“Do you like Chinese food?” Marco asked.

She flashed a smile that didn’t last. “Sure.”

Marco sighed, sparing her a glance before pulling out his phone to place an order. As soon as they’d left Susan and Ryan, her mood had shifted and now she sat staring out the car window.

Ryan’s relationship with Susan had obviously taken her by surprise. Luckily it had been a good surprise, not like the other ones from the past few days. Still, though, she had to feel betrayed that he didn’t confide in her.

“Is there anything in particular you want?”

She shook her head.

He placed the call, ordering way more food than they needed, but like with lunch the other day, he wasn’t sure what she’d like and he wasn’t about to demand she state her preference. The food would be delivered shortly after they got to Tony’s apartment.

He pulled into the lot, realizing this was the fourth apartment complex he’d been in today. Christ. It was nearly ten and he was fucking tired. What a long-ass miserable day.

The one bright spot should have been his time with Kat in her apartment, but he’d managed to screw that up beyond belief. He still couldn’t believe what an ass he’d been.

Praying the key in his pocket still worked, he led her up to Tony’s place. The key slid smoothly into place and the sound of the lock turning was a relief. At least they had one thing going for them.

He kicked the door closed behind them, flipping the dead bolt. Then he carried her bag into the bedroom.

“I’ll sleep on the couch,” she said, seeing what he was doing.

“I don’t think so.” He dropped the bag on a chair just inside the room, noticing the bed was made up. Good. Even though the apartment wasn’t on the market yet, it was staged, complete with place settings on the dining room table.

She hugged her arms around herself. Nervous energy rolled off her in waves. “It feels wrong to sleep in Tony’s bed.”

No, it would only be wrong if Tony were in the bed with her. The momentary vision of her in bed with someone else awakened jealousy within him. The only bed he wanted her to share was his.

His time with her earlier was not enough. All it did was arouse his thirst for her. It did nothing to quench it. And even now when she was pissed at him, he wanted to taste her body and feel her legs wrapped around him again.

Hell, he’d settle for kissing her, but he’d probably end up with a slap in the face if he tried that now. And she wouldn’t even talk about it. That was some shit. Here he was—the guy wanting to talk and she kept shutting him down. It seemed backward.

Maybe it was for the best. He’d much rather her be pissed at him than hurt. But damn, the least he could do was apologize.

“Well, I’m not sleeping there,” Marco said, wanting to end the debate, “so if you sleep on the couch, then I’ll be on the floor.” And that was the truth. Aside from the bed being more comfortable, he wanted her to sleep in the bedroom for another reason—it was farther away from the front door. The chances of them being traced here were slim, but crazier things had happened.

So she could sleep on the damn couch if she wanted, but he’d sleep on the floor next to it, putting him between her and the door.

The knock at the door silenced her protest. After looking through the peephole, Marco paid for the food and carried it into the kitchen.

She followed. “How much do I owe you?”

He gripped the edge of the counter and closed his eyes. Though his body hungered for her and his heart hurt for her, his head was angered. “Don’t.”

“What?”

She sure as hell knew what and it pissed him off. It was like she was provoking him. Didn’t she realize how hard this was for him? He was prepared to walk away from the perfect woman to protect her from himself. He didn’t deserve her mercy, but damn, she was making this hard on him. He was trying to do the right thing.

“I’m not taking your money.” He turned and took a few steps toward the living room. Why couldn’t she just let him help her for fuck’s sake?

“That’s right,” Kat said. “Walk away. It’s what you’re good at.”

His eyes snapped open and he whirled to face her as blood boiled in his veins. “Excuse me?”

He stared her down and though she didn’t flinch or look away, she didn’t repeat what she said, either.

He tried to see it through her eyes and yeah, he’d walked away, but didn’t she realize it was for her own good?

“Forget it,” she said, trying to brush past him to get to the food. “It’s late. We’re both hungry. Let’s eat.”

“Fuck that.” His tone was harsher than he’d intended, but dammit, she was infuriating. She couldn’t just drop a bomb like that and expect him to let it go.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she said.

“No. You’re not shutting this down now that you brought it up.”

He was done giving her space. He’d let her evade the conversation before but it wasn’t happening this time. No way were they going to sleep tonight with this unresolved between them.

Her eyes flashed and she crossed her arms. “I can’t walk away now, but you can walk away after sleeping with me?”

There it was. Her eyes glistened with tears and hurt, rendering him speechless. She might as well have slapped him. Hell, she probably should have. He deserved it.

He might not be able to fix this, but he sure as hell wasn’t letting her think he wanted to walk away.

He reached toward her. “Kat—”

“Forget it.” She wiped her eyes and strode from the room.

Marco followed her, grabbing her arm and spinning her around. He pressed her against the wall, caging her in with his arms. “Pulling away from you is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.”

Her eyes widened and her lips parted slightly. His body stirred in a way it had no right to. He wanted to tilt her head back and show her exactly how he felt about her. To kiss her body all over and give her more pleasure than her body could handle. He wanted to give her everything.

But he’d already done enough damage. So instead, his words would have to do.

“You are a prize, a goddamn goddess that I don’t deserve. All I want to do is protect you, take care of you, and keep you safe. And I keep messing up at every turn. I hate hurting you, but it seems that’s all I’m capable of.” His confession made his voice ragged, matching his heart. “You deserve more than I can give you. You deserve a better man than me.”

She was silent for a moment as she processed what he said, her eyes disbelieving.

“I threw myself at you,” she protested. “How is that your fault?”

He shook his head. “I should have resisted. It wasn’t safe to stay there. And if we’d have left sooner, we might have gotten to Ryan before that man did.”

As if treating her poorly weren’t bad enough, Ryan had been held at gunpoint while he did so. He simply couldn’t do right by the two of them.

“Bullshit.” She poked him in the chest. “You don’t get to take the blame for all of that. I initiated. And Ryan is my brother. I should have realized they’d go after him next.”

How the hell did this turn into the blame game? Everything that happened tonight was on him. He wouldn’t let her feel guilt over it.

“The bottom line is it’s my job to protect you and I failed at that.” He couldn’t resist running a finger down her cheek. Her breath hitched and her breasts rose and fell with her breathing. He nearly groaned as his cock strained against his pants. Fuck how his body betrayed him. Here he was trying to apologize for his actions when in reality he wanted to bury himself inside her again.

“I’m here,” she whispered. “I’m safe.”

“Protecting you involves more than just your physical safety. Making love to you ended up hurting you. Seeing Ryan like that hurt you.”

He should move away instead of keeping her pinned to the wall like this. He should walk away while he still could. Because if he didn’t put some distance between them, he was going to do something he regretted. Something they’d both regret.

With a curse, he shoved off the wall and moved away, turning his back to her.

He now knew he was a fool if he thought he’d be able to walk away from her. There was something between them and he wanted to fight for it, but somewhere inside him, a small voice wondered if that would be the best thing for her, if she would be better off without him in her life. He’d already done so much to fuck it up before he’d even known her.

“The only thing you’ve done to hurt me is walk away when you should have kept holding me.” Though her voice shook, it was strong and sure. “So do the right thing now.”

He turned, his gaze raking over her body, taking in every detail. Her dark hair that flowed so long it covered her breasts. Her full lips, naturally tinted pink. Those tender brown eyes that he could lose himself in. Her full breasts, the curve of her hips, those slender legs. Every part of her was pure perfection—perfection he didn’t deserve.

Biting her lip, she stepped toward him. “Hold me.”