Beyond the Seduction by M.A. Stacie

Author:M.A. Stacie [Stacie, M. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9781612133782
Amazon: B00VSOHZB4
Barnesnoble: B00VSOHZB4
Goodreads: 23782051
Publisher: TWCS Publishing House
Published: 2015-04-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Trace braced himself for Shae’s reaction. He had been giving her mixed signals and using her to soothe his own pain.

He wasn’t being cruel about it, reiterating when he could that what flowed between them was fleeting. He thought she understood, but from the look on her face, the sadness in her eyes, she’d begun to hope for more.

He cupped her neck, stroking the column of her throat with his thumb. “Shae, I’d like us to be friends. You’re what I need right now.”

“But nothing more.” It was a statement, not a question.

He shook his head. “Can’t.”

“So you’re planning on being alone forever?”

Trace blinked. “That’s quite a leap.”

Shae pushed at his chest, drawing back until he allowed her to get up off his lap. “It’s not. You’re saying you can’t. You’re saying never.”

“I’m saying I’m bruised.”

She straightened her clothes, looking anywhere but at him. Shit, he was an asshole. “Shae.” He stood up and reached for her, trying a second time when she tugged her arm free. “Shae, please.”

“Please what?” she whispered. “Please let us carry on? Please let us fuck? Or are you concerned about the apartment?”

It wasn’t anger that laced her words. He could deal with anger. What he heard was hurt. Shae wanted them to evolve into something more. Something he couldn’t give her.

“I’m not going to take the apartment from you. I offered it. I don’t go back on my word.”

“Fuck the apartment. I’m concerned about you.” He swallowed. “I’m sorry I can’t give you what you want.”

Her green eyes hardened. “You have no idea what I want. You haven’t asked. You’ve assumed.”

Exhaling, Trace opened his arms. “So tell me. Yell, scream . . . tell me I led you on and that I’m a bastard. I get it. I know I am. I should never have carried on this thing between us. I fucked this up by sending you mixed signals.”

Shae leaned back against the far wall, crossing her arms over her chest. “I knew what this was from the start, so don’t take all the blame.”

“I knew there couldn’t be more.”

“And you’d already told me that. Stop being a martyr. This is on me, too. I started to wonder if we could have more. I thought you might change your mind. I was in the dark about what your ex had done, and I can see that would be tough to get over, but I still . . . hoped.”

“I should have stayed away after that first night.” He felt like scum.

“Why then?” she snapped, showing her first flash of anger. “Why not regret that, too? Maybe it would have been better if you’d never have returned to the studio to apologize.”

The thought of that didn’t sit well with him. In fact, it left him feeling sick.

Shoving those thoughts aside, he scrambled for something to say because nothing he came up with seemed right. “I don’t regret us, Shae.”

Pushing off the wall, she swiped at her eyes. “Fine. I’ll leave the key with you, and you can take another look around.

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