Chapter 48
Cori
Before I can get up to get the chocolate trifle from the fridge, Dax sticks his entire hand in the bowl of jambalaya and eats it. He licks his palm and does it again.
“Take the rest of that for Selene,” he taunts.
“I’ve about had all I’m going to take from you.” Dax’s mother reaches across the table and hits him in the head with her knuckles.
Dax leaves the table, takes the dessert from me, and puts some in two serving bowls. He gives one to his mother and puts the other at his seat. He returns, sticks his hand in the bowl, and fills mine.
“Here,” he says.
Haddie rises from her chair and starts hitting him all over his chest and back. He moves away from her and sits.
“I’m not eating that after you touched it.”
“Oh, come now. You’ve licked every inch of my body. What’s the big deal if your food touches my hand?”
“You’re disgusting.” I grab the bowl and dump the contents in the sink. I run my fingers through the discarded dessert and wipe it on Dax’s cheek. He wipes it with his hand and sucks it into his mouth.
“Licking is all fine and good, but I hope you two are doing more than that. Licking alone won’t get me any grandbabies.” I start to cough at the statement, but I don’t respond. Instead, I stick my finger in Dax’s bowl. He snatches my hand and licks the finger before releasing me.
His mother shakes her head at us and eats her dessert, while I go without. I start to clear the table when everyone finishes eating.
“I’ll take you home, Mom,” Dax says. “And I’ll go look for Finch after.” Haddie gets her things, and instead of walking out alone, Dax lifts me, puts me over his shoulder, and walks me to the garage. He throws me in the front seat and closes the door.
No one speaks in the tense ride to his mother’s house. Once she gets home, Dax drives out of her neighborhood. He doesn’t speak to me, and I cross my arms and refuse to say a word to him.
Instead of driving back home, he turns into Selene’s neighborhood. My head whips around, but he doesn’t look at me. I pull my phone out of my pocket to warn my cousin, but he snatches it and tosses it into a dark corner in the back of the car.
He parks in an empty spot in front of her house before he drags me out of the car.
“Selene,” I start to yell, but he covers my mouth with his hand. I bite it, and he yelps.
He wraps an arm around my waist and lifts me off my bare feet while I do everything to escape. It’s futile. The man is freakishly strong.
He kicks Selene’s door so hard that it hits the wall. She’s in the middle of her living room, and lets out a scream. Finch, dressed in a pink tutu, barks and runs to Dax.
“I knew it,” he says. “Your little performance didn’t fool anyone.
” Dax looks down at Finch, gets on his knees, and rubs her behind her ears.
“There’s my girl.” He hugs and kisses the top of the dog’s head.
“Daddy missed you.” He hugs the beast again.
“Don’t worry. I’ll talk to Mommy about this.
She can’t continue to treat you this way. ”
“I am not that filthy thing’s mommy.” I suck my teeth and look away in disgust.
“No. You can’t have her back. Cori said I could have her. She’s mine.” Selene reaches for Finch’s collar, but Dax gets between them.
“Touch her, and I’ll pick you up and drop you in the dumpster out back.” Selene gasps but takes a step back.
“Fincherellla, come!” Selene commands. The dog looks from Dax to Selene, but she doesn’t move.
“Finch,” Dax announces. He whistles, and the dog follows him to the broken door.
“No!” Selene screams. “You can’t take her.” She jumps on Dax’s back and bites his shoulder.
“God damn it,” he yells. He carries Selene out through the sliding glass door and makes good on his threat. He opens the trash can and dumps her in it.
“It stinks in here!” Selene yells.
I run toward my cousin to help her out, but he wraps an arm around my waist, goes back through the sliding glass door, locks it, and carries me back to his car.
No one speaks for the entire short ride home. When we arrive, I run out of the car and try to lock him in the garage, but he pushes the door before I can finish.
“Don’t you ever touch my dog.” I knock down his finger, but I don’t cower. I stand tall and look into his eyes.
“My dog,” I state.
“Like hell.”
“My dog.” I lower my voice. “My. Fucking. Dog. You gave her to me.”
“You delusional little liar. I would give you away before I’d give my dog to anyone.”
“In a room full of guests, you said everything you own is now mine, and that includes Finch. I gave my dog to Selene.”
“Selene’s body will wash up in the river before that happens. Finch is—”
“Finch is property, sweetheart. In the eyes of the law, that’s what she is. And since you gave me all your property, she’s mine. Just like this house is mine, and I want you out of it. I don’t want you here. Leave my dog.”
He throws his head back and laughs like a deranged maniac.
“You are one evil woman.” He gets in my face. “Make me go.” I don’t move. “Thought so.”
He whistles, and the dog follows him out of my sight and up the stairs. I let out a breath of relief, and after counting to one hundred, I go to the bedroom.
The room is empty, and I’m grateful that he’s sleeping somewhere else tonight.
After a hot shower, I put on a short silk robe and step into the bedroom.
I lose a step when I see him lying on top of the bedspread in a pair of pajama pants and nothing else.
I lick my lips at the sight of his exposed abs.
“What the hell are you doing in here?”
“I’m sleeping in my bed, in my house. What the fuck do you think I’m doing?”
“Oh, yeah? Are you going to give up the dick? That’s all you’re good for. That and being a shifty crook.” I wouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot pole, but I know the dig will hurt.
“Witches like you who hurt innocent puppies don’t deserve dick.”
I scoff. “Ain’t nobody want your old, shriveled up dick. You look like someone’s grandpa in those ugly ass pajama pants.”
He scoffs, but doesn’t answer. He takes the remote and channel surf. I open my robe and slowly roll it off my shoulders before I drop it to the floor.
His body doesn’t move, but his eyes dart from the television to my naked body. I thrust my breasts forward and saunter into the room, ensuring that my hips swing from side to side. He licks his lips before biting the bottom one.
