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was. “Why do you act like such a…such a bully?”
    “A bully, hmm?” Pierce’s green eyes were
suddenly flat and cold.
    Shark’s
eyes, Tess thought. More trouble coming… But still she couldn’t stop herself.
    “You never treated me like this when we
were dating,” she went on. “You were sweet and kind…you said…you said you loved me. And I’m such a stupid fool I
believed you.”
    “Is that right?” Pierce stood suddenly,
towering over her. Tess tried not to cower from his huge form but it was hard
not to be frightened.
    “Yes, that…that’s right,” she said, lifting
her chin.
    “Well here’s something else you’d better
believe, Princess,” he snarled, his eyes narrowed to slits of green rage.
“Fucking your little whore gash made me hungry. And if you don’t get in the
kitchen and make me a sandwich right
fucking now, you’re going to get a lot worse than a slap across the face.”
    Tess jumped up, putting the bed between
them.
    “I’m sick of this—you never intended to
take me out, did you? You probably didn’t even make a reservation!”
    “You little slut …” Pierce was around the bed in a flash. Though she tried to
run, he had her by the throat almost before she could blink. “Don’t antagonize
me, Princess,” he ground out, glaring down at her while Tess choked and gasped
for air. “You know how upset I get
when you antagonize me.”
    “Let…let me go,” Tess wheezed.
“I’ll…I’ll…”
    “You’ll do what?” Pierce sneered, finally
releasing her. “Call the police? I am the
police, Princess, remember? And don’t forget, even if you do call out some of
my brothers in blue, who are they going to believe—a well respected detective
who’s been decorated twice for bravery? Or a crazy lady who calls 911 with a
bunch of false alarms?”
    “You…you made me…you…” Tess shook her head
helplessly. Pierce had tricked her several times into calling 911 for no
reason. He’d woken her up in the middle of the night claiming there was a fire
or someone breaking in. Tess had made the call but when the authorities came,
there was nothing to see. Pierce had told them she had mental problems and was
just seeking attention.
    The ruse was Pierce’s way of making sure
no one who had any kind of authority would ever believe anything she said and
it had worked. Tess knew no one would believe her if she called and said her
twice decorated police detective husband was beating her. She was trapped.
    Abruptly her rage turned to despair and
Tess crumpled to a heap on the floor. How could he be like this? How could the
perfect, loving marriage she’d envisioned have changed into this living hell
where any little incident could turn into a twisted war of pain and rage and
hurt? How could she live like this?
    How could she escape?
    It wasn’t the first time the thought had
crossed her mind but this time it lingered, whispering enticingly of freedom.
Of a life where she didn’t have to feel like she was walking on eggshells every
second of the day. Where she didn’t have to worry about being beaten if she
cooked the roast too much…or not enough…or didn’t serve it exactly at 5:45 on
the dot.
    As though reading her mind, Pierce leaned
down and shoved his face into hers.
    “Don’t even think about it,
Princess—you’re mine . And I never let
go of what’s mine.” He pulled her to her feet and shook her once, roughly, for
emphasis. “Now go make me that sandwich. But first take off that slutty whore
dress. I’ll burn it later.”

 
    Chapter Six

 
    Tess shook her head, trying to clear the
awful memory. Her eyes were wet but she blotted them quickly on the back of her
hand. God, Pierce really was a complete and total bastard . Why had it taken her so long to get away from him? Probably
because she had stupidly believed him when he’d promised he had changed. But
not anymore. Not after he…but she pushed the thought away, unwilling to examine
the painful memory of