Chapter Twelve
Iroll onto my back, staring up at the vaulted ceilings. I don’t know how long it’s taken for Aiden to fall asleep, but it’s felt like hours. My gaze shifts to the right, and I take in his figure. He’s lying facing me, and his peaceful face stirs something in my chest. I want to run my fingers along his body, tracing all the intricate paths of his tattoos.
And I hate it.
He doesn’t deserve to get to me.
He didn’t even give me an explanation for why he left home all those years ago. He just wanted to dance right over it and play house.
Not that I asked him about it. The thought brings forth a little spurt of guilt, but I push it away. He doesn’t deserve my guilty feelings. He doesn’t deserve anything from me.
I take a deep breath and slide out of the bed, moving as quietly as I possibly can. My bare feet pad across the floor, and I nearly laugh. I’m going to escape, and I don’t even have any shoes. No coat, either. Aiden swiped me from home and didn’t bother to make sure I had anything to wear.
My gaze shifts, and I turn, heading for the bathroom rather than the exit. Maybe I can grab a black hoodie from Aiden’s closet to help me blend into the dark. Well, mostly dark. The sun will be coming up, soon. It has to. The night can’t last forever.
The tiles send a surge of jitters through my feet. They feel cold and slick. I leave the lights off and make my way to the closet, the door slightly ajar. He hadn’t shown me the bathroom—or the rest of the house for that matter. I’ll have to figure my way out on my own.
I squeeze my body through the opening, and as I do, a light kicks on. Shit. Shit. Shit. I hurriedly close myself into the walk-in closet and hope that it doesn’t wake Aiden. However, just as I’m about to mentally chide myself for even coming into the bedroom-sized space, I freeze.
There are women’s clothes….
I pour over the clothes and shoes, shocked to see that they’re all in my size. A lot of them are designer, too, and as I sift through them, I start to feel sick. Did he buy all these for me? In preparation for me? Or was there someone else?
“It doesn’t matter,” I whisper under my breath. I dig through the drawers and grab socks and a pair of Nike trainers. I slide them onto my feet, and then retrieve a black knit hoodie on Aiden’s side of the closet. The scent of his cologne fills my lungs as I pull it over my head. It’s borderline suffocating.
I don’t have time to wallow in my self-pity. I need to get moving. I ease the door open just enough to squeeze through the opening and then close it. I take a deep breath and then wince as my shoes squeak on the tile. I cast my gaze toward Aiden’s dark form, still in bed. He doesn’t move.
Now I just have to get the fuck out of here.
Thankfully, my shoes don’t squeak again as I leave the room, carefully closing the bedroom door behind me without a sound. I stare into the dimly lit hallway, realizing that I really don’t know where the hell I’m going. Who even needs a house this big?
My mind tries to conjure up the conversations I had with Aiden in the past, when we were younger, talking about owning a house the size of a small castle. I shove the memories back. I don’t need to relive them. I need to get the fuck out of this situation. And that’s going to start by getting off the second floor.
I trot down the grand staircase and take a right, opting to go the way that we came in. The house has small nightlights throughout, making it easy to navigate, and I fight the urge to break into a run.
I need to save that for when I get outside. Or if he hears me.
A shiver rolls down my spine as I consider that possibility. Would he hurt me? I don’t have an answer and ignore the gut feeling that he wouldn’t. He just murdered someone for God’s sake! He did it with ease, too. There was no discussion for him. And I’m glad there wasn’t, if I am honest, because the death of my uncle doesn’t bother me at all. Then, I can’t help but question if I’m a monster, too.
But I still want out. I pick up my pace as the garage door comes into view. I pass the courtyard door, but I don’t go out. It feels like a trap. I’d just be escaping into a yard without an out. But the garage should have an exit door. I am pretty sure I saw one.
I unlock the door and slip into the darkness of the garage, eyeing the cars. Hindsight twenty-twenty, I could have stolen Aiden’s keys and gotten away in a vehicle. However, that would’ve made a bigger mess, and I’m not a criminal. My eyes land on an exterior door in the far right-hand corner. I run for it.
