Page 24 of Hostile Cravings (Wicked Cravings #3)

Chapter Twelve

ANGIE

T yson left the room, not heeding my complaints about changing.

I didn’t know who he thought he was, telling me what to wear.

But as angry as it made me, part of me liked it because that insistence that I cover myself more was revealing.

He’d never cared before, only making snide comments about how easy I was.

But now, his behavior was possessive, and it made my insides tumble around.

That sensation grew as I thought about how he’d taken me earlier, bringing my body to life like he did every time he touched me. Like no man ever had. And I knew no other man would because Tyson’s touch burned through me, marking me just like he’d said.

When I’d met his eyes, my heart had leaped so hard it thudded against my chest and I recognized the sensation.

It was one I’d avoided for years, one I didn’t want because it hurt so much.

But his eyes had shone with that same emotion, the hues in them sparkling before he turned from me.

Love. The one emotion both of us ran from, seeking to numb our hearts with random sex and meaningless hook-ups.

Men I’d taken to dull the strange ache that sat in my chest every time I saw him.

It wasn’t often. His visits were quick, but each time that ache grew like an annoyance I couldn’t shake, one I couldn’t understand.

I set my brush down, thinking of how this time had changed us, changed me.

Intensifying what had been there and electrifying it.

Love. I was in love with Tyson Raines and the thought of our fake marriage ending, of returning to Armina alone, without him, hurt so badly that I shoved the thought aside.

I didn’t want this to end because I needed his touch now.

Craved it so that I knew I couldn’t live without it. He’d ruined me for every other man.

My heart pounded as I threw open the door, needing to tell him, to hear him say those words back to me and to reassure me that I’d ruined him, too, and he wouldn’t let me go home. That he’d steal me from my life and keep me by his side, touching and loving me forever.

“Where did he go?” I asked Ben, the guard my father had sent with me. My mind was a cacophony of emotion that was about to erupt. Maybe I was being childish, but the need to tell him I loved him burned through me, driving me toward him.

“He took the stairs. What’s wrong, Angie?”

Ignoring him, I hobbled down the hall, cursing my damned ankle.

I pushed the door to the stairs open, catching it before it slammed.

Get a grip, I scolded myself, not wanting to look like a madwoman.

I smoothed my hand down my jumper to calm the nerves that were suddenly pummeling me, hearing words from further down the stairs that stopped me in my track.

“She’s a bratty, spoiled bitch who drives me insane. Everything she does grates on my nerves and pretending like this is killing me, Mace. I don’t think I can take much more of it.”

My heart dropped and my hands shook as I backed out of the stairwell and quietly closed the door, standing there frozen.

The words played over and over in my head.

Pretending. That’s all he was doing? Pretending to want me.

Playing with me, with my body, with my heart.

A strange bubble built inside of my chest like a wave that needed to escape, and I opened my mouth as I backed further away, a sob coming from me.

It was a sound I hadn’t heard since my mother died, because I hadn’t cried since that day.

Nothing had ever brought me as much pain. Until now.

Devastated, I returned to the room, the warm tears burning my skin, unwelcome and unwanted, a show of weakness that I couldn’t stop.

Doubling over, I dropped to the floor, hating that I’d been so vulnerable, that I’d fallen for his game, that I’d opened my heart when I’d kept it guarded for so long.

Every small gesture, every tender moment played through my mind, arguing that this couldn’t be, that he couldn’t have played me.

But he had. His words were confirmation.

Anger burned through me, and I embraced it, burying the hurt, the ache that was shredding me from the inside out.

No one played me. I was Angela Donelli, not some foolish little girl.

I stood, wiping the tears from my face, and limped to the bathroom.

I started tossing my things into my bag until I caught sight of myself in the mirror.

No one made me cry, and this man had done that.

“You’re a stupid fool, Angie. Hate him, despise him, but never love.

” I grabbed my makeup and covered my freckles, then my birthmark, erasing the parts of me he’d lied to me about.

When I’d finished, I threw the rest of my stuff in the bag and started packing my suitcases, letting my rage cover the ache that wouldn’t ease in my chest.

