just yet.” He turned, knowing if he didn’t walk away from her now something terrible would happen.
He half expected her to follow him, chase him with the determination that had the potential to ruin all of this.
So he walked faster, escaping to the bedroom he suffered in last night.
And, it appeared, would suffer in again this night.
Pierce went to his closet, peeling off the jacket of his second suit of the day and tossing it on top of the first. The sound of moving water threatened to pull him back to her, lure him in before he’d recovered his sanity.
His control over himself.
He took his time removing his cufflinks and unbuttoning his shirt, hoping the more minutes that ticked by, the better prepared he would be.
“Wow.”
Pierce spun to find Mona at the door to his closet, wrapped in one of the thick towels from the bathroom. Her skin was pink from the heat of the water and her hair was slicked back away from her face, all traces of the mess they’d made of her washed away. “Do you feel better?”
“A little.” She took a few steps into the closet, her eyes making their way down the front of his body, along the gap in the open front of his shirt. “It’s strange to see you like this.”
“I don’t live my life in suits, Love.”
“I know.” She circled around him. “But sometimes it seems like you’re two different people.”
And that was the crux of the issue between them.
It wasn’t that Mona was wrong.
She wasn’t.
It was that she saw him well enough to realize the battle he fought every day.
“It made me mad at first.” Her eyes came to his. “That you were pretending to be someone else.” Mona’s voice dropped, her tone soft. “But then I thought about it.”
“And what did you decide?” He watched as she continued moving in a wide arc, circling him like a lioness hunting her next meal.
Mona’s head tipped. “That we’re all two different people.”
“Are we?” He couldn’t stop watching her. She was mesmerizing. A perfect dichotomy of unassuming yet commanding. She was quiet and graceful but carried a strength that was palpable.
A dark horse of epic proportions.
One even he never saw coming.
“We are.” She moved behind him, her soft steps continuing on as she spoke. “You just don’t want anyone to know.”
Mona came around his side. “There’s the man you show everyone. He’s careful and contained.” She looked around the large closet. “He wears suits and expensive watches and always tucks his hand into one pocket when he’s upset.”
Pierce held his breath. Her first assessment was alarmingly accurate and he was concerned her second would be the same.
And that it might possibly change what she thought of him.
How she felt around him.
“I like that man. He’s consistent and calm and fair.” She stopped in front of him, her eyes holding his. “But he’s just who you try to be.”
“A false front?”
Mona shook her head. “He’s as real as the rest of you. He’s what you wish you were.”
“And what you wish I was.”
Her lips barely curved into a smile. “Definitely not.”
He stilled. “But you said you like him.”
“I do.” Mona’s shoulder lifted. “But he intimidated me. Made me so nervous I wanted to throw up.”
“But not now?”
She shook her head. “Not now.” Her slow steps changed direction, moving her closer. “Because of the rest of you.”
“The rest of me is what should make you nervous.” It was what he’d tried so hard to keep hidden, smother away when she was close.
Mona reached out, resting one hand on the center of his chest as she closed the remaining distance between them. “He’s like the me I try not to be.” The warmth of her palm slid down the space between his ribs, the blue of her gaze following. “He struggles not to cave into his emotions. He fights the weaker parts of himself.” Her eyes lifted to his. “He’s imperfect.”
“None of me is perfect, Love. None of it.”
Her gaze dipped.