Chapter 13 Killian
Killian
The grocery bags hit the kitchen counter harder than I intended, cans rolling across the surface.
Something was wrong.
Lena had driven to work today. I'd finally fixed her car because she'd asked me to, and then she'd fucked my brains out, earning a promise out of me that I'd get it done.
I'd spent yesterday replacing the battery I'd been sitting on for weeks, made a show of how complicated it was, how long it took.
She'd been so grateful, so sweet, kissing me and thanking me like I'd done her some huge favor.
Like I hadn't been the one who'd broken it in the first place.
But now the cabin was too quiet. Not the peaceful quiet of Lena reading or drawing, but the empty kind. The kind that made my skin crawl and my pulse spike.
She should have been home by now.
The gallery closed at six, and it was almost seven thirty.
I pulled out my phone and checked the tracker I'd installed on her car. The one she didn't know about. The little red dot that should have been showing her on her way up the mountain was instead moving south.
Away from here.
Away from me.
My chest tightened, something feral and desperate clawing its way up my throat.
No.
She wouldn't.
She couldn't.
I hit her contact, the phone ringing once, twice, three times before she finally answered.
"Killian…" Her voice was small, guilty.
"Where are you?" My voice came out rough, barely controlled.
Silence on the other end. Then: "I'm sorry."
Those two words confirmed everything I'd been afraid of.
"Where. Are. You." Each word was punctuated, a demand she couldn't ignore.
"I can't do this anymore," she said, and I could hear the tears in her voice. "I can't be with you like this. It's not healthy, it's not…"
"Lena, tell me where you are right now."
"I'm not even in the city," she said quietly. "I'm far away from you, Killian. And I need you to let me go."
Far away.
I looked at the tracking app again, zooming out on the map. When I’d repaired her car, I put a device inside of it, so I’d always know where she was.
The red dot was moving steadily northeast on I-95, already well past the Roanoke county line.
Richmond.
She’s heading to Richmond.
Her aunt.
She'd mentioned her Aunt Ellen once, weeks ago, said she lived in Richmond and had offered her a place to stay when she first moved to the mountains. I'd filed that information away, catalogued it like I did everything about Lena.
And now it was going to bring her back to me.
"Lena," I said, forcing my voice to calm even as my heart raced and my hands started shaking. "Baby, we can talk about this. Just come back and we'll figure it out."
"There's nothing to figure out." Her voice cracked. "You stalked me. You manipulated me. You threatened Randall…"
"I protected you," I whispered.
"You terrified him! You…" She took a shaky breath. "I can't be with someone who does things like that. I can't."
"Yes, you can." I was already grabbing my keys, my wallet, shoving my feet into boots. "You have been. And you were happy."
"I was trapped."
"You were loved." The word came out harsh, desperate. "You were fucking loved, Lena. More than anyone has ever loved you or ever will."
Lena paused on the other end of the line before speaking again. "That's not love, Killian. That's obsession."
"It's both." I was out the door now, climbing into my truck. "And you felt it too. You can't tell me you didn't."
Silence.
I could hear her breathing on the other end, could picture her gripping the steering wheel, tears streaming down her face.
"Lena…"
"I have to go."
"Don't hang up."
I heard her suck in a harsh, ragged breath. "Goodbye, Killian."
The line went dead then. I stared at the phone for half a second before throwing it on the passenger seat and starting the engine. The tracker showed she was about two hours ahead of me, maybe more depending on how fast she was driving.
But I knew these roads. Knew shortcuts she wouldn't think to take.
I could catch her.
I would catch her.
She wasn't leaving me. She didn't get to decide that. We belonged together, and I'd make her understand that even if I had to drag her back kicking and screaming.
The truck roared to life and I peeled out of the driveway, gravel spraying behind me.
I could make it in ninety minutes if I pushed it.
My hands gripped the steering wheel so tight my knuckles went white, my mind racing through scenarios. What I'd say when I found her. How I'd convince her to come back. What I'd do if she refused.
She was mine.
She'd always been mine.
And I was bringing her home.
Ninety minutes later, just as I’d predicted the tracker led me to a restaurant called The Roosevelt Bar and Grille.
