Текст книги "Fable of Happiness book three"

Автор книги: Pepper winters

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“Spare set?”

She shook her head again. “I always meant to get another key cut when I bought it secondhand but never got around to it.”

“Ah, well, that’s going to be tricky.” The bald guy smiled. “But if we can be of any assistance in that area, please just let us know.”

“It was rather convenient that you stumbled upon the same house that Mr. Sands was occupying.” The woman cop suddenly sniffed, her eyes narrowed on Gem. “Considering the size of the national park, some might say it was serendipitous.”

My hackles rose.

Gemma tensed beneath my hand. “It was.”

“And very convenient that you were there to help him when he fell off the cliff,” the woman added.

“What are you getting at?” I barked.

The woman arched her eyebrow. “Not getting at anything. Just stating the facts.”

“Yeah, well, don’t twist the facts to try to prove something that isn’t true.”

“What isn’t true, Mr. Sands?” the guy cop asked calmly.

I was probably walking into a trap, but I couldn’t help myself. “You’re insinuating that Gemma knew how to find me. That perhaps she has connections to the men and women who originally trapped me.” I pointed a finger in their face, my anger turning red hot. “Nothing is further from the truth. It was fate that brought Gemma to my door. Fate that she found me...before it was too late.”

“What do you mean by that?” The man cocked his head. “Too late?”

I flinched. How could I confess that I was reaching my limit and favoring suicide more and more? How could I look a policeman in the eyes and admit I was weak after everything I’d survived?

Gem suddenly stood, coming to my side behind the chair. Flicking her hair over her shoulder, she arched her chin. “I found Kas exactly as we said in the hospital. I went searching for a climb. I found his house instead. We got to know each other. An accident caused his concussion, ensuring I couldn’t leave to get help. I chose to stay. We fell in love. End of story.”

“And the fire? Was that an accident, too?” the woman asked softly.

“You know it was. We made a statement as such.”

“Arson forensics state they found multiple lines of accelerant. An alcohol or gasoline type product helped start the blaze.”

Fuck, how many of them were still in my valley? It made my skin crawl to think of police trampling everything. Crushing my grass, scaring the wildlife, possibly digging in places that they shouldn’t go digging.

“The guests who’d visit always enjoyed drinking,” I whispered coldly. “Over the years, the carpet would’ve held multiple spills.”

Gemma ran a hand through her hair, twitchy and tense. “If there’s nothing else, we really are late for our appointment.”

“Just one more thing.” The woman cop stood, her eyes scanning her notepad. “The doctors who treated you for smoke inhalation also mentioned that you, Mr. Sands, were diagnosed with a severe concussion and PTSD.”

“What the hell? What happened to doctor-patient confidentiality?” Gem snapped.

“When it’s a matter of public safety, we can gain access to certain facts, Ms. Ashford.”

“So you’re saying Kas is a threat to public safety?”

“We didn’t say that,” the male cop muttered, standing to join his partner. “We’re just aware rehabilitation after circumstances like the ones Mr. Sands has endured can take time and resources that need to be discussed—for the safety of all involved.”

“Are you taking the prescribed medication and have an appointment to see a local therapist?” The woman met my gaze.

“I am, and I will.” My hands balled.

Gem glanced my way before looking back at the police.

The officers made eye contact with her. “And you’re happy to have Mr. Sands in your home? You don’t need to feel responsible for his care now that you’re back home, Ms. Ashford. There are many places he can go—even with a lack of funds and no identification. You don’t have to house—”

“It’s my pleasure to give him somewhere to stay.”

“But if he’s suffering trauma from what occurred, it might be safest if he—”

“I trust him.” Gemma stiffened. “It’s an honor to have Kas stay with me for however long he wants. He’s welcome here indefinitely. Forever if that’s his choice as it is mine.” Her chin arched. “Now, I’m so sorry to be rude, but we really must be going.”

The cops looked at each other, then at Gem and me.

Tension vibrated between everyone.

