Read Rocked by the Billionaire: A Billionaire's Club Story for Free Online

away from her had been like tearing out his own goddamned heart and leaving it behind. “You didn’t want
any
of it! You wanted to stay! For someone not interested in an apology, you’re sure enjoying rubbing the past in my face.”
    Kayleigh backed away until she was nestled in the corner of the couch. She let herself fall back on the armrest and let out a forceful sigh. “It’s not the apology I don’t want, Luke. It’s your empty, poetic words that I don’t give a shit about.”
    ***
    It wasn’t fair to take her anger with herself out on Luke, but it was what it was. Truth be told, those pretty, poetic words were one of the things she’d loved the most about him. Luke had always worn his heart on his sleeve, even when they were in middle school and he’d had to endure the malicious teasing of their classmates. Growing up poor in a tight-knit community hadn’t been easy on any of the Blackwell brothers. But they’d overcome adversity with a fierce determination that was admirable. Luke could’ve let the unkind ribbing of his classmates tear him down. Despite his hotheadedness, he’d turned that hurt into something beautiful. His music had elevated him above ugly pettiness. And now Kayleigh was throwing it back in his face, condemning him for a decision that simply didn’t matter anymore.
    If anyone recognized the power of words, it was Luke. And Kayleigh knew she’d cut him to the quick with hers.
    His warm whiskey eyes hardened and Luke’s jaw squared. Leaner than his twin brother, Jase, Luke was no less imposing. He towered over her, all six and a half feet of him corded with unyielding muscle. No matter how she felt about him showing back up in her life, he was a sight worth her admiration.
    “I’ve never once lied to you. Never played games with you. I was straight with you when I left and you’re going to hold my honesty against me? What the fuck is up with that?”
    Even tinged with anger, his voice was a seductive purr that caressed her from head to toe. Kayleigh suppressed a pleasant shiver as she wrapped the light blanket tighter around her waist. “I don’t hold your honesty against you. Hell, I’m not even mad that you left. It’s the fact that once you were gone, you never looked back! Jesus, Luke. Did I cross your mind at all after you blew out of town or were you too busy with the revolving door of willing tail to give me a second thought?”
    Her voice broke on the last word but Kayleigh refused to let him see how badly she hurt. It was her own foolish pride that took a hit tonight and she was so angry with herself that she had no choice but to project that anger on the first available target. Good Lord, she’d spread her legs for him as eagerly as any hopeful groupie. Hadn’t even batted a lash when he stuck his hand down her shorts as though it was a common occurrence for men to bring her to orgasm while she sat in the middle of her living room.
    Kayleigh had humiliated herself tonight and opened the door for Luke Blackwell to break her heart all over again. If she didn’t steel herself against his charm now, she’d be nothing more than a lump of clay in his palm. Malleable. His to shape and command.
As if you wouldn’t
love
to be worked by those hands again
.
    Luke’s expression softened and he sat down in a nearby wing chair as though his legs couldn’t support his weight for another second. His gaze drilled into her, so full of honesty that it stole her breath. “I’m drowning, Kayleigh. I need you to anchor me.”
    The desperation in his voice tore her composure to shreds. “I can’t be that for you, Luke.” He’d reduced her importance to that of a security blanket. Something familiar and comforting to help him weather whatever storm he’d found himself in the eye of. “I can’t let you in again just so you can crush me after you get over this hump.”
    “I still love you.”
    The words eviscerated her. Shredded every ounce of tissue in her body until all that