Page 79 of Resistant

I brush my hand over her cheek, and she closes her eyes and leans into my palm. Another tear trickles down her nose and I brush it away.

“Knox is fucking with my head. I know I can’t trust him, but all my anxiety surrounding him is bleeding over to you, and it’s amplified by the tension between us. I know that’s my fault, but my heart isn’t listening. I feel so alone. And I don’t know what to do.”

She sniffs heavily and grabs a napkin wiping her face and blowing her nose.

“Wow, I bet this is so attractive.” She grimaces and looks away.

“Angel, you are not a husk of a woman. You feel so deeply, it’s amazing that he hasn’t broken you.”

“Oh, but he has. I’m hanging on by a thread here.”

“No, Angel, you are spinning and weaving that thread all on your own. It’s me that’s grasping at it to make sure I hang on and stay connected to you. You can trust me always. Even if we separate, I will always be on your side. You saved me in the stocks. And while I’m thankful for that, that’s the least of my motivation here. I want you, just as you are. And I’m waiting for the day to hold Knox down and let you go to town, princess.”

I smile at her, and she laughs.

“I hate that you call me princess.”

“I know, but you are my princess at times. She’s fierce, and she gives no fucks. I so desperately want to tame her.”

My Angel looks me right in the eye as visible shivers slide down her back.

“Angel, you should go shower. Go easy on the whisky. We are not done here.”

Brynn

The water pressure in the hotel shower is sublime and I stand underneath it and feel some of the tension unravel from my shoulders.

The darkness is threading around me like a mist weaving its way into my head, a living being. I find myself praying to a God I haven’t talked to in a long time. I’m desperate for real hope, a beacon that will guide me through this. Some higher power with a bigger purpose who will save me and my children. I hesitate as a small voice adds Declan to that list.

He snuck into my heart when I wasn’t paying attention, and I don’t know how I should feel about that. I’m relieved that he has promised to stick by me through all this, but I’m afraid to lean on him too hard because he may disappear like everyone else.

With that thought, I see tendrils of the darkness coming for me, trying to wrestle me into its hold. I whisper another prayer until the darkness in my mind retreats. The bitch in my head tells me I should have put my big girl panties on a long time ago, that I need to stand firm.

How do I stand firm when I don’t even have my feet underneath me? And she whispersDeclan will help you stand, let him.I sigh, I don’t want to be responsible for the death or disappearance of anyone else.

And a voice I haven’t heard in a long time tells me that He has me, and he has all my other people, including Declan. That I need to be still and listen.

Another tear rolls down my cheek. Is this it? My mind has broken, cracked down the middle, and shattered into a million pieces that cannot be glued back together.

I feel done. Is this what people feel when they attempt suicide? And I hear Him again telling me thatlove will make all things new. I let the tears fall and wash my body, the water pounding into my flesh.

I turn the water as hot as I can stand it and let it burn through me, sizzling off my outer shell so I can be reborn. All I have to do is crack my shell, like an egg andbegin. And I’m going to start with Declan and whatever this is growing between us.

I wring the water out of my hair as best I can and run a comb through it. I hang my towel and step out of the bathroom naked. Declan is sitting on the bed and takes a long pull from the whisky bottle. He’s focused on the TV and glances at me. His attention shifts back to the TV, and I feel the nerves churning in my belly. He sets the bottle down and leans back against the pillows.

“Angel, I don’t know what you have in mind, but if you don’t bring that pretty naked body over here, you are going to be punished.”

He still hasn’t looked at me. I bite my lip and walk over to him, standing next to him while he continues to focus on the news.

His arm snakes out and he pulls my body over his lap. I rest my cheek on the soft duvet, and he rubs his palm over my ass cheeks.

Fuck, I’m about to get a spanking. His movements are slow caresses and I sink further into the mattress, my eyes closed. I’m not listening to the TV, my focus is solely on the feel of his body, the lazy breaths coming from his chest, and the occasional growl that erupts from his lips.

He clicks the TV off and his hands roam up my back and down my sides. Goosebumps follow his fingertips and I wiggle in his lap seeking pressure to relieve the ache I feel spreading out from my clit.

His hands grab my hips, and he rolls me off of his lap onto my back. I close my eyes and turn my face upwards toward the headboard as his body covers mine, hard muscles pressing against my chest, my pussy and legs. He surrounds me both physically and ethereally. His fingers close around my chin, and he pulls my face down.

“Look at me Angel.”

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