Her Reluctant Husband by Erica Marselas (summer beach reads txt) 📗

record. I’m tired of listening to it. And considering you were the one that said we’re not to talk about it, listen to your own ultimatums.”

“This isn’t just about the accident.” I grab her arm, and her purse goes scattering to the marble floor. “I want to know what you and Raf were doing? You sure were taking a long time.”

Her eyes widen and she shakes her head. “I know Raf and we were just talking. His—”

I push my finger to her lips, not interested in what story she has to tell me. “Shh.”

Her forehead wrinkles and she pushes my finger away. “Alex, what is wrong with you? You’re scaring me.”

“You want to know?” I push my hand behind her neck, pulling her lips millimeters away from mine. Her scent overpowers my senses, and I’m feeling out of control. A beast in me is raging inside. Something I’ve compressed deep down inside of me for years is raging to come out. All I ever wanted to do was love this girl, and now the heart she ripped open all those years ago is beating on the floor of this bathroom. “You had me falling for you all over again. Forgiving you and wanting to be with you. And then….”

“Alex,” she murmurs.

“I want you to show me.”

“Show you?”

“Show me why you came up here? Why your lipstick is a mess. Show me what you did that night,” I snap, gripping her shoulders, and shaking her.

“Alex, you’re out of your mind. Now let go of me.” She smacks my chest, her voice cracking.

“No, show me you’re mine. Show me what I deserve,” I growl and push down on her shoulders.

“No!” she yells, and I let go. Her head shakes and her fists clench as she hits me in the chest. “No. No.” I grab her wrists to stop her. Her body is trembling and when she looks up at me, everything in me shatters. The pain glowing in her eyes is one I’ve seen before. It’s that tortured looked that she has after she wakes up from her nightmares from whatever boogeyman is chasing her. Now, I’m the evil one she faces. It cuts me deep, like a knife right through my heart. I release her, and she stumbles back, tears streaming down her face.

“Why?” she whispers, as she stares me down. My chest feels like a million-pound weight has just been slammed down on top of me. I fucked up. I always promised I wouldn’t hurt her.

“You’re just like him. I always thought you were better, but you aren’t,” she babbles. “Why do you hate me?”

“June, I don’t…” I reach for her and she steps back from me, the fright still dancing in her eyes.

“No! Don’t fucking touch me.”

“Fuck, June!” I go to reach for her again and she smacks me.

“I said don’t. Fucking. Touch. Me,” she snaps again as her chest heaves. The tears swim in the corner of her eyes. “Why? Why are you doing this? We were having a good time and it’s like a switch flipped. What did I do now?” She cries. “What did I do?

“Don’t you show all the guys in the bathroom a good time?” I try to sound cocky, but all my arrogance has left me. The hurt in her eyes is still slicing through me. What did I do?

“What?” she chokes out, brushing the tears off her cheek with the back of her hand. “What are you talking about now?”

“Seeing you and Raf, how he talked about you, seeing you touch up your lipstick in a private stall away from everyone, it was a harsh reminder of how you spent the night sucking Bradly off in the bathroom the night Kathleen died.”

June’s eyes grow as large as saucers and she stumbles on her heels. “I never…you think?” Her head bows and her shoulders shake. “Who told you that?” she whispers, but then her head pops up and her amber eyes that seconds ago mirrored confusion, turn dark. “Never mind… I already know. Deacon.”

“He did and Bradley did as well.”

She snorts. “Unbelievable. And you believed them after we…of course. Of course, you did,” she shouts, but her voice cracks. “It's why you didn't want to hear a word I said. You thought…” She rakes her hands through her red hair and pulls. “You thought I was just some drunken whore? After all the years we’ve known each other. My word, my character didn’t stand a chance compared to the word of your golden boy best friend?”

“Deacon wouldn’t lie to me.”

“But I would?” she screeches.

“You spent years lying to me, June. You lied to Liz and Kathleen. Lied about your drinking. About where you were always going. For fuck’s sake, you’ve been lying to me this week.”

“To cover up this!” she yells. “To cover up what he was doing to me. You have no idea who Deacon really is. No idea.”

I rake my hands through my hair. “I think I know him—”

“Don’t.” She holds up her hand, cutting me off with a snarl. “Don’t you dare finish that because you know nothing about your dear friend. Because let me ask you this; where has he been? Where’s his dad? I mean they both just disappeared out of town without even a goodbye right after me. He was your best friend and poof,” she sneers.

“He said he wanted to travel—”

“Oh my god,” she cries out, clenching her chest. “Blind,” I hear her whisper. “Fine. How about this. Did you ever look at the back of my car after the accident?”

“The back? It was wrapped around a tree, June.”

She closes her eyes. “I know,” she says softly. “But I was hit, Alex. I was hit so I would catapult into the tree in hopes to never be able to tell what