Caught Up In You 5: No More Denial (Edgeplay) Read Free

don’t want pretty little lies. I know Pops loved me, that he worked hard and loved my grandmother. But he was capable of something awful, and I want to help make it right.”
    He approaches, gripping my shoulders tightly. “Listen to me. You do make it right. Just by drawing breath and being here with me, you help me more than any answers ever could.”
    The tears break free once more and I slump onto the antique chaise. “How can you say that? How can you even stand to look at me, knowing that the same blood that wronged you is in my veins?”
    His hands cup my face, thumbs brushing away my tears. “Red, you’re killing me. Please believe me when I say I harbor no ill will toward you, even if you think I should. Please, come to bed, I need to hold you.”
    He looks so vulnerable and I feel selfish harping on this, demanding answers when he has none to give. Unable to deny him anything, I let him lead me back to the bed. We lie facing each other. I find I can’t look at him though, and close my eyes.
    He strokes my face tenderly. “You have nothing to feel badly about.”
    “Then why do I feel so awful?” I whisper.
    “Don’t.” It’s a command, given in his dominant tone, the one that commands respect, but I ignore it. No matter that he owns my heart, or that we’re going to be married. I know he’d move heaven and earth to make me happy, but Connor Edge does not have the right to tell me how to feel.
    He lied to you. Used you, Snarkarella hisses. She’s an insidious bitch, but she’s always there looking out for me, and for once I answer her in the privacy of my own mind, even as Connor holds me close.
    How did he use me?
    Think about it. He came here looking for revenge against Thomas Sinclair. The Alzheimer’s took that from him. He couldn’t punish a man who was already damned. You were the next best thing.
    Do you think he loves me? I need to know. This inner critic is the only person I trust to be honest with me.
    I think it doesn’t matter. Your relationship is built on a web of lies. It’s destined to crumble.
    In that moment I know why I despise her. She may be harsh, a task mistress I can never please, but she always encourages me to do the right thing.
    What do I do now?
    Her words make me shiver, chilling me to my marrow. Leave. There’s nothing holding you here now. Pops is gone. You owe Connor nothing. It’s time to live your life.
    A tear leaks out from my tightly shut eyelids. I’ll tell Connor tomorrow.
    You think he’ll let you go? Come on Baily, use your head. You know this man. Even if Mr. Edge somehow manages to let you walk away, Connor the Dom will come after you. The only way to get away is to do it covertly.
    She makes it sound like mission impossible. Maybe it is. I have to say goodbye to him.
    Snarkarella doesn’t respond, but she doesn’t need to. I already know she doesn’t like the idea.
    Connor shifts against me, his erection prodding my thigh. “I need you. I need to be inside you right now. I feel like you’re slipping away from me.”
    Because I am. Though my heart is willing, my body doesn’t respond to his caresses. Or maybe it’s my mind causing the problem. I don’t want to accept him for what I’m sure will be the last time.
    His lips are on mine in a sweet and tender kiss, full of reverence and love. He’s never made the declaration, and now I don’t want to hear it. Turning my back on all he offers, all the safety and tenderness, is hard enough. I can’t give up his heart.
    My body trembles as his hand skims farther down, not from lust or need, but from the agony I know is coming. My spine is so stiff it feels as though it will snap in half. A breath bursts from me when he reaches beneath my panties to pet my sex.
    “I’m sorry,” I gasp when his fingers touch my sex lips and find no wetness, no liquid desire. All the moisture in my body is trickling from my eyes in an endless wave of tears. I want this to be special, perfect, but the slickness