Page 103 of The Husband Contract

I pull off my clothes slowly. His eyes widen as he reaches for me, but I shake my head. “I’m going to do this my way.”

When I finally climb onto the bed, he kisses me deeply. The rest unfolds in silence as we breathe into each and touch gently and then more passionately. Neither one of us can stop the flame from getting higher. His fingers play with my breasts, I kiss the side of his neck. His mouth is on my stomach. I dig my nails into his back. His tongue slides across my clit. My ankle wraps around his neck. His cock thrusts into me. Screams escape my throat. His eyes bore into mine, intense and dark. I memorize every line on his face. Every feel of him inside of me. Poetically, we orgasm together. As one. Bodies tired. Brains overworked. Feelings electrified.

When he finally pulls out of me, he whispers into my ear, “I love you, Willow. I’m determined to spend the rest of my life making this up to you. Thank you for being the woman that you are.”

This is my moment. Poetic justice. I turn onto my side and look at him coldly. I push him away to create distance.

He frowns. “Wait—why are you looking at me like that?”

“I hate you, Sebastian.” The words slice through the quiet of the room. “I hate you.”

His face crumbles at the realization of my words.

“This was not real. I will never get over this. I will never give you another chance. I just want to go home.”

“But you just made love to me.”

“I wanted to give you, for one moment, the same hope you gave me—and I wanted to take it away. I wanted to hurt you, because you left me vacant. You didn’t listen to me. So why should I listen to you?”

He presses his lips together, nodding slowly. “I understand. But please, at least give me a chance to show you?—”

“Katherine and Brielle are on their way up to the city. Iwant to go home with them. You have to let me leave. You can’t keep me here anymore.”

“But you’re my wife.”

“Not really. In no sense of the word am I your wife.” I sit up, glaring at him. “When I made those vows, it was to a man I thought I knew—a man I loved. I know nothing about you. And I don’t want to. Let me leave, Sebastian. This is over.”

He stares at me for a few seconds.

“I guess I can’t keep you here,” he says finally. “I have to let you go.”

“Unless you really want to be a cruel asshole,” I say. “Unless you truly are the villain of this story.”

He shakes his head. “I’m not. I’ll let you go. I’ll set you free. I’ll let you go so you can heal.”

I only wish it was going to be that easy.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Sebastian

I’ve never known pain like this. Never known what it was to love so deeply and lose. Not even when David died had it felt this hard. That had been a different type of pain—a deep pain—but not as all-consuming as this. Willow has been gone for a week. Her friends picked her up and she left without a smile or even a word to me.

I’d let her go, not because I didn’t want to keep her with me, but because I knew I had no right. I never had any right.

She could go to the cops and have me arrested. Or ruin my company with information about what I’d done. But I don’t care. I’m absolutely disgusted with myself. I want to burn the world down with me inside of it. I just wish Willow would allow me a chance to make it right.

I wanted her to just understand, to listen to me, but Iknow all hope is lost. I’d ruined the best thing that ever happened to me, and I did it for all the wrong reasons.

The apartment feels cold and silent as I sit in my office. It no longer feels like home, but a prison of ruined dreams. There’s a knock at the door, and I lean forward in my chair. “Come in.”

Janice walks in, a sad frown on her face. I wonder what she’s thinking. I wonder what she knows. I’ll never know, though. She’s not one to ever reveal what she’s thinking on the inside. She is the consummate professional. “Jack is here.”

“Show him in. Thank you, Janice.”

“Yes, sir.” She backs out, and within moments, Jack walks in.

“You look like shit,” he says as he strides over to me.