Page 77 of Hunt for You

“No.”

I blinked and eased my head back. “You said you didn’t lie.”Something else that Cain had emphasized.

Ronald’s eyes went flinty again. “I don’t. Your mob friend came for you. I was watching from the bar to see if you could handle yourself when your boyfriend showed up.”

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

“You might want to tellhimthat.”

I huffed and a little of the tension left me, but Ronald’s face got tighter.

“Ask me, Bridget. Or if you prefer,tellme. Tell me what you need. If it’s not me, I’ll tell you.”

The strange, high laugh that came out of me then sounded almost insane in that empty, echoing room.

He was still leaned over me, both thick, man-hands clasped on those arms, and his arms locked as surely as his eyes. If I tried to run, he’d have me. That woman he’d taken was inches taller than me, and strong. Ronald wasn’t a weak man. But that wasn’t what scared me.

That was when I realized thissleekversion of him was different. He’d taken out most of his piercings. He’d flattened his hair down. He was dressed not for attention, but to emphasize his body.

When I’d seen him at the bar, he’d seemed ridiculous. Now he seemed much more deadly—but less himself.

And just like that, I was done.

“I don’t trust you,” I said bluntly.

His brows pinched over his nose. “I’ve never spoken a false word to you.”

I shrugged. “Maybe not, but… I don’t trust you. There’s something in you that sets off all my alarms and I trust my instincts. I grew up with a monster. I learned how they hide. And you, sir, are hidingsomething.”

He didn’t like that at all. His jaw jutted out and he pushed off the arms of my chair, turning away and stalking towards the door, grabbing that cloth again and rubbing the sweat off the back of his own neck.

“You never came,” I said, like it made sense.

He shrugged, but broke eye-contact. “I have three or four shows a night. I need to keep my…energyup.”

I shook my head. “That’s not why.”

“Oh really?” he snarled. “What childish, jacked upinsightdo you have to offer, Bridget? I’m all ears.”

“It’s a loss of control,” I said, more confident with every word.

He rolled his eyes. “I’m a Dom. Control is what we do.”

“Nah. You’re… you’re not a Dom. AtrueDom is playing out their own fantasies, not someone else’s.”

“You don’t get to define words for me. Especially if you aren’t willing to play the game.”

“See,” I said, pushing him and swearing at myself because I really needed to just leave. “You call it a game. It’s not a fucking game for some of us.”

He frowned. “You’re a switch?”

“No, that’s not what I meant—I meant… You say you’re telling the truth here, but the reality is, other people are telling you their truth, and you’re using it.”

“I’mhelping them with it,actually.”

“That’s such bullshit. If you believe that, you’re stupider than I thought.” He opened his mouth but I kept going. “Pennydidn’t heal from her brother’s rape just because you brought her to orgasm.”

He sneered “I’ll be sure to ask her when she comes back and asks me to take her again.”

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