Page 14 of Redemption

He kisses me hard. “Don’t worry, baby. There will be plenty of finishing later.”

I giggle. “Well, as long as you make sure I finish first, I’m good with that.”

“Honey, I always make sure you finish first.” Beck pulls me into a kiss that’s not so appropriate for a school event, but I can’t seem to help myself whenever he’s around.

“Gah! You guys are so adorable, it’s nauseating,” Nicky complains.

“I can’t help it if my girlfriend is the prettiest, smartest girl in the great state of Georgia.” Beck winks. “No offense, Nicky.”

She laughs. “Yeah, yeah, none taken. I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone so I don’t barf up those nachos I ate earlier. Presley, I’ll see you at the bonfire later?”

After every game, our running back, Miles, hosts a bonfire on his property. It’s our chance to celebrate together if the team won, or commiserate with each other if they lost.

“Yep, we’ll be there,” I say.

Beck waits until Nicky is out of earshot. “And I’ll meet you by my truck after I get cleaned up?”

“Sure. Maybe we can take the long way to Miles’?”

Translation: Let’s park somewhere and do it in the truck.

He grins knowingly. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, Pres.”

Chapter Ten

Presley

“Presley Anne, what are you doing out here in the dark?”

I blink as my mother flips on the porch light. “Just thinkin’.”

She gives me a sad smile. “Come inside. I’m just about to get breakfast started.”

I nod, wrapping the blanket more securely around my shoulders. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to take a shower first. I can meet you in the kitchen after.”

“Sure, honey.”

She avoids looking at my face, and I can’t say I blame her. When I got a glimpse in the mirror above my dresser, it didn’t look any better than it did last night. In fact, I think it may look worse. If I’m not mistaken, the purple bruising is a shade or two deeper now.

Like the coward that I am, I take my sweet time in the shower. It’s already taking me longer than usual, trying to do everything with only one arm, but when I grab the apple-scented shampoo off the shelf—the same shampoo I favored in my teenage years—I lose it. I sink to the bottom of the tub in the fetal position and cry like a baby. I make no effort to move, even as the icy water pelts my skin and causes my teeth to chatter. My chest squeezes as I think about the events that led me here.

I startle when I hear the familiar hum of the private elevator that leads directly into our penthouse. As the steel doors open, Sebastian’s eyes widen when he sees me sitting on the couch. I can’t say I blame him; I’m not usually up this late. It’s not uncommon for my husband to work well into the evening. However, ever since I got this anonymous text, I wonder how many of those nights he legitimately spent working. Most days, I go to bed early, hoping that when he does return home, he’s too tired for sex. It doesn’t always work, but on the nights it does, I breathe a sigh of relief.

“Darling, what are you doing up this late?”

I rise from the couch, my arm falling to the side. “I was waiting for you.”

“Is that so?” He gives me a wolfish grin as he removes his suit jacket and drapes it over one of the foyer chairs. “Is there something you want from me? I’ve had a long day, but I wouldn’t be opposed to having those pretty lips of yours wrapped around my cock. You’d like that, wouldn’t you, baby? I know how much you enjoy pleasuring me with your mouth.”

Sebastian saunters toward me, loosening his tie and unfastening the top button of his shirt. I have to fight a shudder as his eyes travel the length of my body; I can see him hardening beneath his slacks.

I hold my hand up in a stop gesture as he unfastens his belt. “I wanted to talk to you about something I learned today.”

He frowns. “We can talk tomorrow. Right now, you’re going to get on your knees and suck me off like a good girl.”

I take a step back when Sebastian reaches out, presumably to push on my shoulders until I’m kneeling before him. That’s his preferred method of receiving. No doubt, because he can lord over me while I’m forced to perform the act.

“No, Sebastian. I’m not. We’re going to talk.”

---