Page 165 of Bitter Secrets

“You’re mine. Divorcing me doesn’t change that. Neither does leaving me or marrying someone else.”

He bit her shoulder hard enough to make her thrash.

“If you ever married…” he said harshly, but didn’t finish as he pinned her thigh wide and withdrew before he thrust home again with such savagery that she screamed. “Just be glad you didn’t.”

“Roth, please. I can’t…”

His hand went to her clit and rubbed. “Come for me again.”

“No! I’m done. Let me—" She reared up as lightning struck. “Roth,stop!”

But he didn’t stop. She shook her head wildly and felt her hair dragging in the water as he forced her into another orgasm. Her heel skidded over the back of his thigh before she planted her foot on stone and thrust up. He spurred her on until he finally surrendered, flooding her with more come.

She stared up at the shadowy ceiling and listened to the sound of their tortured, ragged breathing. She felt like she had been shipwrecked—drenched, cold, battered, and drowning in less than an inch of water. As the hot rush began to fade, a painful chill took its place. When she began to shiver, Roth reacted immediately. He picked her up and hustled her under the shower. He stripped off her sodden sweater and steadied her with an arm around her waist when her legs gave out. She gasped in protest when he turned the water temperature to scalding. He held her in place, hands moving over her skin to help her circulation.

“It’s not too hot. It’s just the shock. It’ll pass,” he said.

She shook her head. It had been nearly two months since she ran from him in that Colorado hospital, and she still hadn’t gotten over the shock of having him back in her life. Would she ever find her feet in this relationship, or would she always feel as if he were holding her over the edge of a cliff?

Even after several minutes under the hot water, she couldn’t stop shaking. Her body was heating up, but inside, she was in the middle of an arctic storm. When her teeth began to chatter, he carried her out of the shower. He wrapped her in a black robe, sat her in front of the vanity, and awkwardly tried to dry her hair. It was obvious he had never touched a blow-dryer in his life. She let out a choked laugh, which turned into a hiccupping sob. She wasn’t sure whether it was a reaction to their raw union, emotional overload, or despair that pushed her to the breaking point.

Roth tossed the blow-dryer on the vanity and cupped her cheek. “Did I hurt you?”

How could she tell him that he devastated her so badly that she would never be the same? Tears slid down her cheeks before she slumped against him and burst into tears. So much for her being a great actress. Apparently, she could only act for so long before she had a break in character.

Roth muttered something before he picked her up. She didn’t care where he was taking her or what else he planned for her. She was so done.

He placed her in bed. She reached for a pillow to smother the pathetic sounds she was making, but wasn’t prepared for him to slip in beside her and gather her against him. She pushed against him as she babbled through the tears, but he ignored her bid for space and forced her face against his throat. The sobbing got louder.

She wasn’t sure if fifteen minutes passed or an hour, but slowly, the trembling passed and the tears dried up. She was drained and so empty, she felt nothing. She floated on dark waters and tried to block out the man wrapped around her. She was physically and emotionally bound to a man she didn’t trust, and who, she suspected, didn’t have the emotional capacity to comprehend what he was doing to her. She was in the throes of a despair so deep, she wasn’t sure she would ever come out of it. He was right. He matched her in a way no other man could. What did that say about her that she had this connection with a ruthless, cunning man like him?

He tied her to him with bonds of the flesh, knowing she was too inexperienced to hold back and protect herself. How different would her life be if she hadn’t known this euphoric rapture existed? If she’d never drank even one sip? She couldn’t yearn for something she didn’t know. She would have been a good, obedient wife and made her dad proud as a Baldwin. Instead, she was this… She let out a low moan of self-loathing, causing his arms to tighten around her.

“I’m going to make it up to you,” he murmured.

His lips brushed her temple when she shook her head.

“I took you, knowing I couldn’t give you normal. I thought I could make up for that by being the best.” His hand glided down her quivering back. “I wanted to show Maximus, show you, that I could be at your level. I had one last acquisition before I collected you from Philadelphia to show you what I accomplished.”

When she tried to get away, he tipped her onto her back and settled his weight on top of her. She was forced to breathe in his musk and felt his vocal cords ripple against her lips as he spoke.

“The night you arrived, I learned your dad not only stole the acquisition, he undermined three other deals. Every time I came close to reaching my goals, he set me back. I realized it would always be an uphill battle and he would never allow me to get where I wanted to be. Then I find you where you shouldn’t be. I’d planned to pick you up in my jet and unveil the penthouse and other properties, but it was all wrong. I let my emotions get the better of me that night. I couldn’t snuff out that rage, even for you.”

When she didn’t speak, he lifted his head.

“Look at me.”

When she didn’t obey, his hand bunched in her hair and tugged until raw, swollen eyelids lifted. Even though she felt nothing, her eyes watered when she looked at him. He searched her eyes. What he was looking for, she had no clue. She had nothing left to give him.

“Do you believe me?”

She didn’t bother to mince words. “No.”

His thumb brushed over her sticky cheek. “I’ll show you.”

“You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep,” she rasped as her eyelids drooped. “Tomorrow, you’ll be back to yourself. Fortified, distant, the perfect tycoon. You’ll remember you don’t need anyone, you hold all the cards, and you don’t bow to anyone.”

“You sound certain.”

“Experience.” Her lips quirked into a humorless smile. “Maybe I’m finally learning.”

She heard the rumble of his voice and was distantly aware of his calloused caress, but she was in too much pain to take comfort in either. What he said didn’t matter. Tonight, he felt a tad remorseful, but tomorrow, he would revert back to the self-confident man who felt justified in his actions. He would go about his day, making deals, and having Mo and Johan shuffle her from place to place, only remembering her when he wanted sex.

Tonight, he proved just how far he would go to manipulate her. He said things she longed to hear, things that would make most women forgive a man’s worst transgressions… but not her. Tonight, he weaseled his way past her guards and burned her defenses to the ground. Tomorrow, she would rebuild. And the day after that. Every day that she was with him, she would do whatever it took to protect herself. This time, she wouldn’t let him break her into little pieces. Eventually, he would tire of this game, their time would run out, and she would be free.

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