Текст книги "Claiming Her"
Автор книги: Alexis Noelle
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Текущая страница: 8 (всего у книги 9 страниц)
Chapter Twenty Seven
Nina
“Hey, babe! Mason is here, you sure you’re okay hanging out with the monster tonight?” I jolt awake, tears streaming down my face. Jake? He is standing in front of me. I jump up and into his arms my hold so tight praying that this isn’t a dream. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
I can’t answer him. I don’t want to find out that this isn’t real. He sits down with me on the couch. My entire body is shaking as I cling to the man I thought I lost.
“Babe, talk to me. You’re scaring me.”
I pull back and look at him. “I love you.” My mouth crushes to his as I still hold onto the hope that this is real.
When he pulls away from me, he looks shocked. “I love you too. I have wanted to tell you for a while. Can you please tell me what’s going on now?”
“You can’t leave. Something is going to happen. You have to stay here. Call Ryan. We are going to need him.” I tell him about my dream, about Camden, about all of my suspicions.
“Babe, you had a nightmare, it’s okay.” He rubs my back to comfort me.
“No. It wasn’t a dream.” He studies me for a minute.
“Okay, listen, I’ll call Ryan and have him be on standby.” There is a knock at the door, and I can hear Grace outside. “I’ll explain to Mason what is going on.”
The entire time he is gone I’m uneasy. Was it really all a dream? It felt so real. It seems like forever until Jake comes back from answering the door. “Okay, listen, Mason and Grace are gone. Ryan is on his way; he is going to park down the block and then wait in here with us. If what you said really happens we are going to get him, okay?” I feel like he is a little reluctant to believe me, like he may just be pacifying me.
I wrap my arms around him still in shock that I didn’t lose him. When the EMTs said he was gone it felt like my heart had been ripped in a million pieces. I couldn’t breathe. I kiss him again needing to convince myself that he is real.
His eyes lock with mine. “Hey, I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”
“I need to know what happened to my sister, Jake.” If what I heard from Camden in the dream was true, then there is so much more to the story. I need to know what happened to her. Maybe it's why I’ve never been at peace. Maybe it’s subconsciously why I couldn’t move on. “I’m scared that something will go wrong.”
“I promise you that if that fucker comes in this house he will not touch a hair on your head. I will break his fucking hand if he tries to.” He pulls me closer to him so that I’m flush against his chest.
The front door opens, and Ryan walks in. Even with the skeptical look on his face, Ryan begins to speak. “Okay, Jake, you and I are going to wait on the steps. If he is coming, he will more than likely at least look in a window and make sure she’s alone. Nina put the TV on and do whatever you were doing in your dream.” I nod. I hope he believes me and he doesn’t think I’m psycho. I didn’t hear what Jake told him on the phone. They could both think I’ve had a mental breakdown. They wait on the steps, and I move into the kitchen as I would have. “Nina. You cannot leave this room.”
I look back at Ryan. “Okay, before I was in the kitchen.”
I mess around with things pretending as if I’m organizing papers, and that’s when I hear it. A door. I look up to see Camden about to hit me over the head when I scream and am pulled backward.
Jake is holding me behind him. I’m clinging to the back of his shirt. My heart is beating so loudly I wouldn’t be surprised if he could hear it. “Don’t you fucking touch her.”
“Put the gun down!” Ryan is screaming at him, as he reaches for his walkie with one hand while still keeping the gun trained on Camden. He calls for back-up. We did it. We stopped him, Car.
“Carly! Come with me!” Camden screams at me. “Where is my daughter, Carly?”
“What did you do to her?” I scream. I need to know what happened.
He looks at me and laughs. “Nothing that wasn’t deserved.” His voice comes out in almost a growl.
“You bastard! How could you hurt her?” Tears start to fall and his face twists in anger as he looks at me.
“God, all you did was fucking cry. It’s not my fault you weren’t in the mood. But I could see it in your eyes. Your good girl act wasn’t fooling anyone. You wanted it, and you wanted it hard, so I gave it to you. Then all of a sudden you wanted to tell someone, but I knew if you did, our love would be over, and I couldn’t have that. You knew what was good for you and didn’t say a fucking word. Those were the best four months of my life until you started getting sick all the damn time. You took her away from me. Our blessing, my baby! You killed her, you fucking whore!” No. That’s the doctor she was seeing? An abortion doctor? “You deserved to die that night, you bitch, and I thought I did it. Then I see you walking around town with my kid and this asshole!”