The questions they’d already asked were repetitive and garnered no new facts. The insinuation that I might be a danger to the neighborhood weighed on me. This entire visit had scratched me raw, but I had no doubt they’d garnered more information from us than we thought we’d given. Eventually, they’d trip me up. I just had to hope I wasn’t as foggy headed next time.

Clearing my throat, I spoke calmly and politely, “I’m aware of my own flaws. I’m willing to take the necessary measures to ensure no one gets hurt. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Good to hear.” The woman nodded. “Well, then, I’m sure we will have opportunities to talk in the future.”

Why does that sound like a threat?

She smiled. “However, before we go, is there anything else you can tell us that would be prudent to our investigation? Anything at all?”

I shook my head. “No. We said what we needed to the doctors and police at the hospital.”

The police looked at one another. Questions still existed in their shrewd stares, but they put away their notepads and stood. “Okay then. We’ll be in touch as we gather more information.”

“No problem. You know where to find us.” Gemma headed toward the door, unable to hide her impatience to have them gone. “Thanks for stopping by.”

The cops looked me up and down, a tight smile on their faces. “Thanks for your time, Mr. Sands.”

“No problem.”

The male stuck out his hand, waiting for me to shake.

The thought of touching anyone who wasn’t Gem, especially a guy? Fuck me, it took every willpower to lock my knees, insert my hand into his, and stay human as his fingers tightened around mine.

Sweat broke out as my instincts roared to strike or run.

Letting me go, he tipped his chin down. “Goodbye.”

I tripped a little to the side as my heart rate galloped and the room spun.

Christ, if I reacted this way to every person I had to touch, maybe I was what the cops said: a danger to the neighborhood.

Gem shifted closer to me, subtly giving me her body to lean against in case my vision went completely white.

“We’ll be in touch.” The woman smiled thinly and stepped out of Gemma’s house. Her partner followed a few steps behind.

I didn’t breathe properly until the police were down the driveway and Gemma closed the door.

Silence.

Peace.

I sucked in a heavy breath, doing my best to shed the panic still racing in my blood from the guy’s touch.

Our eyes met.

We shrugged as if we were both a little lost.

Gemma was the first to recover, rubbing both hands over her face. “Argh, they’ll come back. I know they will. We need to come up with an iron-clad story, Kas. There are way too many holes in that one. The fact that traffickers just upped and left without taking you with them or killing you? And they haven’t even asked about any other kids being held there. Is it because the house was so badly burned there’s literally no evidence of others, or do they know something we don’t?”

White spots danced over my eyes as my body continued to tremble a little. I shivered as she walked into my arms. “Do you think they’ll come back for me?”

She buried her face into my chest. “I don’t know. But I think it’s important that we make it so they can’t pin any of this on you.”

“And how do we do that?” I inhaled the sweet scent of her hair, missing the smell of papaya and woodsmoke from the valley. Now, she smelled like berries and something else I couldn’t decipher.

She stayed quiet for a long time before leaning back in my arms and catching my stare. Her eyes were narrowed and full of hazel fire. “We use the online world to protect us. We’ll post videos—not only about climbing and survival tips but also the truth about what happened to you. The ease at how children are abducted every day. How this isn’t something crazy that happened but something that occurs all the time under people’s noses. We are all responsible for letting this happen to you. People need to see rapists hiding in their midst. They need to know that their husbands and wives going on long ‘work trips’ might not be who they think they are.” Her cheeks pinked. “We’ll help Jareth, not by telling the police that there are others out there but by telling normal people. We’ll tell them to keep their eyes open, to suspect and not be afraid if they see something that makes their instincts prickle. We’ll teach them to help protect anyone who’s been trapped and abused...just like you protected your family.”

* * * * *

I inhaled lush, green air and lay back in the damp grass. It wasn’t exactly warm and the sun cast autumn shadows, hinting that in another hour or so, darkness would once again descend. However, I hadn’t felt peace like this in a while.

Three weeks I’d lived at Gemma’s house.

Three weeks of taking my meds, attending a therapist session, and sleeping on the couch or in the backyard, depending on my nightmares. I’d hoped the filth inside my head would’ve stopped by now. I was happy. I had Gem. The cops hadn’t returned, and I hadn’t been forced to touch other strangers.

