Page 46 of Explode
“Fuck you,” I hissed, flipping him off as we passed, but like most ofthe assholes in my life, he just chuckled. I really needed to get some better insults.
Kai carried me through the plane, but instead of stopping at the seats,he carried me to the rear where he kicked open a door, and the next thing I knew, I was thrown down on a bed.
Before I had time to scramble off the bed, Kai pounced on me. Hestraddled me, and grabbed my hands before yanking them above my head. I tried to fight when I realized what he was trying to do. The bastard was trying to uncuff one wrist so he could cuff me to the headboard.
No fucking way I was going to let him do that without a fight.
I thrashed underneath him, trying to throw him off, but Kai was a lumpof solid muscle.
“Stop fucking fighting, Riley,” he hissed when I managed to free myhand from his grasp, fully intending to throw my fist into his face. My victory lasted for all of two seconds before he grabbed it again and slammed it down on the pillow.
“Get the fuck off me!” I shouted as he used his knee to pin my armdown and managed to hook the cuffs around the headboard.
“You could have done this the easy way, wife, but instead, you had tobe a stubborn little minx,” he said, successfully clasping the metal bracelet around my wrist again.
My heart sank when I tugged against the restraints to find both wristswere in the cuffs, and I was tethered to the damn bed. Kai stood, his chest heaving from restraining me, and he towered over me, fury glinting in his dark eyes.
“I’ll come back when we are in the air and we can talk,” he said andeven though his voice was calm, I knew he was furious.
“Don’t fucking bother, I’ve got nothing to say to you,” I sneered,frustrated tears pricking the back of my eyes.
He stared at me for a beat, his eyes raking up and down my bodywhere my dress had rucked up in our tussle, before he shook his head and stormed out, leaving me alone with my anger.
Soon after Kai left, the engines roared to life. The small blind in thebedroom was closed, preventing me from seeing out, but I didn’t need to see to feel the plane start rumbling along the runway before we eventually took off.
It took several minutes for my breathing to calm from where I was sodamn angry. Why the fuck couldn’t Kai respect my wishes and leave me alone? I didn’t want to hear what he had to say, I didn’t care. I was adamant that no matter the reason behind the ridiculous decision to pretend he was dead, I wasn’t going to forgive him.
Did that mean I could walk away from Kai? Probably not. There wasno way the man would agree to a divorce, and if I tried to run, he’d find me. But the alternative was accepting what he had done, and he’d hurt me too much to do that.
A frustrated sob left my throat at the helpless feeling coursing throughme. I hated feeling helpless, hated the feeling of being backed into a corner with no way out.
But I was so tired. Tired of constantly feeling like I was fightingagainst the world. Tired of carrying the weight of the pain and anguish in my heart every damn day. For once, I wanted someone to scoop me in their arms, carry me out of the corner, and tell me everything would be okay.
I knew I could make it all go away if I forgave Kai, yet I couldn’t find itin me to even consider forgiving him for his deceit.
How could I?
It was too extreme. The worst part though was that I still loved Kai. Ofcourse I did, you couldn’t just switch your feelings off, and that man had buried so deep under my skin and taken root in my very core, that there was no way of removing him.
Try as I might.
I squeezed my eyes closed and tried to relax as the plane finished itsascent and leveled out. Once my breathing was under control, I managed to pull myself into a sitting position against the headboard, which wasn’t comfortable with the way my wrists were chained, but it was better than lying there and feeling helpless.
A few minutes later, the door opened and the cause of my currenthead fuck walked in. I hated how my heart rate spiked at the mere sight of him. I hated how the second his scent wrapped around me, I felt like I was home. I hated how much I wanted him to pull me into his arms and tell me he loved me.
“You okay?” he asked, his tone cautious. He’d obviously had time tocalm down since walking out.
“Wonderful,” I muttered, refusing to meet his eye.
“Riley, it doesn’t have to be like this,” he said, braving a step forward.
“You’re absolutely right, it doesn’t. Why don’t you have the plane turnaround and take me back to Rafe, and leave me the hell alone like I’ve asked you time and time again.”
I knew mentioning Rafe’s name would rattle him, I knew it wasspiteful, but I wanted him to hurt as much as I was. Sure enough, pain flashed across his face, and for a moment, guilt flooded me. That was until the bastard swooped down on me, grabbing my legs and yanking me down the bed so my arms were stretched above my head. Kai straddled my hips.
“Is that what you want, Riley? You want to go back to Bianchi so hecan fuck you? So he can put his hands on what’s mine?” I turned my head away from him, but he grabbed my chin, yanking it so I had no choice but to look at him. “Answer me!”
Boy, was he pissed, a vein in his neck twitched as his eyes hardened.
