Free Secrets by Erosa Knowles Page B

morning you ran so fast, all I saw was dust following
your ass. You are not the damn victim here,” she hissed, her eyes
narrowed at him.
    The force of her words slammed into him.
There was nowhere to hide from the truth, so he accepted her words
and let them whip his ass. He’d been a coward, not once but twice.
He hadn’t asked how she’d fared, because he was afraid of the
answer. Afraid she'd been disappointed once they'd done the deed
and would tell him to stay away. He'd been too ashamed to face
her.
    Rational thought always took a holiday
around her, he constantly second guessed himself. In retrospect, he
should've bitten the bullet and returned to the ranch. They
could've talked, he should've told her how he felt about her then.
Fear, sharp and crisp, had prevented him from opening up. Chastity
March was his Achilles heel. No one could hurt his heart like this
slip of a woman. So, he'd avoided her, even asked another woman to
marry him knowing he wasn't in love with her. It wasn't a sterling
moment in his life. His pride had taken a hit, but rallied when
Chas had opened the door and her arms four years ago. That
presented an interesting point; a question niggled in the corner of
his mind.
    “If you felt that way, why’d you have sex
with me the second time?”
    “I already told you,” she snapped, wrapping
her arms around her waist, turning from him and pacing the length
of the long desk.
    Slowly, he shook his head running through
her accusations in his mind. “No, you talked about the condition I
was in, but not why you let me back into your bed. Not that I’m
complaining, I’m just curious if you hated me as much as it sounds
like you did.”
    “I don’t hate you.”
    “You don’t like me.”
    “No. I don’t,” she agreed.
    That hurt. He changed the conversation.
“Thank you for having my babies.”
    “I didn't do it for you,” she snapped.
    Inside his smile broadened. “Maybe not
directly, but I thank you all the same for taking such good care of
the boys.” He moved closer, eying the fast rise and fall of her
chest.
    “Stop it.” She yelled. “Just stop acting
like you care.”
    His eyes gravitated down her high, round ass
and long legs. Life from his seed once filled her flat stomach and
he’d missed all of it. Damn. He wished his uncle had kicked
his ass, at least he would’ve known about his family earlier.
Chastity was his, he'd always felt that way. Now, he’d never let
her go. His evening brightened at the thought.
    “Chas?”
    “What?”
    “Why’d you let me back in your bed?” He
stepped closer. She eyed his movement. He stopped and stared down
at her.
    She gave a loud exaggerated sigh.
“Because…because you seemed so lost. So hurt that night. You were
talking out of your head, saying wild stuff like you didn’t think
you were a man, you weren’t good enough, no one wanted you, that
kind of crap. It struck a chord inside me. I wanted to comfort you.
Truthfully, sex never entered my mind. We just talked and things
got heated from there.”
    “You felt sorry for me.” A pity fuck ,
the realization of what they’d shared hit hard.
    “You felt sorry for me,” she threw back at
him. “Just now, you pitied me and tried to comfort me.”
    “Jesus woman, it’s not the same. Don’t you
dare compare what happened between us those two times to what
happened to you! Those assholes raped you as a child. They stole
something from you. No one deserves that. I wish I could turn back
the clock and save you from their abuse, but I can’t. The only
thing I can do is offer comfort from your past, protect you now,
and help secure your future.”
    She gave him her back. “Why're you trying to
make this into a big deal, you don't even remember that first
time.”
    Indignant, he straightened his spine. “You
don't know what you're talking about,” he growled, spinning her
around to face him. Her eyes widened. “This is a big deal
for me. For the first time in years, I'm close to