Chapter Eight
Julie followed Reed on the dark path leading up the side of the mountain. He’d brought a flashlight with him, but so far it had proved unnecessary¸ the full moon providing more than enough illumination to see where they walked through the trees. He’d run this path that very morning and had memorized it easily. He knew exactly where he wanted to take her. Did she know what his intentions were? He’d made no secret about wanting her. The possibility that she’d come with him in the middle of the night, hoping for the same outcome, heated his blood.
He cast a look over his shoulder, sighing inwardly when he glimpsed her expression. Too bad she looked scared half to death. She might want him, but the situation clearly made her more than a little nervous. Hell, he obviously made her a little nervous. Not a good thing. And entirely his fault. He’d never been one to hold back in the bedroom, physically or verbally, but he’d laid it on extra thick with Julie, playing a game of “shock the snooty rich girl.” To show her that he was nothing like the old-money, loafer-wearing pretty boys he suspected she usually dated.
Now it had backfired. After all the ways he’d provoked and taunted her, she’d placed her trust in him and gone out with him into the woods, the expectation being that they would finally slake this insane attraction between them. Only now it didn’t feel right. He didn’t want her nervous or questioning her judgment. He wanted her to feel…confident in him. Instead, she appeared seconds from turning tail and booking it back to the resort. It bothered him. A lot more than it should.
Hell. It wasn’t going to happen between them tonight.
Reed practically growled into the darkness. When the hell had he ever cared about being noble? She was a big girl, capable of making her own decisions. Yet he suspected if they slept together tonight, she would regret it in the morning. They barely knew each other. Their only association so far had been him making passes at her at every opportunity and arguing. She’d wake up tomorrow, a little sore and a lot sorry. For some reason, he couldn’t stand the thought of it. Gratification tonight wouldn’t be worth having her look back on him with regret. As the stranger she’d had a hot, sweaty one-night stand with, the one who had nothing in common with her. She would feel cheap and she would associate that feeling with him. No. He couldn’t do it.
Decision made, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to find out just a little more about her. They might part ways at the end of the week, but small talk had never actually killed anyone, right? Besides, he’d been curious about something since he first laid eyes on her. “Last night, when we met outside the restaurant, you looked stressed. Mind telling me what about?”
She moved beside him on the path, flashing him a look. “When you made your gentlemanly hair-pulling offer? I nearly fainted dead away at the sweeping romance of it all.”
“I would have caught you. By the hair, of course.” He circled his hand around her wrist, then fit their hands together as if it were natural for him to do so. It wasn’t, but he felt the ridiculous urge to put her at ease. “Still waiting on an answer.”
Julie merely sighed. “A work meeting that morning had made me late for my flight. There was a big”—she waved her free hand around as she searched for the right word—“hullabaloo over whether or not we should offer One-Eyed Jack at the New Orleans Saints stadium. You know, in those fancy air-conditioned suites? I’m sure you know the Saints are the biggest rivals of our dearly beloved Falcons, and Daddy doesn’t want our whiskey anywhere near them. No, sir. Thinks it’ll put a jinx on the Falcons.”
Reed hid his shock. He’d known Julie came from money, but the heir to One-Eyed Jack Whiskey? Holy shit. He’d had no idea. Not that it changed a damn thing. “And how did you manage to straighten out this little hullabaloo?”
She smirked at him. “I told Daddy I’d have him committed if he fought me on it. Can you imagine? Superstition has no place in the business world.”
“I thought all Southern girls were superstitious.”
“Oh, I am. Within reason. I would never invite thirteen guests to a dinner party. Or eat chicken on New Year’s Day. It’s just plain silly to tempt fate.”
“I see.” Reed realized he was smiling and shook his head to clear it. “So who is Serena?”
When her hand went stiff in his, he wanted to kick himself. Based on the phone call he’d overheard, he knew the subject was likely a touchy one. This is why he never made small talk. They walked in silence for a moment, then she turned to him with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Serena was my older sister. She passed a few years back.”
“I’m sorry.”
