Page 43 of The Sweet Spot
He runs his nose up the side of my face and into my hair. “God, you always smelled so good. That’s what I missed the most after you divorced me. I missed smelling you.” One of his hands slides between my thighs, and he cups my crotch firmly. “Every damn inch of you.” He growls. “God, I’ve missed you, beanie.”
I feel nauseated—by his touch, by his nearness, and by his threats. And I’m not the only one who’s concerned. Granny’s afraid, too. I need to get him away from her.
My phone rings then, and we all flinch.
“Who’s that calling you?” David asks. He grabs my phone out of my back pocket and stares at the screen. “That fucking sheriff again!”
He accepts the call and puts the phone on speaker.
“He’s not at home, Jennie,” Chris says. “We’ll keep looking. In the meanwhile—”
“Chris, he’s—!” David grabs me in a choke hold and covers my mouth.
I hear Chris cry my name.
“Hello, Sheriff,” David says, sounding perfectly at ease. “I imagine you’re looking for me right about now.”
“Braggart, I swear to God, if you hurt—”
David ends the call. “That moron thinks he’s God’s gift to the world. Well, let me tell you, he’s not.” He leans in to kiss me, and when I try to push him back, he tightens his grasp on my throat, squeezing nearly hard enough to cut off my air. “We don’t have much time, J-bean. It looks like the cavalry’s on its way.”
I don’t want Granny to see this, so I manage to rasp out, “Let’s go in the other room.”
Apparently, he likes this suggestion because he releases my throat. “Good idea.”
As he pushes me out of the kitchen, into the hallway, I frantically try to decide what I should do. I need to keep him away from Granny. I also need to stall him until the police get here.
I’m not surprised when he herds me into my bedroom and shuts the door. He glances around. “This hasn’t changed much since the last time we fucked in here. I figure we have just enough time for a quickie before all hell breaks loose. Won’t your sheriff just love that? You, full of my cum?”
As I stare at the gleam in his eyes, a frisson of fear streaks down my spine. He’s not a narcissist. He’sinsane.
I back away from him, toward the window, hoping I might catch a glimpse of police cars arriving. I just need to stall. “We’re not having sex, David, so you can put that thought right out of your head.”
He laughs. “Remember how I had to gag you when we fucked in here, so your grandparents didn’t hear us?” Smirking, he shakes his head. “It wasn’t easy keeping you quiet, sugar, because you are a screamer.”
Something sour shoots up into my throat. I swear to God, if he lays one finger on me, I’ll throw up. If I screamed before, it wasn’t from pleasure. It was from pain, because he liked hurting me. “David, I’m begging you, please go. There’s nothing left for us. We’re through, and I’m never taking you back.”
His smile disintegrates. “We never should have divorced in the first place. I’ve come back to rectify things. We’re going to get married again, you’re going to liquidate everything, and we’re leaving this God-forsaken town once and for all. I’ve got a place in Vegas—”
“You just want my money. That’s what this is about.”
“It should bemymoney, sugar. The inheritance you got from the old man, the diner, this house—this should be mine.”
“The house and the diner don’t even belong to me. They’re Granny’s.”
“They’ll be yours one day, and based on Granny’s condition, that won’t be long from now. Besides, if you ask her nicely, I’m sure she’ll be happy to sign everything over to you.”
“If it’s money you want, I’ll pay you to leave and never come back. How much will it take? I’ve got my inheritance from Grandpa—”
When I hear the muffled sound of a car door shutting, my heart stutters.Are they here?
David must have heard it, too, because he rushes to the window and looks out at the street. We don’t see any cars, but then we hear another car door, and another.
“Looks like your boyfriend’s here.” He growls at me. “This isn’t over, Jennie.”
He has to realize what’s about to happen. Out of spite, he pushes me up against the wall, grabs my wrists, and holds them captive above my head. His free hand slides up beneath my top, and he grabs one of my breasts.
When I try to pull free, he squeezes my breast hard, making me cry out in pain. He crushes his mouth to mine, muffling my cries, nearly gagging me with his tongue.