Yet...I couldn’t shake the memories that struck the moment I fell unconscious.

Gem had been undeniably patient with me. She didn’t ask me to sleep with her, even on the nights where we ended up in her bed after enjoying rather aggressive sex. Those nights were the hardest to banish myself to the couch when all I wanted to do was stay curled up around her.

I’d changed a lot in the past few weeks.

I’d read new books, learned how to exist outside the valley, and became acquainted with pieces of myself I’d never really met.

Gradually, the sex Gemma and I shared evolved too. I would never be fully tame when it came to physical gratification, and I still couldn’t touch myself any longer than a few seconds, but we shared a range of pleasures these days.

Aggressive and explosive, along with slow and meaningful. The first time we’d had gentle sex, we’d both fought to get closer. To touch everywhere at once, to kiss and drown in each other’s taste. But I forced myself to stay gentle, to fight the anger inside me, and just be.

That night was the first night I’d had a dream instead of a nightmare.

A dream of Gem. Of us. Of our simple, stress-free life together.

As far as our lives were going, they were pretty fucking amazing.

Yes, it remained just the two of us—apart from the regular pop-ins by Joshua and her mother. And yes, I felt the beginnings of a panic attack at the thought of going somewhere crowded, but I was no longer the Fable kid or the monster from the valley.

I was...Kas.

Gem’s fiancé, recovering slave, and a guy who’d finally accepted that freedom didn’t have to mean leaping into the world straight away. I didn’t have to be comfortable with music festivals and noisy restaurants. For now, we were in our own version of normal. And that was more than okay.

Lately, even my headache didn’t seem quite so bad. Whiteness didn’t flicker as often, and I felt...stable.

Stable in my love for Gem and her love for me.

Stable in my mental and physical safety.

I still thought about my family and what sort of pain they were enduring. I worried about Jareth and his bloody mission. I felt guilty and useless, but I also felt grateful.

Grateful to be stable, sane...normal.

And the faster I was normal, the sooner I could do something meaningful and try to help—not just my family but so many other kids who’d been trafficked, abused, and stolen.

As the days passed and I improved, Gemma returned to her usual routine that’d been neglected since she’d found me. She returned to work, going to her local climbing gym and filming technical videos to post on her channel.

Those evenings were my favorite. We’d go to her gym when no one else was around, I’d sit and watch her scale walls so effortlessly, we’d go home, have sex the moment we slammed the door, and then curl up together. Me reading a book, her editing raw content, adding voice-over, music, and teaching me how to upload, surf online, and do a bunch of stuff I never imagined was possible.

I’d always loved books and the knowledge they gave. But her laptop? Fuck me, it was as if I had the entire world at my fingertips without ever leaving her home.

After I’d accompanied her to the gym a few times, she invited me to go with her to the supermarket. To see all the cans, cartons, and jars full of food I used to have in the valley before I’d run out.

However, I’d declined. In all honesty, I wasn’t quite ready. Her house had become a sanctuary to me. The online stuff was helping me figure out my place in this new existence.

I was doing good.

I hadn’t had a relapse where I became a danger to her, and the longer I stayed sane without flashbacks or panic attacks, the less inclined I was to upset my new balance.

The only other outing I’d done with her had been to a local plant nursery. It’d given me a headache that lasted for days afterward, sending my heart rate sky high and my protective instincts into overdrive. The sales assistant had smiled a bit too friendly at Gemma. He’d stood too close. He’d laughed too loud at her replies to his gardening questions.

I’d wanted to plant my fist in his face.

By the time we’d arrived home and unloaded the trays of seedlings Gem had purchased, I had better control over myself. But it didn’t stop me from snatching her around the waist and carrying her into the house.

My sudden need for her came from stark fear of losing her.

My aggression as I ripped off her jeans, bent her over the couch arm, and slammed inside her was my way of assuring myself she was still here, still safe, still mine.

I’d imprinted myself on her. I’d touched everywhere to make sure she was unhurt from strangers. She’d matched my chaos, fucking me back, hard and rough, letting me lose control in relief that she was okay. We were okay.

