Текст книги "Beautifully Shattered"

Автор книги: Courtney Kristel

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Текущая страница: 29 (всего у книги 31 страниц)

He leaves the pants on the floor and strides over to me. It’s the only thing out of place in his room and it makes me laugh. My laughter dies when he climbs into bed with me. He reaches over and switches off the lamp on his nightstand, surrounding us in darkness.

“Relax,” he says when he hauls me closer to him. “Come away with me,” he whispers into the darkness.

Suddenly I’m glad that he’s holding me and that I’m not laying on his chest. I don’t want him to see how broken I am from his words. It really has nothing to do with him, everything he’s doing is perfect. I just wish he was somebody else.

“When?” I ask, knowing that I’m going to go anywhere he wants because it’s the right thing to do.

“Tomorrow. I have a house in the Hamptons. I’ve been wanting to take you there for a while now.” He drags me closer to him so that my back is fully pressed against his chest.

“Why?” I’m stalling.

“Because I know how much you love the water and I want to enjoy the ocean with you. I think a weekend away is exactly what we need. We can leave first thing in the morning and be back Sunday night so that you won’t miss work.”

“Okay.”

I want to ask him how he knows that I’m not working tomorrow, but I don’t. I probably told him sometime last week that I took off today and tomorrow because I needed an extra day to relax. I can feel Kohen’s grin against the back of my head.

“I love you,” he whispers.

I tense because I can’t say the words back. I don’t love him and I won’t be that girl who says it back just because a guy tells me he loves me. Instead I snuggle as close to him as I can.

“Good night,” I murmur.

“Good night, my love,” Kohen replies with a little edge to his voice.

“All set?” Kohen asks when I enter his apartment the next afternoon.

“Yup,” I say as I drop my bag next to his on the floor.

Kohen woke me up with kisses this morning and breakfast in bed. And when I say this morning, I mean before the sun even came out. He was cheery, excited to leave the city for a few days. I just grumbled and wished for sleep. I didn’t get much last night because I kept tossing and turning. My brain wouldn’t shut off. When it finally did, I dreamed of Jax . . . well, I had a nightmare is more like it.

But now that I’ve showered and I’m fully awake, the nervousness has taken hold. I’m restless because this is the first time I’m going away with a guy that isn’t Jax. Going away will be good for us. I need a distraction and a few days away at the beach with a hot guy is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Kohen collects our bags. He holds out his free hand. For some reason I hesitate; this is it. If I take it, I will be sealing my fate with him. No more Jax. He’s out of your life. I take it and squeeze his hand while he leads me out of his apartment. He doesn’t let go until we reach his car.

“Thank you,” Kohen says once he’s done lining up our bags in the back of his Lexus.

“For what?” I try to think of anything special I did for him today. I come up blank

“Thanks for letting me steal you. I know that you’re a little on edge because your brother left so I wanted to take your mind off it.”

God, if he’s any sweeter I might get a cavity. “Trust me. I should be thanking you. I needed to get out of the city for a few days. I’m glad that I’m gonna be with you.” I say the last part quietly, but I mean every word of it because I have no one else, no one left to trust in my life.

Kohen gives me that breathtaking smile of his before starting the car. Immediately I plug in my phone and select one of my favorite playlists for long drives. It’s catchy music that you can sing to, but quiet enough where you can still have a conversation. It’s perfect. Basically, I rock at making playlists.

I hum along to the first few songs and watch New York City fly in a blur. Kohen is quiet, which I appreciate. I have a lot on my mind. I can’t stop thinking about my relationship with Jax. All lies. I see his face when he told me loves me for the first time, I feel his lips on mine, I hear his laughter. More lies. I want to push things further with Kohen because of Jax. I want Kohen to make me forget him.

“Wake up, babe,” Kohen says softly into my ear.

I mumble back something and turn my head. It’s only then, when I feel the kink in my neck, that I realize the car has stopped. I manage to open one eye to see Kohen standing beside me. I open the other and gasp when I spot the beautiful ocean in front of us.

“Wow!” I say, sitting up to take in the view.

“Want to take a walk on the beach?” Kohen helps me out of the car.

“Yes,” I say immediately.

Kohen laughs at my enthusiasm. “Don’t we need to stop and get groceries?” I ask when we pass the house.

