Page 59 of Between Dusk and Dawn

"No!" I didn’t want anything to happen to Enzo. He was trying to protect me, and I didn’t want him to tell Walsh about my panic attack. "I snuck out."

I lied easily to Walsh, especially when wanting to protect myself.

"I am going to kill you," he added.

This time I chuckled. Walsh was the big bad wolf to everyone else, and yes, he wanted to hurt me in other ways, but I knew he’d never actually lay a hand on me.

"Okay, Walsh-y, I’d love to see that happen."

"Cute nickname," he retorted. "You’re being a brat."

I smiled. "I know."

"Come here, brat." His eyes, now hooded with a deep desire, beckoned me to step toward him. It took all my will to stay planted where I was.

"No." I tried to stop the tremble in my voice, but I knew he heard it the moment a smirk spread across his face.

"You were such a bad girl." He stalked slowly toward me. "You walked out here in your underwear in front of my father, parading around, distracting me."

I stepped backward. "If you were distracted, that’s no one’s fault but your own."

"Ah." Hetsked. "That's where you are wrong. Your fine ass jiggled with every step as you walked out of that hot tub. Yourred hair cascaded down your shoulders as you shook it side to side, letting the water drip."

"Mm-hm?" Barely listening to the words he spoke, I focused on his pursuit toward me.

"You played the doting wife role well, though. I am so proud of what a good learner you are."

Oh shit.If I wasn’t already drenched from being in his presence, I was soaked now. Maybe it was because I was innately a people pleaser, but that praise did something to me. It felt like a warm blanket, healing me in some strange capacity.

"I-I…" Nothing. No words were forming in my head, my thoughts stuck on imagining his cock stretching me. "I hate you."

I finally said something, but I knew the moment the words flew out, they were so far from the actual truth.

As I took one solid step back, I realized I’d somehow backed myself in a corner next to the fireplace, the warmth from the hearth heating my cold legs.

"I know." His eyes were ravenous with an indescribable hunger. I braced the wall behind me, dropping the blanket. The cool plaster was a dichotomy from the heat emanating from the fireplace. "Show me how much you hate me."

He grabbed the back of my head, tugging on my hair and tilting my head to the side. "Let me taste you."

His demand was fierce as his lips roamed down my neck, trailing kisses along my collarbone.

"So perfect," he whispered. A moan escaped my lips, and for a moment, Walsh paused, stepping back to admire me.

His eyes grazed my entire body. "I’m taking in every detail of your curves and committing it to memory."

In the past, I'd felt self-conscious about my muscular physique. But as time distanced me from the desire to conform, I embraced and flaunted my athletic build.

"You are stunning." A smirk played on his lips as he caged me in again, his body pressing against mine, pinning me to the wall. His tongue traced over every inch of exposed skin.

This was the man I resented. He was supposed to be my protector, yet he pushed me away, unable to confront the consequences of his actions. My body seemed to betray me, not understanding the danger. As he advanced, I shrank back, desperately trying to meld into the wall to escape his encroaching presence.

"Spread your legs," he demanded. I obliged, gripping onto the wall and rolling my head to the side. The noises that escaped my lips were so crude, unable to swallow them down.

"You hate me so much, yet you are making such a wet mess."

I groaned.

Then Walsh Solis did something I never thought I’d ever see him do again. He dropped to his knees, grabbed onto both of my thighs, and looked up to me. His dark-brown eyes locked with mine, and in that moment, we saw each other in both of our raw vulnerability. He bared himself to me, his eyes seeking answers.

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