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I tilt my head and squint my eyes at him. Does he think I’m stupid? He doesn’t have a sister. “Sister? Really? Since when did you get a sister?” I ask.
Josh smirks as one eyebrow raises. “Since a week ago, when Ella here was stupid enough to marry my brother.”
“Don’t be an ass, Josh. No matter what you think, it doesn’t suit you,” Ella directs to Josh before facing me. “I want to thank you for helping me yesterday. I’m really fucking glad you showed up when you did.”
Before I know it, Ella is standing up and has her arms wrapped around me. She squeezes me in a tight hug. I wince at the sharp pain that radiates through my ribs. My body stiff, I know I should hug her back, but I’m not used to this kind of thing. I haven’t had anyone hug me for so long.
Ella pulls away suddenly. “Shit, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” she asks with what seems to be genuine concern.
“Uh, yeah, I’m good. Just slept wrong. It was really nice meeting you, Ella. Congratulations on your marriage. Uh, I should probably be going.”
Just as I stand up, Josh places a cup of coffee in front of me. “Sit down. We’re having breakfast.” His voice is rough, commanding.
I sit back down quietly. I’m so used to taking orders I don’t even argue. Anxiety rains terror through my body as I wait for the yelling to start. Surely, it won’t be long. It’s probably better to just get it over with.
Only, when I look up, both Ella and Josh are staring at me and no one is yelling. I can see concern on Ella’s features. It makes me uncomfortable and I can’t seem to meet her eyes. Josh looks angry though; that’s a look I can cope with. I know what to expect from anger.
Needing to get the attention away from me (and to calm Josh’s rage), I pick up the cup and take a sip. My hands shake. I don’t know why he’s angry. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do to make him happy. At least with Trent, I knew what made him angry. I could avoid upsetting him.
The image of Trent’s lifeless stare, blood pooling around his head as he lies on the kitchen floor, haunts me. I can see it even with my eyes wide open. My hands are so shaky as I try to put the cup back down on the bench, that the coffee spills over and onto the pristine white marble benchtop.
Oh no! This can’t be happening. I jump up. “I’m so sorry. I’m really sorry. I-I’ll clean it up. I promise. I’ll get it clean. You won’t even know there was a spill,” I stutter out, my eyes scanning around the kitchen for where I can find cleaning supplies.
I spy the sink and head for it. “It’s my fault. I should have been more careful. I’ll be more careful. I promise.”
Just as I make it back over to the bench, arms wrap around me from behind. I automatically bring my hands up to cover my face. My body draws in on itself. Josh spins me around, caging me in.
I can’t bring myself to look up at him. My hands are still raised defensively.
“I’m going to go pack. I’ll come find you before we leave.” With those parting words, Ella walks out. Josh doesn’t answer her. I can feel his gaze locked on me.
He grabs onto my hands and pulls them away from my face, slowly, gently, tilting my head up with his finger. My eyes connect with his. I can’t read what I see staring back at me. Gone is the icy glare, and in its place, something I’ve only seen reflected back at me once before.
“I’ll never hurt you, Emmy. I promise.” Josh’s voice is a whisper.
I nod my head in acknowledgement. I don’t know how to answer him. Deep down in my soul, I believe he wouldn’t hurt me. But my body has been accustomed to protecting itself. It’s all I’ve known for the past three years.
“I need a name, Emmy, now.” Gone is the whisper, gone is the look of devotion I saw momentarily. Back is the icy glare, the harsh tone.
I shake my head. I can’t possibly tell him. He can never know what I’ve done. Plausible deniability. If the cops do catch up with me here, at least he has plausible deniability. He wasn’t knowingly harbouring a fugitive.
“You know I’m going to find out anyway. It will save us both a lot of time if you just tell me.”
“I can’t, Josh. Just let me go. I’ll leave and you can pretend you never saw me. Please.”
Josh shakes his head. “There’s only one problem with your plan, Emmy.”
I’m afraid to ask, afraid to know the answer, but I question him anyway. “What?”
“I can’t just forget I saw you. I haven’t been able to forget about you in the past seven years. I can still taste you on my tongue. I can still feel the smoothness of you under my fingers.” Josh traces his fingertips up and down my arm, leaving behind a trail of goosebumps.
I shouldn’t be feeling turned on right now. I haven’t been remotely interested in sex for a long time. My thighs tighten together; my body shivers. All I want to do right now is climb this man like a damn spider monkey. The thought of how quickly my body betrays my mind with just a single touch is terrifying.
“J-Josh, I...” I let my sentence drag off. I’m not sure if I’m begging him to give me the release that I so desperately want, or asking him to stop.
Josh pushes his whole body against mine. My back digs into the benchtop behind me. I can feel the hardness of his cock pressing into my stomach. I need to put a stop to this. I need to get some distance between us.
“Stop.” My voice is nothing but a whisper as I push against his chest. The bastard doesn’t even budge.
“Your voice is telling me to stop, but you don’t really want me to stop, Emmy. Do you?” His tongue trails up the side of my neck. My head tilts, granting him better access.
Traitorous fucking body. Damn it feels good, so good. It doesn’t matter how good it feels, I know it won’t end with good feelings. It never does.
“I need you to stop, please.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, my eyes widen. Panic overtakes me and I wait for the slap that’s bound to come. I wait and wait. Josh stares down at me without saying anything, his jaw clenched.
He pulls my stiff body into his and wraps his arms around me, burying his face into the crook of my neck. He whispers, “I’ve never felt the need to maim and torture as much as I do right now. When I find out who did this to you, Emmy, there won’t be a stone they can hide under. I’m going to take great pleasure in staining my hands with their blood.”
Little does he know… he’s never going to get that opportunity.
