Anger crowds in on my mind. "You dare say another man’s name in front of me?"
"But, it’s not like that."
She reaches for me again and I growl, "Don’t fucking touch me."
She pauses, bites on her lower lip, and of course, my gaze is drawn to her mouth. Her gorgeous mouth with which she had sucked me off. Her tongue, her lips, the very teeth that she uses to chew on her food… All of it which belong to me, and she had dared turn her back on me. She’d left with another man… And not just any man, with my own brother. She had betrayed me. She had used my own blood to get back at me. My guts twist and heat flushes my skin. My vision narrows. "Did you sleep with him?"
"With who?" She scowls, "What are you talking about?"
"Enough," I roar and my voice echoes through the space. "I have had enough of your act, the way you always use your sassy attitude to disorient me. The way you stand up to me and mislead me."
"Me mislead you?" She sets her jaw, "I’ve always been straight-talking with you, buster. I have always told you what I wanted, have always been upfront with how I wanted to be able to choose for myself."
"And you chose to leave me for dead."
She pales.
"Tell me, did you enjoy looking into my eyes while I went under the waves and imagine that you’d never see me again? Did that gladden your heart, Karma? Did that make you happy? Did you and your lover laugh about it while he fucked you last night—?"
Her palm connects with my cheek and my face snaps back. The sound of the slap echoes back, enveloping us in a cocoon of rage before it fades away.
She gulps, then covers her mouth with her palm. "I’m sorry," she whispers, "so sorry. I didn’t mean that."
"I don’t believe you."
"Please, Mika, please believe me when I say that Luca didn’t touch me. I left with him, only because he happened to be there and I wanted to escape. He was just a means to get out of there. That’s all."
"And you hitting me and leaving me for dead, are you sorry about that too?"
"More than you can imagine." She tries to sit up and I release her. She tips up her chin, gazes into my face, "You have no idea how much I hated myself. How I couldn’t believe I’d done that. How I hoped that you would survive. How I prayed that you would be alive."
"Seems your prayers were answered."
"And I am so grateful," she swallows and a tear runs down her cheek. And my heart stutters; it fucking stutters. What the fuck? The woman is barely back for a few minutes, and already, I am softening. Already, I can’t wait to take her home, to my bed, to make love to her, and ensure she never leaves me again… And… I am setting myself up for a fall again. The next time my back is turned, what guarantee do I have that she won’t do the same thing? How do I know that she won’t murder me in my sleep? Why does the thought of clashing with her send all of my senses into overdrive? Adrenaline laces my veins. My groin hardens.
"Turn over," I growl.
She blinks, "Wh…what?"
"On your hands and knees; turn over."