CHAPTER 18
Hands pull at my clothes, tearing and yanking them from my body as I shriek, desperately trying to get away. “NO,” I scream with hot tears on my face, trying to free myself from the faceless men.
My clothes fall away, my belongings, my pride, everything stripped from me until I stand naked at the mercy of strange men. I’m thrown down, their grip so tight that it’s bound to leave my skin bruised and scarred.
“No, no,” I cry, begging the torture to stop, begging to be back home, but where is home? I don’t have a home. I have nothing. Nowhere to go, nowhere to be. I’m all alone in this violent, unforgiving world.
The hands pull and push, forcing me down. I beg, scream, and cry for it all to be over, but they don’t let up, they don’t relent. My body is grabbed, my breasts squeezed, my ass thrust against. When will it stop? Please, someone, make it stop.
The faceless man presses into me, his body heavy against mine, and as a wicked grin stretches wide across his face, my eyes fly open, and I find myself alone in the darkened spare bedroom of Carver’s mansion.
“Holy fuck,” I breathe, racing out of bed and slamming my hand down over the light, letting the room flood with brightness despite it being the middle of the night.
When the hell did I allow myself to fall asleep? How stupid could I be? I can’t sleep alone. I need Carver to keep the monsters away.
After scanning the room for unwelcome shadows, I drop down on the edge of the bed, my head resting heavily in my hands. It was just a dream. I’m okay. It’s over now. I’m safe.
When the hell am I going to be okay? This can’t keep happening. How long am I going to be a prisoner to my own fears, my own nightmares? Sure, Carver took pity on me yesterday and allowed me to spend the night in his arms, but he’s not going to do that forever, and I can’t ask him too.
Needing a minute to calm down, I climb off my bed and make my way downstairs. I doubt sleep will come for the rest of the night, but I need something to take my mind off it, something to keep me distracted. As I make my way down the stairs, I consider figuring out which one of these doors Mr. Danforth is hiding behind and taking him up on his offer to ‘talk.’ But with guys like that come feelings, and I’m definitely not the girl he should be falling for.
I make my way into the kitchen and start searching through the cupboards for a glass, then proceed to make as much noise as possible trying to fill it with iced water.
The clock on the wall tells me that it’s just after eleven at night and I gape at it for a second. When in the fresh hell did it get so late? After talking to the boys today, I retreated back to my room at about four in the afternoon, then I stared at the ceiling for a few hours, contemplating how my life got so fucked up in such a small amount of time. I don’t remember falling asleep but here we are. It must have happened at some point.
I sip on my iced water, standing at the kitchen sink and looking out the massive window into the back yard. It’s freaking incredible. The pool is massive and gives me major summer vibes, but I doubt I’ll ever get a chance to use it. As soon as I figure myself out, I’ll be out of here.
A noise coming from the main living area catches my attention, and I spin around, looking out into the darkness. King sits on one of the massive couches, leaning forward and reading a paper with a set of headphones over his ears, completely oblivious to me standing in the kitchen.
I roam my greedy eyes over him. He’s not wearing a shirt, and the top of his headphones rest on the back of his neck. I don’t know why—but damn. It’s the most attractive thing I’ve ever seen.
Before I even know what I’m doing, I start making my way to him, my hungry stare eating him up like Christmas pudding, and as I take him in, I realize that he’s exactly what I need. King is my lucky ticket to claiming myself back. Only I control my body. Only I get a say in who or what touches it. I don’t belong to those faceless monsters; I belong to me.
I’m going to claim myself back, I’m going to steal back the control, and King is going to help me do it.
The closer I get to him, the more liberated I start to feel, and despite the hell I’ve been through, I know this is right. This is exactly what I have to do.