Page 46 of My Wife

I open my mouth, but something—his expression, myguilt—has me closing it. My teethclick, and I shrug as he… he…

Rages is the only word I can think of it describe it. Clay roughly shoves his erection inside of his pants, doing up the zipper even though he leaves the button undone. He paces. Stomps. Glares.

And then he points the bloody knife at me.

“You and Tommy… he got to touch you. Taste you.Fuckyou… and only when he was too busy fucking Summer Kaye did I even get hisscraps.”

Talk about whiplash. I just killed a man, and I’m completely able to disregard that because Clay just said?—

“No.No. Tommy isn’t cheating on me. FuckingSummer?” I remember those besotted looks, the way he insisted we be friends, how he’s been so secretive lately… coming home late… There never was going to be a proposal was there? No… “They had a fling when they were kids. That’s all?—”

“I saw them. Plenty of times. Hell, they were in a motel together last week.”

“No...”

He hears it in my voice. The rejection. The pain.

I don’t even give a shit that my bra is ruined and that I’ standing here topless. I shrug it off, then hug myself.

And Clay’s whole mood changes.

“Don’t be upset, baby. I didn’t tell you to be upset. Tommy didn’t pick Summer over you. You know that. He wouldn’t do that. But she made him. Just like I made you. Does that make it better?”

This whole night’s already been so absurd, why shouldn’t I laugh at that? It’s a hollow laugh, yes, but that’s all I can muster at the moment. “What happened? Their clothes fell off, he tripped, and landed dick first into that stupid bitch? Is that what you want me to believe?”

Clay tugs the front strands of his hair until they stand up on end. “Fuck. I messed up. He was doing it to protect you. If you knew, you wouldn’t understand. You gotta believe me.”

I can’t. Not when he’s spent five years lying to me.

Five? Who am I kidding? It’s probably beenten.

“Let’s make a deal. How ‘bout that, Cyn? Until the night’s over, I won’t hold you cheating on me against you. You don’t hold it against Tommy.”

“Why do you care?” I snap. I throw open my arms, tits bouncing, and it’s a marvel that he’s not distracted enough toignore what I say next. “You’re just going to kill him anyway! And me, too, I bet. Jesus Christ, Clay, why didn’t you bleed me out before you faked your own death, huh? I don’t even know why you did it. Honestly? I couldn’t care less,” I lie. “But death would’ve been preferable to living without you. You know that? So why not kill me now?”

Thunder flashes across his expression. “Never.”

Look at that. Called his bluff. I think I always knew, from the moment he removed the mask, that of every single one of us on the island, I was the only one who was safe.

From being slaughtered, that is. From everything else that Clay has in mind for me?

Not a chance.

I’m already half naked. With a barely stifled roar, he yanks his cock back out. He’s still hard, still wanting, and as he disappears his hand behind him, pulling out a fist full ofsomething, I know that I haven’t distracted him from getting what he wants at all.

“You’re my wife, Cyn. You’ve always been mine. You hear me?Mine.”

I shake my head royally. “If you felt that way, you shouldn’t have left.”

He advances on me, so threatening that, if it was anyonebutClay, I’d be shitting myself out of terror. But it’s Clay and, fucking hell, all I can think about is the salty taste he left on my lips, the come smeared on my neck, and how powerful I felt at that moment, slicing Clay right after he came.

He’s no worse for the wear now. I know I got him, though except for the slice in his sweatshirt, you’d never know.

“Understand this. Wherever you’ve gone, I’ve followed. You wereneveralone. I was never far. But I did what I set out to do. I made it the five fucking years that cost me everything. My life.My sanity. Mywife. But after tonight, I’ll have that all back. And it starts withyou.”

If only I could believe that. His words are the ramblings of an obsessed stalker, a man so fixated on spending the rest of his life with me, he killed my high school tormentors—but then he’s also giving me the chance to forgive me cheating boyfriend.

Because they have a past, too?

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