Page 45 of His Princess

Quin flinched, shuffling in closer to me. “Mom, it wasn’t?—”

“You’re nothing but a dirty little slut, aren’t you?” she snapped, stalking toward Quin.

I shoved between them and moved with a protective instinct, my hand grabbing her throat as I shoved her backward against the closest wall. A garbled scream left her mouth as I lifted her so that she was forced to dance on tiptoe, fingers digging into her vulnerable windpipe.

“Let me go,” she whimpered through gasps.

“Don’t you ever threaten him again, Bethany, or so help me I will end your life and bury you with the rest of the bodies,” I growled out in a low, dangerous tone.

Her eyes widened and she let out a howl, kicking her legs aimlessly.

“You know what I can and will do to you if you piss me off.” I leaned in closer, lowering my voice. “So, this is what you’re going to do. I will let you back on your feet and you’ll apologize to my wife, and then you will sign the divorce papers so I can marry Quin. You will disappear with your mouth firmly shut, and I never want to see you ever again. I don’t care if you want money, you signed a prenup, so you will not push for anything in this separation. Am I clear?”

She nodded, and I released her throat, letting her collapse to the floor. A sob escaped her and she trembled, fat blobs of tears falling down her face as she looked up at me. “I loved you.”

“No, you didn’t. You fucked my brother and left, looking for someone better. You couldn’t find anyone, and that’s why you’re back, isn’t it?” I grunted out a laugh and took a step back as Quin shuffled forward to my side. “You will sign those papers and leave, or I will make you disappear.”

Quin grasped my hand, linking our fingers, and I froze, turning to look at him.

He shook his head, his stare still on his mother. “Matt, I want to talk to Mom. Alone.”

“No,” I said immediately, my entire body tensing. “I won’t allow it.”

His attention slid to me and he widened his eyes, staring at me. “Please? I need to have a discussion with her. A real discussion without a lot of drama.”

“No.” This time I had less force in my tone. I turned toward him and raised his hand to my mouth, placing a kiss on the back. “Baby girl, she doesn’t deserve any time with you. She deserves nothing, and I won’t let her hurt you.”

He gave me a tender smile and cupped my cheek, caressing it with his thumb. “I know you won’t, Husband, but I need this. Nothing she’ll say will affect us, I promise.”

I sent Bethany a glare, then softened my gaze when I returned it to Quin. I gave him a gentle kiss and nodded. “Fine. I’ll be right outside the door if you need me. If she says anything shitty to you, I will kill her.”

Bethany stiffened and took a stumbling step back, but I ignored her as I gave Quin another kiss and left the room.

16

QUIN

“I CAN’T BELIEVE he did that,” I said to Mom with a small chuckle while lacing my fingers together in front of myself, but Matt was the same man he’d always been—only sweeter to me—so I really, really could see him getting violent.

I just wish he hadn’t.

I’d been fine in my outfit earlier, but all at once, with Mom’s eyes scraping over me, my chest felt exposed and my legs were naked. Cum dribbled out of my asshole in a quickly cooling line, and I bit my lip. Christ, I wasn’t the type of person to feel embarrassed, but even for me, this was a bit much.

Nervous energy powered through me and I smoothed down my skirt.

Mom ran her fingertips delicately over her neck, and then the slightly scared expression on her face melted away, as if it had never been there in the first place. One thing she’d always been good at was rolling with the punches, and as she fluffed out her platinum blond hair, I could almost see her deciding that none of the last fifteen minutes mattered. I glanced nervously toward the doorway, but I couldn’t spot Matt, not even his shoulder. I’d imagined he went out to lean against the wall, but had he gone upstairs to shower instead? My muscles tensed and I forced out a long breath.

“Where have you been, Mom?” I asked quietly. I glanced toward the doorway again. I wasn’t sure why, but I was even more embarrassed about the fact that I didn’t know what had happened with her, and I guess that was because I’d always kept track of her. It had been my job to keep her out of trouble as much as I could, and now.... Who the hell knew what she was doing?

She sniffed and tugged her purse around to dig through it. I sighed but knew I would have to wait. She pulled out a compact and checked herself in the mirror, then snapped it closed and glared at me. She tucked the compact back in her bag.

“Your makeup is smeared, sweetie,” she said loudly in a syrupy voice, which was the same one she used on strangers.

My heart dropped and hurt stabbed at me. I touched my fingers to my lips.

Mom let out a tiny growl and cradled her face in her hands as she glared at the doorway, obviously not wanting Matt to hear her lay into me. She grabbed my hand and dragged me to the couch farthest away, then shoved me down before she sat at my side and leaned closer. She glared at my clothing, and more pain ripped through me. Did she hate it? Did she hate me? When she grabbed my hands in both of hers, some of my anxiety faded.

She flashed me a sad smile. Despite everything, her red lipstick was perfect and stark against her pale skin. “I’m sorry,” she said, as quietly as she could while still being heard. “I thought you would be fine here for a few months, since you were so insistent on going to that school. Clearly, I was wrong. He made you do this?” She looked me over again, moving my hands so she could get a really good eyeful of my outfit. I bit my lip because I was pretty sure cum was going to be smeared all over the inside of the leather skirt where I was sitting.

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