I swallowed.
Knowing I had the power to unravel and humiliate Hallie was one thing. It aroused me like nothing else ever had. But knowing I also had the ability to calm her with a single touch was a different level of intoxication. I’d pinned her down, tied her up, and made her swallow my cum, butChrist, that little knee squeeze was the first thing that felt like it crossed a line.
Because it wasn’t part of our arrangement. This wasn’t who I was supposed to be with her. For a second, I’d let myself think I could have my cake and eat it, too. Did I really think I could play out my dark little fantasyandbe romantic with her?
For fuck’s sake, she was supposed to be afraid of me.
I ignored Hallie for the rest of the meal, keeping my gaze on Adrian and Mrs. Rutherford’s ridiculous sombrero. I needed to remind Hallie how dangerous I really could be and hit her where it’dactuallyhurt. And soon.
Eleven
Hallie
The restaurant door swungshut behind me with a soft thud, cutting off the sounds of the noisy restaurant behind me. The streetlights overhead hummed, and the sky above the arena nearby began to turn a deep shade of purple. I’d parked around the corner, opposite the direction everyone else had gone, so the sidewalk was quiet.
I glanced at the time on my phone. I could still get in a couple of hours of deliveries, but I didn’t really feel up for it. I couldn’t decide if it was the Mexican food sitting heavy in my stomach or the anxiety of that server recognizing me in front of my family. Either way, I just wanted to go home and curl up in a ball with my Kindle.
As I neared my car, I had the sinking feeling I was being watched. I glanced over my right shoulder at a single passing car, still unable to shake the feeling. Just as I crossed a narrow alley, pulling my keys out of my purse, a hand clasped around my left wrist and yanked me behind the building. My stomach flipped, first due to the fear and then again when I recognized the blur of Knox’s face as he shoved me down thealley. My back hit the brick wall in that narrow cut between buildings where the light from the street lamp didn’t quite reach. The smell of kitchen grease and old, soggy cardboard wafted up to my nose, soon replaced by the after-dinner mint on Knox’s breath as he caged me in with his arms. With one hand planted beside my head, the other caught my wrist, pinning it to the wall.
“What are you doing?” I gasped out.
“I should be asking you the same thing. When are you going to stop lying to them?” His voice was low, rough, almost amused. His thumb stroked once over the inside of my wrist, right over my pulse, like he could feel how fast it raced.
I blinked. “What do you mean?”
He tilted his head, studying me as he turned the mint over in his mouth with his tongue. It clicked against his teeth when he grinned. “You know exactly what I mean.” He lifted one hand to brush the hair back from my face. I wanted to flinch, but I didn’t. “Your, uh… ‘remote’ job.” He leaned in closer, bringing his lips close to my ear. “You’re keeping so many secrets these days, Hallie. You’re a liaranda slut.”
The words landed like a humiliating slap. My cheeks burned. My thighs clenched. I tried to twist my wrist free, but his grip only tightened.
“You quit your job in Milwaukee,” he continued, voice dropping even lower. My breath caught in my throat. “And you’ve been doing food deliveries ever since. You thought you were being sneaky, but you can’t hide the truth. Not from me.”
I furrowed my brows. “How did you–?”
He didn’t let me finish. His mouth hovered over mine, close enough that I could feel the heat of his exhale. “I know everything about you, baby girl.Everything.”
He said it slowly like each syllable was its own word, sending a chill down my spine. At the same time, my nipples tightened beneath my shirt. God, why did he always have that affect on me? Part of me wanted to push him away, but another part of me wanted to pull him even closer.
I couldn’t be sure which side was winning.
“There’s a lot about me you don’t know,” I said, keeping my eyes locked on his. I lifted my chin in confidence like I didn't already know he could prove me wrong. He had a key to my apartment and was able to break into my car unnoticed. He even–
I stiffened beneath his grasp, remembering the morning I broke up with Brody in Milwaukee. Someone had gotten past the main doors of my apartment building and slipped screenshots of all his disgusting Reddit comments beneath my door. All this time, I’d just assumed it was a mutual friend looking out for me or perhaps my weird, elusive neighbor. But now everything was starting to fall into place.
Knox had always had a dark side.
It was only recently that he let me see it.
His warm brown eyes bounced from one of mine to the other, a crease forming between my brows like he could see the gears turning in my mind. He noticed the shift in my posture and tightened his grip on my wrist.. “Something wrong, Hallie? Are you starting to regret getting involved with me?”
I sucked in a breath, deciding to ignore his question. “Are… are you the one who slipped those Reddit printouts under my door?”
He didn’t flinch, but I saw a flicker of surprise in his eyes as they widened, still focused on mine like he was afraid to look away. Like breaking eye contact might reveal the truth. But I was finally seeing him clearly, and there was no hiding his obsession with me now.
His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Yes.”
“Why?”
“You needed to know,” he answered, finally letting go of my wrist. He took a step back, glanced over his shoulder toward a group of people passing by on the sidewalk at the end of the alley, and stuck his hands in his pockets. And, returning his gaze to me, he said, “I couldn’t let you marry a man like that.”
