Page 71 of The Truth in My Lies (Secrets of Suburbi 1)

He grabbed it out of my hand and placed it back on the nightstand. His fingers gently traced the bruise on my jaw. “Are you in pain, Adeline?”

I tried not to recoil from his touch. “I’m fine.” That wasn’t why I was asking about the Advil. I was asking because a bottle that hadn’t been in our house a few days ago had miraculously appeared on my nightstand.

“I can make you feel better.” His mouth fell to my neck and I cringed.

“I’m not really in the mood.”

He ignored me and leaned forward, pushing me against the bed.

No. My eyes gravitated to the camera on the dresser. I had taken off the tape from it earlier. But I didn’t do it so that Ben could see this happen. I never wanted Ben to see this.

He’s not watching. The voice in the back of my head made me close my eyes. He doesn’t care about you. If he did, he would have tried to call. He would have seen the bruise. He would have seen your tears. You’re all alone.

The thought of Ben not watching made me even nervous than if he had been watching.

“Really, I’m not in the mood.” I tried to push on his shoulders.

“I know it hurts. I’ll make it better. I always make it better.”

I felt nauseous. “Please.”

He didn’t hear me begging him not to. He never could read me. Instead he took it as an invitation. H

e actually thought I wanted him. It would have been funny if I was miles away from him. But here in his arms? Nothing was humorous.

His lips crashed against mine. He forced my lips to part with his tongue.

I missed Ben’s touch. Ben’s taste. But for some reason, it was harder to remember now. Our parting last night felt final. The memories were slipping. Just like everything seemed to slip from my mind.

The thought was terrifying. And the harder he kissed me, the harder it was to remember. His soft hands wiped away the feeling of Ben’s rough ones. His groans made Ben’s groans vanish. He was taking everything from me. I tried to push against him again, but he just clutched me harder. And his painful grip erased the memory of Ben’s loving touch.

I was in hell. He pushed the hem of my skirt up. I was in hell and there was no escape. Killing him wouldn’t take away my pain. Nothing would. I didn’t resist his advances any further. There was no point. It’s not like I had anything left to save.

But the sharp knock on the door was a welcome reprieve to his burning kisses on my flesh. I pushed away from him.

“Ignore it,” he said.

“It might be important.” Even though I knew it wasn’t. It was probably just some door-to-door salesman.

The knock sounded even louder.

He groaned. “Fine. I need to get dressed. Answer the door.”

I took the escape. My head cleared as soon as I was out of our bedroom and away from him. But that thought lingered. Killing him wouldn’t erase the memories. The only thing that seemed to make me not think about my husband’s touch, sight, smell, taste, and sound was Ben. He made me feel whole again. Alive again. He filled up every one of my senses so I couldn’t feel anything but him.

I opened up the door and it was like my guardian angel had appeared. Ben was standing on my front porch and he was every bit the heaven to my husband’s hell.

Chapter 35

“What happened?” Ben asked.

I stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind me.

He reached out and touched the side of my jaw. The way he touched me was soothing. It was affectionate. Protective.

“I’m sorry.” My lower lip quivered. “I should have listened to you. If I had taken the tape off the cameras we would have caught him.”

“It’s okay, Addy.” He kept his hand on the side of my face, not caring at all that my husband could open the door any minute. Or that the neighbors could probably see.

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