Oddly, this seems to calm him, but he doesn’t let up, his tone staying hard and insistent. “Do you hate me now?”

“No.” There’s a weight on my chest, and he’s making it heavier, agitating my blood.

“Then why do I make you mad?” The bastard’s gaze is relentless, too calm and practical.

“I don’t know!” But it’s a lie.

And he knows it too. “Maybe it’s because you want me as much as I want you.”

I stare back at him, my lips puffy and sore from his kisses, my sex still slick and tender.

His shoulders set in a line of pure stubbornness. “Because I do. In case that wasn’t perfectly clear.” He gestures toward his pants and the impressive bulge that has only gone down slightly. “I want you. I’ve been wanting you since you walked into my office with those fuck-off heels and red lips. And I’m not too proud to admit it.”

Unlike me, his tone implies.

“Wanting and having are two different things. I work for you. No, scratch that, I’m working off a debt to you—”

“I’ve said that I don’t want this debt between us anymore.” He throws up his arms in frustration. “I regretted agreeing to it as soon as the words were out of my mouth. But seeing you again . . . for the first time in years, I felt something other than being utterly fucking numb, and I pushed my doubts away. Because it meant having you around again, even if it was under shitty circumstances.”

“Are you saying you only agreed because you wanted me under your thumb?”

He snorts. “Don’t give me that self-righteous look when that’s exactly how you sold the proposition. Did I take advantage? Yeah, I did. But it was never about control or payback. It was the only way I knew I could be close to you. We parted with so much hate and hurt between us. I wanted a chance to get to know who you are now. For me to show you who I am.” Macon leans close, his breath heated, his gaze a dark challenge. “I’m not lying about my motives or the way I feel. Question is, why are you?”

I can’t breathe. I’m panicking. I can’t help it. Years of insecurities don’t just up and go after a few weeks of tentative friendship and rising lust. I am falling too hard and fast. If I have sex with Macon, I will be all in, open and vulnerable in every way. When it comes to this man, I have only ever experienced disappointment and hurt. Truly letting him in terrifies me so much I feel light headed, struck mute.