Chapter Thirty-One
R aven
My pace turned into a walk as the sunlight faded behind the trees. I had no idea where I was going, but I kept moving forward. I wanted to get as far away from him as I could. I reached in my pockets for my phone, but stopped when I remembered that Slade took it earlier in the day. I smacked my hand to my head. Stupid.
While thinking it was a smart decision at the time, as the night descended upon me, I couldn’t help but think how crazy I was for walking off. If I was at the estate, it would be different. I knew those grounds inside and out.
I didn’t know this place and after our talk, I wasn’t sure I wanted to. My love for Slade was endless, but the fact that he was asking me to marry that fucking monster, to give myself away again unwillingly, meant that he didn’t feel the same way about me. I was a means to an end for him. He would use and break me as he saw fit, not caring what happened to me in the process.
I had no idea how long I’d been walking, surely not that long, but it seemed like I was going for hours.
There were some deer and an oak tree up ahead and I figured that would be the perfect spot to rest my feet. As I got closer, they ran off. Not surprised. The darkness enveloped me, and the moonlight began to poke through the trees. I sat down and planted my back against the trunk and tried to remember a time when Slade and I were right for each other...
“You’re pregnant.”
Two words.
All it took was two words to turn my world upside down.
My breath caught. A million thoughts entered my mind. I’d always wanted to have a baby, but I was scared to bring one into this world.
Things between Slade and I were good. Really good.
Being pregnant could change that.
“Are you okay, My Queen?” The doctor, Shelby was her name, asked me.
Was I okay? I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I couldn’t tell if I was happy or scared. My heart was racing, my pulse was so loud I could hear it, and my fingers started tapping against my knee. I was slowly losing my mind.
Everything would be okay. Wouldn’t it?
Father would be a grandfather. That was a scary thought. He couldn’t even be a parent, let alone a grandparent to someone.
Slade...he would make a great father. There was no doubt about that, but how would he react? Could we handle raising a baby in this world?
Mother...she was gone. She wouldn’t get the opportunity to become a grandparent. I swallowed the lump in my throat. I think that was the part that hurt the most. Not being able to have her here, to help me navigate this new world of becoming a mom.
I met the gaze of my doctor. She was pretty. Mid thirties, blue eyes, blonde hair. Normal. She was someone who could be a mom.
I wasn’t sure if I could.
I continued to sit there, not saying a word. My mind was a jumbled mess and Shelby realized quickly that I would need support. I sat in the room, listening to those two words running in my mind when the door opened and in popped the man of the hour.
“Hey, you okay?” My shoulders relaxed a little, but they were still tight. Now that he was here I really had to tell him. I couldn’t ignore it like I wanted to. “I got an interesting call telling me to come here.”
I folded my hands in my lap and twiddled my thumbs. He came to sit beside me and a whiff of his cologne hit my nose. That should’ve relaxed me, but it didn’t.
I looked at my hands as if they were the most interesting thing in the room. He was going to kill me. He was going to kill me. How did I do this? How did we get here?
“Rav,” he took one of my hands in his. “I need to know you’re okay.”
My stupid, traitorous heart fell right into his trap. I took a deep breath, “I’m pregnant.”
Pause.
Pause.
Another pause.
More silence.
Here I thought I was crazy for thinking he would freak out. Or maybe it’s just me freaking out. Either way his silence was killing me.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he squeezed my hand. “A little sooner than we expected.” A chuckle escaped his lips, but they turned into a wicked grin. “I guess you’ll be sporting a baby bump at our wedding. You’ll be a beautiful bride and Mama to be. Couldn’t be happier to do this life thing with you.”
He placed his lips on mine and my body relaxed.
I was never a bride to be. Julianna came before we could go through with our wedding, and then after that it was chaos. A good kind of chaos, before everything changed for the worse.
My mind drifted to that night, when the cops came for Slade. I wondered if he would ever truly forgive me for that, or if I was doomed to be punished forever.
Crack.
I froze when I heard something off in the distance. I didn’t see anything, but it was dark out, only the moon shining through the trees. I was crazy, fucking crazy. I had lost my mind thinking I could be out here by myself.
A chill came over my body that wasn’t there before. Someone was out here with me. I froze, trying to remain inconspicuous.
“Why did you take off like that?”
A part of me relaxed when I heard his voice, but the other part of me stayed on high alert. Why did he affect me so much? I hated him.
No, I loved him.
I sounded like a freaking teenager, pining away for a boy who didn’t love me.
I stood up, dusted the dirt off my ass and held out my hand. “My phone.”
I needed to get my phone back from him. If I could do that, I might stand a chance against him.
I was getting tired of being pushed around. Father, Slade, Zeke, the fucking kingdom. Everyone wanted a piece of me, just so they could use me and throw me in the trash .
No more.
Father never wanted me to be a weak little princess, so maybe it was time to follow his lead.
Slade’s gaze narrowed. “No.”
