Free Broken Illusions (His Agenda Volume 3) by Dori Lavelle

brother. Useful till the end. I do miss him sometimes. But sacrifices had to be made for love.” He laughed for a long time, so hard his shoulders shook. Then he stopped as if a button had been pressed. His face hardened.
    “You know what kept me alive, Haley? I knew you didn’t really want me gone. You love me; you’re just denying yourself the truth. Your love kept me alive.”
    “Never,” I spat, the words shaking my whole body. “I wanted you dead.” Tears heated up my eyes. “You’re worse than a monster. And you’re delusional. You deserve to burn in hell.”
    He rose and charged toward me, his eyes blazing, then dropped to his knees in front of me and wrapped his hands around my throat, squeezing hard. I strained for breath as he dug his thumbs into the hollow of my neck. I clutched at his hands and raised my pleading eyes to his. His gaze bore right into mine, but I found no mercy there, only anger and disappointment. And hate. How was it possible for him to love me and hate me at the same time?
    I tried to talk, but only choking sounds came out. I lost my strength and my hands fell from his and dropped to my sides. My vision blurred. The only part of me left fighting was my mind as I felt the life slipping out of me. When I thought my end had come and my eyes drifted shut, he let go, shoving me back against the wall behind me.
    I opened my mouth wide and air whooshed into my lungs. I clutched my raw neck, which pulsated beneath my fingers, and gasped for more air, unable to get enough.
    He watched with lowered eyes.
    “I didn’t stay alive for this shit. Don’t mess with me.” He moved closer again and I shrank back with fear. “I know it’s too late for a life together, but I want what you denied me last time. I’m fully functional, baby.” He grinned. “You sucked at stabbing, by the way. You got the thigh instead of the masterpiece.” Even as he smiled, I detected the twitch in his jaw. He was furious. “I’m here to show you I can still fuck your brains out. I want your pussy for the last time, and then I’ll kill you and kill myself. Maybe we’re not meant to be together in this life. We’ll spend eternity together instead.”
    While I was still trying to digest his words, he lunged for me again and started tearing at my clothes, grabbing my nightdress on both sides and ripping it open so my breasts spilled out.
    His words had rendered me weak. I was unable to do anything but cry as he freed my whole upper body and then pulled my legs to him, my back sliding onto the floor. But when he wrapped his hands around my hips and drew me closer, I got enough strength to resist him pulling down my G-string.
    “Don’t,” I croaked. “Please don’t.” I reached down and hooked my index fingers into the elastic of my panties. As he tried to yank them down, I did my best to yank them up. The material was surprisingly strong for such a flimsy thing.
    “Stop being a bitch.” He slapped me so hard across the face that my head snapped to the side. I reeled for a heartbeat and then a scream burst out of my lungs. It gave me the energy shot I needed to start to writhe and thrash around, trying as hard as I could to stop him from getting what he wanted.
    He stopped but kept his hands tight on my thighs. “I guess you like it the hard way. Let’s have it your way, pussy cat.”
    He fell over me, the weight of his body crushing me, his breath hot against my neck, as he reached down to open his jeans.
    He won’t , I repeated inside my head. Someone will hear my screams. Dustin. Dustin was on his way. He would arrive any moment. He didn’t have a key, but he would hear my screams and break the door down or call for help. I screamed louder, fought harder.
    He stopped fumbling with his pants and clapped a hand over my mouth, pressed his mouth to my ear. “This is going to happen, whether you want it or not. You might as well enjoy it.”
    It was almost impossible for me to move. He grabbed the