Page 31 of Dangerous Contract: Part 1

What the hell just happened? She’d gone from burning hot to freezing cold in less than five seconds. Growing frustrated, he licked his lips. The taste of her was still on his tongue. His tongue and what they’d just shared wasn’t the problem.

The problem was the man he’d yet to kill. The problem was that she wasn’t over her ex. And though she’d hoped to get out and have a wild night, she was now regretting it. She was regrettinghim.

Because of that regret, she was now trying to run from him, to hide from him, to shut him out. Raz glared at the bathroom door. She could get mad. She could get angry. She could throw shit and break shit.

What she couldn’t do was shut him out. That was something he couldn’t allow. Not tonight. Not tomorrow.

Not ever!

Chapter Six

MONIQUE

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What the hell am I doing?

With her ripped dress pressed against her chest, Monique rushed to the bathroom and closed the door. After locking it, she placed her ear against it, listening to make sure he hadn’t followed her.

She didn’t hear any footsteps. Once she was sure it was safe, she pressed her back to the door. Legs weak, she slowly sank to the floor of the dark room as her eyes filled with tears.What the hell am I doing?

Butt ass naked, seated on the floor of a stranger’s bathroom, crying – look at how far she’d fallen. The tears fell faster. She covered her mouth to keep her sobs from being heard by the man in the other room.The stranger.

The stranger whose face she’d just sat her big ass on.Ugh!Monique covered her face with her dress to muffle her sounds of frustration. She didn’t even know this man, yet he’d familiarized himself with every inch of her body.

She couldn’t blame her behavior on the alcohol. Her head was clear. She’d known exactly what she was doing. Perhaps it was temporary insanity. Or maybe she was having a minibreakdown. No matter what it was, it was no excuse to sit on some random guy’s face.

A random guy she’d known for less than two hours. Who the hell does that? Was she that desperate? Monique closed her eyes. She wished she could open them and realize all of this had been one bad dream.

Unfortunately, she was wide awake. This was reality. And she needed to face reality. Monique opened her eyes and pushed herself to her feet. After flipping the light switch on, she strode over to the sink and stared into the mirror above it.

She could only see herself from the waist up. But that was enough to know she looked a hot damn mess. Monique pushed her hair behind her ear. That didn’t help at all. After wiping her eyes, she turned the faucet on and splashed water on her face.

As she dried her face with a white towel, she prayed the tears would cease falling. But when she lowered the towel to resume staring in the mirror, more tears crept down her cheeks. She lowered her gaze to the sink, not even wanting to look at herself.

‘What the hell am I doing?’she thought for the third time. Or was it the fourth? Either way, the answer was the same. She had no idea what she was doing. Maybe she was trying to find herself. Maybe she was just trying to enjoy life.

Or perhaps she was trying to show her friends that she was alright and they didn’t have to worry about her. Maybe she was trying to prove to herself that she wasn’t all those things her ex had called her before he’d left her. Her thoughts drifted back to the things he’d yelled at her.

You’re frigid. Fucking you is like fucking a damn ice box. What man in his right mind would want to fuck an ice box? Especially one as big as you. Be honest with yourself. Do you think you’re someone who could keep a man happy? Go look in the mirror and ask yourself that. Go. Hurry up. I’ll wait.

She stared at herself in the mirror, hoping the woman looking back at her would tell her that her ex-husband was wrong. Monique’s gaze dropped to the counter. Unable to look into the mirror, she watched her tears splash onto the counter space of a stranger’s hotel room.

What the hell am I doing here?

More of her ex’s hateful words drifted through her mind. That was the problem with words. Even after the person who uttered them was gone from your life, the things they said lingered.

Even when you no longer cared for that person, their words could still bring you to tears. They could still make you feel worthless. Sometimes, words could become a prison. And it could take years to break free of their shackles.

Monique was so damn tired of remembering Trevor’s disgusting words. She wished she could force them out of her mind. She wished she could forget everything about him. Why was his shadow still following her? Why couldn’t she be free of him?

Monique covered her face with her dress as another round of sobs escaped her, causing her shoulders to shake. She froze when she heard a loud knock on the door.Damn it!How could she have forgotten about Orazio? Monique used her dress to wipe her tears away. More loud knocks sounded.

“Just a second,” she called out.

She shook her dress out and was about to put it on when the door burst open. She spun around and came face to face with Orazio Cattaneo. She tried to cover up her nakedness with her dress. She didn’t want him to see her naked with the lights on. Before she could cover up, Orazio pulled the dress away and tossed it onto the ground.

“Hey!” she yelled.

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