Chapter 6 Claire
Claire
Water rains down over me as I stand in the shower. I fled here right after what happened in the kitchen.
I’m not sure if it was shame or embarrassment that sent me running, but something did. It’s wild to know I just did that with a guy I hardly know. It’s so unlike me.
But I’m not filled with regret. Not exactly. I don’t know what I’m filled with. Everything is spinning at a million miles per minute, and I can hardly keep a single thought straight.
My skin is still tingling. Even as I wash, the sensations of Alec’s touches ghost over me. They haunt me. They’re all I can think about.
I know I can’t stay in the shower forever. But I’m nervous to face Alec again. I don’t know what to say.
He’s supposed to be here to protect me, and I’m truly glad for that, but what does that mean for us?
Come on, Claire. Keep your head on straight. He’s here because of the Theodore situation. I don’t think he’s interested in a relationship, so maybe don’t get your hopes up.
I surprise myself with my own thoughts. My hopes were up? I didn’t think they were, but that’s telling, isn’t it?
I want something with him. Being around Alec makes me feel comfortable and at ease, even though he’s still one of the scariest men I’ve ever met. But he’s nice to me in a way that people usually aren’t. Especially men.
I finish up, wrap a towel around my hair and another around my body, and go through my usual routine at the sink. The mirror is fogged over. I swipe my hand across the glass and make eye contact with myself.
Who even are you? You just let some guy you’ve known for less than twenty-four hours eat you out in your kitchen.
Who does that? I certainly don’t.
But even just thinking about it has my whole body warming again. I can’t deny that I loved every second.
I’m always so careful. Always so closed off. It feels kind of nice to do something for myself. Well. To allow someone else to do something for me.
I don’t really enjoy taking orders from other people. Except apparently him. I wonder what that says about me.
My hand is on the doorknob when I hear something out in the other room. A heavy thud. I cock my head, brow furrowing, and pull the door open slowly so the hinges don’t creak. Everything in this townhouse creaks.
Stepping out into the hall, I tentatively call out. “What’s going on? Everything okay out there?”
No response.
Nervousness trickles down my spine. After what happened the other day—when Alec barged in here and I learned there are people on my trail—I can’t help feeling paranoid.
I take a couple more steps into the other room, and there it is again. That thud. But this time, it’s louder. And there are two of them.
When I step out past my bedroom to get a better look, I stop dead in the middle of the hallway, my eyes going wide.
Two men are fighting in my living room. Alec is one of them. I have no idea who the other guy is. They’re punching and weaving and ducking around each other in a mad tangle of limbs that looks more like a blur than anything else.
“Oh my god, Alec! What’s happening?”
Obviously, he can’t answer. I don’t know why I bothered calling out.
It must be somebody Theodore sent. The guy looks too put together to be some random thug off the street. Plus, this is a fairly decent neighborhood, all things considered.
They scuffle through the living room, bumping into furniture and walls. Things are breaking left and right. I can’t stop myself from screaming as more glass shatters in a few moments than I’m used to hearing in a year.
Then the intruder pulls a knife.
The blade catches the light, and my heart stops. He slashes at Alec, who barely dodges. The tip catches his face anyway, opening a cut above his eyebrow.
Blood drips into Alec’s eye. He’s blinking hard, trying to see, and the intruder uses that moment to shove him backward.
Alec crashes into my bookshelf. It wobbles. For one horrible second, he’s off balance, and the intruder is lunging toward him with that knife aimed right at his chest—
No. No, no, no—
But Alec twists at the last second. The knife sinks into the wall where his heart was a moment ago. While the intruder yanks at the stuck blade, Alec strikes.
“You piece of shit!” Alec yells. He grabs the other guy by the collar and shoves him up against the wall hard enough to crack the plaster.
The man Alec has pinned is a couple inches shorter than him and certainly not as muscular. Whoever this guy is, he doesn’t stand much of a chance now that Alec’s got his hands on him.
“I’m not saying anything, dick,” the guy grumbles.
Alec shoves him harder against the wall, making his teeth rattle. I flinch, imagining how much that hurts.
“You fucking will. Now, there’s a lady present. I’d like to do this without ripping out your fingernails one by one, but if I need to, I’ll just lock her in the bedroom.” Another hard shove. “So spill.”
There’s a split second of silence where this guy is clearly weighing whether Alec is bluffing. Hell, I’m wondering if Alec is bluffing.
I don’t think he is.
“Yeah! Yeah, Teddy sent me. And he’s gonna be real fucking pissed if something happens to me.”
