39. Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty
Summer
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tired of the constant battle of emotions that continuously flow through my heart. One minute I’m fine, smiling and laughing with my new friends—my boyfriend. The next, I’m ugly crying and struggling to breathe.
I didn’t sleep well and was overheating from a horrible nightmare I had of my father. I had to strip down to cool my skin and relax my racing heart. Alec did the same, keeping me close against his skin as I drifted back to sleep. It’s the most solace I’ve felt since coming home. Being right here in Alec’s arms. I don’t know what it is about him that pulls me to the deep end of endless bliss, but I can’t get enough of it. The warmth he provides and the love he gives me is paradise.
It’s simple. He’s the glue that holds all the broken pieces of my heart together. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Goosebumps prickle my skin as he tugs me closer into the warmth of his hard body. I tremble a little from his hard length pressed against my abdomen, leaving me craving him. I look up at him. His eyes are still closed, and his breathing is calm and steady, but he’s awake. The light circles he draws up and down my spine are evidence.
I reach up, brushing away the few strands of his hair that dangle down his forehead. His lip twitches up. I love his smile. Any smile he offers me.
“Good morning, pretty girl.” His eyes sweep open slowly, and my heart flickers from the look in his hooded eyes. I could wake up like this daily and be the happiest girl on the planet.
I sigh happily. “Morning.”
Leaning forward, I press my lips to his, sucking his bottom into my mouth. He groans, pressing his length further into me.
“Desperate, are we?” he coos against my neck.
My cheeks heat. Warmth floods through my abdomen as he brings his mouth back to mine. It’s the perfect combination of gentle and rough. His arm tightens around my waist, and he turns his body abruptly, swinging me over so I’m cradling on top of him. The quick swap causes me to squeal.
“Look who’s the desperate one now,” I tease.
“I’m always desperate for you. Desperate to feel your soft skin and how wet you are just for me. Desperate for taste of your sweet flesh,” he moans between kisses along the expense of my neck. “You’re my heaven.”
I’d be lying if I didn’t admit is that I love the way he talks so dirty to me. I love everything this man does, and that brings me to last night when he told me he loved me before we fell asleep. I never said it back… again.
My insides coil. I do love him. I feel it in every cell of my body, my mind, and my heart. It’s everywhere, embedded into my soul like it belongs there. So, why can’t I get the words to come out of my mouth?
I blame it on fear, but truthfully, I’m not positive that’s the case.
Alec’s collapsed fingers run down my back, gripping my ass just right as he pushes me down into his cock. The need between my thighs is like a fire refusing to burn out.
“Alec,” I whisper.
“What is it?”
My mouth parts, but I close it and shake my head. “Nothing.” I bring my lips back down to his and roll my hips against him. Our breaths mingle together while his tongue laps over mine.
It’s perfect. He’s perfect. This moment is everything I need to start the day off right.
Until a loud bang pierces through my ears, startling me. I lean off Alec as he flings himself off of the bed.
My eyes are wide, and I stare at Alec worriedly.
He points to the living room. “Was that…” he doesn’t have to finish his question for me to know what he’s talking about.
“Yes…”
A gunshot.
Alec doesn’t waste a second, slipping on a pair of athletic shorts. “Stay here. Don’t move. You understand?”
I shake my head, panic clawing up my throat. “No. Alec, please.” I try to reach for him, but he slips out of my fingers.
“Stay here,” he repeats and the next moment, he’s not in my sight.
Fucking breathe. All I need to do is breathe.
I can’t stay here and wait. What if he gets hurt, or worse… I swing off the blanket, wrapping myself with a thin sheet, and get off the bed. The pain in my ankle isn’t as bad as it was yesterday, but it’s still there, throbbing. I bite through it and limp my way into the living room. When I round the couch, I see Alec in the kitchen with a baseball bat in his hand.
He hears me and looks back. “What the fuck, Summer,” he whispers, rushing toward me and grabbing my arms. “You need to get back into the bedroom.”
I go to answer, but we both jump, ducking slightly as another fire is shot. My wide eyes stare at the bullet hole in the door and each breath I take my heart speeds faster.
“Summer, get the fuck in the other room. Now!” Alec keeps his voice low, but his aggressive tone has me doing just that.
My heart surges up my throat as I scramble through my backpack. I never bothered to unpack and pull out a tank top and a pair of shorts. I rush myself, putting them on.
Another loud band goes off; this time, it’s not a gunshot. My stomach drops, turning and tumbling low at the sound of a man’s deep voice.
My father.
“You think you can screw me and take my daughter along with you?” he shouts, and I rush as fast as I can into the living room and back into the kitchen, only to stop in horror when I see Alec pinned against the wall with a gun to his head. “You have another thing coming,” he continues.
Alec doesn’t remove his eyes from my father. “Summer, get back in that room.”
I can’t think, I can’t speak, and I have lost all mobility in my body.
My father chuckles. It’s deep and gruesome. “Yes, Summer. Why don’t you leave us be? As a matter of fact, get your ass down those stairs and into the car. We are going home.”
I managed to find my voice. It’s dry and rough. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
My father tilts his head, his eyes darkening as they lock onto Alec. “You dare to disobey your father? Again?” He cocks the gun, his grip tightening around the handle, and presses it harder against Alec’s temple.
“Dad,” I choke out. “Please.”
“One,” he counts.
My body shakes, and for a second, I almost feel like there is nothing left of me. I can’t go with him. Brentley ordered me to stay as far from my father as I could until everything got sorted out. He promised me he would call me as soon as everything was cleared and he had more information.
“Two,” he speaks louder.
No. Oh, god no.
Alec keeps quiet as my father holds the gun tight against his head. My heart pulses through my ears and as soon as I see my father’s mouth open to spit out the next words, I panic.
“Fine. OK. OK,” I shout, and then lower my voice to a whisper. “I’ll go with you.”
“Summer.” Alec’s voice is wary.
My father’s lips tilt up, and it’s far from anything nice. It’s cruel and menacing. “What was that?”
I swallow through the sting in my throat. “I said, I’ll go with you,” I say louder.