Opposites Attract

you’re competing again . . .” He allowed the sentence to die.
    Asher watched the bubbles rise in her glass, but left them untasted. “He no longer acknowledges me,” she said flatly. “I’m still paying, Eric.” She lifted her eyes again. “Does that satisfy you?”
    He drank leisurely for a moment. “It was your choice, my dear. Your career for my name.”
    “For your silence,” Asher corrected. “I already had your name.”
    “And another man’s child in your belly.”
    Ice clinked against ice as her hands shook. Quickly she controlled the tremor. “One would have thought it would have been enough that I lost the child,” she murmured. “Did you come all this way to remind me?”
    “I came,” Eric said as he leaned back, “to see how my ex-wife was adjusting. You’re victorious on the courts, Asher, and as lovely as ever.” She didn’t speak as his eyes roamed the room. “Apparently you didn’t waste too much time picking up with your old lover.”
    “My mistake was in leaving him, Eric. We both know that. I’m very, very sorry.”
    He sent her an icy look. “Your mistake was in trying to pass his bastard off on me.”
    Furious and trembling, Asher sprang to her feet. “I never lied to you. And by God, I’ll never apologize again.”
    He remained seated, swirling liquor. “Does he know yet?”
    Her color drained dramatically enough to make him smile genuinely. Hate ate at him. “No, I see he doesn’t. How interesting.”
    “I kept my word, Eric.” Though her hands were laced tightly together, Asher’s voice was strong. “As long as I was your wife, I did everything you asked of me.”
    He acknowledged this with a slight nod. Her honesty hadn’t been enough—nor had her three years of penance. “But you’re not my wife any longer.”
    “We agreed. The marriage was intolerable for both of us.”
    “What are you afraid he’d do?” Eric mused, frowning up at the ceiling. “He’s a very physical man as I remember, with a primitive sort of temper.” Lowering his eyes, he smiled again. “Do you think he’d beat you?”
    Asher gave a short laugh. “No.”
    “You’re very confident,” he murmured. “What exactly are you afraid of?”
    Wearily she dropped her hands to her sides. “He wouldn’t forgive me, Eric, any more than you have. I lost the child, I lost my father. My self-esteem. I’ll never lose the guilt. I hurt nothing but your pride, Eric, haven’t I suffered enough for that?”
    “Perhaps . . . perhaps not.” Rising, he stepped toward her. She remembered the scent of his crisp, dignified cologne very well. “Perhaps the most perfect punishment might be in never knowing your secret is safe. I’ll make you no promises, Asher.”
    “It astonishes me that I was ever naïve enough to think of you as a kind man, Eric,” she said softly.
    “Justice,” he returned, toasting her.
    “Revenge has little to do with justice.”
    He shrugged an elegant shoulder. “All in your viewpoint, my dear.”
    She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of breaking down—of weeping, of screaming or begging. Instead, Asher stood perfectly still. “If you’ve said all you’ve come to say, I’d like you to go.”
    “Of course.” After finishing off the liquor, he set down the glass. “Sleep well, darling. Don’t bother, I’ll let myself out.” Eric turned the doorknob and found himself face-to-face with Ty. Nothing could have pleased him more.
    Ty noted his cold, satisfied smile before his gaze shifted to Asher. Standing in the center of the room, she seemed frozen. There was anguish, and, he thought, fear in her eyes. Her face was dead-white and still. Even as he wondered what it was she feared, Ty took in the rest of her appearance. The tousled hair, the brief robe and exposed skin had rage boiling in him. Asher could feel it from where she stood.
    His eyes whipped back to Eric’s. There was murder in them. “Get the hell out of here.”
    “Just on my way,” Eric said equably, though he had inched back against the door in instinctive defense. His last thought as he shut it behind him was that Asher would bear the brunt of the fury in Ty’s eyes. That alone had made it worth the trip.
    The room vibrated with the silent storm. Asher didn’t move. It seemed Ty would stare at her for eternity. The trembling was difficult to control, but she forced herself. If she made light of the incident, perhaps so would he.
    “What the hell was he doing