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“Thank you for thinking of my comfort. I know we’ll be good together, Susie babe.” His eyes sparkling like black onyx, he brought her against him.
Stunned, she turned her head. “Kasem… No…”
“Yes, you’re my fiancée.” He cradled her face, forcing her to look at him. “I’ve been very patient with you. Now, it’s time for us to get more familiar.”
Bracing herself for an argument, she met his gaze.
“We tried it three years ago. It didn’t work.
“We had fun together until you imagined things about me.”
She shrugged. “I saw you. I trusted my own eyes.”
“It was nothing, Susie. A stupid moment with a flirty girl. Nothing to get upset about for so long.”
She scoffed. “Yourstupidmoments multiplied and lasted three years, with one flirty girl after another. How can I forgive and forget?”
“You’re the one I love, babe, the one I want to marry.” He bent his head and crushed her mouth.
Steeling herself, she remained passive, her lips sealed, waiting for him to let her go.
Furious, he raised her head and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her.
“You’re a frigid woman, Susan Chen. No wonder you’ve never captured a man’s heart. I understand why my brother was fed up with you.”
Her poise deserted her. A surge of tears threatened to engulf her eyes.
Frigid?
Was that how Kasem and his brother called her? “Go to hell, Kasem.”
“Have it your way. Can’t you see you’re ruining our relationship?” he snarled. “Look at yourself, Susan. You’re such a cold fish. Any healthy man would seek warm arms to forget your freezing treatment.” He cupped her chin and hissed. “Make no mistake, I’ll be your husband soon. Don’t complain later if I seek my pleasure elsewhere.”
He climbed into the car and took off.
Every word he said made her skin prickle. Shivering, she crossed her arms around herself and shut her eyes, frozen in place, remembering how his brother Ruang had taken advantage of her innocence years ago. She could never marry Kasem, not when she hated him as much as his brutish brother.
“Susan, what happened? You’re shaking.” Royce’s soft words pierced through her numbness.
She opened her eyes, stared at him, unable to answer or stop trembling.
“Good God, what did he do to you?”
She stepped forward and collapsed against his chest. His arms closed around her, and he held her, rubbing her back, trying to soothe her.
Frigid ... cold fish… never captured a man’s heart. Any healthy man would seek warm arms to forget your freezing treatment.
Was it true? Was it the way men saw her?
“Susan, do you want to talk?” Holding her in a gentle, friendly hug, Royce had reverted to his best-friend attitude. Was it to comfort her, or had he lost interest in her as a woman?
Frigid... cold fish.
The horrible words swirled inside her head, creating havoc in her heart, eroding her self-esteem.
She wished she could cry, scream, and vent her anger, instead of bottling up her feelings. She’d written her doctorate thesis on how to help teenagers gain self-confidence, and here she was losing her own because of a jerk.
“Susan, I’ll take Max running in the park. Come with me.”
The simple down-to earth words, whispered against her hair, calmed her.
“Okay.” She couldn’t confide her pain, but she couldn’t stay alone with her own depressing thoughts. Walking or running would get her fury out of her system.
