Saving You Losing Me

Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

CLARA

I ’m so scared. What is happening to me? I don’t hide in derelict houses waiting for a biker to find me. This isn’t me, far from it, and yet I’m beginning to realize it might be.

I could have stood my ground and refused. Demanded he take me home and never even look in my direction again.

The reason I didn’t is because from the moment he outlined his plans, I came alive inside. What was once dead roared to life in one second at the thrill of the chase. By him.

Atom always was the man of my dreams and yet this is the stuff of nightmares.

If the smell wasn’t bad enough, it’s the fear of the unknown. I can’t see a thing and there are only the odd shards of light drifting in through the cracks to guide me.

The sound of scurrying vermin almost makes my heart give out on me but it’s the adrenalin that spurs me on. I want to win almost as much as I want to lose. Almost.

My heart beats a steady beat of excitement as I contemplate what will happen when he catches me.

I’m under no illusion that he will. I’ll consider I’ve failed if he doesn’t. The curiosity is too strong to ignore because when he kissed me back in the parking lot, my world shifted on its axis.

Suddenly, I knew what all the fuss was about.

I’ve still to discover what happens when you take it further and far from being afraid of that—I can’t wait.

But I don’t want to make it too easy for him.

I move stealthily through the darkened rooms, concentrating hard while trying to ignore the possibility of sharing the space with creatures I’d rather remain hidden.

I’m not afraid of the dark. I’ve been surrounded by it my entire life in my heart.

Many people consider me fortunate. I’m the lucky one.

I have rich parents, no siblings, and a trust fund that ensures I will marry well and never have to work a day in my life. I am popular. Invited to all the right occasions and considered a person of importance.

That is the Clara Gladstone the public sees. I am the opposite of that.

I crave danger, excitement, and the unknown. I possess a desire to walk on the wild side and enjoy the anonymity I crave. I want to tread a dangerous path with uncertain pitfalls ahead where life is not mapped out for me. I want to feel alive.

That is why I’m moving stealthily through this house intent on winning the game.

My game, that is.

I don’t know why Atom chose me to play this with him. He says he waited for me. I doubt that. Men like him don’t wait for girls like me. They just tell them what they want to hear to add them to the notch on their bedpost and I’m more of a gouge on it.

Bed the protected virgin while flipping off the establishment who would hate knowing his hands were on someone like me.

Rub it in the faces of those more powerful than him, demonstrating he took something valuable and ruined it for any other man.

I’m guessing that is what’s driving this, but quite frankly I don’t give a damn because I am doing this for me—not him.

He will expect me to go upstairs to the furthest point. To hide in one of the bedrooms, hoping to find me hidden behind the door or in a disgusting cupboard.

Instead, I head to the rear of the house, where I’m guessing there is a door leading outside. He never stipulated I couldn’t leave. Just to hide.

“Time’s up princess.”

His husky voice is somewhere in the house and my heart quickens, causing me to move a little faster, while straining to detect his movements.

I am lighter than him on my feet and all the years of ballet have counted for something in the end because I fly across the creaking floorboards almost ghostlike.

I use the dim shadows to guide me and ignore any shapes that may hinder my progress.

His footsteps are gaining on me, and his husky whisper sends shivers of pleasure down my spine.

“I’m coming for you, princess, prepare to lose—everything.”

Fuck. Why does that turn me on so much? I want to lose my mind. That’s what this is about and he is the man to take it.

He is close in the next room and I edge against the wall until I reach a door handle, the light drifting through the cracks in the door accompanied by a soft breeze telling me this is my exit to freedom.

As expected, when I turn the handle, it is locked and the dull tread of his boot is coming closer causing me to think hard. One false move will alert him to my position and, for some reason, that brings a smile to my face.

I have never been so high on adrenalin before and it’s a natural high I wasn’t expecting.

He cusses in the next room as he trips on something and I use the noise to shove hard against the door, hoping it’s as fucked as I am certain to be if he catches me.

It groans under my weight but stands firm and I take a deep breath and wait, listening for any sign of him.

“You know, Clara–”

His soft whisper is closer now.

“I used to watch you in high school. You intrigued me.”

I press against the door as his voice wafts across my soul. “You could have had anyone in that school. All the guys wanted you. You were the prize—you still are, but you weren’t interested.”

He is getting closer now and whispers softly. “I liked that about you. You had a fuck-off attitude and didn’t play the usual game. No cheerleading practice for you. No position on the prom committee. No fucks to give. The ice queen if you like.”

He is closer and my heart thumps as I reconsider my position.

I must win. It’s crafted in my DNA and yet losing will be such sweet pleasure.

An owl hoots outside and I press my weight against the door, pushing it with a force driven by my deepening desire to win.

It gives a little and as it shifts, a loud creak shatters the silent air and his footsteps change direction in a heartbeat.

“I can hear you, baby girl.”

He sounds almost disappointed and with one huge effort I shove hard against the door and it moves enough to leave a small opening I can squeeze through.

He quickens his pace and I shove the door hard so it swings open and as soon as the light hits the corners of the room, I’m sprinting through the door.

Now I’m in the evening air, I lift my face to the sky and the stars act as my guide.

Rather than run to the woods, I remain close to the house and intend on heading back to his bike. He won’t expect that surely. Then again, it may be precisely what he thinks I would do.

I’m undecided until I spy a broken window and without giving it much thought, I pull myself through it, back into the house.

I detect Atom outside and crouch down low, hoping he passes without checking the open window.

He stops just outside and says huskily, “I have waited two years for you, Clara. I knew you were mine back there in high school and I have played the long game. You are worth the wait and after tonight, that wait will be over.”

My heart is thumping so hard I’m convinced he will hear it as I crouch low on the ground, knowing he is on the other side of the decaying wall.

“I saw you checking me out.”

I’m glad he can’t see the stain to my cheeks at the realization I wasn’t so subtle after all.

“You thought I wasn’t looking. I was always looking, Clara. You make it impossible not to.”

He is in no hurry to move away and for some reason, that gives me comfort. He knows I’m here . It’s obvious because there is no sense of urgency in his movements.

My breath comes fast as he says softly, “But you were still a kid in the eyes of the law. I couldn’t act on my infatuation because I’m an honorable man. But now you’re officially a woman and fair game.”

I hold my breath as his voice appears closer, and he chuckles softly. “If you hadn’t figured it out yet, I love the game, Clara, and it’s your decision if you want to play it with me. I can wait, or I can move this on. It’s your call to make.”

A small smile plays on my lips as I realize I have all the power here. Atom is saying everything I want to hear, and the fear is gone. He feels the same.

But he’s right about one thing. I’m enjoying the game.

My mind switches back to it and I crawl softly across the floor, keeping close to the edge, knowing he has a huge obstacle in the way of reaching me. The window will take some maneuvering, giving me enough time to head for the one place I swore I wouldn’t go.

Upstairs.