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Fighting his hands and weight, he forces my face down into the towel and then suddenly he lets go of me. I open my eyes to see his mouth wide and gasping for breath as hands choke him into a strained stand. “I thought I told you to stay away from her.” Sean’s powerfully directed words singe Kevin’s face as he pleads with the hands controlling his life. “Do you know what I could fucking do to you right now?” Kevin nods before landing on the ground choking on the air he swallows back into his lungs. In awe of my rescue, I watch dumbstruck while Sean leans down to me and looks me over with tender hands. “I didn’t mess up saving you this time did I?” I shake my head with an emerging smile.

Kevin stands abruptly and kicks Sean in the back and then repeatedly in the side. “Stop, you’re hurting him!” I yelled jerking at Kevin’s arm.

“Ava, get back I’m fine,” Sean said holding his ribs but getting up strong. Kevin knocks me backwards, watching Sean motion for him to come at him again. With a laugh, he runs towards Sean - and his fists, falling to the ground with a heavy thud. Rubbing his bleeding face, Kevin gets up staggering but ready to square off with Sean once again. “You don’t want to fight me dumbass.” Kevin still staggering begins circling away as Sean takes my hand and carefully maneuvers me out of the way with his muscles flexing and jaw tensed.

“Wow! Are you really concerned about her? I don’t understand you at all Sean, you can have any girl you want, you can’t possibly be this angry over one. That pussy must be good.” Kevin barely gets a full sarcastic chuckle out before he is on his back and seeming shocked at the fervent rage that is cursing his body. The beating is hard to listen to but even harder to watch.

“Are you understanding me now, you disgusting fuck?”

“Sean stop!” I screamed.

“Sean let him go! You’re going to kill him!” From out of nowhere, Demerae rushes to Sean and drags him away from Kevin’s bloodied and swollen body.

Alizabeth runs in with Paul - mouths wide open, “what the hell is going on?”

“Alizabeth call Dad and get this stupid ass out of here,” Demerae demanded.

“Sure thing,” Al agreed as he takes in the sight fully, helping Kevin up and pushing him back towards the path.

“Wait, I have to get my clothes,” Kevin said scrambling to pick up his scattered clothing.

“I wouldn’t fucking worry about your damn clothes. Get the hell out of here!” Demerae screamed, using his entire body against Sean’s chest.

“I am getting my shoes and shorts at least, I can’t ride that machine without them,” Kevin leans down near me grabbing his shoes and causing a stir when he makes a cynical attempt to kiss me good-bye. Sean immediately edges forward sending all three boys at him. “Keep him away from me!” Kevin yells leaping back on his heels.

“Fuck!” Demerae tenses fighting Sean and his fisted hands back. “Keep him away? You are a seriously special kind of stupid. I should let him go so he can put you out of your damn misery. Get the fuck out of here already!” Kevin limps back to the path with Al and Paul following shortly after. Demerae slowly lets Sean go and steps away with a long exhale. “I am going to follow them. I know he had it coming but you need to let it go now,” he said focusing on Sean with eyebrows raised, waiting for his acceptance. “My Dad will deal with him, trust me.” Sean nods, slowly relaxing his fists. Demerae sighing, rubs his head with his hands. “You stay here and look after your girl, she’s still shaking like a leaf,” he said gesturing towards me. “Give me a few minutes to get him restrained and to my Dad, then you can take her home. Enjoy the water for a little while and calm down.” Demerae with his hands on his hips exhales once more before making his way back up the path.

It is silent, as I hold my breath waiting for Sean to look at me. I watch him closely as his eyes slowly meet mine. Without thinking I run into his arms. “Stop crying, everything is going to be fine now.” Holding tight to him, I wipe the trickle of blood from his mouth and smile warmly up at him. “Does this mean you have forgiven me?”

“Should I?”

