Consolation Prize (Forbidden Men 9)

I opened my mouth to apologize again for ruining the one chance we’d had to be together, but he said, “So about this abusive ex-husband of yours.”

I ground my teeth, wishing he’d forgotten about that. “He wasn’t abusive,” I muttered, fiddling with the hem of his jacket sleeve. I’d never worn sleeves this long before, and it was probably best I didn’t because I’m sure I would’ve started the nasty nervous habit of worrying the cloth between my fingers if I had. Playing with it was addictive.

“Right here,” I added. Damn, every time I shifted in my seat, this smell would waft up from the inside of his jacket and surround me. The hint of winter was masked by something that was pure Colton. It reminded me of the scent that had burned its way into my nostrils on the night of the wedding when I’d been ripping his shirt open. He’d smelled the exact same way then, too.

Colton turned where I instructed and said, “I don’t believe you. You’re not this scared of him for no reason.”

“He wasn’t abusive,” I insisted and then muttered, “because I never gave him the chance to be.”

A moment of silence followed before Colton asked, “What does that mean exactly?”

I sighed. He always had a way of making me spill everything to him, didn’t he? That was so not fair.

“One night,” I started reluctantly. “We had a fight. Our first real fight. Jesus.” I laughed and shook my head. “I can’t even remember what we were arguing about now, it was that stupid. But he got mad and swung out his arm just when I moved into striking distance.”

“Shit,” Colton whispered, shaking his head.

“He swore it was an accident and said I’d just gotten too close when he was moving his arm. Hell, it could’ve been an accident.”

“It wasn’t an accident,” Colton said.

I nodded. “Yeah, probably not.”

“It wasn’t,” he insisted. “I’ve seen plenty of people lose their shit without harming a single person around them, accidently or not.”

“I told him it didn’t matter if it had been an accident,” I admitted quietly. “I’d gotten hurt when he’d been mad, and that was enough for me. He told me I was being completely unreasonable and not even giving him a chance, and maybe he was right, but he fucking bruised me. My jaw was sore for over a week.”

With a nod, Colton murmured, “You did the right thing.”

“Hell yes, I did. After it was over, I found out he’d cheated on me anyway.”

“Well, shit.” He shook his head. “Why is he so determined to win you back, then? Or do you think he wants to exact some kind of revenge on you for leaving him?”

“Oh, he wants me back. My dad works for this huge equal rights organization. He’s kind of a bigwig there, and Shaun would love nothing better than to work there too. He thinks my dad could be his in. That’s my building on the left.”

Colton slowed the truck and pulled to the curb before killing the engine. The quiet that followed kind of freaked me out, especially after I’d been talking about Shaun.

I hadn’t lied, but I hadn’t been completely honest either. He’d only hurt me once while we’d been married. It was after the divorce that he’d gotten more physical. I’d refused to talk to him, to listen to his side of things again, and it had pissed him off. Usually, I was adept at avoiding him, but he’d managed to corner me a couple of times. Once he had pushed me down, and another time he’d grabbed my arm and tried to drag me off before Chad had caught him in the act. He’d stopped immediately and run off.

I had changed my number twice in the past two years, and we’d had to get new locks installed in the apartment once. Other than that, I’d been pretty lucky. He’d cut down his encounters to about once or twice a month these days. But I certainly didn’t want him to catch me hanging out with another man. I wasn’t completely sure how he’d react, but I didn’t want to learn either.

Wondering if he was out there right now, and loathing to step outside the security of Colton’s truck to find out, I gulped and began to shrug off his coat. “I guess I’d better give you this back now.”

But Colton was already opening the driver’s side door. “You can wait until we reach your door.”

I zipped my gaze to him. “You…no, you don’t have to walk me in.”

Except he was already outside and shutting his door. I ground my teeth and clambered after him. If Shaun had followed me home, I didn’t want Colton facing him alone.

As soon as he reached the sidewalk, I snagged his arm and yanked him to my side, not even caring if he could feel my breasts against him or not. Glancing up and down the dark street, I hustled us toward the front door.

Tripping after me to keep up, he gripped my waist to steady himself. “Shit. What the hell? You think he followed us or something?”

When I didn’t answer but dragged him into the building, he tightened his grip on my hip. “Baby doll?”

I growled when he forced us to a stop. “I don’t know, but I don’t want to risk it. I’m not sure how he’d react to me tonight.” Sometimes he smooth-talked and tried to charm his way back into my good graces. Sometimes he was more aggressive. “But I do know how he’d react to you. And it wouldn’t be good.”

Colton’s eyebrows arched. “Well, that’s unsettling.”