Page 50 of Liar's Heart
Her tongue plants itself into her cheek for just a moment before she quips, “So a threesome is on the table?”
I pinch her hip, making her squirm in my hold. “Brat. You should know better than to even ask unless you’re trying to get me to show you just how possessive I can be.” The hand on her hip snakes up into her hair, gripping it by the roots just enough to tilt her head back. Her lips part, expecting to feel my mouth on hers. I lean in until our lips are barely brushing and growl, “My wife. My holes. My cum. Got it?”
Lust flares to life in her eyes as I feel her body go just a touch pliant in my grip. “Yes, sir.”
Bringing my lips to her forehead, I murmur, “Good wife,” into her skin before chasing it with a kiss. Pulling back, I command her eyes again, determined to see this through before giving in to distraction. “I’m serious though. Bring the picture if you want. Bring all of them. It's your home too. Bring the things you love”—I gesture to the picture of her parents with the frame still in my hand—“and the people you love with you.”
She catches her plush bottom lip between her teeth, and I fight the urge to nip it back from her and claim it for myself. Taking the picture from me, she walks over to her suitcase and carefully deposits it among the riot of clothes inside. Then she walks back to me, capturing my hand in hers as she pulls me closer to the bed. Destination reached, my wife crawls between the blankets while I shuck off my clothes. I’mworking on my pants when I hear a small, sharp inhale from her. “I forgot to tell you…” The words tumble out of her like she’s trying to make up for the delay in telling me. “The implant… We don’t know where I’m at in my cycle, so Dr. Warren said to give it seven days to take effect, just to be safe. And I, uh, didn’t stop and buy condoms on the way home, considering I had plans to remove your dick from your body.”
I flinch on reflex at the picture she paints, making my face throb. “Thanks for not… removing my dick from my body. We can grab some on our way home tomorrow. It’s not that big of a deal.”
She eyes me skeptically. “Even though we don’t have any for tonight?”
My pants hit the ground, and I’m down to just boxer briefs. I look up at her while I gather my clothes. “Do you want to have sex tonight?”
Her lips press together in thought, almost like they’re preventing her from speaking prematurely, until she releases them and says, “I don’t know. A big part of me just wants to be held. Another part of me thinks I’d feel less violated if I exercised some bodily autonomy and had sex on my terms since I apparently haven’t been.”
Crawling under the covers next to her, I offer, “Let me hold you tonight. Worry about the rest when we get home.”
She nods, rolling over to tuck herself against my side, one hand resting on top of the star in the center of my chest. I wrap an arm around her and relish this moment of peace, of security. Because when the dawn comes, so does the reckoning.
Returning home holdsthe same kind of anticipation it did the first time I set eyes on this house, the day after the wedding. Plans are finally within reach, and forward progress is being made at last. Except this time, when Ender wraps his arm around me and kisses my hair, I turn my face to his and kiss him properly. Because the man at my side is no longer my enemy, and together, we’re about to start freeing us both from his father’s grasp.
Ender pulls back just enough to murmur, “I love you,” into my parted lips, making me smile as I return the phrase. We each grab a suitcase and head inside. It’s early evening, and the staff should be off for the night by now, which is perfect because all I want to do is unpack, eat dinner, and relax until it's time for bed.
Landing in our room, Ender lifts the suitcases onto the bed, and I begin sorting through their contents. Warm hands land on my hips, giving a little squeeze as he slides past me. “I’m gonna go make a lap and check on the house.”
I snag his hand as he starts to leave, pulling him back to me for a kiss. “Bring dinner back with you? Then shower together once we've eaten?”
He squeezes my hand before releasing it. “Sounds great, baby. I'll be right back,” he promises, and then he's closing the door behind him, leaving me alone to sort through the jumbled laundry.
