"I'll deal with you later."

Liam stands in the kitchen, confused. I shoot him a nasty look and then run to catch Cata as she flies up the stairs.

"Wait." My hand is on her arm.

"Wait? No." She jerks away and practically runs into the office. Once we're both inside, the door closed, she shoots me a violent glare. "Tell me exactly what's going on. Now."

"About what?" From the look on Liam's face, I suspect that he's said something he shouldn't have. About the photos. But I need a little time to think. Ever since I'd gotten another photo emailed the day before, I'd been going nuts trying to figure out what to do.

"About Miami. About the photos. About how you received a new picture yesterday. How you disabled my email."

I pace the room, and she crosses her arms in front of her chest. I don't think I've ever seen anyone look so angry. I rub at my hair, wondering what to say.

"I'm waiting," she says.

Sinking onto the sofa, I lick my lips. "I only wanted to protect you."

"I don't care what you want. I want to know what the fuck happened." Her voice is now shrill.

"Okay. Okay. Calm down." I know that's the wrong thing to say when I watch her face get red. My words come tumbling out, forming the longest run on sentence of all time.

"While we were in Miami I got an anonymous email with one of your photos, and I had the guys disable your account, and I wanted to try to find out who did it and sort everything out before you had any idea what was going on."

I exhale. There. God, I hate confrontation.

Cata sits next to me. "At what point in the weekend did you get the email?"

"Saturday. The morning after we, you know."

"Saturday." Her voice is icy. "So that's why you locked my phone and my laptop and my tablet up in the hotel room safe? So I wouldn't have access to my email?"

I nod and look down at my bare feet.

"Do you think I can't take care of myself?"

Raising my head, my voice protests but my mind knows she's right. "I know you can, but—"

"But you wanted to keep fucking me that weekend, and you thought I was some damsel in distress to be saved. And, you didn't want my past to screw up your deal, did you?"

"That's not why I didn't tell you. The deal has nothing to do with this." My voice is sharp. "I don't care about the deal. I care that you're safe."

"Whatever. Thanks, Diego. Now you've gone and told everyone in the house about the photos, and you haven't given me some important information about something that involves me. So, thank you. For treating me like a child."

"I didn't do it so I could keep fucking you. I'm offended you'd even say that."

"Well? Then why didn't you say anything when we were in Miami?"

I pause, and we lock eyes. "Because you seemed so happy. I didn't want to ruin that."

She rubs her lips together and starts to rise from the sofa. I grab her wrist in my hand and pull her toward me. Maybe I pull a little harder than anticipated because she yelps and falls into my lap.

"Sorry," I whisper. "I'm not trying to hurt you. I want you close."

I put my arms around her, and she stiffens.

"And yeah, I did get a photo emailed yesterday. It came when you were in Fort Myers at the computer store. I didn't want to tell you about it. It was the same photo you got in your snail mail." I sigh. "Please know that I wanted to shield you from all this crap. I couldn't protect you six years ago. I didn't know how. Now, I'm pissed about what's happening. I want to get to the bottom of it. I'm working with the guys on trying to figure out how we can find the asshole."

Her body eases into mine, and she presses her face into my neck. She kisses me, then raises her head.

"I'm so angry at you," she whispers fiercely. "I'm angry at everything."

I feel like slamming my fist into a wall, I'm so blinded by rage at whoever is doing this to Cata. "I know. I'm sorry. But none of this is your fault, Cata. And I'm on your side."

* * *

When Diego came up to Liam and me, I was ready to walk out of his life. Of course, I needed my purse first, and I ran up the stairs with him following close behind. I was ready to leave and get in the car and drive out of Florida and never look back. But then he pulled me onto his lap, and we're staring at each other.

"This is going to jeopardize your deal if it gets out," I whisper. "I don't want to do that."

"It'll be fine. How will it get out? And so what if it does?"

So what if it does? So what if all of the New York gossip sites find out the one thing I've been trying to hide for years? After that politician shamed me? No. No thank you. I don't want to become a bigger national headline than what I've already experienced. I've seen what that can do to women.

Destroy them.

I don't say any of this to Diego because he's looking at me with big, naïve eyes. Sometimes he's so innocent, this boy who's lived most of his life online. It's only in that moment that I realize this, and I also come to another conclusion: I need to leave to save him and his business. Leave and save everything he's worked for.

Walk away, as much as it will break my heart.

If these photos get out — and I feel like they eventually will, given that whoever has these photos are torturing me with them — it could jeopardize his deal and his whole life.

What mega company wants to buy a smaller company embroiled in a sex scandal?

He strokes my hair gently, and my head hurts because of how much I love him. He's telling me that the deal doesn't matter to him, but I know it does. After his childhood, how can I put something like that at risk? He'd ultimately never forgive me.

My chest constricts as if there's a firm weight on it. It's the realization that I must leave him as soon as possible that takes my breath away.

It's for the best, I remind myself as I shift in his lap, straddling him. It's to save his business deal. It's to save me from the inevitable shame when someone calls me a slut and humiliates me more.

It will save me from even bigger heartbreak when he realizes that I'm not worth ruining his life over.

I press my mouth onto his one last time, the force of my kiss shoving him back into the sofa. One of his hands is in my hair, and another is on my ass, and I'm moving, rocking, on his cock.

One last time.

"Cata, I love you."

"Just kiss me," I whisper.

I'm wearing a little dress, and his hand slips underneath the hem then down my panties, grazing my butt until he reaches my wet core. I'm needy for him, grasping and writhing. He finger fucks me from behind, and I moan into his mouth, gasp, because his big fingers feel so good.

I stop devouring his mouth long enough to put my lips to his ear. "I don't want you to protect me," I whisper. "I want you to fuck me. Now."

These words, this insistence, are totally out of character. It's like my emotions are so jumbled from anger and shame and lust that the only thing I can do is cater to my basest needs. And right now, I need Diego. For the last time.

He roughly flips me onto my back and hikes up my dress. I start to shove down my panties, but he has other ideas, slipping his fingers into the lace holes and tearing. I go for his zipper, and he turns his attention to that, also, freeing himself. Within the blink of an eye, his hard length is inside of me, making me gasp from the fullness.

We lock eyes as he entere me and I stare at him with a mixture of defiance, love, need.

"Like that," I whisper. "Faster."

He frowns a little, and I know that he's already on the verge of coming, he's so turned on. Even though I'm sopping wet, I'm not close to having an orgasm, and I won't allow myself to come. It's my punishment for what I'm about to do, which is break his heart.

It's for his own good.

He thrusts harder and harder, and I gasp and cry out. He feels so damned good that I could come, if he would only reach down and thumb my clit. But I won't ask, and won't do it for myself because this is all for him.

It's the final time, although he doesn't know it yet.

"I love you," he says in a raspy voice. "God, Cata, I love you."

I pull his head toward me and kiss him as he comes. His body shudders violently and then I stroke his back, soothing him.

I love you too, Diego. That's why I'm leaving you. I don't want to ruin your life.

____