Husband by Choice

Did he remember breaking them?

“I feel your heart pounding, my dear, sweet Meredith.” His voice was low, gravelly. And different, too.

Missing something.

“I’m excited to see you,” she said, though she didn’t know why. She wasn’t. And his thinking so wasn’t part of the plan.

“You’ve missed me.”

“Of course.” In the way you missed a deadly disease when you’d been cured. Always remembering that it had been there and fearing that it might come back.

“It took longer than I expected for you to call.” He gave a squeeze to her midsection. Not so much that it hurt. But she remembered the pain. And drew breath from the part of her that knew not to feel anything.

That girl inside her who’d been born one day long ago, while she’d been standing, bleeding and broken, but feeling nothing, at the side of the highway, desperately trying to get back inside mangled steel.

“I had to take care of some things.”

“The boy.”

“He’s been out of my life for weeks now.”

“Two and a half to be exact.”

“You’ve been watching me.”

“Of course, my love. You knew I was.”

“I saw you.”

“A few times.”

“You let me elude you.” She understood that now. She’d escaped Steve’s clutches over the past few weeks because he’d allowed her to.

So he could enjoy the hunt.

“I knew I had you,” he said. “You’ve been mine since the day I walked into my sweet sister’s house for your graduation party and saw you standing there looking so beautiful and sexy and shy in those black leggings and long shirt that looked like a dress. They’re back in style now, did you know that?”

She did. But she didn’t wear clothes like that anymore. She didn’t wear anything that would attract attention to that which was not available.

“I see women everywhere that remind me of you. Sometimes, I have to admit, I help myself to them. Just for a sip.”

He’d been helping himself to women as long as she’d known him. She just hadn

’t known that about him back in the beginning. He was letting her know, now, right up front, that he wasn’t going to stop seeing other women. Not even for her.

He covered her breast with one hand and she didn’t push his hand away. He had to believe he was the one in control until they were someplace private. She’d known the plan wasn’t going to be easy.

Or safe.

“You’ve always come back to me,” she said now, cramming as much of her as she could into the persona she had to play.

“Just as you always come back to me, love.”

“Not always, Steve.” If she overplayed it too much he’d be on to her. “And I wouldn’t be here now if you hadn’t threatened me.”

“My sweet Meredith, you do me a disservice. I don’t threaten. And besides—” his head lowered until his lips were nuzzling her neck as he spoke, “—with you I don’t have to threaten, do I, love? You need me just like I need you. Deep down. Where the secrets sleep but never go away.”

“I don’t need you, Steve.” If she’d agreed, he’d get suspicious.