“Oh.”
“But—” Acheron couldn’t help sounding defensive. “I’m a work in progress now, and I’m not the type to make the same mistakes.”
“I see.” Although, in truth, she no longer understood what he was getting to now.
“I know I cannot completely eliminate the risks being involved with me represents, but I promise you, mikrí mou – if you trust me, I will do everything in my power to protect you, starting with this—” He made a rather stiff gesture towards the ridiculous getup he had on. “If there is a need for us to meet in public, I will endeavor—” He heard something suspiciously like a giggle bubble past her lips, and he stopped with a scowl. “If you fucking laugh—”
“I’m n-not.”
Hell could’ve frozen at the look in his eyes, and his voice had turned deadly soft when he spoke again. “You make a terrible liar, Ms. Jones.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t sound like it.”
This time, she could no longer control herself, and a full-fledged laugh escaped her. “I’m sorry.” But she wasn’t, not really. How could she, when everything was so clear now, and it was making her all choked up and unable to breathe?
The way Pippi was looking at him now made Acheron want to haul her close, but he forced himself to keep still, a part of him unable to trust that what he wanted was truly his for the taking now.
And besides, there was still that other thing to talk about…
“Before you make a decision about us,” he said abruptly, “I wish to be completely truthful with you.”
The tone of his voice made Pippi’s heart slam against her chest, and she had to gulp past the sudden lump in her throat before she could speak. “Alright.”
“Asking you to agree to be my girlfriend for a specific period of time was just me being selfish in another way. It didn’t occur to me then, but I know…” His jaw clenched anew. “Having given myself sufficient time to analyze my actions, I am now aware that all I had been doing was forcing you to take all the risks.”
Like he had with Ms. Longbourn, Pippi couldn’t help thinking.
“I would have everything to gain – and you would have everything to lose.”
Every word he spoke was the truth, and hearing him speak it made Pippi finally understand what had made her turn his offer down. Even though what he had offered her was better than what Ms. Longbourn had enjoyed with him, it still hadn’t been enough – because what he had been offering her was a lie.
He had told her that she would be the one calling the shots, but that hadn’t been true at all. The mere fact that he had been the one to decide how long the relationship would last was enough to make the whole relationship a lie, and that truth would have always made her feel insecure and on unequal footing with him.
It was a truth that her heart had subconsciously recognized even when her mind was still struggling against her growing need for his touch. It was a truth that had saved her from giving in, and it was a truth that she had never once imagined she would hear Acheron Simonides acknowledge.
And yet he had.
And now there was no forgetting it.
“You really were an arse back then,” she told him tremulously. “And I wish, if only for my sake, you had stayed that way.” She saw his gaze narrow demandingly at her, a silent command to explain herself plainly, and a smile wobbled its way to her lips. She instinctively knew that was just the start, a stolen glimpse of the days she would share with him—
Me, Tarzan, you, Jane.
But instead of filling Pippi with trepidation, the thought of having this domineering man command every second of her life simply made a sensual shiver run down her spine.
“You don’t get it, do you?”
The faint hint of laughter in her voice made Acheron feel like giving her bum a good, hard slap. “Just spell it out, dammit—”
“I’m saying I understand you want me…but you’re not in love with me.”
All hopes he had of having Pippilotta Jones in his life expired in an instant. “Pippi…” He raked a hand through his hair. What she was saying was the truth, but goddammit, hearing her say it worried him like hell. “I know I’m not exactly the most trustworthy man on the planet—”
“And I’m okay with that.”
“But before you make any rash decisions —” He broke off when Pippi’s last words finally hit him.
“What was that again?”
“If you had stayed an arse…” Pippi’s voice shook a little at the effort it took her to overcome her reticence and speak from the heart. “I would always have managed to keep my distance. But then you changed…” The smile that curved over her lips was the most beautiful thing Acheron had ever seen. “If you promise it will be just me—”