“I took care of it. Fridge is full and our bags are put away upstairs already. Oh and I texted Harper and your brother to let them know where you were.”

I tilt my head to see him grinning down at me. I smile back. “You did?”

“Of course. I knew you would want them to know where you were and since you fell asleep I did it for you . . .You don’t mind, do you?”

“Of course not,” I tell him while I give myself a mental high-five.

I’m so glad that I deleted my text thread with Jax. I know that it would have been torture to re-read every text that he’s ever sent me.

“Great. Now let’s take that walk.”

Once we take off our shoes, hand-in-hand, we head to the edge of the water. I dip my feet in. The ocean is chiller than I expected, but I warm up to it after a while. Kohen doesn’t. He keeps jumping when the waves crash and the water pools around our feet, making me laugh each and every time.

“It’s freezing!” he shouts as I try to steer him further.

“Don’t be such a baby.” I smirk when he finally lets me drag him in deeper, but not deep enough to get his shorts wet.

“You do know that we’re going to freeze to death, right?”

“And I’ll love every second of it. Now come on.” I dive into the ocean still wearing my sundress that I chose because it’s a warm autumn day. When I surface a couple feet away from Kohen, he’s standing where I left him.

“Come on!” I shout. He just shakes his head, an amused expression on his face as he watches me.

I roll my eyes and sink back underneath the water. This is my favorite place. Underneath the water, where all you can hear is the ocean crashing above you. I wish I had gills so that I never had to surface, that I could just stay here forever, in the silence. I turn over on my back and lay on the ocean’s floor. I submerge my hands into the soft sand and watch as it slides between my fingers. My body sways back and forth, moving naturally with the waves. Suddenly I’m pulled out of my oasis.

“What the hell?” I yell. I’m a little mad that he yanked me up so hard. Especially since I was at peace.

Kohen’s eyes darken at my outburst and I immediately regret snapping at him. He’s breathing heavily, as if just that small act angers him. Not good.

“I thought you were drowning,” Kohen says softly when he see that I’m okay. He visibly relaxes.

He’s changing. He wouldn’t have been able to calm down if he isn’t changing. With the old Kohen, I would have ended up bruised. Progress.

“I’m sorry. I was just . . .” The words die on my lips. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to explain to him what I was doing.

“Finding yourself again,” Kohen says with a knowing smile.

“Yeah, something like that.” I wrap my arms around him. I can feel him shaking underneath me. I don’t even feel the cold, I love the water that much. “Let’s go warm up.”

Kohen gives me a quick kiss on the lips and nods. Our clothes cling to our bodies as we make our way out of the water and walk back to Kohen’s house.

His home is beautiful, everything I imagined when I pictured it this morning. Flowerbeds line the driveway up to a two-story house made of different shades of grey stone. There’s a wraparound porch, complete with a swing facing the ocean. I can’t wait to have my morning smoothie tomorrow and watch the sunrise. The front door is massive, domineering in a blood red that resembles his sheets back home. I spin around and take it all in.

“Do you have any neighbors?” I ask when I notice that I can’t see any other houses.

“Of course, they’re just a short drive down the road. I bought this place because it’s so far away from everyone else. It feels like we’re the only two people here, doesn’t it?”

My stomach clenches. “Yeah.”

I didn’t realize it was so isolated out here. I wish I stayed awake in the car so I could have been paying attention. It dawns on me that I can’t escape to my apartment if I freak out. I’m here with just him.

“I’m hoping that we’ll make this a monthly thing.”

This is Kohen, not some serial killer. “That sounds nice.”

Once we’re inside, Kohen leads me upstairs to the master bedroom. “I’ll use the shower downstairs and then I’ll make us lunch. Everything you need is in the bathroom.” He grabs a change of clothes and leaves the bedroom.

Instantly I’m relieved that he isn’t pushing us. He’s letting us take things slow and giving me the space I need. I walk into the bathroom and I’m immediately in love. The huge jacuzzi tub can easily fit five people. I sit on the edge and finger one of the bubble bath bottles on the side. My smile widens when I recognize that it’s my favorite scent. I look at the rest and find all my favorite stuff. Forgetting the shower idea, I turn the nozzle for the tub and pour a generous amount of lavender bath salts followed by the bubbles.