Oh my God. He did kill her. I start to cry for my sister. For all that she went through. Why didn’t you come to me? I could have helped you.
Suddenly everything goes to shit quickly. Camden lunges for us and I hear two shots ring out. He and Ryan both fall to the floor.
“No!” Jake kicks the gun away from Camden’s reach and then rushes to Ryan’s side. I can hear sirens approaching.
Please don’t let this be like my dream. I’m frozen in place. That’s when I see him getting up.
Camden. The bastard that killed my sister.
I don’t even think, I just move I grab Ryan’s gun by my feet, aim, and fire it right at the asshole. Jake jumps at the sound and Camden falls to the floor. Jake looks over at me, before returning his focus to Ryan.
The EMTs come rushing into the house and head straight for Ryan. Jake stands up and walks over to me taking the gun from my hand and placing it on the table beside me. “Hey, are you okay?”
I nod unable to take my eyes off of Ryan. They lift him onto the gurney as another group of medics come in and attend to Camden. “Is he going to be okay?” They don’t answer me, they simply rush him out the door.
Jake takes out his phone and calls Brian telling him to call everyone else and meet him at the hospital. I hear Camden coughing and am disappointed that the fucker is still alive. They take him out and leave Jake and me by ourselves. “Do you want to come to the hospital?”
I nod. Ryan got hurt because of me. Two detectives walk through the door. “I need to get your statements. What happened here?”
“Listen, Ryan’s our friend and was just shot. I need to go to the hospital to make sure he’s okay. Can this be done there?” Jake’s tone is rushed as if he already has one foot out the door.
“That’s fine. We’ll follow you.”
Jake grabs my hand, and we head to the car. On the way to the hospital, we don’t speak much. I don’t know what to say. I feel horrible that Ryan is hurt because of me. I’m reeling from Camden’s confession about Carly. And I just want him to say something. To give me some sort of assurance. I guess that’s selfish of me, though. I’m asking him to comfort me when his friend is in the hospital, and we don’t know what is going on.
When we get there, everyone else has already beaten us. They are all in the waiting room, along with a half dozen of officers. I guess word got out about Ryan.
I say a silent prayer to Carly to keep him safe like she did for me.
Chapter Twenty Eight
Nina
One week later
As I stand at my stepbrother’s grave, I don’t know what to feel. I hate him for what he did, for my sister’s pain. He was coherent enough when the cops questioned him to tell them everything. He had been raping Carly for months. Hitting her and threatening to do worse if she talked to anyone. That was why she was so depressed. He found out she was pregnant when he came upon the test in the trash. When he followed her that day and found out what she had done, he snapped. He put her entire bottle of pills in the food processor and forced them down her throat. A couple days after his confession, he began hemorrhaging in the middle of the night and passed away before the doctors could save him.
Hearing the details from the detective made me physically sick. My sister was an amazing person and he stole her innocence and then her life. I will never forgive him for what he did to her. I’ve started to work on forgiving myself with Jake’s help. I will never get over the fact that I might have been able to do more, but I am learning that even if I did force her to tell me, I might not have been able to stop Camden. Not only that, but he might have taken my life so I couldn’t tell the story. I hope that she is at peace now, and he is rotting in hell like he deserves.
“I will not visit you again. You are the devil. We trusted you. We welcomed you into our house. You deserve no better than to be here. My sister could have been something amazing, she would have been, but you took that chance from her.” I have so much more I want to say to him, but all it would be are ugly hateful words. While he deserves every one of them, I refuse to let him impact my life, or feelings any more than he already has. I feel a hand on my back and turn to face Jake. “Let’s get away from here.”
He nods. We walk across the cemetery to join our waiting friends. I squeeze Jake’s hand letting him know that I’m here for him. All these months he has been my rock, now it’s my turn. The framed picture of Ryan in his uniform looks beautiful. The American flag is draped over his coffin, and the priest begins his speech.
I look around and see the faces of the people I have come to think of as family, they are devastated. I didn’t know Ryan for long, but I know that he was an amazing person. He came to my rescue and gave his life trying to save me. A tear slips down my cheek as I think of how Camden has taken another life too soon. My mother and stepdad were absolutely devastated when they heard about everything. My stepdad called to apologize to me, but I told him it was no reflection on him.
The guards fire shots and I jump at the unexpected sound. Everyone is beginning to place the flowers on the coffin saying their final goodbye to an amazing friend. When it’s my turn, I pause in front of it. Thank you for saving me. I wish that none of this happened, that you could still be here with us. I can never express how much I appreciate you protecting me. You are a true hero.