My fingers tremble as I turn the locks and open the door. A blast of cool air blows through my hair and I freeze. But it’s not the air. It’s the alarm. A blaring sound pierces the night air, screaming through the silence and giving me away. I hadn’t even considered that there might be a security system.
I should’ve. This house is huge. But it’s too late now. I slam the door behind me and take off into the night.
I only have one option now.
Run.
My feet feel as if they’re weighed down by concrete blocks, but I force them forward anyway. The exit leads to behind the house, and as lights begin to kick on around the estate, panic rises in my chest.
He knows.
I need cover. My eyes land on the thick woods further back, and I don’t have time to think it over. I know I’m moving away from the road, but I also have no idea if I’d even be able to get the gate open. Maybe I can hide out in the woods—or maybe use a tree to scale the fence.
My breaths deepen as I run, trying to ensure I stay in the shadows rather than the bright lights. I hear a door slam somewhere behind me, and I dig in, sprinting with everything I have. I don’t stop to rest until I’m well into the thick woods, the brambles and briars cutting my skin. I lean against a tree and peer back toward the yard, and there, illuminated by the light, is Aiden.
His facial features have a shadowed cast across them, making his expression unreadable. My body spikes with adrenaline, and my heart pounds in my chest as I take in his disheveled hair, jeans, and black hoodie. Did he get dressed that quickly when the alarm went off? Or did he already know?
“Sara, there’s no point in running from me,” he calls out, stopping right in the middle of the manicured yard. “You can’t get out of here, and I hope you know, when I catch you…” His voice trails off, and I shudder. “You’ll pay for this escapade.”
I swallow the bile rising in my throat as sweat drips from my face and onto my hand. I wipe it on my shirt and try to steady my breath. There’ll be a way off this place—and I’ll find it. Hopefully.
“Come out, come out,” Aiden sings as he stalks toward me. Does he know where I am? I swallow, watching him peer around. “You know, this is kind of fun. I’ve always wanted to chase you.”
I stay frozen, mostly because I know the moment I go tromping off, he’ll hear me in the brush. He’ll know exactly where I am, and then I’ll be doomed. I grab the hoodie and pull it up over my head, hoping that the blackness will act as some kind of camouflage. It’s a shot in the dark.
But I’m going to try.
“You’re not doing yourself any favors, Sara,” Aiden continues, chatting like this is a game. There’s an air of cruel amusement to his tone, and it raises goosebumps across my skin. It doesn’t help that the sky is now opening up, sprinkles of rain cold against my hands. I shove them into the hoodie pocket and hold my breath.
“Do you like the new shoes? I never got a chance to show them to you myself,” he says with a heavy sigh. I peer out around the tree, and I can’t see him anymore. However, I can hear his footsteps crashing into the leaves. He’s getting closer.
“You know running from me will only get you punished, Sara.”
Then so be it. I shiver again, though the heat between my legs is embarrassing. It’s not the proper reaction to him. It’s not the proper reaction to being chased by someone through the woods—someone who’s responsible for murder.
A crunch to my left sends a wave of dread over me. He’s really close now. I scan the thick woods for any sign of him, trying to pinpoint where the sound is coming from. I’m not good at this. I’ve never been good at Hide ‘n Seek. I’ve never been good at tag.
This is a fucking nightmare.
I have to go. I have to move.
The knots in my stomach tell me what I already know. This is pointless. But I run anyway. Grinding my heels into the damp earth, I take off from where I was hidden at the base of the tree.
“There you are,” Aiden laughs, his voice cutting through the stillness of the night. “What a fucking turn this has taken.”
I grunt as I give it my all, feeling frantic in the moment. I don’t look behind me. My own footsteps drown out the sounds of those behind me. I clumsily try to dodge between the trees. My legs are burning from the cuts and scrapes, but I ignore them. I press forward.
Squinting through the blackness of the woods, I search for the outer boundary of the property. How big is this place? I cut around two tall pines, hearing something crashing behind me. It’s Aiden, but I push myself forward, calves burning.
