Page 49 of Exquisite Temptation

"She can’t leave until she’s been checked and the police take her statement. I’ll escort you back to her bed."

The sickening stench of alcohol and cigarettes wafts as she swishes closer. My roiling stomach throws acid, scorching the length of my throat. We trail behind the guard, walking past the rows of beds separated by privacy curtains. He stops in front of a private side room, ushering us in and standing outside with the door ajar.

"Tell me you didn’t hurt Micaela?" I growl, staring at her murderously. Curling her trout lips into a sneer, she jabs my chest with her finger.

"You took everything from me. Now, I am going to take everything from you. I tried to warn you both, but it seems you didn’t take it seriously." I glower at her, curses falling from my mouth. God, she is lucky she isn't a man. Otherwise, I’d have punched the living daylights out of her, even if that meant being charged for assault.

Tilting her chin defiantly, she interrupts me. "I should have tampered with her breaks like I did with Amelia. She would have been dead by now."

A shiver, like a ghostly touch, runs over my skin. My temples throb violently, and my pulse slams in my neck as anger roars through me. Memories of the night of my father’s birthday flash in front of my mind’s eye.

Brianna throwing herself at me in the bathroom.

Skulking behind me and muttering Amelia’s name under her breath.

Every fiber of my being knew she had something to do with Amelia’s death, but I didn’t want to believe it or even entertain that idea.

"You fucking coldhearted, soulless bitch. I hope you burn in hell for eternity," My voice deteriorates into a guttural rasp.

Vivid image of me wrapping my hands around her throat and squeezing the pathetic life out of her buzzes through my brain. I drag in slow, steady gulps of air to regulate my erratic breathing and racing heart.She isn't worth it. Death would be an easy way out. She deserves to rot in jail for the rest of her life.

"I married your father, but I never loved him. It was always you, Topher-" She twists the wedding ring on her finger. "I gave you my heart…and what did you do? You stomped on it and married that obedient dog, Amelia. I had to get rid of her. It was the only way for you to realize we belong together. If I can’t have you, no one will have you. Do you hear me? No one!" She lets out a piercing shriek. I stare at her in wordless horror and bewilderment.

"What love? Love doesn’t kill. Hate does." Not only did she attempt to eliminate Micaela, but she murdered my wife and unborn son in cold blood without an ounce of remorse or guilt. "You are incapable of comprehending what you have done is wrong and the excruciating pain you have inflicted on me, Amelia’s family, and friends."

A cool, calm male voice coming from behind me startles me, jolting me back from my reverie. "Sir, please step aside. We are going to take over from here."

Spinning around, I lock eyes with the towering, thirty-something male officer wearing a dark blue uniform and black tactical vest. His female colleague with warm brown skin and dark hair stands next to him with her hands resting on the large belt. My brain swirls with questions. Were they standing outside before coming in? If yes, how long? Was it long enough to hear everything she said?

As if the female officer can hear my thoughts, she inclines her head, motioning for me to follow her outside. She takes my details, explaining they would be in touch for me to give my full statement, and that they have enough evidence to make an arrest after she is cleared by the doctor. I nod absently to the cop. There is a lot more to unravel and figure out, but right now, I can’t lose one more thing to that vicious viper. Following the red arrows back to urgent care, I find out the whereabouts of Micaela, and, like a man on a mission, I lose no time in storming into her room.

Sebastian and Micaela stop talking, swinging their heads in my direction. My eyes settle on her face, drinking her in like a man who finally gets his hands on cool water after wandering through a scorching hot desert. I am unable to sever the tether connecting me to her heart and soul. No one else matters in this world as much as she does.

Even with her right arm in plaster, bandage on her forehead, cuts on her cheek and lip, nasty black eye, and the angry bruise running alongside the side of her face, to me, she would always be the most beautiful woman in the world. Involuntarily, I clench my jaw and grit my teeth. The thought of her being terrified and me not being there to protect her when that drunken viper drove into her car ignites the cave man in me. She is mine to love, hold, guide, and protect.

"Hey, you, sorry I stood you up." She tilts her lips into a goofy smile. Warmth expands through my center. If she wasn’t peppered with cuts and bruises, I’d have swept her into my arms and kissed her senseless.

"Hey, you, don’t worry, you can make it up to me." I wink at her, thanking God she is alive and well, and we will have plenty of time to make up for the lost time.

Clearing his throat, Seb scrambles to his feet and combs his fingers through his hair.

"Um…I’ll leave you two to talk." Fixing my gaze on his, I gesticulate, raising my hand to my ear as if I’m holding a phone.

"We need to talk. I’ll call you later, Seb." His black eyes flash with an unspoken understanding, before shifting to his sister and tugging the corners of his mouth into a sunny smile.

"Sis, Alexandra and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okey-dokey. I’ll be heree-" She grins, waving at him as he leaves.

Bringing the chair closer to the bed, I angle it so we can face each other and ease myself in.Are you really doing this? Fuck yeah, I am doing it. Is this the right place and time?Honestly, after everything that’s happened today, I am all out of fucks. Adrenaline ramps my pulse into a thundering stampede. I swallow repeatedly, unable to wet my bone-dry throat.Calm down, you are not proposing for goodness' sake.Okay here we go.

"I am sorry for being a giant dick. You deserve flowers and dinner, but if I don’t say what I want to say now, I’ll fucking burst like an over-inflated balloon."

"Uh-huh, giant dick." She winks at me lasciviously, her gaze dropping to my jeans. I impose an iron control on myself, not letting her tongue running across her lower lip suggestively distract me.

"Naughty pet. Stop distracting me."

"Opps, sorry. Go on, my big and scary-" She lets out a chortle, instead of finishing her sentence. I forgive her. We all deal with traumatic events differently. Squeezing her hand gently, I gaze deeply into her sparkly blue eyes with gray specs.

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