AllFreeNovel
Share Us
ALANA
Imight put on a good show but being under the intense glare of Reid Harris while he’s sitting in only a pair of tight-fitted black boxer briefs is unnerving as fuck.
My heart pounds and my grip on my now-empty mug gets tighter and tighter with every passing second.
But while it might be slightly terrifying, I can’t deny that the adrenaline of sparring with him gives me one hell of a buzz.
You’d think that after all my years being forced to submit to powerful and dominant men, I’d hate this situation. But honestly. I thrive on it. The thrill of trying to bring him down a peg or two is addictive.
I might not be able to get him on his knees for me physically, but there are other ways of claiming the power in this exchange.
“Why did you marry him?” he blurts out, dragging me from my thoughts and forcing a memory of him asking the same question over the dinner table to the forefront of my mind. “You love him, sure. I can believe that. And as much as I hate to think about him or what he does, I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual.”
Emotion crawls up my throat as he lays out our situation so simply. But there is nothing simple about what’s between Mav and me. I wish there fucking was.
“But there’s more to it, and I can’t quite figure it all out.”
Straightening my spine, I roll my shoulders back. I haven’t backed down from his attempts to get the truth out of me yet, but I must be honest, it’s easier with us on a similar footing for once. He’s lost his armor, leaving him with nothing but his underwear and ink.
“I’m pretty sure there is more to every marriage than meets the eye. It’s not really for us to judge, though, is it?” I counter.
“Not judging, Pet.”
I tilt my head to the side, my brows shooting up in disbelief.
“Talk to me about Jonno,” he demands, sending a rush of ice-cold fear shooting through my veins.
“W-what?”
“Oh, come on,” he taunts. “You can’t tell me you don’t remember him. You killed him after all.”
I swallow down the bile that wants to escape my body.
“Nothing to tell,” I whisper, the roughness of my voice instantly giving me away.
“So you always take the opportunity to drive a knife into a man’s chest, do you?”
My teeth grind as I remember exactly how it felt as I broke through his skin with the point of that blade, how warm his blood was as it sprayed over me.
The relief. A lifetime's worth of it rushed through my system. It was so powerful; it brought me to my knees.
And he picked me up.
This monster of a man, who tortures people in ways I can only imagine, was the one to scoop me off the floor while I was a sobbing, bloody mess and cradled me in his arms as if I mattered. As if he couldn’t cope watching me fall apart.
And then he dropped me. Walked away as if he couldn’t stand the sight of me after discovering the truth.It wrecked me. For just a moment, I thought he cared, or at least felt some kind of empathy toward me. But no. He’s exactly like all the others. Cold and uncaring.
“Knowing everything about my life isn’t going to make a difference to yours, I can assure you of that,” I tell him firmly, finally getting a grasp on my emotions.
“See, that’s where I think you’re wrong. I think whatever you’re hiding, and what I’m planning are very closely interlinked,” he says, giving more away than he has since this whole ordeal started.
“How so?” I ask, leaning forward and resting my elbows on my knees when my curiosity gets the better of me.
One side of his mouth twitches into a smirk and I prepare myself to be shot down. He’s not exactly been forthcoming this far, so really, I’m not expecting any kind of useful answer.
“I think…” he starts, making my heart rate pick up, but he stops before he says anything good.
I stare into his eyes, urging him to continue. If he gives me something useful then maybe I can do the same back.
