Free A Tempting Dare by Cathryn Fox Page B

knees to retrieve it, but when she stood, and came face-to-face with Zoe, she faltered backward.
    “I…uh…”
    “Kat,” Sebastian said, stepping up to her. “It’s not what you think.”
    Ah, the words of the guilty. Kat shook her head, every old insecurity she had rushing back to the surface. How could he do this? She thought he was different. Thought there was more to him. Cripes, he couldn’t even do a two-week exclusive like he asked her for.
    I am such an idiot.
    She squared her shoulders and tried not to let him see how affected she was. “Looks like I caught you at a bad time.”
    “She broke up with Peter,” Sebastian blurted out. “Wait. Shit.” He fisted his hair. “That’s not what I’m trying to say.”
    She worked to stay calm, she really did, but tears pooled in her eyes, her heart so shattered she was sure she could never put it back together again. “Well, at least you’re not a total asshole sleeping with another man’s fiancé. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have things I need to do.” Like grabbing a bottle of wine, calling Emery, and crying her heart out as she drank the entire contents in one sitting.
    “I’m not…we’re not.” He stepped toward her and she stepped back, out of his reach.
    His hands fell to his sides. “Kat, please.”
    “Sebastian,” Zoe said. “She wants to leave, let her go. We were in the middle of something.”
    “Zoe, stay out of this,” he said, the warning in his voice putting a pout on Zoe’s face. “Kat, we need to talk.”
    “Nothing to talk about,” she said, hiking her purse high on her shoulder and turning on her heel. Not wanting him to see just how hurt she was, she kept her head high and forced her legs to work. She just prayed he didn’t see the way her hands were shaking.
     
    A week had passed since she found Sebastian and Zoe in his office, doing God knows what. Some small part of her wished he’d come after her, to tell her it was all a mistake and confess his undying love. But he didn’t, and that only hurt more. How could she ever have thought he was her Prince Charming, or that Prince Charming actually existed? In the end, she was glad she found out what kind of a man he really was before she spilled her heart out to him. Here she’d thought he checked all the boxes. She was wrong. Loyal, he was not. He couldn’t even last two weeks. 
    With her computer poised on her lap, she flicked on her television for background noise while she went over some work files. Thunder’s season opener was on at the Miami stadium. She flicked it off, not wanting anything more to do with football, or those associated with the team. She buried herself in her work, and when her doorbell rang, she nearly jumped out of her seat.
    She put her laptop on her coffee table and padded to her door. She wasn’t expecting company and was dressed in her sweats. She peaked through the hole, and when she saw Sebastian standing there, her heart went into her throat.
    “What do you want?” she asked.
    “We need to talk.”
    “I have nothing to say to you, Sebastian.”
    “Fine, I’ll do the talking.”
    “Tonight is the season opener. Aren’t you going to get fired for not being there?”
    “Probably, but what I have to say is more important.” She folded her arms and glared at the door. “Kat, open up. I’m not leaving until you hear what I have to say.”
    “Sebastian—”
    “I have a key. I don’t want to use it, but I will if I have to. I’ll also tie you to your bed if I have to, but I’m not leaving here until you hear me out.”
    “Fine.” She opened her door, and the second he entered her apartment, everything she felt for him washed over her in a flood. Her heart crashed against her chest, and her legs went weak. Her gaze settled on his face, and when she saw his bruised eye, she gasped. She reached out to touch it, but he captured her hand. “What happened?” she asked.
    Instead of answering, he said, “Do you have any idea why I