“Fuck,” he grated out against her lips. “I can’t believe I’m sending you away after that.” She felt the hard length of him pressing into her bottom. They were both worked up and in no way ready to see it end.
She curved her palm along his jaw, rubbing the stubble already showing there. “If you get rid of them quickly tonight, then come to me. You still have my key, right?”
He nodded, looking almost hopeful at her suggestion. She’d given him a key to her place the last time he’d left to go out of town. He hadn’t wanted to scare her by knocking on her door if he was late getting back, and she’d hadn’t wanted to wait until the next day to see him. “We’ll see, Angel. Leave the security chain off.”
“I will,” she promised, before getting to her feet. He walked her through the house and into the kitchen where she picked up her purse. She gave his arm a squeeze of reassurance. “It’ll be okay. Maybe they just want to see their son tonight.” Even as she said the words, she didn’t really believe them. If his father was anything like her mother, then there was no such thing as a simple social call. There was always some agenda, and it was never good.
“Could be,” he replied with a forced smile. He kissed her lightly, and then held the door open for her to get in the car. “If I don’t see you later, then I’ll come by your office in the morning.”
“Good luck.” She smiled brightly. As she was driving away, she took one last look, and her heart broke for him. He looked so alone and solemn standing there with his hands in his pockets. Crystal wanted to go back and demand that he allow her be there for him, but she knew well from her own experience that the last thing you wanted was to have an audience while you were verbally attacked.
She’d carefully tried to keep her parents away from Mark for the same reason. Deep down inside, she thought that was why she’d continued to attend the marriage counseling sessions. It satisfied her mother to some degree, and while she was happy, she left Crystal alone for the most part. And regardless of what Bill said about wanting to avoid her mother, she knew the moment she stopped going, he would go straight to her parents to enlist their support. Then, once again, Crystal would be the difficult daughter who never did as she was told. Unfortunately, she could no longer hide from the fact that going on as she had been made her nothing but a liar and a coward. If she went to these kinds of lengths to avoid conflict, then where did it end? How could she ever truly be the strong person that she wanted to be, while still letting others run her life? Even though she’d finally divorced Bill, she still wasn’t free of him, and she wouldn’t be until she learned to stand up for herself in all areas of her life. Maybe that was something that she and Mark could work on together, because it appeared that they were both suffering at the hands of the very people supposed to love them the most.
Chapter Eighteen
His mother had the grace to at least look apologetic when he opened the door an hour later. “Sorry, dear,” she murmured as she preceded her husband in the door.
“To what do I owe the unexpected pleasure?” Mark asked dryly. His father, he noted, actually looked marginally sober, which was a rare occurrence. Apparently, that wasn’t going to last long, though, because he ignored Mark’s question and started opening cabinets in the kitchen until he found the one with liquor in it. He rummaged around next for a glass and poured it nearly full of bourbon. Great. It looked as if tonight Mark would get to deal with both his father’s drinking and the aftereffects.
“Why don’t we all go have a seat in the living room,” his mother suggested. “I’m sure we’d be far more comfortable there.” He wanted to point out that the last thing he wanted was for them to make themselves at home, but he held his tongue. At least his mother was trying to be civil. He turned and led the way, hoping to God he could get rid of them soon so he could go to Angel and forget all about his messed-up family.
Mark took one of the armchairs, while his mother reclined back on the sofa where he’d so recently been seated with Angel. Something about that seemed wrong, and he wanted to ask her to move. Dammit, must they taint anything good in his life? His father chose to remain standing, which would probably turn to swaying soon after the large glass of liquor. “So, son,” he said, making Mark’s back go ramrod straight. They were playing the parental card tonight—how fucking spectacular. “We’re here to meet your girlfriend. According to Oliver, you’ve been seeing someone for quite a while now.”