I smiled.There was a good girl.
I straightened my shoulders and headed toward my front door.Now, to get rid of Frank.
I opened the door a little.“Frank?”
“Nice to see you, Jasmine.”His brown eyes were hard, and he studied me with an intensity I found disconcerting.When I didn’t reply, he gave me a toothy grin that I found even more off-putting.
“Ah, good!I see you dressed up for me.You know, I wasn’t sure I’d be interested in someone your age, but you really are a stunning woman.”
Oh,ick.A shiver inched down my spine.Nope.This man wasn’t for me.“All gloss, no substance”, as my mama would have told me.
“Unfortunately, I can’t go out tonight.I’m…” I gasped, shocked, as the edge of the door slammed into my shoulder.The pain radiated from there, and it took me a moment to realize he’d grabbed my wrist.
I tried to shake the dread, even as the pain ripped a scream from my throat.Until this point, I’d never feared for my safety.Never thought I’d needed to.
I’d been wrong.So wrong.Frank squeezed my wrist harder and something inside popped, causing me to gasp.
“Here’s the way it’s going to be,” he said.
His voice was soft, kind, but his grip threatened to snap the bones.My mind struggled to mesh the two.I twisted, writhing against his continued hold onto me with ease.
“You’re going to invite me inside, first your house, then your body.And when I say so, you’re going to give me access to your son’s music, and you’re going to make damn sure I enjoy every single minute of our time together.”
“N-no.”
“Oh, yes,” Frank said.“You’re in no position to tell me anything other than what I want to here, old woman.”
Tears threatened the corners of my eyes, but I bit back my anguish.Time for that later.I didn’t know what this monster was capable of, but I refused to let him hurt me any worse than he already was, and he most definitely would never threaten Kate or Jenna when they arrived.
“And if I say no again?”I gritted out.
He squeezed my arm harder, the dead-set of his gaze latching to mine.“You won’t, because I’ll make sure you can’t.”
What.The.Actual.Fuck.
I lived on a ranch with my son, with bodyguards.Just who the hell did this…this…deviant think he was?
But his plan was etched across his expression, and it threatened retribution, should I deny him.If I denied him what was mine to give.Mine.Not his to take.
I gasped against the pain once more before I gritted my teeth.I’d given birth to three children naturally.I’d been thrown off many horses and fallen out of the hay loft when I wasn’t paying enough attention.
I knew pain, and I knew how to manage it…to some degree.I breathed in deeply, then out through my clenched teeth.The second breath was easier and my body started to relax.
Frank chuckled, no doubt thinking he’d just received my acquiescence.Oh, no, this garbage of a man was not getting anything—anything—else from me or my kids.I’d known he was trouble.I just hadn’t expected him to be skunk-stink nasty.
Just went to show that I should have trusted my gut.I’d known something was off after our first date, but I’d hoped that going out another time or two would change my mind.No, that wasn’t even the truth of it.I’d hoped my seeming to get serious with a man would finally motivate Steve to step forward.
My idiocy led me tothissituation, and I was none too pleased with myself…less so with Frank, who would more assuredly not be here when my girls showed up.No, no way was he going to threaten or hurt them.
No way.
“Do you understand the rules, Jasmine?”he asked as he stepped close enough for me to feel his breath on my cheek…and his thigh against mine.
I stumbled backward, which he expected, so he pressed closer to me.My heart hammered as I shuffled back again, already bracing myself for the tightening of his much larger hand around my wrist.The pain caused the edges of my vision to darken, but that didn’t matter becausefinallyI was close enough to my goal.
I reached out with my free hand, snagging the heavy brass lamp from the end table.It was bulky and difficult to hold, but I caught the top of its construction near the bulb.I lifted it and swung all in one motion, catching him off guard.The lamp slammed into his shoulder and he let go of my wrist.I tucked my injured arm against my chest with a whimper as I stumbled back, dragging the lamp with its trailing power cord.
“That was so fucking stupid,” Frank snapped.
