Deception (Infidelity #3)(78)

Nox’s eyes squinted as he seemed to consider my comparison.

“Not sexually… not like you. But listening to Jane’s voice today, I know I’ve always loved and been loved by her, because more than anyone at Montague Manor, I trusted her.” I swallowed, forcing my emotion down. “You and her. You’re the only two people I think I’ve completely trusted.” I shrugged. “Chelsea is close, but I never told her what had happened. And my mother, maybe I owe her more than I’ve given.”

“Did he touch you?” The tension in Nox’s expression appeared almost painful.

“Not sexually.”

The arm around me loosened.

I went on. “He was a fan of corporal punishment.”

Nox’s back straightened against the headboard. When I turned, I saw his eyes shut.

“When…” he began, “…I… when you bit my ankle…” He took a deep breath and moved in front of me, so that we were eye to eye. “I thought you were mad, but you were scared… of me? Because of him?”

It seemed so long ago.

“I was…” I admitted, “…both—mad and scared.”

“Oh, fuck. Charli, I didn’t mean…”

I brushed my lips against his. “You were… different.” I felt the crimson fill my cheeks. “Even though you were upset, there wasn’t the rage. You made it… I didn’t the first time, but since… I guess I like it.” Our lips touched again. “Because once I learned your mission for that first time, to teach me a lesson for signing the agreement, I’m pretty sure that harming or degrading me isn’t your goal. I trust you not to do that. I trust you to make it right, to take the pain and make it pleasure.”

His hand slipped behind my neck, securing my gaze to his. In his pale blue eyes was a mixture of pride and regret, happiness that he held my trust and sadness that he could have lost it.

“Never,” he said. “Never would harming or degrading you be my goal. I was upset about the agreement, but everything since and before has been for pleasure.” He shook his head. “If I’d known… I never would have…”

I touched his lips, silencing his words. “Nox, I haven’t found my hard limit with you, but when—and if—I do, I trust you’ll respect it.”

“Princess, you’ll never have to resort to biting again.”

I shrugged. “Maybe I want to.”

His lips twitched and his eyes twinkled with traces of his menacing grin. “Then, princess, we may have to revisit some of your more recent likes. Because biting is a punishable offense.” His touch skirted my arms, before he tucked me back against his chest. “Thank you for sharing some of your shadows with me. By the way, I’d like to teach your stepfather what happens to men who hurt women and little girls.”

“I don’t want that. I want to forget it happened, but I can’t forget that my mother still lives with it.”

“Why? Why doesn’t she leave him?”

“To her, divorce is worse. What happens in the halls and shadows of Montague Manor goes unspoken. To the world, they’re a happy couple. It’s usually at night. I used to hide in my room as their voices carried. I never knew if I was going to be first or second. I’d stare at my door and pray that it wouldn’t open.

“Some children are afraid of the boogeyman. I didn’t wonder if he was a myth. I knew he lived down the hall.”

The words kept pouring out. “He travels. He always has. My father was killed in an accident while traveling. I was only three, but I remember praying that Alton would meet the same fate. I didn’t understand how it could happen to my father, a man who I really can’t remember, but it wouldn’t happen to a monster like Alton.”

Nox stiffened and turned, hovering above me, his arms on both sides of me, like a shield. “You don’t have to worry or pray for his demise. Not anymore. I told you before: I’m the only bad I want near you.”

Readjusting his weight, Nox reached for the buttons on my blouse and one by one began to undo them. “Princess, I’m feeling a little more like sweet and amazing. We’ll save the vibrator for another day.”

I didn’t argue. After my blouse was gone, Nox unbuttoned his shirt and eased it over his shoulders revealing his muscular chest. As my fingertips grazed his warm skin, he unlatched my bra. Skin to skin, our flesh united. His warmth pinned me to the mattress as his tone turned to velvet, coaxing and soothing, taking my mind from the past and keeping it in the present. Tenderly he filled me with more than hope for shadow-free tomorrows. In his arms I felt safe, as if my secrets were no longer burdens but links connecting and holding us together.

Because in his capable hands, we fit perfectly together with no room for shadows.





IT WASN’T MY normal gathering. Thirty thousand dollars a plate was steep, no matter how much money Demetri Enterprises was grossing. Nevertheless, I was here, dressed to kill in a custom tuxedo. One simply didn’t rent a tuxedo for such an affair.

The convention hall was filled with white lights and Christmas decorations, creating a chic and festive atmosphere. Maybe it was because this was my first Christmas as a divorced man. Maybe it was that Lennox would be staying with his mother for the holidays. No matter the reason, I’d accepted the invitation to this fundraiser. My gift to myself.