ella

e man I had married. I stood by the stainless-steel island, staring blindly into my black coffee. My palms still ti

er; he was a Soldier, moving with the lethal, measured grace of a predator.

y blank. "An old injury flared up. I am afraid I ca

chair announced Damiano. He rolled into the sterile room,

ice was a freezing, absolute c

ht a defiant glint in his eye. "I cannot safely bear your weight

as the agonizing pride of a man forced to expose his weakness, stripped of his d

p," I offe

apped toward me.

back, sealing the trap. "I

ated murder-a silent promise of violence. But

ack obsidian marble, thick with suffocating steam. Damiano sat in the massive freestanding tub, the water l

hard to breathe. I began to wash his broad shoulders. Every time the sponge grazed

rying to soothe what I thou

omen, reaching for the water line where t

ushed the expanse of his

er. He clamped his fingers around my wrist with bone-crushing force. With his free hand, he violently struck th

uch me!" h

cked snarl of a cornered beast. His eyes we

e fuck out of my

hest. He wasn't just proud. He was utterly, physically disgusted by me.

d backward, slipping on the wet marble. I didn't wait for him to yell again. I turned and fled th