Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 89985 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89985 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
I clenched my hands into fists because I knew I should be excited about the prospect of being free, of not having to worry about someone hurting me. I didn’t have to worry if Peter was only faking it because his boss had ordered him to. I’d be free to make my own choices, to do what I wanted to do.
But, I didn’t feel happy.
I was a little scared and afraid.
I wanted to hate Peter. He had lied, but then so had I. We’d both lied for different reasons. I’d not gone out of my way to fall in love with Peter, or to make him fall in love with me. I’d not been ordered to get him pregnant.
Why did this have to be so hard?
It would be easier to hate Peter, but the sad truth was, I still loved him. That love hadn’t died when the truth had come out. I couldn’t just stop loving him.
I didn’t want Peter to be forced to be with me. He didn’t do love, and I accepted that. But at least he could like the person he was married to, or perhaps even grow to care for them.
I put the used towel in the laundry basket and stepped into the bedroom, only to come to a stop as Peter was standing at the foot of the bed. There were bloodstains on his shirt, and for a second, I didn’t know what to do.
“Did you kill Ivan?” I asked.
“No. He’s enjoying my whiskey in the spare bedroom,” Peter said.
“Ugh, are you okay?” I didn’t know what to do. My father had visited my mother a few times with blood spatter. He didn’t seem to care that he’d killed someone prior to coming to see us. My mother didn’t care either. I did. The blood had scared me.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” He glanced down at his shirt. “Your father had sent one of his men to try and take you.”
“What?” I asked.
This surprised me.
“You’re a powerful woman, and he is going to try and get you, but he’s not going to succeed.”
Peter held his hand up as if he was going to touch me, but then he stopped, clenched his hand into a fist. “I’m going to take a shower.”
I didn’t stop him as he brushed past me.
“Thank you,” I said quickly. I felt him stop and I turned toward him. “For not letting him hurt me anymore.”
“I bet he is regretting everything he has done to you.”
“No, I doubt it. I bet he wishes he kept me locked up so he could use me as a punching bag.”
“It’s not going to happen,” Peter said.
“Thank you.” I didn’t know what else to say.
He nodded his head, and then turned on his heel and stepped into the bathroom.
For several seconds, I just stood in the center of the bedroom, not sure what to do. I felt at a loss for words. I wasn’t used to this feeling. Not that I ever had a lot to say before.
Stepping toward the bed, I then stopped again. Which side of the bed did Peter prefer? I was truly not sure, so I climbed into the right side, when I looked at it directly. Sliding beneath the sheets, I turned and faced the door. If I turned the other way, I’d be facing Peter when he climbed into bed.
We’d not shared a bed since the day of the picnic. That day, I’d woken up with his arms wrapped around me, his face against my neck, kissing me. I’d started to experience the morning sickness off and on at that point. That day, there had been no sickness.
Peter had kissed my neck, and one of his hands had worked up to cup my breast, and the other had moved down to cup my pussy. His hands on my body felt so good. I’d not wanted him to stop, and he hadn’t either.
I pulled out of the memory, because I didn’t want to think about sex. Peter didn’t take too long in the shower. Within what felt like minutes, he was done, and stepping into the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist. It was then I remembered that Peter slept in the nude. He refused to wear anything for bed.
We were married. I was in his bed once again. The bed dipped as he climbed beneath the covers. I stayed perfectly still.
Silence fell in the darkened room. I heard his breathing. At one point, I was pretty sure I had stopped breathing.
“I’ve done a lot of bad things in my time, Niamh. I’ve never raped a woman, and I’m not going to start now. You don’t have to be afraid of me.”
Okay, I didn’t know why, but for some reason that pissed me off more than I expected.
“What?” I asked, but I certainly wasn’t calm, nor was I quiet when I suddenly yelled at him.