She wiped her tears, gulping back the lump in her throat, and kept her gaze on Marley. “It was...” She tried to control her tears, but that only made her cry harder. “Kole, he...hurt..."
Marley's brow creased before she looked back at Reed. He stood with clenched fists, his voice all but a growl. “What did he do to you?"
Bella parted her mouth, but nothing came out. I gave him control, and now I'm lost. “He...” She'd always been the strong one of the group. Right now her soul was weak.
Reed approached Marley, his features tight, and he frowned. “I'll call you soon.” He kissed her cheek, then strode toward the door.
"Where are you going?” Marley called.
Reed never responded, merely closed the door behind him with a slam.
Marley finally sighed, then pulled Bella over to the couch, taking a seat next to her on the cushion. “What happened?” Her gaze probed Bella's. “Did he do something bad to you?"
Bella wiped her tears and pulled herself together with a deep breath. “I just realized that I care..."
Marley gasped with fake surprise and held a hand over her heart. “Oh Lord, she's going to admit it."
Bella rolled her eyes. “Okay, so I've got a thing for him."
Kyra snorted. “When did you get your first clue?"
"Leave her alone,” Sadie interjected. “I don't understand why you're so sad, though. You said he hurt you. Did he physically harm you?"
"Well, he hurt me...a little, but I liked it.” The girls giggled, and she added, “He didn't do anything but give me a night I'll never forget."
Kyra's lip curled. “And this is a problem because..."
"Because he doesn't share the same feelings that I have for him."
"I don't believe that,” Marley retorted. “Whenever you're around, his gaze follows you. Even if you haven't noticed, I have.” Her look was knowing. “That man has been after your ass since day one. Reed even said as much."
Bella shook her head, her lip quivered, and failure sank deep into her gut. “Not anymore."
"What do you mean?” Sadie asked.
Lie?
Not an option. A vow of truth existed between the four of them and was the reason they'd been so close since childhood. “I used my safe word, and he stopped the scene."
Kyra's gaze darted to Marley and Sadie before returning to Bella. “I have no idea about this BDSM stuff, but from what Marley has said, isn't it a good thing that he listened to you?"
Marley nodded. “Exactly. I don't get why you're so upset about that."
Bella shrugged. “I think it's because I'm not enough for him. He didn't seem happy with me. You know how Kole is.” Marley gave a nod of agreement, and Bella continued, “You've told me that he gets intense and likes to push his subs."
Rage burned in Marley's eyes. “So he did hurt you?"
The pain he offered wasn't the problem, and even that surprised Bella. How it made her so hot and brought her body to life in ways she'd never dreamed of, and offered new sensations that made vanilla sex boring in comparison. “It wasn't like that. He refused to let me orgasm, and I tried to hold off, but I couldn't."
"BDSM is weird.” Sadie's nose wrinkled. “Why would anyone want to refuse an orgasm? Isn't that the point of having sex?"
"It makes it more intense.” Marley dismissed Sadie's question with a flick of her hand. “Did he tell you he was disappointed?"
"No. But I saw it in his eyes."
"Hmm...well, I don't know why he'd be disappointed in you.” Marley tapped her lip as she studied Bella. “But besides that, did you enjoy yourself? Are you feeling okay...you know, with it all?"
"I loved it.” Bella bowed her head and tangled her fingers together, her heart breaking into pieces. “I enjoyed him."