Forget Me Not (Remember Me Series) (16 page)

Grabbing a towel from the back of one of the chairs I headed for the shower. I would prove to Bella what she meant to me. I would prove to her that I loved her once and for all.

The beat from the night club pulsed out on the street. I stared up at the tall dark building and found myself wondering what had drawn Bella here? She’d never been a fan of clubs before Christopher had taken her, had she changed that much?

Squaring my shoulders I headed straight for the front of the queue. Sarah had told me this was where I could find Bella. I had wondered if perhaps Sarah was lying, but what good would it have done? She had to know I would find Bella sooner or later.

The bouncer folded his arms across his chest, his expression blank. I pulled a wad of bills from my pocket and casually slipped them to him. He didn’t bat an eyelid at me as I strode past him and into the throbbing club.

Everything pulsed, the floors, the walls. I could feel the beat as it pushed its way through my body but I didn’t care, I wasn’t here for that. I was here to find her. Moving past the front doors the room opened up into one huge floor space. Couples writhed on the dance floor, their bodies entwined as the beat took them.

Places like this had always fascinated me. I’d never understood the lure of grinding against someone, when you knew you couldn’t do anything about it. It just seemed to be a good way to foster frustration.

I moved through the room, the heat inside the leather jacket I wore made small beads of sweat slide down my spine. But none of that mattered as long as I could find her. I prowled along the edges of the dance floor, searching for her amidst the crowd. It wasn’t until I turned my attention to the booths surrounding the dance floor that I got my break.

She was sitting, her back pressed into the upholstery as she gestured violently to the creep that sat next to her. Every time she moved away from him, he followed her. He probably thought her resistance was all part of some game. But I knew the look on Bella’s face. I remembered it from the night I’d found some guy pawing at her outside a party. Whatever was going on, she wanted no part in it.

I moved through the crowd, pushing and shoving my way through the groups of dancers to get to her. She spotted me as I reached her table. I didn’t hesitate, instead I grabbed her hand and pulled her from the booth. She didn’t speak, she didn’t fight as I pulled her into my arms and crushed my mouth down across hers.

The feel of her lips on mine, the feel of her as she responded to me was enough to make me lose all sense of my surroundings. She tasted like home, a place I hadn’t been in a very long time. I cupped her face with my hands as she wrapped her arms up around my neck, her body melting in against mine. I wanted more, a taste wasn’t enough. I was like a man dying of thirst and she was my oasis in the desert.

“Hey buddy!” 

Someone tapped on my shoulder, drawing my attention away from Bella in arms.

“What the hell are you doing? I’ve spent the night working on her, buying her drinks. You can’t just swoop in and steal her.”

He gestured to Bella as he spoke. Anger spilled over inside me and I released Bella only long enough to strike out with my fist. I caught his jaw, sending him sprawling backwards over the tables. He crumpled onto the ground, glass shattering around him but I didn’t wait to see if he was going to get back up. I had something far more important to deal with.

I grabbed Bella’s hand, her cry of shock lost in the dull roar of the music. I pulled her from the club. I didn’t look at her until we made it to the street. My ears were still ringing from the music. But none of that was important. I wanted to taste her again, I wanted to feel her soft lips against mine.

“What the hell did you do to him?”

She slapped my arm, the moment I turned back around to face her. And I knew from the look on her face that I wouldn’t be kissing her anytime soon.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Bella

Standing out on the street, the cold air closed in around my bare shoulders. My jacket was still inside. My skin was clammy, the air inside had been cloying, suffocating with the press of bodies all around. But that wasn’t why I was so angry.

Aidan had simply punched the guy. Of course he had been a jerk and he deserved to get knocked on his ass but Aidan had never been like that in the past. This side to him was all new and it was a little frightening.

“You just knocked him out? What were you thinking? You can’t just go around doing that.”

I struggled to get free of his grip. His hand tightened around mine and it felt so right. I didn’t honestly want to lose the feel of his fingers against my skin, in fact I wanted quite the opposite. I wanted to run my fingers across his exposed skin, taste him, lick the salt from his body.

