The Wrong Kind of Love

I shove the documents into my dresser drawer, making my way back to the bed where Tor’s soundly sleeping. Early morning sunlight streams through the window, bathing her in a golden glow. Of all the messed up shit fate has thrown at me, I’m glad it was her.

She makes me laugh, she pisses me off, she makes me feel guilty. This woman makes me feel, and I only wish I could offer her the things most people take for granted–a normal, mundane life. Because if I could, things would be different. If I could love someone, it would be her. One-thousand fucking times over, but the villian isn’t meant to get the princess. People like me, we’re meant to thrive on revenge and hate.

She stirs when I sit on the bed and press a kiss to the scar on her throat. “Morning, doll,” I breathe against her skin, shoving up her shirt and working my way between her breasts.

“Jude…” she whispers, still half asleep.

I bite and suck down her stomach, shoving her legs open as I settle between them. “Want me to stop?” I ask, tugging her underwear to the side and blowing a warm breath over her pussy.

“God, no.” She threads her fingers through my hair, arching her back when I place a kiss on her clit. My phone buzzes on the dresser, the ringtone Marney’s, but I ignore it. I lick over her wet pussy, burying my face. The phone rings again and again. I make another pass over her before I glance at the phone.

“Shit. Let me see what the old man wants,” I say, kissing her before I push off the bed.

“What is it?”

“You need to get your ass downstairs, boy. We’ve got ourselves a mighty big problem.” Then he hangs up.

Groaning, I glance at the dresser on my way across the room. I’ll give Tor the documents tomorrow morning after I book her flight. I just need one more night.

Marney’s in the kitchen, pacing, with a bank bag under his arm when I come down the stairs.

“What the hell is–”

“See this shit?” He dumps the bag out. Rubber Banded piles of cash scatter the table, along with a wilted magnolia.

Fuck.

Marney grabs one of the stacks and slaps it against my chest. “Boy, we gotta do something with that girl. And quick like. ‘Cause that note right there…”

I take the money and read over the torn piece of paper tucked beneath the rubberband.

Tell your lovely lady it will be my pleasure to meet with her very soon.

-Tom

Tor

I look up when Jude steps into the bedroom, and I smile, expecting him to take his pants off and finish what he started earlier. But when I register the look on his face, I know something is wrong.

He goes to the dresser and removes a manila envelope from the drawer before tossing it to the bed. “You have a flight tonight. You’re leaving.”

My stomach drops, and in the blink of an eye it feels as though my whole world is ripped out from beneath me. “What?”

“You leave at six.” He swipes a hand over his face.

I push off the bed and walk over to him, my heart pounding out a panicky rhythm. “Why now?” He won’t look at me, and I touch his cheek, pulling him to me. “Jude.”

Seconds pass, his jaw ticcing before he glances up at me with that same cold look of indifference he gave me the day I was shoved in his office. “I don’t know what you thought this was, Victoria.” In the blink of an eye I flip from hurt, to feeling so damn stupid, and finally to anger. I thought we had something. I thought he cared about me, and this whole time I was just a convenient little captive, a stupidly willing captive who spread my legs and invited him in. And he took it. He used me.

My palm meets his cheek and his face snaps to the side. “You’re a piece of shit, Jude. You’re no better than Euan.” No, he was worse because when Euan handed me over to die, it didn’t hurt this much.

“I never fucking said I was.” He yanks out of my hold, and starts toward the door. “Pack your shit.” Then the door slams behind him, and I cry.

I cry because I trusted him. I thought he would protect me. I thought he might even love me. I sob because I have feelings for a man who doesn’t give a shit. And isn’t unrequited love always the worst kind of pain…

Jude

They say there is nothing worse than meeting the right person at the wrong time, and I’ll be damned if that isn’t the truth. I would give anything to keep Tor here, but I would rather know she’s moved on with her life than risk completely losing her.