Midnight Daffodil (Poisonous Petals #1)

Chapter 6Olivia

six

OLIVIA

M y eyes threatened to close as I waited in the passenger seat, curled up with the paper I’d yet to look at. I shoved it in the waistband of my panties, hoping I could keep whatever secret it held from Matt. I jolted to the sound of him ripping open the door to his white Mercedes AMG C 43, slamming it shut behind him.

Matt’s ragged breathing filled the silence. Fear left me mute, terrified I’d shatter the trance that consumed him. My mind wouldn’t stop wandering to the dark haired man just beyond the station doors.

The Mercedes skidded across the pavement. The squeal of the tires tore through the silence as the headlights shone through the night. I stared aimlessly out the window as the purple underglow painted our path.

I could still feel Luke’s hands on my face. Little tingles danced across my skin. He felt like a safe haven the way our bodies pressed together when he carried me. He touched me like I was something to treasure.

Those hands, capable of causing harm, held me with gentle protection in ways I never realized I longed for. Luke looked me in the eyes and said he’d do it all over again. My thoughts came to a screeching halt as reality crashed around me.

Matt.

I was supposed to be in love with him, but another man clouded my thoughts. He sat in the driver's seat, stewing. Quiet Matt was never a good sign for me. His knuckles turned white, veins bulging as his fingers dug into the steering wheel, the plastic creaking under the pressure. I half-expected it to snap at any moment.

Knowing what lurked between that clean cut facade he put on for the world was sometimes frightening. When we fought, I swore I could see another entity behind those lustrous green eyes. And the awful things he would say gutted me every single time.

He’d lean in, his words sharp as daggers. “You sicken me, Livie. I’d never dwindle hard earned funds on a wedding with a woman like you.” I’d nod and offer a weak apology, hoping a docile approach would somehow make him happy, but it only seemed to deepen his anger.

Matt would rather see me dead than happy without him.

Once parked at our highrise, he hauled me over to the elevator. Pounding on the button to our floor, he placed a hot hand on my neck to steer me. The air was thick with something ominous. My legs itched to carry me away but to where? To Vera? To Luke? Then what? I couldn’t just stay with Luke. Matt would lose his shit with jealousy.

Whatever I felt with Luke had to be ignored. For his safety.

For mine.

Cool air hit my face as the doors to the elevator swung open. Matt stepped out, shoving me ahead of him, pushing me towards our home.

Home.

A place I should’ve felt the safest, but dread grew heavier the closer we got to our door. He pressed his key into the lock with a click. The pounding of my heart drowned out all other noise.

I stepped through the threshold.

As I moved through the doorway, my body slowed as if it weighed a thousand pounds. Matt lurked behind me; the click of the door locking solidified my fate.

“Get in the shower; you look like a fucking whore.” I bit my lip while he spoke to keep from crying out. That would only piss him off more.

I slowly walked into the primary suite and into our bathroom. The bright light stung my eyes as I stripped off the tattered clothing. Opening the lid to my moisturizer, I carefully stuck Luke’s tiny paper under the top of the lid. It closed with a click akin to a stampede roaring through the bathroom. Squeezing my eyes shut, I hoped that Matt wouldn’t hear.

Silence.

I gazed at my reflection in the mirror. Bruises stained my tan skin; nearly every inch narrated the unbearable marks of Matt’s affections. Unable to stomach the look of myself, I stepped over to the walk-in shower, turning the water as hot as it would go. Facing the wall as I got in, I watched the blood and grime wash down the drain. My head pounded with each sob, but I wasn’t able to stave off the tears.

I washed the remnants of the night away with soap. Scrubbing until my skin was red and scratchy.

My pulse picked up at the creak of the door opening. I saw his shadow in my peripherals; Matt was there wearing a chilling expression. I froze. Afraid of what was coming next.

His face didn’t change as he slid open the shower door dressed in slippers and sweatpants. His bare chest tightened as the blistering hot water pelted his skin. Lost in his green-eyed gaze, I was unprepared to brace myself.

His fist cracked down on my face, my head ricocheting off the shower wall. My sob was stifled as his hand tightened around my throat, driving me against the wet wall. My heart thudded in my chest, slowing down with each passing breath I couldn’t take. Bile caught where his hand strangled me. Blackness frayed the edges of my vision, leaving nothing but Matt in my sight.

A horrid gagging sound filled my ears. Bouncing off the wall like bullets hitting rubber posts. The God awful noise clawed its way up my throat.

So, that ghastly sound is coming from me.

Matt’s face was red, and spit was flying, but no sound met my ear.

God, was this it?

The moment that Matt finally killed me?

The heavy lids of my eyes begged to close, and the world turned on its side. I sank to the shower floor, consciousness oscillated, and reality became a hazy blur.

Water pelted off his slippers, splashing onto my face and clouding my vision. Pain shot through my chest as his foot collided with my sternum. The flesh of my stomach was next as bile trickled out of my mouth down the shower drain. My heart roared in my ears as if trying to escape my ribs.

