Page 118 of Unmasked

“Is your jealousy worth it? One day you’re going to look back at this moment and realize you made the biggest mistake of your life.” Wetness filled her eyes, but the tears didn’t spill over. “You had me. I would have done anything for you. And now you’ve ruined it. You’ve ruined us. All because of mistrust and hate. You don’t even see it.”

“I saw, alright.”

Her lids narrowed. “Keep feeding yourself that excuse. You saw what you wanted to see. I got answers. I got insight.” She pushed me over, sitting up on the edge of the bed. “And while you’re drowning in all that misery, looking for your next way to best King Lawrence, I’ll be in his underground room getting the evidence we need to clear your family’s name.”

Fear exploded with the anger. I reached for her, only to have my hand slapped with a force that stung my skin.

“Goodnight, Vaughn.”

She wasn’t finished standing before I was pulling her back up.

“I said there was no escape for you. Not from this life. Not from this bed. And most certainly not from me.”

Silk tore as I jerked against the material of her neckline. I had Penelope under me before she could so much as put up a fight. And I was pulling at her clothes, tearing them in the process.

Maybe she was right and I was going to regret this moment for my entire life. Or maybe… she’d come to see that I’d never lied about who I was or the life she was now reborn into.

Love used to rule me when our love was pure. All I felt now were the tainted parts. The stolen and charred remains that kept being ignited with every mention of the man I despised. I didn’t know myself anymore. I wasn’t sure I wanted to.

CHAPTER 38

Penelope

“How long?”

Fabric tore even more on my blouse, and I let it as I kept my internal patience, angling myself in a position where I held the power.

“Answer, dammit. How long, Penelope?”

“How long has it been since I’ve watched the man I love turn into a stranger? About twenty minutes.”

Vaughn jerked up, pulling my shirt over my head. It allowed me to brace my foot on his hip, but the placement didn’t last as he ripped off my flat, throwing it to the floor.

“You know what I meant. How long have you felt something for King Lawrence?”

I didn’t answer. I pushed back against Vaughn’s hip, throwing him off balance as he tried to go for my other shoe.

“You told him at dinner that you pretty much sabotaged a future for the two of you. You said that with regret, Penelope.”

“We are on a mission, and he is the enemy. I said what I had to.”

Vaughn’s eyes cut over to mine and he knocked my other shoe off with a slap of his hand. The moment he dove for the button on my slacks, I grabbed his wrist, throwing my weight to the side and spinning him to his back. My knees clamped into his waist hard, and I showed him no mercy as I reared back and connected with his cheek. Hazel eyes flared, and he let out a deep rumble as he slammed me to my back, pushing against me hard.

Lips met mine with force, and I tasted blood from Vaughn’s busted lip. I shouldn’t have kissed him back, but despite the anger I felt from his betrayal, I found myself desperate for more of this dark, violent love. It had me biting into his bottom lip as he jerked at my trousers.

“I’m leaving you when we finish.” I reached for his hair, fisting and using all my strength to pull his head back. “I’m leaving Vaughn, and you’re going to let me.”

“Never.”

“You will because you won’t have a choice.”

He pulled back, grabbing the top of my panties and trousers and jerking them off.

“I always have lots of choices, love, and you better believe none of them involve you leaving me.”

Vaughn rocked forward, placing one hand to the side of my face as he rubbed his fingers over the outside of my pussy.

My lids closed, and I battled whether giving in was going to hurt me worse in the long run. Despite my mind screaming to resist, my body was not listening. It was moving. My hips were beginning to rotate. And it was feeding Vaughn’s monster. I knew that, but as he slid his fingers into me, I didn’t care.