Page 73 of His Captive

I was driven to take it by revenge. Now that I have it, and he doesn’t, it doesn’t mean so much to me anymore.

“It used to be. The town doesn’t need me anymore and I don’t really need it either. But, I don’t know where else I belong,” I tell her honestly, trying to ignore the pity she looks at me with.

We chat through lunch in a way we haven’t done before. She smiles while she tells me all about the diner her mother and father used to run, and then stops smiling when she gets to the part where they’d had to sell. The business had shut down under the new ownership within a few months.

I can guarantee that Sorrento had been responsible. The guy may be intimidating, but unlike his father, he isn’t a good businessman. He fails to learn from his mistakes. And I’m sure Mikel Sorrento would be turning in his grave if he could see how his son had lost the town he’d worked so hard to build.

When we’ve finished eating, Lysa asks if she can help Mrs. Pritchard in the kitchen, and when I agree, she springs forward and places a kiss on my cheek.

“I’ll go get dressed.” She slides away from me and starts making her way out.

“Lysa.” I stop her, getting up and caging her against the door frame before she passes it.

“Ethan?” She looks up at me through thick lashes.

“I’m not a man who likes to brag about what he has,” I tell her, she nods as if she understands. But, she really doesn’t.

“I’m not the only person who lives around here. So in the future. You keep my assets covered when we’re around company. Do you understand me, Trouble?”

“I’m sorry, sir,” she says giving me the slip beneath my arms and heading toward the stairs. I lean my shoulder against the door frame and watch her walk away from me, appreciating how damn fine her ass looks in my shirt.

That night she challenges me to a game of chess, which we play in my office. And I, of course, win.

Then I take her upstairs and tie her to my bed. I fuck her rough and fast because I need a reality check.

Though, there is nothing normal about me fucking her in my bed or the fact I don’t ask her to leave before she falls asleep.

Instead, I let her body grow heavy against my arm and her mind drift to a place where she can be happy, knowing that despite what she might be thinking, there’s no place for me there.

Lysetta makes me weak, fills me with feelings I haven’t allowed for years. She tortures me with what-ifs that I’m powerless to ignore, because they are all part of the package that comes with her.

I’ll just have to get used to the taunts, train them away, and find a balance that works, because I’m not giving her up.

Her hand rests on my chest, and her head nestles into my neck. I let my chin rest on top of her head, and try not to imagine how perfect we could be. I refuse to consider that maybe if she’d met me before my ruin things could be so different.

Back then I could have loved her the way she deserves. Now I’m just not capable. I can’t offer her the part of my soul that’s already been taken.

She stirs against me, her leg crossing over mine and her body snuggling deeper into me. I press my lips against the top of her head, let her vanilla scent drift through my nostrils, and I close my eyes in an attempt to find some sleep myself. As if she feels my body relax beside her, she lets out a long sleepy sigh.

“Goodnight little one,” I whisper under my breath, not expecting a reply. She’s always so exhausted after we fuck.

Then my chest prickles with fear when a sweet sleepy voice whispers back.

“I love you Ethan.”

Nineteen

LYSETTA

I wake up enveloped in his arms. Though, I don’t want to get too comfortable here. With Ethan you can never predict what mood he’ll be in. I have no idea what’s changed between us or how long it will last, but I’m sure not about to ruin it by asking him.

I manage to slip myself out of his tight hold and head to the bathroom to have the pee I’ve been holding in for the past half an hour. When I step back into the bedroom, he’s awake, rolled on his side, and propped on his elbow.

Ethan’s body is athletically bulky. Every inch of him tight and toned, and I take a moment to appreciate it.

“Stop looking at me like that,” he warns.

“Like what?” I bite down on my lip, to stop the smile from finding my cheeks.

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