Avery laid on his back, staring at the ceiling, trying to catch his breath. He’d known sex with Cat would be amazing, but what had just happened between them wasn’t amazing sex, it was in the realm of epic sex, mind-blowing sex. Life-altering sex. It staggered him, humbled, and shocked him. Part of him wanted to run, the other wanted to cuddle.

God, he did not cuddle.

Catriona moaned, turning toward him. Anxiety spiked. Had he hurt her? He hadn’t been gentle. He’d planned to be, but watching her across the table from him in that top which gave him a peek of black lace every time she forked food into her lush mouth—a top that could be undone with one pull of the tie, leaving her bare to his eyes—had stripped away any semblance of his control.

“Are you okay?” he asked, dreading the answer.

“Hmm,” she hummed, her hand stroking his chest. “Okay, doesn’t even come close. I can’t believe you have denied us this kind of pleasure for two whole years.”

He barked out a laugh and turned to look at her. Her expression was everything and more than what he’d glimpsed the night he’d brought her to orgasm in her shop. Desire and something more, something deeper, shined in her eyes, making them almost iridescent green in the low light.

She raised her hand and cupped his cheek, gazing deep until it felt like she saw right into his soul. “I love you, Avery Dawson,” she said, her voice soft and dreamy.

Panic flared in his chest, and he stiffened at her declaration. “Listen, Cat, don’t confuse sex with love.”

“I’ve had sex before you. Believe me, I know the difference.”

Why couldn’t she keep things simple? Why did she have to bring love into the picture?

He disengaged from her touch and got out of the bed, giving her his back. Searching for his jeans, he yanked them on. “I told you, I’m not looking for marriage. Damn it, I thought you understood that.”

He heard her sit up. “Again, you’re getting ahead of yourself. Did I say anything about marriage?” she asked, her tone much sharper than before.

“This is why I called things off two years ago. I can’t give you what you want, what you need. What you deserve.”

“And just what do you think I deserve?”

He should have taken heed of the dangerous pitch of her voice and the hard glint in her eyes. “A husband. I cannot and will not fill that role, even for you.”

“No one asked you to. Tell me, what do you have against marriage?”

He raked a hand through his hair. “Marriage is fine for some people but not for the Dawsons.”

“Ahh, this has to do with your dad and his three ex-wives. You’re afraid.”

“The hell I am.” Her words hit too close to home. “I am not afraid. I’m a realist.”

“You’re a coward. You need to deal with your past and realize it doesn’t have to be your future.”

She climbed off the bed, readjusted her bra that was still bound around her middle, and covered those gorgeous breasts. His mouth watered, remembering how they’d felt in his hands, against his lips.

He wanted her again. “What are you doing?”

“Getting dressed, what’s it look like?” She found her jeans and put them on without her panties. Searching for her top, she gave up, slapping her hands against her thighs. “Where are the rest of my clothes?”

“Over there.” He pointed to the other side of the room.

She brushed by him, and he wanted to reach out and haul her into his arms, but he stood there like a tree, its roots planted deep in the soil.

“Cat, you don’t have to go.”

“Yes, I do. It’s for your own good. I’m mad enough to say or do something I’ll regret later, like kill you.”

They could put her mad to good use, he almost suggested, but the hurt in her eyes stopped him.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he said.

“I know. I need some time to figure out what I really want and being around you muddies the water.”

“We can be good together. What just happened between us doesn’t happen very often.”

“You’re right. It was special, but what are you really offering me? Am I to be your booty call?”

“No.” God, yes. “Why can’t we be together, sleep together, without adding labels?”

“So, you were thinking, what? We’d sleep together for a while until it no longer worked for you? Well, that doesn’t work for me. I guess I do need those labels.”

“You’re complicating this.”

She found her top and slipped it on, tying the wrap closed. “No, I’m clearing it up, making it easy for you. I love you, Avery. I have for a long time. What you’re suggesting will set me up for a lifetime of heartbreak. I won’t cheapen myself, even for you. I’m worth more than that.”

He reached out and grabbed her arm. “Cat—”

“Let me go, Avery.” She didn’t look at him, her head bowed as though defeated. He’d done that to her, and the realization hurt more than he’d like to admit. He released his hold of her arm.

“Goddammit, I want you.”

“I want you too.”

“Then why can’t we forget about all this. Stay.”

“I can’t. And I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sleep with you tonight. I didn’t want this to go this far this soon.”

“What are you saying? Are you breaking up with me?”

She choked out a sound that was part laughter and part sob. “You can’t really break up from a one-night stand.”

“This was not a one-night stand,” he growled. He clenched his fists, wanting to haul her into his arms, toss her back onto the bed, and prove it to her.

She raised her head and gazed at him, her eyes swimming with love and pain. He caught his breath and something burned in his chest. She cupped his cheek, leaned up, and lightly kissed him. “Avery, I’m sorry. You were right. I am the marrying kind. I want to be with you, create a life with you, bear your children. But since you don’t want those things, and I refuse to pretend to myself that I’ll be able to change your mind if I stay, we are left at an impasse. I’m making it easy for us and leaving. Don’t worry about me, I can and will survive without you.”

He watched her walk away from him with a sinking feeling in his gut, telling him that while she could survive without him, he didn’t know if he would survive without her.