Page 49 of Discord
“You knew the kind of man I was,” he continued mercilessly. “All the same, you came to me willingly.”
“It was the biggest mistake of my life,” I retorted bitterly.
He barked out an empty, humorless laugh as I resumed my struggles to break free. He spoke in an emotionless voice, “You might be sheltered, but you aren’t stupid. You see everything, Mia. You knew I wasn’t a good man. Part of you wanted to rebel. The other part wanted an escape from your twisted family and your sick mother.”
I was momentarily stunned into silence. No one blatantly pointed out my mother’s mental health issues. Sore topics were shoved under the rug, but Brandon insisted on exposing every one of my insecurities until I was left naked, shaking, and cold.
With every ounce of energy I could muster, I struck his chest with both hands and shoved him back. “Don’t ever speak about my mother,” I bellowed.
Brandon reeled from the surprise attack, though he held onto me with his arms wrapped around my middle. He hoisted me up and carried me to the living room couch.
“You’re such a fucking asshole. I was an idiot for wanting to wait for you.”
“I asked you if this is what you wanted.” I thrashed wildly though he held onto me with ease. “I made it clear this was a one-way street. You weren’t supposed to change your mind.”
“For the last time, I didn’t change my mind,” I shouted back. My legs dangled in the air as I tried to kick back, though he managed to evade the attacks.
I yelped when Brandon tossed me onto the L-shaped couch with enough force to have my ass bounce upon landing. My back pressed flat against the sofa, legs dangling over the edge.
“I risked everything for you,” he gritted, eyes turning into slits as the vehement anger flashed in them. “You don’t get to walk away from me now.”
I slapped my palm against my chest. “You didn’t have to go along with any of it. It wasyourchoice. Why didn’t you just stay away from me?”
“Never.” I blinked when Brandon grabbed the hem of his shirt. It wasn’t until he started to undo his pants did comprehension settle in. I could have laughed.
“Are you insane? You think we are going to—”
His response was to wrap a large palm around my right foot and pull me to the edge of the L-shaped sofa. He leaned over before I could react, pressing me against the couch with his body weight.
“You should have left when you had the chance. You made your choice by staying.” Suddenly, his lips were on mine. They were harsh and demanding and tasted of expensive scotch. I tried to blast him, but he thrust his tongue inside my mouth, stealing my very breath. His hand was in my hair, threading his fingers into my loose tresses with such care it conflicted with his otherwise cruel actions.
I didn’t kiss him back and tried to bat him away.
“Kiss me,” he murmured against my mouth.
He yanked at my hair, forcing my eyes open. I didn’t know how to feel and stared at him. He was a completely different man than the one I had spent the last few weeks with. He wasn’t the sweet man asking me to sit on his lap or staring at me lovingly while I did mundane tasks around his home. He was brutal and cunning and an awful person, one I had invited into every crevice of my life. He was about to burn everything and everyone down. I searched for remorse for his behavior, but all I saw were unforgiving eyes.
It was disheartening.
His lips returned to mine. This time I didn’t fight it as he took my mouth. His heart thundered under my palm, a similar impatience growing with each passing second.
He palmed my breast. My toes curled when his gravelly tone hit my eardrums. “You’re so beautiful.” In a quick swoop, he dragged my loose summer dress down. One of the straps ripped in the process of exposing my breasts. It jolted me out of the daze. Now, there were two reasons for Raven to be furious. Instinctively, I struck him over the head.
I should have expected this. An inherent result of watching someone uninterrupted for months meant the opportunity to study their tells. Brandon wouldn’t have been so passive about my suggestion unless he had orchestrated a plan. He had no interest in waiting and already had a guarantee in place. And now, he was punishing me for trying to renege on my word and for wanting to put a pause on our previous, budding romance.
“Stop it,” I hissed.
“Make me.”
I was flat on my back and trapped by his weight. He swooped down for my lips. I averted them, but he wasn’t bothered by the rejection. He trailed kisses over my neck instead and bit my pulse.
“In case you’re wondering,” he murmured, “I don’t regret my decision, and if I had to, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
Sheets of ice covered my chest. I threw my limbs about, anger resonating through my veins. He immobilized me by restraining my wrists with one hand, parting my legs with the other. I tensed when I felt his cock pulsing against my crotch, and his hand reached between us to rip my underwear down to my thighs. He tilted his face to latch onto one of my nipples, followed by biting licks.
I felt his lips curve when my body arched forward. Feeling humiliated, I bit the insides of my cheek and forced myself to snap out of it.
“Get off me,” I ordered coldly.
