Joseph Fallen (The Estate Series) (12 page)

Chuckling, she answered, “Well, that was confusing and
insightful all at the same time.”
 
She nudged his chest with her shoulder before adding, “But I understand
what you are saying.”
 
In a softer
tone, she admitted, “Although I fear what he’s already become, if you are
correct in what you said, I’m even more afraid of how much farther he could
fall.”

Three months passed.
 
In that time, Joseph’s visits to Arianna grew more infrequent and there
had been full weeks when he’d not shown up in her wing. But on the nights when
he did appear, she’d learn to temper his violence by submitting without
complaint or a fight, to lie numbly beneath him until he finished or passed
out.
 
He was still intent on a
child, and she couldn’t fathom how, in all this time it hadn’t occurred.

 
Due to what
appeared to be a waning obsession with her, she wondered if he’d grown tired of
her, and she spent many hours thinking that, maybe, he’d have her killed, just
to be done with her.
 
The thought
horrified her - not because she feared for her own life, but rather, she feared
for Connor’s.
 
She knew that if the
attempt was made, or if they succeeded, he would die fighting for her.

Her friendship with Connor had grown far too close and it
was becoming apparent that they both looked to each other for more than just a
platonic bond. However, they never overstepped a line in their friendship,
until one fateful day…

“You should be careful jumping around on those rocks like
that.
 
The water is freezing and if
you slip…”

 
“You’re not
worried about me falling in because it’ll be cold for me…you just don’t want
have to jump in to save me.”
 
Her
head fell back allowing the sun to bathe her skin in its warmth.
 

Looking out at a beauty dressed in white, Connor
chuckled.
 
“Well, yeah, there is
that.
 
But seriously, please come
back over to the shore.”
 
He looked
up at the sky.
 
The sun shown
brilliantly down on the field, but its light was threatened by the blackened
clouds that also hung menacingly in the air.
 
“It looks like it could rain at any
time, I’d hate for you to be caught out there if the clouds suddenly released.”

She peeked up at him, the blue of her eyes glinted
beautifully within the sunlight and her golden hair cascaded around her
shoulders, moving like spun silk when she turned her head.
 
“If it’s that important to you,
fine.”
 
Jumping from one rock to
another she returned to shore, finally taking a seat at his side.

“I’ve missed coming out here.
 
I’m glad the winter has finally passed.
 
Being stuck in that place…
 
I don’t know what I would have done all
these months if it wasn’t for my music, or you.”

Quickly glancing in her direction, he smiled.
 
“At least it’s not as bad as it was
before.
 
He’s been preoccupied over
the past several weeks.
 
I’d be
lying to say it hasn’t been a relief.”

“That’s true, but, for the life of me, I can’t understand
why he keeps me.
  
I know he
still believes he loves me, and I wonder if on those nights that he does
return, if maybe the man he’d been before was closer to the surface than the
one he’s become.
 
It’s like there
are two people inside him, battling over control, over sovereignty of the body
they inhabit.”

A raindrop touched her nose and she looked up
instantly.
 
Before they could move to
react, the sky opened and rain fell so heavily, so suddenly, they could barely
see five feet in front of them.

“Fuck!”
 
Connor
cursed before grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the cave.
 
Once inside, Arianna laughed
delightedly, finding humor in something as simple as being caught in the
rain.
 
Wringing out her hair, she
looked down at her clothes and noticed that the light, airy material had glued
itself to her skin, hiding nothing of her form.
 
She was immediately embarrassed and
looked up to find the green of Connor’s eyes locked to her body, the heat of
his stare absolute in its intensity.

Neither spoke, and, like magnets, they moved towards each
other, hopelessly drawn together without thought or hesitation; but when their
faces were inches apart, Connor leaned down and softly brushed his mouth
against hers.
 
She knew she should
push him away, that she should turn away and prevent a mistake that would
surely happen in this moment.
 
But
she couldn’t and when the heat of his lips pressed deliciously against her, she
parted her lips to allow him deeper.
 
His tongue swept out, filling her mouth with his scent, his taste.
 
Her knees weakened beneath her and his
hand came around to brush across her back and hold her steady while his other
traveled up the side of her torso, barely brushing across the side of her
breast.
 

Just as suddenly as they’d begun, she forced herself to pull
away. Her body trembled and her mind swam with the intensity of an emotion
she’d not felt for a long time.

She looked up into Connor’s face and saw that his brow
furrowed and his eyes clenched tightly together.
 
She could tell by his expression that he
fought the same internal battle against his sudden desire.
 
Bringing her hands up to the hard planes
of his chest, she pushed away from him; fear coating her stomach at what would
occur if she allowed what was developing between them to happen.

They stood motionless, facing each other silently while
their chests heaved and their hearts pounded loudly within their bodies.
 
The tension between them was suffocating
and Arianna’s skin tingled in anticipation of a touch she didn’t want to crave
as much as she did.

“Arianna – I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have…”

She put her hand up to silence him.
 
“We can’t.”
 
Defeated, she breathed out, sadness
saturating every cell of her body.

“I know.”
 
His
expression looked pain as he stared down at her.
 
The only sound that could be heard was
the pounding of rain outside of the cave and every few minutes thunder rolled
along the skies just before lightening provided flash illumination to his
features.
 
Arianna’s eyes looked
over his body, noticing how his wet shirt clung to every muscle that rippled
along his chest and arms.
 
She
longed to reach out and remove the shirt, to run her hands along what she imagined
would be smooth skin stretched taut across his body.
 
Losing her control, losing sight of the
nightmare in which she lived, she stepped towards him.
 