She nodded in acknowledgment as if she’d heard the words so many times they no longer held any meaning. He understood that too well. Growing up, he’d heard the same words countless times in reference to his own mother. After she’d died, he couldn’t go anywhere without having pity leveled at him from every direction, from people who’d never given him the time of day before. When the appropriate time limit for grief over her death had passed, they’d begun issuing “sorrys” for different things, as if the pity were transferable. They were sorry about his shabby lifestyle, living in a trailer on the outskirts of town. Sorry about his father’s gambling habit. Everything under the sun. Sorry, boy. Again, he recalled Julie’s words to her mother. The way she’d sounded so dejected as she’d spoken them, as if it were far from the first time. “If Serena was the perfect one, what does that make you?”
Julie kept walking, but the action looked involuntary. As if her legs were moving without her permission. “I think you’re aware I didn’t come out here with you for a heart-to-heart. Stop trying to make this personal. We’re not friends.”
Maybe that’s the problem. Reed banished the unbidden thought as quickly as it appeared. This desire to peel back her layers, to figure out what made her run like the Energizer Bunny, unnerved and confused him. “You came out here with me knowing how badly I want to be inside you. There’s nothing more personal than that.” Jesus. Since when?
She came to a stop, studied him. Her mask slipped just a little and he felt an answering tug in his chest. “Fine. Tell me how you got that horrible scar on your back and I’ll tell you why Serena was the perfect one. The one who never let my parents down. The one who was supposed to take over the business when Daddy retired. The one who died while I was off at college planning Hawaiian-themed dances and ice cream socials.”
Julie’s mouth snapped shut when she finished, as if she couldn’t believe what she’d revealed. When she turned and stomped off ahead of him, Reed quickly followed. Part of him wished for all the world he hadn’t pushed her. The other part, the greedy half, felt satisfaction over being privy to this hidden part of her. She didn’t put on her Princess of Hospitality act around him, didn’t hide her true self. Later, he’d try to figure out why, but right now all he could think of was taking the haunted expression off of her face. Unfortunately, in order to do that, he would have to reveal a part of himself to make them even.
“Bar fight.”
“Pardon?”
“The scar. I got knifed in a bar fight when I was nineteen.” She stopped and turned, meeting his eyes hesitantly. He hadn’t told anyone about the fight in a long time and suddenly the words wouldn’t come quite so easy. “I, uh…had started a fight in the bar over God knows what. It spilled out into the alley. Next thing I knew there were five of them.” He shrugged. “They were young and stupid like me. Didn’t realize what they were doing…so they left me there bleeding and ran off.”
Her gaze caressed his shoulder. “That’s an awful story.”
“Maybe. It’s also the best thing that ever happened to me.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I almost didn’t make it that night. Lost too much blood. I applied to the academy the day I was released from the hospital. If I have to die, I want there to be a purpose behind it.”
Julie looked at him in awe. “This has to be the least romantic moonlight walk in the history of moonlight walks, you know that?”
“Hate to disappoint, but I don’t have a romantic bone in my body.”
“You don’t say.” She sighed. “I know you were trying to make me feel better and it worked.”
“Because you like the idea of me getting stabbed?”
“No, even I’m not that bloodthirsty.” She tilted her head. “Because if you’ll tell that terrible story just to make me feel better, then you’re not half as bad as I thought.”
“I’m worse.”
She smiled, but it faded almost immediately. “Reed, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I don’t understand it either. We’re…attracted to each other. I won’t deny that. But I think we both known that is the extent of what we have in common. Let’s not make this something it isn’t.”
An odd feeling crept over him. He didn’t recognize it, even though her words had a ring of familiarity. Probably because he was usually the one to say them. To someone else. She wanted him for sex and nothing else. He should be backing her against a tree. Instead, he felt more determined than ever to prove her wrong.
…
Julie looked up into Reed’s face, confused by what she saw there. Irritation, conflict, and surprise all took their turn passing over his hard yet intensely handsome features until she nearly got dizzy trying to keep up. She’d actually mustered the courage to follow this potty-mouthed, tattooed stab wound recipient into the dark woods and now he refused to just put the darn moves on her already. Once he touched her, once their mouths met, she wouldn’t have any room to think. She required the distraction from her thoughts. Didn’t want to think of all the reasons she should be tucked safely in her hotel bed, eye mask firmly in place.
For one, she’d never had sex for the sake of sex. Usually, basic fondness or even genuine romantic interest was involved. How did one behave after a one-night stand? A handshake? An email address swap?
