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Noah groaned deep in his throat, his arms tightening around Allee's body, his chest expanding against hers as he sucked air in through his nose. His hands moved up her back to cradle the base of her skull, his fingers threading through her hair, and he intensified his kiss. Allee tilted her head slightly, allowing Noah greater access. Within the space of a heartbeat, Noah's kiss became incendiary. His mouth scorching over hers, his arms bands of steel around her body, Noah moved backwards, bringing Allee with him to lie on top of him. She could feel his entire body tighten with desire, his erection hard and pressing into her hip, and it was at that moment that Allee panicked.
“Please...stop!”
Instantly, Noah released her, helping her sit on the couch before moving back to give her some space. His breathing was laboured, and his face flushed. But Noah sheepishly grinned at Allee, showing her that he wasn’t angry.
“Sorry, I got a bit carried away. Are you okay?”
Allee swallowed hard, pushing her hair away from her face. She nodded and took her glass of wine with a trembling hand, sipping it slowly to help calm her nerves.
“I think you deserve to know the truth about me,” Allee started. “I know you told me about your horrible experience with Michelle, so you deserve to hear about Stuart.” Noah nodded, took his own glass, and settled back into the couch, his eyes glued to Allee as she took a deep breath and began. “I met Stuart a few years back, and we began dating. Well, he was a little older than me and was a bit opinionated on how women should dress and behave. But I put that down to the way he was raised, as his parents were quite well-off and very old-fashioned. I thought he was a real gentleman… until we moved in together. That was when I started getting glimpses of a different Stuart, one I'd never seen before. But the worst happened after we got engaged.”
“You were engaged?” Noah blurted out, his face reflecting his surprise. “I'm sorry to interrupt you, please, keep going.”
Allee accepted Noah's apology and continued to reveal her story.
Chapter Thirteen
September, Two Years Ago
Allee opened the door to the apartment, picked up the shopping bags at her feet, and struggled through the doorway. She was sweating despite the cool air as she made her way into the kitchen, hearing the front door close behind her. Seeing the time on the clock hanging on the wall, Allee swore under her breath. Thanks to a monstrous line-up at the supermarket checkouts, she was home later than planned, but Stuart wouldn't care about that. All he would care about was that she was running late.
Unloading the groceries from the bags and putting them away as she went, Allee turned the oven on before racing into the bedroom to take a quick shower and change her clothing. She made sure that her hair remained dry, as she didn’t have the time to dry it, brushed it out and pinned it back into a loose yet tidy knot at the back of her head, quickly applied mascara and lip-gloss, dressed, and then hurried into the kitchen to cook dinner.
Hearing the apartment door open and close an hour later, Allee quickly checked the pots and pans cooking on the stove top and glanced down at the oven. Turning to the sink, she washed and dried her hands, pulling a wine glass from one of the overhead cupboards. She poured a glass of red wine from the bottle that had been breathing on the bench and walked through to the lounge room where Stuart had just taken a seat, kicking his shoes off onto the carpet. Allee leaned down to give him a kiss, placed the glass into his outstretched hand, and turned to pick his shoes up from the floor, taking them into the master bedroom and putting them back on the shoe rack. Stuart didn't like mess, and Allee had found out the hard way after several months of living with him. Stuart considered such tasks menial and beneath him.
Allee hurried back into the kitchen, relieved that dinner was almost ready. Stuart disliked waiting to eat. There was just enough time for her to set the dinner table before the timer went off, signalling that the meal was ready. Allee had the meal plated and on the table, just as Stuart sat down in his chair.
“What’s this?” Stuart prodded the meal, sniffing with disdain.
“It’s a sweet potato, chicken, and leek bake, with asparagus, baby carrots, and baby potatoes in butter.”
“I told you that I wanted Beef Wellington,” Stuart shoved the plate away from him, his lips curled up in a petulant sneer.
Allee swallowed nervously, her mind racing to come up with any excuse or reason other than her lateness for this appalling mistake.
“I know you did, darling, but I wanted your opinion of it. I was speaking to your mother on the phone this afternoon, and we got to talking about family recipes. I told her about this one, which my grandmother passed to my mother, and then she passed on to me. She said it sounded delicious, so I thought I'd see what you thought before I gave her the recipe when I see her tomorrow.”
Allee held her breath, crossing her fingers under the table, hoping that Stuart would not want his mother receiving an unapproved recipe. He grunted, pulled the plate back towards himself, and began to eat.
Allee slowly exhaled before picking up her own cutlery and eating. It was delicious, and just as she remembered her mother and grandmother making. Stuart seemed to enjoy it as well, albeit grudgingly.
“Is it okay?” Allee asked quietly.
“It'll do. My mother could probably improve it somewhat.”
Allee ignored the insult; she was used to them by now. She was glad that she'd already had most of the ingredients in her pantry, as if she'd attempted to make the meal Stuart had demanded, it would still be cooking, and she'd be in hot water herself.
Allee noticed that Stuart had finished his meal, so she stood up, taking his plate along with hers into the kitchen. She loaded the dirty dishes into the dishwasher, putting the leftover food into containers and then stacking them in the fridge. She stood up, turning around to find Stuart standing directly behind her. He stared at her, his eyes roving over her body, and he smiled rather unpleasantly.
“What do we have here? A present for me to unwrap?” Allee stilled, knowing what was coming and dreading it. “Now, we've had dinner. I think it's time for dessert. Go to the bedroom.”
“But Stuart, I haven't finished-”
Allee was brutally cut off by Stuart back-handing her across the face. Her head rocked to the side, pain exploding along her cheekbone. Her eyes stung, but she blinked back the tears. It would only be worse if she cried.
“You dare to answer back to me?” he growled.
“No, Stuart, I'm sorry Stuart, I just wanted to make sure everything was ready for you for the morning.”
