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

to make sure you would behave. Then my guy who left you that beauty told me you were screaming on the porch just asking me to come and get you, so here I am.”

“Here you are. So, now what?”

“Yes, now what?” Deacon taps his chin as he circles around me again.

Alex grumbles, and I peek over to see him trying to squeeze his wrist out of his cuffs. We make eye contact, his eyes shine with worry for me, and I wordlessly tell him I’m okay. When Deacon moves behind me, I mouth for him to trust me. He nods.

Though, I have no fucking clue what I’m going to do. My eyes dart around the room for any kind of easy to grab weapon. There’s nothing, so I know I’ll need to get to the kitchen if I want any chance of taking him down.

Okay, maybe I’m not okay.

What was I thinking?

Fight. Win or not. Either way is a way out.

“Your ass is looking good, June, but you’re kinda boney.”

“What do you want?” I snip. “It’s been five years. Why are you here now? Can’t you just leave me alone? Find someone else to bother.”

“You know I would have stayed away forever…I was in Spain. I have a job and I was living it up with the ladies.”

“How many of them did you hurt?” I grit out while my stomach flips thinking there could be more like me.

“Hurt? I don’t hurt anyone. They were all willing. And I would have stayed there like I was told to if you had just stayed away. From. Him.” He stabs his finger over at Alex with an angry glare that I feel would set Alex ablaze if he could.

“You don’t know the story, dickhead. Liz forced us to get married. Now leave her alone.”

“I don’t give a shit. I heard some bullshit like that, but I bet you still fucked her.”

Alex yanks on his cuff and growls.

“That’s what I’m talking about. Ju-Ju here,” Deacon flips my braid over my shoulder, “shouldn’t have come back here and should’ve stayed away from you. I don’t give a shit what Liz made you do. The night of the accident, I only came back from Boston because Alex told me he got his dick wet with you. I was pissed. I thought I ruined you enough for any other man, even your Alex. I could get everyone else in Kinder Falls to stay away from you, but he kept chasing after my damaged goods. Then he emails me to tell me he married your ass.” Deacon clenches his jaw and grabs my shoulders. “You’re mine sweetcheeks. See, nobody compares to you. None of the other ladies had the same pizzazz or feistiness as you. They didn’t fight back like you.” He winks. “I loved it when you screamed.” He touches my hair, and I boil inside with a heated rage and a hurt that’s been burning inside for years.

“You make me sick,” I seethe bitterly.

“Oh.” He tilts his head. “You keep talking like that and Alex is going to see a good show. Now shut up and be a good girl like you used to. I want him to see you cry as you take my dick.”

Alex is cussing like crazy, Deacon is laughing, and I’m murderous.

Never again.

I’ll never cry for him again.

Never fucking again.

I put my hand on his shoulder and he grins. I see him mouthing to me, but I’m in a haze.

Never again.

“I’m not that girl anymore,” I roar. I don’t hold back, putting everything he’s ever done to me behind the strength and force of driving my knee into his balls.

Never again.

“You bi-tchhh!” he croaks, but the words are barely audible as he crumbles to the floor, cupping his balls. He’s moaning loudly like a dying bear, his face is red, puffed out, and he’s crying. I can’t believe it worked! The defense move I was shown only days ago when Annabelle took me to a defense training class worked.

“Fucking hell, June,” Alex says. I don’t miss the pride in his tone, maybe laced with a mild cringe.

I move to stand over Deacon who is balled on the floor. “I thought you liked it rough?” I grit out, and give another swift kick through his hand to his nuts, and then another to his kidneys. He wails.

There’s something satisfying watching the tears slide down his face. Seeing his pain for once. Being on the other side. As I go to kick him again, he rolls away, and I laugh. Laugh. Like all the times he did to me when I cried, but this is gratifying to know I won. He is in fear of me. I hold the power over him. I’m watching my monster cupping his balls, withered on the floor, and crying. He pukes and I watch as his eyes roll back in his head. He’s weak. He’s pathetic.

He’s a clown.

And no longer scary.

“You will no longer win over me, you hear me?” I scream, giving him one more hard kick with all my might. “You hear me?” I scream again, and it feels so good.

“June,” Alex yells. “Come back to me, baby.”

I turn to him and my heart thumps in my chest as my adrenalin drains. “Huh?”

“I know you want to keep kicking him, and I don’t blame you, but I need you to find something to tie him up with. He might be out, but just in case.”

I nod and look back to Deacon who is passed out. It hadn’t even registered when his eyes rolled back in his head that he’d lost consciousness. “What do I do?” I look around the room feeling lost. There’s nothing useful in plain sight. “What can I use?”

“Rope,