Stolen Fate (27 page)

But I try anyway.

“Adam, where are you taking me?” I ask in a soft tone. I don’t want to alarm him any more than he already is, making my situation that much more dire.

He turns around to face me for the briefest of moments, settling on my face. “I’m going to pay you back for destroying my family.” I remain quiet, not wanting to make things worse right now. “You thought nothing of shamelessly flirting with my father, tempting him with your body. And because of you,” he moves in closer, the alcohol on his breath overwhelming, “my mother kicked him out. And to make matters worse, she started drinking, all the time, just to dull the pain. I couldn’t do anything right. I couldn’t comfort her. I couldn’t even reach her. And because of you….she killed herself.” He stops talking abruptly and starts pulling me through the dimly-lit parking lot.

I don’t realize how off his rocker he is until his last statement.
He blames me for his mother’s suicide?

This is not going to end well for me. Not at all.

If I allow him to put me in a car and take me away from here, the chances of my survival are slim. So I decide that right now, despite my growing fear, I have to start to fight back. I dig my heels in and try to jerk my arm from his tight hold, causing him to stumble back a few steps.

What is it they always tell you? Try and humanize yourself in the face of your captor? Well, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. “Adam, I was only a kid when all that happened. And I know there has to be some part of you which realizes that what happened was not my fault. Your father attacked me in the hallway. And you saw it but chose not to help me, a defenseless fifteen-year-old girl.”

Okay, maybe putting the blame back on him isn’t the right way to go. 
But I can’t help myself. The more he forces me to relive my past, the angrier I become. Yes, I’m scared. Out of my mind. But my anger is helping to dispel some of that fear.

He stands there facing me but looks as if he’s staring right through me, as if he isn’t present in his own reality. The look on his face is zoned-out, which causes my breath to catch in my throat.

I can’t reach him. He’s not here.

He grips my wrist and drags me behind him, kicking and screaming the whole way. There is no one around to save me. My thoughts instantly go to Drayden.
He doesn’t even know where I am. He’ll never in a million years guess at what happened to me.

My heart is breaking all over again for the man I love.

Once we reach Adam’s car, he pops the trunk and tries to force me inside. I know it’s now or never. I can’t let him take me. And as if fate is stepping in to help me, there is a noise behind us. It’s slight, but it’s enough to pull his attention so when he turns his head to look, I bring up my free hand and punch him as hard as I can. His face turns from my force, but it does nothing except incite his fury.

He pulls me close, so close his nasty lips are but a whisper above mine. “There is nothing you can do now, Essie. I
will
have my revenge.”

“You’re insane.”

“Maybe, but does it really matter now?” He’s still fighting for me to get into his car. And his need for it intensifies as the sounds we heard moments earlier get closer.

And clearer.

I can hear someone calling my name and at first, I’m confused. But the closer this person gets, the clearer the voice sounds to me.

To the both of us.

Drayden’s voice rings out among the stillness of the night.

I turn my head and see he’s running toward us. There are people behind him, but it’s still too dark for me to see who it is. But I don’t care. The only person I focus on is Drayden.

And that’s my fault.

Because I don’t even see it coming.

