Page 31 of Redemption

The mattress dips, and her hand appears again as she returns her laptop to its place beneath her bed.

My mind whirs. I have to know what she was writing that got her so aroused. For weeks, I’ve watched her cheeks turn a lovely shade of pink while she’s typing. Now I know for sure that she’s getting herself off with whatever it is that she writes.

Does she write about me? Is that why she moaned my name?

I formulate a daring plan to discover her secrets. I’ve risked breaking into her apartment once. I can do it again.

After I borrow her laptop for the day.

Someone in Charleston will know how to unlock it without her password. My money will ensure that any qualms about hacking will be alleviated.

Then I can return the infuriating device to her bedroom, and she’ll never know it was missing.

Satisfied with my course of action, I finally allow myself to relax. As I listen to the sound of her deep, even breaths, I follow Abigail into sleep.

9

ABIGAIL

Now

“Fine,” Dane bites out, green eyes blazing. “You want to know how I became GentAnon? I borrowed your laptop and found your erotica.”

I gape at him. “Borrowed?You mean you stole it. How? When?”

His gaze cuts away for an instant before snapping back to mine. “I went into your apartment and found your laptop two months ago. Is that what you want to hear?”

“Youwent in?” I press, forcing him to confront the softer language he’s selecting over the harsh truth. “So, you broke into my home more than once.”

“I told you that you don’t want to hear this.” He says it like I’m the unreasonable one.

I narrow my eyes at him. “Oh, I absolutely do. I wantyouto hear it. Listen to how crazy this is. How can you expect me to love you after everything you’ve done to me?”

He glares at me with open defiance. “Everything I’ve done has been for you. I had to make sure you truly wanted me. The first night we met—the night you don’t remember—you told me you wanted to be overpowered. Forced. I had to know that was real before I acted out the dark fantasy that we share. Both of us, Abigail. You wanted everything that I offered you. Or have you forgotten how many orgasms I gave you?”

My fingers shake with the rage that rushes through my system, so I curl them into fists. “You know I orgasm when a man forces himself on me. I told you what happened with Tom on the night of my debutante ball. How he did it again and again, and how ashamed I felt for letting it happen. You assaulted me, Dane.”

His head jerks to the side in a staunch refusal of my accusation. “You’re not thinking clearly,” he says roughly. “I am nothing like him. I protect you from men like him. Just like I protected you from your neighbor, Ron.”

The memory of Dane’s blood-splattered face flashes across my mind. He’d said he was going to talk to Ron, and he returned covered in mud and blood.

“What did you do to him?” I ask, breathless with dawning horror.

Dark brows draw together in forbidding slashes. “I made sure he’ll never touch you again.”

“What does that mean?” I demand, voice going shrill despite my efforts to remain calm and rational.

“It means I’ll do what’s necessary to keep you safe,” he snaps back, his composure slipping, too. “This conversation is over.”

“I don’t think so,” I hiss. “You don’t get to tell me when to shut up. You don’t control me. Not anymore.”

He scowls. “I never tried to control you. How many times do I have to tell you that I want you just as you are? I expectobedience when we fuck because that’s what we both like. We’re perfectly compatible.”

“You’re delusional.”

His face goes cold again, his eyes unnervingly calculating.

“I won’t entertain this conversation further. Rail at me if you want. Get it out of your system. But I’m no longer participating.”

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