I frowned.
Hard.
She always got off when we fucked. I made sure of it. Sometimes multiple times.
But had I grossly misjudged the physical aspects of our relationship? Was I somehow not leaving my wife satisfied?
The mere thought that I was a selfish prick in that way made me want to fucking rage.
I was going to find out exactly what I was doing wrong the second we went to bed that night. And I was going to make sure I never did it again.
My Lupina never had a thing to fear from me. I would always take care of her.
Now I just had to prove it.
Turning my attention back to my wife who was still talking, I ran my hand back over my face and tuned back in to her words.
“This is so embarrassing,” she said.
I guided her to one of the kitchen stools and held it out as she climbed into the seat, taking the one beside her.
“No secrets. No lies, remember? Talk to me.”
I would keep repeating it until she believed me.
“Okay, maybe if I explain from the beginning. See, when I was a kid, I was always on the outside. My father loved me, but he was a busy man. An important man. I was raised by nannies,” she started.
“Where was your mother?” I asked.
Yeah, I’d read the background report on Ellie Maxwell that I’d received from Josef’s team back when Ellie first met his wife, Meredith. The man was overprotective to a fault, but I couldn’t blame him.
Read the report? Ha.
I had the fucking thing memorized.
“My mother died when I was too young to remember, and Dad never remarried. When Gary walked into my life, I was just the right amount of lonely and desperate for attention, I ate it up.”
“Don’t talk about yourself like that, Ellie. You’re not responsible for his behavior,” I started, but she shook her head.
“I know that. But I am responsible for mine. And I. Ate. It. Up,” she said, and I could see the self-loathing on her face.
It made my blood boil. To think she blamed herself at all for that vile prick’s behavior.
That was just another strike against the asshole. Just another thing he stole from my wife along with her inner peace.
And I was going to take it back from him. I was going to reclaim my Lupina’s pride, her peace, her dignity from him. And I was going to do it in flesh and blood.
“At first, I thought Gary was gentle and sweet. He was complimentary, and never demanding. I married him the second he asked, so damn hungry to feel a connection with just one person,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion.
“It didn’t matter that he wasn’t overly romantic with me. I mean, I didn’t know any better. And when he made excuses and stayed away most nights after we were married, I was more than okay with it. I assumed he was busy,” she confessed, and I could tell by the set of her shoulders how humiliated she felt.
Anger on her behalf rose inside of me like the tide, but I swallowed it down. Gary was a piece of shit.
He’d tricked her. Used her. Made her feel unworthy of love and affection. And that was before the motherfucker laid hands on her.
Oh, I was counting down the fucking days until I could make him pay. All debts required payment, and his bill was just about fucking due.
“He wanted a child, and I wanted to be a mother. We needed some help, but after seeing a doctor, I got pregnant right away. That was good for both of us, really. Gary moved into a separate room because he said my tossing and turning kept him up at night. I didn’t argue. It was better for me, too,” she whispered, and I hated myself for asking, but I had to know.