flush and hated Dom a little for that sharp gaze of his. “Who I sleep with is my own business.”
He reared back, her words evidently enough to send him rocking on his heels before he regained his equilibrium. “You have got to be fucking kidding me,” he said in a rough, raw voice. “You fucked him? Please tell me you didn’t fuck him, Harley. Please tell me you have more self-respect left in you than that.”
“We both knew it was over between us when you left the island,” Harley said, anger making her cheeks burn even hotter. “I appreciate your help with Jasper, I really do, but your feedback on who I do or don’t fuck isn’t solicited. Or appreciated.”
“I don’t give a shit if it’s appreciated,” he said, shaking his head back and forth as his lip curled. “Someone has to tell you that you’re out of your goddamned mind. Just like your sister.”
He laughed an ugly laugh that made her regret letting things get more than friendly between them. “I wish I’d known the only way to win a Mason girl’s heart was to beat her and lock her in a cage. I could have kept you on a leash and spanked your pretty ass before bed every night. Then you would have stayed with me and been safe from men like this psycho you’re so excited to play house with.”
“I’m not playing house with him,” she snapped, fighting to keep her volume under control. “I’m doing what I have to do to keep my son. It’s called compromise, Dom. It’s what adults do instead of throwing a fit when they don’t get what they want.”
Dom’s eyes flashed. “Compromise? Sounds more like a deal with the devil to me,” he said, his words hitting too close to home. “But that’s what you do, isn’t it? You bounce from one bad idea to the next, somehow expecting the next monster you trust to be different than the last one.”
He stepped closer, leaning down to whisper his next words into her face. “You realize that’s the definition of insanity, right? Repeating the same behavior while expecting a different outcome?”
“Maybe you’re right,” she said, a hard smile curving her lips as the urge to hurt him the way he was hurting her grew too strong to resist. “I mean, you’re certainly not the nice guy you pretend to be. But then I always figured your ‘love’ for Jasper would go out the window the second I stopped fucking you.”
His next breath huffed out from deep in his chest. “You’re such a bitch.”
“You say that like it’s news,” she said, ignoring the pain and regret swirling through her.
“I love that kid,” Dom said, his forehead wrinkling. “And I would do almost anything to keep him safe, but I can’t do this. I can’t stay here and watch you make this kind of stupid, dangerous decision.”
He swallowed, his throat working. “And I won’t watch you with another man. No matter how angry I am right now, I still care about you. And I know without a doubt that I’m the better choice.” He shook his head, hurt flashing in his eyes. “It should be me, Harley, and you know it.”
Harley pressed her lips together, fighting a wave of regret and self-loathing strong enough to bring her to her knees. “I know,” she finally said, voice cracking. “But it’s not. It’s always been him, Dom. I can’t help it. If the past two weeks haven’t changed that, nothing ever will.”
Dom cursed as his chin dropped to his chest. “You tear me apart, H. You really do. You and your sister.” He took a step back, his gaze still glued to the floor. “Say goodbye to Jasper for me.”
“Dom, no,” she said. “Don’t leave without saying goodbye to him. I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s better this way,” he said, still backing away. “And don’t worry, I’ll take care of the other business we talked about. Even if the girl is as hopeless as the rest of her family, she deserves a get out of hell free card.”
“Just give me a month or two and I’ll be able to help you,” she
He reared back, her words evidently enough to send him rocking on his heels before he regained his equilibrium. “You have got to be fucking kidding me,” he said in a rough, raw voice. “You fucked him? Please tell me you didn’t fuck him, Harley. Please tell me you have more self-respect left in you than that.”
“We both knew it was over between us when you left the island,” Harley said, anger making her cheeks burn even hotter. “I appreciate your help with Jasper, I really do, but your feedback on who I do or don’t fuck isn’t solicited. Or appreciated.”
“I don’t give a shit if it’s appreciated,” he said, shaking his head back and forth as his lip curled. “Someone has to tell you that you’re out of your goddamned mind. Just like your sister.”
He laughed an ugly laugh that made her regret letting things get more than friendly between them. “I wish I’d known the only way to win a Mason girl’s heart was to beat her and lock her in a cage. I could have kept you on a leash and spanked your pretty ass before bed every night. Then you would have stayed with me and been safe from men like this psycho you’re so excited to play house with.”
“I’m not playing house with him,” she snapped, fighting to keep her volume under control. “I’m doing what I have to do to keep my son. It’s called compromise, Dom. It’s what adults do instead of throwing a fit when they don’t get what they want.”
Dom’s eyes flashed. “Compromise? Sounds more like a deal with the devil to me,” he said, his words hitting too close to home. “But that’s what you do, isn’t it? You bounce from one bad idea to the next, somehow expecting the next monster you trust to be different than the last one.”
He stepped closer, leaning down to whisper his next words into her face. “You realize that’s the definition of insanity, right? Repeating the same behavior while expecting a different outcome?”
“Maybe you’re right,” she said, a hard smile curving her lips as the urge to hurt him the way he was hurting her grew too strong to resist. “I mean, you’re certainly not the nice guy you pretend to be. But then I always figured your ‘love’ for Jasper would go out the window the second I stopped fucking you.”
His next breath huffed out from deep in his chest. “You’re such a bitch.”
“You say that like it’s news,” she said, ignoring the pain and regret swirling through her.
“I love that kid,” Dom said, his forehead wrinkling. “And I would do almost anything to keep him safe, but I can’t do this. I can’t stay here and watch you make this kind of stupid, dangerous decision.”
He swallowed, his throat working. “And I won’t watch you with another man. No matter how angry I am right now, I still care about you. And I know without a doubt that I’m the better choice.” He shook his head, hurt flashing in his eyes. “It should be me, Harley, and you know it.”
Harley pressed her lips together, fighting a wave of regret and self-loathing strong enough to bring her to her knees. “I know,” she finally said, voice cracking. “But it’s not. It’s always been him, Dom. I can’t help it. If the past two weeks haven’t changed that, nothing ever will.”
Dom cursed as his chin dropped to his chest. “You tear me apart, H. You really do. You and your sister.” He took a step back, his gaze still glued to the floor. “Say goodbye to Jasper for me.”
“Dom, no,” she said. “Don’t leave without saying goodbye to him. I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s better this way,” he said, still backing away. “And don’t worry, I’ll take care of the other business we talked about. Even if the girl is as hopeless as the rest of her family, she deserves a get out of hell free card.”
“Just give me a month or two and I’ll be able to help you,” she
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