“Did you fuck him?” He took in gulping breaths. His body shook with the urge to continue the tirade. I lay on my side, willing my unresponding body to move.

I managed to force my naked body on all fours, shaking my head.

Matt jerked me up by my upper arm. My back smacked the hard tile wall.

“I see the way he looks at you.” He shook me once more. “I saw it that night, too.” His fist connected again. “Did you spread your whore legs for him?”

Sharp pain seared through me. My cracked lips formed the words with stabbing urgency. “No. I’d never do that to you.”

Matt shook. Rage poured off of him.

“Don’t fucking mock me. What’re you implying?” He rumbled in my ear. “Do you have something you wanna say?”

A violent tremor cascaded through my body.

“No.” I wretched the words out, my throat feeling as though it were lined with shards of glass.

His grip on my throat loosened enough for me to suck a choking breath in. The cold water pebbled my skin in nipping pain. The shower turned off, plunging us into silence save for our breathing. Releasing me, I sank against the wall, too tired to hold myself up.

He knelt to me, jerking my head around to clean my face with a terry cloth. Every wipe across my face felt like a torch scorching my skin, each touch more unbearable than the last. Crying was excruciating; every tear burned like acid. Even breathing was a struggle, each inhale filled with agony.

“You’re dramatic, Livie.” My chest warmed at the pet name. It meant we were done fighting. For tonight.

“I’m,” I stuttered, “I’m sorry.”

“Yes, you are. You’re miserable. Look at the mess you’ve become. What the hell were you thinking dressed like that? And then parading around with that fucking cop? Are you stupid?” He jerked me roughly to my feet. My skin bruised under his grip.

The soft touch of a warm towel enveloped my body. As the steam dissipated, I caught my pathetic reflection. My left eye was purple and swollen. Blood trickled from my nose. The metallic taste made me wretch.

Matt turned my face to look at him. “You’re too well trained to act like you did tonight. Do you understand me?”

I nodded.

“You have everything you could possibly want here. I take care of us. You don’t need anyone but me,” he whispered. Pain lit up my throat as I swallowed thickly. He dried the rest of my body off and threw an oversized top on me.

Even the softness of the cotton hurt my throbbing skin.

“You’re so fucking ungrateful. Do you know how many women would kill to be with me?” He slid a pair of panties up my thighs. “You sit at home, shop, spend stupid money on animal shelters, and your broke ass friends.”

My heart clogged when he reached for my skin care products.

Fuck, the moisturizer.

Apprehension gripped my throat as if the emotion had a mind of its own. With shaking limbs, I peeked through swollen eyes, watching Matt’s every move.

His fingers trailed past it, settling for a lotion that he spread over my face and body. He replaced it next to the moisturizer, then selected an antibacterial cream to smooth over my pulsing eye. I couldn’t help but flinch.

He snatched up my jaw in his hand, squeezing it with brutal force. “Quit fucking moving,” he snarled through clenched teeth, his pupils tiny as they pierced me. “I’m trying to take care of you.”

I forced a curt nod and let him continue, fighting through the pain. The moisturizer caught the light and gleamed. I didn’t know what was written on the paper Luke gave me, but I had to do everything I could to ensure Matt never found it. Consciousness was fleeting as my head lolled forward once Matt finished tending to my eye.

His hand slid between my thighs, searching me. “You swear you didn’t let him fuck you?” He cupped me roughly, his fingers dug into the sensitive flesh.

“I swear.” My voice was gravel. I couldn’t keep my eyes open. The world continued to blacken around me. Matt lightly jostled me awake, handing me pills and hot tea. The smell of chamomile and honey wafted up to my nose. My hands trembled as I sipped. The hot liquid spilled, singing my skin.

“Can’t do anything yourself.” He sighed. “I know you didn’t have sex with him. You love me too much to do that, Livie,” he said more to himself than me. “I’m the only man that will know what it feels like to tear into you.”

He spoonfed me the sweet tea as he spoke. Matt flicked on my diffuser, letting the aroma of lavender caress my senses. He shifted around the room doing our usual aftercare. That was the only time he ever touched my stuff.

Thank God he didn’t find it . I was careless. I can’t mess up like that again.

The warmth of the heated blanket he threw over me cocooned me, melting away some of the soreness but none of the pain.

“I want you to look at me,” he said softly, rubbing his hand down my face.

I pried my eyes open to take him in. His hair was wet and tousled on top. He’d shed the wet clothes and settled on a black V-neck shirt and gray sweatpants. His pupils were no longer minuscule dots in his eyes. He looked softer. Unlike the hardened monster, I knew him to be.

“That’s my girl.” His tender expression faded. He leaned his face near my ear, grabbing a fist full of my hair. Pain shot down my neck. Trying not to move in his grip, a whimper escaped my tight lips.

“If you ever let him touch you,” he snarled. “If you ever let him fuck your pussy”—he squeezed my scalp until I could hear the sound of my strands tearing out—“I’ll kill you.”

And I believed him.