Drayton #2
Elec sighed. “Melissa LaRoe was more than a lead profiler. More than a professor. More than a forensic and consulting hypnotherapist. She used her position to drug and manipulate a lot of people. She blackmailed and hurt them badly.”
“I don’t see how any of that has to do with what happened with Marian. You weren’t there. You didn’t see her. Marian… she was cold. Angry. She wasn’t drugged.”
“You don’t know that. Her behavior when you saw her means nothing, Drayton. Everyone reacts different to certain medications. Besides, she wasn’t at your parents’ home for very long.”
“Long enough to destroy everything.”
“That doesn’t mean she wasn’t influenced.
I’m not saying to wait for your revenge; I’m saying to be cautious of what you do until you know more.
We’ve found years of video evidence we’re currently going through.
If Melissa could go after her own colleagues, it isn’t a stretch that she’d use her own family to further her agenda as well.
Just keep that in mind. If I come across anything concerning Marian, I’ll let you know. ”
“Thanks, Elec.”
I hung up, heading back into the room and bolting it locked behind me.
I pulled my shirt off, reaching back to put my gun on the small table against the wall.
I slipped off my shoes, removing the rest of my clothes.
Time was ticking down, and all I wanted was to be next to her, toying with her.
Humiliating her. It was the only thing I could think about.
I walked down the small hall to the bathroom, taking off the mask and turning on the shower.
I imagined her nude body, letting the way she looked take over as I stepped into the cold spray.
Soap filled my palm as I pumped the bottle, and suds quickly took over my hair and face. I couldn’t get clean fast enough. My cock was throbbing. My adrenaline was through the roof. I let my stare rake down the curves I could so clearly still see. I was dying to taste her. To have her.
The plastic covered mattress under the sheets crinkled in the distance, so low I could barely hear.
I smiled, stepping entirely into the water as I rinsed off.
Towels were sitting on a shelf, and I reached out to grab one, drying off.
Mumbled speaking started to come as I grabbed the mask and slid it on.
When I entered the room, Marian’s foot twitched.
I kept going forward until I reached the bed, pulling off the blindfold.
Marian’s eyes were still closed, but I could tell she was trying her best to fight the drugs.
Her head was slightly moving, and one of her legs was kicked out askew.
I zeroed in on what I wanted, lowering in her direction.
Thump-thump.
The fast rhythm from my pulse was deafening.
Marian’s lifted arms rose higher in the cuffs but couldn’t go far as she said something else.
What it was, I hadn’t a clue. All I could hear was my heart.
No… it was her heart if I wanted to be honest. It may have been damaged to shit, but what was left was hers, even if it was dark and half-dead.
“Penny. Penny?”
Her calls were breathless and weak but getting louder each time.
I lowered to the edge of the mattress, tracing my fingers down her side.
Her body jumped at the contact, but she still wasn’t strong enough to react like she wanted.
Minutes passed. Longer. Still, I teased my way over her body, soaking in the consuming need.
In soft caresses, I dipped between her breasts.
I brushed over her nipples. I went lower, sweeping over her stomach until I teased the outside of her folds.
I explored, burning these new memories in so deep, I was sure they’d mold with the others I coveted every second.
I knew once she came to, she’d fight me, and that was the part I was waiting for.
But these stolen moments… I was free. I was him, the man hidden behind the cage I’d locked myself in long ago.
Not Sinn. Not The Devil of Hollywood. Just Drayton. Her Drayton.
“Penny?”
My fingers paused on her inner thigh, and Marian’s heavy lids fluttered open as if she’d just realized someone was touching her.
I didn’t wait. I squeezed her leg with a force that had her body exploding to life.
The pain left a scream tearing through the small interior, and the fear in her eyes as she took in the mask had every hope I harbored coming true.
Elec had done well in his research. He hadn’t missed a thing.
“Penny? Penny! Penny!” She sucked in deep breaths, wildly. “Where is she? Penny!”
Her legs tried kicking out against me as Marian screamed for her friend.
It didn’t take much to get her under control.
She was still weak, but she was growing stronger with every second.
I threw my weight on her, pinning her down.
Without the use of her arms, she was completely powerless against me.
