Extreme Measures

15

Let her go. Don’t go after her. A smart guy would know he’s in over his head and leave well enough alone.

Yeah. Good advice. The problem was, when it came to Evelyn Wolfe, Zane had never been anything but a complete fucking idiot.

“Son of a bitch.” He pushed off the bed and crossed the floor. Running water echoed from the shower. He listened at the door but couldn’t hear her moving around. His skin vibrated. His muscles bunched while he stood still, trying to decide what to do. His breaths picked up speed as he imagined her naked under the spray, her flesh glossy and wet and pink from the heat.

His groin tightened. All the blood in his body seemed to rush due south. He wasn’t going to be able to sleep tonight. There was too much energy arcing between them. And when he thought of the surprise he’d heard in her voice moments before—like she didn’t know she was his own personal form of kryptonite—his resistance where she was concerned crumbled just a little more.

Let her go. Don’t go after her.

Fuck it. He was tired of playing this game. Of dancing around each other. Of making himself insane.

He turned the doorknob and found it unlocked. Stepping into the steam-filled room, he could just make out her silhouette behind the white shower curtain. Head tipped up. Hands resting on the back of her neck. Perfect body filled out in all the right places, dripping with water as it hit her chest and slid down the curves and hollows of her physique, drawing him toward her like a magnet.

He waited until she stepped under the spray, and then he pulled the shower curtain open at the back and moved into the tub behind her.

She didn’t immediately hear him. But she tensed when she sensed him, and before she could whip around, he caught her arms, wrapped them around her front, and pulled her back against him.

“Archer, what are you—?”

The soft curve of her ass pressed against his damp jeans and his already hardening cock.

“I’m done tiptoeing around this, Evie.”

Beneath his fingers, he felt the pulse in her wrists pick up speed. “Around what? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, you do. This. You and me. You know damn well what I’m talking about.”

She swallowed. “Archer—”

“Anytime the conversation gets personal, you run. Tell me, beautiful. Do I make you nervous?”

“As if.”

He tightened his grip on her wrists. “I think I do. I think you’re scared to death of me.”

She turned her head, just enough so he could see her profile and those plump, pouty lips. “Are you taking pain meds again? Because you sound higher than a kite. I’ve faced down terrorists. You’re a cupcake compared to them.”

A smile curled his lips. He watched droplets of water slide down the long, sexy column of her neck. “Always with the lies. How about the truth for a change? I think that’s what you’re most afraid of. I think it’s the truth that always makes you run.”

She tensed. “What have you been smok—?”

“You wanna ask the questions? Then you have to deal with the answers. Six months, Eve. I was in and out of physical therapy for six months after the raid in Guatemala. I didn’t just take a bullet; I took a shitload of shrapnel that tore my leg to pieces. Almost bled out on the helo. And you know what I thought about when I was in and out of hospitals and rehab and dealing with more doctors than any man should?”

“No,” she said quietly.

“Too bad. I thought about you.”

She was silent, but where his arms were crossed over hers against her chest, her heart pounded hard, and her breaths picked up speed.

“Now who lies?” she whispered. “You weren’t thinking about me for any reason other than wanting to make me pay for something I hadn’t done.”

“You’re right. I was. After I told Ryder what he could do with his job, I went to a friend’s place in the mountains of Mexico to recuperate. And the whole time I was there I thought about nothing but tracking you and finding out what you were up to. But I also thought about this.”

He released one wrist, slid his arm to the side, and gently brushed his fingertips over her soft breast.

She sucked in a breath, and against his arm, her pulse ticked up higher.

“Do you remember this, Evie?” He slid his fingers over her nipple and circled just the very tip.

She wrestled her hands free and gripped his forearms, trying to push him away, but he only held her tighter against him. “Don’t.”

“Why not?” Her movement gave him better access to her breast and he pressed her ass harder against his groin. Blood pumping, he brushed his whole hand over her and cupped the soft mass in his palm. Then squeezed. She bit back a moan. “Because it feels too good? Or because it reminds you how much you want me?”

“I”—she exhaled a heavy breath—“don’t want you, idiot. I’m just stuck with you. What happened this morning was nothing more than adrenaline.”

God, she was good. But she wasn’t that good. “You know what I think? I think you’ve told so many lies, you don’t know when to stop. It stops now, Eve.”

