Page 102 of Hunter's Revenge

Is he going to make me feel like the bastard child? I hope not. I don’t think I could take that kind of grief from him when I already beat myself up about it all on my own.

“I’m not proud of what my father did to his wife. It was wrong. The older I get, the worse I feel, and I know it’s going to be awful when I face Esperanza on Monday.”

“I imagine so. But do you think she was a good person?”

“No, but that doesn’t make it right.”

“Maybe not, but things aren’t always black and white or easy to explain. Sometimes you have to look deeper into the gray areas to make sense of things.”

He doesn’t sound like he’s judging me. Or his father.

“How did you find out your father cheated on your mother?”

He taps the side of his head. “Officially, a few years ago, just before he died.”

“I’m sorry he died.”

“Me too. But to answer your question properly, I always knew he was cheating.”

I shift my weight from one foot to the other when a shiver rushes through my body.

“You always knew?”

He breaks his stare and pours more wine into his glass. “Always. People think the youngest is the baby and they don’t experience things the way the eldest does or the middle child. That might be true on some level, but they forget that the youngest is the observer. They see everything. They see the things you rarely want them to see. Secrets, lies, hard truths.”

“That’s what you saw?”

“Yes and more. But I never blamed my father. I just wish he’d done things differently. There’s always a way to get what you want. He just chose the wrong path. The same way your father did.”

“I’ve always felt that, too. If my father had done things differently, like leave his wife before getting involved with my mother, none of this would have happened. Then I wouldn’t be the bastard child.”

Malik sips more wine and stares at me over the rim of the glass. He puts it back down on the counter, but this time touches my glass, pushing it to my lips so I can drink.

“You aren’t a bastard child, Malyshka.” He catches my face and lifts my chin so I can finish the wine, then he takes the glass from me and places it next to his. But he’s still holding my face. “The thing about the gray area is we’ll never understand what really happened. But…one man’s mistake is another’s gain. If your father had been the good husband he was supposed to be, you wouldn’t be here with me.”

“I know. That’s why I wish he’d been a better man.”

“Well, that’s where we have a problem, because I want you here. I want you exactlyhereand in this unfortunate position you’ve found yourself in for the next six months.”

Heat coils down my spine and spreads over my body. I should be livid at his words, but instead, my traitorous body is gobbling them up.

My damn attraction to him is undeniable, and it scares me.

“That’s because you’re evil and you delight in the misfortune of others,” I stutter, attempting to remind myself what he is and resist him.

Malik leans closer so that his warm breath is tickling my nose. “We both know it’s not that. But there is one thing I definitely delight in doing to my wife-to-be.” His gaze drops to my pussy and lingers there.

Instantly I’m wet, as if I didn’t just spend the entire day telling myself about the dangers of being with this man and strengthening my mind to repel whatever temptation I knew he’d throw my way.

When he leans even closer, I try to pull away, but he tightens his grip on my face and spreads his fingers over my throat.

“Why are you fighting me, Malyshka?” He brushes his nose over mine.

“I… can’t do this again.” My pulse is racing. He’s way too close for comfort, and the nearness is throwing my nerves out of sync.

“Do what specifically, babygirl?” That wicked grin comes back.

“You know what, so let me go.”

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