At least with the gardening supplies, I finally had something to occupy my time with while she created videos for work. I transformed her overgrown garden from pointless to productive. I dug neat veggie rows, read sites online that Gemma taught me how to use, and planted winter vegetables, doing my best to provide for her when all her money provided for me.

I sighed, doing my best to turn off my mind. I lay with my arms out to the sides and my legs spread like a dead starfish on the small grassy area beneath the boulders Gem was currently scaling.

Clenching my stomach, I sat up and reclined against my elbows. This was the second climbing expedition she’d brought me on outside. But it was the first where she’d asked me to run the video equipment.

I’d done what she taught me—set up the camera on the tripod, checked periodically that the frame was still centered, following her progress (thanks to the movement detection technology), and ensured that the lighting was still adequate.

My heart thundered in my chest as I looked past the cameras, through the empty field, and studied Gem, currently halfway up a massive boulder that looked mean with craggy corners and weathered rock.

Christ, she’s stunning.

Her teal leggings showed every muscle as her legs bunched and propelled her up the stone. Her tight T-shirt showed the lines of her sports bra underneath, rippling over her shoulders as she reached for the next hand hold.

She was so strong, so agile, so mine.

I grew hard as she inched closer to the top.

I always grew hard watching her climb. My mind teased me with the night when she’d run away from me. I hadn’t seen her scale the cliff after she hit me around the head with the shovel, but I imagined she looked like she did now. Graceful and powerful, climbing her way into the sky with ease.

I still didn’t understand how she made money from this stuff, but I couldn’t deny, watching her was hypnotic. And even though there was money in online things, I’d yet to take up her offer to create my own YouTube channel. To me, it was a fucking scary place. A window where complete strangers could look into Gemma’s life, yet she couldn’t look into theirs.

After the comments that first day? The sexualized sentences about me. The cruel remarks.

I didn’t like it.

I glanced at the video timer.

Thirty-three minutes and she’d scaled this boulder twice already.

She said she like to film up to two hours’ worth of content to edit it down into a twenty-minute video. I’d learned a hell of a lot the past few weeks. Constantly amazed to see just how different the world was compared to the books I’d read in Fables.

I’d believed those books were modern and how the outside world was. Fiction authors swore it was contemporary and of this era, yet actually living in this era? So many advancements were never mentioned in those pages.

My therapist, for instance, had put an app on the new phone that Gem had purchased for me where I could message if I was having a rough moment and earn guidance from him or another therapist in the PTSD field. With a few tiny buttons, I could access a camera, a dictionary, an entire library of knowledge, along with play movies, songs, and access things called emails.

When Gem had given me the phone on the same day she came home with a secondhand black car with off-road tires, I’d been embarrassed to accept yet more gifts that I couldn’t pay back.

I’d kept a tally of what I owed her.

The total was already in the thousands.

Gem suddenly leaped from her top hold and landed on her crash mat that she’d dragged from the car. The amount of gear it took to film one short video fucking astounded me.

Brushing chalky hands on her leggings, she folded the crash mat, lugged it onto her back, and came toward me.

I leaped to my feet, my cock hardening.

I wanted her.

I wanted her on her knees in the grass.

I wanted—

Whiteness flickered over my vision for a moment, courtesy of my quickening heart rate and thickening blood. My head ached a little but nowhere near as bad as a few weeks ago.

When my eyesight came back, I smiled at Gemma as she dropped the crash mat, stretched her spine out, and bent to turn off her video. I went behind her, cupping her breasts and pressing my hard-on against her back.

She let out a throaty chuckle. “This isn’t the valley, Kas.”

I nuzzled into her neck, licking away the salt from her workout. “It’s a field. I want you. It’ll do.”

Her head fell to the side, giving me access to kiss along her shoulder. A soft moan spilled from her. “As much as I’d love to strip and enjoy some outdoor fun with you, we’re not alone.”

“What?” My head shot up, scanning the grassy area. “I thought we were.”

Nothing.

No person.

No critter.

Just birds tweeting away in a bush close by.

“Above us.” Gemma looked into the sky.

