C2, PT. 3 (Patreon)

There was nothing to fix. The damage had already been done. Roth couldn’t change Colette’s history, and there was no point in repeating Warren’s taunts.

“I’m not going to let this go.”

His voice was soft and silky, a contrast to the violence emanating from him.

“You should. There’s nothing you can do.”

“Let me be the judge of that.”

“It won’t affect your business,” she reassured him.

He gripped the countertop, making the veins pop up on the back of his hands. “You think I give a damn about that?”

“Of course,” she said as she downed the last of her ginger ale. “Business is your number one priority. You’ve reminded me enough times. Get your priorities straight.”

He pounded the counter and shouted, “What the fuck?” before he ripped himself away from her.

She turned, arms folded over her chest as she watched him stalk away. He paused in front of the opening that led to the forward lounge where Mo and Johan were sitting in seats that faced them. Their eyes were glued to Roth as he raked his fingers through his hair. The uncharacteristic display revealed just how frazzled he was.

When Roth whirled back to her, she tensed. If there was anywhere to escape besides the cockpit or alcove where the two flight attendants were hiding, she would have made a break for it. Instead, she was forced to stand her ground as he bore down on her. He stopped a foot away, gleaming black eyes boring into her as if he could compel her to spill her guts through sheer force of will.

“What knowledge did Colette try to protect you from?”

She cursed his eidetic memory and the fact that he’d been close enough to hear Colette whisper that to her.

“When they got home, your sister locked herself in a room.”

She opened her mouth to ask how the hell he knew that before she remembered him on his phone on the way to the airport.

“She refused to hold her baby.”

Jasmine tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

“Lyle’s at a loss.”

Her heart broke for her sister.

“Polara needs her mother.”

The foreign sound of her niece’s name on his tongue made her give him a baleful glare through eyes swimming with tears. “Stop trying to manipulate me.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes,” he said grimly. “Are you going to let whoever put your sister in that state get away with it?”

When she started to turn away, he crowded her, forcing her to retreat instead of giving him her back.

“You would do anything for your sisters. Why protect someone who hurt her?”

“You said my sisters don’t need my help. Maybe I’ve finally learned my lesson.”

“Who the hell are you protecting?” he demanded.

Colette’s silence was understandable. Her reputation, business, and personal life were at stake. The fact that she decided not to confide in Lyle made Jasmine’s heart ache. Was Colette worried that Lyle would look at her differently? That it would affect their marriage?

Her reasons for not sharing what Warren said about her mother’s history with her father’s associates, the distasteful origins of her birth, or her parent's fucked up relationship weren’t noble. She was selfishly protecting the shred of dignity she had left.

She suspected Roth knew most of what had been revealed. He investigated her thoroughly before orchestrating the ‘chance’ meeting that kicked off their affair. He knew her family’s dark secrets, while she’d simply accepted the limited information her father had shared about her mother throughout her life. Instead of getting the facts, she had stupidly clung to the belief that her parents had been wildly in love, even if it was fleeting. Warren disabused her of that notion. She was merely leverage, so her mother could hook a wealthy man.

Learning that her father did his damndest to stop her from being born into this world eviscerated her and destroyed the peace she thought she made with his memory. Warren left her with nothing, not even the illusion that she’d been wanted by her parents.

 She was in free fall, her world crumbling around her. Roth was making an attempt to understand, but he wouldn’t. He didn’t seek love or approval from anyone, and had thrived despite his mother’s ambivalent feelings toward him. All her life, she sought her father’s approval and love… and his. Warren reminded her that she’d never had either. That knowledge was like a sizzling dagger in her heart.

As for repeating Warren’s interpretation about Roth’s ulterior motives this evening, she didn’t want him to confirm it. It would snap her tenuous hold on her emotions. And if he denied it, she wouldn’t believe him anyway.

“I’ve gone through dozens of scenarios, but nothing fits.”

Roth’s voice was rife with frustration and temper.

“Was it Warren, Tucker, or someone else who hurt you?”

“Let it go,” she said wearily.

“Fuck that. Tell me now!”

“No one hurt me!” she shouted.

His eyes narrowed into slits. “Don’t fucking lie to me.”

“I’m not! It was what was said that...” When her voice broke, she shook her head, angry at her pitching emotions and slashed her hand through the air. “Just words. No one touched me or hurt me in the way you’re thinking. It was nothing.”

“It wasn’t nothing if it made you sick.”

Her nails cut into her palm. “I didn’t vomit because of what was said to me.”

Roth’s unblinking gaze fixed on her face. “This is about Colette?”

“Yes,” she sighed.

“Something happened between Colette and Warren?”

Suddenly uneasy, she took a step back. “That… that isn’t for me to say.”

Roth didn’t move or speak for a full minute before he said, “I don’t believe you. Colette’s a part of it, but this isn’t just about her. Something happened to you too. What did you and Warren talk about?”

“None of your fucking business!”

He closed the distance between them. This time, he invaded her space and didn’t stop until his hard body was pressed against her.

“You are my fucking business. Every inch of you.”

Business being the operative word.

“It’s only your business if it affects your reputation or finances,” she said through clenched teeth. “This doesn’t. This is personal. Therefore—”

He moved so quick, there was no way to counteract him. One moment she was standing, facing him with her hands on her hips and the next she was pinned against the wall, his hand to her throat, and his face was in hers. His eyes were feral. His brutal energy swamped her, making her heart beat thud in her ears.

“You’re mine.”

His even tone didn’t match his aggressive body language.

“Every single aspect of you is my business, not just what impacts my money or reputation. Who you speak to is my business. What you wear is my business. Who upsets you is my business, whether that’s your sisters or one of the Trentham's.”

What better revenge is there than dressing the woman who ruined you like a slut?

Rage raced through her like fire. She lashed out, uncoordinated, unplanned, but accurate. Roth’s head snapped hard to the left from her slap. She didn’t wait to see his reaction. She flung herself to the side, slipping from his hold, and ran through the opening to the rest of the cabin.

**This is a raw draft of Bitter Sins. Please do not share or distribute.

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