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more normal. The suits were gone, and he dressed like a guy that I could talk to. I didn’t know what he did at the time because he looked like a wealthy businessman. Truth be told, I had no idea he was a gangster until it was too late. He forced me into a marriage I didn’t want and took me by force on our wedding night. Anytime he wanted sex, it was by force.” I could feel the anger roll off Will’s shoulders. He was angry and volatile.
    Standing up quickly, he paced the floor, stopping to stand in front of me with his eyes full of regret. “I could kill him, myself. Damn it, Ana. I wish I could have been there to protect you. Shit, baby, I’m so sorry.”
    I grabbed his hand, pulling him to sit next to me. “Will, it’s not your fault. We met for a split second,” I said trying to calm his guilt.
    “Yeah, but I let him get his hands on you after we met.”
    “Don’t blame yourself for that. He was armed with ten of his men and technically, he wasn’t doing anything to me at that moment. I hoped you’d walk away without trying to take me with you. He would get mental when any man came near me. It was sick how mean he would be when a server would ask me what I would like to drink.”
    “I’m sorry for the life you had with him,” he said softly, caressing my hand.
    “It wasn’t that long. We’d been married for only a few months before that day. He already threatened to kill me if I tried to leave again.”
    “I should have done something. I thought about it the rest of the day. It wasn’t like me to get involved in other people’s business, but I wanted to beat him to the ground on sight. It was crazy how much a simple touch of your arm had pissed me off. I walked off thinking that me doing something would make things worse.”
    “It would have. He didn’t even mention you to me before he attacked me. You see, I was taking birth control, and he found it, or rather one of his men found it. They snooped through my things and found my secret compartment. He beat me to a pulp then left the room. I passed out and thought I had made a call at some point, but I couldn’t be sure. It was all hazy after the first few punches. Then he came back, and I remember being hauled around and dumped into the trunk.”
    I started to cry hard, and William pulled me into his lap. “I need to finish,” I said running my hand along his cheek. He had a sexy beard starting to grow. Closing his eyes, he absorbed my touch. The memory of our passionate kiss rushed through my head and made me want to lean in and kiss him, but I needed to finish my story. “He told me I broke his heart and that he loved me before pushing me over the edge. I remember the pain, then you came. I looked into your eyes and all I could remember was the morning and the way you had looked at me.”
    “There’s a lot I haven’t told you because there was so much going on, and some things I have wanted to tell you but have been too ashamed to.”
    “Are you a killer, too?”
    “No, I’m not, but I’ve been pretty sheltered all my life.”
    “So that doesn’t sound so terrible. What do you mean? Did you marry someone out of high school then divorce? Do you have children with someone?”
    “No, I didn’t, and I don’t have any children yet. But for the first time in my life, I’ve got hope that that’ll happen. I was a bull rider. Not a very good one, but I was trying to follow some of my friends. It didn’t end well. My girlfriend at the time had dared me to take on a dangerous bull. It was the orneriest son of a bitch around. I didn’t want to do it, but I didn’t want to look weak. I’d come in last place during my last ride and doing that two times in a row would have been crushing. It was stupid, but I was young. At first, I was having the best ride of my life, but then the bull caught me at the end and gored me right in my pelvis. I spent two months in the hospital and rehabilitation learning how to do everything all over