CHAPTER 101: BACK IN LONDON COURAGE (7)

Nick’s POV

"We should clean up and get back to packing your stuff," Georgia murmured beneath me, her breath still uneven.

Shit. I’d lost control again. The moment her scent hit me, my cock was already aching for her. It wasn’t just her smell—it was everything about her. Every damn thing pulled me in, triggered something primal I couldn’t shut off.

Obsession. That’s what this was. Maybe I should see a doctor... or maybe I didn’t want to be cured.

I stood, reaching for the panties I’d tossed aside earlier. She’d been so adorably defiant when I teased her before, it made me want to push her even further.

I handed her the tiny piece of fabric and helped her out of bed. Her gaze landed on the mess we’d made on the sheets, worry flashing in her eyes.

"Don’t worry, they’ll wash it," I told her, but my reassurance didn’t seem to ease her.

"That’s so embarrassing, Nick," she muttered, cheeks flushed.

"That’s better than me spilling inside you... Or would you rather I did?" I smirked, knowing exactly how that would make her react.

Her glare was paired with a playful slap to my arm before she disappeared into the bathroom. No denial. Just like earlier. So... does that mean I could do it next time?

Fuck. Even the thought had me hard again. I wasn’t like this before her. Around her, I was like a goddamn horny teenager who has raging hormones.

I grabbed some wipes, cleaned myself, and fixed my clothes. I started picking up the few things that had survived Sarah’s rampage.

My phone and my laptop both shattered. She’d destroyed nearly everything. And I’d let her. I could’ve stopped her, but I didn’t.

Maybe breaking my things was the only way she could unload some of that weight she’d been carrying, even if just for today.

I couldn’t hate her for it. I’d been a jerk. I knew she had feelings for me, but I still agreed to that ’friends with benefits’ crap, knowing damn well she was hoping I’d fall for her eventually.

She was gorgeous, with a body built for worshipping... but my heart never went there.

Now, I just wanted her to stop chasing me. It wouldn’t be easy, but deep down, I knew I could never love her the way she loved me. God knows I tried, but she was never meant for me.

She deserves a man who will truly see her for who she is. And that’s not me.

I was gathering my broken phone and laptop from the floor when Georgia stepped out of the bathroom. Her gaze fell on the damaged gadgets in my hands.

"She hates you that much?" she asked, bending down to help me collect the rest.

"She has the right to," I exhaled heavily, the weight of guilt pressing down on my chest.

"But why? I thought you two were only fuck buddies."

Her words stung—not because they were harsh, but because they were true. I was a jerk. Sarah didn’t deserve what I’d done.

"I led her on... at least, at one point," I admitted. "I knew she had feelings for me, but I used that to satisfy my own needs. It was wrong. I realize that now."

I didn’t want to keep any part of myself hidden from Georgia. She deserved to see the man behind the uniform, and maybe, just maybe, she’d still want me.

I don’t want to be like Raymond, who pretended to be kind and loving when he was not. I want Georgia to see the real me.

"Are you leading me on, too?" she asked lightly, still crouched on the floor.

My hands stilled. My breath caught. I just stared at her, my voice trapped in my throat. For the first time in my life, I was afraid of my own truth, afraid that if I spoke it, she might misinterpret, she might walk away... and I wasn’t sure I could watch her go.

She looked at me after catching my silence, her lips curling into a teasing smile as she stood tall. "What? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Is my question that hard to answer? Or is your silence basically a straight-up ’yes’?"

I dropped everything in my hands and practically lunged toward her, cupping her face with both hands before she could move away.

"No! Oh God, no! I’m not leading you on, Georgia. I wouldn’t bare myself like this to you if I was."

Damn it! I could feel my own pulse in my fingertips. My hands were literally shaking.

"Okay. I was just asking. Thank you for telling me..." she murmured before turning back to what she was doing, as if she hadn’t just ripped the ground out from under me.

That’s it? That’s all she wanted to know? Did she even believe me?

Hell. Women are impossible to read. She looked happy, but not... not entirely. Like there was something in her eyes I wasn’t catching. What the hell did she mean?

It was going to drive me insane. I reached for her hand, ready to pull her back to me—when a sharp knock echoed through the room.

We both froze.

Georgia instantly removed the bedsheet and crumpled it, while I stepped to the door and swung it open.

"Captain, the Chief sent us to help you clean up."

Two cadets stood there in full uniform. I shot a glance at Georgia, who was already crouched to gather things from the floor, before I waved the cadets that they can go inside.

One of them immediately flicked on the fan and propped open the door to my office. "Captain, you can’t keep the doors closed when using bleach. The fumes could poison you both," he said in such an innocent tone, I honestly didn’t know whether to laugh or swear.

I looked at Georgia, who was biting her lip to hide her laugh, her face flushed so red I had to cover my own chuckle with a fake cough, pretending I was reacting to the so-called ’bleach fumes’.

"Enough chatter. Get to work. We leave soon," I ordered, my voice sharp enough to end the conversation... but my mind was still tangled in her damn smile and what happened earlier that produced those ’fumes’.