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Madelena
We change hotels, going across town. What happened in the bathroom was strange. It was a little frightening, if I’m being honest. In the time I’ve known Santos, and granted it hasn’t been long, but there’s one thing he’s always exerted. Control. When he began to lose it, he made sure I wasn’t around to bear witness.
But tonight was different. Tonight, I became the object of his attention—not simply the thing he lost control over, but the outlet, too. I became the object to bear the brunt of his aggression, because that fucking was him making an outlet of me. It had been him somehow proving to himself that he had control when he did not.
Because I think finding me with the Avery twins scared him.
Thiago’s words echo in my mind, what he said about family being a weakness… about the things we care about being a weakness.
Except that he was wrong. I’m neither of those things to Santos. I am not his family; I am simply his.
I watch Santos because he’s not himself. This hotel is not as lavish as the last one. It’s much more out of the way and nondescript. He sends me into the bedroom. Through the cracked door, I hear him talking to Val in the living room, making sure we’re near an exit, making sure those exits are guarded.
There’s a second bedroom for Caius across from our room. I assume he’ll bring Ana with him, and I wonder what the hell he’s doing with her. Why would he be with her of all the women in the world? From the moments I saw them together, he’s not interested in her, and the way she looked at Santos was off. Weird.
I scramble away from the door when they finish talking, but I’m pretty sure it’s obvious I was listening when Santos enters the bedroom.
“Why aren’t you ready for bed?” he asks, looking me over. He’d instructed me to get to bed before he’d left to talk to Val.
“Because I’m not a child who needs to be put to bed.”
He sighs heavily.
“I have questions,” I say, folding my arms across my chest.
“Not tonight. I need to go.” He crosses the room to where one of our suitcases is sitting on top of a luggage rack and opens it. I have no idea what’s in them since I didn’t pack anything. Rifling through, he finds what he wants and turns to me. It’s a lace nightie. “Put this on,” he says, tossing it onto the bed and walking into the bathroom. He doesn’t close the door, and I hear the water run. He returns a moment later, wiping his face on a towel. He looks unsettled, like what happened and those people got to him.
“Where are you going?” I ask, not having moved.
“Meeting.”
“With the Commander?”
At that, Santos’s jaw tightens, his entire body tensing.
He’s been known to crush bigger creatures than you.
Santos fists the towel, eyes on me, and I see the effort it’s taking him to draw in a slow breath. I wonder if he’s counting to ten. He sets the towel on a nearby table and comes toward me.
“You need to get some rest.” He reaches for me, but I back away.
“Stop. Tell me who the Commander is. Who that family is. Because they know me, Santos. They know about this.” I hold up my hand, palm to him. “And from how it sounded, they know you pretty well. So, who are they?”
“You don’t have to worry about them. They won’t come near you again.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“They have nothing to do with you. Get changed. Get to bed. I’ll take care of it.” He steps toward me, ready to force me into submission, but I won’t let him have his way without a fight.
“What was that scar on Thiago’s neck?”
“For fuck’s sake, just do as I say.” This time, he takes me by the arms and marches me to the bed.
I struggle, but we both know he’s stronger than me. “Okay, how about this. How about telling me what the fuck that was in the bathroom? Or is that just how it’s going to be from now on? You scrub my skin raw then bend me over and fuck me?” I ask when the backs of my knees hit the bed. “Have me tell you I’m yours until you come? You’re not that insecure, are you, husband?”
His hands tighten around my arms, and he growls with frustration.
“Because that was fucking weird,” I add.
