Page 66 of Hurt for Me

There was no point in lying. “Yes.”

He pushed her fingers into the mark, wincing. “You can do this. But only this.”

It was more than she’d ever expected of him, and she pressed as hard as she could as they found each other’s lips again. Soon they were entwined on her soft rug, her cat in the corner silently judging them as Dayton rained kisses down her stomach, his arm hitching her left thigh up so he could taste her, his tongue circling and teasing until she was desperate for release.

She ran her fingers through his hair, fisting the thickness tight. As she got closer, she found the bite mark again and drove her thumb deep into the muscle. The sound Dayton made, the slight whimper coming from such a strong man, was enough to explode pleasure throughout her body as contracting waves passed over her.

After her muscles relaxed again, the intensity of the orgasm clearing the cannabis fog, all she could think was that Dayton was right; this was a bad idea.

Dayton pressed his lips to hers as he slowly sank into her, her body still vibrating with the aftershocks of the earthquake he had left in her.

Yes, it was a bad idea. And she couldn’t have cared less.

CHAPTER 41

RAE

2009

Nothing seemed real to Rae. Not how the paramedics pulled her away from Viv’s body, or how the medics looked her over for possible injuries, or how their faces subtly shifted from being concerned about her well-being to guarded once the cops arrived and took her away in a police cruiser. Not even as she sat in a smelly, cold interrogation room did it feel real.

They didn’t arrest her, but they didn’t go out of their way to be kind to her. They didn’t know what Rae knew about Mark. And they didn’t know Rae had lost the most important person in her life.

Grief washed over her again, made worse when Lily began punching around in her belly, and Rae couldn’t catch her breath from crying.Viv, why did you let him in? Why?

Rae overheard an officer say there were no signs of forced entry. It didn’t make sense. Viv should’ve called the police when Mark showed up.

Viv’s blue face flashed in Rae’s head again, and she moaned. She couldn’t take the pain twisting her stomach, clutching her throat tight until she choked on her tears. It was too much to handle.

She sat like that, sobbing off and on, for what seemed like an eternity before someone finally came into the room. She looked up from her tear-soaked arm to see a woman dressed in an oversize pantsuit with a white blouse.

“Rae Phalin?” the woman said. “I’m Detective Kennedy. Can I get you anything to drink or eat? Or a blanket? They keep it like a meat locker in here. Supposedly, it’s to keep people alert.” She smiled a little at Rae.

“A blanket, please.”

The detective left and came back with a thin, scratchy blanket. She sat across from Rae and let her know they were going to record her statement.

“Okay, Rae, I know this is hard, but I need you to tell me everything that happened today up until you found Vivien Dixon.”

“Viv. She went by Viv.”

Rae went over the entire day, detailing her trip to the prenatal cardiologist up until she came home to find the front door ajar.

“It was Mark. Her ex-husband. I don’t know his last name, but I know it’s not Dixon.”

Detective Kennedy jotted down notes on a scratch pad. “We did see Viv had a recent protection order against him.”

“And it didn’t stop him from killing her!” Rae couldn’t help yelling. “Y’all did nothing!”

“Rae, I understand you’re angry,” the detective said, using a calm voice that only made Rae more pissed. “And we will do everything we can to find out who killed her.”

“I just told you who killed her!”

“We have to collect more information before we can determine that, which I’m sure you understand. We want to put away the rightperson, which may be her ex-husband. But we won’t know unless you cooperate.”

Rae wanted to scream until her lungs shriveled up. They were only wasting time, allowing Mark to get away.

“What do you need, then?” she asked the detective. “I can describe him. And I know what kind of car he drives and the color. It’s a red Corvette, a newer one. Just please get him before he escapes back to California.”

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