Wicked Ever After (Wicked & Devoted #2) - Shayla Black Page 0,17
I’ve got a spare bedroom.”
She appreciated his sacrifice, but she hated to take over his home office—or any part of his life. He valued his privacy, just like she did. But he wouldn’t care about that, so she had to phrase her refusal in a way he could understand.
“I can’t live ‘in sin’ with you. You know that’s what the town would say. The preacher’s daughter and the town drunk’s son shacking up. What a shame…”
He let out an exasperated sigh as he put the truck into drive. “Damn it, I wish those small-minded idiots would keep their mouths shut.”
“You lived in Sunset most of your life. You know they won’t.”
Gritting his teeth, Cutter pulled away from the clinic. “Can I ask you a question? Was Pierce your first?”
Surely, he didn’t think she slept around. Probably not, but they’d also never asked about one another’s sex life. “Of course.”
Cutter gripped the steering wheel like it was Pierce’s neck. “We should get married.”
Brea sucked in a breath. She’d always hoped someone would propose to her someday. But Cutter was the wrong man, and he wasn’t offering because he was in love with her.
She swiped the tears from her stunned face. “Have you lost your ever-lovin’ mind? I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not asking. I’m offering.”
“It’s sweet but—”
“You’re out of options, Bre-bee. In order to keep the townsfolk and your father off your back and keep your baby, you need a husband.”
He was right, and his offer meant the world to her, but… “I love you, Cutter. Like a brother. I don’t think of you…that way.”
He scowled. “I don’t think of you that way, either. You’re my sister in every way except blood. But we’ve stuck together through thick and thin. We’ve grown closer over the years because we both know what it’s like to be the latch-key kid of a hardworking single parent. I don’t want that for your baby. I doubt you do, either. So unless you want to find yourself cast out of Sunset altogether for trying to raise your child alone, I’m your best hope.”
“What would you do if you married me?” She hated discussing such an indelicate topic, but he’d brought it up. “I don’t go out of my way to hear gossip, but I can’t always avoid it. I know you’re a red-blooded man. I know you like women and you don’t enjoy spending your nights alone. I can’t give you…”
Sex.
Cutter winced. “I wouldn’t ask you to.”
Brea breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t interested in getting naked and sweaty with her, either. Thank goodness.
But what would they do about intimacy? About the fact that, despite everything, her heart belonged to a man he despised?
She bit her lip. “I guess if we lived in Lafayette, and you were discreet…”
“What about you?” he asked. “What will you do when you need a man to touch—”
“Pray. Meditate. Garden. Work. I won’t…” She couldn’t imagine another man near her. Brea only ached for Pierce. Yes, giving in to him had created this mess, and if she ever saw him again she would have to guard against her foolish yearnings. But she already knew her heart would never belong to anyone else. “I’ll be fine.”
Cutter stopped at a red light and sent her a narrow-eyed glare. “There’s something you’re not telling me. Did Walker hurt you?”
How stunned would he be if she told him that Pierce had given her such sublime pleasure and made her feel so much like a woman that she’d never once thought of resisting? “Leave it, Cutter.”
“I won’t let that son of a bitch get away with what he’s done. He took advantage of you. He caused you anguish. Goddamn it—”
“Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain,” she snapped, mostly because it was something they generally agreed on.
“Figure of speech, Bre-bee. Stop derailing me. I want to know every way he harmed you so I can make him pay. Now.”
She shrank back into her seat because he didn’t really want the truth. “Doesn’t it always hurt the first time?”
“Other than that, was he too rough? Did he bruise you? Use you too hard? Too often?” Cutter ground his teeth together.
Brea tried not to blush. Pierce had spent half that night inside her and he hadn’t held back. And she’d loved it.
“Talk to me.” He sounded exasperated. “Did he spank you or bind you or—”
“Stop.” Those words sent images spinning through her head. Had Pierce wanted to do such things to her? How would they