Two, she could easily be a big fat disappointment to him. She could count her partners on one hand and Reed…she suspected there weren’t enough hands at Beaver Creek Resort to match that impressive number.
Third, she was starting to understand him a little and that simply couldn’t happen. She didn’t want to feel anything for this man. He would chew up her good-girl butt and spit it out. Heck, he’d already bitten her there once, hadn’t he? Hard, too. Absentmindedly, she rubbed the spot on her bottom where he’d bitten her earlier, stopping when Reed arched an eyebrow.
After what seemed like ages, he finally spoke, his gruff tone startling her. “Let me get this straight. You want to skip the small talk and get right to the good stuff?”
She raised her chin, refusing to give in to the urge to turn around and bolt for the hotel. Instead, she inched closer. “I’ve been making small talk all night. I’m ready for something…else. Are you the one who’s going to give it to me or not?”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Normally, pixie, I wouldn’t hesitate to give you a nice, thorough pounding for challenging me like that. God knows, we both need it.” He swept her head to toe in a single hot glance. “But it’s not going to happen. Not tonight, at least.”
Her feminine pride took a nosedive. “What did you haul me out here for in the middle of the night? I thought this is what you wanted.”
“You’ve had me hard for days, baby. I want to f*ck you more than I want to breathe.”
Scorching heat bathed her head to toe. She tried not to make it obvious when she squeezed her knees closer together. Something, anything to alleviate the ache he’d initiated. But wouldn’t fulfill? It made no sense. “Then I-I fail to see the problem. I came out here with you, despite my better judgment—”
“There.” Reed jabbed a blunt finger in her direction. “Despite your better judgment. Of me. That’s the problem.”
With a confused frown, Julie opened her mouth to question him further, but he cursed and took her arm, leading her into the wooded area, off the beaten path. Mulling over his words in silence, Julie followed behind him for a few minutes before he came to an abrupt stop. A few feet in front of them, what looked like a small pond was nestled among the trees. Soft light filtered through the branches and illuminated the surface, giving it an almost ethereal look. Combined with the soft sounds of the woods and the warm breeze sifting through the trees, the scene before her could only be described as breathtaking.
Their odd conversation forgotten for the moment, she felt Reed’s gaze on her and turned. “What is this place? How did you know it was here?”
He shrugged, but didn’t look at her. “Went for a run this morning and found it. It’s a hot spring.”
As he stared off at some invisible point in the distance, Julie studied his strong profile closely. Proud, stubborn, strong…gorgeous man. And evidently, thoughtful. Whatever his motive, the front-runner being taking her to bed, Reed had thought about her tonight. Made sure she ate a hot dinner. Brought her to this beautiful spot for her enjoyment. She’d wounded his pride by referring to him as a lapse in judgment. Although he would probably wear a blond wig and a push-up bra before admitting it out loud. Julie couldn’t stop the laugh that tickled her throat at the image and only laughed harder when Reed shot her a suspicious glance.
“Something funny?”
With a sigh, Julie slowly shook her head. Her nervous energy had completely fled, she realized. She felt…good, safe, being here with Reed. Unfortunately, by taking sex off the table, he’d only presented her with a challenge. She’d never been able to resist a challenge. And first impressions aside, she wanted him. It wouldn’t go away until she did something about it. Prying her hands from her elbows, Julie reached for the hem of her dress. Heck, she was from the South. She’d gone skinny-dipping before. Seen all ten of her male cousins naked as you please every summer until they all hit puberty one by one. This was an entirely different situation, however. The man watching her with a predatory gleam in his eye, looking so at home surrounded by nature it could be his natural habitat, wasn’t interested in playing Marco Polo.
You made it this far, Julie. Hop to. He’s already seen your butt and he seemed to like it just fine. And if you have to get naked in front of a man, this is the best lighting you could ever hope for. Strip.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she tugged her dress over her head and kicked off her sandals, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“What the hell are you doing?” His raw, slightly startled tone thrilled her, heated her further. She’d surprised him. Good.
When her hands went to unhook her bra at the back, she thought she heard him groan but wouldn’t allow herself any hesitation to find out. The panties came next, tossed onto the pile with the rest of her clothes.
As Julie waded into the water, she cast what she hoped was a sultry look over her shoulder. “Are you going to stand there and look all night?” Strategically, she bit her lip, ran her hands over her hips. “Or are you going to come in here and make yourself useful?”
