The Marine (Black Hawke Security #3)

CHAPTER SEVEN

brIAR

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I open the door to my apartment and Aidan stalks in.

Like an angry predator.

He looks so handsome in his blue jeans and white shirt. Freshly showered, the ends of his dark hair are still wet, and the scent of his bodywash fills my home.

“Hi.”

He glances around and then glares down at me with his blue eyes. “I take it he doesn’t live here.”

I shake my head. “Of course not.”

“Of course not?!” he asks with a raised tone. “ Of course not would’ve been when you stopped me from fucking a married woman in the restroom of my damn office building.”

Yeah.

That.

“I’m sorry,” I say, closing the door.

“Are you?” Adian growls.

“Are you?” I retort.

He keeps glaring as he towers over me, his hands planted on his hips.

“Are you, Aidan? Do you regret fucking me? Just say it if you do.”

He takes a step closer to me and my breath hitches.

“I want to fuck you again is what I want to do,” he says angrily.

My mouth parts and I feel my pussy throbbing. It’s been six long hours since he was inside me and I want him again.

I shouldn’t.

I should hate him.

I do.

He killed my father.

But the need to feel this man inside me, on top of me, under me is so completely dominating I can barely breathe now he’s touched me again.

“Briar,” Adian raps, taking another step.

This was not the plan. We were going to talk. Or rather Aidan demanded he come over so we could talk. Instead, I throw myself at him and he wraps me in his arms like we are long-lost lovers.

We. Are.

“Where’s the bedroom?” He growls.

I kind of point and murmur, and in seconds we’re beside my bed and he’s tugging off my T-shirt. Then his clothes go flying and I’m shimmying my shorts off.

I am married.

I should stop.

But Kael punched me one too many times and our marriage is over. I could have said I was separated, but a part of me needs my marital status to keep me safe from the one man I want but can’t be with.

And yet...I’m standing in front of him in only my lingerie.

Aidan lets out a growl when he takes in my white lace. Both of us pant as we study each other’s bodies again, ten years later.

I reach out to touch his tattoos. He’s a masterpiece. Ripped muscles layer almost every inch of him, and a thick, long, erect cock juts from his groin.

I lick my lips.

When his arm lifts to remove my bra, I see the anchor tattoo on the inside of his biceps.

I run my finger over it.

“Recon Jack.” His voice is rough as he explains it. “Signifies I’m a Marine.”

God, it's sexy as hell.

“I wish I’d seen you in uniform,” I say honestly, then shake my head. There is so much time and anger between us, it seems inappropriate.

“If I’d thought it would’ve made a difference, I would have turned up on your doorstep wearing it,” he replies with an edge. “But...”

But I was married.

Am married.

And it wouldn’t have changed anything. It never can. My father can’t be brought back to life. What Aidan did can’t be undone.

I should tell him to leave.

Having him here feels like I’m disrespecting my parents. But I need this one more time, and I don’t want to go down memory lane.

I undo my bra to distract him, and he cups my breast, taking my nipple between his fingers.

I let out a moan.

“I need you on your knees, Briar.” Aidan orders and like a doll, I fall to the floor. “Good girl.”

Holy hell. My pussy flares with desire.

Directing his cock to my mouth, he then says, “Fingers inside that pretty white lace, and I want you to play with yourself while you suck me off.”

Oh, my god. He’s now far more dominant than he was, and I don’t hate it at all.

Before I can blink, he fills me to the back of my throat with his thick erection. I’m so aroused I almost come on the spot when my fingers touch my clit.

“Come and I’ll spank you.”

Jesus.

My eyes lift to his, and this is a different man from the one I fucked in the bathroom. Aidan is in control and he’s owning every part of me.

He’s not even the man I made love to ten years ago. There is an edge to him.

Power.

Dominance.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt so turned on in my life. My pussy feels like it's going to explode with desire and need. Like it's screaming out for him.

I work his cock over and over as I fight to not come in my panties.

“Suck me tighter,” Aidan tells me, running his hands through my long dark hair.

A few strokes later, he’s close and pulls out of my mouth. Then jerks off onto my tits. I climb to my feet, and he rubs the come into my skin, seeming to enjoy that in a carnal way.

Like he’s marking me.

“Lie down and spread your legs,” he says next and assists by lifting me by the hips and placing me on the bed.

Not going to lie, placing my hands on his biceps and feeling his strength give me flutters everywhere.

But then I hesitate, feeling vulnerable as he stares down at me, stroking his cock.

How is he hard again already?

“I won’t ask twice, Briar.”

“I...” I start, but I can’t open my legs.

This man once gazed upon me with love. Now I feel like a three-course meal. It’s...different. I want him to fuck me...but here in my bedroom, in my private space, and really looking at him...

He’s my Aidan.

The man who...

With one step, he reaches for my legs and spreads them apart. All thoughts vanish from my mind.

“God, you are beautiful.” He reaches and lifts me up the bed farther, lowering himself between my thighs. “I’m going to feast on your wet cunt, and you are going to lie there and scream out my name.”

Jesus.

His eyes meet mine as he licks a long length through my swollen and needy pussy.

“Then we will talk.”

Oh god.

At least I’ll enjoy this part.

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T HREE ORGASMS. THAT’S how many I had before Aidan finally fucked me again.

I’m barely conscious as I lie with my head on his bicep, catching my breath.

He stares up at the ceiling and I can almost hear the cogs of his mind turning over.

I don’t even feel like I’m cheating on Kael. As far as I’m concerned, the marriage is over. I am only still married by law because pushing him to sign the papers could get me a broken arm, or worse.

I’m terrified of him at times.

