The Divorce That Brought Us Back novel Chapter 15

The size difference between them was staggering.

Maloney's towering frame felt like an impenetrable wall, casting a dark shadow over Nora's vision and making the air around her feel perilously thin. The overwhelming aura of dominance he exuded made her heart hammer wildly against her ribs.

Panic gripped Nora; her gaze darted around the room, entirely unable to meet his eyes.

"Nora," Maloney's deep, resonant voice broke the silence.

"I told you I was going to pick you up. It had nothing to do with whether I was busy, whether it was an inconvenience, or whether your friend was heading this way. When we agree on something, we follow through. If plans change, you notify me in advance. Making decisions without telling me is unacceptable, do you understand?"

"I understand, I understand."

Nora didn't dare utter a word of protest. She nodded vigorously, her body instinctively shrinking back into the chair, looking utterly pathetic.

Maloney stared down at her, his gaze heavy and dark.

He reached out and tilted her chin up.

The moment their eyes finally locked, he saw the sheer terror and insecurity swirling in her gaze.

Nora instinctively tried to pull away, but Maloney's grip was like iron, holding her face steady. She gave a slight shake of her head, a tiny whimper escaping her throat as a glossy sheen of tears welled up in her eyes.

She looked even more pitiful now.

Like a frightened little hamster.

Tiny, timid, fragile, and completely at his mercy.

Maloney leaned down and captured her lips.

Nora shuddered violently.

She had dressed casually for her girls' day out, wearing a loose button-down shirt and a pair of wide-leg trousers.

Maloney finally pulled back. He ran his tongue over his bottom lip and murmured, "Did you have seafood for dinner?"

Nora's eyes widened in sheer disbelief, and she quickly clamped both hands over her mouth.

She had no defense against him.

"Maloney..."

Nora's voice cracked with a desperate plea.

This wasn't how they normally interacted.

They usually lived separate, polite lives, only sharing a bed at night. If they were going to be intimate, they would ask for permission beforehand, and there would always be a courteous warning before anything happened.

Now, he was giving her zero time to mentally prepare.

Maloney had completely changed the rules of their dynamic.

And Nora couldn't keep up with this aggressive pace.

"Please don't do this..." Nora's eyes rimmed red with frantic tears.

Maloney took a deep breath, pressed a soft kiss to the corner of her reddened eye, and asked hoarsely, "Can we go to the bedroom?"

Nora parted her lips. She desperately needed to talk to him about a million different things, and right now was absolutely not the time for this. But staring into Maloney's intense, bottomless eyes, the words died in her throat.

"...Okay."

Maloney reached down and scooped her up into his arms.

Nora clung to him like a koala.

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