A blush crept up my neck. I couldn’t think like that. Aidan had cheated on me, I’d walked in on him as he kissed Sarah and it had been heart breaking to watch. How could I ever trust him again?

“I did what I had to do, you heard him, you heard what he said about you.”

“And I would have dealt with it in my own way. I didn’t need you to sweep in and rescue me.”

“Bella, I’m sorry, but seeing you with him… I knew that look on your face, I knew you were trying to find a polite way to tell him to get lost, but guys like him aren’t like that.”

“Aidan, I can’t…”

My words were lost in the shout from outside the club.

“You!”

The guy jogged down the street towards us, blood covered his lip. But he had brought his friends this time and they followed him like a swarm of locusts.

Aidan turned, his face hardening as he spotted the man he had punched in the club heading towards him. There was no fear in his eyes, just something dark and predatory. It lurked beneath the surface of his eyes, waiting to pounce on its unsuspecting victim.

“I want a word with you.”

Aidan took a step forward and I moved in front of him.

“Don’t do this, let’s just go. Aidan I want to go?”

But he wasn’t listening anymore, and even if he had, I watched as the creeps friends fanned out around us, blocking all escape. There would be no leaving until this was finished.

I turned and put my hand out, a wobbly smile on my face.

“Please, guys, don’t do this. Let’s just forget about it.”

“Forget about it? You were my bitch, I put in the work, I deserved the reward. Not him.”

Anger prickled along my spine.

“Reward?”

I took another step forward, my anger making me bold.

“The only reward you were going to get was a drink in your lap. I told you then and I’m telling you now, I’m not interested, I was never interested in a whining good for nothing piece of trash.”

I knew I’d gone to far when the surprise in his eyes disappeared, replaced with anger. He moved towards me and suddenly Aidan was in the way. He pushed me behind him as he landed the first blow.

Aidan didn’t waste any time, he moved in on the taller man, his fists pummelling against his ribcage. Aidan might had been smaller, but he was certainly stronger and he was without doubt faster. The other man barely had a chance to recover when Aidan moved in on his again. The air was filled with grunts of pain.

The creep jabbed his elbow upwards into Aidan’s chin, knocking him backwards. I couldn’t stop the cry of surprise that left my lips as strong arms closed around on me. I tried to move forward towards Aidan, but I was held fast. The creep’s friends held onto me as I struggled. A shout of triumph went up and Aidan turned to see what was going on.

The moment he saw me his expression changed to one of fear and panic. The creep moved in behind Aidan, the blow of his fist buckling Aidan to the ground.

“You’re good, I’ll give you that but now it’s high time I taught you a lesson.”

The creep moved to punch Aidan again but he blocked the blow with his arm. Someone wrapped their hands into my hair, dragging my head back at an awkward angle as they pressed the cool blade against my skin. My whimpering cry was all it took to make Aidan give in.

I hated myself for my own weakness. Why couldn’t I be stronger? If I was stronger, if I could have shook them off then I could have helped Aidan. But I wasn’t. The creep laid into him, kicking and punching and Aidan took it all without so much as a murmur of pain.

“What the hell is going on?”

The bouncer’s voices drew the attention of the creep and his friends and they scattered. I was pushed to the ground, the asphalt digging into my hands but I didn’t care. I crawled towards Aidan. He lay on his side, blood trickled from the side of his mouth and there was a small cut across the side of his head.

Tentatively I reached out to him, my hand brushing against the side of his jaw.

“Aidan?”

My voice came out weaker than I wanted. I pressed my hand to his shoulder and shook him softly, my mind already going over the worst possible scenarios. The bouncers arrived and crouched down next to him. Aidan’s eyes opened and he grinned up at me. He winced as he dragged himself upright but he was alright. The bouncer stared down at him for a few minutes before shaking his head and wandering away in disgust.

“Are you ok? I was so worried when you didn’t move?”

Aidan shook his head and gingerly pressed his fingers against the bump that was forming on his head.