She didn’t care, couldn’t fight, and
eventually found herself so close to him, she had to crane her neck just to
peer up into the beauty of his face.

“I’m a married woman, Connor…”

“The man you married no longer exists.”
 
It was a plea, one she could hear
desperation and longing dripping from as it was spoken.

Her eyes searched his, the words he’d just spoken ringing
truthfully in her ears.
 
He was
correct, but incorrect at the same time.
 
The Joseph she’d met and married, no longer existed, he was correct
about that; however, the monster that replaced him, the one who kept a hold on
her despite whether he truly loved her or not, that Joseph was more terrifying,
more of a threat than the person he’d formally been.

Connor stepped away from her, his eyes traveling over her
face, deep longing lighting his eyes despite the shadows that covered them in
the cave where he stood.
 
His voice
was quiet, reserved, when he spoke again.
 
“Just tell me this, Arianna, tell me I’m not crazy for thinking that if
circumstances were different, if fate had been more kind in the way that it
brought us together, that there could have been something…something good…”

Her heart skipped as she listened to him babble on.
 
He appeared lost to what he was trying
to say, as if speaking the words aloud made them more impossible to be true
than they had when they’d been locked within his mind.

“…I never had much of anything growing up, just bad luck and
people who could care less about me.
 
It wasn’t until I started fighting that I held any value for
someone.
 
And a woman like you, one
who exudes beauty in everything she does – the way you walk, your music,
the way your eyes sparkle when you laugh – you were never the type I had
any chance of finding.
 
I know that
if hell exists on Earth, we are trapped within it, but I’m amazed every day that
somehow, within these walls that close in around us, and under the roof of a
madman, you still find the ability to exude that beauty, a light that is strong
enough to pierce the ever encroaching darkness, one that banishes the hollow
and empty feelings of loss that come with living inside of a waking nightmare.”

Trembling, she brought her hand to his cheek.
 
Her eyes glistened with unshed tears and
her mind struggled to wrap itself around what he was attempting to say.
 
Her instincts screamed for her to resist
his temptation, yet her heart and body wanted nothing more than to give in to
the moment, despite what could happen as a result.

She didn’t respond, having lost the ability to speak around
the lump that settled fully in her throat from the emotions she struggled
desperately to swallow.
 
Finally, after
losing herself to the battle she fought with herself, she answered, “I want to
thank you, for everything you’ve done or try to do for me.
 
I know you risk yourself daily bringing
me down here, helping me escape if only for a few hours a day…”

Resting a single finger against her lips, he silenced
her.
 
A smile touched his lips and
dimples that gave him a look of boyish innocence peeked out beneath the stubble
on his cheeks.
 
“Don’t thank
me.
 
I’m a selfish man.
 
When I bring you out here, it’s partly
for you – but mostly, it’s just an opportunity for me to get you alone,
to pretend that our lives are different, that you’d married me instead of a man
not worthy of even your passing glance.”

Without another word, he bent down, wrapping his large hand
around her head and pulling her into a kiss that was so full of emotion, her
knees finally gave out.
 
He caught
her around her back, deepening the kiss while laying her down on the ground of
the cave.
 
She didn’t resist, didn’t
put up one bit of a fight against him.
 
Violently, her body responded to his touch, heat flaring along her skin
where his fingers trailed her body.
 
Rain fell in curtains outside the mouth of the cave, as if nature itself
wanted them to have this one beautiful moment without fear of being caught.
 
Thunder continued to vibrate across the
skies, and lightening illuminated the cave, casting erotic shadows on Connor’s
large form when he pushed himself up to remove the sodden shirt that covered
his body.
 
Her eyes widening, she
watched the muscles of his shoulders and chest move beneath his tanned skin,
highlighting the virility of the man undressing before her.
 
Electric sparks tingling across her
skin, her body warmed, readied itself for whatever he planned to do to
her.
 
It was an intoxicating
feeling, an illicit affair that she’d never dreamed of before, but didn’t think
she could live without from that moment forward.

His hands grasped the hem of her skirt at her hips, pulling
away the material, his heated gaze traveling along her skin that was slowly
revealed to him.
 
She sat up and
allowed him to remove her shirt, and when her breasts were freed, the warmth of
his hands instantly grasped around their weight, a moan escaping her throat at
the way his touch sent waves of pleasure rolling through her body.
 
When his mouth found the pebbled tip of
her breast, his tongue flicked out as he took it deeper into his mouth,
suckling softly and igniting sparks within her core.
 
She became lost to his movements, the
feel of his hands against her skin, the heat of his tongue moving across her
body.
 
Her back arched up, her head,
hips and feet, the only parts of her left touching the floor where she laid
helpless to his desire – his need.
 

Keeping his hands firmly gripped over her breasts, his
fingers pinching and pulling at the hardened peaks, his mouth traveled up her
body, licking along the delicate skin of her shoulder and neck, until settling
on the sensitive lobe of her ear.
 
His breath rolled along her skin when he said, “You are so fucking
beautiful, I want to take you agonizingly slow, to bathe every inch of your
body in my touch, my kiss.”

She turned her head to face him, but her eyes closed when
his mouth fell on hers, the force of his kiss causing her to feel drunk, yet
alive.
 
Her hands smoothed up the
hard contours of his back until her fingers found and tangled themselves within
the silken strands of his hair.
 
Tugging slightly, she felt a growl that emanated from the depths of his
chest, the vibration along her skin evoking a natural instinct to be dominated
and overtaken by such a feral man.
 
Breaking the kiss, his hands and mouth worked their way down her body,
her head falling back as his lips traveled along her stomach. Finally, he found
the band of her panties and pulled them down and along her legs, until she was
freed completely of her clothes.