Rush

that makes me the way I am. No emotional
     instability. It’s a kink, but more than that, it’s who I am. I can’t change that for
     anyone. I don’t want to change. I’m comfortable with who I am and what I want and
     need.”
    She nodded. “I get that.”
    “I don’t know why she left. Maybe I no longer satisfied her. Maybe she no longer wanted
     the kind of relationship we shared. Hell, maybe she only agreed in an effort to make
     me happy. Maybe she was never truly happy. I don’t know. At this point I don’t care.
     But when she left, she made a lot of baseless accusations. She crucified me in divorce
     court and to the media. She told anyone who would listen that I abused her and my
     power over her. She painted the relationship as nonconsensual, which was bullshit,
     because I let her know from day one what my expectations and needs were. I was very
     careful that she went into our relationship and marriage with her eyes wide open.”
    Mia’s eyes became troubled and instantly on the heels came a look of sympathy. He
     hated that. He didn’t need anyone’s pity. It wasn’t why he was spilling his guts in
     some sappy, postcoital, snugly moment. He just wanted Mia to understand.
    “If that kind of relationship no longer worked for her I wouldn’t have held that against
     her. All she had to do was be honest and say she wanted out. I would have provided
     generously for her. I would have supported her decision. Instead, she went on the
     attack and painted me as some abusive monster. That I’ll never forgive. I learned
     a very hard lesson with my marriage to her. I never went into another relationship
     without means of protecting myself from those kinds of accusations. It may be viewed
     as extreme, but I don’t enter into a single relationship without signed, detailed
     contracts. I don’t do one-night stands. I don’t have casual sex. If a woman is going
     to be in my bed, she has all the facts and she’s signed a contract that protects both
     of us.”
    “Maybe she needed to convince herself that you were this terrible person in order
     for her to be able to leave,” Mia said softly. “I can’t imagine walking out on a marriage
     is ever easy.”
    Gabe snorted. “Tell that to my dad. You’re naïve, Mia. Sweet, but naïve. People walk
     out of marriages every day. I’ve always wondered what makes someone wake up one morning
     and say,‘Hey, this is the day I’m going to ditch my husband or wife.’ Loyalty should count
     for something. Nobody wants to work it out nowadays. It’s too easy to get a divorce
     lawyer and move on.”
    She put her hand on his chest, the gesture infinitely soothing. He liked her touching
     him. God help him, but he wasn’t sure he’d ever get enough. He’d take and take from
     Mia until there was nothing left. Until she became a Lisa and could endure it no longer.
     He never wanted another woman to feel as Lisa had evidently felt. It was far better
     to take his pleasure and move on. The very thing he accused Lisa and his father of.
     Maybe he was no better than they were after all.
    “Not everyone will betray you, Gabe,” she said quietly. “There are many who are loyal
     to you. You can’t control everything. You can’t control how someone feels about you.
     Or what makes them tick. You can only control how you react, how you
act
, how you think and feel.”
    “You’re amazingly wise for someone as young as you are,” he said wryly. “Why do I
     just feel like I’ve been schooled by someone fourteen years younger than me?”
    She leaned over, surprising him with her kiss. Her lips lingered over his, warm and
     so damn sweet. Her bare breasts brushed over his chest, and God help him, his dick
     hardened instantly.
    “You’re too hung up on this age thing,” she murmured. “Maybe I’m just smart.”
    He chuckled and then claimed her lips again, his body already revving to life now
     that she was pressed against him again. But she hesitated and pushed back against
     him, her face going serious. He didn’t like that. He wanted her next to him, but it
     was clear she had one more thing she wanted to get off her chest.
    “We need to get something straight now. I get the point you were trying to make to
     your dad. Giving me a heads-up wouldn’t have been out of line, just so you know. It
     pissed me off to see you wrapped around Blondie, and if that kind of crap ever happensagain, I’ll walk out just like I did tonight. Only next