“Where is she? Did you take her again? Penny!”
I didn’t speak. I shifted, clamping my hand on her hip to keep her from continuing to try to buck me off. Each thrust or twist of her hips was more powerful than the next. Her voice was even getting stronger as she stared me down.
“If you hurt her, I will kill you. You think I’m threatening you because I’m afraid.
I’m not.” Still, she fought, continuing as survival left her fighting beneath me.
“There is nothing you could do to me that hasn’t already been done.
Trust me. Take what I say to heart. You have no idea who I am.
If you touch her, if you so much as put one finger on her, I will make you spend your last days suffering until you beg me for death. ”
Heavy pants continued with her constant fighting.
She was getting slower. The drugs were still lingering making her tire easily as time stretched out.
And I patiently waited for what I knew would come.
As if someone poured water to a flame, Marian slowed, reality surfacing as her eyes began scanning our location.
I even lifted enough to show her that where we were wasn’t housing anyone else.
There was no Penny. There was no escape.
A tear rolled free, and her face hesitantly came back to me. A million thoughts must have been going through her mind. So many emotions pulled at her features. They shifted faster than I could read.
“Where is Penny?”
At my silence, she sniffled.
“Is she safe?”
Slowly, I nodded. Marian took a deep breath, closing her lids. More tears streamed free at what I could only assume was her relief, and it made me want to curse myself almost instantly.
“What do you want?” Her lids opened, angrily.
The green aquamarine was vibrant as she stared right at my eyes.
But she wouldn’t see mine. She wouldn’t see anything but darkness.
“The silent treatment. Right. Well, let’s get this over with.
We’re both naked. If you want to rape me, hurry up and do it.
It wouldn’t be the first time I was assaulted against my will.
Just get it over with. I don’t have all day.
If it’s money you want, you can have it.
I’ll give you the number to call. Get a move on it.
” A sob escaped through her tough tone. “Apparently, I have funerals to arrange. Pardon me if I don’t care to stick around to play your stupid games. ”
“My hand was on her throat so fast, Marian jumped and began trying to kick out again.”
I hadn’t planned to talk, but the words came from nowhere as the accusation triggered protectiveness and rage.
Was she saying I had raped her? Was she going to use our past to try to make me feel sorry for her?
Was she speaking about someone else she’d met after me?
Bastian said she hadn’t been with anyone else.
Maybe he didn’t know? Should I have known?
“Who?” My voice was so deep, I barely recognized it. “Who assaulted you? Explain.”
Still, she fought, trying her best to break free from my weight and grip to her throat. She could barely scream with the hold I had.
“Get. Off! You son of a bitch. Get the fuck off of me!”
“Who!”
My booming voice had her body shaking through the sobs. She went still, crying as I eased the power of my fingers.
“You’re all the same. I know you’re one of us.
Entitled…piece of shit!” She went crazy again.
The arch of her foot caught on my shin, and she wedged her legs, working her way up to my thigh.
She used the leverage to shrimp out from under me.
The kick to my stomach sent the air exploding from my lungs.
She twisted, and her legs were dangling over the side of the bed, but she was too short that she couldn’t get enough footing to stand.
It didn’t stop her from bearing down to jerk at the cuffs with all of her strength.
They didn’t budge, but they did cut into one of her wrists enough to have blood dripping to the bed.
“Help! Someone help me!”
I took my time, walking around the mattress.
Marian took in my body, jerking at the cuffs even harder.
When I pointed to the bed, her lids narrowed.
She drew her knees to rest on the mattress and spit sprayed over my chest. I was on her so fast, she never saw me coming.
My weight crashed into her, and I quickly pinned her under me again.
I locked my fingers along her jaw brutally, squeezing to the pressure point that had her mouth separating.
I pulled up the mask enough to spit down into the small opening of her lips, watching as she gagged.
The sight, the act, left me so fucking hard that the lust was consuming.
“Who?” I repeated.
Marian’s head shook, and she gagged once more, crying through the thrash. It shook both of us, leaving me rocking against her.
“How much money do you want, dammit? Fucking name it!”
“Who?”
Again, she jerked at the cuffs, trying to get me off her.
