Hard Way by Katie Porter Read Free Book Online

work.”
    “No.”
    He clamped his hand across her cheeks and jaw as he turned brutal. Unrelenting. She clawed and fought. Her body was a sweaty, writhing feast of feminine curves beneath his, but he didn’t care. Sunny wasn’t his wife right then. She was a hole for him to fuck.
    If she wanted, she could still back down. Safe word. It would be slurred with his hand wrenching her bottom jaw, but she could say it.
    She never did.
    So he pulsed into her, bucking his pelvis up and in until tears gathered at the corners of her dark eyes. Those eyes were wide. Angry. Aroused. But underneath was a measure of fear he hadn’t expected to find. A measure of fear that made him groan, grunt, thrust, explode .
    He filled her, then shoved off and away—as if her skin scalded his.
    Sunny blinked up at him. Understanding distorted her gorgeous face. “That’s not fucking fair and you know it.”
    He’d never left her unsatisfied. Not ever. Seeing her furious and edgy, with energy pulsing around her flushed, damp body, should’ve put an end to this madness.
    Instead Dash only shrugged. “Monday morning, Mrs. Christiansen. Wouldn’t want to take up too much more of your time. You have to go to work, and I have my annual appointment with the flight surgeon. He’ll probably tell me I’m fine. Won’t that be ironic?” He stood and made a little bowing gesture toward the shower. “Off you go. The Ice Queen looks like she needs to get cleaned up.”
    Quick as a minx, she was off the bed—breasts heaving, eyes like dark, dangerous smoke. She was a building on fire with no rescue crew on the way. “You asshole. When?”
    “When you don’t expect it.”
    She slammed her fist into his left kidney. Full-on. Full force. Even with her slight build, she was powerful and well trained. Impeccable aim. Pain rocketed out from the point of contact, filling his guts with hot coals. He could only watch as Sunny strutted indifferently toward the bathroom like a naked goddess.
    She stopped at the threshold and aimed double-barrel middle fingers right at him. “Do what you want. I’ll fight you every time.”
    Still holding his side, Dash made a mocking little air kiss. His grin was wide, easy and mean when she slammed the bathroom door behind her.
    I’ll fight you every time.
    It was a promise and a threat.
    And permission.

Chapter Six
    Sunny had morning rituals. She figured every woman did. The particulars were what made them individuals. Sunny showered in the morning but saved washing her thick hair for Saturdays. She scrubbed her face, ran a razor over her legs and other bits. The bar of soap she scrubbed over it was handmade and rich with a spicy scent of herbs, softened by a hint of vanilla.
    She jumped when she ran the rough cloth between her legs and across her pussy.
    Her swollen, aching pussy.
    Her brain skipped over why she was like that with the same jumpy, panicky feeling.
    She abruptly cut off the water and rushed through the rest of her morning routine. Clothes and moisturizer and makeup, though God only knew why she wanted to look nice. Dash didn’t care, and she wasn’t dressing up for Jake, who was in Los Angeles.
    She’d need to talk to him. She could almost hear his voice. So, how’d it go?
    Still, she breathed and moved through the usual steps. Coffee was easy, based on pure repetitive motion. Driving, less so. And she hated being late. The dashboard clock read half past ten.
    By the time she reached the parking lot of her office, she was able to banish the hazy, smoke-filled numbness. She wrenched sweaty palms around the steering wheel and looked blankly through the windshield of her Acura. Her heartbeat slammed in her chest and clawed its way up her throat.
    What kind of mess had she wandered into?
    No, even that was more passive than she deserved. The question really ought to be: What kind of fucked-up mess had she created?
    She didn’t regret asking for a divorce, and she didn’t intend to back down from that.