This is Love, Baby(55)

I deserve her loyalty.

“Did that freak give you this?” I snap and jerk the same wrist up so I can take a closer look at what’s on her arm.

“Stop, Brandon,” she says in a wobbly voice, all her fire snuffed out.

I yank the watch from her arm and heave it as far as I can throw it, which is pretty damn far considering I was a pitcher for the varsity baseball team. If we weren’t standing on sand, I’d have stomped it into a million pieces.

I deserve to spoil her.

“Get in the house, babe,” I grunt. My hand squeezes her forearm as I guide her inside. “We need to talk.”

I’m surprised to find the house unlocked. It makes me wonder if the owners are nearby. Out for an early morning walk or some shit. They’ll regret coming home, that’s for sure.

I deserve to have her all to myself.

She puts up a resistance when I start pushing her toward the stairs. “You promised me you’d take me to my dad. That’s the only reason I left with you. Where is he?”

Ignoring her, I all but drag her up the stairs and down the hallway. When I find the master bedroom, I toss her onto the bed and glare down at her.

I deserve her body.

“Take off your clothes,” I snap.

At first, her eyes widen in shock but then her nostrils flare and she scowls at me. Her cheeks and neck redden but I’ve known her long enough to know it isn’t from embarrassment. She’s pissed. How is it she’s scared shitless of Gabe but I don’t frighten her one bit?

I deserve her fear.

“Baylee Marie Winston,” I bite out, “if you don’t take your goddamned clothes off right now I will cut them off you.” For effect, I yank the knife out of my pocket and wave it at her.

I deserve her terror.

Tears well in her eyes but the fury remains. She’s still not fucking afraid of me. With her angry eyes locked on mine, she whips off my hoodie. The same hoodie I’d seen her in hundreds of times at school. The hoodie with “Thompson” emblazoned on the back that let every guy at school know she was mine.

Was.

I deserve to give her my last name.

I run my fingers through my hair and let out a rage-filled scream. “Why, Baylee? Why did you do this to us? You used to love ME!”

She crosses her arms over her breasts and glares at me. “Where. Is. My. Dad?”

I deserve her undivided attention.

Storming over to her, I surprise her when I grab onto her jaw, my fingers digging brutally into the flesh. “Naked, babe. You’re still half dressed.” When I drag the knife along her breast and down over her belly, she winces in fear. Fucking finally.

I deserve her hot cunt.

“Okay, Brandon, okay.”

I release her and watch as she shimmies out of her pants. As soon as her perfect pussy is on display, I ache to taste it. To put my mouth on her hot cunt and remind her of why she loves me—not that bastard in the hospital.

I deserve her entire body.

“What are you going to do?” she demands, her teeth gritting together. I’ll give it to my girl for her bravery—she’s one tough bitch after what Gabe put her through.

I kick my shoes off and start unbuckling my belt. “What I should have done a long time ago.”

I deserve to fuck her into tomorrow.

She starts to squirm away from me but I seize her ankle and yank her back over to the edge of the bed. “Brandon, don’t do this,” she begs, fear finally threading her words. “This isn’t you.”

I deserve her pleas and screams.

I smirk, not feeling at all like that timid little pussy boy she once loved. “You’re right, babe. I’m different and I’m tired of being a fucking virgin while you fuck every goddamned prick on the West Coast. Keep your eyes open, Baylee. I want you to know who’s fucking you this time.”

I deserve all of this.

I waited for her.

I rescued her.

I killed for her.

I deserve her.

My Baylee.





BRANDON’S NORMAL TWINKLING green eyes are dulled into something dark and deviant. I don’t recognize his voice, his hateful smile, or the menacing expression and crazed look in his eyes. He’s not the boy from high school—the boy who was shy about giving me my first kiss or meeting my parents for the first time. This isn’t the boy who I cried for when Gabe took me.

Gone is the boy from my past.

This man is a product of Gabe’s actions.

Gabe created the monster before me.

“Please,” I beg again as his grip becomes tighter around my ankle. “I’m pregnant,” I blurt out.

His green eyes spark to life as he takes pause. I watch in wonder as his gaze darts back and forth between me and my belly as if trying to make sense of my words. I hear a creak on the wood floors in the bedroom. A pair of eyes peer back at me just beyond Brandon. A familiar pair of eyes. A pair of eyes that belong to the devil.