She sank into the divinely warm water and closed her eyes, focusing on the gentle breeze and night sounds, hoping to take her mind off the possibility that Reed wouldn’t take her not-so-subtle bait. A moment later, when she heard his pants and belt hit the ground, she turned away so he wouldn’t see her victorious grin, but she couldn’t resist looking back to see him in the nude.
Really, it was only fair after she’d given him a close-up of her birthday suit.
Moonlight spilled over his muscular stomach and thighs, so sleek and toned she could do nothing but shake her head as he entered the spring. His long, thick erection demanded her attention next, had her catching her breath on a shudder. She felt a brief resurgence of nerves, but pushed them aside. Her choice. She’d initiated this. Determinedly, she dragged her gaze up his impressive chest to meet hard, lust-filled eyes.
“I don’t say anything without a reason.” Submerged now past his waist, he stalked her. “Once my mind has been made up, it doesn’t change.”
His hypnotic voice vibrated inside her, his deliberate movements battering her with their sensuality. With a mental shake, she tried to focus on his words. When he moved within reaching distance, she inhaled deeply for courage and rose to her full height, causing water to course down her breasts and belly. She ran her hands over his chest and let their damp bodies meet, looked up at him through her eyelashes. “Aren’t you even going to let me try?”
His head dipped toward hers, and he nipped at her bottom lip with a growl. “No. Enough questioning. We both take some relief tonight, but not all of it.” A rough hand smoothed over her bottom, gave it a light slap. “You’ll know the difference when I f*ck you.”
Reed’s mouth descended on hers. His fists tangled in her hair and angled her head so he could kiss her hard, tongue sweeping in to claim absolute possession. Julie clung to his wide, slippery shoulders and lost herself in the kiss, moaning as heat slammed through her in pounding waves. She’d been frantic for the taste of him without even realizing just how much. Now, she made up for the achy, restless feeling she’d been cursed with all day and took, took, took. He growled when her fingers slid up into his hair and tugged, her body pressing flush against his simultaneously. Reed fit his hips against the notch between her thighs and surged up, creating a wave around them. With each strategic push, Julie’s throaty cries echoed through the night.
“Do you hurt between your legs, baby?”
“Yes,” she sobbed, writhing on his lap, frustrated by the water hindering her movements. “Reed, please don’t make me wait. It hurts so badly.”
“Who made it hurt?”
“You know you did,” she whispered.
“Ask me.” He sucked her bottom lip into his mouth. “Ask me to take away the pain.”
Julie groaned. “Take it away.” Before the words fully left her mouth, Reed lifted her out of the water, her bare bottom slapping down onto the edge of the smooth rock bed surrounding the spring. His hands gripped her knees and pushed them wide, shoulders wedging between her legs to keep them open as he licked his way up the inside of her thighs.
“You’re only getting tongue tonight, pixie,” he rasped, his breath heating her damp skin. “Your p-ssy is going to have to wait a little longer to be filled.”
“No,” she moaned, even as she mentally begged for his mouth to make contact. Anything. She just needed something to ease the rapidly growing need. When seconds passed and Reed still didn’t follow through on his sensual threat, Julie realized he’d stopped kissing her completely. She opened her eyes to find him staring down at her thighs, helpless anger blanketing his features.
“What are these bruises?” He looked into her eyes. “Who did this to you?” His urgent words confused her for a few seconds, then recognition dawned, followed quickly by mortification. She tried to sit up, but he put a hand on her belly to stay her. “Answer me.”
Her hands came up to hide her face. Of course. This would only happen to her. Two seconds from the most amazing sexual experience of her life, in a moonlit forest, with a man who embodied every woman’s darkest, most secret fantasy, and now she was being forced to reveal something she’d hoped to take with her to the grave. “Ms. Vaughn. She gave them to me. This is all her fault.”
Reed made an impatient noise when she didn’t continue. “I’m waiting.”
“Pole dancing,” she blurted. “They’re from pole dancing. Not on a stage, mind you. It’s a class at the gym, you see. I thought I’d signed up for cardio kickboxing, but when I walked in, I found sweet Ms. Vaughn, an honest, churchgoing woman if I ever met one, standing there next to a pole. Pretty as you please. She looked so excited that somebody actually showed up, I just couldn’t turn around and walk out. By the end of the hour, she’d signed me up for an eight-class package.” Julie peeked up at him through her fingers. “Now…I think I kind of like it,” she whispered.
