When it was over, he stayed draped over me for a moment, his heart beating a heavy, victorious rhythm against my ribs. He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear and kissed the tip of my nose, looking remarkably satisfied.
"There," he whispered against my skin, his voice thick with a post-coital warmth that made my skin crawl. "Better now?"
I nodded against his shoulder, my eyes burning with unshed tears that I refused to let fall. I felt like a ghost inhabiting a body that Jason had just re-colonized.
"Good," he said, sitting up and checking his Rolex as if he were checking a box on a to-do list. "Now, get dressed. We have that brunch at The Pierre in two hours. Use the new jewelry. I want everyone to see how much I adore you."
As the bedroom door clicked shut behind him, the silence felt
