Bred by the Bully (Breeding Season 8)

A week after their wedding, she’d made an appointment with the doctor. She was in good health and officially not pregnant. He gave her a prescription for birth control. Mira hoped to stay on it for about a year. That would give them the time they needed to grow closer. The last thing she wanted was to rush into having children and watch her fragile marriage fall apart.

It was now a sunny Saturday morning after days of rain. Drake had told her to dress comfortable and casual before rushing off. He said he’d be back in twenty minutes. She had no clue where he was taking her, but he looked excited and proud of himself.

Mira sat outside on the bench near the lobby, waiting for him to return. It didn’t take long.

She slipped into the passenger seat of the car once he pulled up. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

“Be patient, Mira,” he said. “You wanted to start over, do things right, so that’s what we’re going to do.” He drove off, away from his upscale neighborhood and onto the highway. It was a long drive, but ever so slowly, things began to look familiar again.

“Where are we?” she asked absently. “No, wait, why are we here?”

They were in their old neighborhood, the place where her childhood nightmares took shape. Mira had no interest in reliving a past she wanted to forget. She noted some familiar streets, homes, her old mailbox, and the old oak tree near the school.

He pulled along the side of the road and cut the engine.

“What kind of surprise is this, Drake?”

“This isn’t the surprise, but if you want things to be real between us, then we have to face our demons. Both of us.”

She took a breath, knowing he was right, but still hating the idea with every fiber of her being. “I said I forgave you.”

He shook his head. “See over there?”

Mira turned and looked in the direction he referenced. There was a dilapidated old trailer home. She doubted anyone could live in it. It looked like a stiff wind could demolish it. “What about it?”

“That’s where I grew up.”

She internally cringed, a mix of embarrassment for sounding so blasé and sadness for knowing the truth. “I didn’t know.”

He shrugged. “I have no good memories from that place.”

“You were tough on me, on everyone back then. Now I understand why.” She’d already heard bits and pieces about the abuse he’d faced at the hands of his so-called parents.

“It’s no excuse. But I want you to know where I came from. I’m not a monster.”

She remained quiet, looking at the shell of an old car rusting next to the trailer. When the curtains moved, she realized there was a toddler peeking out. Mira sat up straighter.

“Do they still—”

“No,” he said. “I have no idea where they are now.”

She turned to face him. “Do you ever get curious about what happened to them?”

“DNA isn’t everything, Mira. I have no desire to trudge back into my past. I’ve moved on, made something of myself, and worked hard at turning off my emotions.”

“There’s nothing wrong with having feelings.”

“When you’ve experienced what I have, shutting down is the only thing you can do to keep sane,” he said. “But things are different now.”

“Oh?”

His hand tightened on the steering wheel. “I’m trying to change. You’ve changed me, Mira.”

“I haven’t done anything.”

He shifted in his seat and faced her. “You’re my wife now. You’re all that matters to me.”

“I can’t erase the past, Drake. We’ll still have problems. No relationship is perfect.”

“I don’t want perfection.”

His entire existence was based on having the very best of everything and getting his way at all costs. She continued to feel inferior, like Drake could get someone so much better. But he wasn’t so invincible after all. He was being held together by smoke and mirrors.

“Neither do I,” she said.

He leaned closer and they kissed, softly, sweetly.

“Now, let’s visit your old stomping grounds.”

Drake took a deep breath as they drove away from the nightmares of his childhood. She recognized more and more as they pulled up in front of her old home. Things had changed, the paint, the landscaping, but the structure was still the same. It brought back a lot of bittersweet memories. Mostly it reminded her that her parents were gone and her brother didn’t value their relationship. Without Drake, she was completely alone in the world—a harsh world.

“You know, I came home from school crying too many times to count. Seemed everyone loved to tease the fat, dyslexic girl. Even though I’ve grown up, the pain still feels fresh some days.”

“I was a bastard. You didn’t deserve how I treated you,” he said. “I had a crush but wouldn’t have a clue how to share healthy emotions.”

“A crush? On me?”