Page 170 of Somebody's Watching Me
“But that doesn’t explain why he barricaded the others in a bedroom and untied Emily before escaping.”
“Michael’s cleaning house, like we said.” Jamison tried to break free of his hold. “And you’re hurting me.”
“Tell me.” He shook her slightly. “Tell me about the first time you met Sinclair.”
“I don’t have anything to tell!” she spat out. “How could you think I would have something to do with him?”
He spun her around to face the large mirror on the wall, securing her against his chest before she could get loose. “Because this is the only woman in the world who could drive a man to the point of obsession.”
Pushing them forward, he brought her nose less than an inch from the reflective glass. “This is the face of a woman who has the capability of destroying a man enough that he joins some psychotic cult just to have her.”
The short bursts of air shooting past her lips left foggy imprints on the mirror, and she could actually feel the fracturing of her heart. “Sounds like your personal bias is getting in the way again.”
“It’s not just in the way, it’s front and fucking center,” he snarled in her ear. “This whole time, I’ve tried to keep my mind on the right path, but I can’t stop it from leading me back to you. I don’t think you’re directly involved, but if you met him, or had an affair or—”
It happened in an instant. The second he accused her of having an affair, she was fighting like a mad woman to turn and claw his eyes out. “How could you think I would ever cheat on you?”
Always expecting the next move, Liam shifted his hold, fastening her wrists together with one hand. “And how could you think I want to be right?” he screamed, ignoring his own rules. “I’m supposed to believe that we had one misunderstanding, and that was enough for it to be over?”
Unable to get loose, the rage in her fled as swiftly as it came, and she went lax, forcing him to keep her standing. In the mirror, all she saw was his pain. The rawness of his love for her. It stole her breath, just as it had stolen her heart forever ago.
“I love you, Liam.”
Sucking in a sharp breath, he turned away like he couldn’t stand to look at her. “Just tell me the truth.”
“The truth is, I have never met Michael Sinclair before he tried to kidnap me.” She kept her voice strong so he would lose the doubt. “I have never had contact with him before that night.”
The hold on her wrists disappeared, and she was spun around.
“I have never stopped loving you.” Her voice shook as she spoke, but she was more determined than ever. “I should have married you a hundred times before now.”
He listened, the steady rise and fall of his chest working in time with the spiking pulse ticking in her skull. Endless seconds passed, and the impossibly rich brown of his eyes darkened.
“You’re right. We should have run away years ago. Left them all behind and got married. On a beach, under a tree, I wouldn’t have cared. As long as I walked away with you as my wife.” He let out a low, broken laugh. “Till death do us part. That was the only thing that mattered. That was the only thing that was important to me. You, becomingmywife,and nothing else.”
God, these emotional train wrecks weren’t for the weak, and she was so over being its conductor. “I wa-wanted that too. I stillwant that. I still want you.” Chin high, she kept it together. “I can’t keep living in this hellish limbo. It’s too painful.”
“Too painful?” His lips parted as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You think I should just forgive and forget becauseyoufeel pain?” Threading his fingers through the hair on the back of her head, he gave the strands a sharp tug, bringing them face to face. “You don’t understand the definition of the word.”
“I said I was ready to talk this out.” She didn’t struggle, holding her ground. “Let’s do it now.”
“Not yet.”
“Why not?”
“Oh, make no mistake. I’m going to hear what you have to say.” Releasing her hair, he smoothed a hand down her back. “But we’re going to start this off the way I want, and that pain you feel? Make sure you focus on it.”
“Why?”
As if daring her to stop him, he smirked as he lowered the zipper on the back of her dress.
But she had no intention of stopping him, even helping to remove her clothes entirely. Holding his shoulders, she steadied herself as he dropped the dress to the floor, leaving her in nothing but a thong and heeled sandals.
“Why do I need to use my pain, Liam?”
“Because you’re about to swallow that pride of yours and show me how much you want my forgiveness.” His possessive hands roamed, their heat dragging across her chilled skin. “Now, get on your knees.”
Chapter 36
