“Because…I…I was hurt. I was hurt and confused about all the rumors about you—”
“Lies!” He slammed his head against the concrete wall behind me, inches from my face. I shrieked and slumped my shoulders.
“Please,” I breathed. “You’re scaring me.”
“Fuck, I’m sorry.” His palm dropped to my cheek, his thumb gently brushing along my bottom lip. Nausea churned, and my throat burned. The urge to vomit intensified by the sight of the blood on his cracked and torn knuckles. “I don’t want to scare you, firefly. I just…whenever I think of him having his hands all over your body, I get so fucking mad!”
“Then don’t!” I snapped, trying—no,needinghim to calm down. “Don’t think of it. Don’t think of him.” I lifted my tied wrists, trying to touch his shoulder. “Let’s focus on us. Here, it’s just us. You and me. Okay? Just us.”
He scooted closer, placing his legs on either side of me. His scent, his breath, his presence—it was overwhelming and sickening as it fused with the fear and panic that silently ran rampant inside my gut.
“I want to believe you, firefly. I do. God, more than anything. I just…how can you stand another man’s touch when I’m the one you love?”
“I don’t know.” A rogue tear slipped from my eye and lapped down my cheek. “I was just…I needed a distraction. I needed to not think about the pain of not being able to be with you. I’m sorry.” I wept. I cried real fucking tears, hating every word that came out of my mouth—the lies I told to keep him calm. To keep him from hurting me. “I’m so sorry, Oakley. I never tried to hurt you. I swear to God.”
I sucked air through my teeth as he reached out, cupping the back of my head in his palm, weaving his fingers through my hair. “Do you mean that? Do you really mean that?”
I nodded frantically. “I do. I mean every word.”
“And you’re not angry at me for sharing that picture of you?”
I sucked my bottom lip into my mouth, shaking my head. “No. How could I? I hurt you. I gave you every reason to want to hurt me back.”
My scalp burned as he tightened his grip in my hair, pulling me close and slamming his lips onto mine. It was vile and sickening. I couldn’t breathe through the taste of evil and lies that clung to his spit as he forced his tongue in my mouth. I squirmed against him and groaned, masking my need to vomit as a sign of being consumed with his kiss.
Bile pushed up into my mouth, so I pulled back and forced myself to swallow it down.
“You okay?” He gripped my chin and turned my face from side to side, scrutinizing my expression. “You look pale.”
“No. I’m fine. I just…I want to hold you. Please untie me so I can hold you while you kiss me again.”
His irises darkened as he made a show licking our kiss from his lips. “I have a better idea.”
Oh my God.
The temperature in the room dropped abruptly when his wicked gaze traveled down my neck, settling on my chest as his fingers toyed with the sleeve of my dress. “You’ve been holding out on me.”
“What?”
“I saw you remember? He had your hands tied and bent over when he fucked you.”
My stomach turned.
“And from where I was standing, it seemed like you enjoyed it.” Wicked, snakelike fingers slipped inside my dress and stroked the swell of my breast. “You know, if you had just told me you were into that shit, I would have gladly participated.” His tongue darted out of his mouth. “I would have loved making all your twisted fantasies come true.”
Ice spread throughout my body, my skin so cold, yet I was burning from the inside. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to go on with this charade—especially now that I saw the vile lust swirl in his dark eyes. It was too much, and I just wasn’t strong enough.
“It’s different with you,” I lied. “When I’m with you, I don’t need anything else.” With difficulty, I tried maneuvering my legs so I could sit on my knees. “With him, I needed so much more.” I leaned my head to the side, sweat beading behind my neck. “He wasn’t you, Oakley. And I thought if he did all that other stuff to me, it would fill the gap. But I was wrong.” Again, I tried touching his face with my tied hands. “Nothing he did could fill the space you left in my heart.” I swallowed. “And in my body.”
“Jesus, firefly.” His lips were on mine. Harder this time, his tongue reaching all the way back in my throat.
I wanted to sob. I wanted to curl up and be sick. Let the earth swallow me whole if it meant taking me far away from here. Far away from him. But I had to push through. Oakley was unpredictable like this. If I wanted half a chance to walk away from this alive and unharmed, I had to play along.
With his body, he forced me down on my back, draping his body on top of mine. The longer he kissed me, the stronger and fiercer his lips became, his teeth clashing against mine.
Tears slipped down the sides of my face, but he was too far gone to notice, his hard cock pressing against my hip. His toxic kiss burned me from the inside out, and I looked up the entire time, trying to focus on the filigree pattern that adorned the ceiling instead of thinking about what I’d need to do to survive.
“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this,” he murmured against my lips. “Every night since we’ve been apart, I’d lie in my bed and think about you.”