AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Now I know she’s playing me for a fool. She’d never quit working at her dad’s shop.
“What happened between today at work and now?” I challenge, not taking her words at face value.
“I already told you. I had a realization…”
“Goddammit, Gemma,” I hiss, stepping closer and causing her breath to hitch. “What’d he say to you? Why’re you doing this?”
“It’s not gonna work out between us, so stop trying to—” I close the gap between us, cup her face, and crash our mouths together. Her words are full of fucking shit, and the way her body responds gives her away.
At first, she tenses, but then she quickly relaxes in my hold and wraps her arms around my waist. Sliding my hands down, I grab her ass and lift her off the ground. Her legs wrap around me, and I push my erection against her. She releases a moan, and I’ve undoubtedly got her. Walking to the couch, I sit with her straddling my lap. She grinds against my cock as I hold her in place.
“You wanna tell me again how we’re over?” I growl, moving my lips to her neck and sucking on her soft skin. “Tell me you don’t love me. Convince me you love him. C’mon, repeat it,” I demand.
Gemma shakes her head and looks down. I cup her face and watch as tears form in her eyes. “What’d he do to you, baby? Please, tell me.”
The tears fall, and she becomes visibly more emotional. “He showed up at my house and told me he owned my dad’s land. If I don’t marry him, he’ll bulldoze it to the ground, and everything my dad and I love will be forever gone. Robert’s fucking crazy, so I have no doubt he’ll actually do it.”
“What?” I look at her in shock. “How’s that possible? Are you sure he’s not just BS’ing you?”
She nods. “He showed me the paperwork. It’s confirmed. I guess my dad took out a second mortgage to take care of my mom’s medical bills years ago and wasn’t able to keep up with the payments. Right before it went into foreclosure, Robert bought it and waited for the opportunity to use it against me so I’d bend to his will. He’s a monster.” She wipes her cheeks, and I hate that bastard for putting her through this.
I grip her face and rest my forehead against hers. “Why didn’t you just say that?”
“He threatened your life, too.”
Rolling my eyes, I scoff. “How?”
“He said he’d make sure Victoria got her revenge without any consequences. Though they aren’t working together—another thing he blamed me for—I believe he’d find a way to cover up her crimes.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Victoria already has an endless amount of money and can pay anyone off. She doesn’t need him to get away with murder. She’s done it several times already.
“Sweetheart, listen to me,” I mutter softly, and she meets my gaze. “I’m in this for the long haul, you got me? Be honest with the shit he says or does to you, and we’ll get through it together. Promise me.”
She nods again. “You’re right, I should’ve, but I was so scared. He’s worse than usual and admitted that even though we don’t love each other, he wants me as his wife for his public image. I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I can’t lose my cottage or the house my mom and dad built together. He’d be devastated.”
“I don’t have the answers right now, baby, but we’ll figure it out. Okay? If we have to be together in secret until we find a solution, then so be it. It’ll suck, but there’s gotta be a way out of this.”
“There isn’t much time,” she insists. “The wedding invites went out today.”
“Well, he’s not the only person who knows people. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe and for us to be together.”
She wraps her arms around my neck and presses into me. I hold her to my chest and inhale her scent. “We’ve got this, baby,” I whisper in her ear. “I’m not letting you go this time.Never.”
“I’ll have to keep up the act until we have a plan,” she explains. “In public, I’ll have to pretend we’re a perfect couple, but hopefully, we can find a way to end the charade before the wedding day.”
“We will,” I promise.
She leans in and presses her mouth to mine. “Before you kissed me, how’d you know I was lying?” she asks, searching my face.
“Because I can read you, Gemma. Your mouth said one thing, but your body said another. I learned a lot of weird shit in prison, one of them being body language—a defense mechanism—but the two weren’t lining up.”
“Well, you were definitely right about one thing.” Her lips shyly tilt upward.
Brushing hair behind her ear, I grin. “What was that?”
“That I love you. I’m completely crazy, out of my mind in love with you,” she states confidently.
Her confession has my heart nearly beating out of my chest, and I can’t hold back the wide smile on my face.
