Read Online Once More (Mercy Heart #1) by Madeline Rooks - Free Book Online Page B

shook his head, and then at Sam, whose inability to make eye contact screamed of his guilt. Clem moved the woman out of his way and reached for Katelyn, but by that time, she had mustered up the power to move and was out the door before he could get to her. She ran down the path and into her car, with Clem right behind her, shouting her name, begging her to stop. She reached her car, yanking the door open, but Clem was there, grabbing her arm and pulling her towards him.  She put her hands up and stepped away, tears streaming down her face, so humiliated she couldn’t even speak. 
    “Katelyn, please. Stop, please. Baby, you’re killing me. Please!” Clem pleaded, but Katelyn just shook her head. She was so furious that he would share her secret. With tears rolling down her face, she ducked her head and squeezed her eyes shut, her anger and hurt making it impossible to make the words come out of her mouth.
    Clem dropped to his knees in front of her, wrapping his arms around her legs and trying to look into her eyes, but when she finally made eye contact with him, the despair in her face was like a weight crushing his chest. She had waited so long to give her trust to someone, to open up her heart, and just like that, he knew she was closing herself off again.
    “Katelyn – Kate, angel. Please, baby, talk to me.  Let me explain,” he begged.  He sat back, his hands still on her thighs, trying to keep in constant physical contact with her in hopes that she wouldn’t shut him out completely.
    With great difficulty, she spoke, her voice strained.  “There is nothing you can say.  You can’t fix this.  It’s broken.  We’re broken.  You’ve — This.  It hurts.  So much.”  A sob wrestled free from her throat, so forcefully that she clasped both hands over her lips to prevent any others from escaping before she continued.  “Did you — Did you tell them that I was a virgin?  Did you brag about me as if I was some conquest?”
    Furious, he stood up and started to walk away for just a moment before he said something he’d regret.  How could she assume the worst of him?  Couldn’t she see how crazy he was for her?  He turned back to her, wiping his mouth with his palm in an effort to calm himself down before he spoke to her again.  “I told Jack.  He’s my best friend and I just wanted some reaffirmation that I wasn’t …”
    After he continued to leave his sentence unfinished, with impatience and anger in her voice, she spit out, “Wasn’t what?  Wasting your time?  Or were you talking strategy?  Was it all just a game?  Is there some kind of Fraternity Sex Bingo I don't know about?  Blow job in the library.  Threesome.  Bag a virgin.  Bingo!” 
    Her rage shocked him, proving just how upset she was that she would speak to him this way.   Finally he found the words.  “Katelyn, I realize you have limited experience, but I think you’re overreacting.  I never once treated you like some virgin conquest I had to bed.  I asked you to move to California with me.  I love you! Do you hear me?  I. Love. You.  Before tonight, did I ever give you any reason at all to doubt my feelings for you?  I may have made a mistake by divulging your secret to my friend and letting it be overheard by someone else, and I am truly sorry for that, but I never had anything but the best of intentions with you.”
    She felt her temperature rise when he spoke of her limited experience, but before she could react, she realized that he was right.  She never suspected for one moment that he didn’t care about her.  With this realization, she knew what she needed to do.
    “You are right,” she said, her concession barely above a whisper.  “I’m sorry.  I am so…new at this.” 
    With a sigh, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him.  “I’m sorry, too.  God, the last thing I ever wanted to do was bring you any pain.  That’s what I spoke to Jack about.  I was so afraid of