Finally, as I crest the top of the embankment, I see it. The back fence. My heart sinks. It’s even taller than the front one, looming at least eight feet tall. This place might as well be a prison…
And that’s when his body collides with mine.
“I told you, there’s no getting away,” he chuckles breathlessly as we crash into the leaves beneath us. “You’ll never get away from me.”
The rain is falling steadily now as my head rests against the ground, the soaked fabric of the hoodie the only thing keeping dirt and debris out of my hair.
“Can’t speak?” His golden irises seem to glow with the intensity of a predator ready to pounce on its prey as he hovers over me. His strong hips straddle me, and rain—or maybe sweat—drips from his hair. “Tell me, Sara, were you trying to run away from me?”
I swallow hard, scared of what the truth might bring.
“I… I…” My throat burns as I cough the words out, trapped against the cold ground and still gasping for air.
“Looks like I’ve made you speechless,” he murmurs, leaning down and brushing the tip of his nose to mine.
Jitters of excitement pulse through my fatigued body, and I’m torn, uncertain between conflicting emotions. I shouldn’t want him, but I do. Aiden firmly clutches both of my wrists, holding them above my head, as I fight back. He roughly pulls up my T-shirt exposing my breasts and presses his hot, wet lips against one of my already hard nipples, sucking it in before moving to the other. A primal moan, fueled by raw, instinctual desire, escapes from my throat.
“That’s what I thought,” he growls. “I knew you wanted me. You’ve always wanted me, and I’m going to finish this right now.”
I tremble with anticipation and fear as he releases my wrists, his hands slipping down my body. He lifts himself just enough to rip the material of my shorts and underwear, and within seconds, I’m bare for him. My cheeks flush as he tosses the ruined clothing off to the side.
“Consider this your punishment, princess,” he groans, menace laced in his voice, as he begins to undo his jeans. I reach up and try to shove him away and scoot backward, but I’m not strong enough to fight him. He pulls his cock out, and I stare at the flushed tip.
This is what I always wanted.The thought comes as a whisper in my ear, and my pussy aches in a way that I’ve only experienced in my dreams. Why do I not hate him for this? I should hate him for this.
“You’re mine, and I’ll fucking prove it.” Aiden leans over me, and I feel the tip of him press against my entrance. “God, you’re so wet,” he murmurs into my neck. “But you don’t get to come. Tonight is mine for all the hell you put me through.”
I swallow hard as he presses into me ruthlessly, pinning me to the ground, claiming my virginity. I”m unable to hold back the cry as pain tears through me. He stills, his hardened face suddenly softening.
“You waited for me,” he whispers, the tone of his voice bringing tears to my eyes—and suddenly, I allow myself to let go, forgetting that he kidnapped me and that we’re here in this moment because I tried to escape. I let myself believe that I’m here because I want to be, and this is the Aiden I love.
My hips rock upward as an answer to his question, pulling him deeper into me. A wince escapes my lips as his penis feels too large entering such a small space. It’s painful at first, but I”m so turned on that it quickly subsides, replaced by waves of pure pleasure. Aiden’s eyes grow hazy, and he loosens his grip, only to thread his fingers through my hair. I grind against him, unable to hide my own arousal as I wrap my thighs around him, my pussy clenching around his thick, hard cock, over and over. I can feel the velvety smoothness of the skin on his shaft as he thrusts in and out.
“Fuck,” he growls, picking up his pace.
My fingernails dig into the ground beside me, but I don’t care about the dirt. I don’t care about the mess. I don’t care that he forced me to be here—though I know I will when it’s over. My mind goes blank as he picks up the pace, faster and faster, harder and harder, until he”s about to explode. I feel his dick swelling and throbbing as he shoots his cum into me. My eyes flutter shut as my orgasm crashes over me, and my whole body pulses.
“You feel incredible around my cock,” he moans, tensing up as he releases every drop inside me. I breathe out a ragged breath, tears streaming down my face as he collapses on top of me. Overwhelmed by all the sensation, I press my lips to his.
But he doesn’t let me kiss him.
He won’t kiss me, but he takes my virginity in the middle of the woods. In a fucking rainstorm.
But now, he won’t even kiss me.