emCHAPTER b0129 /b/em

emMeadow’s POV: /em

em“I don’t want you going anywhere without Trip or West escorting you.” /em

emI was seated at the kitchen counter, nursing a cup of coffee. ric had just walked into the kitchen, having returned from his morning run. His shirt clung to his body, his shorts sitting low on his hips. /em

emI tilted my head, forcing my gaze away from him and trying not to linger too much. “Why?b” /bI muttered. You worried my sister is gonna hurt ine again?” /em

em“That’s not funny.” /em

em“I mean, it’s a little bit funny that you’ve been walking on eggshells around me ever since we got back, but okay.” /em

emIt had been a day since we returned from Vegas. ric had gone straight to work while West drove me home. But I was willing to bet anything that ric had his men keeping tabs on me. He was worried that I would go to meet my sister, especially after this new revtion. /em

emAnd I was. Not to talk about him–no. That was none of her business–but to talk about our father. /em

emBecause if he reached out to me, then he must’ve reached out to her too. But I could tell ric was losing his damn mind especially since I didn’t go anywhere yesterday. /em

emI hadn’t spoken to anyone since then. Not even Nova. For the whole of yesterday, I just buried myself in school work and briefly conversed with Mel. /em

emAnd when he got back, I avoided him like the gue. /em

emThat didn’t stop him from watching my every move though. /em

emric’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t say a word. He just walked over to the fridge and pulled the door open with more force than necessary. /em

emI was going to see Juniper today. I didn’t return her calls, I only sent a simple text back containing the /em

emaddress of the ce I wanted us to meet. /em

emI raised my cup to my lips, taking a sip while I watched ric gulp down an entire bottle of water like he /em

emhad just run a marathon. /em

emMy mind shed back to the night we had right before everything blew up in our faces. The club was… I had no words to describe what ric and his partner created for people who wanted to explore their kinks and desires without caring what anyone else would think. /em

emThe way he’d held me, fucked me… I was ready topletely submit to him. He already imed me as /em

emhis. /em

emBut now… a lot of other things hade into y. /em

em“Forgive me for walking on eggshells around you, Meadow,” he said casually after putting the bottle down. “But you are the most impulsive, defiant woman I have ever met. And if you won’t talk to me, then there’s nothing I can do except watch you and hope you don’t do something-” /em

em“Stupid?” I cut in. /em

em“Reckless.” He shot me a re. /em

emI shot him one back, taking a sip of my coffee. “Nothing more reckless than getting married to a woman you’re supposed to hate but-” /em

em“Enough.” ric’s voice was deep and low as he mmed his hand down on the counter. A gasp escaped my throat and I nearly jumped out of my skin. “You either ept to go with Trip or you don’t, and I’ll have him tail you anyway. Now, you can be pissed at me for however long, but I’m not letting you see your lunatic sister without protection.” /em

emI jumped down from the stool. “I can handle myself-” /em

emb“/bYeah, and that went so wellst time, didn’t it?” /em

emFor a moment, I was frozen. ric saw the look on my face and his face fell as well. “Meadow, I didn’t /em

emmean-” /em

em“Of course, you didn’t,” I snapped, letting out a mirthlessugh. “You never do.” /em

emHe stepped forward, starting to reach for me, but I stepped back before he could touch me. “Meadow… /em

emfuck.b” /b/em

em“Maybe you think I’m stupid for always going back to my sister, but you could never understand-” My voice cracked. Running a hand through my hair, I continued. “There’s no use exining anything to you. I mean, it’s not like you have the best rtionship with your brother. He’s practically your punching bag.” /em

emThat was low. I knew it but it was nothing but the truth. I could tell that ric loved his brother, but clearly, things were always going to be a little tense between them. And I hated to admit, but it was all /em

embecause of her. /em

emrissa. /em

emSomething shed in ric’s eyes. “My brother hates himself, Meadow, because of what he did. And if /em

empunishing him gives him some sort of relief, I’ll do it over and over. But your sister hates you for no damn /em

