Chapter 20: My Prey

After taking shower, I wrapped a towel around my body and got out of the bathroom. A gasp escaped my lips when I spotted a man sitting on my bed.

“What are you doing here?” I asked Henry.

He glanced at me over his shoulder and a smirk pulled on his lips when he found me with a towel. I swallowed and tightened the towel around my body.

“This is my house,” he said and stood up, strolling towards me. He was in a blue t-shirt and black jeans. No expensive designer suit? I felt my cheeks burned with heat when his eyes trailed down my body, taking in every detail of me.

“You should have knocked before entering my room,” I said, trying to prevent an intense atmosphere in the room. His eyes were something that gave a throb between my legs.

“I don’t need my wife’s permission to enter her room,” he whispered, eyeing my bosom.

I was feeling like melting in his eyes again. I quickly crossed my arms over my chest. “If you expect others to obey you, then you also have to obey them, Mr. Henry Robinson.”

“I’m not in the habit of obeying others, Mrs. Robinson.” His voice was deep, and so were his eyes. I liked his eyes on me.

My breath hitched when he lifted his hand and brushed my hair off my face. His hand was rough, but his touch was gentle. I closed my eyes, trying to control my body’s reactions. “I should not have left you in the hotel, Alice,” he whispered, and my eyes snapped open, watching him with surprise. He ran his hand along my skin, caressing red marks. “Did they hurt you?” He looked into my eyes and for the very first time, I found concern. “I wanted to kill them with my own hands. You’re mine and no one has the right to touch you.”

I winced when he accidentally scratched one of my deep wounds. “Shit! You need to see a doctor.”

“I’m fine.” I looked away and couldn’t hold his good side.

“I’ll be right back,” he said and disappeared. After a few minutes, he came back with a tube. “Come here. Let me put ointment on your bruises.”

I didn’t want his sympathy, but it was his rare side. My heart wanted to accept everything he was offering me, so my legs moved automatically towards him.

“Sit down.” He patted space next to him on the couch. I didn’t think twice before obeying him. He squeezed out ointment in his hand before he put it on my bruises. He was so close to me I could study his every feature. His dark and beautiful eyes were glued to my elbow as he was putting ointment carefully. His hard and sharp jaw was clean-shaven, his black and short hair was perfectly styled. He looked so perfect and handsome.

“Why are you doing this?” I looked into his eyes, searching for my answer, but his eyes fixed on my elbow.

After a few minutes, he wiped his hands on the towel. “I don’t want anyone’s bruises on your body, Alice. No one has the right to hurt you except me because you are my prey.”

His words hit me like a stab in my heart. He would never care for me. I knew he didn’t give a damn about me.

“What do you want to talk to me about that day?” He asked. “You waited for me for five hours. I thought it would be very important to you.”

“It’s important to me, not for you!” I snapped.

“Say it, Alice. What do you want to talk about?”

“You paid my father’s bills, so my mother wanted to thank you properly. She asked me to bring you over to my parent’s place for dinner. I promised her I would try my best to convince you. If I hadn’t promised her, I would have never waited for you. My parents think very highly of you. Poor them, they don’t even know how black-hearted you are…” I scoffed. “You don’t have to bother to come with me. I already told them you are busy. Today, I’m going there for dinner. Please, don’t think I’m escorting someone or having sex with a random guy,” I said sarcastically and glanced at him.

His jaw was clenched, and his eyes were fixed on the floor. The next moment, he stood up and got out of the room without a word. How arrogant?

*****

I wore a peach color cocktail dress that was backless and had a boat neckline. I put on some makeup and pulled my long hair into a neat ponytail. After studying myself one last time in the mirror. I went out of the room.

I knew mom would be disappointed as she asked me to bring Henry. But I couldn’t force him to accompany me. He was such a rude, arrogant, and cold-hearted man.

When I walked down the stairs, I found him. He stood in the hallway and wore black jeans and a white t-shirt with a black leather jacket. He looked like a teenage boy and even more handsome than the rest of the days. He was so hot and sexy, even if he wore ripped clothes, he would successfully win the prize of the best model.

I brushed his thoughts away and walked past him, completely ignoring him. I didn’t know where he was going and to be honest; I didn’t care if he planned to fuck his other model. I removed my phone from my clutch to call a cab.

He cleared his throat to catch my attention behind me. “I’m coming with you,” he announced, and my phone slipped from my hands in shock.

I turned around to look at him. “You’re kidding me, right?” I gasped. I knew it was a part of his plan. He had never left a chance to offend me.

“I’m not kidding. Do you think I’m a humorous type?”

No!

He headed straight to the exit door. “Shall we go?”

“Yes,” I said and rushed after him. We sat in his silver Mercedes and he started the engine. “You don’t have to come.”

“You told me your parents think very highly of me. Today I’m going to prove them true.” I glared at him as he was smirking.

“You’ll not be able to prove it. I’m 99.9% sure.”

He started the car. “.01% is enough to prove you wrong, baby.”

Finally, we arrived at the house. I quickly climbed out of the car and got ready to barge into my house to meet my parents. But before I could move, Henry pulled me into him and put his arm around my waist possessively. He leaned forward. “Are you ready, dear wife?” He whispered in my ear and gave me goosebumps.