It was some upscale place in Richmond's downtown area with white tablecloths and waiters in pressed uniforms. The kind of place that was supposed to be safe, civilized, far removed from obsessive men who tracked their women across state lines.
She thought she could run here and I wouldn't follow.
She’s wrong.
I sat in my truck across the street for ten minutes, watching through the large front windows. Lena was at a table near the back with an older woman who had to be her Aunt Ellen. They were talking, Lena's hands animated as she spoke, her aunt listening with a concerned expression.
Telling her everything, probably.
About the stalking. The manipulation. How dangerous I was.
My jaw clenched.
I couldn't storm in there, make a scene. That would only prove her right, make me look like the unhinged stalker she was painting me as.
No, I needed to be smart about this.
I waited.
Watched them order drinks, appetizers. Watched Lena laugh at something her aunt said, though it didn't reach her eyes. She looked tired, fragile, like she'd been crying the whole drive down.
Good.
She should feel what this was doing to both of us.
Twenty minutes into their meal, Lena excused herself from the table. I watched her weave through the restaurant toward the back hallway where the restrooms were, and I was out of the truck before I could think twice about it.
The restaurant's interior was dim and elegant, jazz playing softly over hidden speakers. I kept my head down, moved with purpose like I belonged there, and slipped into the hallway just as Lena disappeared into the women's restroom.
I gave her thirty seconds, then followed.
The bathroom was upscale like the rest of the place with marble counters, individual stalls with floor-to-ceiling doors, soft lighting that was supposed to be flattering. And standing at the sink washing her hands was Lena.
She saw me in the mirror and froze.
"Kil…Killian…"
I was across the room in three strides, my hand wrapping around her wrist before she could move. "We need to talk."
"Let go of me." Her voice shook, but there was steel underneath it.
"No." I pulled her toward the largest stall at the end, the handicapped one with actual space, and pushed her inside. The lock clicked behind us with a finality that made her flinch.
"You can't just fucking do this," she stared up at me about to fly off the handle, but I cut her off.
Licking my lips, I leaned down close to her. "I can. I did. And we're going to talk about why you thought running away was a good idea."
"It wasn't running away, it was leaving." She tried to pull her wrist free but I held firm. "There's a difference."
"Not to me there isn't." I stepped in closer than close, backing her against the tiled wall. "You don't get to just leave, Lena. That's not how this works."
"There is no 'this' anymore!" Her voice rose, and I pressed my hand over her mouth.
"Quiet," I said softly. "Your aunt is right out there. You don't want her to hear us, do you?"
Her eyes went wide, furious, but she nodded.
I slowly removed my hand.
"You're insane," she hissed. "Following me here, cornering me in a bathroom…"
"I'm insane?" I laughed, the sound harsh in the small space. "You're the one who ran instead of talking to me. You're the one who's out there lying to your aunt about what we have."
She rolled her eyes, "What we have is toxic!"
"What we have is real." I gripped her chin, forced her to look at me. "More real than anything you've ever had with anyone else. And you know it."
"That doesn't make it right…"
"I don't care about right." My other hand found her hip, pulled her flush against me before moving to one of her ass cheeks and full on palming it. "I care about you. About us. About the fact that you're mine and you're trying to pretend you're not."
I felt her breath hitch, saw the way her pupils dilated even as she tried to maintain her anger.
"I'm not yours," she said, but her voice was weaker now.
"Liar." I leaned in, my lips brushing her ear. "Your body knows the truth even if your mouth won't admit it."
"Killian…"
"Tell me you don't want me right now." My hand gripped her harder, fingers pressing into the ample meat of her ass. The thin fabric of her dress almost seemed to tear under my grip. "Tell me you don't get wet thinking about how far I'd go to keep you."
She whimpered, and I smiled against her neck.
"That's what I thought."
"This is wrong," she breathed, but her hands were already fisting in my shirt, pulling me closer instead of pushing away.
"I know." I nipped at her throat, felt her pulse jump under my lips. "But you're going to let me do it anyway."
"My aunt…"
"Is out there wondering where you are." I pulled back just enough to look at her. "And you're in here with me, about to let me fuck you in a public bathroom because you can't help yourself."
Her face flushed, shame and arousal warring in her expression.
"I hate you," she whispered.