The door opened, Tyson’s cheerful voice entering before he did, “I had them use that fancy almond…” He stopped, but I didn’t look at him. It hurt too much. I’d wanted to be packed before he returned. “Angie?”

“I’m leaving. You don’t have to pretend anymore. I’ll deal with Joey.”

“Angie, what are you talking about?”

I ignored him, closing my case and zipping it. He grabbed me, turning me toward him. “What are you talking about? ”

I jerked out of his grasp. “You’re an asshole, Tyson Raines. You didn’t have to do what you did. To use me that way.”

“Use you, baby? What are?—”

“Don’t call me that!” I snapped, grabbing my bag. “I hate you, Tyson. I’ve always hated you and I will curse your name on my deathbed. Find me a way home, now.”

“Angela, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but—” The confused and hurt look on his face confused me, and I stumbled, the pain in my ankle overtaking the pain in my heart.

He reached out to steady me.

“Don’t touch me,” I said, stepping away and hearing my voice crack. “Never touch me again. We hate each other, that’s it, that’s all this has ever been. Your game is over.”

“What game?” I could see the confusion turning to anger, his temper rising.

“Me. I was your game all this time. And I fell for it, like an idiot. Damn you, Tyson. You only had to put up with me, pretend we were married. You didn’t have to touch me. What was that for? Why bother? So you can go back and tell Mason what an annoying bitch I was to screw?”

The darkness returned to his eyes, his expression turning hard. “You are an annoying bitch, Angie. You’ve always been.”

“Yeah, so I heard. Well, you don’t have to pretend and put up with me anymore. I don’t want to be an inconvenience to you and your dick.”

His eyes widened. “Shit, you were listening in on my conversation with Mason. What did you hear?”

That unpleasant sensation in my chest returned. “Enough.” I yanked the rings from my finger and threw them at him. He caught them and looked down at them. “I don’t need you, Tyson. I never did.”

He clenched his hand around the rings, the glimmer of hurt reflected in his eyes morphing to anger.

“Good, because I’m tired of you, Angie. Get out.

I’ll have a plane ready, and you can return to Joey Tirenti.

” He let the rings fall, taking his off and throwing it to the floor.

“Let him put up with your spoiled ass. I’m sure he’ll fuck you the way you want it.

Just make sure you take your makeup with you.

You’ll need it to cover the bruises…if you’re still alive when he’s done with you. ”

“Prick,” I spat.

“Yeah, that’s what I am, Angie. A prick. And you’re a bitch who deserves everything you have coming to you.”

I smacked him, the pain so intense I couldn’t hold back. He grabbed my wrist, squeezing it painfully, and slammed me into the door, which shook on its hinges.

“You touch me again and I’ll send your body back in pieces to your father,” he snarled. “It’ll be better than what he’ll get when Tirenti’s done with you.”

With a shove, he walked away, turning his back on me and running his hand through his hair. I grabbed my bag and left, the tears pushing against my hold on them.

“Get her dumb ass on a plane. I think the governor is leaving this morning. Maybe she can give his spoiled son a blow job on the way, maybe ride the governor while she’s at it,” Tyson ordered.

I stepped onto the elevator, staring ahead and not looking at his henchman or mine.

All I could do was let the hatred for Tyson fester in my chest to coat the agony that was setting in.

There was nothing more to do. I was shattered, uncertain for the first time in my life.

I’d fallen in love with him, thinking he loved me, too.

But it hadn’t been love, it had all been fake, and that realization crippled me.

I tried building my defenses back as Tyson’s man talked to the governor, who was waiting for his luggage to be loaded into a car. I’d timed my leave just right, it seemed. He made his way back over.

“They’ll take you to Armina before they return home.”

“Thank you,” I mumbled, trying to firm the shake in my voice .

“Can I ask you something?” he said, as I walked away.

“Sure.”

“What did you hear before you came back to the room? What did the boss say?”

I considered whether it was worth telling him, whether it mattered now. “Just the usual. What a spoiled brat I am and how it was killing him to be stuck with me, pretending to like me. Nothing different from the usual.”

He looked like he wanted to reply, but I turned from him, not wanting to hear any excuses. Tyson didn’t deserve them.