Page 176 of Irreversible

I shove at him with both hands. “I can scream.”

“Mmm.” His gaze dips to my swollen lips. “But will you?”

My chest heaves, my heart twisted into knots. I don’t have time to reply before he snaps both hands out, snatches my wrists, and hauls my arms over my head. I arch my back, myeyes fluttering closed. I feel his mouth descend, hot kisses dancing along the side of my throat as my body deflates, my rational thought dissipating with every stroke of his tongue against my pulse point.

I moan when he pulls my earlobe between his teeth, his tongue grazing my ruby earring.

“Did your husband make you moan like that?”

My eyes ping back open.

His lips curve with satisfaction. “Didn’t think so.”

A shot of outrage courses through me, and I find the strength to push him away, rolling out from under him and pulling to unsteady feet. My face is flushed, my costume in disarray. Isaac twists around on the couch, moving into a sitting position as he props an arm up on the backrest.

I shove a finger at the curtain. “Get out.”

“Still have fifty minutes, give or take.”

My knees wobble as I yank down the hem of my skirt and straighten my bralette. “I’ll give you a refund.”

He sighs through his nose. “Thought you wanted to talk.”

“And that’s the first thing you say to me?Really?”

I’m livid.

Volatile.

Cripplingly confused.

Hot pressure burns behind my eyes as I drink in his passive disposition, my eyes landing on a jagged nail mark roping down the side of his neck. This was not the fairy-tale reunion I imagined if I ever saw him again. No grand gestures, no teary-eyed hugs, no orchestra or string quartets.

No flowers.

And I think that’s why I’m so…goddamn…

Mad.

My mother told me that expectation was a thief of joy, and I feel robbed.

I shove my hair back, trembling in front of him. “Why are you doing this? Why are you toying with me?” My words quiver despite my yearning for strength. “Why are you acting so cold?”

He tips his head back, his fingers dancing along the top of the sofa. “Sounds like you painted a picture in your mind of a man who doesn’t exist.”

“No.” I swing my head back and forth. “Don’t gaslight me. Iknowthe real you. You showed him to me, in vivid color. I know you care.”

“Do you?”

“Yes.” My voice dips with vulnerability as I croak out, “You came back for me.”

His gaze blackens with ink as he sits up straighter and looks me dead in the eyes. “And I paid for that, didn’t I?”

I stone my jaw, trying to hide my heartache. “So, is that it, then? Is this your way of punishing me for the choice I made that day?”

“Don’t really care about that.” He shrugs, indifferent. “That lunatic was going to kill us all, anyway. You were in a losing game.”

Liar.

---