Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 130414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 652(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 652(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
Incomparable guilt slammed into me. Bitterness hit the back of my throat. I’d taken her without considering her pleasure. Against my better judgment. And in the process, I’d ruined her first genuine experience of sex.
“Sorry.” I jerked away from Dallas, shoved my dripping half-mast cock back into my pants, and zipped up. “Jesus. Fuck. I’m so—” The rest of the sentence vanished in my throat. I shook my head, still in disbelief that I’d fucked her to the point of blood and tears. Without even sparing her a glance.
She sat up. That lone tear still shimmered from her cheek, somehow even worse than a loud sob. “Do you have any gum?” The perfect, even composure braided into her voice rattled me. In fact, everything about Dallas rattled me.
On autopilot, I produced two pieces of gum from my tin container, forking them over to her. She tucked both into her pretty pink mouth that I would never kiss and fuck again.
“Shortbread …” I stopped. An apology wouldn’t even begin to cover it.
“No. It’s my time to speak.” She made no move to flee. To slap me. To call the police, her parents, her sister. My cum still dripped fat white drops through her exposed pussy. A single streak of blood smeared across the hood of my car.
I stood far enough from her that I wasn’t a threat and listened.
“I want you to stop having me followed.” The words came out as if they were spoken within the cold, clinical walls of a boardroom. Before an army of shareholders, not a husband. “No more cars tailing Jared. No more security detail. And no more monitoring me through cameras. I feel like I’m a Big Brother contestant. Only, I can never win.” She threw her hands up. “I want this to be my home, not my prison.”
The surprise from hearing she wanted to stay nearly brought me to my knees. I remained standing, though, my face impassive. If there was one thing I’d learned from my father, it was to stand tall and proud, even when you had nothing to be proud of.
She sank her teeth into the gum, a blank expression on her face, reminding me of myself for one startling moment. “Tell me you understand and it will be done, or I am moving out and giving you the divorce you want so much.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her I was calling her an Uber that would take her back to Bibleville. However, my rationality wouldn’t allow my pride to override my senses.
“That’s acceptable.”
She drew in a ragged breath. “I want to have a baby.”
And what I wanted was for her to take Plan B. But such a request would be cowardly. It wasn’t her fault I’d lost control. We both played to win. The home team—me—had suffered an unexpected loss today. No need to cheat her out of her victory. No matter how big it might turn out to be. She could get pregnant. These past twenty minutes could determine the rest of my life.
I retrieved my tin container, popping a piece of gum past my lips. “Well, I don’t.”
“Why are you so against procreating?”
“Trauma.”
“Are you ever going to tell me?”
“No.”
She didn’t seem surprised by my answer. Or upset. In fact, as I advanced toward her, I noticed tiny bubbles peppering the tear, which still hadn’t evaporated. No. Not a tear. Was that … spit? I realized, for the first time, that I’d never actually seen Dallas cry. Ever.
Something shifted in me just then. I no longer saw Dallas Costa as a nuisance. After all, she held the upper hand in almost all of our mental games. And this time, she’d brought me to the brink, then tipped me over the edge. Made me fuck her bareback, and feel guilty about the whole thing, and bargain with her, too.
Dallas Costa was no plaything. She was my equal, and it would be wise to treat her as such.
Shortbread frowned, most likely debating what she wanted to bargain for in our negotiation. If I gave her the opportunity to speak first, the request would probably be every inch of my soul.
“I’ll give you freedom if you give me time.” The words rolled off my tongue of their own accord.
“Time for what?”
Time to discard of you on my terms after completing my task of ruining Madison Licht.
“To think about babies,” I lied. She considered this. Before she could answer, I added, “But I have a condition, too.”
She licked her lips, nodding. “I’ll never meet Madison again.”
“Promise.”
“I promise.”
She hopped off the hood of the Maybach, her dress still askew and tucked around her waist. My cum dripped down her thigh, traveling to her knees and ankles. Dry, matted blood the shape of clouds stamped to her inner thighs. We both watched them in silence.