emreason-” /em

emb“/bMy sister has every right to hate me, ric!” I yelled, stepping closer to him. “She has every fucking right. And maybe you can forgive your brother for sleeping with the love of your life, but that is nothingpared to what I did-” /emfn03a0 ??? ????? ???????s ??? ?????s??? ?? F?nd-Novel/fn03a0

em2/6 /em

emric’s nostrils red and, pinching the bridge of his nose, he lowered his voice. /em

em“There’s nothing you could have done to deserve the way your sister treats you, Meadow.” He reached out to cup my cheek. “Nothing.” /em

emFor a second, I simply melted into his touch. And then I hated myself for doing it, and I stepped away from him. ric’s hand lingered in the air, and his gaze fell to it. He swallowed, slowly curling his fist. /em

emHe wanted to feel me. So badly. But I wasn’t going to make this easy. For any of us. /em

em“You’re wrong,” I said, my voice shaking. “You’re so wrong, you have no idea.” /em

emb“/bMeadow-b” /b/em

em“Whatever she does to me, it’s because I deserve it.” /em

em“And what do you think you did to deserve nearly being raped by your ex–boyfriend and beat up so hard you had to be taken to the hospital?” /em

emMy throat tightened. He knew what he was doing. And J wasn’t going to fall for it. /em

emric started to reach for me again but I pped his hand away, scowling at me. “I don’t want you touching me, ric. I mean it.” /em

emHis gaze narrowed as his tilted his head slightly. “And what about everything you said to me at the club? About you wanting me to do to you whatever I wanted?” /em

emI swallowed thickly, feeling the back of my eyelids burn with unshed tears. “Well, things change.” /em

emA moment of silence stretched between us beforehe finally spoke again. “Will you ever forgive me?” His voice was so soft, it hurt my heart. I couldn’t read the expression in his eyes but his jaw was clenched.” I’m trying, Meadow. I want things to work between us.” /em

emAnd so did I. /em

emGod. So did I. /em

emBut things couldn’t work like this. Not when I would never be able to forget the fact that my father was responsible for what his family went through. /em

emI blinked rapidly to stop the tears from flowing, and then, looking away, I wiped my already wet eyes with the back of my palm. I could feel the tension in the air get thicker. /em

emWhen I looked back at him, his fists were tightly curled into the edge of the counter–so tight that if he held it any harder, he’d hurt himself without even knowing. /em

emI forced my eyes away from the sight, clearing my throat. “I’ll go with Trip, like you said.” /em

emThe least I could do was give him some peace of mind. /em

em3/6 /em

emric’s grip loosened only slightly, and I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. He fixed bhis /bbdark /bbgaze /bon me. “Goodb./bb” /b/em

emMy hand itched to touch him. To cradle his face and tell him that we were going to move past this. /em

emBut bI /bcouldn’t. Because I wasn’t even sure how we were supposed to move past it. At least, not now. How was I going toe to terms with it all? /em

emHis eyes dropped to my slightly parted lips and he swallowed, darting his gaze back to mine. And my stupid, traitorous eyes decided to do the same and drop to his mouth. /em

emric’s lips twitched as he caught me. He scraped his teeth so smoothly along his bottom lip that I had to force my eyes away from those lips of his. /em

emAnd as I did, my eyes slowly moved down his body–his jaw, neck, his chest and the ck shirt that stretched across it. And the tattoos that swirled down his left arm. /em

emThose damn tattoos, his voice, his charisma and everything that made it impossible for me to stay away from him. /em

em“Want something?” My eyes immediately snapped back to his face as his voice cut into my thoughts. /em

emYes. A kiss. “No,” I snapped. /em

emric arched a brow. “Stop looking at me like that then, or I’ll be forced to think you do.” /em

emCrossing my arms in front of my chest, I frowned at him. “I was only plotting the different ways I could hurt you. But then it urred to me that depriving you of my touch is enough punishment, isn’t it?” /em

emHis eyes hardened. A sense of victory surged through my veins. I won that round. /em

emI didn’t wait for his reply before walking out on him. /em