Oh, this man...and his...his gall!
“Yes,” I snarl back. “I'm absolutely going to—”
Not say another word.
Because Nate has kissed me into silence, just kissing me so, so hard that the moment he does, the moment he fiercely takes possession of my mouth—
It's the beginning of the end.
“Damn you.”
He grits the words out against my lips even as he hauls me even closer. I try weakly to pull away, but he's kissing me again, harder than ever, rougher than ever, andno no no—
The moment he takes a deep, deep taste of my mouth, I can only whimper in surrender, my arms going around his neck, the rest of my body melting against his.
When he lifts his head, I'm dazed and helpless, and he's looking at me with harsh intensity, his breathing rough.
“I didn't want it to be this way, Juniper.”
W-What way?
“But now it's too late to change anything.”
He grabs a fistful of my hair.
“You're mine, and you'll stay mine. Always.”
And then he's kissing me again and again and again.
Chapter Eight
IT'S A THURSDAY MORNING, three days out of the hospital, one day off the discharge papers, and I'm at my stenotype station unspooling the cables I've unspooled every Thursday for twelve years.
Today shouldn't feel any different but it does.
That's what he always does. He turns my life upside-down, and then he walks away—
Stop thinking about him, Juniper!
I take a deep breath and start again. Dr. Jimenez signed me off to come back as long as I keep it light, and I'm keeping it light. The morning docket's a continuance hearing and a guardianship review. Easy work both of them, because it's what Mr. Bell asked on my behalf. He also wants me to keep things light.
I asked him this morning whether he'd called the assignment desk on my behalf, and he saidno I did notin the voice of a man who very much had.
You can guess how that went.
Anyway.
“Anything I can help you with?” Linda asks, pausing at my station with her coffee in one hand and her granola bar in the other.
“I'm good, thanks.”
She gives me one of her looks (the kind Linda gives before nine, which is mostly her eyebrows doing the talking) and moves on.
Everyone's being so, so kind, it just makes me feel guiltier. I want to reassure them they have nothing to worry about without lying. But how can I when all I remember these days ishim?
I'm sorry for pressuring you without meaning to.
Those were his first words to me that day, when it was just the two of us in the room, and Dr. Jimenez had left to give us privacy.