“Two million. Not a dollar more.”
My head shook back and forth.
“Who?”
“One million. Now you wait for two days for payment for rejecting my first offer. It’s only going down from here. I suggest you take the money.”
“Who?”
A scream tore from her as she brought her arms jerking down towards me. They barely moved an inch from where they were already extended. For seconds I watched her try to compose herself, but the fear wouldn’t leave her no matter how hard she kept trying to act brave.
“Fine. I see we’re not moving forward until you get your way. Like I said, I don’t have time. You want a name; I’ll give it to you.”
“Of your rapist,” I growled. “Not just any name. Be very careful who you say. They’ll be dead by dawn.”
Something swept over Marian’s face as her eyes took in the mask. For seconds she didn’t speak.
“I said assault, not rape. He didn’t go all the way.”
“Name?”
“You can’t kill him,” she whispered. “You… really can’t. There’s no proof of his assault. Trust me, I paid someone to secretly look into it. Besides, he’s impossible to get to. He’s protected.”
“Who.”
Silence. Still, she searched my face.
“Who are you? Why are you doing this?”
My hand locked back on her throat, immediately making her face redden at the pressure. Marian didn’t fight. She didn’t even look surprised or move.
“Last time.” My voice was shaking and threatening as I moved in inches from her face. “Name and story. You tell me everything.”
I used my thumb, tilting her head to the side as I leaned in, trying to breathe in her scent through the mask. Darkness engulfed me, and I let it as I eased my hold, taking my time before pulling back.
“He was the first man my mother tried to get me to choose as a husband after I got to London. I was sent to stay at his estate over the weekend. He was younger than most of the ones she’d picked.
His parents still lived there, so I guess she figured I’d be okay.
” Marian’s voice cracked and a sob left her.
“I guess it was karma. Fate,” she spat out.
“I accepted it as that: my punishment. I was sleeping when I suddenly felt him against me. He said he’d heard I wasn’t a virgin.
That it was his right to make sure I was good enough to marry.
I tried to stop him. I… couldn’t.” She gave a hard shake, and the anger magnified as she twisted and tried to attack me again.
“There. Are you happy? Now get this over with! I want to leave. Hurt me however you want and be done with it!”
“Name.”
My body was trembling even worse. I could so vividly see some man over her. Touching what was mine. Forcing his fucking fingers in what was meant for me. And the more I saw, the more my vision went red. Blood red. Murder red.
“It’s none of your business. You will get no name. You get nothing.”
I reached up with my free hand, locking on her hair as I pulled it back enough to make her cry out.
“I’m pretty sure you gave me enough. If I don’t have a name when I come back, I’ll find a way to get it out of you. You’re not going to like that.”
I let go, pushing from the bed. I grabbed my jeans, slipping them on as I grabbed my phone and headed to the door.
Screams erupted behind me, but I didn’t pay them notice as I stepped outside and dialed Elec’s number once more.
If anyone knew who assaulted Marian, it was him. And he picked up almost immediately.
“That was fast. Did you remember something else you needed?”
“No. Yes.” My jaw flexed as the words I wanted to ask sliced into my brain.
“When Marian was first brought to London, her mother was hunting for her a husband. She sent Marian to stay at an estate for the weekend. The man would have been on the younger side. His parents would have still lived there.”
The pause was followed by a moment of silence. “That’s right. I remember seeing that in her file. Lewiston, I believe. Caleb Lewiston.”
“He’s dead.”
“Is he?”
My lids lowered through the anger. “He will be soon. Can you get him for me?”
Elec paused. “First, Bastian. Now, Caleb? The agreement was for Marian. You’re already in debt to me. Are you sure you want to tie yourself to this life even more?”
“We both know a little or a lot doesn’t matter. I’m guilty either way. I want him. What it’s going to cost is irrelevant.”
A laugh poured over the speaker, revealing the darkness in his tone. “Alright. Let’s just say you’re going to owe me a favor in the future.”
“Anything.”
Footsteps came to a stop. “That’s just what I wanted to hear. Focus on Marian. Caleb Lewiston is going to take me some time, but you’ll get him eventually. Right now, let’s worry about Bastian Allard. He’s the one who matters.”