He turned her quickly and pushed her up against the shower wall, face first, dragging her arms above her head. She gasped. Before she could decide what to do, he pulled the belt from the loops of his jeans and wrapped the leather around her wrists, tying them together. Then he pinned them against the cold tile.

“Goddammit, Archer. What the hell do you think you’re doing now?”

Water sprayed in his face and soaked his jeans. Keeping one hand pressed against her bound wrists, he reached up with the other and tipped the showerhead down so the spray hit at their waists. “Testing a theory. Time for a little truth or dare.”

“What? No way.” She twisted her head to try to look at him, but he pressed his hips against her perfectly rounded ass to hold her in place. She sucked in a breath and slowed her fight. Swallowed hard. Again. “I’m not playing some stupid game with you. It’s one o’clock in the morning.”

“We used to play this game all the time in Beirut.” Holding her wrists in his grip, he trailed his free hand down the subtle curve of her spine. “Scared?”

She opened her mouth. Closed it. Seconds beat by in silence. Then her shoulders stiffened, and she tipped her head, shooting a glare that was all challenge over her shoulder. “Never. I can beat you at any game, anytime.”

This was the Eve he remembered. The tough girl who always had to prove she was better than the boys. But she wasn’t the one he wanted. No, he wanted the girl he’d caught a glimpse of this morning. The one who’d nearly lost it over her sister’s abduction. The one who’d leaned on him when she’d discovered the Agency had abandoned her. The one who’d told him, in a moment of honesty, that she’d once loved him.

“Don’t move your hands.”

He let go of her. To her credit, she didn’t turn and knee him in the balls, and he took that as a sign to keep going.

“I think you’re at a clear advantage here, Archer.” She twisted her hands in the leather binding and pressed her palms flat against the wall. “What are the ground rules, and how do I win?”

Everything was a competition to her. But he didn’t care who won. He just wanted to see her finally give in. He glanced down the curve of her wet, pink, glistening body. “I get five questions.”

“You mean dares.”

“Yeah.” He watched the water bead on her skin and slide over her ass to drip down the back of her shapely legs. Of course she’d go for the dares, because Evelyn Wolfe didn’t know how to answer a question truthfully. But he’d use that to his advantage. “If at the end of five you can make me believe you don’t want me, you win. You can have anything you want if you win, Evie.” He brushed a line of water away from her lower spine. She tensed at his touch, telling him this would be a lot easier than he’d planned. “What do you want?”

She was silent a moment, then said, “I want you to leave.”

His head came up, and he focused on her profile. But she wasn’t looking at him. She was staring at the end of the shower as if it held the mysteries of the universe.

“If I win,” she went on, “then tomorrow, after we meet with my contact—no matter what she has to say—I want you gone. You’re a big boy. With your connections, you can clear your own name without me. All you’re doing is slowing me down.”

A hurt he didn’t know how to define pierced his chest. After everything they’d been through the past few days, she still wanted to ditch his ass. Even when she knew she was safer with him than without. Then he noticed her gaze. Far off. Resolute. Unwavering as she focused on the tiles behind the showerhead.

She was protecting him. Trying to make sure he didn’t get hurt again. He’d seen that look on her face when he’d told her what he’d been through because of her. He saw it now in the way she couldn’t meet his eyes.

His pulse picked up speed, and the blood surged to his groin. He glanced back down at her ass, and behind his fly, the erection that moments before had eased, swelled and lengthened. “Done. Spread your feet, beautiful.”

Slowly, she inched her feet apart until her lower body formed a sexy upside-down V. The air in the shower grew hot and sultry, vibrating with the sexual charge between them. “Aren’t you going to ask me ‘truth or dare’ first?”

“Why should I? We both know you don’t tell the truth.” He unlatched the watch from his wrist and handed it to her. Her fingers closed around the band, brushing his in the process, sending tiny sparks of electricity all through his flesh. Then he settled both hands at her waist and leaned close to her ear. “Round one. You get sixty seconds. If you can keep yourself from reacting to my touch in those sixty seconds, you win the first round and we move to the second.”

Her head tipped back, and she looked at the watch face. “Is this waterproof?”

He smiled against her neck. “Yes.”

“And what do you mean by reacting?”

Same old Eve. Always so technical. He breathed hot over her skin. “You can’t come, beautiful.”