For long moments, he only stared at her in disbelief. Then his big body began to shake with laughter. It sounded surprised at first, but it quickly turned pained.
“Just what are you laughing at, Reed Lawson?” She sat up and poked him in the chest. “I’m darned impressive on that thing. Last week I learned the Bendy Diva Dive. Do you know how difficult that is? You have to—”
“Stop. Stop right there.” He pressed a finger to her lips, then sighed over her still-disgruntled expression. “Baby, if I don’t laugh, I’ll cry.”
She shook her head. “I don’t understand you.”
Reed took her mouth in a slow, thorough kiss. Tongues met and savored. Lust, simmering and desperate, once again chased the anger from her body. He pulled back to speak against her parted lips. “The only thing you need to understand right now is the way my mouth makes you feel here.” Julie gasped as he penetrated her with two thick fingers, slid them in and out, pushing deeper each time. “You spent the whole night making everyone else happy. Now I’m going to use my tongue to reward you for it. Be selfish for a little while, pixie. God knows I’m selfish to get a taste.”
He gave her a gentle push and she fell back, moaning when his fingers began to stroke her faster. Julie closed her eyes and let sensation take over. When his middle finger crooked and rotated, finding that delicious spot inside her, her back arched on a cry. She felt the heat of his mouth between her thighs. He flicked her aching *oris with his tongue, in perfect rhythm with his pumping fingers. Julie could feel her sex begin to clench, the heat within her rising to a boiling point. Reed’s fingers moved faster, in and out, urging her closer. Dangling over the edge, she felt him suck her *oris into his mouth, rolling it on his tongue and growling. His fingers pushed deep and held. Julie screamed as the orgasm rushed through her, legs and stomach shaking, but even then Reed refused to stop. Seemed as though he couldn’t stop.
“Again.” He dragged his tongue up her center, causing her already-sensitive flesh to contract and spasm. “Want more. Again.”
Julie’s limbs felt liquefied and the thought of lying back and letting Reed’s mouth work another blistering climax out of her sounded like absolute perfection. But her firmly ingrained need to please simply wouldn’t allow it. Before she’d consciously made the decision, she’d sat up and tugged his head from where he’d tucked it between her thighs. When his gaze met hers, he looked just as delirious with pleasure as she felt, but it couldn’t be possible. She’d done nothing for him, yet his erection, thick and heavy against her thigh, told her how badly he needed her to reciprocate.
She gave in to the temptation to lean forward and kiss his wet, muscular chest as her hand moved of its own accord to wrap him in her fist. The second she touched him, he let out a loud groan, hips driving forward to be stroked in her palm. “Squeeze it tight, baby. Show me how it’ll feel when I f*ck you between your legs.”
Julie whimpered, a new, intense throb forming low in her belly. The kind that could only be assuaged by one thing. “Why don’t you just find out right now?”
Reed growled. “That’s how it’s going to be.” He yanked her to the very end of the rock bed by her knees, then his hands slipped up her belly to palm her breasts. When he rolled her nipples between his thumb and forefinger, her thighs pressed together tightly in response. It felt like a snapping live wire ran directly from her breasts to her core. “You weren’t wearing a bra underneath your dress that first night. Every time you moved, they bounced a little. Just enough to be a hot f*cking tease. God, baby, it made my cock hard.”
Her breath rushed in and out past her lips. To know she’d turned him on, fully clothed in a room full of people, made her feel outrageously sexy. Something she wasn’t familiar with. People tended to view her as the one who ran the show. The tireless, unflappable one who dressed stylishly, yet sensibly. Oh boy, she liked this sense of desirability much, much better. It made her feel daring. Powerful. Combined with the near-darkness and unconventional setting, it also made her just a little crazy for more.
“How about I make it up to you?” Before she could stop herself she slid his erection onto her damp chest. Then she pressed her breasts tight around him, trapping him in between the supple flesh.