“Yes. I nearly died trying to get to you. I cannot control those damn three-wheelers well at all in a rush. I think I ran into every tree and thorny plant alive. I almost fell off at the turn,” he shakes his head laughing at himself. “You would have laughed hysterically at my clumsiness, it was terrible.” I realize what he has done for me and so for the first time in a long time, I take control of a man, by pressing my lips to his and caressing them as appreciatively as I can manage. I wouldn’t be surprised if he pushes me away but instead he is pulling me closer, holding my head close to his. Feeling his heart beat rapidly against mine, I am sure I can move but I am not sure I want to. I can’t remember the last time I was held like this and didn’t want to run away. “Can I swim with you?” He asked with gentle kisses and soft touches. I nod and enjoy watching him remove his clothing piece by piece until only his simple fitting designer boxers remain, quite a contrast compared to Kevin’s prepackaged baggy ones. Entranced by the cut of his body, I am barely able to realize his hand stretched out to me, the smoothness of his skin and especially his perfectly structured hipbones setting just above the seam of his boxers. “Are you coming beautiful?” Taking me by the hand, he leads me into the water, wrapping one arm around my waist and picking me up into his arms effortlessly. My body curls around his as if it is made to do nothing but. I press my head against his while we float in the water, kissing and caressing and finding peace within each other’s eyes and soft smiles. Running my hands over his body, pushing away each droplet of water down and off his skin stirring up a heat within me that is becoming too hard to control, little by little I let go even more. “Ava, sweetheart this is starting to go in a direction that I don’t think you want it to. Why don’t we take a break before we both get carried away?” Before I can respond he sits me down with a heavy sigh. He dives forcefully into the water, his back muscles flexing concurrently with his arms.

Even with the break, I can’t let go of my renewed joy. Letting my fingers rake through the water and my body sway to a favorite song in my head, I move further and further towards the beach. Stopping short of the edge and letting my toes sink during the drifting tide until a soft sigh releases behind me. “How long have you been there?”

Stroking his hands over his head, pushing the remaining water out of his hair and down his back, “miss me?” He asked winking at me as he passes to go lie down on my towel.

“That’s my towel you know and you didn’t answer me.”

“I can’t hear a word you are saying,” he yelled stretching out.

Dripping on his body with crossed arms, I start to speak when he opens his eyes smiling his assured smile at me. “That’s my towel, you know?”

“I’m sorry did you want to lay here?”

“You knew that’s where I was headed.”

“I didn’t actually but I am sure we both can fit,” he said motioning to his side. Uncrossing my arms, I lie down beside him stiff and uncomfortable until the feeling of his fingers trailing down my stomach causes a rugged breath to be released from my lips. “Does this bother you?”

“No, I’m fine.”
Breathe.

His fingers move in caressing patterns up to my breasts, finding the wooden tassels that hang between them and playfully fumbling with them between his fingers while allowing one finger to trail along my skin. “These are incredible,” he said meeting my eyes briefly. “Yes, I really … really like these,” he moaned stroking with more purpose.

Breathe Ava
. “Yes I think the wooden tassels add a nice accent to the turquoise color of the suit.” I mumbled.
Oh my God
,
I am so lame.

With a light chuckle he leans down to my ear, nudging the edge, “I wasn’t talking about the damn wooden tassels, Ava.”

Gasping.
“Sean …” His lips meet mine, cradling them to his mouth.

“Thanks for the dance by the way but next time wait for me, I like dancing with you.” A single moan escapes my mouth as he leans down kissing the water off my skin from between my breasts. I pull his face back up to mine taking in his succulent lips while his strong hands continue to explore me. Grazing my nipple he waits to see if I will protest but I take him in closer. Kissing him deeply, I enjoy his soft groans as he palms my breasts completely, massaging each one after the other while he carefully repositions between my legs.

His hands squeezing and at times searching just under the edges of my top, I begin to feel those once lost desiring feelings again. “You are driving me crazy.”

“Am I?” He said with great satisfaction. “Do you think you can handle going a little further?” I nod and he releases his arm pushing down on me slowly, letting me feel him between the two pieces of thin fabric that separate us and causing me to gasp sharply. “Ava?”

“I’m fine,” I said torn between extreme pleasure and intense fear.

“No, you’re not,” Sean moves away from me quickly.

Grabbing a hold of him, I try to bring him back. “Sean I am.”

“Ava, if we go on much longer I am going to strip you naked and take you right here and I know you’re not ready for that.” He gives me a stern look to let me know he isn’t arguing about it and lies back on his arms, his erection standing proudly. The presence is hard to ignore and my curious wandering eyes find it even harder to overlook. Sean begins laughing, “are you checking me out?”

I look back at him in shock. “No!”

Mocking my shocked expression, “yes you are,” he said sitting up next to me so I cannot ignore his cocky attitude. “I guess it’s only fair since I have been doing the same to you.”

“You have?” He nods with a smile, dragging me in front of him and leaning me back against his chest.