Eve’s eyes slid closed. “Oh fuck.”

He chuckled and brushed his hands up her ribcage. “Now if you ask me to do that, I think that definitely counts as you admitting you do still want me. In which case, you lose. Are you ready, Evie? Sixty seconds on the clock.”

Stupid. Stupid idea. Why had she agreed to this?

Eve held her breath while Archer’s wicked hands ran up and down her ribcage, sending shock waves all through her body. Hot water beat against her skin, but it was the man at her back—the one wearing soaked jeans and a wicked smile she could just barely see from the corner of her eye—that was making her sweat.

She bit her lip as his hands grazed the underside of her breasts, then came around and cupped the masses gently. Against her ass, she felt his erection pressing against her through the damp denim.

Holy shit. Okay, don’t moan. Don’t rock back against him. You want him gone for good? Be tough, and you’ve got your chance.

She could win this. He’d given her an out, and this time she was taking it. After listening to what had happened to him in Guatemala, after realizing he was sticking with her now because he still felt something for her, after knowing the bullet that had grazed his shoulder wasn’t the worst that could happen to him because of her, she wasn’t about to put his life on the line anymore.

His fingers brushed her nipples, and air caught in her lungs. She went perfectly still. Warm breath fanned the skin of her neck, sending tiny shivers all through her body.

“How does that feel, Evie?” He twisted her nipples, then pinched each one, ever so slightly.

“Fine.”

He chuckled against her neck, the vibration echoing through his chest and hips, right against her ass. “I think it feels better than fine. I remember how much you used to like it when I’d play with your breasts while I slid into you from behind.”

Eve swallowed a groan. Tore her eyes open and looked at the watch. Twenty-five seconds to go . . .

One hand let go of her breast while the other continued to tease and torture. Then she felt his fingers slowly sliding down her belly, inching across her abs and slinking lower.

The first touch at her mound caused her to suck in a breath. But he didn’t press inside like she expected. Instead he cupped her mound and rubbed the heel of his hand against her until she saw stars.

“I like this, beautiful. Bare. It’s so damn sexy. Did you shave for me?”

She scoffed, but it came out more as a gasp. “No.”

He brushed his fingers across her lips and over her naked mound. “I don’t believe you.”

Eve focused on the watch face, but her vision swam. He pinched her nipple, and a jolt of electricity rippled through her, sending shock waves to her sex. It took every ounce of strength she had not to arch into his touch.

“Do you want more, Eve? Do you want me to touch you deeper”—he cupped her sex—“here?”

Eve bit down hard on her lip. Ten seconds. Eight . . .

He moved his hand up, and relief teased—that he was backing away, that she’d won this round—then two fingers pressed between her folds, sliding along her slit.

“Ooooh, baby. You are soooo fucking wet.”

His slick fingers glided up and around her clit. And every cell in Eve’s body shuddered. She gripped the watch tightly. The second hand blurred in front of her eyes. Two seconds . . . One . . .

“Time,” she groaned, dropping her forehead against the tile wall.

At her back, Zane chuckled. His fingers fell from her breast and sex, and the pressure eased against her ass. Cool air and the warm shower spray hit her body, but it did little to cool her down. She focused on the droplets splashing against her skin. Focused on her breaths. In and out. Focused on anything to take her mind off the fire growing in her core.

“You ready for round two? This time I get to add my mouth.”

Oh God. No, she wasn’t ready. The son of a bitch was sadistic. She should have realized that after he’d tied her up and cut away her blouse at that warehouse. And she was even sicker because a tiny part of her liked this.

Do not back down from him.

Her stomach caved in. She squeezed the watch in her hand. “Do it.”

His soft laughter met her ears. “A hundred and twenty seconds, Eve. Starting now.”

Fuck. Two minutes? She’d never last. Swallowing hard, she looked up at the watch. His hands landed at her shoulders, and she felt him move in close all over again.

Think about Olivia. And what Miller’s doing right this minute. And the bombing in Seattle. And how ADD Roberts fits into this mess. Don’t think about his mouth at your ear, blowing hot over your skin. Or the soft glide of his fingertips down your spine. Or—oh shit—his lips pressing softly against your neck . . .

Her eyes slid closed. Those wicked lips of his moved down her nape, then up to the sensitive spot behind her ear. A shudder rushed through her, one she couldn’t contain. He hummed his approval and moved to the other side.