"No, you don't." My hand slid up to her throat, not squeezing, just resting there. A promise. A threat. "But you can pretend if it makes this easier."
I kissed her then, my tongue pushing past her lips. Lena tried to resist, tried to push me away but I was a force. She was a beach and I was a relentless tide pounding the sand.
Her resistance only lasted but for so long before she began to kiss me back, desperate and needy.
“I’m going to fuck you, Lena,” I murmured slowly undoing my jeans. As I hiked her thin little dress up I took note of the even thinner pair of panties.
“Someone could come in,” Lena’s gasp was like music to my ears as her hands went to my shoulders for balance.
“Then they’ll get a private show,” I nipped at her lips as my fingers slipped inside of her wet and waiting center. “You’re ready for me, baby.”
Not even bothering to take her panties off, I slipped them to the side all while positioning myself at her entrance. “Let your aunt wonder, Sweet Girl. I don’t fucking care, you belong to me.”
Literally, I didn’t give a shit if anyone heard her. Finally I shoved into her, and felt her nails digs into my shoulders. Under my gaze, I saw Lena biting her lip to keep from crying out.
“Do you feel that Sweet Girl,” I whispered my question. “Do you feel how fucking wet you are, how slick you are?”
Lena didn’t bother to answer me, just clung to me as I fucked her against the bathroom stall door. She had no idea that I would go to any lengths to keep her.
To make sure she never ran from me again.
“You’re mine,” I whispered in her ear as I slammed into her making the door rattle on its hinges.
“No,” Lena mumbled, sounding out of breath and in the most unconvincing way.
It didn’t matter, I continued slamming into her, chasing my release. “Say that you’re mine.”
She whimpered, “I can’t…”
“But you can Sweet Girl,” I pulled out of her looking down between us and seeing that my dick was covered in her juices. “Tell me and I’ll let you come on my dick. Tell me, Lena…”
Her eyes flashed to mine and I could see how much turmoil was lingering there. She was at war with herself but I knew which part was going to win.
Finally she whispered, “I’m yours.”
That sent me over the edge and I began to pound into her, harder and faster than before. A small cry broke loose from her lips as I dove into her pussy.
Her walls started to quake and I found her screams were suddenly muffled against my shoulder. I was what she needed. The only thing she would ever need.
Lena’s body gave one last tremble as she came apart on my dick. I could feel her juices sliding down my legs as my own release hit and I flooded her pussy, marking her.
Claiming her.
When we finally broke apart, both of us were breathing hard, her dress wrinkled and pushed up, my shirt untucked.
She looked wrecked.
Beautiful.
Mine.
"You're coming back with me," I said, not a question.
"Killian…"
"You're coming back." I smoothed her dress down, fixed her hair with gentle fingers that belied what we'd just done. "You can tell your aunt you changed your mind, that you realized you overreacted. Or you can tell her the truth, that you can't stay away from me no matter how hard you try."
Tears filled her eyes. "I can't go back to that cabin."
"Yes, you can." I cupped her face, made her look at me. "Because the alternative is me following you wherever you go. Making scenes. Showing up at your aunt's house in the middle of the night. Is that what you want?"
"I want you to let me go."
"Never." The word was absolute, final. "You're mine, Lena. And the sooner you accept that, the easier this will be for both of us."
I unlocked the stall door, checked to make sure the bathroom was still empty, then pulled her out to the sinks.
"Fix your makeup," I said. "You're going back out there, making an excuse to your aunt about not feeling well, and then you're leaving with me."
"And if I don't?"
I leaned in close, my voice dropping to a whisper. "Then I walk out there right now and introduce myself to Aunt Ellen. Tell her all about our relationship. How we met. How close we've become. How worried I've been since you left without telling me where you were going."
Her eyes widened. "You wouldn't."
"Try me."
We stared at each other in the mirror, and I watched the fight drain out of her.
"Five minutes," she said finally. "Give me five minutes to say goodbye."
"I'll be waiting in the truck." I pressed a kiss to her temple, gentle and possessive. "Don't make me come back in, baby. You won't like what happens."
Then I left her there, staring at her reflection, and walked out of the restaurant knowing she'd follow.
Because she always would.
She didn't have a choice.
Neither of us did.