Page 36 of Break Me: Smith and Belle

“I never want your lips to touch another woman’s skin.” This time the command had left her voice. She reached up and undid the belt at my neck. It slipped off and her hands rubbed the marks it left behind.

“You’re not bad at this,” I complimented her.

“I still prefer the other side,” she said simply.

I arched an eyebrow. “I am sorry, beautiful.”

“I know.” But she didn’t quite meet my eyes.

“How can I prove it to you?” I asked.

“You don’t have to prove anything,” she said, shaking her head. “I know.”

“I think I better try anyway,” I said gruffly. I lifted her onto the table and positioned my cock between her legs. Instead of pushing inside her, I waited. This was still her challenge. I would prove to her that I belonged as much to her as she did to me. She rocked forward, swallowing me with her pussy, and her eyes rolled back.

“Say it, Price,” she begged as she rode my cock. “Tell me you’ll love me forever.”

I groaned, quickening my pace. “I’ll love you forever—and a day.”

16

Belle

I wished I could sleep as soundly as Smith after what happened. He’d carried me back to our room and taken me again, putting himself back in charge. I hadn’t fought him on it. I needed the reassurance after what had happened that he still belonged to me and that I still belonged to him. Instead, I lay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. Smith was right to fire Nora. I’d never be able to trust her again—but that left us without a nanny. After my trip to London, I felt more confident as a mother. Still, that didn’t mean I was ready to do it on my own. I reminded myself that Edward and Georgia were around to help, but I couldn’t shake the slight sense of panic I felt.

Focusing on the panic was actually keeping me from confronting Nora and myself. I wasn’t sure what would happen if I tried to talk to her now. She touched my husband— that couldn’t be forgiven. Anger boiled inside me as the scene played out in my head, despite my best attempts to ignore it. I couldn’t erase the image of her hand clutching his sweater as she tried to draw him to her. I didn’t care what she thought about me. But I sure as hell cared that her hands had been on what was mine.

I turned my head and watched Smith for a moment. How had I not seen this before? How long had she harbored interest in my husband? I really was going to drive myself nuts soon. Carefully peeling back the covers, I slipped from the bed, doing my best not to wake him. Grabbing a robe from the chair near the bed, I tiptoed out and quietly opened the door. I needed something to clear my head. I tiptoed down the stairs, knowing all too well that between the marble floors and the wide, airy passages, sound carried. I didn’t want my echoing footsteps to wake anyone up.

There was a light on in the kitchen, and I braced myself to find Mrs. Winters in there. But it wasn’t her graying head standing before the refrigerator. It was Nora’s. I stopped, considered what to do, and strode into the kitchen, allowing my feet to hit the stone floors hard enough to send echoes. It was my way of delivering a warning before I attacked.

Nora swiveled around, her hand on the refrigerator door. She shut it and slumped against it as if she was cornered.

“Stealing my food, too?” I asked coldly. I didn’t give a damn about the contents of the fridge, but I cared that she was still here. Smith had given her until the morning to leave—a reasonable demand—but one that hardly felt satisfying. I had to resist the urge to kick her ass into the snow.

“Belle,” she began before immediately falling silent. Apparently, the tart didn’t know what to say to me.

I crossed my arms, allowing the silence to stretch between us until she finally filled it again. “It wasn’t what you thought.”

That was how she was going to play it? Did she think I was blind? I remained quiet. She would damn herself all on her own.

“Smith and I have been spending so much time together,” she continued, “and he’s been sending me mixed signals for a while now.”

My jaw clenched, locking back the anger threatening to spill from my lips. I wanted to watch her dig her grave, and that meant not interrupting her pitiful lies.

“I got caught up in it. There’s something about him that made me fall for him.” Her head dropped with shame as her shoulders shook. When she finally looked up, tears streamed down her cheeks. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. It was like I was swept under his spell.”

“And he encouraged you?” I asked carefully.

“Yes.” She hesitated and then shook her head. “No. I’m not sure.”

“As long as you’re clear on it.” I couldn’t decide if she was trying to save her own skin by blaming him, or if she really thought he’d shown interest in her. Either way, she was wrong. “Now let me be clear.” I took a few steps forward, leaving only a few yards between us. Nora shrank against the fridge. “I don’t believe you. Smith would never cheat on me.”

“Maybe not before, but everyone knows you’re not yourself anymore.” She rose up, getting an inexplicable burst of courage, and shook her head. “He needs a wife who can love him, and Penny needs a mother who can take care of her.”

“You little bitch,” I snarled.

“I’m not a bitch. I just see what you won’t let yourself see. You’ve hurt him. You’ve hurt her. What will it take for you to see that you don’t deserve them? This?”