He’d always been able to do this to her. Drive her wild with just one touch. With one press of his lips. It was another reason she’d walked away from him in Beirut. Because he made her forget about everything else and focus only on him.

“Mm . . .” he whispered against her. “You smell good. I bet you taste even better.” He nibbled on her ear and worked his way down her nape. Finding an extra sensitive spot, he licked, then sucked. His fingers tiptoed down her back to her hips.

Eve bit her lip again. Forced herself to remain perfectly still. Those sultry lips of his pressed against her spine, slinking lower with every kiss. When he reached her lower back, she gripped the watch tightly and held her breath.

She sensed him sink to his knees behind her. One big hand palmed her right cheek. His lips pressed against the other. He eased an inch away. “God, you’ve got a sexy ass, Eve. You work out, don’t you?”

“Um . . .” Her mind wasn’t working. She couldn’t think. “Yeah.”

“Running?”

He kept one hand cupping her right cheek. The other slid over the curve of her behind and under to brush against her sex. She was just about to answer when she felt his fingers slide between her folds. Her body jolted at the intimate touch, and she pushed her forehead against the tiles. Oh God . . .

He kissed the top of her ass and slipped his fingers up and around her clit. “You’re drenched, Evie. I can smell your arousal. Sure you don’t want to just give in and tell me you want me?”

Eve turned her head and pressed her cheek against the cool tiles. Drawing her eyes open, she stared at the watch. Forty more seconds . . .

She swallowed hard and fought back the need raging in her veins. “Piece of cake.”

He chuckled again and slipped his fingers up and over her clit, then down to circle her opening. “You never could back down from a challenge, could you? Spread your legs and arch your back, Evie. I want to kiss you here.”

Oh . . . God . . .

Eve’s heart pounded. Slowly, her legs inched wider apart, and she arched, pushing her hips away from the wall like she knew he wanted.

Twenty seconds . . . Eighteen . . .

His hands gripped her ass cheeks, pulling them open. His warm breath fanned her sex. She gripped the watch tightly in her hand. Stared at the ticking second hand. Come on, come on, come on . . .

Fourteen . . . Twelve . . .

His soft, naughty lips pressed gently against her clit. And all thought rushed out of her mind as electrical sensations shot through every cell in her body.

She groaned. Pressed back against him. He answered by humming and kissing her again and again. Slid his fingers down to circle her opening until she saw stars.

Her eyes slammed shut. Her hands pressed against the tiles. The watch fell from her grip to clatter against the shower floor.

She gasped. “Zane—”

His mouth left her sex. He pressed hot, dangerous kisses across her ass cheeks, moved slowly up her spine. But his fingers were still there. Still stroking her wetness. Still teasing her arousal. Still circling her opening, where she ached to feel him most.

His chest brushed her back. Then his mouth was at her ear, breathing heavily. The hard, rigid length of his cock behind his fly, pressing into her ass. His arm wrapped around her body, and his hand closed over her breast, squeezing tightly. “I think time’s almost up, Evie. Do you want me to stop?”

She arched back into him. No, she didn’t want him to stop. She needed to come. Wanted him to fill her . . .

“Tell me you want me, Evie. I can feel you burning up. I can feel how much you need me.”

Oh God, she did need him. But she couldn’t tell him. Couldn’t give in. Because too much was at stake. Gasping, she shook her head from side to side. “No. Round three.”

“Are you sure?” His fingers slid up and over her clit again, sending another shock wave outward from her hips.

She slammed her eyes shut and nodded.

His hot breath dripped down her neck, and he leaned even closer. “This time I get to use my tongue.”

Oh . . . fuck . . .

“Truth,” she sputtered. “I pick truth.”

His fingers stopped their relentless torture, and he stilled behind her. “Are you sure?”

She nodded quickly. Clawed for control.

He was silent at her back, the only sound his own ragged in-and-out breathing. Opening her eyes, Eve tried not to move. His hand was still resting against her sex, and his cock was still pressing into her ass, and though he was still behind her, she didn’t know what he was thinking. What he was planning.

Very gently he released his hold on her waist and lifted his free hand to brush the damp hair away from her neck. “Truth, Eve,” he said softly. “How many men have you been with since you left me in Beirut?”

Eve’s pulse picked up speed, and sweat broke out all along her skin. Of all the questions he could ask, he wanted to know that?

