“He is. He beat Wren mercilessly for years. I kept getting her to leave, he kept luring her back. It was horrible,” I told him. “But this last time, he fractured a rib. It was the first time there’d been really lasting damage. And I think something finally clicked for her. That he wasn’t going to stop. That it was only going to get worse, not better. So when I got her away, she was making plans to stay away.”
“That’s why you’re putting her through college.”
“Yes. And no. I mean, on the one hand, I just want her to have an education and career to fall back on. It’s harder for a man to control you when you have a way to leave him and survive on your own. But, yeah, it is a way for me to have her safely put somewhere that he can’t really get to her.
“I’ve been really careful not to let anything to do with the college trace back to me.”
“Which means the only way he can find Wren is to go through you,” Salvatore guessed.
“Yeah. And last night… he tried to go through me.”
“Tried pretty hard, if those shadows under your eye, on your face, and around your neck are anything to go by.”
“I lucked out when my neighbor was coming home as it was going down. Having a witness scared him off. And my neighbor he, ah, he gave me a, you know, gun. Just in case.” There was a strange look on his face then, something I couldn’t quite interpret, but had me scrambling to add, “I mean, I’m sure I won’t ever use it. But it is for the peace of mind, at least. That’s—“
“Why didn’t you call me?” he cut me off.
“What?”
“Why didn’t you call me?” he repeated.
“Call you?” I asked. “Why would I do that? You’re just… paying me hush money. That’s all,” I told him, as I’d been telling myself for days.
“That’s all, huh?” he asked, taking a step closer, backing me against the door. His other hand rose, gently snagging my chin, forcing it up so my gaze held his. “You sure about that?” he asked.
Then his lips were on mine.
Soft and careful at first, seeming to wait for rejection. When it didn’t come, though, his hand moved to frame my face and his lips got harder, hungrier.
My own hands were greedy, sliding up his back, feeling the muscles of his back and shoulders, then going back down again only to slip under the fabric, feeling his warm skin against my palms.
A low rumble moved through his chest, vibrating into my own, as my fingers teased up his sides.
He seemed to lose control of his own hands right then as well.
They released my wrist and jaw, sliding over my body until they were working the buttons free on my dress, then reaching inside to close over the swells of my breasts.
A moan vibrated against his lips as his hands slid up and then inside the cups, closing over me with nothing in between. His hands squeezed before his thumbs and forefingers started to work my nipples into tightened buds.
Desire surged through my system, wiping away any doubts, any reservations.
My own hands slipped out of his shirt to start undoing his buttons as his teeth nipped my lower lip.
He didn’t let me finish, though, as his lips left mine so he could lower down and suck one of my nipples into his mouth.
The shot of white-hot desire caught me off-guard, making a surprised whimper escape me as I arched deeper into the sensation.
His tongue circled, flicked, then his lips sucked hard before moving across my chest to continue the sweet torment.
His hand slipped down between my thighs, pressing against the material between my thighs.
Feeling how wet I already was, another of those delicious growls moved through him.
He wasted no time slipping under my panties and finding my clit with his thumb as two of his fingers thrust inside of me.
His head lifted, his lips crashing down on mine again as his fingers started to thrust inside of me, driving me up hard and fast.
His other hand went behind my neck, using it to hold him against my body as he pulled me away from the door.