Next to Always: Shattered Innocence Trilogy Book Two (23 page)

“You want to know? Okay, I’ll tell you,” she screamed. “Every inch of my being is consumed by thoughts of you. I can’t go one day without thinking about you. So you want to know what’s wrong… I’m falling in love with you, and I'm so afraid you’re going to leave and take my heart with you and leave me empty and alone. Just like Michael did.” Dylan pulled her arms from his grasp, turning away from him.

Rade just stood there and watched as she left the bathroom. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. How could she love him when he was incapable of loving her back? He knew he should just let her go. He just couldn’t. He didn’t know what he felt for her. He just knew he needed her. Wanted her. Taking a towel, he wrapped it around his waist and went after her.

Dylan was sitting on the bed putting on her clothes. The same clothes she arrived in. Sitting beside her, Rade pulled her onto his lap and held on to her. He couldn’t tell her what she wanted to hear, so he just held her.

Kissing the top of her head, he knew he needed to say something. “Don’t leave, Dylan. I need you near me.”

Dylan looked up at him, still showing signs of her emotions. “You still want me to stay?” she asked, confused.

“Of course I want you to stay,” Rade said softly. “I’ve never wanted anything more in my life.”

Rade helped Dylan remove her clothing. He pulled the covers back from the bed and waited for her to climb in. Removing his towel, he climbed in behind her and brought her body close to his. His mind began to wander as he gently rubbed his hand up and down her arm. There were so many things about this woman that changed his life. She was only supposed to be his means to get to his money back. But now she was the only means to fulfill his desires. He knew once all this shit happening was behind him, he would never be able to let her go.

*****

Rade’s restless night caused him to sleep longer than he wanted. It was the smell of coffee that woke him from his slumber. It was Sunday and he knew the servants had the day off. So his only conclusion was that Dylan made the coffee. Pushing himself from the bed, he walked to the bathroom to relieve himself. Washing his hands and brushing his teeth, he quickly grabbed his robe hanging on the back of the door.

Once he got to the kitchen, other aromas filled the area. He smelled bacon, eggs, peppers, onions, and a mixture of other scents he couldn’t describe. But nothing filled his senses more than seeing Dylan’s nearly bare ass as she bent over the oven to pull out a glass dish of what looked to be quiche. She was only wearing his button down shirt. He could get used to seeing her like this every morning. Maybe he should tear every pair of panties that she owned. Either that or insist she not wear them in the morning.

Dylan turned and jumped when she saw Rade standing at the granite counter with a huge smile on his face. “Jesus Christ, Rade, you scared me," she said with her hand placed across her heart

“Sorry, I thought you heard me,” Rade said, walking towards her.

Dylan placed the dish on the stove and turned off the oven. “Are you ready to eat?”

Rade was ready to eat all right. Only it wasn’t food that he wanted. Lifting her by the hips, he placed her bare ass on the cold granite counter top. She hissed as her skin hit the cold surface. Ignoring her discomfort, Rade slowly lifted his shirt from her body. It was so big on her that there was no need to undo the buttons. He liked that too. When he had her fully naked, he began caressing her body. Starting with her breasts, he took each one in his hand and began tweaking her perfectly round nipples. Dylan placed her hands on the counter, arching her back slightly to give Rade better access to her breasts. His touch was warm and soft as he kneaded the firm flesh between his fingers. Pinching her nipples between his fingers, he heard her soft whimper. One day he would need to again use the nipple clamps he bought for her. He loved the way they looked with the jeweled clamps fastened to her reddened peaks.