I followed her line of sight, narrowing my eyes on the top of a cliff that ringed this clearing with its ancient, craggy-looking boulders.

At the very top, silhouettes of people came into focus. I laughed and rocked my hips into her ass again. “They’re not close. They can’t see anything.”

“They’d see bare skin and the action as you rode me.” She turned in my arms, her hand cupping my hard cock. “People know this is one of my filming locations. I’d hate to end up online for making an entirely different video to the ones I’m usually known for.”

My eyebrows came down as her hand worked my cock. “What...what kind of videos?” My eyesight flickered but only thanks to the pleasure of her touch. My balls drew up as desire shot down my spine and tightened everything between my legs.

“A porn video.” She reached up and kissed me.

Her tongue entered my mouth as her hand continued stroking me up and down. I wanted to give over entirely to her. I wanted her to use me however she wanted, but her voice echoed in my ears.

Porn.

I’d seen that mentioned in some of the books I’d read. Guests had used that word when they’d arranged a few of us into lewd positions for them to take pictures of us, bound, abused, and bleeding. But I didn’t fully understand what it entailed...not in this new world anyway.

“Porn being sex?” I whispered against her lips, shuddering as she pinched my tip.

“Uh-huh.” She kissed me again, deeper, longingly. “A very graphic sex video.”

Jealousy poured through me. I pulled away from her mouth. “Have you ever made one of those?”

She smiled and fisted me hard. “I’ve made lots of content in my life, Kas, but I assure you, I’ve never made a porno.”

“Do you...want to?”

Her eyebrows rose, and her hand dropped down my shaft, fisting me through my jeans. “Is that a proposition?”

“We’d be the only ones to watch it, right?”

She nodded. “Of course. Something like that you make, you watch, and then you delete.”

“Because it’s not something society approves of?” I frowned. Over the past few weeks, I’d gotten better with touching, talking, and generally figuring out what was normal from my strange upbringing and what was definitely not normal.

Sex and me had a complicated relationship. I hadn’t quite been able to figure out if I liked violent sex or gentler sex. I didn’t know if I preferred Gem naked or dressed. In a bed or on the grass. The animal inside me wanted to be dominant and own Gemma at all times. Yet, the softer moments we shared had cracked open a part of my heart I hadn’t even known existed.

It made me love her all the more.

“Sex between two people—as long as it’s consensual—is totally acceptable. Recorded, photographed, or drawn by an artist if that’s your thing.” She kissed me and let go of my rock-hard cock. “Don’t think you can’t ask for something if you need it, Kas.” Her eyes lingered on my erection tenting my jeans. “I love you, and I love being loved by you—in all capacities.”

I stepped into her, wrapping my arms around her waist. “Do you wish I took you softer? That I wasn’t so...forceful when we’re together?”

Her eyes crinkled as she smiled a coy little smile. “Want to know a secret?”

“Of course.” I fondled her breast, running my thumb over a pebbled nipple. “I want to know everything there is to know about you.”

She lowered her voice, leaning into me to whisper in my ear. “You taught me something in the valley.” Her lips brushed my neck, sending fire through my blood. “You taught me that I like rough. I love hard. So...don’t tame yourself on my account.” She kissed my throat, the hint of her teeth making me shudder. “Never hold back when you’re with me.”

I grabbed her chin and tilted her head up.

Smashing my mouth to hers, we both groaned and pawed each other.

My legs threatened to buckle, to pull her down onto the grass and fuck her on her knees, audience up on the cliff be damned.

I was so fucking close to coming just from her confession.

Her tongue sought mine, tangling in a rough, wet dance that made my heart rate explode. “Gem.... Tell me there’s a forest nearby where I can get you naked—”

A piercing ring shredded the sexual tension between us.

I jumped, my mind scrambling with the past. Whispers tried to creep over me. Memories that only brought darkness. Breathing hard, I forced myself to focus and stay present.

The noise was just her phone. I’d heard it before. Nothing bad, nothing dangerous.

Gem gave me a guilty smile as she pulled away. “Hold that thought for a second.” Bending to grab her phone from the gear scattered by our feet, she scowled at the number. “That’s strange.”