I make sure to walk past him, give him my back, and pick up the body lotion on the nightstand.
“Oops.” I drop it to the floor and bend down to pick it up. I stick my ass as far as I can, and shake it while I pretend not to be able to grasp the bottle. Once I have it, I face him, and his eyes land on my breasts.
I take my time and put lotion over my chest, paying special attention to my breasts. When I get to my legs, I prop one on the bed, and he gets a clear view of my pussy. He exhales and makes a strained noise in the back of his throat.
The crotch of his pajama pants rises. I arch an eyebrow at him, and he clumsily covers it with a pillow. I take my time and ensure my legs and inner thighs are well moisturized. Once I’m done, I lie on top of the bed, still completely nude, and reach for a paperback I keep on my nightstand.
I do my best to ignore him, but I notice he inches closer to me. I move as far away from him without falling off the bed.
“Maybe I can forgive you if you apologize.” The man has audacity to last for days. “It’s cruel to pretend to have feelings for someone. I’ve done nothing but worship you since—”
“Since when?” I ask, interrupting whatever nonsense was about to spew from his mouth. “Since you kidnapped an innocent woman off the streets?”
“Innocent, my ass,” he scoffs.
“Since you blackmailed me into a marriage because you have to have everything your way?”
“Well, if you weren’t so damn hard-headed.” He lets out a breath. “And for the last time, it was a bribe, not blackmail.”
“Well, I guess that’s so much better.” I suck my teeth and resume my reading.
He moves so close, our bodies touch, and I have nowhere to go unless I want to fall off the bed. His hand lands on my knee.
“We can start over, and I’ll forgive you.” I hold in my laugh. “All you have to do is say sorry.”
“You’ll forgive me?” I point at myself, and the idiot nods his head. “Really? I’m the one who needs forgiveness? What about your apology to me for all the shit you’ve done?”
“I never deceived you.”
The very idea that this fool thinks I’m going to apologize to him after all the diabolical shit he’s put me through is hysterical.
His fingers glide along my legs, and that simple touch is enough to send my inner thighs throbbing.
I’m glad he can’t tell, but then my nipples pebble, and he kisses one of them.
I shove his head away, but he doesn’t move.
“Just say you’re sorry.” He tries to take a nipple into his mouth, but I block my breast with one hand, put down my book, and try to push him away with my other. The man doesn’t move, so I decide to go along with him.
I put my hand down, and his mouth wraps around my nipple.
I caress the back of his head.
“You want me to apologize?”
“Just a little apology, Bella, and everything will go back to how it was.” Except it can’t because it was over the moment he destroyed my most prized possession. “I know it wasn’t your fault. I don’t even blame you. That evil cousin of yours is responsible for this, not you. She got in your head.”
I maneuver enough that I’m able to straddle his lap. I can feel how much he wants me. I grind on top of him and throw my head back. His hand covers a breast, and I sigh in contentment.
His arms wrap around me, and he pulls me into his hard body. He lifts himself and manages to push his pants down, leaving him as naked as I am. I rub my breasts on his chest and massage the back of his neck the way I know he likes.
I get close to his ear and suck the lobe into my mouth.
“Bella,” he moans.
“Dax.” My voice comes out husky and needy. “I’m—” I stop and clear my throat.
“You’re what, baby? Just say it. One little word. Two syllables.”
“I’m—” My voice cracks as if I’m about to cry. “I’m—” I stop and lick the shell of his ear.
“You’re what? It’s okay. Say it.”
“I’m. Not. Sorry. For. Shit.” His hands stop caressing my back. “I wish I had thought of giving that mutt away sooner, you egomaniacal jackass.”
He pulls away to search my face. It’s almost like he can’t believe my words. I cross my arms and roll my neck while I gloat into his deceptive, beady little eyes. I expect him to throw me off him so he can barge out of the room, but that’s not what happens.
He pulls me close, and his mouth crashes on mine. He rolls over, and his heavy body lands on top of me. He kisses me before I can utter a syllable, and like a shameless slut, my legs spread open. His kiss is brutal while his hand teases my nipple until my pussy turns into a puddled mess.
He sucks and bites it like a savage. He lifts himself up. I look down at his engorged dick. He wraps his hand around it and strokes it.
“Mmhmm.” I lick my lips at the sight of it. If he were to put that between my lips now, I’d happily swallow it whole.
He strokes it a few times before sliding into me.
“Oh, God,” I moan. He swallows my words, and this kiss is as brutal as his thrusts.
He fucks me so hard that our bodies touch the headboard. I try to grind underneath him, but he presses into me, stripping me of any bit of control I have in this situation.
I decide to let him fuck me into a blinding orgasm and close my eyes.
“Yeah,” I moan as he thrusts. Then he grunts and shudders on top of me. He rolls off before I can come. He hops off the bed and puts his pajama pants back on.
“Um, hello?” I point at my spread legs.
“What? You thought you were about to come?” He lets out a humorless laugh. “Delusion, thy name is Corine.” He gestures at me.
“You’re just going to leave me high and dry?”
“Dry like your heart.”
“Whatever.” I leave the bed and go into the walk-in closet. He follows me and leans on the door with his arms crossed. I drop to my knees and dig through the bottom drawer, but can’t find what I’m looking for.
“Looking for that vibrator? It’s gone.” He’s smug now. He pats his junk and says, “And you’re not getting this.”
Resigned and defeated, I get in his face.
“All I have to do to find a man to fuck me is to step outside.” The smugness leaves his face, and I walk past him.
“Try it and see what happens.” I ignore his threat and put on one of my ugly housedresses. “Those are going next,” he warns.
“Go play in traffic.”
I walk out of the bedroom and slam the door behind me.