Rade kept his gaze on her eyes. He wanted to see her face as she experienced the pleasure he was giving her. Removing his hand, he quickly untied the string from his pants and lowered them down his hips until they came to a stop at his ankles. Taking hold of Dylan’s hips, he scooted her closer to the edge of the counter so he could have better access to her pussy. Rade took his cock in his hand, stroking it a few times before he plunged it inside her wet channel. She felt so good in this position. She was so wet and tight for him. Pushing her back so her back was flat against the counter, he slipped his hand down her body until he reached her special spot. Rubbing her clit, he watched her enjoy his play. “Eyes on me, Sweetness,” he said as her eyes slowly opened and began focusing on him. Gliding his hand lower, he dipped his finger inside her next to his cock, coating it with her milky nectar. With his cock inside her and his middle finger, she was even tighter. Taking his coated finger from her cunt, he placed it on her lips. “Open for me, Sweetness,” Dylan did as he asked and opened her mouth. Rade stuck his finger inside. He felt her lips wrap around it. Her tongue was flat against his finger as he felt the pull from her lips. Rade began moving his finger in and out of her mouth, his motions copying the movement of his cock sliding in and out of her channel.

Dylan was close. She could feel the tingle between her legs increase. It was so erotic the way Rade commanded she suck his finger. She loved every minute of it. With a loud pop, Rade removed his finger from her mouth and grabbed hold of Dylan’s hips. He needed to be deep inside her. Removing one hand from her hip, he grasped the back of her neck, pulling her body close to his. Holding on to her thick red hair, he thrust deeper inside her. Dylan could feel Rade’s cock hit her cervix as he plunged deeper and deeper inside. It was like nothing she ever felt before with him. Her orgasm came with such force that she saw small lights flickering under her lids. Her body slumped against his. Rade was close too. He increased his movements until he felt his explosion. Holding her near, Rade gently kissed Dylan on the lips. He could feel her tiny breaths as he edged his tongue inside her mouth. His control spiraled as their tongues lightly cavorted together. Pulling her even closer, he deepened the kiss, exploring every inch of her warm mouth.

When they were finally able to break, Dylan looked at Rade. She could see the affection he had towards her. It may not have been love he was exhibiting, but it was definitely something deep he felt for her. Their contract somehow became awkward by Rade’s sudden withdrawal. Dylan hopped down from the counter, not missing the discomfort Rade was having. Not wanting to make it more uncomfortable for him, she grabbed his shirt and slipped it over her head. Unable to face him she asked, “How about breakfast?”

Rade wasn’t really very hungry with everything he had on his mind. Not wanting to hurt her feelings after she went out of her way to cook for him, he simply said, “Sure thing, Sweetness.”

Breakfast was silent. Dylan tried to make eye contact with Rade, but he never removed his eyes from his plate. So they continued to eat in silence. Dylan finished first. Standing, she took her plate to the sink. When she turned to face Rade, she looked at his plate, only to see he had barely touched his food. Walking up to him, she said, “I guess you don’t like my cooking.” Knowing that he was finished, she grabbed his plate and walked back to the sink. Rade didn’t move from his spot, even as she rinsed and loaded the dishwasher with their plates. She wasn’t sure what was going on with him, but she needed to know.

“Rade, you seem miles away. Did I do something wrong?” Dylan asked, not sure what answer, if any, she would get.

Rade looked the other way as he answered. “I’m fine, Dylan. Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

She wasn’t sure where that came from, but she wasn’t going to spend another minute with him while he was in his poor-pitiful-me mood. “I need to get back to my apartment. I have work tomorrow.”

Dylan was about to walk away when Rade grabbed her hand. Looking down at him, she waited for him to say something, or at least try to stop her. There was nothing. He released her hand and watched her walk away. He had no words for her, at least not the words she wanted to hear.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Dylan was glad to be home in her own space. The trip back, which normally took about two hours, took four hours due to an accident on I-495. She had been away for only a few days, but with the amount of mail that was waiting in her mailbox, you would have thought she was gone for two weeks. She was thankful that there was a trash can next to the row of mailboxes to discard any unwanted mail. Everything she looked at was junk. By the time she went through everything, she only had a few pieces of mail that were of importance to her. Most of them were bills, but the one that caught her eye was a letter. It actually looked more like an invitation. Dylan could see that it had her forwarding address sticker attached. She flipped the envelope over and ran her finger under the seal.

When Dylan opened the card, she was correct, it was an invitation.
Riley’s
was having a grand opening. She knew Evan had done some extensive remodeling to the place, so it was only fitting that he would be having a grand opening. It was to take place this coming Saturday. Dylan knew she didn’t have any plans. She would love to see the work he put into the place. She also thought Lilly would want to go with her. Stepping on the elevator, she tried calling Lilly to see what her Saturday looked like. She should have known better than try to call her friend; there was no reception in the elevator. She needed to wait until she got to her apartment.

