Page 49 of The Games We Play (Balance of Power #3)

She’d react the same way she did when I grabbed her wrists and she’d battle even more demons within herself.

Using her fingers, she reaches down to spread out the pictures and she squints, as if in pain, when she sees them.

Her eyes are bloodshot and swollen. Her lips, puffy and bruised. A stitched cut aligns the top of her eyebrow and a bloody slit decorates her lip, matching the gash that crosses over her cheekbone.

The worst part of the bruising lies around the bridge of her nose, circling around her eyes. Different shades of black and blue, in depths I’ve never seen before.

Another one displaying her hands and forearms comes into view. You can see the outline of his fingers and palm print from where he held her down. One wrist is completely dislocated with striped bruising starting at her palm, all the way past her elbow from the abuse it took.

I’ve seen horror in my life. Lone body parts, broken bones, and more blood than someone should see in any lifetime, but I have to look away. To see Mimi like that, completely shatters me.

She stares down at the photo, stunned to silence. I don’t know if she’s seen these before, but I’m glad she’s reminded of the pain and suffering he put her through so she can be okay with whatever decision that needs to be made.

Wrapping one hand around her wrist, she caresses the soft area and flinches. Her eyes are pained and I step toward her wanting to hold her, needing to do something.

“These are evidence pictures from the trial. Those were sealed.”

“Not to me.”

Her eyes snap over to mine, and I can’t tell if she’s upset or just confused and distraught .

My body has a mind of its own as it walks toward her, my legs taking me in the direction it knows my heart wants to go. I gently place my hands on her waist, pulling her close, and I swear it’s like my body needs her to breathe.

“Some days I want to be able to forgive him, so I can feel like I can move on. Other days I fantasize about his death like it’s the only way to get closure.”

“You have the right to feel both ways at any given time,” I reply reluctantly, because forgiving him is the last thing on my mind.

“I feel so confused and angry, and I want to scream and cry at the same time.”

“What do you need right now?” I step toward her as she grips my shirt.

My hands roam under the fabric of her over-sized hoodie, caressing the soft skin of her stomach. Her hand wraps around mine, guiding it to her chest.

My fingertips graze over the satin hem of her bra and the sensation of touching her goes straight to my cock.

Her hips press deeper into mine and her breath hitches as she feels the length of my hard cock pushing against her.

“Tell me what you need, Mimi,” I say again, my grip tightening over her hips.

“I’ve done nothing but try to accept it my whole life.

Just accept what happened. Forgive him ,” she air quotes, “that’s what everyone says I need to do to move on, but I’m so angry.

I want to hit something, I want to be angry.

I want to feel it. I want to hurt someone.

” Her hands grip the skin of my torso, as she shamefully dips her face into my chest.

Crooking my finger, I lift her chin and her teary eyes meet mine.

“Take it out on me.”

Her brows pinch together as she begins to shake her head.

But she has no idea how serious I am .

“Take what you need. Give me your wrath. Let me feel it.” I need for her to give it to me, so I can take it away and bury it so fucking deep she’ll never feel this way again.

“Give me everything.” I slam my lips into hers and she gasps, shocked by my aggression as I try to pull the rage from her. I grip her hair, tugging it behind her, hard enough to get a reaction but still gentle enough that I don’t hurt her.

Her teeth are clenched tight as she peers through her long, waterlogged lashes, and I see it. The fury behind her eyes, the pain in her soul. “Give it to me. Don’t hold back.”

Spinning us around, she pushes me back until I’m standing next to the bed. She rips her sweater off over her head, throwing it to the ground, then tucks her thumbs into her leggings as she bends over, peeling them off her legs.

Fuck, she’s always stunning, but she’s out of this fucking world gorgeous when she’s angry.

“These need to come off.” I put my hands up in surrender as she tackles my belt, ripping it from the loops while simultaneously pulling the fly open with one hand.

She’s incredibly talented when she’s angry, too.

My jeans fall to the floor, pooling at my ankles, and I step out of them as I sit back on the bed.

I have the perfect view of her body, standing over me as she reaches behind her back and unclips her bra.

The dainty, lace strap tumbles down her arms and falls to the floor.

My jaw slacks as her full breasts come into view, and I’m breathless.

She sets my entire body on fire.

I try to focus on anything else, thinking of the most unpleasant things, but it’s completely useless when she pulls the sides of her thong down her gorgeous, toned legs and bares herself to me.

“Fuck. You’re beautiful,” I say, breathlessly.

I go to reach for her, but she grabs my hand and wraps it behind her waist as she kneels into the mattress. I scoot back until my back presses up against the headboard and I’m sitting upright as her body straddles mine. I’ve never seen a more beautiful sight than her naked body on top of mine.

The rage behind her eyes matches the passionate roll of her hips. She’s fierce and confident, and I am so goddamn turned on I can hardly hold myself back.

Leaning forward, I wrap my lips around her taut nipple, flicking my tongue around the peak as I pinch the other. She gasps, tossing her head back, and her desperate moans are my kryptonite.

“Jesus, Mimi, you make me lose all control.” All of the blood in my body is culminating between my legs, and my cock is rock hard, jutting between us.

She licks her lips as she glances down, seeing the precum laced tip throbbing and completely wretched.