Instantly, my hackles went up, sensing a threat. “What? What’s strange?”

“It’s my rep at YouTube.”

I frowned. “And that’s a bad thing?”

Gemma held up her finger and pressed a button on her phone. Holding it to her ear, she said, “Hello, Gemma speaking.”

I stood close enough to hear a scrambled voice reply but not close enough to understand.

Gem paced away a little, nodding. “Oh, wow, that’s very nice of you.”

More silence as whoever she spoke to continued.

“Next weekend? Um, I mean....I’m sure he’d be very honored but—”

She listened as the other side of the conversation added more.

“Okay, sure. I’ll ask him. But you’re right. That does sound like a great idea. Thanks.”

More silence followed before she said, “Okay. Send me the details via email, and I’ll be in touch. Thanks again.”

She hung up and spun to me.

I spread my hands. “Everything okay?”

Tucking her phone into her leggings pocket, she studied me. Too intently. Too closely.

My headache increased as fear siphoned through my blood. “What? What is it?”

“That was my YouTube rep.”

“You already said that. And they’re what exactly? Technically your boss?”

“No, a rep is someone who works with high earners. They’re just a good point of contact in case anything goes wrong.”

“Okay, so...what’s wrong?” My head ached again, trying to figure out yet more complicated stuff in this complicated world.

“Nothing’s wrong. In fact, they want to host a dinner.”

“A dinner?”

She shrugged. “Actually, it’s more like a black-tie gala. In your honor.”

“What?” My forehead furrowed.

“They’re doing a showcase on survivors of sexual abuse. They’ve noticed that more and more people are being open about past hardships and trauma on the YouTube network and want to highlight certain channels where others can seek help, find others like them, and generally start a community.”

“That doesn’t explain how they know about me.”

“Apparently, they saw your appearance in my video when we first returned from the valley. People are beyond intrigued about your story, Kas. The comments on my last video were asking all about you—you have buzz. Couple that with the news report that the police shared—that you’re a missing person come back to life, that you were trapped for most of your childhood and forced to endure years of abuse—along with the intrigue of not knowing who you truly are?” Gem shrugged. “You’re clickbait, I guess. They want to help.”

“Clickbait?”

“Marketable.”

“Help how?” Goosebumps shot down my arms.

“They want to host a charity gala, to gather donations and put it toward the rehabilitation of other trafficked minors who make it out of such horrors. Right now, there are no services for people who were stolen so young. Who don’t have an education or home to return to. They mentioned a potential documentary if this initiative takes off, but for now, they just want other YouTubers to find safe places online. To know they’re not alone. To try to give them back their lives.”

I shook my head. “I-I don’t understand.”

Gemma walked into my arms. “They want to help, Kas. I guess you’re unique in a way because you’re big and strong, hairy and scary looking. If someone like you could be touched against your will...well, it takes away the stigma that it only happens to women. It happens to everyone. Big, small, male, female. You endured more pain than anyone should ever have to feel, and apart from the first few weeks of our meeting, you’ve been nothing but kind, honorable, and protective. You proved that a part of your mind was broken enough to repeat what was done to you. But...through a connection that grew between us, love that sprung regardless of how we met, you healed enough to stop the cycle.”

Gem shivered as her voice grew passionate. “You have the potential to bring light onto a very serious subject, Kas. YouTube sees that. The news anchors who share your story see that. The last time I was invited to a dinner was to celebrate my one-millionth subscriber. It seems such a silly milestone now, compared to everything you lived through, but I can say that that night increased my reach and doubled my bottom line.” Her eyes met mine, huge and glistening. “You’ll be the main event, Kas. If you share your past, your story could help thousands. And the donations you could earn?” She smiled and kissed me softly. “You could gather enough to put that money to use. You could find your real family, find your Fable family. You could find every slave and victim who weren’t lucky enough to have you there with them in the darkness.”

She let me go, her eyes on fire with green and gold. “You could also use that money to help Jareth kill every last one of those raping bastards who are a member of Fables. You could finally get revenge for every kid they dared hurt.”

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