I force my mind back to the situation, wondering how to handle this. “Is that the kind of girl you want me to be?” I ask, my voice soft, coy. “Yes, Bambi,” Edward says, leaning forward to stare at me intently. “I like my girls…obedient. And I reward them handsomely when they do as I say.” He holds
I sigh, hanging my head, not meeting any of the dozen eyes that are on me right now. Instead, I press my eyes shut, and force myself to take a deep breath, trying to pat down my anxiety and my dread, wondering how the hell I’m going to handle this. I mean, should I ask Christian to get me out of i
When Frankie holds the now-lit cigarette out to me, filter first, he exhales a long breath of smoke. I take the cigarette delicately in my hands and raise it to my lips, looking at the end. Where Frankie’s lips were just pressed. “It’s not going to bite you, Bambi,” he murmurs, his voice soft, but
I wait anxiously on a bar stool as the evening shift begins at Lupa, my eyes on the door, my back ramrod straight. It was a fight, of course, last night, when we walked in the door and Frankie cheerfully announced to Christian and Nico that I was a dumbass who set another date with Edward for toni
I almost immediately discover that…I do not like Edward’s world. Now that he’s got me here, completely under his control? Edward drops any veneer of being nice. In the car on the way to dinner, he barely pays attention to me, instead spending his time making a variety of phone calls I don’t unders
Edward’s preparing himself for a big party tonight, fueled by alcohol and cocaine. And me? I’m just desert. He leers at me increasingly as dinner passes, even as he talks almost non-stop about…well, whatever the hell is on his mind, I guess. I don’t know, I’m barely listening, instead anxiously mu
It’s raining when we step to the front of the restaurant, and Edward snaps his fingers at the valet and then shoves his ticket at his chest, still pinning me close to his side. The valet sighs a little, clenching his jaw but seeming to resign himself to this kind of treatment. Edward doesn’t notice,
“Did you ask the valet for a fucking cab!?” he snaps, not looking at me, his hands tight on the wheel. “No!” I breathe, knowing that my only choice now is to lie. “You’re mine now, Bambi,” he growls, turning his dangerous gaze on me. I shrink back in my seat, my eyes wide at the violent possessi
A small smile creeps on Leo’s lips. “Yeah, okay,” he says, relaxing back against our chair. “Our secret.” I grin at my baby, leaning in to give him a kiss on the cheek, because my boy can’t resist a secret.“What’s all this?”I turn to see Christian standing at the open door, peering into the dining
The danger. It’s…it’s far too poignant.My heart breaking, I open a private browsing tab on the web browser and quickly search for Craigslist in both this city and Athens, Greece. As I do my memory goes back to a conversation I had with Frankie, when he told me that this is the best way he knows for
I stand frozen, staring down at the letter as it sits on the little hall desk, my breath coming in fluttery little gasps.The words are very simple.There are vineyards in Greece as well. I’ll take you there.I read it again and again as my heart pounds in my chest, each beat echoing with a mix of h
“You don’t know anything about my life,” I whisper, my voice barely audible, turning my eyes back down to the dishes. “I had no choice.”“You think you’re the only one who suffered?” Lucy whispers. “You think I wanted to be in this position? We were friends once, Iris. We were good to each other. Bu
“Mommyyyy,” Leo says, looking anxiously towards the kitchen door, shifting from foot to floor. “Hurry up! Aunt Bianca says we have to go!”I laugh, glancing down at my little boy, who looks so adorable in the private school uniform he wears to Kindergarten – crisp white shirt, navy blazer, his dark
But…was it? Was it me, missing Chris? Wanting to have yet another piece of him, even if I long denied wanting any ties to my past life?I look down, my heart heavy, not truly understanding what I think or what I feel.“I mean it, Iris,” Chris says, his voice steady and cool. “I’ll be a father to her
My heart sinks as I look Christian in the eyes – because beyond all hope, I had been praying that he hadn’t noticed that Leo is his son. But how could I have been so naïve? Leo looks just like him - dark hair, striking grey-blue eyes. The resemblance is unmistakable. I feel a wave of guilt crashing
“Yes,” he answers, a growl in his voice. “That should suit just fine.”I laugh at the irony in this and shake my head, looking away. “So now you want me to come back, to pretend as if nothing ever happened? You expect me to just accept this, the way things are now?”Christian opens his mouth to resp
Disappointment floods my chest, a sense of disbelief washing over me. “You think I would trust you again after everything? After how you treated me? You expect me to just come back and forget?”His eyes narrow, disappointment etched into his features. “You were faithless. I thought you’d be loyal. I