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But somewhere along the line, his aggression had turned sweet, his touch had turned tender, filled with feelings and emotions he always seemed to have such a hard time verbalizing. But those feelings existed. They were there. They were all there, expressed with such sweet passion, the way only Wolf could.
All this flashed through her brain in a microsecond.
And then she tried to stretch, to move, and panic flashed through her just as quickly. Her eyes darted above her head to find her wrists tied together to the cheap wooden headboard. Her eyes fell on the restraint. A black satin sash, one she recognized only too well. The sash to her satin kimono robe.
What the hell?
She pulled, but the knots were tied tightly. Her eyes again darted to Wolf, standing at the window. He turned, her movements having caught his attention.
“Wolf, untie me! Right now, goddamn you! This isn’t funny.”
He grinned, moving to stand near the bed. “Wasn’t meant to be. I wasn’t gonna take the chance of you sneaking out on me again.”
God, he was infuriating.
“So you tied me up?” She practically screeched it at him.
“Yup. Payback’s a bitch, huh?”
“I’ll scream,” she threatened.
“Go ahead. Scream all you want. Ain’t no one around to hear.”
“Let me up, Wolf. I mean it.”
“Don’t think so. Not till we get a few things straight, baby-girl.”
She quietly fumed, staring at the ceiling, thinking she had it straight already, he’d lost his damn mind if he thought she was going to play these kinds of games with him.
“You up for that conversation now? That conversation you didn’t want to have last night?” When she didn’t respond, he continued right on. “Time to tell me why you really left town.”
“I did tell you.”
He shook his head, she could see the movement in her peripheral vision as her eyes remained locked on the ceiling.
“No, you gave me an answer, but it was a bullshit one. Tell me the real reason, Crystal.” When she maintained her silence, he continued, “There was something going on. I know i
t. I could feel it back then, but you left before we could talk about it.”
Yes, there was something going on. She’d been carrying his baby! A baby she’d been too afraid to tell him about. If only she’d made better choices. If only she’d told him. If only she hadn’t left. Her whole life had become one long tortuous game of ‘what ifs’.
Crystal felt her eyes sting as they pooled. She turned her head away from him, determined not to let him see. Determined not to let all the hurt that she’d buried so deep swell up to consume her again. It was always so close, right under the surface, and God, she didn’t want to return to that deep dark pit again. It would suck her in if she let it. Only this time she may not survive it.
“Please, Wolf. Please, don’t.” She knew her voice was shaky, but she didn’t anticipate his reaction, didn’t realize what the sound of her quavering voice would do to him, how much it affected him. He moved to the bed, his hip brushing hers as he sat on the side. With his hands on the bed on either side of her, he leaned in, his whole demeanor changed. Gone was the confrontational Wolf, set on provoking her, in his place was a man who suddenly only seemed concerned.
“Baby, what is it? Tell me.”
She shook her head. “I can’t. I can’t. Please, Wolf. Don’t do this to me.”
His hand reached up to stroke the hair back from her face. She blinked and felt the tears pool over to slide down her cheek.
“Crystal, why are you crying? What aren’t you telling me? Was it Misty? You know she didn’t mean shit to me. Hell, I ran her ass off that night. She hasn’t been back, I swear.”
She shook her head violently. “No, you ass. I’m not crying about her. Let me go, Wolf.” She began her struggles again, tearing and pulling at the sash. It was tied tightly over the beaded bracelets she wore on both wrists, and she felt them cutting into her skin, the strands ripping.
“Crystal—” he started, and she could see true worry was starting to grip him. “Whoa, baby. Okay. Okay. Calm down, let me untie you.” He reached to try to undo the knots, but she continued to pull and jerk making his task more difficult. She couldn’t help it, she was beginning to panic. He couldn’t find out her secret. She couldn’t let him. What would he think of her if he knew?
He leaned over her, his weight coming down on her, trying to settle her down.