Lies tumbled through her mind. Anything to keep him from knowing the truth. Be convincing. Be tough. Son of a bitch, you know how to beat a polygraph. You can beat Zane Archer at this stupid game.

“I don’t know,” she said between breaths. “I don’t keep track. Four. Maybe five.”

His arm circled her waist, and he pulled her back tight against him. The hard length of his cock pressed against her ass once more, his lips right at her ear. “Try again, Evie. You were too tight this morning to have been fucking five different guys.”

She gasped. Braced her forearms against the wall. Between her legs he stroked her once, twice. She felt her limbs growing liquid, her body responding to his touch, on the verge of giving in. She pressed back against him. “Zane—”

“The truth, Eve. How many and when? I’m not letting you go until you tell me.”

He stroked her faster. Nipped at her ear. Rocked his hips against her so she could feel his cock pressing against her swollen sex.

Sensations bombarded her from every side. Her skin felt like it was on fire. And with every lick and press and touch it became too much. She needed him to stop. Needed him to make her come. Needed . . . him.

“None, okay?” Oh God, she couldn’t stand it anymore. Her body took over. She arched back against him. “I haven’t been able to be with anyone since you.”

He stepped away from her body. His hand lifted from her sex. Startled, Eve’s eyes popped open. He grabbed her and whipped her around, pressing her back against the cool shower wall, then moved in at her front.

The dark, hungry look in his eyes supercharged her blood. She tensed. Every cell in her body vibrated in anticipation. Strong hands shoved her bound wrists above her head, and then he lowered his mouth to hers.

She opened for him at the first touch. Drew his tongue into her mouth. Groaned at the heavenly taste of him. His hands found her breasts, squeezing and teasing while he plundered her mouth. He pressed his hips against hers so the rigid length of his cock pressed into her lower belly, and she arched up into him, offering anything he wanted, needing all he could give.

He dragged his lips from her mouth, pressed sinful, tantalizing kisses along her jaw and down her throat. Bent his knees so his cock pressed right between her thighs. Water sprayed over their bodies, splashing up to her face. “Tell me you want me, Eve. Tell me, dammit.”

Oh yes. That’s what she wanted. Right there. She rolled her hips forward, desperate for more. “Yes. Yes. Yes, oh God, yes.”

A tiny voice in the back of her head warned he could be playing her. That he could be doing what she’d done to him this morning and plotting a way to get back at her. But she was too far gone to listen. And when she heard the rasp of a zipper and felt his hands leave her breasts so he could push down his jeans, she forced it from her mind.

His hands landed at her ass, palmed the sensitive flesh, and lifted her off the ground. She lowered her bound wrists over his head while he pressed her back into the wall. His gruff voice met her ears when he rasped, “Wrap your legs around me.”

His mouth closed over hers again, and his hot, wet tongue pushed between her lips, stroking her deeply. Between her thighs she felt the wide, blunt head of his cock probing at her entrance.

“Tell me you want me, Evie.” He rocked forward, just a touch. Just until the head of him slid inside her. “Tell me.”

She groaned. Tightened. Bent her elbows and combed her fingers through his wet hair. “Yes, I want you. Please, Zane. Stop torturing me.”

His mouth captured hers. And then he pressed deeply inside her. And they both groaned together as he filled her.

Eve shuddered as she stretched around him. She kissed him, tried to hold on as he drew out and pressed back in even deeper. His fingers dug into her ass where he held her tightly, and he slowly began to fuck into her with longer, harder, deeper strokes.

She dragged her mouth from his and gasped. Water splashed around them, but she barely felt it. All she could feel was the tantalizing drag and glide, the tight friction as he flexed his hips and drove into her again and again.

“Zane—”

“Tell me, Evie. Tell me what you want.”

Oh . . . Tingles raced up and down her spine. Her orgasm barreled close. She clamped down around him and focused on that one spot. On the heat gathering deep inside her.

“I want you,” she gasped. “I only ever want you.”

His mouth claimed hers again, but just before the wave hit, he pulled her away from the wall and slowed his thrusting. One hand tightened under her ass. The other shut off the water, then yanked the shower curtain back. He held her tight as he stepped over the edge of the tub and carried her out into the bedroom.