I toss the flower and then return to Jake’s side. When the coffin is lowered, and the group begins to break up, I turn to Jake. His head is bowed, and his eyes closed. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
He shakes his head. His eyes are red-rimmed from the unshed tears he seems to be holding back. “I just can’t believe he is gone.”
He takes my hand, and we walk back to the car. They tried to save Ryan. He was on life support for days, but he showed no signs of improvement and the doctors had told his family that there was a very little chance he would ever be able to breathe on his own. When Jake got the news, he was inconsolable. He left the house and apparently went to the gym, beating the bag until his knuckles were bleeding. One of the trainers had called me and told me I should come and get him.
I remember how scared I was that he would blame me. That he wouldn’t be able to look me in the eye because of what happened to one of his best friends because of me. When I finally got to him, he collapsed on the ground. I held him and just let him mourn his friend. We sat on that gym floor for the longest time before he looked at me and reassured me that he didn’t blame me. He thanked me for being there for him, and we went home.
We get in the car and head to Mason’s house where everyone is meeting. Jake doesn’t speak on the car ride over, and I don’t try to force him. I know that he needs time to work through this. Each day he gets a little better, but I think after this group lost Lacey they were completely broken. Now losing Ryan has shattered them once more.
We are the last ones to arrive. When I walk in, Grace runs up to us and gives us a hug. We walk with her into the living room where everyone is sitting, and she runs climbing onto Mason’s lap.
“Daddy, I saw Unkey Ryan!” The room falls silent as we all turn her way.
“Honey, Uncle Ryan had an accident. He’s in heaven now.” Mason’s voice cracks as he tries to explain to her what is going on.
“I know he’s an angel. I saw him in my dreams.” She hugs her doll. “Carly was there too. She had even prettier wings. They told me to tell everyone they are okay.” Grace stands up and walks over to me. “Nina, Unkey Ryan said he is glad you are okay.” All of the air rushes from my lungs. She begins to turn away from me and stops. “I don’t know how you know my dolly, but Carly wants you to know that it wasn’t your fault. She said she loves you.” She skips away from me and back toward Mason.
My eyes well with tears. My hand shakes as I cover my mouth with it. I have always carried the burden of Carly’s death with me. No matter what my mom or Jake said, I felt it was something I could have prevented. I feel like outing Camden might have set her free, and now she has done the same thing for me.
I love you too, Carly.
Epilogue
Nina
Five years later
As I walk into Sam’s house, I groan. I swear this damn pregnancy is going to kill me. I rub my swollen stomach. “Did you have to be four days late, kid? I mean it’s August, and I’m dying here.”
“She’ll be here soon, babe.” Jake rubs my back and even though he is trying to comfort me a part of me just wants to kick him in the balls for doing this to me.
I shoot him a look letting him know I am about to rip off his closest appendage. When I walk into the living room, everyone is already here. Jules and Brian’s son, Christian, is running around while she tries to keep him from waking up their newest addition, Chloe. Jules had her a few months ago, and I’m excited that our girls will be so close in age. That is if mine ever decides it’s time to come out.
Grace comes running up to us. “Aunt Nina, when is the baby coming out?”
“Soon, if she knows what’s good for her.” She laughs at me before rejoining her dad on the couch. I look next to Mason seeing a new face. I turn to Jake silently asking him who that is.
He leans in close to my ear. “That’s Lisa. She was Grace’s teacher last year. They have been seeing each other for the past couple months. Mason swore me to secrecy.”
I elbow in the stomach. “You should have told me.”
Sam comes up to us, a huge smile on her face. “You look like you’re having a rough day, girl.”
“A rough day? Try a rough ten months.” I point to my stomach. “I swear this kid is never going to—” Just then a stream of water flows out of me. “Oh my God!”
“I guess she got sick of your complaining.” Sam smiles at me. Jake is standing there looking at me in shock when Sam nudges his arm. “Hello! She’s having a baby here!”
He snaps out of it. “Shit. Okay, come on.” He takes my hand as I walk with him to the car. I look behind me, completely mortified at the trail of water I left behind. On the drive to the hospital, he grabs my hand. “You okay?”
I nod. My contractions have been happening since yesterday, but they were always really spaced out. Now they are closer together. I can’t believe the time is finally here. Jake and I married about two years ago. When we decided to try and have a baby, I didn’t expect it to happen as soon as it did. I felt like this day would never get here.
***
It’s been six hours, and I finally hear the heavenly words, “You’re ready to push.”
