Trina
Walking through the kitchen, I hum to myself as I open up the farthest cabinet against the wall, staring at the multitude of cans filled with sauces. I look through the packages of rice and pasta, but nothing jumps out at me. Opening cabinet after cabinet, fridge and freezer, I fail to decide on what to make for dinner. Hmmm.
I’m not craving anything in particular, and Antonio doesn’t usually request anything specific. I lean my back against the counter and stare across the kitchen at the stove as I try to think. My fingers tap my chin as my eyes roam around, my brain silent.
My head lolls to the side as my eyes scan across the room and land on the garage door. I can hear several men talking and laughing. Antonio has his friends over, and he doesn’t like it when I disturb them, but it would be really nice if he had an idea of what he wanted for dinner. Would help me from having to make the decision, like always.
Biting my nail, I think through my options. I could just make something I know he likes and deal with it. If I open that door, I risk pissing him off. Pissing off Antonio is not something I like to do. He’s hit me before, put me in the hospital before, but he’s always apologized. It’s not like he hits me everyday. He still loves me.
Maybe I should go pick up something for dinner instead. Antonio doesn’t like it when I leave without his permission, though, so maybe I shouldn’t. Sighing, I push off the counter and walk toward the door. We need to eat one way or another, and if I leave without asking, I may suffer a worse punishment than interrupting.
Pausing, I debate my decision for a split second, but I shake off my nerves and raise my fist, gently knocking on the door before quietly opening it and stepping a foot through the door. I give a shy smile as I glance around the room until making eye contact with Antonio.
“Sorry to bother you, honey. I was wondering if you’d like me to pick up something for dinner instead tonight?”
My voice comes out quieter and more frightened than intended, but the look on his face makes me nervous. Not to mention the angry stares I’m getting from everyone else in the room. I look around and give everyone an apologetic, shy smile, and as my eyes roam around, I notice something. I don’t know any of these men, never seen them before, but they all have the same tattoo on their forearms that my husband has - a wolf howling at the moon. Just as I start to think about how odd that is, he snaps at me.
“Haven’t I told you before not to bother me when I’m with the guys? ¿Eres estúpida? Get your dumb ass back in the house, right now!”
He pushes my shoulders, making me stumble back. I turn and step back through the door, but when I try to pull the door shut behind me, I can’t. Antonio follows me into the house, slamming the door behind him as he continues to yell at me.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? Who runs this house, perra?”
I step backwards slowly until I’m standing in the living room. The anger radiating from him has my heart rate skyrocketing. The flames in him can be seen burning in his eyes. My body curls in on itself, trying to be as small as possible. I know he expects a response, but I can barely manage to whisper, “You do.”
“You’re damn right, I do. So who do you think you are walking into my meeting and interrupting? You’re fucking nobody. ¿¡Entendido!? Look at me when I’m talking to you, damn it!”
My knees sink into the carpet as I cringe, knowing what's coming. My eyes lift as I attempt to listen to his demand, but I only see his belt buckle before he hits me. Hard. My face throbs, the bones around my eye radiating pain all through my head as I fall to the floor. I scream out in fright and pain, but he doesn’t care.
“You’re going to fucking learn. I’m the boss around here. Perra estúpida. You deserve this, thinking you can interrupt me! Thinking you can walk into any room and do whatever you want! I. Own. You. Bitch.”
He kicks me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. I’m struggling for breath, lying on the floor holding my face as he kicks me again and again and again, punctuating his last four words with each kick. He stands there staring at me as I struggle to suck air into my battered body and fight the pain to stay awake.
“Clean yourself up and make yourself useful by cooking my fucking dinner.” He spits on me before turning and walking back out to the garage, grumbling the whole way.
After the door closes behind him, I hear muffled voices, laughter, and what sounds like high fiving. I fight to breathe, to take steady breaths in and out, but every movement of my chest and stomach hurts like hell. It’s not the worst he’s done to me, though. Something tickles the skin near my eye. When I reach out to see what it is, my hand comes away with blood. He must have punched me with his ring and it broke the skin.
Rolling onto my side, I attempt to sit up and stand to get to work. Each time I strain to rise, my arms buckle as my ribs burn, taking my breath away as my body gives up, collapsing back to the floor. I lie on my side, gasping as I listen to the laughter coming from the garage. No one here is going to help me, no one here even cares about me.
My family warned me that Antonio wasn't who I believed he was. My sister has been telling me to leave him for years because one day he may kill me. Maybe she’s right. The fear and uncertainty of what I know I need to do overwhelms me. The shame I feel for having to admit my failings rises, and tears well. Battered, broken, and alone, I curl into a ball, covering my face with my hands as I cry.
****
Josie
Hands slide across my body, waking me from a deep sleep. My eyes flutter open, a sigh escaping me as one hand cups my breast, pinching my nipple just the way I like. Another hand slides around my hip, squeezing my ass and pulling me into a hard body, something very hard poking into my ass. I turn my head, searching out the source of said hands, and kiss Brody passionately.
