“You’re so sure I’ll lose myself? Conner, I’ve worked long and hard for what I have. Only my mother ever gave me anything to work with toward my future.” “You never came to me, Merina. God, I don’t want you losing yourself forever. You don’t understand, do you? I’m trying to have you to understand you can trust me. I won’t let you destroy yourself. Or our chances for a future together. Don’t look at me like that. We were destined to be together since birth. You can’t go through life never trusting anyone. What will you do once you achieve your revenge?” Merina opened her mouth but said nothing. A moment later, her mouth snapped shut. She stood there shaking with need and anger. Now inches from the mirror, she couldn’t turn away from Conner. He sat behind her in the chair and in front of her was his image. Conner could see her, and she couldn’t hide her response from him. Merina felt with a keen awareness as she stood there naked and exposed. Her need and
He was right; he was. Conner had control of the situation and her. He held her hips in a viselike grip. She couldn’t straighten or move on his shaft. Conner controlled their marriage and relationship, even the purse strings right now. She never considered the source of the money. “Alright, we’ll try things your way Conner. Tell me what you want.” “I want you to stop your plans of revenge and focus on us. Our lives and marriage. Our future. Your father is the past. He’s just a minor character in our lives, and seldom present. He isn’t influential in our lives anymore. You are now an O’Keefe. I’m the man who matters to you. Listen to me. My life and yours have become entwined now for better or worse.” Merina whimpered. Her body ached with the need for him to continue his cock became a constant reminder of her desperate need to find her completion. “Alright, please, can we discuss this later? I can’t think straight with you like this. Can we finish this, Con
Conner kept her busy last night in bed. He’d ordered dinner to their suite because he didn’t want any interruptions. They’d hit a roadblock in their relationship. He knew they’d broken through it. Conner wanted to continue with it. He knew he must have his way. Or Merina would suffer from her own ill-conceived plans. Merina didn’t understand that she had a beautiful and intelligent mind. But she took risks and lacked the common sense to avoid the destructive behavior that brought her back into his life. Conner didn’t want to lose her again, so he’d long ago decided he’d use her fantasies and his predilections to his advantage. Merina needed a partner and a parent. He’d decided he’d give her both. “Meri, are you ready? The car will arrive any minute for everyone. The plane’s waiting on the tarmac. We need to go.” “Wait, I don’t remember what happened to my new identification. Do you have it or your father? I haven’t seen it.”
“I tell you Helena she’s crazy. The woman stalked Conner all the way here and forced him to marry her. Then she accused Galen of trying to rape her. He’s in jail.” Gabriella said. She pretended to cry over the phone to a friend she’d garnered during her time here. Helena Loen latched onto Gabriella, believing she would rise in the esteem of their social circle if everyone saw her hanging with Gabriella. “I thought your father was in jail.” Helen asked to clarify the facts. It seemed she couldn’t keep pace with Gabriella’s words. “He is. Conner’s assistant accused him of attacking her. Then she quit and left. I can’t get either one of them out of jail because I’m a woman. Galen’s mother is here, and she has a lawyer working on it. But it’ll take time. I don’t know if I can survive Conner’s exes.” She desired Helena to perceive her as the victim, deceived by a man with no heart, and a conniving home wrecker. Helena’s lack of interest made it diffic
When the plane landed back at the airport, they arrived outside of the city. Merina half expected the police to be there waiting to arrest her. After last night, she struggled to believe Conner’s words. She knew there she would get nowhere if she confronted him. She’d tried to confront her father again, but they’d shut her down. Merina wanted closure, but how she got she didn’t know. Conner wanted her to stop trying to get revenge. He’d offered her a different life. He’d called it. She felt tired of it all and Merina had such a vague plan after she got her revenge that it not sensible person would call it a plan. Merina didn’t know whether she’d keep the business she ran right now, or if she’d sell it. She’d created it to get the skills she needed to enact her revenge. “You’re over thinking again Meri.” Conner leaned in close and said into her ear. She could tell he found it funny without looking. “One of us must use their brains or we’ll be lost.”
Merina followed Conner into his wing of the mansion. “You’ve made yourself comfortable here.” He’d redecorated it from when she’d last been there. That didn’t surprise her. “If I had to live here, it’s better without the past haunting me. We’ll talk about that later. We have more pressing matters to discuss.” Merina’s initial impression of Conner’s words was that he clung to them like a dog with a bone. “What do we have to discuss?” Merina settled into a comfortable chair in the sitting room they were in after he’d shown her most of his living space. She directed his attention to the sofa across the way. He perched on the arm of that sofa. “I don’t want our personal business explained in huge detail to everyone and his uncle. With that said, I do want everyone to know that we’re married, and we won’t divorce anytime soon. There’s a party coming up tomorrow night and we’ll attend it.” “Oh? We’re attending a party, fine. Who wi
“Your job is to clear out this apartment. Bring everything here. Any documentation, electronics, and business-related things you’ll secure in the storage room here off my office. Clothing and personal items will go to my suite. No one will speak of what you’ve handled or what you’ve done with it. Settle the rental agreement and pay whatever they want. Please finish it by day’s end.” Conner said to his new personal assistant. His father kept a list of potential, vetted candidates available, and he’d hired the next on the list who accepted sight unseen. This woman was young and pretty. She had stars in her eyes. She hadn’t arrived until after Conner and Merina entered their wing of the house. “May I ask who is moving in sir? I need the name of someone who stops us. Is it a lover or a relative?” “It’s my wife. The name the apartment is in is either Summer O’Neil or Merina MacGregor. Her legal name was Merina MacGregor.” “Thank you, sir. Wasn’t my p
Merina didn’t get naked. She already felt imprisoned. Her feeling became a reality when Merina found herself locked in Conner’s wing of the O’Keefe mansion. Merina felt like someone had thrown ice water over her when she realized Conner’s words were true. He didn’t trust her, and he had taken her freedom from her until she played this game by his rules. Did she want to play by his rules? Would it help her? He claimed she’d be happier, but did he say that to loll her into doing what he wanted? Did the unspoken advantages exceed her expectations? Her mind went over everything on repeat. She should hate him after all the years their families had acted as adversaries in everything. Without that, he shouldn’t have desired to keep her in this manner. Conner should’ve had her arrested and got rid of her. He appeared to pity her. Conner wanted to change her. But could she change? That train of thought brought her to his words about her being like his mother