Chapter SEVEN
Jagger had followed her to the hotel room door, but she'd slammed it in his face. A normal man would accept that he had just lost the trust a beautiful woman forever, but he was not a normal man. He was the head of the Harbingers of Sorrow, and he took what he wanted. He would go after her. He would force her to listen to him, and he would win her love back. He just needed to find her address.
The steam felt wonderful and she needed the warmth of the water on her shoulders after tonight. Every time she closed her eyes she could see the fire in his eyes as he pulled her bindings tighter. If she was honest with herself, he scared her, even though she would never let him know that. She rung the water from her hair and tied a towel around her chest. She still hadn’t called David. That would be her next move. She stepped out of the bathroom and walked into the living room. She stopped short, her body motionless. Jagger was there, sitting on her couch.
“How the f*ck did you get in here?”
“Is this David?” He was holding the picture.
“I locked my door.” She couldn’t help but stand up to him.
“You know that’s never stopped me before.”
Britton remembered back to a night eleven years earlier, when her father had forbid her from seeing Jagger ever again and she awoke to him curling up beside her in her bed that same night.
This didn’t make her swoon though. He had broken into her house, and his lack of respect for boundaries made her very uncomfortable. What might he be able to find if he broke in one day while she wasn’t home?
“So is this David?”
“Yes.”
“He’s a good looking guy.”
“He is.”
“He doesn’t look anything like me.”
“I know.”
That nipped more than he had expected. He wanted her to be attracted to no one else but him. He stared at the picture, imagining this guy’s hands on her body, the body that belonged to him. He felt the fire return to his chest, as he couldn’t rid the image from his mind. He threw the picture, hitting the wall and shattering the glass. Britton shrieked out of sheer surprise.
“Jagger!”
Jagger stood, towering over her.
“Does he touch you.”
“What?”
“Do you let him touch you?”
“We’ve been together for four years...” She wasn’t answering the question, but knew that his mind would be spiraling with the implication.
They heard a car pull into the driveway.
“Who is that?”
“I don’t know.”
Britton peeked out of her window. It was David. What was she going to do?
“It’s David. Can you hide?”
“No.”
“Please, he can’t know you’re here.”
“I want to speak to him.”
“You do and you’ll never speak to me again.”
Jagger resigned himself and moved down the hallway, out of sight. Britton opened the door as David walked up.
“Where have you been? I've been calling you all night.”
Britton quickly widened her eyes, hoping to warn him that Jagger was in her house.
“I got stuck at the casino. The high roller room stays open all night.”
“I thought you got off after we spoke on the phone.”
She started speaking more deliberately, hoping he’d play along.
“I know, but after our fight, I didn’t want to go home. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep without you beside me.”
Jagger couldn’t handle hearing that. He slammed his palm into the wall.
“Britton, is someone here?
Briton thought fast. She grabbed David’s face and kissed him. It started off labored and fake, but as she held him longer, they both eased into it naturally, allowing their bodies to take over. David encircled his arms around her and pulled her towel-wrapped body into his. He found himself growing and quickly pulled himself away, knowing he wouldn’t be able to hide his desire much longer.
“You really worried me last night. Don’t ever do that again.” He drew her into a hug and whispered in her ear. “Is Jagger here?”
She looked into his eyes and bounced her own up and down, signaling that his speculation was correct.
“I’m sorry that I worried you. I’ll call you later.” she said.
As she pushed him out of the door, he noticed her wrists. He quickly looked up at her and mouthed, “Are you okay?” She nodded, but could tell David was worried. She knew she’d have to explain how she received the injury at her next debriefing. Britton was not looking forward to that.
She closed the door and turned around. Jagger was standing over her, his nostrils flaring with anger.
“I forbid you to see him.”
“He’s my boyfriend.”
“You know what I’m capable of, right?”
“Are you threatening me?” Britton did not like the path this conversation was heading down. She needed to avert his attention. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to get you back.”
“You tied me up and abused me. Why would I come back to you?” She wanted him to keep begging. She needed Jagger to think that letting her in was completely his idea, his decision.
Jagger sat down on the couch. He felt defeated. He never had to ask anyone anything more than once. People just always did what he told them to do. Why was she so different? Why didn’t he have that power over her?
“Babe...” He paused, at a loss for words. “I don’t know what came over me. I thought you had betrayed me. I thought you had forced your way back into my life to trick me into…something. I don’t even know what, but in my line of work I need to be careful. I can’t act purely on emotions. I slipped up with you in a moment of weakness. When you’re around, I don’t think straight. I panicked.”
Britton’s heart softened. It was exactly what she wanted to hear. He'd opened up to her, and after all these years, he obviously still cared about her.
He continued. “I shouldn’t have hurt you; it just progressed out of habit. I was angry. Britton, I am so sorry. Sorry for everything...” His voice cracked, and she knew she had won. She sat beside him and took his hand. Warmth flowed through her own, and she felt whole for the first time since he had left her on the side of that road, she felt like she was home. He turned toward her and opened his arms to her embrace. He felt her chest rise and fall against his. It was comforting. He didn’t ever want to let her go. They stayed that way for what seemed like forever.