out a deep breath. “I didn’t have the guts to give it to her, so I left it by her mailbox.”
Yeah, I couldn’t discuss this with him. “Oh.” I pushed off of his lap.
“Where are you going?”
“I need a glass of water.”
He let me up, and I went to the kitchen. As I turned to ask if he wanted anything, he lifted Micah’s half full glass of wine.
“What does he want from you, Avery? Why does he have such a hold on you?”
He didn’t have to clarify who he was. Carrying my glass of water back to the den, I lowered myself to the empty seat. “He wants a relationship with me, but I can’t give him what he wants.”
His expression was unreadable. “Because of a control thing?”
“No, because of a love thing. I don’t love Micah that way, and I doubt I ever could.”
Noah’s Nordic eyes lifted, and he stared across the table at me. “You have no fucking idea how glad I am to hear that.”
“I’m indebted to him, Noah. This apartment, these clothes, my books… The others pay my bills, but Micah supports me. I’d never have made it this far without him.”
“Bullshit. Did he ever offer to set you up with a financial advisor, Avery? Someone who could help you figure out an ordinary student loan and maybe educate you about student housing? He wanted you to believe he was not only your best option but your only option. With your background, you might not have known better, but he did, and he took advantage of you anyway.”
“He’s been more than generous—”
“Stop.” He held up a hand. “You’re never going to sway me. When I say I don’t like the way you make a living, what I mean is I really fucking hate your job. Really.”
“I swear it’s just business.”
“To you maybe, but not to them. You’re their fantasy. I see how they look at you. I watch them try to touch you. Micah point blank told you.” He turned out his palms. “Maybe a stronger man could handle it, but I can’t. I’m territorial for good reason. My ex left me for my best friend. I swore, the next time I fell in love with someone, I’d make sure she fully belonged to me. All this time I’ve been single because I didn’t see anyone I wanted that much, but then I met you, and I wanted you every second since.”
“You want me?”
“Yes, I fucking want you.”
“Still?”
He hesitated. “I want to know you’re mine and mine alone. I can’t fucking share you, Avery.”
I placed my glass on the table. “How would that work, if I was yours?”
“What do you mean? We’d be in a relationship. No other women and no other men. None. We would be a normal couple.”
“Normal.” I tasted the word, my mind calculating the time needed for student teaching and the money I’d need to rent a new place. “I… I’d have to move.”
“That makes two of us.”
“What?”
“If you think I’m going to pay that fucking asshole rent, you’re crazy. I’ve been looking for a new place for weeks.”
He was leaving? I immediately knew I wouldn’t be able to afford to live wherever he moved. “How far will you be?”
“Depends.”
“On?”
He swallowed, his Adam’s apple gliding beneath the pale stubble on his throat. “You could come with me.”
“I can’t afford it.”
“You could once you started teaching.”
“That won’t be until September, Noah.”
He smiled. “We can work something out.”
What was he asking, that we move in together? “You mean we would be roommates?”
He met my stare but didn’t answer. “Maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves.”
I shrank into the chair, my arms folding around the uneasy feeling in my stomach. “Then let’s slow down.”
“Why did you sit over there?”
Confused by his question, I shrugged. “I thought we needed space.”
“I don’t want space. Come back to where you were on my lap.”
I stood then stilled. Who made him boss? “I think we should talk this out—”
“Avery, get your fucking ass over here.”
I moved around the coffee table and stood in front of him. He caught my wrist and tugged me to his lap. This time both my legs draped over his to one side, and he pulled my back to his chest. His palm pressed to my breastbone, his fingers teasing the neckline of my dress.
“We need to get some things out in the open if this is ever going to work.”