Page 51 of The Forbidden Billionaire
“Dominic.”
Eventually, I manage to whisper, “What did he tell you?”
His expression is hard and unyielding. “He didn’t tell me anything. But he implied that he did things that you didn’t want done.”
My eyes blur, and I fight to keep the emotion in. There are only a couple of other people in the gym, but I still don’t want to bawl my eyes out.
Suddenly I know that, despite being a man, Luke is the only person I can talk to who’ll understand.
“He liked to restrain me,” I whisper.
He doesn’t reply for a moment. We sit there quietly, both of us breathing hard.
“How?” he asks eventually.
“At first it was vaguely romantic. Scarves. Ties. Eventually he bought equipment—leather bands with buckles, and handcuffs.”
Luke draws his knees up and rests his elbows on them. He studies his hands. I wonder whether he’s thinking about how he’d like to strangle Dom.
“I said yes,” I continue, my voice low. “Because I knew he liked it. And I didn’tnotlike it, if that makes sense. But it got where that’s all he wanted to do.”
The only sign that Luke has heard me is the way he clenches his hands into fists. I should stop, but I can’t now I’ve started.
“Toward the end, I started asking if we could do other things. We argued about it. And I realized that when we fought, it excited him. Hewantedme to fight him. Because then… he could restrain me against my will.”
“Fuck.” He sinks his hands into his hair. “He forced you?”
“No, no…”
“Aurelia,” he says firmly, “did he have sex with you against your will?”
There’s a long silence.
“It’s complicated,” I whisper. “I didn’t say no. I didn’t scream at him to stop. I think he thought I was enjoying it.”
Once again, we’re both quiet for a long time.
“Don’t be mad at me,” I murmur after a while.
He looks at me then, and I’m relieved to see his expression is gentle. “I’m not mad at you.”
“You’re mad at Dominic?”
“I want to cut the bastard’s dick off and stuff it down his throat.”
I give a short laugh and wipe beneath my eyes. “That’s a yes?”
He gives a long, frustrated sigh.
“You don’t understand,” I say softly. “Why I didn’t scream. Why I never reported him. And why I met him for lunch.”
He doesn’t reply, but I know I’m right.
I look at my hands. “Dominic was my first.”
“Ohhh…”
“I don’t know why I’m telling you all this.” But I do know. I want him to understand why I’ve made such bad decisions. “The main reason I walked out was because of the way he wanted to control everything about me, not just in the bedroom. I know it sounds strange, but I wanted to please him, I guess. I loved him, for a while. I wanted to be a good girlfriend.”