“I’m fine. If Andy hadn’t come over I don’t think I’d be quite so alright.”

He moved towards me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and drawing my body in a little closer.

“How are you? When I saw them holding you, I couldn’t… I can’t even explain it. I’d have let them kill me before they harmed a hair on your head.”

“Don’t be stupid, you shouldn’t have given in. I’d have been fine, I’ve been through worse, believe me.”

The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. My stomach flipped uncomfortably and I glanced up at Aidan, watching his expression through my lashes. I knew he’d heard me and he knew what I meant by it. But he didn’t force me to explain myself and for that I was grateful.

“Bella, we need to talk, there are some things you need to know… Somethings you need to understand about me.”

I shook my head.

“I don’t want to talk, Aidan, I’m so fed up with talking, with always having to explain how I’m feeling or what’s going on inside my head. I don’t want any of that.”

“I need to tell you what happened with Sarah.”

His words cut me to the core and I did my best to shrug them off, to simply ignore them and move past it. But it was like having a band aid ripped off before the wound had healed.

“Don’t.”

The word dropped from my lips in a hushed whisper. I watched as he opened his mouth to protest and I took that opportunity to kiss him. My lips found his and I crushed my mouth to him. Gently I ran my tongue along the edge of his lip, the coppery taste of his blood forcing me to be more gentle than I wanted to be.

He growled, the sound vibrating up through his chest and in through my body. When he wrapped his arms around me tighter, I let him, it had been such a long time since I’d been kissed, really thoroughly kissed. And I wanted to savour every single moment of it.

Aidan broke the kiss first, his breathing ragged as he pressed his forehead to mine.

“Come home with me, Bella.”

I nodded, not trusting my voice to come out with the words I wanted. This was important and the last thing I wanted to do was mess it up by saying something stupid.

We managed to control ourselves all the way back to his apartment. I held his hand, the feel of his skin against mine, sating my urge to press my body to his, for now at least. Soon I would have that, I would have it all… Even if it would be only for one night.

Aidan and I had reached a fork in the road. I had to let him go, I had to let him find someone perfect for him but I wanted one more night with him. Just one last night of bliss. The dream of spending just one night in Aidan’s arms had been the only thing that had helped keep me going. The only thing I’d clung to through all the suffering, and now I had the chance to taste happiness one last time, I planned to take it.

I was probably being selfish. I knew that Aidan wouldn’t understand in the beginning. He wouldn’t get that I couldn’t be with him. Perhaps when he saw the scars and marks Christopher had left on me he would understand it. Maybe he would reject me? I pushed that thought aside as he pushed the key into the lock and the door swung inwards.

Aidan hesitated, his hand partly outstretched to me. I went to him, crushing my body against his. He sighed, all of the tension leaving his body as he swept me up in his arms. Our lips met in a fiery embrace. He kicked the door shut and hoisted my body up into his arms, carrying me through the apartment to the bedroom.

Instantly I was transported, back to that first time. The feel of his hands on my body, the way he nibbled along my lip. The way his body felt against mine.

He pushed me down onto the bed and moved up over me, his mouth never leaving mine. With his knee between my legs he let his fingers move down across my ribcage to the edge of the my silk top. The moment his fingers skimmed the edge of my skin, pressing against my stomach, I froze. This wasn’t anything like the first time. 

I pressed my hands against his chest as I broke the kiss.

“No, no, Aidan. I can’t…”

He rolled away from me instantly. I watched as he propped himself up on his arm and stared down at me. What was I supposed to say to him? I’d thought I could go through with it? Foolishly believed that I could simply expose myself to him, show him what Christopher had done to me and think nothing of it. But I couldn’t. I didn’t think I would ever be able to let him see the full extent of the damage. The brand on my hip tingled as though to prove how right I was to push him away. I was damaged goods broken.

“Hey, where do you go?”

His voice pulled me back to the present and I stared up at him. I couldn’t stop my eyes from filling with tears. He was so amazing, utterly perfect, deep down I’d known he hadn’t made a move on Sarah but it gave me the perfect excuse to push him away.