Retribution

Chapter 11 - The Ghost of Evil Past; Round Two

"Well," Adam said, as he opened the front door for me. "I think that's the most expensive food I've ever eaten."

I smiled, my heart thumping as I went past him into the house. "It was delicious though."

Still sporting bruises and a tolerable amount of pain from my broken nose, Adam had treated me to an incredible meal at a Michelin star restaurant about an hour's drive away. All week he'd treated me like a princess; running around doing all the housework, tending to Harvey, even attempting to cook.

Now, close to midnight, and with a belly full of exquisite food, I was tired. Heading up to bed, I stripped off and jumped under the covers, not even bothering to take my make-up off as it seemed like too much effort.

A few minutes later, Adam climbed in behind me, cuddling my back to his chest. "You looked absolutely gorgeous tonight. Every man in there was staring at you, you know."

I giggled. "Don't be silly."

"I'm not," he said, placing a tender kiss on my shoulder. "I'm telling the truth. I still can't believe how lucky I am to have you."

Smiling to myself, I sighed in contentment and closed my eyes, ready for a peaceful sleep. Adam ran his hands up and down my side, sharing his warmth with me. Just as I relaxed into the dozy land of half-asleep, half-awake, he moved his hand between my legs.

"Sorry, baby," I said, trying to fight my sleepy state. "Not tonight."

He stilled but didn't move his hand. He tensed up, immediately shaking the fog from my mind. "Why not?"

His clipped tone shot an arrow of adrenaline right through my heart. "I'm tired and still sore down there."

After my assisted delivery two weeks ago, involving first a failed ventouse, and then having to be cut to enable a forceps delivery, I was still healing, sore, and quite frankly not feeling very sexy.

"Are you kidding me?" he said.

My mouth ran dry. My heart rate trebled. Thoughts raced around my mind at such a speed, I couldn't grasp a hold of any words to even know what to think.

"You saw what happened," I said, trying to hide the tremble in my voice. "You said the other night you understood."

He snorted and sat up, staring down at me with nothing but scorn in his dark features. "I said what I needed to just to keep you happy."

A bolt of dread pierced my soul. "What?"

"I think I've been more than understanding. Yeah, fair enough—leave you alone for the first week. Even the midwife said you still looked sore. But then you go and all but serve yourself up on a plate for that dickhead at the bar."

I sat up, frowning at him in disbelief. "Adam, I wasn't—"

He held a hand up. "Then I run around all week like your little bitch, all but kissing your arse in an effort to put things right between us—even spend over a hundred quid on one meal, and you can't even give it up as a thank you? You really are something."

My mouth fell open in sheer disbelief. What the hell was this? "What? Where the hell has this come from? I thought we'd had a good night tonight? And if you hadn't noticed, you broke my nose last week!"

"Yeah, I know. And why did I do that? Because you were whoring it up with some guy you'd known for thirty seconds." He took a deep breath and pursed his lips. "We've had a good night tonight. Why you want to ruin it is beyond me. Are you really that ungrateful?"