Chapter 24

RULE #23: IF ALL ELSE FAILS, ASK NICELY.

Presh

I'm trembling.

It's after dark and I'm standing on Musa's front step about to rant at him, and I'm still not one hundred percent sure what I'm going to say. I feel the feelings, but I just don't have the words to go with them. All I know is I'm tired of not having what I want — and I want him.

The light in the entrance hall comes on just before he opens the door.

"Precious?" he asks when he sees me. "Where's Bandi?"

"I drove him home."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want him anymore."

"Don't say that," he snaps.

"Did you read the form? I filled it out. Did you read it?"

A small wrinkle forms between his brows, clearly confused by my rambling. Before he can shut me out, I storm through his front door, straight to his office. I hear his footsteps on my heels, and when I spin to face him, I catch the way he's still wearing his work clothes from a couple of hours ago, but the white shirt is unbuttoned, revealing his chest and the patch of hair peeking through.

God, I want to touch it, run my fingers through it.

Am I into chest hair now?

He reaches up to rub his forehead, looking exhausted as he says, "Precious, we really can't be doing this. The form, the submission, any of it. We can't."

"Why not?" I snap back. If there was any part of me still guarding my feelings, it's gone now.

"You are my son's girlfriend!" There's so much desperation in his tone and turmoil in his expression.

"Ex!" I yell back.