Page 47 of Chokehold
Fuck.
Before I can hit him again, he tackles me once more, back into the same position with his hands around my throat, pressing his forehead against mine. “You’re taking this too far.” He forces his forehead harder. “Too fucking far.”
“Then do something about it,” I spit out, my throat closing from his firm grip.
His nose bumps mine, and I freeze all over as he snatches my bottom lip between his teeth, a burning sensation searing as he bites harshly and tugs until it snaps back into place.
Fuck. I’m breathless, and I don’t think it’s because of his hold on my neck. I don’t even register the coldness of the snow surrounding us with the heat growing between my legs, making my cock swell.
I gulp under his grip, and as his head lowers once more, I have an inner war to either headbutt the dickhead or feel his lips on mine.
The fuck?
“Do that again,” I manage to say through the tightness in my throat, “and I’ll rip your fucking face off.”
Blaise glances down between us, and I know I’m tented. He can probably feel it.
I can feel him too.
He straightens his arms and squeezes his fingers around my throat to a point that it hurts, but I don’t stop him or try to shovehim off. I lie in the snow, his legs straddling my hips, as he cuts off my airflow.
Tighter. Tighter. And even tighter.
I can’t breathe, my vision blurring, his image above me distorting as I refuse to beg him to stop, to release my throat. His face is shaking with his rage, his eyes on fire. No one can see the attempted murder with us in a snowy ditch. Icy flakes fall from the sky, coating our thick clothes, and I hear someone yelling in the distance as if their kid just fell and hurt themselves.
“Why?”
I try to blink through the pressure behind my eyes.Why, what?I want to ask, but I can’t talk, the world vignetting around his form as he keeps strangling me.
I’m painfully aware of how rock solid my dick is. He’s full of blood and his large, veiny hands are around my throat, and they’re all I can think about. But then I think about the masked stranger he’s messing with, and even though it’s me, I feel the stab of betrayal in my chest again.
His phone rings, and it’s the only reason he lets go of me. I gasp in as much air as I can, filling my desperate lungs. My body automatically curls to the side, and I choke into the snow. He stays straddling me, blood staining his face.
“What?” he grits through the phone. “Fine. We’ll meet you at the burger shack.”
Hanging up, he shoves his phone back into one of his pockets. “Allie fell and hurt her leg. Go tend to your needy, cheating girlfriend.”
Seated beside Cole on the couch, I watch the flames flicker in the fireplace. Above it, a moose’s head with big antlers is mounted on the wall.
My father paces in front of us, pinching the bridge of his nose, thoroughly pissed off.
When we returned to the cottage, he ordered us into the living room, away from the girls. I swear his eye twitches when he levels Cole with a glare.
“I asked for one damn family holiday without you causing a scene. One! But you just had to start a fight on the first day, didn’t you?”
Cole is stiff beside me, and tension radiates off him in waves. He remains quiet, staring straight ahead at the fireplace.
“This was supposed to be a chance for us to bond as a family. How do you think it makes your mother feel when you fight with your brother every chance you get?”
I glance down at Cole’s clenched hands on his thighs, and when I lift my eyes, a muscle tics in his jaw. There used to be a time when I would get a sense of satisfaction from seeing my dad lay into him, but something feels wrong tonight.Ifeel wrong.
“She’s tired of your behavior, too. It doesn’t matter what we do or how many chances we give you, Cole. You go out of your way to ruin everything.” He points a finger in Cole’s direction and narrows his eyes. “It ends now.”
The muscle in Cole’s jaw tics again, and the ache that’s pressing on my ribs intensifies.
“Do you hear me, boy?”
“Dad…” I rip my eyes away from Cole, then rise to my feet. “He gets it, alright?”
