Chapter 4
Francesca
“I'm sorry to disturb you, sir. We'll be landing in an hour or so,” a strange man's voice floated into my dream. Stefan and I were on a beach somewhere. I was wearing the most fabulous white bikini I'd ever seen. Stefan had on shorts and cool sunglasses that made him look even hotter.
The sun shone down on us, baking our golden skin. “It's time, Chesca,” he said, holding a bottle of suntan oil in his hand—and a smexy smirk on his face.
“Chesca.” My head bumped up and down, jostling me awake. I frowned and blinked and then realized where I was.
“Thanks, Phillips,” Stefan said.
“Yes, sir,” the man responded.
“Time to get up.” Stefan yawned and kissed the top of my head. “The girls packed you some shit. Wear whatever you want.” Then he moved me off his chest and got up. I watched him stand. I was amazed at how defined his muscles were now. How healthy and strong he was.
Compared to—before.
I found myself getting choked up just thinking about it.
“You're more than welcome to do the landing naked.” He briefly turned his head while he walked to his suitcase. He unzipped it and started digging around. “But I personally wouldn't recommend it.”
I decided I needed a quick bathroom break before I got dressed.
I darted to the open door at the end of the room, assuming it was a private en suite.
When I got to the door, the bedroom light turned on.
I quickly turned to see Stefan walking to the bed.
He whipped back the covers to display a rather large bloodstain on the white sheets.
He smiled, bent over—and touched the offending stain with his fingers.
I was shocked.
By a whole lot of things.
All at once.
But the most surprising thing was—the fact that I enjoyed seeing Stefan's reaction to my blood.
To what he’d done to me.
My lower belly warmed. Which was ridiculous. Because I was still in pain. And in absolutely no shape to do anything—down there.
Stefan continued touching the red stain in seeming fascination as I watched.
Yikes.
The man definitely had issues.
I bit my lip for a second.
But I guess that meant I did, too. Because yes, Stefan was definitely getting off on seeing my virginity all over his bed.
But—
So was I.
I rolled my eyes, took one step into the bathroom and closed the door behind me. I found the light and turned it on. I squinted at the brightness. I walked up to the sink and looked in the large mirror.
“Oh, nooo,” I whispered at the sight reflected back to me.
My makeup had melted down my face. The mascara that had looked so nice last night, now made me look like I belonged to a family of raccoons.
I feverishly began searching the drawers for any kind of makeup remover.
Luckily, I found some wipes. “Thank goodness,” I said to myself.
I pulled out a few and swiped several times over my entire face.
These were expensive wipes, so they did the job wonderfully.
Not like the thin, crappy, discount ones I normally bought.
These were thick and worked like a charm.
After I tossed the wipes into the garbage, I gazed down at my thighs.
My red, splotchy thighs. “Ugh.” I sighed. I was a freaking mess. The doorknob jiggled, scaring me. I jumped and grabbed one of the robes that conveniently hung behind me. “What?” I shrieked as I quickly shoved it on. I didn't want Stefan to catch sight of my ribs.
“Wait!” His muffled voice shouted through the door. “Don't get into the shower before you open the door!” he ordered sharply.
Yikes.
I tied the robe around me tightly and did what he asked. Maybe he needed to use the bathroom?
“Okay, hang on,” I said and stepped over to the door. I opened it for him, and there he was—standing there with a look on his face I'd never seen.
Before I could say a word, he picked me up and carried me to the bathroom counter. I shrieked when he sat me down.
“What are you doing?” I asked, pulling the robe tighter around my torso.
“There's no time for—” I nodded my head at him, “whatever it is you want to do.” I frowned.
“Besides, I'm still too sore,” I told him something he already knew.
Which was why I was so confused at the moment.
I had absolutely no idea why this man had just barged into the bathroom, scooped me up, and dumped me on the bathroom counter.
But from the look in his eyes, he seemed to be on some kind of mission.
“Shut up,” he said in a stern, angry tone. It took me aback. I hadn’t done anything to anger him. Had I? My mind raced, trying to think of a reason he would be so angry with me. But I couldn't come up with anything.
“Open your legs.” He moved back a step and stared.
What the heck?
“No! I already told you I'm not having sex with you again. I'm in too much pain. What's wrong with you?”
His eyes dragged up to mine. “Open your fucking legs. Now.” He enunciated every word separately and coldly.
