Chapter 40
Tyler
A fter banging on the bedroom door and pleading with Ann-Marie to open up and talk to me, I'd resorted to slumping on the floor. Worn from the day and the kind of sex that would knock you out, I drifted off to sleep.
The bedroom door banging against the wall woke me up and I opened my eyes to see my wife pulling a suitcase behind her. Jumping to my feet, I grabbed onto the compact pink case and pulled the handle from her hand. She spun around and punched me in the chest.
"Give it back!" she screamed.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" I barked back at her.
Ann-Marie narrowed her reddened eyes at me, cheeks flushed with temper. "We were doing so well!" She pounded my bare chest again, clawed at it. "We just got married, you bastard!" she sobbed.
I looked at her wide-eyed and threw the suitcase back inside the room.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" My brain was still trying to wake up.
"You! Damn it! I can't stay with you now! I can't be with you, touch you... look at you!" Ann-Marie headed toward the bedroom door and I grabbed her in my arms.
She elbowed me in the ribs, stepped on my foot and spun out of my hold. That's what I got for teaching her self-defense. Her bony elbows could cause a puncture wound.
"Ah, don't give that...that bullshit!" I spat. "You were fucking loving it an hour ago, getting off to the idea of me killing someone!"
"No I wasn't!" she yelled.
I scoffed.
"Oh my fuck! You just admitted it!" Ann's voice lowered to a tremor. "You killed them, didn't you?" She grabbed her mouth with trembling fingers.
"As if that's not what you wanted me to do when you asked me to get involved. Drop the saintly act, will you?" I scowled.
"No! That's not what I wanted. And even if I wasn't thinking straight and I did, in the beginning, you couldn't be the more level-headed one? When I get weak, is that what you do? Prey on my weakness? The way you do to everyone else?" Her mouth hung agape. "I have to get out of here."
"No, you're not going anywhere!" I jumped in front of her.
More shock registered. In the past, I'd used every tactic I could to manipulate her into bed and get her to stay one more night. But when she finally decided she couldn't stay, I didn't force her. I let her walk out of my life. It was the most miserable moment, and years to follow, of my life.
Horror flashed in her glare. "So, what are you going to do? Huh? Tyler? Tie me up? Lock me away?"
Hm. Tying her up sounded like a fun time. "Why? Is that what you want?"
She gasped and pushed past me. "You're impossible."
"You can't leave me." I grabbed onto her wrist.
"Let me go, Tyler." She tugged.
"You're my wife." I pulled her into my body. "I'm not letting you walk out of my life again."
"Well, you couldn't leave well enough alone. Lily was home! You had no reason to go after them, but you couldn't help yourself, could you? And don't you dare keep blaming it on me! You made your bed, and now you're going to have to lie in it alone." She sobbed.
I hated it when she cried and my hold on her wrists loosened.
"You can't leave me," I repeated, in more of a plea this time than a command.
"I have to, Tyler."
"Why?" I grimaced. "You knew who I was when you let me fall in love with you."
"I let you fall in love with me? Here we go again with you dodging accountability. Do you think I wanted to fall in love with you?" She fired back. "I hate that I love you, because now I have to leave you. And it's killing me. You're killing me, Tyler."
"No." I shook my head and reached out to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "Don't say that."
"It's true, though." Her shoulders shook and she pushed me away. "I told you. I can't be with you when you're this...this person."
She walked away and I was staggered. "But this is who I am, Ann," I wailed, shocked at the pleading in my voice as I jabbed my fingers into my chest.
Ann turned and looked at me with the most heartbroken loss painted across her face. "Well maybe who you are and who I am is just not meant to be. I'll collect my stuff another time."
Her feet hurried down the long stairway. And I contemplated whether or not I was tough enough to let her go for good this time, because I knew there was no turning back. She was a woman of her word. Ann had always stood on what she said. I considered grabbing her and tying her up, but I remembered the ordeal of her kidnapping and I could barely stand the way she looked at me now, much less to have her look at me and see her kidnapper. I couldn't live with that. There were things I could do without thought for anyone else, but myself. Subjecting Ann-Marie to pain and torture wasn't one of them.
"Wait. Wait!" I chased after her, taking the stairs two at a time. Her feet picked up more speed and I skidded across our buffed and shiny brown and marble tiles in my attempt to reach her before she reached the door. I managed just in time to slam the door shut as she opened it. "I fucked up."
She was facing away from me and I took her by the shoulders to turn her around. I cupped her cheek and guided her eyes to mine. "I'm sorry."
Her face was wet from her sorrows and my heart bled out.
"I'll change. Again. I promise I will." With two hands cupping her face now, I pulled her toward me and stole desperate kisses. "I promise."
"You can't." She shook her head, but her eyes asked me if I was sure I could. And I nodded.
"Yes. Yes, I can. Please. Stay." My arms wrapped around her waist and when she melted into me, my chest expanded to accept her.
"I don't want to go." Ann rested her cheek against my chest and I stroked her hair. "But we just got married, Tyler. And you couldn't last..."
"Shhh. Shh. I'm sorry. Give me another chance." I silenced her.
She tensed. "I've given you plenty."
When I sensed she was about to pull away, I fell to my knees in front of her. "Give me another one. Let me prove to you that I can be the man you need me to be. But we've got to work with each other on this. I'm not blaming you." I looked up into her eyes. "But I'm like a recovering addict. You can't offer me alcohol when I'm trying to stop drinking. So, how about we make a promise?" I took her hands, even as she scowled at me for daring to bring that up again. "I promise to stay away from violence. And you promise that if any of your friends are in trouble again, you won't call on my 'special skills' to help them, okay?"
"I can't believe this." She exhaled.
"Please. I'm taking full accountability for what I did. But I need you to work with me on this. I also promise that I'll break that promise if you're ever in danger, and that's non-negotiable," I said.
"Tyler." She reprimanded.
"Okay. Fine. Expect me to break that promise if you're in danger...after I've exhausted all other options," I said.
She pinched the bridge of her nose. "I guess it's a start. Being married to a former mob boss comes with its risks. I knew that getting into this. You promise you'll exhaust all other options first before resorting to violence?"
"Sure." I lied. Of course not. She was my wife. And I'd do anything to protect her. But I wasn't lying about the rest. She needed me to be better and I needed her.
Ann sighed. "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this."
My smile spread wide and I moved to stand up so I could wrap her in my arms and kiss the life out of her, but she pressed into my shoulder. "Wait, I think I like having you there."
I grinned and my brows kicked up. We played around with a little dominance and submission every now and then. And we switched roles as the mood called for it. It wasn't that serious, it was just for fun.
I licked my lips and bit back a sigh. "But here I was, thinking about putting you over my knee and spanking you for trying to leave me."
Her chest rose and fell. "Maybe later." She gulped. "But right now, I'm liking the whole rope tying idea."
My eyes lit up.
"I mean you, tied up." She caught thrill scattering goosebumps on my skin.
"I know." I smiled and flashed my brows at her.