Cool air sent a shiver down her spine, but the hot man at her front quickly warmed her with his heat, with his tongue chasing hers, with the length of his arousal still so deep inside her. In one swift move he pulled out of her and dropped her on the bed. The mattress bounced, and she looked up to see his face flushed with arousal, his skin slicked with beads of water, and his wet jeans just low enough to free his cock but still bunched around his hips.

Her eyes locked on his beautiful erection, thick, engorged, slick from her own arousal, and her mouth watered. She wanted to taste him there. Wanted to drive him as crazy as he’d driven her. She lifted her torso from the bed.

He shook his head and pushed her back down. “Uh-uh. You do that and I won’t last. Roll over, beautiful. I want to be as deep inside you as possible when you come.”

Eve’s pulse raced, and her body shook with excitement. She rolled to her belly and pressed up on her forearms as he lifted her hips and nudged her knees apart. Slick, wet fingers parted her and rubbed over her clit. She closed her eyes and groaned.

“God, Eve.” The head of his cock pressed against her again. “You wreck me, baby. You always have.”

He filled her quickly, and Eve groaned, lowered her head to the mattress, and closed her eyes. Yes, yes, yes . . . this was what she wanted. The only thing she ever wanted. Him close. Touching her, taking her, making her his.

He rocked in and out, his strokes growing longer, deeper, faster. His fingers continued to drive her insane, circling, sliding, rubbing. She tightened around him and pressed back into each thrust, seeing stars every time he hit that perfect spot. Closing her eyes, she focused on the orgasm she’d almost reached in the shower. Needed it so bad . . .

He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her upper body off the bed, back against his chest. She gasped and tried to push herself up, but with her wrists still bound she had to lean into him for support.

His muscles flexed. His mouth closed over her neck, licking, suckling. Sparks of electricity raced down her spine. Between her legs he slid his fingers back over her clit, flicking again and again while he thrust in and out of her body, sending shock waves all through her flesh. Then she felt his lips at her ear. Felt his cock thicken and swell inside her. Felt his need for her reach its peak.

“None for me either, Evie. I tried. God, I tried. But even when I hated you, you were the only woman I wanted. Come with me, beautiful. Don’t hold back from me anymore. Give it to me, Eve.”

He groaned against her neck, his hot breath rushing all along her skin, sending tremors throughout her body. And when she felt his release, when she felt him spill eighteen months of frustration and need and longing inside her, it triggered her own intense orgasm that consumed her body, overrode her mind, and blinded her to everything but him.

She felt herself falling. Couldn’t seem to stop it from happening. Couldn’t make her muscles work just yet. Softness pressed against her belly, her breasts, her face. Dragging in ragged breaths, she turned her head and felt the comforter brush her cheek.

Zane’s arms closed around her, and he pulled her back against him, rolling her to her side. His damp chest brushed her spine, his own ragged breaths echoing in her ears. Against her ass, she felt the rough fabric of his wet jeans.

“Holy hell, Eve. You might just kill me yet, beautiful.”

Slowly, her eyes opened, and she stared across the dimly lit room while she tried to steady her racing heart.

But it was reality, not his words, that sent a shiver down her spine, and not even his tightening arms, pulling her closer against him, helped. Because thanks to her ever-loving weakness, there was no way she’d be able to walk away from him cleanly now. And that meant not only was his life still on the line; her heart now was too.

He pressed his lips to her nape and reached around to unlace the belt from her wrists. She’d forgotten it was still there. When she was free, he dropped the belt over the side of the bed, then reached down and dragged the covers over both of them. His arms tightened around her once more, dragging her back and into him. The heat of his body seeped into hers, slowly warming her from the outside in. “Promise me you won’t run when I fall asleep.”

Chest tight, Eve gripped his forearms. And even though pain lanced her heart, she said, “That wouldn’t be fair. I lost the game, now didn’t I?”

He smiled against her ear. “You didn’t lose, beautiful. We both won. Just like I’ve dreamed more times than I can count. Sleep, baby. We have a big day tomorrow.”

The icy walls she’d built around her heart started to crack. She closed her eyes tight. Pinched her lips together. Tried to breathe through the pain. Because in that moment she knew nothing—not the government chasing her, not even the biggest terrorist cell—could hurt her more than the broken heart she was doomed to have when this was finally over.

And it didn’t even come close to comparing to how much she’d miss him when she ultimately left him for good.