Page 17 of Collateral Damage

And none of them could be him.

“You deserve someone who appreciates you.”

Her chin barely lifted. “How do you know he didn’t appreciate me?”

“Sweetheart, you wouldn’t be here with me if he did.” Wade ran his nose alongside hers. “He wouldn’t have let you out of the house.”

She scoffed. “What does that mean?”

He chuckled at her offense.

“It means that if he appreciated you, he’d know there would be a man like me waiting for you.”

5

WHAT KIND OF man areyou?

The question sat on the tip of her tongue, daring Bess to let it out. Luckily Whitt saved her from herself.

He stroked along her cheeks with the fingers of both hands. “A man who appreciated you would realize just how lucky he was to have you, and he’d show you every fucking second of the day.”

It could be so easy to believe what he was saying. To let herself think there would be more to this night.

But the bag in the corner said that would be a silly thing to consider. The room was bare. No phone chargers on the nightstand. No clothes draped over the back of the chair.

Everything was packed away. Ready for him to leave.

Bess swallowed down the emotion his words threatened to bring. Shoving them deep inside, steeling herself to the reality of this night.

This single night.

“But you don’t really know me.” The reminder sat cold between them, pushing her farther from the scarily real closeness she already felt with him. “I could be hateful.”

“I would hope so.” Whitt’s eyes barely gleamed in the soft lamp light, like the twinkling of a single star in the night sky. “I would hope you’d be fucking hell on wheels sometimes.” He leaned down, lips grazing over her jaw, the scruff of his shadowed skin scraping with the most delicious roughness. “I bet you’re also stubborn and demanding.”

“Not always.”