Inhaling deeply, I savor the feeling of his soft lips against mine as his fingers sink into my thong, sliding through my folds before slowly diving into my body. I moan, my back arching involuntarily at the intrusion. He pulls me closer, kissing, licking, and nipping at my lips. The things this man can do with that tongue, ugh, I swear, it’ll be the death of me one day. Melting against him, I become a moldable plaything, willing to let him do anything to me.
Reaching out with my hand, I slide it into his boxers, gripping his shaft in my hand. I pull gently, eliciting a moan from him as he devours my mouth, his fingers pumping harder into my body. My pace increases with his before my hand slides to his balls, cupping and kneading them the way he loves. He growls, biting my bottom lip and pulling on it before letting go.
He releases me completely, hurrying to pull his boxers off when the bedroom door swings open and in bounds Addie. Her little blonde head bounces as she runs across the room, giggling, and flings herself into our bed. Brody immediately grabs her and pulls her close, tickling under her arms as she squeals and tries to stop him. She rolls away from him and right into my arms. I tuck her into my chest, resting my cheek on her head as she hugs me tight.
“Good morning, Mommy,” she mumbles against my chest. I squeeze her tight, letting her go when she tries to tickle Brody back. She fails, of course, and is tackled back down into a fit of laughter.
“All right, all right. Addie, you need to go get dressed for school. I need to get breakfast ready so we can go. Come on, quit picking on your dad, and get a move on.”
She groans and pouts, but jumps out of the bed and runs down the hall to her room. I chuckle to myself as I stand up and stretch. Brody leans across the bed and slides a hand up between my thighs. I turn and glare at him as I step out of his reach and swat his hand away.
“Ah, come on. You’re really going to leave me like this?”
I smile at him as I walk into the bathroom. “You’ll just have to wait until later. Moment’s over. Sorry!”
He groans and throws himself onto his back in the bed. I get ready for the day, slipping into a comfortable pair of slacks and my favorite purple shirt. Brushing my hair, I pin the front back, out of my face, before applying a little foundation and eyeliner. I still stick to my basic sense of beauty, despite my fancier job and wealthy man. I don’t have the time or patience to spend an hour on my hair and makeup only for it to get messed up.
After double checking myself in the mirror and applying some chapstick, I turn to leave. As I step out of the bathroom to get breakfast for Addie and pack her lunch, Brody catches me around the waist with his arm. He twirls me around, and I bump into him, chest to chest. He smiles as he slowly slides his arms around me, letting his hands settle on my butt.
“You look absolutely beautiful.” His voice is deep and seductive as his nose touches mine, our eyes locked on each other.
I roll my eyes and push against his chest. “You always say that.”
He chuckles as he leans in to kiss me, long and deep. When he finally pulls back, I’m nearly breathless.
“Would you perhaps be interested in seeing a movie with me tonight? Say 9 o’clock-ish, after Addie goes to bed? We can eat swiss cake rolls and cuddle, and maybe, if you’re really good, I’ll give you a private show.”
He squeezes my butt, pulling me against him. His voice is so low and sexy I actually shiver.
“A private show, huh? What kind of show?” I rub my nose against his and stare at his lips while he grins.
“That, my dear, is a surprise. What do you say? Will you be my hot date tonight?”
I giggle and roll my eyes again. “Of course. Should I wear anything special for the occasion?” Raising an eyebrow at him, he chuckles.
“It’s a casual date, but if you’re going to let me pick…” He leans over, putting his lips right against my ear. “I’d tell you to wear the light blue one. It’s my personal favorite.” He grabs my earlobe between his teeth, gently grating them along the sensitive skin before pulling away.
Once again, I shiver. He knows exactly how to push my buttons, and I hate it as much as I love it. He turns, walking into the closet and chuckling at himself. I roll my eyes at him and walk downstairs. You’d think after six years together that I wouldn’t let him get to me so much, but I can’t help it. Just looking at him still gets me weak in the knees.
I had a crush on him when we were in high school, but we didn’t date until years later. If someone had told me when I was 16 that I’d be married to Brody Kohller and having his kids, I’d have died laughing. He was nothing but trouble in high school, and that didn’t change until I came into his life. Ironically, he didn’t even know I existed until years after high school when I cleaned his suite for a living.
I know, lame and humiliating love story. Rich lawyer falls in love with his poor maid, but it’s the clichéd truth, and I honestly couldn’t be happier with how things turned out. Just thinking about our lives together gets me smiling, and when I step off the stairs and see Addie smiling up at me, I could burst with happiness.
“Are you all ready for school, sweetheart?” I reach out and brush my knuckles across her cheek before running my fingers through her hair. She nods her head and throws her arms around my waist.
“Yes, Mommy. My bag is by the door, my shoes are on, and I brushed my hair.” She grins up at me, all proud of herself.
I smile at her and rub her back. “All right then, let’s eat some breakfast!”
She squeals and runs into the kitchen, opening the fridge and grabbing the orange juice. I chuckle to myself as I watch her scramble around to reach everything she needs. Footsteps skip down the stairs, and I turn to see Brody walking down, fixing his tie into place.
“What’s got you so smiley?”
He stops beside me, and I look over at Addie. He follows my gaze and grins as we watch Addie pull a chair to the counter and climb up to grab a cup for her juice. We both shake our heads, chuckling as we step into the kitchen to help her, and get the day started.
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