So while I hate that technically, this is adultery, I can’t find much in me to feel guilty over.

What is rolling through my mind is my mother’s screams.

He killed him. That man of yours killed your father .

Aidan is responsible for my father’s death and while he was never charged, my mother was determined he was guilty and did everything to ensure he suffered.

Including losing me.

I believed her.

I still...I have to believe her.

Aidan snaps my attention back to the present by putting a hand on my neck. Over my bruise.

“Did he do this? Your husband?” His voice is rough.

“Yes.”

“Fuck, Briar.” He shakes his head.

I know what he’s thinking. You married a violent man, just like your mother. Repeating the cycle.

He’s right.

Except Kael wasn’t always like that. Not until after we said our wedding vows. He was a gentleman and a charmer. Always buying me flowers and taking me out for dinner. I thought he was the one who would break me out of the cycle of my childhood, make me forget Aidan, and we would spend our life together.

I planned to love my children and provide them with a safe and happy home. One that I never had.

A year into our marriage—four years ago—everything changed.

I’d been out with Trina and Alice for a girl’s night and worn a new dress. I’d left before Kael got home from work.

I was a little drunk when I got home and snuck up the stairs, doing that exaggerated tiptoeing. Then began to giggle when I saw the light from the TV flickering in our room.

I’d been excited that Kael was awake so I could show him my dress. After all, it was him. I wanted him to find me beautiful, not any other man.

I did a twirl as I stepped into the room, but as our eyes met, I was greeted with an angry expression. He lifted the remote and turned the silent TV off.

“Are you okay?” I’d asked, thinking something was wrong.

The sheets flew back as the words, “The fuck are you wearing?” left his angry lips.

Confused, I glanced down at the red cocktail dress with its V-neck. Yes, it was deeper than I normally wore, but not overly revealing.

“It’s new. Don’t you like it?” I frowned.

“Oh yeah, I like it all right. As I’m sure every other fucking man out there did as they were staring at your tits.” He shoved down one of the straps and I jumped.

I tried to push it back up, but he slapped me.

Crying out in shock and pain, I cowered back against the wall and yelled at him to stop.

But he didn’t.

He slapped me again and again and again.

Then yanked me to up against him and pushed me down on the bed. That’s when he tore the dress and pulled down my panties.

Then raped me.

My own husband.

Still, to this day, it was the worst experience of my life. Like he stole a part of my soul.

Of course, as the days and weeks passed, I told myself that it was his right to have sex with me. I was his wife. I hadn’t said no.

Although I had.

“No, no, no, no, no,” I’d said into the sheets as I cried, unable to move as he pounded into me painfully.

We never spoke about it.

The next day, he brought me breakfast in bed, plucked a flower from our garden, and put it in a vase next to the bed.

I stayed quiet.

I knew how this worked from my childhood.

If you don’t say anything, Daddy will be nice for a period of time. So I stepped straight back into survival mode.

Plus, I was in shock. My dreams shattered. And, like many other women, I told myself it wouldn’t happen again.

Especially a few nights later when we were making love, and he whispered how sorry he was and how much he loved me.

It wouldn’t happen again.

That I was sure of.

Until I wasn’t.

It took me a whole year to tell Trina and Alice. They begged me to leave him.

At that point, it had been three months since he’d last hurt me and we were trying for a baby. The ol’ a child will fix what is wrong with us.

I also thought if I was pregnant with his child, Kael would stop thinking I wanted other men.

I didn’t.

I wanted him to stop hurting me.

God, I was so dumb.

When I told my mom, she cried so hard. I knew she felt guilty. And she is guilty to some degree. But I don’t blame her.

How can I?

I know how hard it is to leave.

It’s terrifying.

I’m living through it right now. So I don’t want to justify it to Aidan. He’s a strong, powerful man. He will never understand how I feel.

How many women feel.

Powerlessness isn’t something he would understand.

“What happened?” Aidan asks, sitting up.

“It doesn’t matter.” I shake my head and sit up next to him, tugging the sheet over me.

I feel vulnerable and hate this conversation after what we just did together. I know this isn’t leading anywhere—it never can—but it’s been hard fighting the desire I have for him since he turned back up in my life.

Mom would be furious is she knew.

He is our enemy as far as Mom is concerned. And I treated him as if he was all those years ago.

“Are you still married?” Aidan asks.

“Yes. Although, I’m trying to divorce him,” I admit. I don’t want him to think I’m just some adulterous bitch.

He can see what Kael’s done to me. My neck is bare and exposed, showing the remnants of Kael’s bruise from our date.

I knew it would happen despite Vanessa doing her best to get me out of the situation.

“Trying. What does that even mean? Just do it.” He growls.

“Would you stop growling, Aidan. It’s not that easy. You don’t understand.” I climb out of bed and angrily pull my shorts and T-shirt back on. “Maybe it would be best if you just left.”

His eyebrows lift as he sits there leaning against my headboard, looking like a fucking fitness model. He watches me for a long moment, and I start fidgeting.

“I mean, there’s nothing more to say. We fucked. Now you know who hurt me. That’s it.” I shrug.

More staring.

“Aidan!” I yell.

“You’re right.” He flicks back the covers and climbs out. His cock hangs heavy and soft between his legs, and I hate that this is the last time I will see him in all his glory.

Or feel his touch.

Or his gaze on my body.

He dresses and checks his phone screen, then slides it into his back pocket. Then walks over and stops right in front of me.

“But if you think that’s where this ends, you are wrong, Briar Sutton.”

Then Aidan walks out of my apartment.

I flop down on the bed and fight back the tears.

I hate that I wish he was still here.

I feel like the most traitorous daughter in the world. And, technically, wife.