Page 34 of Snagged By Hook

That lying sack of shit had made her an adulterer. Not that Brent deserved any loyalty from her, but she deserved it from herself. “He made me just like him.”

She plopped down in the vacant chair as soon as Croon stood. He’d grabbed a bottle of water from somewhere and set it down in front of her. She chugged it.

“Babe, you’re nothing like him,” Hook said from a squatting position at her knees.

“Yes, I am. I broke my vows by sleeping with you. Not that they were all that sacred to begin with, but still.” It just felt wrong.

“Actually, you didn’t.” Virus spoke again.

She looked up in time to see Hook glare at Virus before turning back to her.

“But he just said…”

“You were never married.” Hook spoke with a mix of what sounded like triumph and sorrow.

“What?”

“I just found out not five minutes before you walked in and was going to tell you as soon as I saw you, so don’t get pissed. But Brent has never been married or divorced.”

It just kept getting worse or better. Nova couldn’t decide.

Definitely worse. She would’ve never put up with his shit if she knew, would she have? But also good, because other thanJune, there was nothing tying her to Brent. They could run and get as far away as possible.

Nova stood and addressed Zombie. He was the president after all, he held all the power, right? “Is there anything else I should know about my ex, not my ex?”

“Nothing impactful, no.”

“Thank you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, you gentlemen can get back to your meeting. I’m just going to get June and go live off the grid in Alaska somewhere.” She was way too calm. She knew what that meant. She was about to freak the fuck out on a volcanic level.

Nova stalked toward the door with a poise and grace she most certainly did not feel when she heard Hook’s voice. “Prez?” It sounded pleading in a way she hadn’t heard from him before.

She’d just opened the door when Zombie said, “Go on.”

Her eyes immediately sought for her daughter, who wasn’t on the couch where she left her. Heidi or Devin must’ve taken her to the kitchen. She’d just stepped out of their meeting and heard the door close when Hook wrapped her up from behind. That’s when the dam broke.

“What the fuck am I supposed to do, Hook? My life isn’t my own anymore. It’s beyond my control, my choices. My daughter is in danger from her father. He’s fucking tracking her. TRACKING HER.” She wasn’t even breathing between her run-on sentences. Her panic was rising to levels that made her chest hurt. “He wants to use her to make money in ways I can’t even bear to imagine.” Nova was sobbing, on the brink of a full-blown panic attack.

“What am I?—”

Before she could finish, one of Hook’s hands slid up and gripped the front of her throat none too gently. His breath against her ear and his hand on her skin gave her things to focus on other than her shitshow of a life.

“Control your breathing, babe. In.” He lessened the pressure on her throat. “And out.” He tightened it again in sync with her breathing.

After a few minutes of repeating it, her breathing was more measured and controlled than before, her panic more manageable.

“Good girl,” he growled, and she whimpered. How she could even entertain the idea of sex right now was beyond her, but entertaining it she was.

“Hmm, we just got you calmed down, Nova, but I can feel your pulse racing under my fingertips, and your breath is speeding up again, but it doesn’t feel the same as before.” He purred the words against her ear before he nipped the lobe.

God, she wanted him, and she needed to be distracted. If she didn’t get out of her spiral, she would lose her shit and take her daughter and run so far and so fast no one would ever find them. That was not the life she wanted for her child.

Sliding her hand up, she placed it on top of his as she turned in his arms. Leaning in, she kissed him gently. Nova needed him, yes, but she also needed to feel cherished and taken care of. “Take me to your room and make love to me, please?”

His green eyes flashed with something she wasn’t ready to name. Or maybe she was just too emotional, and she saw the same in him. He walked her backward, not taking his eyes from hers. With her back against the door, he spoke.

“Tell me what you need, babe. Hard and rough, or soft and tender? I think I know, but I want confirmation.”

“Soft, but don’t stop touching me here.” She squeezed the hand under hers at her throat to convey the message.

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