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“Whose house were we at yesterday? I assume that’s where you always meet Scarlett?”
“It’s ours. When I found you at Slate, I needed a place to take you that wasn’t home because I wasn’t sure how you would react. The house belonged to Silas, but he was in the process of selling it. After that first night, you always went back there. When I realized the house was sort of a safe haven for you, I bought it from Silas.”
As my body drains of energy from the overload of information, I slump forward, lying against his chest. His hand smooths up and down my back, and I soak up the comfort. I hate myself for putting Hunter through what I have. I hate that I don’t have control of my own body and mind.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I vow to do better in the future. I may have three different people living inside me, but I’ll be damned if they continue to control me. It’s time I regain control over my life.
I send up a silent prayer, hoping that thought is something I can actually follow through on.
ChapterTwenty-Eight
Hunter
Iwalk up the stairs to the second floor in search of my wife a few days after Cat found out about the other people who inhabit her head. Thankfully, I believe she’s come to accept the truth.
I left her asleep in bed an hour ago. In the room, the bed is already made and the bathroom door is wide open with the lights on. I head in that direction, coming to a stop in the doorway when I see Cat standing in front of the mirror over the sink. She hasn’t noticed my appearance. My cock fills with blood because she’s standing naked and a naked Cat always makes me hard. Curious, I lean against the frame of the door and watch her.
Only her eyes move as she sweeps them up and down her body, stopping briefly at each scar left by a knife wound on her torso. The marks usually go unnoticed because they symbolize something she refuses to acknowledge, so I’m surprised she’s looking at them now.
My throat spasms when she turns and looks over her shoulder at the ones on her back and butt. I fucking hate them because these scars were left by me. It doesn’t matter that Scarlett demanded I strike her with the whip until I broke her skin. It doesn’t matter that I witnessed her relief as I complied with her request. I’ll hate myself until the day I die for being one of the sources of her pain.
Cat has never asked about the scars covering her back and ass, even though she was Scarlett when I left them. I think subconsciously, like the ones on her chest and stomach, she knew where they came from so she pretended they weren’t there. But now, after finding out what I told her the other day, she can’t pretend anymore.
I don’t blame her for being curious. Neither do I blame her for asking questions about Scarlett. It felt wrong talking to her about—what could amount to in her mind—me being with another woman. Every time I was with Scarlett, it felt like a betrayal to Cat. My guilt was made worse by the fact that I enjoyed some of the things Scarlett and I did together. Not the times I hurt her. I abhorred those moments. But the anal sex, forcing my cock down her tight throat until she gagged, stealing her breath with a hand around her throat, and being in control when I gave it back to her.
When my cock twitches, I shake my head to rid myself of those thoughts. There have been so many times I’ve imagined taking Cat while she was actually Cat in the same way. But I’ve put her through so much as Scarlett that I would never take her so harshly as Cat.
Returning to the mirror, she lifts both arms, revealing another set of scars. Again, she’s never acknowledged these either.
I push away from the doorframe and approach Cat. Her eyes meet mine in the mirror. I can see the questions lingering in the blue orbs. It’s not easy for me to talk about her scars, but she deserves to know the truth.
I pick up her hand and twist it so we can see the gnarly scar. “A couple of days after you arrived at The Grove the second time, you broke into the kitchen and used a plastic butter knife.” I trace the jagged lines with my finger, and my throat tightens. “It was the first time you became Athena. You scared the shit out of me.” I lift her wrist and kiss the raised marks.
“Hunter,” she whispers, her voice cracking on my name.
“Every time Athena took over and you showed up at The Grove, I was so terrified you’d try again and succeed.” I look into her beautiful blue eyes. “But you never did. Only that one time. You still wore bandages when you became her though. It was like you were stuck in the same time period over and over again and you couldn’t move past you trying to harm yourself.”
I let her hand go. Keeping my eyes locked with hers through the mirror, I begin tracing the small puckered marks on her back
“These are from a whip,” I tell her quietly. “The harder I hit Scarlett with it and the more blood I drew, the more it relaxed her. All along the tails of the whip there are little pieces of sharp metal.”
She bites her bottom lip and her eyes well with tears. “I can’t imagine how difficult that was for you.”
“I hated every fucking second of it.” I slide my hands around her waist, my hands coming to rest over one of the knife scars on her lower stomach. “But the alternative would have been worse. I didn’t want you to turn away from me and possibly seek out pain in other ways or from someone else, so I gave Scarlett what she wanted. If I gave her what she needed, at least I had some control.”
She leans her head back against my shoulder then turns her face to press a kiss against my neck. “I wouldn’t have blamed you if it became too much and you left.”
I tighten my arms around her. “There was no chance of that ever happening. The thought never even crossed my mind. The vows I took when I married you, Cat, are the most sacred words I have ever spoken. Only death will separate us.”
She spins around and places her hands on my shoulders. Wrapping my hands around her waist, I pick her up and place her on the counter by the sink before wedging my hips between her legs.
“You are the most incredible, patient, caring, and loving man, Hunter St. James.” She tugs my head forward for a kiss. “Please don’t ever change.”
One hand slides up her spine until I reach the back of her head, fist her hair, and gently pull her head back. I drop my lips to hers and give her a kiss that I wish could lead to more.
Unfortunately, there’s a reason why I came looking for Cat. Making love to my wife will have to wait until later.
With reluctance, I pull back. “I have to go to Slate to take care of something. I want you to come with me.”
