Page 21 of King: Darker Than Romance

“What? “My voice shook

“I told you that first night I wanted the blond gone. I told him that night he came looking for you that he should stay away. I told him again when I saw him here. You must be giving him something to make him stay around, Eden.”

His voice rose an octave every word.” You fucking him? Sucking his dick?

Does he know what you mouth and pussy feel like? Is that why he’s risking his life for you?” He was nearly screaming at this point. His questions were rhetorical; he already knew the answers. He was just working himself into a frenzy.

He jumped up from his seat.

“Get up,” he shouted. He didn’t give me the option or time to disobey his order. He moved so quickly I had no time to react. He fisted his hand into my wet hair, he yanked me up by it. The pizza box slid to the floor. When I was standing, trembling before him, he let my hair go just to secure my chin in a firm grip. He lifted my face so I was forced to look at him so I couldn’t escape his intense gaze.

“Why did you go to him, Eden?” he yelled.

“I was just feeling really, really angry and resentful. I wanted attention.”

I was on the verge of breaking down. I blinked away tears and sniffled.

“Attention? So, you wanted me to follow you, see you with him. That’s why you told them you were going to the park?”

My heart got caught in my throat.

I shook my head violently. Lying. I now regretted playing games with him. I was out of my depth. I’d poked the fucking bear, not expecting it to tear my head off.

He sneered at me, his anger distorting his face. “Now you’re fucking blatantly lying to my face. What were you doing with him, Eden?”

“We were just talking,” I blurted out. My answer only seemed to further incense him.

“Talking about what. You didn’t want to talk when I was trying to talk to you. You yelled and swore at me.”

I wanted to point out the fact that he didn’t want to talk to me, he simply wanted to lecture me and call me names, but I wasn’t stupid.

“Tell me what you talked about.”

I told him everything.

“Move in with him, so he pays for your college?” He let me go abruptly, shoving me so hard I landed on the bed.

I heard him mumble under his breath what sounded like, “You’re more like your momma than I thought.”

I wanted to be mad at what he said but those were my exact thoughts earlier.

He started pacing in front of me, looking like a caged pit bull.

I trembled. He was genuinely scaring the fuck out of me.

“You think I would allow you to do that? You think I’d allow another man to have you, to take care of you?”

He waited, even though he didn’t look at me, I assumed he wanted an answer.

“It’s just a lot of money I need, and we aren’t even together. School is in Georgia, you’re in Florida. It just sex.” I was rambling trying to find the words to calm him down.

King pulled something out of his pocket and threw it, hitting me directly in my face. It fell into my lap. Surprised by his action all I did was stare at it, not really seeing it.

“I have fucking money, Eden. You were never going to Georgia alone.” He slammed his hand against the room wall causing me to jump.

“Fucking never. Where you go, I go.” He banged his chest. While he ranted, I picked up the object he’d hit me with and realized it was a roll of hundreds. It had to be at least ten thousand dollars.

“But you already knew I was never letting you go, Eden. You had to know it. You have to know no other man is ever going to fuck you like I do; love you like I do. I won’t ever allow that. You gave yourself to me.” He paused long enough to glare down at me. “It was never about sex. You need me. I need you. You told me you loved me.”

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