Chapter 14
“Dempsey, tell us what happened. Who was that?”
Dacre tried for about the nineteenth time to get a response out of me, but I shook my head.
I could feel the tension radiating off him from beneath me, but I couldn’t speak. Not with the amount of fear running through my body. Or with my voice wrecked from Trenton’s greedy little hands.
I thought I’d have more time. Yes, my father had sent me letters. Warnings. But I didn’t think he’d act upon them so soon. Not yet.
Sinclair glanced between me and the road. “What the fuck is that on your neck?”
I stiffened. Trust Sin to notice the remnants of psycho Trent, even while behind the wheel of a speeding Porsche.
Dacre’s touch was gentle when he moved my hoodie aside, swearing at the marks. “Did the guy in the truck do that to you?”
I shook my head, but didn’t utter the name I knew I so easily could. I didn’t know what would happen if I told them it was Trent who’d attacked me.
The adrenaline ebbed from my body, replaced with a mix of devastating anxiety and exhaustion that left me trembling. Unable to get my breathing under control, I focused on pulling in air through my nose and blowing it out of my mouth.
“What is she doing?” Sinclair glanced at Dacre.
“Deep breathing.” Dacre’s arm tightened around my waist, his other hand rubbing small calming circles over my back with his knuckles. “You’re okay,” he murmured in my ear, his words soothing me more than I would have expected. “Close your eyes, I’ve got you. Nobody can get you here with us.”
I knew he believed it, but it wasn’t true. My father could reach me anywhere, he’d just proved that. Nowhere was safe. He was determined to force me into a life that would break me. All for his own gain.
My father always got what he wanted.
Dacre’s arms tightened around my waist and he leaned forward, his lips gently brushing against the marks on my neck. I shuddered at his touch, but the move successfully distracted me from my thoughts for the briefest moment.
I leaned back, letting my body melt against him. The feeling of being held, being comforted, wasn’t something I was used to. It sure beat comforting myself while I sobbed in the shower, my usual coping mechanism.
I still planned on doing exactly that the moment I was out of this car, but having Dacre’s solid body at my back, his arms around my waist, and his lips gently caressing my throat brought me momentary comfort.
Sinclair gunned the Porsche through the gates and into the giant garage. He stopped the car, turning in his seat to glance at me, then at Dacre, another one of their silent conversations passing between them.
“I want to go inside,” was all I managed to rasp out.
Dacre opened the door, helping me from the car before sliding out after me.
I made a beeline for the doors to the house, Dacre and Sinclair behind me.
“Dempsey, tell us what the hell that was about…” Sinclair started, before Dacre cut him off.
I ignored them both, heading straight for my room and locking the door. I slid down it to the floor, the tears I couldn’t hold back any longer falling down my cheeks.
This was pointless. All of it.
Trenton was a violent asshole who was always going to get away with it because his father had money and influence in a community that was all too willing to turn a blind eye to that kind of criminal behavior.
As for Algor and my father… my body trembled and I dropped my head to my knees, hugging myself tightly.
A small part of me had believed my mother when she’d said that our lives with Byron would be a fresh start. That we’d be protected. And maybe that was true for my mother, but it didn’t apply to me. My father had never seen me as a daughter, only ever a chess piece in a game I’d never agreed to play, but could never stop playing either.
He’d never let me go. Not until he’d gotten what he wanted.
Swiping at my cheeks, I forced myself to my feet and into the bathroom. I refused to look in the mirror at Trenton’s handiwork. It would only cause more angry tears to fall.
I turned the shower to scalding and stripped down, stepping under the pounding spray. I let it soak me. Let it wash away the dirt and sweat and fear of running from that truck. Let it wash over my neck, stripping the feel of Trenton’s malicious fingers from my skin, even if it wouldn’t remove the marks he’d left behind.
But I couldn’t outrun my past or my future. And when I pulled my face from the water so I could breathe, the fear was still there. Still pulsing through me like a living, breathing thing.
Tears slid down my cheeks again, mingling with the hot water falling over me. Curling in on myself, I dropped to the floor, pressing my back against the wall and pulling my knees up to my chest once more.
My head dropped to my knees.
How was this my life? Why had I ever thought doing anything with Trenton was a good idea? Why was mine the father I’d been given? How different would my life be if I’d gotten someone else to call Dad?
The door to the bathroom opened, someone stepping into the fogged space and closing the door behind them. Quiet footsteps sounded across the tiled floor, along with clothes being discarded, then a body slid in beside me.