Even with the epidural, I have had so much pressure from the contractions. Jake hasn’t left my side, and I still have to decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Is there a thing as being too helpful? I swear if he asks me if I need anything one more time I might scream.
When the doctor instructs me to, I push as hard as I can. I don’t know if I am strong enough to do this. I have no energy, and I am already spent.
“Come on, babe, it's almost over.”
I squeeze Jake’s hand and groan as I push once more. I feel the relief when she comes out, and my body turns to jelly.
When the nurse hands her to me, she takes my breath away. She is so beautiful.
“She looks just like you.” Jake is standing next to me as we stare at the beautiful angel in my arms. “We are a family now.” He places a kiss on both of our foreheads.
The nurse takes her from us because they need to evaluate her and get me settled into a room. I’m so exhausted that by the time I get to my room, I pass out.
“Nina?”
I open my eyes. “Carly?”
“I can’t stay long.” She looks at the hospital crib next to me, where the baby is sleeping. “She’s beautiful. I know you’re scared, but you will be an amazing mother.” She gives me a hug as a tear slips down my face. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
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Also check out other books by Alexis Noelle
Fall For Me
Amazon – http://amzn.to/1CrWoxr
Goodreads – http://bit.ly/1GVdeBa
Wait For Me
Amazon – http://amzn.to/1S7CxKG
Goodreads – http://bit.ly/1Tb3YAm
Fight For Me
Amazon – http://amzn.to/1KtQazU
Goodreads – http://bit.ly/1GVdvUC
Breaking Free
Goodreads – http://bit.ly/1L9lBh0
Shattered Innocence (Shattered #1)
Amazon – http://amzn.to/1m8hOqK
Goodreads – http://bit.ly/15yqbnY
Audio book – http://adbl.co/1IteOtN
Shattered Lives (Shattered #2)
Amazon – http://amzn.to/1wp8zRF
Goodreads – http://bit.ly/1zLtQw7
Fractured Volume One
Amazon – http://amzn.to/1CHZV81
Goodreads – http://bit.ly/1uOk37n
Fractured Volume Two
Amazon – http://bit.ly/1Dh2n72
Goodreads – http://bit.ly/1Jr3l0J
Fractured Volume Three
Amazon – http://amzn.to/1AysQWQ
Goodreads -http://bit.ly/1zdf7ur
Keeping Her
Amazon – http://amzn.to/1EP1DH2
Goodreads – http://bit.ly/1H72TmX
Protecting Her
Amazon – http://amzn.to/1QxLGLU
Goodreads – http://bit.ly/1LVADp9
Saving Her
Amazon – http://amzn.to/1TwXWOd
Goodreads – http://bit.ly/1cs9kGX
About The Author:
I love reading romance books! I feel like being able to lose yourself in a book in one of the more exciting aspects. The books I love to read and write will be ones that make you feel for the characters. You should have an opinion on every character in a book. Whether you love them, hate them, or think they are up to something.
I live in Philadelphia Pennsylvania with my husband, and three kids. On top of starting a writing career I am a full time student, and a full time mom. I love spending time with my kids, although I have to hide the computer from them when I am writing! I love being active and being able to do any activity outdoors.
I have always thought as an author the most important critic is your reader, so I would love to hear from you. If you read the book and loved it or hated it, tell me. As long as it is in a constructive way I will always answer and interact with you. I want fans to feel free to tell me what they want for the characters in the story and what they want to see happen.
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Fractured
By: Alexis Noelle
Chapter One
As I am walking up to our house, the place where we will spend the rest of our lives, I can’t help but smile. The house isn’t too extravagant, but it is the exact picture I had in my mind. A two-story brick house with a huge front porch and a white fence surrounding the front yard.
Cameron is the person I have fantasized about my entire life, and now I can finally live my dream. Growing up and seeing the love between my parents made me realize the true meaning of love. The fairy tale my parents live, I want that. I yelp as I’m scooped off my feet and cradled in my husband’s arms. “Cam! What are you doing?” I wrap my arms around his neck as he walks us toward the house.
“I have to carry my beautiful wife over the threshold.” As he walks us toward the door, I can’t help but stare at him.
Cam has always been hot, and in high school I couldn’t believe my friends when they said he was going to ask me to homecoming. I mean I’m not a troll but I certainly wasn’t head cheerleader material. Cam was the quarterback of the football team, and most people just expected him to follow the generally accepted rule of dating the blonde bimbo. I think everyone else was just as shocked as I was when he asked me out.