Like a two year old having a tantrum, I stomped my foot. He would give me the phone, I would call a cab, and forget this heavenly spot ever existed. It wasn’t for me;, it was for someone else. Someone down the road that he would fall in love with, and give the world to. It was for that person, Slade, and Julianna to all become a family.
My mind was coming up with every worst case scenario in the book, but I didn’t care anymore. I’m over it.
I took a step forward, ignoring the chill as the breeze enveloped me on this fifty degree night. “Give me, my fucking phone, Slade.”
Something snapped inside of him, and his lips met mine in a frenzy. We were out in the middle of God knows where, but his lips owned mine as if nothing had changed.
He pulled back, "Bend over."
I narrowed my eyes, stepped back, and placed my hands on my hips. "No."
“Do you have any idea what you did to me back there?” His breath was visible in the chilly air, his body shaking with an emotion I’d never seen from him before. His jaw was tight, and his body was still, too still for him to be human.
He didn’t care about me, I wasn’t going to believe that he did, especially after everything we’d been through. I had every right to be pissed at him. Why should I fall into his trap again?
“I’m not the one who is forcing the mother of his child to marry a monster.” I folded my arms over my chest, trying to shake the cold air that chilled my bones and brought goosebumps to my skin.
“And I’m not the one who is refusing to listen to the whole plan before I jump to conclusions. I had more to say, but you ran off before I had the chance to finish.”
I shook my head. Why couldn’t I just believe him? Why did I have to push against what he was providing me?
When he said I had to marry the one person in the world who would be worse than Father, I freaked. Zeke was just as bad, if not worse than him. There were times when it seemed like he would care, but he was just putting on a show.
“Do you have any idea what it’s like? For your parent to tell you he’s arranged a marriage to your rapist? Not to mention the love of your life saying you had to go ahead and go through with that marriage because there was no other option, no other plan in place to where that won’t have to happen? Until you’ve been in my shoes Slade, I don’t want to fucking hear it.”
He cursed and rushed me. Before I could blink he had me bent against the tree, with my jeans piled around my ankles. A breathy moan escaped my lips when his hand rested on my ass.
"Are you denying me?"
I flinched when his hand landed on my ass, hard. My throat went dry. The mother fucker had spanked me. He actually spanked me.
Asshole.
Another slap filled the woods, but I couldn't be bothered by it. I would've sold my soul to the devil if it meant he kept his hands on me. His hand moved away, and suddenly I was cold. His heat disappeared, and I wanted it back. I heard the rustling of a belt buckle and stiffened.
"What are you doing?" my voice cracked at the end.
He was quiet until his hands were back. They settled on my waist and his fingers looped through the strings of my thong and slid it down my legs. I gulped.
My legs were spread apart, and his breath brushed over my center. I fisted my hands on the bark and held on as his tongue entered me.
Holy sweet....
His hands gripped my ass as he fucked my pussy with his mouth. He kept his grip on me, but trailed one finger down and entered me in one swift thrust.
"Ah," the word escaped my mouth. I couldn't hold it anymore. The immense pleasure he was giving was shaking me to the core. The cocky bastard knew it too. I knew if I looked, he would have a wicked grin on his face. Slowly, another finger entered me. I shivered. My hips started to move.
"That's right baby, fuck my fingers."
Hearing that word come from his mouth made everything hotter. I wanted more. I needed more. I was a sex crazed fanatic anytime he was near.
"Fuck me," I said, hoping he would take the hint.
"Not so fast, Queen." I froze. He only called me Queen when he was detaching himself from me.
He was gone in an instant, and I turned to look over my shoulder. His silver eyes were a dark obsidian as they roamed over me. The demon took over.
I removed my feet from the jeans and thong and kicked it to the side. I turned so I was facing him. My hands lowered to the bottom of my blue sweater and raised it over my head, throwing it to the side.
His eyes never wavered from mine. I moved my fingers to the clasp of my bra, but he cut me off.
"Leave it," he commanded in a rough voice. His hands curled into fists at his side.
I stood there in front of him with nothing but a bra on. He didn't bat an eyelash. I took a shaky step towards him. He was the only man in the world who could have an effect on me. Once I was standing directly in front of him, I placed my fingers at the waistline of his pants. They delicately traced his V and he shuddered. I pursed my lips trying to contain my smile. He wanted me as much as I wanted him.
"Are you going to punish me?" I asked in a seductive tone that snapped him from his stupor.
Next thing I knew my legs were wrapped around his waist as he pinned me against the tree. His eyes were dark and unruly. He was ready to release his vengeance on me.
In one quick thrust his fingers entered me again. I leaned my head back and let out a moan. It was so fucking good.
"Is this what you want?" he asked through clenched teeth.
"God, yes."
His fingers moved harder and deeper while he rubbed my clit. "God has nothing to do with it, Queen."
I didn't care that he'd resorted to the name. I just wanted him. Demon and all.
"You're so fucking wet for me."
I nodded, unable to speak. My walls clenched around him, my hips moving up and down, wanting him as deep as I could take him. A groan escaped his lips and that was my sign he was finally letting go.
So I went with him, as nature and darkness swallowed us whole.