Bad Behavior by Jennifer Lane Page A

tried to forget that night. He finally rasped, “Because I hurt her.”
    “You hurt her?”
    “I was rough with her.” He shuddered.
    “He didn’t mean it, Hunter,” Sophie rushed in.
    “Wait a minute—you two were having sex?” They guiltily nodded. “Grant, you got, uh, rough , leading Sophie to feel used and scared?” More nods.
    Hunter felt his voice rising as his body tensed. “ Were you hurt?”
    Sophie’s eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. She felt her nose burning, a sign of imminent tears.
    “Yes,” she finally managed, “but like I said, he didn’t mean to hurt me. He just needed to vent, and I, I was trying to help him—”
    “You were trying to help?” Hunter asked incredulously. “Did you tell him he was hurting you?”
    She shook her head as her face crumpled.
    “Did you tell him you were feeling scared?” Hunter’s voice took on a gruff edge, and he saw her warily shake her head again. He stole a glance at Grant before returning his attention to Sophie. “Were you too scared to speak?”
    Feeling tears spring to her eyes, she kept shaking her head. “No. I thought I was h-h-helping him,” she choked out. “He needed to take it out on me—for the Logan thing. I deserved it.”
    Hunter felt his chest tighten with anger. “You never deserve to be hurt!” His shout stunned them both, but his next question was even more shocking. “Did he rape you, Sophie?”
    “No!” she cried immediately.
    Grant started breathing again, close to tears himself.
    “I told him to keep going,” she added.
    Hunter was incensed. “You were caretaking again, weren’t you? You were putting his needs in front of your own! You thought you were helping him? So you’re trying to play therapist with your boyfriend now? That’s simply not going to work!”
    Sophie sobbed.
    Hunter stared at her, suspended in disbelief. He didn’t know why he felt so angry, but he couldn’t stop the chastising words. “When are you going to stop caretaking? This time you could’ve gotten really hurt—physically, not just emotionally. That’s a dangerous game you’re playing!”
    Sophie could only sit there and sob, recognizing the true nature of her role in what happened that night.
    “Please don’t cry,” Grant begged.
    “And you!” Hunter nearly yelled, landing his livid gaze on Grant. “What the hell were you thinking?”
    “I…I wasn’t thinking, sir.”
    “Did you think you could get away with that?”
    “No! I was so mad—”
    “Did you think you had a right to hurt her?” Hunter seethed.
    “No, sir! I feel awful for what happened. But all I could see was an image of her and L-L-Logan in my head, and I snapped.” Grant’s breath came in shaky gasps.
    Hunter sat back in his chair, suddenly spent. Sophie’s muted sobs continued to fill the room, and Hunter eyed her sardonically. “I guess you got yourself another bad boy, didn’t you?”
    Sophie glared at Hunter, surprised by his cruel comment. Ignoring her indignant stare, Hunter added, “Maybe these sessions aren’t helping you. You just keep repeating old patterns.”
    “Stop being mean to her!” Grant countered, his nostrils flaring.
    “Oh, you’re the one to save her?” Hunter retorted. “The son of Enzo Barberi? Are you sure you’re not out to hurt her? I think you’re hiding something.”
    “Fuck you!” Grant was on his feet instantaneously, his hands balled into fists.
    Sophie and Hunter stared up at him, wide-eyed.
    Sophie reached up and frantically took his hand. “Grant, it’s okay. You can’t leave—we can’t go back to prison. Please stay. Hunter’s going to stop being mean. Right, Hunter?”
    Hunter felt the heat of her pointed stare and suddenly felt embarrassed. He looked down. He was supposed to be the professional, and here he was yelling at his clients? What did he think he was doing? He wondered why he felt so incensed.
    Hunter cleared his throat. “Yes, I’ll stop.