Page 42 of Knight's Journey

“What are you doing?”

“I’m about to do you, sweetheart.”

His hands gripped her arms tightly as he threw her against the wall separating the living room and kitchen. The force of his body pushing her backwards gave her little leverage to fend him off. She struggled against him though he pinned her with his body. She felt his cock harden against her stomach.

“Let me go! I’m not having sex with you.”

“After all the trouble I’ve gone through? I showed you a good time. Now it’s your turn. Don’t try to pretend you don’t want this. You’ve been giving me signals all night.” He lowered his head to kiss her, but she twisted her head to the side.

“Stop it, Seth. My niece and nephew are in the back bedrooms. They could walk in here at any minute. You need to leave.”

His hand came up to grip her chin, his fingers digging into the skin at her jawline. He pulled her face back until she stared straight into his eyes. His arrogant gleam was replaced with a leer which chilled her to the bone.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be quick. I heard you liked it rough, and I plan to give you exactly what you want. But you’re going to have to be quiet, sweetheart. We can’t have the kiddos walking in while I’m fucking their aunt hard and fast.”

∞∞∞

An evening spent at his mom’s had been what he needed. Neither of them spoke about their earlier conversation. They prepared baked ziti with Italian sausage and heaps of mozzarella cheese — just the way he and his sisters enjoyed it. Maggie added a salad and fresh garlic bread to go with it. She had pulled the bread out of the oven as his sisters started arriving.

After a boisterous meal, which was the norm when the five of them ate together, they settled in the living room to watch a movie as they often did growing up. It was Zaida’s turn to choose, so they watched a superhero action flick instead of the typical rom com or tear-jerker drama his other sisters typically chose.

The movie failed to hold his interest, so he caught himself watching his mother and sisters, noting the happiness on their faces. He thought — and not for the first time — that his mother was the reason he and his sisters found peace with their lives. Maggie told them often how their father valued family and how the two of them planned to have a lot of children. They dreamed of attending little league games and PTA meetings and recitals. When his father died, Maggie spent most of her time working to support their family, but she never sacrificed time spent with her children.

Maybe he should introduce Bridget to his mother. Then she’d know someone else who raised a family on her own, and she could turn to Maggie for advice when she needed it. God knows, he and his sisters created enough chaos for their mother to have experience in every type of situation.

After the evening was done, he decided to stay the night in his old room, and he talked Zaida into doing the same. Though they talked well into the night, he still rose early, a habit he gained in the military that he had never been able to break. He left the coffee brewing and his mother and sister sleeping when he hit the road. He intended on going to work, but his truck seemed to have a mind of its own as it ended up driving slowly past Bridget’s dark and quiet house.

He fought the urge to stop. Because of Bridget’s case, he knew her work schedule had her at the hospital last night. Since the kids didn’t have school, it was obvious they all were catching up on sleep.

The silver Lexus which turned on the street stood out in the middle-class neighborhood. Instinct had Zane slowing his truck as he peered through the car’s windshield. When he saw Bridget in the passenger seat and the good doctor behind the wheel, he felt disbelief radiating through him. He thought she was at home resting after a long shift at the hospital, and she was with the doctor she claimed to have no interest in.

His shock gave way to irritation as he turned onto the street heading away from Bridget’s house. He’d traveled a few feet, but then he executed a U-turn and headed back. If his teammates knew he was spying on Bridget and her date, they would give him an ungodly amount of grief, but he didn’t care at this point. His gut was churning, and he couldn’t leave yet.

As the Lexus parked in the driveway, he waited for her to get out, wondering why she was lingering in the doctor’s company. He released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding when she finally emerged. She was still in her pale blue scrubs, the ones which dipped just enough at the neckline to hint at her cleavage and gave her skin a rosy tint. Shewascoming from work.

He stiffened when the doctor stepped from the driver’s side and followed her. He shouted after her, but Zane couldn’t hear their words from where he’d parked along the curb, far enough back to not be noticed. After hearing all of the gossip about the doctor hitting on any female who crossed his path at the hospital, he didn’t like Bridget spending even five minutes with the guy. Her shift had ended over an hour ago, so what had they been doing during that time? And where the hell was her car?

When they kissed at her door, Zane hesitated a second. Then he was out of the truck in a flash and jogged up to the edge of her yard, ducking low behind a tree. He watched Bridget step inside, and his gut churned to see the smile she flashed at him. She liked him, despite what she told Zane at the hospital. He scowled as he watched the doctor move forward.

The next few minutes passed in a blur. The doctor pushed against Bridget, and she stumbled backwards. The door slammed behind them before Zane registered what happened. Something wasn’t right. Even if Bridget had been on a date with the doctor, she hadn’t invited him inside. He pushed his way in, and Zane was ready to rip out the guy’s heart through his throat.

He didn’t know what he’d say to explain his presence, but he rushed forward until he stood on her porch. He’d have to rely on his experience of working undercover to help him think of an excuse on the fly.

He paused before pounding on the door. Was that a kitten crying? He didn’t hear the sound again, and he started to wonder if he’d imagined the whimper. And then there it was. He pounded on the door, reaching for his gun only to realize he’d forgotten to grab it from his glove box.

“Bridget,” he called through the door. “It’s Zane. I need to talk to you. It’s important.”

This time there was no mistaking what he heard. A bloodcurdling scream penetrated the thickness of the door. He raised a boot and slammed it in the right spot to bust the lock. He stormed through once the door swung open. He zeroed in on the doctor pinning Bridget against the wall, one hand up her scrubs top and one pulling at her pants. Struggling against him, she peered over the doctor’s shoulder, panic in her eyes and blood on her split lip.

Rage as red as a matador’s cape slipped over his vision. He pinched a nerve at the man’s shoulder, eliciting enough pain for the doctor to loosen his grip on Bridget. Then Zane grabbed his shirt collar and yanked the doctor back with enough force to toss him to the floor. Bridget sank to the floor, tears streaming down her face and her body shaking. Zane caught movement in his peripheral vision and, after making sure the doctor was still writhing on the floor, he turned to see Mathias standing in the hallway. He had pushed Marlowe behind him, but she watched everything unfolding with wide eyes peering around her brother.

“Mat, get your aunt and your sister, go to the bedroom with the sturdiest lock, and stay there until I come for you. Do it now.”

To his credit, the sixteen-year-old moved without hesitation to do as Zane ordered. With the family secure, he grabbed a fistful of the doctor’s perfectly cut hair and jerked the man to his feet, ignoring his yelp of pain. He shoved his face close enough to the doctor’s that spit from his words landed on the man’s face.

“You lousy piece of shit, you’re lucky I don’t yank your cock from your body, so you don’t have the equipment to rape another woman ever again. Because I’m betting Bridget is not the first, but she damn well will be the last.”

“She asked for it,” the doctor sneered. “She likes it rough. She even pretended to have car trouble, so I’d bring her home. She asked me to pretend to attack her to make it more exciting. You didn’t know she was a whore, did you?”

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