I swallowed and nodded curtly. We approached the door and rang the bell. After a few seconds, mom answered the door with a big smile on her face. “Sweetie.” She pulled me into a tight hug. “Oh, my gorgeous son-in-law.” She hugged Henry next. At first, he hesitated for a bit, but finally, he hugged her back.

We entered the house. Dad was at the stove, cooking something in the pan. “Dad, are you cooking food?” I asked while hugging him.

“I hope you will like it.” He smiled and turned the fire low.

“Of course I’ll love it.”

After a while, we all sat at the dining table. I took a seat next to Henry and mom and dad across from us. She had prepared chicken fried steak, macaroni cheese, and chocolate cookies with mashed potatoes.

“How are you, Mr. Bennet?” Henry asked dad in a business-like tone.

“I’ve been doing great. I’m glad to see you here,” dad said.

“The pleasure is all mine.” He sipped his wine, side-eyeing me.

“By the way, congratulations on your success. We’ve heard your brand is recognized as the brand of the year. At a young age, it’s very difficult to achieve a worldwide title.”

“It’s nothing. All this happened because of your blessings and my wife’s miracles.” Henry gave me a side hug and kissed my head. “She is lucky for me.” I coughed hard after hearing his shocking words. What a real actor. He rubbed my back and handed me a glass of water. “Are you alright, honey?”

What the heck?

“Yeah.” I gave him my forceful smile and wiped my mouth with a napkin.

Mom and dad glanced between both of us. “Alice is lucky to find a husband like you.”

Henry glanced at me as showing me his victory.

I would not let him win!

“Mom, you know he likes spicy food. Can you please pass me chicken-fried steaks?” I knew very well Henry didn’t like spicy food and he touched nothing except salad and wine. Now, I was going to serve him the spiciest food he had ever eaten in his lifetime.

I served him and forced him to eat. He glared at me, ice-cold glare, and I smirked at his look. He took the first bite and chewed it forcefully. He swallowed it down like he was gulping medicines. I was waiting for the moment when he would lash out at me and show his wild side to my parents. Minutes passed, but he didn’t react and kept eating his food quietly.

After dinner, we stood up to leave, but an idea popped into my head. “Why don’t we stay here tonight?” I said on purpose to irritate my husband so that he could burst into rage and show my parents his true side.

“Exactly what I was thinking about,” Henry said with a devilish smile, and my jaw dropped.

*****

I didn’t expect this. Gosh, I didn’t want to spend the entire night with him. We entered my room. My room was small with white walls and hardwood flooring. The only items inside were a bed, cabinet, desk, and chair. It had no decoration and no expensive furniture. I felt nervous as he scanned every detail of my room.

“Why did you agree?” I asked him.

“My wife wanted to stay here, so I agreed,” he said simply.

“You don’t need to act like a loving husband. No one is watching us.”

He turned around and looked at me. “Are we going to sleep on that bed?” He asked while pointing at my small bed.

“Not we, only you.”

He raised his brows. “Where are you going to sleep?”

“In the living room.”

“You’re going to sleep with me.”

“No.”

He grabbed my elbow and forced me to look at him. “You’re going to sleep with me and that’s the final. You don’t have a choice so it’s better to obey me.”

“How can we both sleep in that small bed?”

“We can manage.”

I couldn’t believe he was saying this. The person who never allowed me to enter his room, the person who never allowed me in his car, and the person who hates me more than anything in the world. I didn’t know what types of thoughts were processed in his head, but I could sense it would be dangerous.

I changed into my pajamas and gave him a pair of cotton clothes. After changing he came out of the bathroom half-naked, only wearing a pair of shorts. I could see every muscle in his body, his six-pack, his biceps, all perfectly sculpted like marble. He was sexy and appealing.

“Why don’t you wear that t-shirt?” I said and threw a shirt at his face.

He caught it. "I always sleep naked."

Snorting, I laid down on the edge of the bed and curled myself so that his body wouldn’t touch mine. I didn’t want to be near him, because his nearness drove me crazy.

Suddenly, his muscular arm wrapped around my waist. “You think you can sleep in this position.” He pulled me towards his firm chest. His touch sent shivers down my spine and made my heart flutter in my chest.

He turned me over, so we were face to face. “What are you doing?” I whispered.

He pulled me even closer. I moved my hand over his chest to maintain the distance between us. “Don’t worry, I won’t fuck you,” he said and made my breath hitch. I had never been so close to him. “I love the way you react to my touch.”

I tried to push him away, but he tightened his grip. “Henry, please—”

Before I could say one more word, he shut me up with a kiss. He kissed me softly, and gently. He nibbled my tongue and then my lower lip. His rough and dry lips were playing on my tongue. Our tongue synced as I slid my hand behind his neck, pulling him closer to me.

I loved his kiss. I loved his warm body. I loved everything about him, but still, we were enemies; he hated me and I hated him. We would never be together because he loved Ava. We needed to stop this.

“Henry!” I pulled myself back and pushed him away with my full strength.