Provoke

Chapter Twenty

Leeta

After he dropped me home, Tim insisted on sticking around for a while. The last thing I wanted was company. I wanted to have a long soak in the bath and spend some time with Marcus who, judging by his full plate of biscuits, had been well cared for while I was away. My heart swelled at the thought that Mace had stopped in here and topped up Marcus's food bowl.

I mean, how cute was that?

Tim finally left, but only after making sure I had eaten a proper meal. His version of a proper meal? Takeout pizza.

I was so damn tired. I hadn't slept properly in days, and my head felt like it was about to explode. I walked into the bathroom and ran the bath, sprinkling some bath salts into the water. I undressed, discarding my clothes on the floor, not bothering to put them in the hamper. Pouring myself a glass of wine, I carried it back into the bathroom.

Stepping into the hot water and lowering myself under was equivalent to experiencing the best sex I’d ever had. That’s how exhausted I was: I’d take a bath over an orgasm. Maybe that was my age showing.

I took a sip of my wine and closed my eyes.

“Leet? Are you here?”

I sat up with a start, sending water and wine splashing everywhere.

What the hell is Mace doing here?

“I'm in the bathroom,” I yelled out.

Seconds later, he appeared in the doorway. “I meant I'd be out in a minute,” I said tersely, trying my best to cover myself.

He cocked his eyebrow, the ghost of a smile on his face.

“It's not like I haven't seen it all before.”

“Yeah? Well, I haven't decided whether you’ll ever get to see it again,” I snapped back.

“Fine,” he said, shaking his head as he walked out of the room. “Do you want a drink?”

“Yes, can you get me a wine, please?”

I stepped out of the bath, grabbing a towel off the rack. I wrapped the soft material of the towel tightly around my body. After drying my hair and my face, I walked out into the living room just as Mace walked towards me, carrying two glasses of wine. I raised my eyebrows.

“What?” he asked. “I drink wine.”

“Isn't there any beer?” I smirked

“That's not the point,” he said, narrowing his eyes. He took a sip and raised his eyebrows.

I chuckled. I set my glass down on the coffee table. “You want to know what Tim had to say before you stormed out?”

He winced. “Look, I'm sorry about that. I just needed to clear my head, you know? That’s why I came over—to say I’m sorry.” He paused for a moment. “And I might have been a little angry you showed him the video.”

“How else was I going to see if he could help us? Besides, it's not like he's seen you naked. He'd have no idea that was you,” I pointed out.

“That’s not the point,” Mace sighed. “How do you think it made me feel having him watch that?”

“How do you think it makes me feel?” I asked softly.

He sighed, dropping his head into his hands. “I don’t know what else I can say, Leet. I love you, but you have to be ready to forgive me or nothing I say will make a difference.”

He was right. I did have to be ready. And I wasn’t yet. Would I ever be? I hoped so. I really did.

#

After Mace had left, I climbed into bed. It was only just after eight, but I didn’t care. I was just happy to be back in my own place. I stroked Marcus, who had decided he was sleeping next to me on my bed. I was okay with that; I liked having him around.

My phone rang. I reached for it, expecting either Tim or Mace.

“Hello?”

“Leeta.”

My blood froze. Ben. I had completely forgotten that I’d emailed him in the midst of my ‘I’m dating a rapist’ breakdown.

“Ben.” My voice came out kind of like a breathless gargle. I cringed, slapping my hand over my face. If there was someone I didn’t want to speak to right then—or ever—it was Ben.

“I got your email. I was surprised to hear from you. After the last time—”

“Yeah, let’s not go into the details, okay?” I said. I instantly felt bad about snapping. I had contacted him, after all. The fact that he was shocked to hear from me after he’d called me—his fiancée—to unchain him from the hotel bed his ‘friend’ had cuffed him to after robbing him was hardly surprising.

God, the image of walking into that room was something I never wanted in my head again. Unfortunately for me, it was hard to think about Ben without picturing him naked and cuffed to that bed with a belt clasped tightly around his neck and his dick in a cuckhold. I shuddered.

“You said you needed my help? Anything, Leeta. Whatever I can do . . .”

“No, I’m actually all good now, thanks.” I groaned internally, wanting this whole conversation to end. “I’m sorry. I can’t do this right now. Please. Forget I contacted you.”