The last thing I remember is falling forward, toward my inevitable demise.

~~~~

The blackness which enveloped me is starting to dissipate, rousing me from the darkness. My hand instantly flies to my temple and when I pull my fingers away, I feel wetness. It’s blood. I’m so confused I don’t even realize I’m lying on the ground, people crowded all around me. And as I open my eyes further, I see flashing lights in the not-so-far-off distance.

Then I hear his voice, and it instantly calms me. “Essie, oh, my God. Are you okay, baby?” Drayden’s tone is anguished. He’s clearly very worried about me, but the anger in his tone cannot be tamped down. “Can you hear me, sweetheart?” His strong arms envelop me and I’m being raised from the cold, hard surface.

“Sir, please don’t touch her. We haven’t had a chance to look her over,” an unfamiliar voice rings out.

“Then you better get your Goddamn ass over here. Now!” Drayden roars, and I have to smile. I know his protective nature is coming out full-force and it makes me feel much safer, a feeling I’m desperately clinging to right now.

Then, all of a sudden, everything comes rushing back to me and I start to panic. Darting my eyes all over the place, looking for
him
, my breathing rapidly increases, my heart pounding ferociously against my chest. “Dray!” I cry out. “Where’s Adam?”

I try to get up, but I’m held down by more than one set of hands. The unfamiliar voice from moments ago is actually one of the paramedics. He’s looking me over quickly before helping me to my feet so he can do a more thorough job.

“Be careful with her,” Drayden calls out.

The paramedic doesn’t even indulge in his foul mood, knowing enough about him already not to engage him in a back and forth about me.

Smart man.

I shuffle the few feet until I’m sitting in the back of the ambulance. My head really hurts but other than that, I feel fine. After about twenty minutes, I’m cleared to go home, but only with the strict instructions that I’m to be looked after for the next twenty-four hours. Very closely. And if anything is alarming at all, I’m to be rushed to the hospital.

Before we leave, Dela, Bridgette, Dex, Cal and Eli come rushing over to see how I’m doing. Drayden doesn’t let them get too close to me, though, ever concerned about my well-being. I try to protest, but he gives me one of his
don’t even think about it
looks. And I don’t. Because truth be told, I’m exhausted and in no mood to argue, especially not over something like this.

We are on our way home when I realize he never answered my question from before. So, very carefully, more for the throbbing in my temple than for his mood, I turn in my seat and face him. “Where is Adam?” I ask quietly.

His fingers instantly tighten on the wheel, turning white from his grip. I see him take in a few deep breaths before opening his mouth. “The cops arrested him. And lucky for that fucker they got there when they did, because I was about to end him.”

Then I notice something I didn’t see before. There’s blood splattered on his shirt, which causes me to instantly touch him. “Oh, my God! Are you hurt?” My fingers are trying to find the cause of the blood, but I can’t feel anything. He snatches my hands away quickly and puts them forcefully, but gently, back into my lap.

“It’s not my blood. I’m fine.” He stares ahead, the silence killing me slowly. But I much rather the silence than the question he asks me next. “Who was Adam to you, Essie?”

My breath catches in my throat and I’m instantly rendered speechless. The last thing I want to do is delve right back into talking about that evil piece of shit, but I know I have to give Drayden answers. I’m long past hiding things from him.

“Where is he?” I ask again. I need to know he can’t touch me anymore before I tell Drayden who he is.

“He was arrested on the spot. He’s being charged with attempted kidnapping, on top of a slew of other charges. Apparently, he’s wanted in connection with a murder and a string of aggravated assault charges. But he’s going to need a few days in the hospital first.” He says this last statement with a hint of a satisfied smile on his face. “Now, I need you to tell me who he is, Essie.” His voice is calm but stern.

“He’s the one from the foster home who…” I can’t continue, lowering my eyes until I’m staring at my trembling hands.

“Who what?” When I don’t look back over at him, I hear him suck in a ragged breath. “Essie, is he one of the bastards who raped you?”

Funny thing about words, they possess a different impact coming from different people. When I had said it to Drayden while telling him the story, or even when I just said it to Adam, I still had some power, knowing I would only give it so much strength. But when Drayden said the word back to me,
at
me, it stripped me of all that power, leaving me vulnerable and affected.

I raise my head and look over at him again. I inhale the same air which is now trying to smother me. “Yes.”

One word.

One powerful word.

The look in Drayden’s eyes is murderous. I’ve seen him livid and pissed off before but never like this. “I should have killed him when I had the chance!” he yells, pounding the steering wheel over and over with his fist.

“No, please don’t say that. I need you here with me, Dray.” I reach over and place my hand on his forearm, squeezing lightly. “You saved me, baby. I’m okay. And I have you to thank for that.” I try to break through his irrational thoughts, but a part of me doesn’t blame him. If there was someone in his life who threatened his very existence, I would feel the same exact way. I would want to extinguish their very presence from this Earth, never to be able to harm him ever again.

We drive the rest of the way home in silence. We’re both quiet now because we’re both wrestling with different demons.

Me with my past.

Him with my present.

“You know I’ll never let anything bad happen to you, don’t you, Essie? I’ll always be here to protect you.” He’s staring directly at me, trying to provide me the comfort I so desperately need.

I know he’s still having a hard time with what happened with Adam two nights ago. “I know, baby.” I lean over on the bed and give him a kiss. “I know.”

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there all those years ago to protect you from him.” The look on his face is as if he’s really angry with himself for failing me in some way. As if what he’s thinking and feeling is even plausible.             

“Dray,” I say while snuggling closer to him. “You didn’t even know me back then. How can you blame yourself for something so out of your reach? It’s silly to feel bad for something like that.”

“It’s not silly.” He gets up from the bed rather quickly and makes his way to the bathroom, slamming the door to seal himself inside, no doubt to deal with whatever he’s feeling. But I don’t want him to feel guilty or upset about any of it, not for one more second.