“What were your instructions?”
The guy’s jaw tightens. He doesn’t want to answer.
Alec slams him against the wall again. “What were your instructions?”
“Rough her up!” the intruder spits. “Okay? He said to make sure she understands what happens to whores who don’t know when to keep their mouths shut. Said to leave marks this time. Somewhere she can’t hide.”
The words hit me like ice water. Leave marks. Somewhere I can’t hide.
Theodore didn’t just want to scare me. He wanted to hurt me. Wanted me walking around with his message carved into my skin.
Alec goes very still. When he speaks, his voice is terrifyingly calm.
“Get out.”
“What?”
“Get. Out.” Alec yanks the guy off the wall and drags him toward my door. “And you tell Teddy that if he sends anyone else, I’ll send them back in pieces.”
He throws this guy out like he weighs little more than a sack of potatoes.
Slamming the door shut, Alec locks it and turns to face me. There’s blood dripping from the cut above his eyebrow, and bruises are already forming across his jaw.
Still, I hurry over to him, concern twisting my stomach into knots. Reaching up, I grab his chin and tip his face toward me.
“Oh my god. You’re bleeding. We need to get this cleaned up.”
His eyes widen. Alec seems to register right then that I’m wearing a towel. I’d forgotten about it myself.
Those butterflies in my stomach get worse. I’m squirming under his gaze. I look up into his dark brown eyes, mumbling, “What was he doing?”
“Coming to intimidate you. He snuck in while I was doing dishes. I caught him heading toward your bedroom with that knife.”
Alec nods at the floor.
I see it lying there. The blade that almost went into Alec’s chest.
The weight of reality crushes me. It hits me so hard that I’m in real danger. My knees start to buckle.
Alec catches me and guides me down to the floor. He wraps his arms around me, solid and warm. Like a wall that will keep everything out. I sink into that sensation.
“He… he could’ve killed you.” I’m shaking my head before I realize it, the spiral dragging me down. “That knife almost—”
“But it didn’t. We’re both okay. You’re safe, and I got that asshole out of here.” Alec takes my chin, making me look up at him. “You’re alright, Claire. Don’t think like that.”
“I… my head… I can’t stop, Alec. I’m just so scared. Why is he doing this? Why can’t he just leave me alone?”
Alec pulls me into his arms, and I bury my face in his chest, breathing him in. He smells good. The warmth of his skin is a welcome change from the cold dread crawling through my veins.
For a long moment, he just holds me. His hand strokes up and down my back in slow, steady sweeps. Not trying to fix anything. Just being there.
“I’ve got you,” he murmurs against my hair. “I’m right here.”
Something about those simple words cracks me open. A sob escapes, and then I’m crying into his chest. All the fear I’ve been holding spills out of me.
Alec doesn’t shush me. Doesn’t tell me to calm down. He just keeps holding me, letting me fall apart.
“That’s it,” he says softly. “Let it out.”
I don’t know how long we stay like that. Eventually, the sobs taper off into sniffles, and I feel wrung out. But somehow lighter.
I pull back just enough to look up at him. His dark eyes are soft with concern.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
He brushes a tear off my cheek with his thumb. The touch is so tender it makes my chest ache.
I don’t want to feel this way. I want…
Craning my head up, I meet Alec’s stare. He regards me for a moment, clearly unsure what I’m doing.
I am, too. I have no idea what I’m doing.
But it’s happening anyway.
I kiss him. Dive into the sensations. The lust that blocks out the fear. As the need ramps up, Alec suddenly holds me back, staring down into my eyes with his hands on my cheeks.
“Claire, I’m not sure now is the best time. You need—”
“I know what I need. I know what I want. And I want this. I can’t be afraid anymore. I need to feel something good. Please.” My voice cracks. “Please, Alec. Let me have this.”
He holds my stare for a moment. Then he sighs, the restraint falling away. “Dammit. This probably isn’t smart, but… fuck it.”
We’re a tangle of kisses and caresses. Alec yanks the towel off my body, exposing me to him. I blush and burn under his gaze, getting wetter by the second.
When Alec starts to descend, I pull his lips back up to mine. I need him there. I need his lips on mine. He chuckles against my mouth, reaching between my thighs with his large hand.
Immediately, he finds my seam—slick and needy—and dips a finger inside me. He swirls it around until he hits my clit, and my hips buck against him.
“Yes! Please!”
“Good girl, darling. Ride my fingers for me.” He thrusts in and out, and I’m already on the brink of losing my mind. “Goddamn, you’re so tight.”