But of course,thatwould never happen. Once Jackson had decided he’d had enough of playing his twisted games, he’d leave me alone, and I’d go back to being the bored housewife of a man I couldn’t bear touching me.
When the car pulling onto the driveway alerted me to Alec’s arrival home, my heart sank. I sucked in a deep, calming breath before plastering my well-practised fake smile on my lips and heading to the door to greet him.
“Hey, you’re home,”I said, trying not to cringe when he pulled me into his arms and kissed me.
“Did you miss me, babe?”
“I always do.”Lies, lies, lies.“Want me to make you a snack? I bet you’ve had a long journey home.”
He followed me into the kitchen, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on edge at feeling his eyes burning into my ass. When we reached the kitchen, and I grabbed the bread to make him a sandwich, he pressed up against me, his cock pushing against me as he nuzzled his nose into the crook of my neck.
It took every ounce of effort not to give in to the urge to shove him away.
“Where’s the brat?”Alec asked, spinning me to face him.
I scowled.“Please don’t call my daughter a brat, you know I hatethat.”
A flash of anger lit up his eyes. He hated me challenging him.“Chill, babe. I was only asking where she is; she’s normally glued to your side.”
“She’s at a friend’s for another few hours.”
A salacious grin twisted onto his lips, and a knot tightened in my stomach as his hands moved to grip my hips.“A few hours, huh? We can get up to a lot in a few hours.”
He lowered his face to kiss my neck, and I squeezed my eyes shut as nausea roiled in my stomach.Evenif it wasn’t for Jackson’s threat ringing in my ears of what would happen if I had sex with Alec, I didn’t want to sleep with him.
Subtly trying to nudge his hands off my hips, I shifted, making him lift his head to look at me.“Alec, I’ve got a lot to do before Billie goes back to school next week, and I’m notreallyin the mood.”
“That’s okay, babe. I’ll get you in the mood.”He pressed his hips forward, his hard cock hitting my lower stomach.“Come on, Kiera, I haven’t seen you for a few days.”
He kissed my neck again, and bile crept up my throat, burning like acid.“Alec, please. I don’t want to.”
His grip tightened on my hips, his gentle kisses turning rough as he scraped his teeth against my neck. I couldn’t bear it, I didn’t want him touching me, and before I could think better of it, I shoved him away.
He stumbled back, a snarl contorting on his lips as his brows lifted in surprise at my rebuttal. I’d never stopped him before; usually, Ijustgave in to his advances because it was easier than what came next.
Alec didn’t disappoint. He raised his hand, bringing his palm down to slap me hard across the face. My head whipped to the side, my cheek stinging. He grabbed my arms, his fingertips digging into my skin hard enough to leave bruises.
“Are you fucking someone else? Isthatwhy you don’t want to fuck me?”he snarled, spittle flying from his mouth.
Tears pricked my eyes.“No, I’m not.”More lies.“Please, Alec, I don’t want to right now.”
He shook me, slamming my back painfully against the counter.“You never fucking want to, Kiera. But you need to fucking learn. You’re my fiancée, one day you’ll be my wife, andthatmeans I get to fuck you whenever I damn well please!”
Releasing me, he began unbuttoning his pants, and fear turned my blood to ice. Frozen in horror, the ringing of his phone barely reached my ears. Muttering a curse, he rebuttoned his pants before stomping away. A few seconds later, his voice echoed in the hallway from where he was speaking on the phone in his office.
My knees collapsed, and I slowly sank to the floor, my cheek burning from his strike. Tears spilled over, sliding down my face as I buried my head in my hands and let a sob out.
I didn’t know how much longer I could live like this.
Chapter 15
Jackson
Rarely would I admitthatJames was right, but in the case of Alec Walker, I had to acceptthatmy best friend was spot on the money. Alec was a prick.
At least,thatwas the opinion I’d formed as he paraded and preened around the golf course, acting like he was the dog’s bollocks.
For the last two days, I hadn’t been able to get Kiera out of my mind. The moment when she came all over my face played like a broken record in my head. The more I thought of her, the more my curiosity about the man she was engaged to grew.
