I stare down at my hands, and he grips my chin, forcing me to meet his eyes. “What’s wrong?”
Why wouldn’t I be okay with him wanting to change my body? I mean, how dare I be confident and like how I look? I didn’t get to pick who I spent the rest of my life with, so I shouldn’t be surprised. My sister was killed, then this guy shows up in our lives, and I’m just handed over like a piece to be traded. “He’s going to be powerful,” my mother told me. “You’ll be set for life.” That doesn’t matter when your life is hell.
“Nothing.” I lie because he won’t care, just like the rest of them.
That’swhen I knew I’d never have a say in how I live my life. If I refused anything that Luke wanted, my parents would make sure he got it. After that, he just kept changing things about me. My father joined in on it too. I always walked into a room and was already greeted with things that I needed to work on. A personal trainer to stay in shape. A diet. It was never ending. I had to drop eight pounds for the wedding. The dress was designed in the size that Luke wanted it. Then I had to make sure I fit into it.
Maybe Tyson could be different in this aspect. He doesn’t want me to look a certain way, so it seems. It never hurts to ask.
TYSON
I enterthe apartment and master suite to find her walking out of the bathroom. She comes to a stop and looks down at the floor for a long second before her eyes slowly lift to look at me through her long lashes. She’s already showered, her hair still damp and makeup off her face, dressed in one of my T-shirts. My cock instantly gets hard noticing her hard nipples through the thin fabric.
“Can I color my hair?” she asks softly.
“No.”
“You didn’t even consider it,” she growls, her eyes narrowing on mine as she lifts her chin.
“Why do you want to change it?” I ask my own question, curious of her answer. I’m pretty sure I already know, though.
“Never mind.” She turns to walk to the bed, but I grab her upper arm, bringing her to a stop.
“Did Luke make you bleach it?” I wonder. Maybe he prefers blondes.
She bows her head, biting on her lips nervously. I reach out, letting my knuckles run over her breasts, noticing how she pushes her chest into my touch. I bet she’s begging to get off right now. “I asked you a question, Lake.”
“No,” She answers softly.
“Then who?” I ask.
She looks up at me, her eyes red. “My dad.”
“Why would he care what color your hair is?” I snort at the thought.
She swallows. “He said I looked too much like Whitney,” she whispers. “We weren’t even allowed to mention her name. So the fact that he thought of her every time he looked at me disgusted him.”
Lake and Whitney looked nothing alike, other than they were both brunettes. But even that wasn’t identical. Whitney’s was darker, and she kept it shorter—just below the shoulders. Why would it bother him how Lake looked? That doesn’t make sense.
Reaching out, I take a piece of her hair and twirl it around my finger. I step into her, letting go of it. I slide my fingers through the damp strands to the back of her head and I gently tug, forcing her eyes to meet mine. “If you want to change your hair, then change it.” I don’t want to give her permission to change something that she doesn’t like about herself. Her body has already been altered because a man told her it wasn’t what he wanted.
Her eyes light up, our earlier fight forgotten, and her plump lips pull into a big smile. She throws her arms around my neck. “Thank you.” She presses her lips to mine to give me a kiss. It’s innocent and thoughtless on her part. Just an action of gratitude.
She goes to pull away, but I use my hand that holds onto her head to keep her in place. I part my lips, forcing hers open as my tongue enters her mouth, wanting to taste my wife. My free hand wraps around her waist, holding her to me. Fuck, I want to bend her over and run my tongue along the slashes on her ass. Hear her gasp as my teeth sink into her skin and listen to her cry as I make her beg me to let her come.
But not tonight. I pull away and give her my back. Walking into the bathroom, I shut the door behind me. This is just the beginning of her punishment for avoiding me tonight. If she doesn’t want to come see me, then she sure as fuck isn’t getting off. And as hard as my cock is right now, I’m not sure I’d be able to do a quickie and finish before she could.
TWENTY-THREE
LAIKYN
Ifell asleep last night after Tyson left me in the bedroom wanting more after that kiss. I was so turned on and my pussy was dripping for him. But he turned me down. I know why. He was mad at me, which is crazy because I was the one who started the fight. I was supposed to make him suffer, not the other way around.
I don’t even remember passing out in bed, but I woke up this morning all alone and was excited to change my hair color only to realize I have no car and no way to get it done. So his answer was probably just to fuck with me. He’s not going to take me to get it done.
He spent the entire day in his office, and I slept most of it away. I only got to fix myself something to eat and then went back to bed. Now it’s another night and another shift at Blackout.
I exit the bathroom and walk into the bedroom, where I see several boxes on the bed wrapped with white ribbon. Tyson stands at the foot of the bed with his hands shoved in the front pockets of his gray slacks.