“I’m so sorry, Sass,” Presley said. His voice was gentle. Torn. Quiet.
Quieter than I’d ever heard him.
It made the tears fall faster.
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.”
He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, tucking me against his side, and I lifted my head. “Where were you?”
His expression twisted with remorse. “I… I had a bad day. I hit a bar not far from campus and I lost track of time.”
I pulled away from him and his expression crumbled. “Would you have been able to drive even if you had remembered?” I demanded, eyes brimmed with tears.
Anguish filled his own and he shook his head. “I should have been there for you.” He pulled me against him again and I let him, my head falling to his shoulder.
He was still wearing black boxer shorts, the material soaked from the showerhead raining down on us.
“I’ll never let you down like that again. I swear it, Dempsey. I’m so fucking sorry.”
I nodded, knowing he meant it. I lifted my head, my gaze locking with his.
“I promise you, I’ll always be there.” His hand came up to cup my cheek, his palm warm against my skin.
I shifted closer and his brow pinched, eyes searching mine in question. But I didn’t want to answer. I didn’t want to talk at all. Right now, I wanted to feel anything but the anxiety and fear overwhelming me.
Tilting my chin, I angled my face towards his. He didn’t hesitate, his mouth dropping to mine, his soft lips caressing me. Our tongues met, sliding against one another and Presley groaned, pulling back. “We can’t do this right now.”
I pulled back just enough that I could slide my leg over both of his, twisting my body until I was straddling him. His hands landed on my bare back, eyes dropping to the rivulets cascading down my chest.
“You sure about that?” I asked, leaning in to kiss him again. He kissed me back with an eagerness that took my breath away.
Until he pulled away again.
“I can’t take advantage of you with what you’ve just been through. I’m a stupid, selfish asshole, but I do have some boundaries.”
I slowly leaned in until my mouth closed over the sensitive flesh at his throat. “I want you.” I sucked hard, making him shudder. “Help me forget, Pres.”
His name falling from my lips in a way that was borderline begging was his undoing. He hardened beneath me, the head of his cock brushing against my core and making me moan.
His hands tightened at my waist, before reaching up to cup my breast.
“Fuck me,” he muttered to himself, staring down at my chest as he toyed with my nipple.
“I’m trying.”
The grin that tugged at the corner of his mouth was ruinous. His hand slipped between my legs, groaning again when he realized I was slick and ready for him.
“Are you sure?” he mumbled against my skin, lips brushing over my collarbone like he couldn’t resist.
I nodded, arching my back so my breasts were in his face.
“Fuck, Sass, you’re killing me.”
I rocked my hips over his hard cock once. Twice. Three times. Enjoying the delicious shudder that ran through us both. “So let’s die happy together.”
It was all the permission he needed, his resolve shattering in an instant. He wrapped an arm around my waist to lift me off him slightly. Just enough to tug his boxers down, his hard cock springing free. Lowering me back down, I grinded my hips over him, the sensation twice as satisfying now there was no barrier between us.
“Should I get something?” Pres asked, his expression tight with need.
I shook my head. “I’m on the pill. And I’m clean.”
“I’m clean too. I get tested.”
Leaning in, I kissed him again, long and slow. His cock lined up at my entrance and I stilled, tilting my hips so he slid inside of me.
He tipped his head back against the wall and groaned long and low.
“You feel incredible,” he muttered, wrapping his arm around my waist again and tugging me closer so my breasts were pressed against his chest, the water still raining down on us.
The proximity meant my clit brushed against his pubic bone with every tilt and thrust of my hips, both of us panting in unison.
“God, you’re such a hot little bitch, Sass. So damn tight.”
I shuddered at his degrading praise, the sound of it only heightening the sensation between my legs.
The water soaked us, running in rivulets over my skin, as we rocked together. Every rock and thrust pushed me higher and higher until I was teetering on the edge.
“Pres…” I said, breathlessly. “Pres, I’m going to come.”
He gripped my hips tighter, holding me down on his cock. Then he lifted me up, sliding out, only to thrust back in. The sound of my pleasure echoed around the cavernous bathroom.
I couldn’t hold on, my body overwhelmed with sensation, and my orgasm exploded inside me. Presley’s fingers flexed at my waist, then he was groaning his release along with me.
When we were both spent, I lifted myself off and Presley slipped out of me. Then he wrapped his arms around me and I fell against his chest, letting his comfort wash over me along with the water.