Chapter 69: What Is She Up To
The drive to the office felt unusually long that morning. Alex gripped the steering wheel tightly, his jaw set as his thoughts swirled relentlessly even as he drove.
No matter how much he tried to focus on the road ahead, his mind kept drifting back to Emma and their brief conversation. Her soft voice replayed in his head, apologizing when she had no reason to. Why did she feel the need to apologize?
Because she thought he wouldn't have kissed her? Did she think she had seduced him into kissing her? Wasn't he the one who had taken things far by asking her to kiss his cheeks?
If she had wanted it, she probably wouldn't have ran off the way she did and she wouldn't apologize to him for something that wasn't her fault.
He sighed, shaking his head as memories of the kiss came rushing back at him. Though he had slept it off and had even taken his bath, the kiss lingered, like a ghost of a moment that had shifted everything between them.
He could still feel her lips on his soft and delicate. Her soft moan and the way she straddled him. Overwhelmed by all the memories, he pulled the car to a stop, wanting to calm his mind.
What was wrong with him? Why was he thinking about it and wishing things had gone further between them? Maybe then she wouldn't have apologized. Maybe then, he would've been able to make her his.
He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration as he sighed deeply, shaking his head as though trying to physically rid himself of the memory.
She's not yours to feel this way about, he chastised himself. You knew better from the start. She's only here because she had no choice, and every time she looks at you, she probably sees Jake.
That thought cut deeper than he cared to admit. The very idea that Emma might associate him with his nephew's betrayal filled him with a bitter ache. His presence must be a constant reminder of everything that went wrong. Maybe that was why she'd seemed so eager to agree that their kiss meant nothing.
Taking a deep breath, he pulled back on the road, determined to focus only on the road but even as he got back on the road, his mind drifted back to her.