My fingers thread through his semi-short brown hair and I give it a little tug.
“Mmm, you want it rough, huh?” he asks and smiles before flipping me around and dropping me over his shoulder. I can’t say the view from this point is bad, and I take advantage of the situation giving his butt a hard smack. He walks us up the steps and opens the door carrying me into our new home. As soon as the door closes, Cam pulls me off his shoulder and backs me against the wall. His lips are right next to my ear and his warm breaths send shivers down my body. “I am going to christen every inch of this house with you, my beautiful sexy wife.”
His mouth is on me before I can respond and I’m lost in him, in us. His large hands roam up and down my sides before settling on my butt, and squeezing it hard. I let out a moan and kiss him even deeper. His lips begin to slowly travel down my neck. “You always taste so fucking good, babe.” Cam grips my butt and lifts me off the floor. I instinctively wrap my legs around him and he begins to move toward the stairs. I love when he is this aggressive. “While I want to have you everywhere I want to make love to you in our bed for the first time.”
Cam is more romantic than anything else, he says and does that I used to swear only happen in books. I love that side of him, he is always so kind and caring. Cam is the type of man that you think doesn’t exist; he is everything I have ever dreamed of. We reach the top of the stairs and he makes the turn to step into our bedroom. His arms tighten around me and he lowers me to the bed.
“Shay Wilson, the fact that you now have my last name and are officially mine is so damn sexy.” I smile as he says my new name. My hands grip the bottom of his t-shirt and tug at it, he helps me and pulls it over his head before lowering himself down to hover over me. Cam slowly unbuttons my shirt and kisses each new area of skin he unveils. My body is humming and I start to squirm with impatience. When he reaches my jeans, he places slow deliberate kisses across my waistline, causing me to arch my hips toward him letting him know what I want.
“You’re so eager, baby, but I want to take this slow.” I swear to God this man might actually kill me. His fingers pop the button on my jeans and ease the zipper down. I hold my breath hoping he will touch me and ease this unbearable ache, but he doesn’t. He stands up and looks down at me slowing dragging his eyes over every inch of my body. I squirm under his gaze wanting his hands on me instead of his eyes. At the same time his stare is setting every nerve in my body on high alert. Not able to take much more of this slow torture, I sit up and take my shirt off. As I reach behind my back to undo my bra, Cam grabs my hands.
He gently reaches behind me and unclasps my bra, before lowering me back down to the bed. After he throws the bra on the floor his body is once again hovering over me. When he lowers his mouth and captures my nipple in it I cry out. Even this little bit of satisfaction he has given me is rocking my body to the core. The anticipation makes me more eager than a damn dog in heat. Cam trails his other hand up my body using it to gently massage my breast. My hips arch once again and he begins to trail kisses once more down my body.
This time his fingers slip under the waistline of my jeans and gently begin to ease them down my legs. One of Cam’s fingers teases the edge of my panties as his other is slowly dragging along my inner thigh making my entire body squirm underneath him. His hand grips my panties and in one swift motion yanks them off. As I lay there bare before him my need for him is overwhelming. I can’t move slowly anymore. I can’t wait. I reach for his jeans making quick work of his belt and pulling them down taking his underwear with them. I can tell he is about to say something but I grip his hips to take him in my mouth.
“I love you, Mr. Wilson,” I say as I pull back a little.
“I love you, Mrs. Wilson,” he groans as I take him deeper into my throat. I love to watch him like this, it’s rare to see him lose all control. Cam’s hands grip my head pulling me up to him.
He kisses me on the lips before sinking his cock into me causing my nails to dig into his back. He slowly begins to move in and out of me deliberately grinding against my pelvis and my clit causing me to moan even louder than I already was. I tighten my legs around his waist forcing him even deeper and relishing in the feeling of him being there.
“Baby, you feel so fucking good. Each time I think there is no way it could get better but it does.” His hands grip my hips and he starts to speed up his pace, with each thrust my body peaks so close to release it’s agonizing. I throw my head back and arch into him begging for more. Cam’s hands slip around to my butt and lift me off the bed as he uses the weight of my body to drive into me even harder. I scream as my orgasm rips through me, Cam speeds up and it prolongs the effects making my body almost spasm in pleasure. He lets out a groan and finally stills taking mercy on my used and exhausted body.
I hear a muffled ringing and Cam stands up. I’m too tired to open my eyes and pay any attention to what is going on until I hear his reply to whoever is on the other end.
“Fuck!”