As I approach the door, I hear the shower running. At first I consider leaving him alone to work through all of this in his own way, but I decide against it. I don’t want any aspect from my past to taint my life anymore.

I shed that the day Drayden told me he loved me.

I can see his form behind the glass shower door. He’s bracing himself against the wall, head hung low, allowing the water to cascade down his rigid body. I know I should only be focused on his emotional well-being, but I just can’t help myself. Seeing him like this, watching the water run down every plane of his body, is intoxicating.

I shouldn’t torture myself by getting in there with him, but my compassion and love for him wins out over my raging hormones.

I undress quickly and open the door. The only sign of awareness from him is a slight raise of his head before it falls back down. Reaching forward, I glide my hands over his back, trying to dispel his fear, drawing his regret away as I stroke each part of his flesh. My fingers trace the scar on his shoulder, my movements not even conscious. He stiffens under my touch and even tries to move forward to break the contact.

“Drayden, please talk to me.” I kiss his neck, pressing my naked body close to his so he can feel me. “Don’t shut me out.”

“I can’t…” He trails off before I can even understand what he’s trying to say. The sound of the water becomes too much. It’s deafening and as I’m about to say something else, he whips around and pins me against the wall.

The look in his eyes is killing me. He is so filled with guilt, fear and shame. I know it’s all unwarranted, but nothing I can say to him will take those feelings away.

“Baby, please don’t do this to yourself. I’m safe now. All because of you. You saved me, Drayden. Don’t you see that? You saved me in more ways than you know.” I try to reach out and touch him, but he’s bracing my arms against the tile of the shower.

He looks at me, trying to decipher if the words he just heard are the truth. And when he looks deep into my eyes, he knows it to be true. His mouth is on me before I can take another breath. He nips at me, begging for me to part my lips for him, which I grant without a second thought. My body is on fire, and I’ll do whatever he wants me to do if it means he’s going to claim me. Make me his yet again.

“I love you so much, Essie. I ache with how much I love you.” He lowers his hands and makes his way down my body until he’s cupping my plump cheeks. In one move, he raises me up and I instinctively wrap my legs around his waist, urging him further in his assault.

“Then love me, Drayden. Thrust inside me and love me,” I pant out as his lips do delicious things to my over-sensitive flesh.

His teeth grab a hold of my ear and he bites down in the most entrancing way. “My cock is aching for your sweet pussy, sweetheart. Wager be damned; I can’t wait anymore. I need to be buried inside you. I need to feel you squeeze me and drown me in your need.”

Well, hot damn! I’m definitely on board with everything he just said.

His mouth descends on mine again as his hand grabs hold of his arousal. He lines himself up and with one single movement, he pushes every single inch inside me. I gasp from the fullness but he wastes no time, pulling out and pushing back in, over and over again.

“Drayden!” I cry out. “Yes, baby…please…harder.” It feels like forever since we were last joined like this, even though in reality it was less than a week ago. Each and every time with this man is mind-blowing, and this time is no different. He’s hitting every nerve, precisely and expertly, drawing as much pleasure from my body as he can. I feel the dam building and building and it’s going to burst very soon, but I want us to come together this time. Normally, he makes sure to take care of me, numerous times, before he releases himself. But I want this connection to be something more. I need it and so does he.

“Baby? Are you close?” he asks as he drives into me with such force, almost as if he’s trying to leave a permanent mark on me.

“Yes, please, yes,” I pant. I grab hold of his face and make sure he’s looking right at me. “I want us to come together. Come with me, Dray.” I kiss his lips and this time I force my way inside his mouth, using his own technique. I nip his lower lip and when his mouth parts, I find his tongue and envelop it with my own. We’re hungry to taste each other, to take a little something from one another.

“I’m gonna come, baby. Fuck!” he roars as he thrusts in one last time before stilling his movements. And it’s all I need to let that dam break. We’re both so high from our orgasms, the only thing we can do is hang onto each other while we ride it out, licking and sucking each other as if we’re each other’s survival.

After a few minutes, he lowers me until my feet meet the floor of the shower and turns me away from him. I’m not quite sure what he’s doing until I feel a soapy loofa running all over my back. “I guess I should clean you up since I made you all dirty,” he says as he washes my body.

“You can make me dirty anytime you want.” I’m loving this time with him. If truth be told, I’m still getting used to this sweet side of him. I’ve endured his spiteful and mean side for so long, I thought that was the only part of him which existed.

But now I get to see all sides of him. He is short and curt with me when we argue, but never mean. His possessive side comes out a lot, but he says it’s warranted because he needs to make sure everyone knows I’m his. He’s quite demanding, as well, but it’s mainly because he’s stubborn and is used to getting his way. But he’s also very sweet, just like now.

Once we’re finished up in the shower, we get out, dry off and make our way back toward the bed. I snuggle into my favorite position with my head on his chest and my leg wrapped over his. There is no better place in the world than in Drayden’s arms. I wish we could stay like this forever, but I know that’s just a dream.

“Obviously, I wasn’t able to resist you for as long as I needed to get what I wanted. But I would still very much like for you to consider moving back in here with me, Essie.” He lowers his lips to the top of my head and kisses me. “Nothing would make me happier.”

And I want to make him happy. I’m just not ready to give up everything I’ve worked so hard to get. My apartment and my independence mean something to me. They symbolize the new woman I’ve become, shedding my past and embracing my new future.

“I’ll think about it, okay?”

“Okay,” he says as he draws me in closer to him. “Besides, once we’re married, you won’t have much choice in the matter.”

What? What did he just say?