Page 36 of Tangled In Lies

I have no control around this woman. She pushes my buttons without even trying, and I hate it.

I hate it.

I hateher.

And I hate that this stupid act of craziness mixed with all her defiance has my cock harder than it’s been in years.

She ignores the firm grip I have on her and wrinkles her nose to sniffle.

After a deep inhale, she fixes her tear-streaked gaze on mine. “You just said something funny, that’s all.”

Her cheeks are lined with dark mascara, and I can only stare at her.

One corner of her mouth twitches, and she directs her gaze downward. “You might want to take care of that, it feels painful.”

She’d be a vision on her knees choking on my dick.

I let go of her as if she burned me and stalk over to the window, giving her my back.

Her reflection in the glass is almost as clear as looking in a mirror. She takes my reaction for what it is and leaves, light filtering in from the bright hallway.

Closing my eyes, I get myself under control until heavy footsteps enter and the door clicks shut.

Holden snorts. “You made the princess cry again, huh?”

I continue to stare outside at the darkening sky.

The gray clouds are almost black now, slowly gearing up for the rain promised in the next few days.

How fitting.

Holden comes up next to me, and I face him.

He hisses. “That bad, huh?”

I let out a heavy sigh. “You have no idea.”

Going back to the desk, I plop into my chair while he takes the one Evangeline just vacated.

My fiancée.

My soon-to-be wife.

Fuck.

I thought this was going to be an easy transition.

I expected her to balk at marrying me, and to try and convince her father that merging families with an ex-convict was a terrible idea.

I even wondered if she’d run away.

What I didn’t expect was for her to accept this. I know she’s not happy about it, but part of the time, she doesn’t act like it’s the life-destroying event I wanted it to be for her either.

Holden gets something black out of his pocket and extends it my way. “Conveniently, she forgot her phone today, and I took advantage of that while you guys were having your little tête-à-tête.”

I grab the sleek phone from him and unlock the screen, staring at a picture of Evangeline with her friends Ruby and Mason. The three of them all smile at the camera.

A genuine smile that’s reflected in Evangeline’s eyes.