Page 24 of Mystique of the Fallen
Grant pivoted once his sneakered feet hit the white area rug.
“We need to talk,” Grant repeated.
“How many times do I have to tell you that’s not happening?”
A shiver slithered along Grant’s spine at the fury growing in Reginald’s voice. Reginald hated being corrected. He despised Grant standing up to him. In the past, Grant had paid for his decision to push Reginald into doing something he didn’t want. Reginald would ignore him for weeks. Or demand twice as many sexual favors while depriving Grant of any opportunity to have a release of his own.
Shaking off his memories, Grant steeled himself for Reginald’s explosion.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do this anymore,” Grant said. He cleared the sudden thickness from his throat. “I’m leaving.”
“You’re what?” Reginald asked with deadly calm.
A knot formed in Grant’s belly. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, but I want something different for myself.”
“Something different?” Reginald asked, advancing closer to Grant.
“Yes. You have a wife. Children. The job of your dreams. All I do is pry into the lives of innocent people so you can get criminals off. I need to find my purpose. This isn’t it.”
“Don’t bring my family into this, you ungrateful shit. Do you think your hole is so perfect that anyone else will want it? I’ve been doing you a favor all these years. You aren’t going anywhere, and you know it, so what is this about? Tell me what you want. Then get your ass in the bedroom and get naked. You better be fucking lubed up.”
Without thinking, Grant took a step back. Unfortunately, the kitchen was behind him instead of the front door. To escape, he had to get past Reginald. He’d already done it once, Grant reminded himself. He had bypassed Reginald in the hallway. All he had to do was find the courage to leave behind everything he knew.
“I’m not having sex with you again,” Grant said. It came out barely louder than a whisper, and he internally cursed himself for being a coward. “It’s over.”
“The fuck it is. I decide when it’s done, and although I’ve had better ass than yours, I’m not done with you yet.”
“Who else were you with?” Grant asked stupidly. “We’ve been together since you were seventeen.”
Reginald laughed, and the raucous sound forced a shudder from Grant. “You can’t possibly be that naïve. You never asked for my loyalty, and I’m not in the habit of giving in to your ridiculous demands anyway. Of course there have been other men. I’m married for Christ’s sake. You know you aren’t the only one I’ve slept with.”
For some reason, Grant had convinced himself Reginald had married because of his family. Every illusion he’d created through the years flashed through his mind, and Grant cursed his own stupidity. He was an idiot. A spineless one who’d allowed Reginald to use him. Hope for any future happiness flittered away, and Grant’s heart sank. It was overtaken by pure rage. Grant had done everything Reginald had asked, and he’d believed his boyfriend had some loyalty to him. Apparently not.
“Then you should be happy you no longer have to pay my mortgage,” Grant snapped as fury surged through him. “You can fuck whoever you want. Maybe you’ll keep this place so you can bring your boys back here so your wife doesn’t find out what a shit you are.”
“What the fuck did you just say to me?”
Refusing to give in to fear, Grant lifted his chin. His life was shit, but he wanted to be the one responsible for his poor decisions. “You heard me. I convinced myself I needed you, but I don’t. I’m tired of being used. I’ve done what you’ve said since I was a teenager. It was easier than figuring myself out. But now I want that chance. I need to know who I am.”
“What you are is a user. It was all about the money for you, wasn’t it? You met someone else, didn’t you?” Reginald demanded, stealthily closing the distance between them. Grant sucked in a breath as Reginald charged into his personal space. Reginald grabbed his arm in a painful grip. “Who is he? How many times have you handed your ass over to him under the roof I pay for?”
That chance meeting with Roman flittered through his mind. He wasn’t sure what the future held with the fallen knight, but if he was anything like Reginald, Grant didn’t want shit to do with him. Mates and forever were fantasies. Reginald had proved love was meaningless. Grant was too smart to fall into another trap.
“I haven’t been with anyone else.”
“What kind of fool do you take me for?” Reginald screamed. “I can see the truth in your eyes. You betrayed me. No one betrays me.”
Grant barely managed a gasp of shock as Reginald punched him in the nose. A sickening crack reached his ears as Grant landed on his ass. Warm blood flowed onto his lip, but Grant had no chance to swipe it away. Reginald pounced on him, and the blows rained down.
While he was doing his best to fend Reginald off, he was no match for the enraged man. He’d skipped workouts for months, and Reginald was in a blind rage, which was giving him what had to be superhuman strength. Grant sucked in a strangled breath as Reginald’s fingers wrapped around his throat.
Grant had miscalculated. He understood that now. Helplessly, he grabbed Reginald’s arms, but his ex-boyfriend squeezed harder. Reginald’s face was beet red, and his eyes blazed with murderous fury.
Blackness darkened Grant’s vision. Kicking his feet, Grant willed himself to find a way to get Reginald off him. But Reginald was too strong—as was his anger.
His brown eyes were filled with fury. Reginald’s mouth was a tight white line of determination. Color was high on his cheeks, but he was far from beautiful in that moment.
Grant could feel consciousness slipping away. Reginald sat on his chest, and the pressure on Grant’s neck grew.
