Pure hatred darted out his green gaze as he scanned the length of her body, paused briefly at the ‘v’ between her thighs before it jumped to her face with a perverted smirk. One that spoke volumes of his intention, if he got his way. Over the period she’d remained married to the man, she’d learned to read his expressions. It helped mentally prepare her for whatever repulsive plan his mind settled on for the day.
“You look good. Pretty as a pea.” He stopped inches from her and inhaled deeply. “Still smell as delicious as I remember.”
Aria’s brain demanded she ran yet paralyzed; her feet remained rooted to the spot. She couldn’t summon the courage to move. A wave of nausea threatened her stance. “W-what are you doing here?” she finally managed as clarity forged past the tentacles of panic blanketing her ability to think.
“Why? I belong here. With you.” He made no move to touch her, but his words held a definite warning not to mess with him.
Then he reached up and slid a stray strand from her face. She flinched. “You need...to go, Jay. M-my boy...husband will be home soon.” Dismay tightened her insides as the break in her voice bared her fear.
His eyes darkened and depicted the vivid color of storm clouds. “I’m your husband, bitch. A mere piece of paper, legal or not, will never end this marriage.” His snarl resembled an enraged wolf. Aria fought the urge to step back. “You. Belong to me.” He ran a hand down her arm. The touch invoked a shiver. “What? Don’t like my touch anymore?” He sneered.
She tensed. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him to get lost but reined in her anger. “Yes.”
Jay’s neck jerked in apparent surprise, then he laughed. A harsh grating sound and Aria made a show of swiping at the flecks of spit on her face. “If you’re referring to your cowboy, don’t bother. He’s not around.”
Her eyes flared in shock. Jay smiled. For a minute, the bared teeth reminded her of a lion ready to pounce on unwary prey. She vowed he’d never call her gullible, ever again.
“What you don’t know doesn’t hurt you. I’m sure you’ve heard the maxim, sweetheart?” At her confused look, he continued, “I know everything that’s been going on in your life, for a while now. He grabbed her arms, and Aria cringed.
“Let go of me, Jay.” She forced sturdiness into her words.
With an impatient growl, he gripped her hair tight and tugged her head back. She had no choice but to look up at him as pain filtered through her skull.
“Having sex with a man doesn’t make him your husband. I know all about your filthy sex life. You’re nothing but a cheap whore.”
“W-what do you mean?” Fear seized her heart in a tight squeeze.
“Sex on the dining room table. Hmm, kinky but nothing compared to what I have in store for you. On second thoughts, maybe I could interest you and your cowboy in a threesome. I’m sure you both will love it.”
How did he know?Mortified, Aria thrust a hand up and shoved hard at his chest.
He let her go with a sordid laugh. “Still feisty, I see. Just the way I like it.”
“Reece is every bit a gentleman you’ll never be. He knows what a sick bastard you are, and he’ll never consort with you.”
Jay’s grin morphed into a sneer. His gaze raked her form once more before he looked up. “You never bothered to find out what the gunshot had done to me?”
To her chagrin, he unzipped his jeans and let it drop to his ankles. “What are you doing?” She averted her gaze.
“Look at it, Aria.” When she refused, he cupped her chin and forced her head down. “Take a look, bitch.”
Unable to turn away, she dropped her gaze. He’d lost a ball sac. A grizzly scar ran the length of his cock from the head to the hilt, leaving in its place a grotesque misshapen penis. As though some inefficient doctor had pieced it together, the half limp cock portrayed a Frankenstein work in progress. Aria stifled the urge to laugh, knowing it would only anger him further.
“I guess paybacks a bitch.” She tugged her chin out of his hand and glared at him.
His eyes narrowed, and his lips thinned angrily. She recognized what was coming, stepped back, and ducked as his hand swung upward in an attempt to slap her. He missed. The barrier created by his jeans around his ankles prevented him from following. Quickly, he pulled it up.
Aria glanced around nervously as she searched for an escape. He blocked her path to the front door, and the locked kitchen door hindered her attempt. She wouldn’t have enough time to get out.
As though he sensed her thoughts, he uttered another caustic laugh. “Don’t bother running, sweetheart. I’ll make this simple. Come with me quietly, and I won’t harm Prisha,” his cruel words nipped her thoughts of flight in the bud.
Aria gasped. “Where’s Prisha?”
“She’s with your cowboy for now, but one phone call and you’ll never see your precious daughter again.”
“If you do anything to harm my daughter, you’ll live to regret it,” she warned.
“My daughter, you mean. Does she know you’re not her mother? That you’re no blood relative?”