Walking inside her apartment, her reception returned. Finding Lilly’s number under her favorites, she hit the send button and waited for Lilly to answer.

“Hey, girlfriend,” Lilly said.

“Hey back to you,” Dylan giggled.

“What’s up?” Lilly asked.

“Do you remember Evan? He owns
Riley’s Pub and Grill
,” Dylan asked.

“Kind of. Why?” Lilly inquired.

“Well, he’s having a grand opening on Saturday and he invited me to attend. I wanted to know if you could go with me.” Dylan hoped her friend didn’t have any plans.

“Yeah, I think I can make that happen. Let me look at my calendar.” There was a pause as Dylan waited for Lilly. “All free, what time?”

“You are so not funny, Lilly. Calendar my foot,” Dylan commented. “It starts at nine. We can get ready here if you want.”

“You got it. Gotta run. I’ll be at your apartment around six,” Lilly confirmed.

It had been a while since Dylan had gone out with her BFF. She was looking forward to having fun again. Since it was only two o’clock, Dylan decided to get a head start for tomorrow. She knew she had a busy day ahead of her. She booted up her laptop and her work email through the company website. Just by looking at her emails, she was glad she took the time to get a jump on her workload. There were several requests from Keeve and Mason regarding the Spectrum account. It would take some research on her part. Since it was still early, she decided to tackle that first.

Dylan was so consumed by her research, she couldn’t believe the time when she looked up from her computer. It was already six o’clock. Somehow she managed to miss lunch. It was no surprise that her stomach was yelling,
“Feed me.”
Wanting to finish what she started, she didn’t want to stop and cook something for herself. She used the easiest and fastest way to get food. She ordered it online. When her order was placed, she went back to her research. Another hour passed when she heard a knock at her door. Standing, she walked to the door. It was her order of wings and a small pizza. She grabbed her glass of wine and refilled it before settling back at her computer with her food.

It was close to eleven o’clock before Dylan quit. Even though she got quite a bit of work done, she could feel her need for sleep. Shutting down her computer, she headed to her room, stripped off her clothing, and snuggled under her covers.

Dylan was suddenly pulled from her sleep at the sound of glass breaking. At first she thought it was coming from the hallway, but then she heard a male’s voice. She didn’t have anything to fight him off with and she left her phone on the coffee table, so she couldn’t call for help. Carefully slipping out of her bed, she went to her closet and grabbed the highest and thinnest stilettos she owned. Opening her door as quietly as she could, she tiptoed down the hall. She made sure her body was nuzzled up against the wall. When she got to the living area, she could see the shadow of her intruder. He was taller than her, and bigger. She knew she wouldn’t be able to fight him off. She stood in place for a moment to figure out her next move. That was when she decided to get on her hands and knees. Her only hope was that he wouldn’t be looking for anyone on the ground and she could at least get the heel of her stiletto in his leg. Hopefully this would give her enough time to grab her phone and call for help.

As she crept up to him, Dylan could see he had his back to her. When she was close enough, she took her shoe and with all her strength she stabbed in his thigh. “Fucking hell,” the intruder yelled. Her plan didn’t work like she wanted, because before she knew it, he turned and was coming for her. Dylan stood as quickly as she could and grabbed her phone from the table. Even though she couldn’t see his face from the light that shone through her window, she was able to see her phone. Before she could get away, he had his hands stretched around her neck from behind.
Why does this keep happening to me?
Dylan tried everything she could to fight him off. He was too strong for her. Barely able to breathe from his tight grip around her neck, she could feel herself slipping. Just when she was about to lose hope that she would survive, the pressure around her neck was released. She heard a loud thud. When she turned around to see what was happening, she saw the man lying lifelessly face down on the floor. Looking up, there was another man standing over him. The light was hitting him just right to be able to see him, but Dylan couldn’t believe who she was seeing before her. “Michael,” she said in disbelief before her body went limp and fell to the floor.