She presses her hips to mine, the underside of my cock aligning with her slit, and begins to move back and forth.

Her wet pussy rubs against me, my cock dripping, mixing with her arousal, and I can’t fucking get enough.

I pump my hips, matching her rhythm, and we moan in unison.

“Fuck, your pussy feels so good.” I’m not even inside her and it’s like my entire body is on fire.

She rubs her fingers through my hair, tugging my head back. I groan at the sting, but my cock pulses, liking the abuse.

“Give me your worst.” I remind her that she can do whatever she wants to me. She can completely destroy me if it gives her the peace she needs.

“Fuck,” she belts out as she clutches my hair harder and I bite back the pain.

My chest lifts as she yanks my head back, giving her easier access to press her body flush to mine. She wraps her hand around my cock, gives it a tug, then lifts her hips, placing it at her entrance before slamming down on top of me .

“Fucking Christ,” I grunt out. Her pussy is tight and dripping, and she wastes no time as she begins riding my cock.

Her rage is swirling around us, like it’s part of both of us—her story and mine. The perfect night that was tainted with pain, the years stolen from us because of the vulgar act of one man.

She’s got a tight grip on my hair at the back of my neck and the other hand is pressing into my collarbone. Like she’s holding me exactly where she wants me. Her moans are deep and guttural, and it’s taking all my willpower to hold back.

“Fuck. Fuck.” She squeezes her eyes shut as she grits between clenched teeth. “I hate him. I hate what he did to me.”

“I know, baby.” Her fingers tighten in my hair even more, the sting piercing my skull.

“I hated you, too. I hated you for all this time.” Her hand moves to my throat and she squeezes her fingers against the sensitive flesh.

“And I’ve loved you every day since.” I lift my chin, giving her full access to my throat. I push forward, giving her permission to take what she needs.

She presses her weight into me as her fingers tighten around the column of my throat, stealing my breath. My face flushes with heat, reddening with each second. I try to suck in air, but her fingers grasp harder around my neck.

“Harder, Mimi,” I manage to gasp out, and the rage in her eyes explodes, pressing even more weight into me as my back pushes against the headboard.

My eyes widen as pressure builds and my balls tighten. My cock is throbbing and I realize it’s too late to stop my orgasm.

Keeping my grip tight around her waist, I pull her down harder on my cock as I push my hips up. I thrust in and out, the friction is so goddamn unbelievably perfect.

“You were made for me,” I manage to spit out. As inaudible as it sounded, I know she heard me .

She screws up her face and lets out a long moan. “Oh, God, I’m coming.”

My orgasm hits me at the same time and I groan out muffled profanities as she rides my cock, robbing the air from my lungs.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I chant, unable to hold anything back. When she finally releases the kung-fu grip she has on my throat, I suck in a commanding breath.

Never would I have ever thought that would be something I would enjoy, but here I am, reeling after the most intense orgasm of my life. I have no idea if it was her anger, her passion, or the fact that she literally took my breath away, but I’m more than willing to try it at any point again.

She’s still on top of me and I’m glad she’s in no rush to move, because I could stay here forever.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers into my neck, kissing the column where her fingers were tightest.

I sit up and force her to look at me. Her cheeks are flushed and there is a distinct look of satisfaction blanketing her. She covers her face with her palms and giggles.

“I don’t think you’re really sorry,” I reply, smiling back at her contagious happiness.

“I think I just found my new version of therapy.”

“I’ll give you whatever you need, sunshine.”

“Really?” she questions with both her tone and the look in her gorgeous, satiated eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“The only way you could hurt me is if you left me. That would probably kill me this time.” I gaze deeper into her eyes, making sure she knows how serious I am.

“Plus, you’re like five foot nothing and a hundred pounds soaking wet.

You couldn’t physically hurt me if you tried,” I playfully reply with a smile.

And then she slaps my chest. Hard.

“Ouch.” I flinch.

“Oh, did that hurt?” Her snarky response has me smiling from ear to ear .

“You should do that more often.” She tips her chin at mine, noting my lovesick grin.

I will, now that you’re mine.

She glances down then around the room, pulling us back into the reality that we’re living in. I’m dead set on revenge, but more than anything, I want her to get whatever closure she needs. If that means my Plan B doesn’t happen, then it doesn’t happen.

“I need to face him. I want to face him. I don’t want to tell my story to fifty strangers who don’t give a shit about what happened to me. I want to talk to him directly, before the hearing.” She turns back to face me and her eyes are pleading.

I know the prison will allow for visitors, and I’m certain we can make that happen under the guise of another name to get him to come out and talk to her, but fuck, that makes me really uncomfortable.

Her in the same room with him, face to face. I don’t know that I could handle her doing that by herself. I’d have to go, but I couldn’t sit with them.

“Maybe we could get you in as a reporter or something. I wouldn’t want him knowing in advance who he’s meeting or have the upper hand. And, I would need to be there or else I can’t let it happen.”

“I want to go, as myself. I want him to know it’s me who wants to talk to him.”

“Mimi…”

“Please, Seamus. I need this.”

I don’t know what is going through her mind right now. Is she looking for a fucking apology? Does she really want to forgive him? Because that thought fucking kills me. But it doesn’t matter. She needs this and I have the power to make it happen for her.

“Some people don’t deserve second chances, sunshine.”