Reed’s breath grew choppy, scraping over her heightened senses. One hand gripped her head and tilted it back roughly so their gazes could meet. “I ought to put you over my knee.” His eyes were nearly hidden by the darkness, but she somehow sensed they were burning into hers. “You want me to despoil you? I hope you’re ready, because I don’t f*ck politely.”
“I’m counting on it,” she answered breathily.
He slid himself upward between her breasts, in one long, slow push. Julie moaned quietly at the illicitness of it, but Reed drowned out the sound with his own wild groan. Their position, the new experience, the delicious feeling of his smooth flesh slipping through her breasts, intoxicated her. Her usual self didn’t seem present any longer. Had been replaced by someone else entirely. Someone whose every thought was driven by feeling. Taking and giving.
As his movements became faster, impatient, Julie reveled in the harsh sounds emanating from his throat, the way he swelled larger with each measured drive. She pushed her breasts tighter around him and whispered his name.
His movements stuttered and he looked down at her hard. “Open your mouth. You want my name on your tongue, you’ll get the rest of me, too.”
Julie suddenly couldn’t think past taking Reed into her mouth. Closing her lips around him, feeling his weight. She dragged her nails down his belly and grasped him at the base of his erection, then led him to her mouth. No teasing, or licking, she took him as deep as she could and swirled her tongue over his hardness on the way back up. Fingers sank into her hair and she heard him shouting harshly in the distance, but she’d lost herself in the need to please. Her hand worked him in time with her mouth and when she felt him coat her tongue, shaking against her in his climax, she continued milking him until he gently tugged her head away and fell back a step in the water.
“Jesus. Jesus, baby.” Reed’s chest rose and fell rapidly as he tried to catch his breath. Julie didn’t stop to question herself. She went to him, arms cinching around his waist to bring them closer. He seemed unsure of how to proceed, his muscles tensing beneath her, making her throat close. She was the sole participant in the hug, his arms never coming up to encircle her like she craved. Her brain commanded her to pull back but she didn’t want the embarrassment on her face to show. Not over what they’d done, but over her spontaneous embracing of a man who had all the sweetness of a cobra.
And then he laughed uncomfortably. “I guess we know that mouth is good at more than just talking.”
Julie released him and was out of the hot spring in seconds, pulling on her clothes as the words continued to hang in the air. That’s all he could think to say to her? Anger had a stranglehold on her throat so tight she couldn’t speak past it. What had she been thinking? This man couldn’t even muster a decent hug for the woman he’d just been intimate with. She didn’t want to spend one more second in his presence. Julie was also honest enough to admit that maybe, just a little, she was shaken up by the way she’d lost herself in him so completely.
His dripping hand closed around her arm as she buckled her sandals. “You hold on one damn minute. I was making a joke and you know it.” His voice boomed in the still, quiet forest. “What is this really about? You want me to hold you and tell you you’re pretty? That’s not me, Julie, and I think you already knew that.”
“The only thing I know is this won’t be happening again.”
“Now, that’d be a damn shame, pixie.” He tipped her chin up with his fingers. “You just f*cking burned me alive.”
The air left Julie’s lungs. She struggled to come up with a reply as her brain projected explicit images of them together. God, why did she still want him?
He must have sensed her resolve slipping, because his fingers left her chin to slip into her hair, gripping the strands firmly. “You already want more, don’t you? You know that what I give you is better than the warm, fuzzy bullshit you’re used to.”
His bluntness slapped her across the face, as did her resurgence of need to get away from him. “Well, I suppose we’ll have to savor this one memory. We’re not making any more.” She double-checked that her hotel key was still tucked securely into her dress pocket before snatching the flashlight off the ground and striding toward the path.
“You’re not walking back alone.”
“Watch me.”
Julie heard him growl behind her as he pulled on his own clothes. She increased her pace, practically running by the time she reached the hotel. As she yanked the door open, she turned and saw him coming down the path, shirt untucked, hair a mess. Barefoot. Why that made her want to smile, especially after his cold treatment of her, she had no idea. Ignoring the object of her irritation, she let the door slam behind her and speed-walked to her room. How her body could feel so satisfied when her mind felt like it had been pulled through a knothole backwards, she couldn’t fathom.
One thing she knew for certain? It was Reed Lawson’s fault and she needed to remember this hinky feeling the next time his big shadow darkened her path. The man was flat-out dangerous for her sanity. No more. This ill-advised association was over.