Digging through the clothes, I pull out the picture of Ox and me kissing, taking a second to run a finger along the glass.We’re so close, Apollo, I think. So close to atonement for us both.There's so much more I want to tell him, but as I set the frame on the dresser next to the picture with Len, I decide to save it for after, when I can finally lay him to rest. That’s when he and I will finally find our peace.
Despite only being gone for three days and neither of us being particularly high-maintenance, it seems that Ender and I both packed for every possible contingency—save for a blizzard—now that I'm looking at everything that needs to be sorted and put away or laundered.
Once the suitcases are taken care of, there's hope for us to actually be able to get into this bed at some point tonight. I plug my charger and phone in and leave them on my nightstand to charge.
Right when I finish putting things away in the bathroom, I hear the door open and shut. Perfect, because my stomach is starting to become distracting with its demands. I set my things out on the counter and head back to the bedroom. “Please tell me Kenna made somethi—” I start. And abruptly stop when I see that the man standing in my room is not my husband.
I clear my throat, trying to suppress the fear constricting it. “Alec. I didn't realize we were expecting you today.”
My father-in-law stands casually, hands in his trouser pockets and face calmly observant, like he's at a rather boring art museum. Like he belongs here in our private space, standing between me and the only exit. Like the only thing that's stopped him up to this point has been disinterest. He barely moves when I address him, as if he's been waiting forme to walk out and confront him. “It was a last-minute thing,” he supplies. “Ender didn't tell you?”
I force myself to blink. To breathe. To go through all the normal performative actions that show my heart isn't thrashing in my chest, begging me to run or fight or scream. Ender didn't mention it because I'm pretty sure Ender doesn't know. We've been together all day. He would have told me if he knew. “It must have slipped his mind. It's been a busy day, and we're both pretty tired.”
Alec's head tilts ever so slightly as he looks me up and down, a predator determining how difficult his prey is going to be to kill. “It seems that lots of things do that. Slip my son's mind. He's fortunate to have you to remind him.”
I force a smile, trying to play my part. “You know what they say. Behind every great man and all that,” I reply, though my voice is tight.
It's absolutely not lost on me that there aren't cameras in this part of the house, and if Alec managed to make it this far without us being alerted, then there's a strong possibility that Ender has no idea I'm in danger. There's an equally strong possibility that Ender's found danger of his own. Not that we can’t handle ourselves, but Alec isn’t stupid. He wouldn’t have come alone. How outmaneuvered are we right now?
He smiles, and my stomach somersaults violently as his features arrange themselves into a smile I know so well. One I normally love to see on his son’s face. That wolf's smile, all teeth and glittering, wicked intent. All the better to eat me with. “They do say that, Merrick. They do. Behind every great man is a great woman, and I think it's about time we explore that further.”
My brow furrows in confusion. I'm about to ask what he means by that, but before I can make a sound, a hand slams over my mouth and yanks me backward into their body. The back of my head hits solid flesh—someone tall? Then a sting in my neck, followed by the burn of something being injectedthrough the needle. I scream into their palm and grab for my neck, but they were fast, too fast. It’s done, and the needle’s already out of my skin, and I have minutes at best before whatever they just gave me knocks me out. Probably less, considering how hard my heart is pounding from fear and exertion, only spreading it through my system faster.
Syringe discarded, my assailant now focuses on catching my hands while I claw and fight, trying to get any sort of leverage I can, but it feels like they're everywhere and so fucking strong. I can't turn my head with how they've got me locked into them, but I don't think anyone else is in the room. I haven't felt a second set of hands touch me, and Alec hasn't so much as glanced away from us, so maybe there's only the two of them.
Picking up my feet, I try going deadweight to break their hold, but they barely stumble as they adjust their stance and don't let go. The room's beginning to go hazy on me, my brain swimming as it tries to process on a delay. I reach a leg back and hook my foot around my assailant’s ankle before I pull forward as hard as I can. That finally does something, and we both crash to the ground. Grunting on impact, they let go of my mouth. I inhale, preparing to scream, but the hand slams back down and traps the scream inside.
