Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“I would not—”
“Don’t fuck with me right now.” Now the anger emerged, hot through my clenched jaw, loud in the tone of my voice. “Answer. Me.”
Her arms loosened, letting the material release from her waist. I couldn’t tell if she was scared of how angry I was or scared that she would lose me if she didn’t cooperate, but she finally gave me what I wanted. “Some guy left it over here a long time ago. It’s a really nice shirt, and I like to wear it to bed. That’s all.”
The monster inside me continued to rear its ugly head. It came out of nowhere, a beast I didn’t even know I had. “You want a nice shirt?” I yanked off my jacket and let it drop to the floor with a thud. Then I stripped off my black t-shirt before I placed it against her chest. “Here you go.”
She grabbed the shirt, her eyes still on me.
I put the jacket back on and zipped it up to hide my nakedness underneath.
She continued to grip the shirt, still astonished by the way this night had unfolded.
I walked out the door, and this time, I didn’t say good night.
11
LAURA
After I finished up at the office, I packed up my things for the trip.
A knock sounded on the door just when I finished.
My heart skipped a beat because I knew who it was. I’d never seen him that angry before. The way his jaw was so tight. The way his arms trembled slightly as if he couldn’t contain his rage. The scariest part was the way he worked so hard to restrain himself. It gave me a glimpse into the man he was on the streets.
I was lucky I got the watered-down version. “It’s open.”
Heavy boots thudded against the floor, and that was how I knew it was Bartholomew.
“I’ll be right there.” I grabbed my suitcase and my bag, along with my purse that held my passport and cash. I entered the main living area, seeing him in a black t-shirt and jeans. It was a warm day for spring, so his signature jacket was gone, but not his coldness.
Yep. He was still pissed. “You don’t have to come.”
“Did I say I didn’t want to come?”
“Well, you look like you’re about to scream at me.”
“I always look like that.”
“Trust me, you don’t.” There was his intense stare that made me feel like his property even when he didn’t touch me. And then there was this look…like he wanted to strangle me. “How long are you going to be angry?”
“Until you apologize.”
“Apologize?” I asked incredulously. “I didn’t do anything wrong—”
“You disrespected me.”
“Disrespected you? You aren’t my boyfriend, Bartholomew—”
“I’m your man. We established this already.”
I set my purse on the floor because this conversation just got real. “We’re fucking. That’s it. Don’t you dare make this into a relationship, because that’s the last thing I want—”
“I said nothing about a relationship. But as long as I’m the man you’re sleeping with, you’re mine. As long as I’m faithful to you, then I’m yours. That means I respect you and you respect me. Wearing another man’s shirt to bed right after I fucked you all night is a goddamn slap in the face.” He stepped closer to me. “Do I look like a man who gets slapped in the face?”
I held my ground and didn’t step back, but it was hard not to. My heart was beating so fast it was like a speeding train. I wasn’t sure if I was terrified, nervous, or even aroused. Maybe it was all of the above.
“Answer me.”
“No,” I said quickly.
“Then apologize.”
I held his gaze, refusing to cave.
“Now.”
“No.”
He cocked his head slightly, his eyes angry. “Apologize, or I walk away.”
Shit.
He waited, standing over me like a skyscraper.
I didn’t want to cave. Didn’t want to admit defeat. But I knew he didn’t make idle threats—and I couldn’t lose this man. “I’m sorry.” I said it so quietly that both of us could barely hear it.
“On your knees.”
“Excuse me—”
“Get on your knees and apologize to me.”
“You’re a fucking asshole—”
“Yes, I know,” he said. “Now, do it.”
A silent standoff ensued. He stared hard. I stared back.
He wouldn’t give me ground. Not an inch. Not a goddamn centimeter.
With pure self-loathing, I lowered myself to the floor.
His eyes intensified as he relished his victory.
“I’m sorry.” There. Done.
His hands moved for the top of his jeans. He popped the button. Pulled down the fly. And then got his big dick in his hand before he grabbed me by the neck. “Now show me how sorry you are.”
The moment my lips parted, he rubbed his dick around my mouth, like he was giving me a coat of lipstick.
My mouth opened farther and my tongue flattened, so he could enter me.
He invited himself inside, pushing his whole dick in and leaving it there, not letting me breathe, his fingers gripping my neck possessively. “Say it.”