I swallowed, my head leaned back against the wall as a tear slid down my neck. Troy swiped it upward with the back of his fingers. “You can keep your eyes closed as long as you want, but I promise you, you’re safe.” He swiped again, but there were no tears.

“Harper.”

The desperate tone made me open my eyes. He held them for a moment before leaning forward, kissing the wet stain on my chin.

His lips—God how I wanted them on me again since that night at the bar. Holding still, I let his lips trace up my jaw. When my traitorous head turned slightly toward him, he moved into me, gliding his hands up my neck before pressing his lips to mine. His kiss was deep, desperate, exploring as he parted my mouth with his tongue, taking my breath away. A small whimper escaped before I could stop it. I felt every bit of his longing, like he wanted to taste every last drop before coming up for air.

Why here? Why now?

He released me gently, pulling back.

I opened my eyes, but a breath was caught in my throat and I could barely speak. All I wanted to do was cry because that kiss was so gratifying and painful at the same time.

I fought the tears of pure confusion but the mist was impossible to hide when I looked up at him. My expression could be no better interpreted than angry, but I didn’t have the voice for it.

Whatever this other side to him was, it was a lie. And he would only end up hurting me again.

His eyes dropped to my lips before speaking softly. “Nothing was ever mine.”

Looking down, he slipped the keys back into his hand and removed his suit jacket, resting it around my shoulders. “Come on, I’ll drive you home.”

“Are we good?” Nic asked on Saturday morning during our weekly trip to the grocery store together.

“Of course. Why?

“I thought you’re still mad over the sketch,” she said tentatively. Which was unlike Nic. She was always overconfident about everything she did.

I released a breath. “No. He didn’t seem to mind as much as I thought he would. So, that’s a relief.”

She laughed. “What did you think he was going to do? Press charges for drawing a picture of him?”

“I don’t know…it’s kind of invasive, isn’t it?”

“The guy is a famous pro hockey player. I’m pretty sure he signed up for this.”

I bit my lip. Troy had seemed to be rather appreciative of it than violated.

“I saw he followed you out on Wednesday night after your shift. Frankie said he saw you at the game. You get any action?”

I shook my head and focused on the crates of groceries. “I left my sketchbook in the car with all my other stuff.”