Chapter 73

REESE

I couldn’t stop the words from slipping out, even though I knew the moment they left my mouth that I was crossing a line. “What if I don’t want this to be an act, Valeria?”

Her eyes widened, and she blinked like she’d just been slapped. I knew I shouldn’t have said it, but I couldn’t keep pretending. Ever since we’d made love at her place, my emotions had been on a wild ride, a rollercoaster of emotions stamping all over the place and one I couldn’t control no matter how hard I tried.

I wanted her so badly it was like a constant ache, gnawing at me every second we were apart. And every time she looked at me, every fleeting touch, every smile—real or forced—it only made things worse.

Valeria’s reaction was immediate; she shook her head almost frantically. “No, Reese. You know we can’t do that.”

The frustration inside me bubbled over. I was sick of this dance we’d been doing, tiptoeing around what we both felt but refusing to admit. Hell, I wanted her, and I was so damn tired of