“I tried so fucking hard not to want you, you know that? But I wasn’t strong enough to resist—I’m still not strong enough—and it’s got nothing to do with the Penny Play. It’s you. I wanted you in the hot tub, that day on your porch, and every moment since.” His fingers tighten fractionally against the base of my skull while his head shakes ever so slightly. “Christ, Madden. I want you to the end of my sanity. I want you for every reason I shouldn’t. You have to believe that.”