“Why?” I asked again, feeling even more confused. What was this guy's deal?
His face changed again, and now he seemed even more disturbed than before. He took a step forward, placed his hands on my knees, and said, “You don't listen, Francesca. We'll have to work on that.” He pulled my legs apart roughly, and I gasped.
He knelt down and threw the bottom of my robe over my legs, exposing me fully to him. His eyes narrowed at me. His chest rose and fell quickly now as his breathing quickened.
I looked down to see what he was seeing—and my face heated. It looked like a crime scene down there.
I mean, I knew some women bled when they lost their virginity. But I honestly imagined it would only be a tiny bit of blood. Not the natural disaster I was seeing now.
I tried to shut my legs. “I'm a mess. Let me go. I need to shower.”
Stefan's fingers dug into me so roughly I knew I'd have bruises.
“Ow!” I yelled, not that it made him stop. Because it didn't. He just spread my legs further.
Geez.
This man.
He stared at my core—
At the mess covering me.
And then he—
“Oh,” I gasped when Stefan moved in and—
Licked me.
And kissed me.
There.
His tongue lapped at the sensitive flesh—like he was tasting me.
Even though it was weird as heck—it did something to me. It made me feel—
Cherished?
Adored?
Loved?
I wasn't sure I could put a name on it. Because I'd never experienced this emotion before.
All I knew was that what I was feeling wasn't bad.
Not at all.
Stefan liked what he was doing.
And he liked it a lot.
After he finished—he kissed down one thigh. And then the other.
And stood.
His hands landed flat on the countertop beside my hips, and he leaned in.
But he didn't say anything.
“You have an issue or two, I see.”
That seemed to bring Stefan out of his virginal blood stupor and back into real life. He huffed out a forced laugh. “You have no idea, Francesca.” And then he—
Kissed me.
On my lips.
He forced his tongue inside my mouth, and I was overcome by our scent—and our taste all at once.
My hands clung to his shoulders, feeling the warm skin there.
He kissed me deeply and thoroughly until my toes curled.
“Stefan,” I whispered while he kissed down my neck.
His hand dipped inside my robe and cupped my bare breast.
“You can shower now. But make it quick.” He squeezed my breast, turned, and walked out of the bathroom.
“What the heck was that?” I mouthed to myself and slipped off the counter.
I made sure Stefan was gone before I shut the door and dropped my robe onto the floor.
Then I peered at myself in the mirror. My ribs were still colorful shades of yellow and brown.
I let out a breath and thanked the universe that Stefan hadn't seen my bruises. And hopefully he never would.
Then, I headed into the shower. I couldn't believe how massive it was considering we were on an airplane.
Actually, I wasn't expecting there to be a shower in here at all.
I turned on the water and stepped in. I knew I didn't have time to do my hair.
So, I just soaped up my body. The warm water did wonders for my pain.
I still felt a stinging irritation down there, but it was a lot better than it had been.
I wasn't sure if they made a cream for this kind of pain, but maybe I'd try to pick something up when I went to buy a morning after pill.
I stopped for a moment and realized I didn't have any money on me at all.
Crap.
I'd have to ask Stefan to pay for it. The thought of asking him for money made me feel icky all over. It wasn't like I had any other choice, though.
I finished up as quickly as I could in the shower and then dried off with a big, fluffy white towel. Unfortunately, it wasn't white for long. I noticed a few red stains afterward.
“Darn it,” I said, feeling annoyed. Now I'd have to search around for a pad of some kind. If there were makeup wipes here, then hopefully there might be some emergency pads in the drawers as well.
I began searching and finally found one in the bottom drawer.
It wasn't the cheapo brand I always bought.
I grabbed a handful of them to take along.
I wasn't sure how long it would take to get to a pharmacy or a store.
Might as well try to be prepared just in case.
And I really wasn't sure how much or how long I was going to bleed for.
I wandered into the bedroom and saw that Stefan had opened the suitcase that Eve and Giselle had packed for me. That was nice of him.
It took me a minute to look through the whole thing and check out what clothes they’d packed. The yoga pants and sweatshirt looked the most comfortable. But something told me that would definitely be the wrong choice.
I wasn't sure where we were going. Yes, I knew we were going to his house. But I had no idea where that was. Or how to get there. Or how many people we'd see along the way. And I didn't want to embarrass Stefan by wearing slobby clothes.