Page 21 of Bloodstained Wings
“Okay,” I mutter. “At the election party, after Carter found out that he lost, there was this woman. They didn’t speak or anything, but there was this weird eye-contact thing that threw me off. I wasn’t really bothered when I saw it, but he got really short with me after that. Then, when I asked about it later, he blew me off like it was nothing.”
Her lips curl into a ribboned bunch on one side of her face. “Okay, so what does that mean? You think he’s cheating on you or—”
“No, never,” I cut in, not even willing to consider that.
“Isabella, if he is, then you need to know now before you get deeper with Carter.”
“I’m already in too deep. I love him. He would never cheat on me.”
“What’re we talking about in here?” Carter turns the corner slowly. His glare pulls through me slowly before slicing in Sam’s direction shortly after. “Sam, I think Tristan is downstairs waiting for you. You should go.”
I stand and give my dear friend a hug, watching her scurry out of the room. When I try to leave, Carter stops me, his hand resting firmly on the front of my sweats. I freeze like he’s pinned me to the floor, but having his fist dig into the mound of my sex is daring enough.
“What were you speculating with your friend about, dove?”
“Nothing,” I pant, feeling like a filthy liar. “We were just catching up.”
His eyes glower with rage. “You think I’m unfaithful to you?”
“No, sir. Not at all.”
He leans in close, his lips brushing the shell of my ear as he whispers, “Do you think I could fuck another woman like I fuck you, dove?”
I shake my head in refusal. “No, sir.”
“Good,” he breathes. “Go bend over onto your desk, then.”
My heart falls into my stomach. “What?”
His hand rips my sweats down, leaving me in a tiny pair of lace panties. I hug my sweatshirt a little tighter, knowing that it’s the next article of clothing to go. Sure enough, he pushes me to turn around and pulls the back of my sweatshirt up and over my head before throwing it on the floor.
“Desk, now.”
My breath hitches while I walk toward my new desk, wishing I didn’t have to break it in so soon. Thankfully, there’s not much on it yet, so when I lay forward against it, I don’t have to clear a space. I shut my eyes, hearing his belt slide through the loops of his pants.
“I don’t get it, dove.”
“Don’t get what?”
His voice turns into a rumbling snarl. “Why you would think my cock would rise for anyone else.”
“I know who you are,” I admit. “I know who you used to be. I’m not accusing you of being unfaithful. I just know that your needs are—”
My words are stopped short when the belt cuts through the air, smacking my ass with perfect precision. I cough a cry, fighting back from jumping right off this desk and breaking into hysterical pleas. But Carter needs this more than I do sometimes. So, despite my terrible pain intolerance, I accept it.
He hits me two more times before my knees can no longer refrain from trembling.
“Go to the bedroom,” he snarls, still out of breath. “Get out of here.”
I finally stand and turn, my body shivering while he looks over my exposed chest and my tearful eyes. Carter isn’t one to feel much sympathy, but lately, I’ve seen that change in him. He grabs my arm when I try to move past him, pulling me into his warm, familiar chest, where he pins me in his embrace.
“I don’t want us to go downthatpath again, dove.”
I don’t need him to elaborate. The scars on my ass will probably never heal fully. He sees them every time he’s behind me, and even with my tight panties on, he can probably still see the marks. I’ve never seen him so untamed, so vicious, and I don’t need him being that man anymore.
I need to tame him before everything falls apart, but how do I tame a man who was born to be reckless?
He nudges me into the hall, signaling that it’s time to go to the bedroom, but I need to entice my furious lover. I take his hand, walking toward the other end of the hall and then downstairs. Thankfully, Tristan and Sam left without needing to be shown out the door.