CHAPTER 51
WREN
∞
I feel like such a fucking asshole. I ordered for her because I knew what she liked, but I didn’t think to even ask her if there was something she preferred. She’s staring at the plate in front of her while I pull some of the alfredo onto my fork. She hasn’t moved to pick up her fork or knife, and her face is hidden from me. I sigh, set my fork back down, and push my chair back from the table.
Her body stiffens, and her shoulders shake as I drop to crouch down next to her. She quickly wipes at her eyes and tries to avoid looking at me. I place my hand at her back, and I can actually feel her body shaking against my touch. She sniffles and I reach up to push her hair back behind her ear.
“I didn’t mean to upset you, Chess,”
I say quietly at her ear. I settle my other hand on her thigh and give it a gentle squeeze.
“Why are you doing this?”
She hiccups through a quiet sob.
“What, Chess?”
“This!”
She hisses, pointing at the plate in front of her. “I told you I was fine with the pasta.”
“I’m sure you were, but I know, deep down, you would have rather had the steak.”
I lean towards her and kiss her cheek. “I never want you to be without ever again, Chess. I want you to enjoy every moment you can, for as long as you can.”
“You don’t owe me anything. What I’ve been through is still on me, Wren.”
Her comment confuses me, and I pull back to look at her. Her jaw twitches and her hands clench into fists in her lap.
“You can’t possibly think what happened to you is your fault.”
Is she insane? This girl is so broken inside that she honestly believes that it’s her fault for getting used and abused. It’s never a child’s fault for the actions of adults who should know better and be protecting the innocent.
“It is my fault…I should have never lost. If I was strong enough, I would have never lost, and I never would have been put through that. I wouldn’t owe Jullian money, and I wouldn’t be fucking branded like a fucking cow.”
“Do not fucking blame yourself for the heinous actions of those who are too weak and fucked up to understand the wrong they did to you. The only one that deserves to be blamed in full, is Jullian. He…”
I can’t tell her. I want to tell her he won’t ever hurt her again. That she’ll never have to pay him another cent, but if I do that, then I’m pulling her into my own darkness and a secret that could get her killed.
“He will never lay a hand on you again, Chess. I’ll never allow it.”
I push myself to my feet and place my hand gently on her head.
“Wren,”
she whimpers.
I don’t know how she’s held it together these last twelve years, but somehow, being around me has shattered her walls and her emotions are rushing forth, uninhibited. I’m sure it hurts her to show me this side of her. I’m sure it’s painful to be completely stripped down raw as your feelings threaten to cripple you from the inside out. She’s been holding onto this pain for so long, that she needs this release in order to heal from the deep scars within her soul.
“Eat, Chess. Eat to your heart’s content.”
She slowly picks up her utensils, cuts a piece of steak, and places it gently in her mouth. I bend down and press my lips to her hair, breathing her in as I linger for a moment.
“Thank you,”
she mumbles.
I sit back into my seat, feeling anxious and depressed myself. She was carefree and spunky when we got here, and her mood changed so quickly for the worse. Her emotions are precarious, and I need to get a better handle on reading her better or I may just crush her emotionally without meaning to.
The rest of dinner is pretty quiet. I don’t push it further with her, and Alex keeps up a decent conversation with her, asking her about her likes and dislikes of the most random things. Harris clears our plates, and I order us some desserts and coffees.
I can’t help but watch her as she spoons the decadent chocolate into her mouth. She’s mesmerizing to watch. How much she enjoys the simple things that we, as immortal beings, have taken for granted. I open my mouth to say something, when she glances up at me. Her eyes are still rimmed in red from her crying earlier, and her makeup is slightly smeared. Her face is flush from the amount of alcohol she’s consumed as well. We’re working through our third bottle already, and she just keeps draining her glass, over and over.
I pay for dinner and leave Harris a hefty tip for tolerating us. I help Chess from her seat, and she stumbles slightly into me. “I think I drank too much,”
she sighs.
“It’s okay. It’s not like you have anything to do tonight.”
Alex goes over to the valet to ask for our car, and I look down at her as she grips her fingers into my arm.
“I do have something to do tonight.”
“Hmm? What’s that exactly? I gave you the day off.”
Her eyes shift to Alex as he makes his way back towards us, and then she looks up at me. “You.”
My eyes widen and her hold on me tightens. “Chess, I think you’re drunk, and you should probably just sleep it off.”
“I feel fine, Wren.”
She says that but I see her sway slightly as we wait for the car to pull up.
“Alex, I think you should drive home.”
He looks at me confused and then looks at Chess. “Is she hammered?”
“I’m…not sure.”
The car comes up and Alex hops into the driver’s seat while I flip the switch for Chess to get in the back. She stumbles in, and I lean down to check on her. She pushes her hair back from her face, irritated that it’s in her eyes, and crosses her arms across her chest.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,”
she snaps, turning her head away from me. I move to pull back from her and she reaches for my arm, gripping my wrist. “Don’t go!”
She whines.
“Chess, I’m just going to be in the front seat.”
I let out a grunt of surprise when she yanks me towards her, into the back seat. My face slams into her chest and I whack my knee off the edge of the front seat. She hugs my head to her, suffocating me against her tits.
“Chess,”
I choke out at the vicious hold she has around my neck.
“Ride with me…back here.”
She loosens her hold on me, and I gasp out a breath as I brace my hands on the seat on either side of her hips.
“Didn’t you say the back was too small for my…height? Now you expect both of us to fit back here?”
“I can sit on your lap,”
she says cheerfully, and Alex snorts from the front seat.
“That’s probably not a good idea, Chess.”
“Why?”
“You’re drunk, Chess. I’m not taking advantage of you.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s not appropriate.”
“Why?”
My temple pulses with irritation and my jaw clicks. She’s fucking with me. “You’re pushing it,”
I grit out, trying to stifle a laugh at her immature behaviour.
“Hmm, yeah. That’s a shame when I could be sitting on it.”
“Ooookay. Time to go,”
Alex cackles. He gets out of the car and goes around to the passenger side, pinning me in when he slams the front seat back and closes the door on me as I turn to protest.
“Alex,”
I hiss out, shooting daggers at him for encouraging this behaviour.
“Just suck it up and take care of her.”
I shiver when I feel Chess brush her fingers down the back of my neck, and quickly shift over to the seat behind Alex. She frowns at me and settles her hand on my thigh when Alex pulls away from the restaurant.
The space is cramped back here. My torso alone, takes up half the back seat. I’m acutely aware of how close she really is to me and my eyes dart to Alex’s in the rearview mirror when her hand slides up my thigh further to rest against my cock.
I slam my eyes closed as she palms me through my pants, and I let out a harsh, low breath. She leans her face in towards mine and drags her tongue across my jaw before nipping at my ear. “Fuck me, Wren.”
“Alex is right there,”
I grunt when she presses down harder against my length. My cock is straining against these pants for the second time tonight, and it’s making me question my wardrobe choices.
“I don’t care,”
she purrs. Her voice is husky and filled with need. Her hands shift to my belt and then the button and zipper. I almost come when her warm hand plunges down under the material to grip my cock.
“You don’t care?”
I breathe heavily.
“No.”