Chapter 243
Chapter 243
Late that night, in a private room at an upscale club, Steve had already had too much to drink. One of his friends suggested calling in a few women, and he barely reacted.
“Steve, take a look. See if any of them are your type,” his friend said, nudging him.
But Steve’s mind was full of Winter.
She had blocked his texts and his number. That was just like her. Ever since she was young, once she got mad enough, she cut people off completely.
Now, with the alcohol hitting harder, the frustration in his chest kept building.
Their marriage was already a mess, and she had still ended up back in Chris’s bed.
The second he saw the mark on her neck, he had lost his temper and said things he never should have said.
And every time he remembered how her face had gone pale afterward, a dark rage rose in him. He kicked the coffee table in front of him.
Liquor splashed everywhere. Bottles crashed to the floor.
The women in the room huddled together in fear.
Only one of them, though startled, seemed calmer than the rest.
Steve looked up at her, and suddenly his gaze fixed on her face.
“You. Come here p>
The girl in the blue dress, with her long hair loose over her shoulders, walked up to him and said softly, “Mr. Steve, ”
The light caught the faint mole on the bridge of her nose.
For a moment, Steve’s drunken expression wavered. In his haze, her face seemed to blur into someone else’s. Bright. Defiant. A face that never looked at him with anything but annoyance.
A crooked smile tugged at his lips. He slipped an arm around her shoulders and led her out of the private room.
In a dimly lit room, he pushed her down onto the bed. One hand covered her eyes as he kissed her, while the other yanked at the neckline of her dress.
His mouth moved from her jaw to her neck.
She cried out in pain.
When he saw the mark rising against her pale skin, so much like the one he had seen on Winter, he let out a drunken laugh.
He was rough with her, ignoring her tears and the way she kept begging him to stop.
“Mr. Steve… please… it hurts p>
His expression darkened as he clapped a hand over her mouth.
“Quiet,” he snapped. “Winter was never this delicate p>
+25 Bonus
Steve spent the night in a drunken haze at the hotel. Early the next morning, a call from Sasha jolted him awake.
“Today’s the family memorial for your grandmother. Be home early p>
After hanging up, Steve leaned against the headboard and looked at the girl beside him, now asleep with one arm still around his waist.
His eyes fell on the startling marks left across her bare shoulder, chest and limbs. The area around the faint mole on her nose was particularly flushed, still bearing the faint imprint of teeth.
He pressed a hand to his aching head. He had actually slept with someone other than Winter.
Like he had touched something filthy, he shoved her arm off him, got out of bed, showered, got dressed, tossed a check onto the bed, and walked out.
After leaving the hotel, Steve got into the car his assistant had brought around and headed back to the Xander
estate.
On the way, he pulled out his phone and made a call.
The line connected quickly.
“Mr. Kane, how’s your injury p>
A low laugh came from the other end. “Appreciate the concern, Mr. Steve. It was just a bullet. I’m not dying from that p>
Steve looked out at the most striking tower in the financial district in the distance: Xander Corporation headquarters.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“We can start now p>
“I thought we were waiting until after the holiday weekend p>
Winter’s face flashed through his mind.
His voice turned cold.
“I’m done waiting p>
Florence
A passionate storyteller who brings emotions to life through her words. When she’s not writing, she finds peace nurturing her garden.