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She looks at me incredulously at first and then with an intense defiance. “Fine.”
I can’t look away. Especially not when she replaces my fingers with hers. She knows exactly what to do, and I am blessed with a front row seat. The strength of what she’s building is staggering. Fascinating. Breathtaking. And I can’t let her go it alone. I yank my jeans off, take two quick steps toward the bed, towering over her. She doesn’t stop, so I take her hands and pin them behind her head. Then I position myself just right, plunging into her fast. When she digs her nails into my wrist, I stop and go slow. Painfully slow.
“Please,” she cries.
I tighten my grip on her wrists. Squeezing hard enough that she’s forced to draw back on her nails digging into my skin.
“Do it,” she whispers into my ear. “I know where your children go to school.”
I almost pause. Almost. But not quite. She’s fucking crazy, and the only thing you can do with crazy is to meet it where it is. And then take it a bit further. Switching positions, I take both her wrists in one hand, and cup my other hand over her mouth, using my thumb and forefinger to pinch off the air supply to her nose.
“You may know my name and you may know where I live. But you don’t know me like you think you do.”
The color drains from her face as she strains against my hand, twisting her face from side to side. I speed up. Thrusting harder and faster.
When I eventually let go and release her nose, she gasps, sucking in a deep breath. I slow again. “If you stop, I’ll kill you,” she says. And I believe her.
She comes groaning, every muscle in her body drawn taut.
I follow suit.
Then I collapse into her and we lay there, eyes wide open, listening to the storm rage outside. Neither of us speaks. Lightning flashes across the walls at regular intervals. At some point I fall asleep.
I wake shortly before the sun is up, but she’s already gone.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ali
Seattle
Everyone has a plan until they get hit in the face. Ali will tell you it was Mike Tyson who said that. She’ll also tell you it’s true. She’s been hit in the face enough times to know.
“I know what you’re up to.” David had texted her at 3 a.m. It’s not the kind of message a woman wants to receive from their new fiancé. “I know what kind of person you are.”
As it turns out, David’s mother is Sarah Shepard’s number one fan, and after Ali’s less than stellar interview with the morning show anchor, David’s mother noticed that one Dr. Ali Brownlooks a lot like her son’s new fiancée, also named Sarah. David realized this too, once his mother so kindly brought it to his attention, and then David wondered what else Ali had been lying about. He didn’t just wonder. He did a bit of digging.
Ali sighed. Knowing what’s coming when she lands makes for a very long flight from Austin to Seattle. Ali doesn’t know what she’s going to find when she gets there, something that both terrifies and excites her.
There are only a few ways things can go when the man who asked you to marry him a little over a week ago realizes that not only are younotwho you told him you were, but you’ve also been logging into his bank account over the last five weeks, slowly siphoning money into an offshore account. It’s not like it was a lot of money. Nothing that would send red flags. Nothing that can’t be replaced. Nothing that might tie Ali to the transfers.
Unless, of course, her lovely fiancé planted a camera in his home office and caught her in the act. Which he did. Or so he says. Either way, she’s in trouble plenty.
Not only has she stolen from him, she’s humiliated him. She knows from their conversations over the last six weeks that humiliation is his biggest fear. On one hand, this made him easy to seduce. She leaned into that fear, played it like a fiddle. On the other hand, trust once broken can scarcely be regained. Ali knows this relationship is over. She just has to bring it to a close smoothly, or as smoothly as possible, all things considered. She needs to end it in a way that won’t make things worse for her.
She fishes the engagement ring from her carry-on and slips it on her finger, holding her hand at arm’s length to admire the clarity of the diamond.
It’s such a shame things had to end this way. David is a nice guy. He is decent in bed. He will make a good husband to someone. Just not her.
* * *
Ali isn’tsure what to expect when she knocks on the door of David’s condo. Usually she lets herself in, but she knows this visit is different. It’s important that she convey respect. It’s vital that she shows she understands the seriousness and the severity of what she’s done.
She knocks twice and waits for several minutes, although he’s expecting her. She had texted him from the car. He answers the door, looking like a shell of himself. He’s disheveled, looking like he hasn’t slept in days.
This is all it takes for Ali to realize just how much trouble she’s in. David is a large man, much larger and stronger than she is. She has to be careful. She has to play her cards just right. Cornering a wounded animal is dangerous.
David leaves the door open and walks away, forcing her to close it behind her.
