Page 28 of Seduced in Ink

“I lied. We have to go in. We can’t run.”

“No, we can’t, but I’m always that option for you.”

She gave him a look that went straight to his dick, and he did his best not to let it get to him.

Getting a hard-on in this situation would only lead to horrible things.

Painful stuff.

“Madison,” her mother snapped from the other room.

“Let’s join the inquisition,” Madison whispered.

“Because nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition?”

They were laughing again as they made their way to the parlor. When they entered the room, Aaron nearly choked on his spit.

Guy stood near the window, a glass of whiskey in his hand, joking joyfully with Madison’s father.

Aaron hated the guy. And yes, his name, as well.

“Mother?” Madison asked, confusion in her tone.

“You both know Guy. He is such a wonderful family friend. We figured he’d be a perfect dinner guest to join us tonight. After all, Madison does need to explore her options.”

“Options?” Madison mouthed, and Aaron squeezed her hand again.

Tonight was going horribly.

Seriously bad.

Aaron had not been wrong. Horrible wasn’t even the beginning of it.

It started with Guy and continued with the fact that he had been sat at the opposite end of the table from Madison, near her father. Guy got to sit next to Madison, and Aaron hadn’t been able to do anything to stop it. If he had tried, he’d have likely made a scene, and everything would have been ten times worse.

When the appetizers showed up, everybody got a delicious and perfectly flakey pastry filled with cheese and meat. Madison got a lettuce wrap.

She shook her head when Aaron opened his mouth to say something. Instead he sat back and watched as her mother treated her like she was nothing. Not intelligent enough to think for herself. And not able to make her own choices.

Madison tried to bring the conversation back around to happy things, tried to remember the good times, and was even nice to Guy. All the while, Aaron held his tongue, wondering what the fuck was going on.

When dinner was served, Madison wasn’t served potatoes. And when dessert was offered, she declined. He had a feeling that she wouldn’t have been able to have it anyway.

Madison was gorgeous. Yes, she had curves, and he fucking loved them.

She wasn’t slender like her mother, but the two had different bone structures and body shapes that worked for them.

The fact that Madison’s mother was not so subtly fat-shaming her? Jesus Christ, Aaron was ready to murder someone.

But Madison took it, the hurt in her eyes so perfectly hidden that he wasn’t sure anybody but he had seen it.

When it was time to leave, Aaron could barely speak through his rage, and his hands were shaking.

They got into the car without even a true goodbye or an offer to visit again. He had no idea if the pretense had worked, and honestly, he didn’t fucking care. He was too angry.

They made it out of the neighborhood without Aaron speaking a single word. Madison sat still and looked at her hands.

He pulled off the road to stop at a local neighborhood park, let out a breath, turned off the car, and got out.