Page 12 of Gift Wrapped

The tasks he wanted me to accomplish were menial at best, and it seemed like he was testing me to make sure I could do my damn job. Well, he can kiss my ass. I finished his list the first day I had it.

I haven’t even seen him the entire week, except yesterday. The moment I arrived at the office he was waiting beside my desk to chew me out for finally decorating our floor with Christmas decorations. He wanted maintenance to take the decorations down but once he was informed I paid for them out of my own pocket, all I received was a grunt and a glare. I took that to mean I could leave them up.

Today, nothing and I mean nothing, is going to ruin my good mood. I take my time in the shower, shaving my legs and pampering myself a little. After all, I deserve to feel good about myself. I take my time choosing my underwear, a bright fuchsia-colored set with lots of lace. Any woman can look good but it’s not as easy to feel good. I learned a long time ago that I can wear anything I want as long as I pick the right underwear. Starting with a good base is a great way to feel confident and sexy all day long. It’s like putting on armor.

I grab my handbag and keys before leaving but run into a solid wall of muscle as I leave the apartment. Before I can stumble, I am caught by large hands.

Looking up I find the one person that might have the power to fuck up this beautiful morning.

“Not today,” I say as I attempt to extract myself from Chad’s grasp.

“Lake, babe, don’t be this way,” he says.

“Chad,” I breathe deeply through my nose before speaking. “I don’t want to have this conversation with you. Much less today. And I need to get to work.”

He shoves me back into the apartment and this time I do end up on my ass. It’s been less than a week since I last saw him, but he looks disheveled and tired.

“We are going to work this out,” he grumbles as he closes and locks the door. “I don’t give a shit about your job or anything else. Neither of us is leaving until this is fixed.”

Slowly I rise from the spot where I fell and straighten my clothes. “This is my home, and you aren’t welcome in it anymore.”

Chad turns to me, and I know that I said the wrong thing. His eyes are black with the finest ring of gold as his animal tries to force his way out. This man is holding on by a very thin thread and I would be wise not to push him.

“I don’t want to fight,” I say instead as I gingerly try to move away from him.

Perhaps I can get behind the sofa? Just put something between us.

“I’m not here to fight. I’m here to fix this mess,” Chad says as he prowls closer to me.

Right now, I need to make a choice. I can either play the simpering idiot and take him back out of fear or I can stand my ground and hope that he doesn’t kill me. But it isn’t really a decision, right? My pride won’t let me take the safe route, so I put my foot down.

“There is nothing to fix, Chad. We both know that you don’t love me, I’m just a means to an end for you.”

“That’s not true!” he roars. “I love you.”

“You don’t. You love the idea of me and what I can offer you,” I sigh. “Hell, just the other night you made it clear that you couldn’t even stand the sight of me.”

He balks at my words. “I was drunk. You know I didn’t mean a damn word I said.”

“That’s the problem though. You did mean it, and we both know it.”

“Babe,” he starts but I cut him off.

“It’s over,” I say slowly and clearly. “There is nothing you can say or do that will change that.”

My phone chooses that moment to chirp from inside my discarded bag and Chad leans down to grab it. I don’t know what it is he sees but his features change from curiosity to dismay to all-out rage.

“Now I understand,” he says with a calm, flat voice that has fear skittering through my senses. “This isn’t something I can fix because I’m not the problem.”

He tosses my phone on the couch as he continues to move closer to me. There isn’t anywhere I can flee to, nowhere I can hide. I see the madness in his eyes. And even though I never would have believed Chad capable of hurting me before today, I know that he is past the point of no return.

Before I can try to dodge him, he wraps a big meaty hand around my throat and shoves me against the wall so hard I hear frames falling to the floor. The sound of glass shattering is loud in the silence of my apartment.

I can feel my airway being constricted as the tips of his elongated nails break the skin. If I’m lucky he will simply rip my throat out and be done with it.

“You kicked me out so you could fuck some other asshole?” he asks lowly.

When I don’t respond, because I can’t, he lifts me clear off the floor before slamming me against the wall again. Stars dance across my vision. I try clawing at his hand and kicking at his legs, but nothing is helping. He knows I can’t shift when he has me gripped like this.

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