I needed Ethan King like I needed air. He was my life vest when Bryce kept trying to drown me.
Ethan sighed, trying to control his own breathing. He was quiet for a long beat before he nodded. “Fine. But next time I’m killing him, consequences be dammed.”
This right here was the reason I never should have moved in with Ethan. I’d dragged him into my life and now he was willing to go to jail for me. Some great influence I was. I ruined people’s lives. Like a wrecking ball, I’d come in and thrown Ethan’s world into chaos.
When we got back to his house, he just stood there in his kitchen, staring at the red ring of bruises that were now turning purple around my neck. It hung there like a necklace. A reminder that Bryce would try to own me at all costs.
“I... know you don’t want to talk about your past. But I have to know. Has he done this before?” Ethan’s voice could cut glass; his teeth clenched so tightly I thought they might break.
My gaze fell to his bleeding knuckles. He’d jumped on Bryce like a silverback gorilla and would have pounded the life out of him if I’d let him.
Maybe I should have...
“Not this bad,” was all I could bring myself to say.
Ethan’s chest rose and fell as he seemingly tried to control his breathing. I knew he was probably reliving some of what happened with his own father and I felt awful about that.He was quiet for a long minute.
“I’m tired. I’m gonna take a quick shower and then get some sleep. Would you please stay in my bed tonight? So I can make sure you’re safe?”
My throat tightened, because he knew just what I needed. He wasn’t going to make me go into more detail, and he knew I would be scared to sleep alone. He was so in-tune with me.
I just nodded.
That night I slept in Ethan’s bed, again. It was the only real place I could get decent sleep anymore. Once again, we fell asleep on our own sides of the bed but I woke up in his arms. We were like fucking magnets that gravitated towards each other and I wasn’t sure I could resist him much longer.
I kept thinking about last night, replaying it over and over in my head. I’d been so helpless, I should have head-butted Bryce or kicked him in the balls, but instead I’d just frozen in fear. What would have happened if Ethan hadn’t shown up? I shivered to think about it. I’d never seen Bryce like that. I mean, I’d always thought he was capable of some pretty sinister things but … not that.
“I’ll make us breakfast,” he declared, and stroked a light finger across my arm. It was a simple gesture of affection, but it had heat pooling between my legs. I wanted this man so badly, but fear kept me from acting on what my body kept begging for.
After cleaning up, I walked out to see Ethan scrambling eggs.
“I’d like to take you to the firing range. Teach you to shoot my gun,” he casually blurted out.
Silence.
More silence.
All the silence.
Ethan probably now rightly suspected Bryce was more dangerous than I had initially let on. This was the time to open up and tell him my story. Tell him all of the horrible things that monster did to me over the course of our marriage, which I was now seeing I was manipulated into.
If we go off to college without being married, some other guy will steal you from me.
No they won’t, I’d tried to reassure him.
Don’t you want to prove your love to me? Don’t you love me?
Then he’d taken college from me:
If you’re always in classes, you can’t be home to work on our marriage. Aren’t I important to you?
But the scariest fucking thing he’d ever done was throw out my birth control.
He’d known things were bad between us, that I might leave, and he’d wanted to trap me with a baby.
Fuck that.
I’d gone right to Planned Parenthood and paid cash for the Depo shot.