He sighs resting against me. “See this is much better. By the way, where did you get this bikini?”

“It’s Brianna’s, it is a bit too small. It’s bad huh?”

“Bad? No. It is ummm … something though, not much of something but certainly something I’m glad I got to see.”

“Well I didn’t have much of a choice and I assumed I would be out here alone, not …”

“Not out here starting a riot?” He laughs softly in my ear.

“No, that was not my intent.” I laugh, while being held securely and safely in his arms.

“How is it that I can hold you like this, if no other man can?”

“I think I know but I am not sure if I want to tell you,” I said running my fingers between his. “It’s embarrassing but especially after you accused me of being a groupie.”

“I didn’t mean that and I wouldn’t think that now, so tell me … please.”

“Well the night when you pulled me out of the way of those girls,” I pause catching his eyes as they watch me closely. “That moment with you, something sparked in me and I don’t know what it was exactly but it was such an incredibly, wonderful feeling, that I held onto it, hoping that I would see you again someday. I held onto it even tighter while he held me captive in that dark room.”

“He kidnapped you?”

I nod nervously. “He stalked me until he got his chance to take me. I woke up in that dark room for nine days and all I had was that moment with you to hold onto, that … feeling … is what gave me the strength not to give up.”

Sean clears his throat with a harsh struggle and leans his head against mine. “How did he … how … I don’t know what I am trying to ask you. I don’t want you to tell me more than you are comfortable doing but I can’t help be curious.”

“You want me to tell you everything?”

“It’s none of my business.”

Holding tight to his hands, “he first took notice of me when I was going to Columbia and when I got my first job he managed to get a job in security for my building. So, he saw me every day and I barely noticed him. I didn’t even realize that he had worked at my school too until the trial. He followed me all the time, he knew where I lived, he knew who I went out with and when. When he could buy a place far enough out of the way, he thought he could convince me to move there with him so we could make a life together without interruption. But once he found out that I was moving away he became desperate and one night when he was following me, he offered me a ride home. It was raining horribly and it was late and I was already so upset after I broke up with my then boss that I wasn’t thinking about anything other than getting home.” My hands begin to tremble until Sean takes hold of them.

“You don’t have to tell me anymore.”

“I can’t believe how stupid I was to get into his car, to trust someone I barely knew just because I saw him every day and knew where he worked.”

“Most people would have done the same.” Shaking my head, he whispers reassurances in my ear.

“He drugged me Sean.” I feel the tenseness in his arms and without even realizing I continue releasing the pain from my shoulders and on to his. “I woke up tied to a bed in a pitch-black room and for a while he left me alone, mostly, he would bring me food and tell me how happy we were going to be together. Every day he would tell me that I was going to love him and appreciate what he was doing for me. I got so tired of hearing it that one day I got angry and threw my food at him and screamed at him that I would never love him, that I hated everything about him.” Breathing in deeply, “and then he went crazy. Punching me and hitting me with his gun, all the while screaming at me until I was too weak to fight him anymore and that’s when he decided he wanted more. He pushed me down, cut my clothes off me with a pocketknife. I screamed and screamed, begging him to stop but he had this perfect image in his head and thought we were having this beautiful time together. He held me in place while he …” Closing my eyes I grip Sean’s hands and feel his lips against my head. “It happened again and again, or whenever he felt righted to do so.” Sitting up and looking into his eyes, “I remember thinking of you and drifting as far away as I could in my thoughts until I heard his pocketknife drop out of his pocket, he didn’t hear it. He left me in the dark all the time so whenever he would come in, the light behind him would blind me. After so many days, I had become aware of the sounds around me. As soon as he left me, I searched through the dark for it and when I found it, I cut myself free. I am not sure how many times I cut myself until I found a 2x4, four of them holding up my tiny bed in the frame. I took one and waited by the door for hours and hours. When he finally came in the door, he opened it shielding me from the direct light and for one brief second, I could see him - perfectly. Once he fell, I ran - blind. It had to be the brightest morning ever. I stumbled around finding a coat and when I put it on to cover myself I found his keys and cell phone within the pockets. I did the best I could to feel the keypad and figure out the numbers, dialing carefully 911 only problem was I didn’t have any clue where he had taken me. Spencer was screaming and banging trying to knock that door down so I felt my way outside and to his car. Somehow, I drove trying to recognize what felt like a road and what didn’t, managing to get down the road far enough that a cop happened to see me. He thought I was drunk.”