While the tub fills, I inspect the bathroom. I’m not surprised that all of my things are in here. All of my face wash and soaps are in the shower already, along with a loofah. I open the top drawer and I discover that he even bought me a new razor, and my favorite brand of tampons. What I wouldn’t give to see Kohen buy these. He wasn’t joking when he said he wants to make this a monthly thing. I open the last drawer and I spot a new hair dryer, straightener, and a curling iron. If he keeps this up, I won’t even need to pack next time.

Once my hands are shriveled up like a prune, I force myself to climb out. Not gonna lie, it takes a good amount of effort on my part. I’m pretty sure I could live in this tub. After drying off, I step out of the bathroom to search for my bag and stop in the doorway. Kohen laid out clothes for me on the bed. For some reason I don’t find this sweet. Even though they’re the clothes I packed, I feel like it’s his way of trying to tell me what I can wear. Which is stupid since I was going to select that exact pair of leggings and sweater. I’m being irrational.

I force myself to let it go. Kohen is just being thoughtful like he was when he bought me all the bath stuff. I quickly get dressed. I ignore the irritation bubbling inside me when I realize that he touched my underwear. Once I’m decent, I brush my hair. As I’m leaving the bedroom, my phone chimes with a new text message.

I curse at myself when I pick it up. It’s practically dead. I should have let it charge this morning while I was getting ready. Whatever, I’m not going to need my phone anyways. Pressing the unlock button, I read Harper’s text.

Tinkerbell: Hey I went by your place today to see how you’re doing, but you’re not there. Let me know when you come home and I’ll bring over ice-cream and wine :)

I start texting her back so I can tell her that I won’t be back till Sunday, but of course I can’t because my phone dies. I search all over the room for the bag with the charger, but I can’t locate it. Opening the closet, I discover my bag on the floor. I unzip it to find that it’s empty. Kohen’s unpacked everything. Maybe he plugged in my charger for me. I search every outlet. No charger.

As I’m coming down the stairs I remember that Kohen mentioned texting Harper and my brother, informing them we went away for the weekend. So then why did she ask where I was? His messages might not have went through, the service out here might be spotty. A little part of me doesn’t believe that, though.

“Hey, do you know where my charger is?” I ask Kohen when I reach the kitchen. He’s dressed in low-hung jeans and nothing else. I’m not ashamed that it takes me awhile to raise my gaze from his abs to his face.

“No, sorry, babe. I didn’t see it. That’s why I unpacked everything for you, I saw that your phone was dying so I was looking for your charger.” He shrugs then continues chopping on the cutting board.

“So you didn’t see my charger?” I ask again because I know I packed it. It was the last thing I put in my bag before I zipped it. I remember because the cord got in my way.

Kohen turns around with a smile. “Nope, that’s usually what I mean when I say I didn’t see it.” He walks over to the cupboard for plates.

“Okay . . . where’s your charger?” I ask.

“I forgot it,” he says with a shrug.

“You didn’t bring your charger?” I ask, dumbfounded.

Kohen is always the responsible one. Why wouldn’t he pack his charger? But I don’t understand why he would lie to me, either. Something isn’t right.

“I just said I didn’t,” he snaps.

I decide to drop the charger thing. It’s not that big a deal. It’s definitely not worth arguing about and setting him off before our weekend even starts. I’m so over fighting. Fighting with Jax, and the war with myself wondering if I should be here or not, is exhausting.

“Did the text go through to Logan and Harper, though?” I ask with forced lightness in my voice.

“It should have. Why?”

“Just wondering. I got a text from her before my phone died, asking where I was.” It’s my turn to shrug.

Kohen turns around with the same smile on his face, but it seems forced. Weird. “You can use my phone if you want to check that they got it.”

I’m tempted to take him up on the offer, but I feel like it’s a trap. To see if I trust him enough. I decide to let it go. I can always use his phone tomorrow to call Logan and ask how his flight was. Yeah, I’ll do that. It’s not like I can call him now since he’s on a plane and I can’t call Harper since I don’t have her number memorized. Something that I’m going to have to do in the future in case this happens again.

I wave off his suggestion. “No, it’s fine. I’ll check in with Logan tomorrow.”

Kohen nods and carries our plates outside. I grab the glasses of wine that he’s already filled. I take a sip while I follow him. Walking up to him, I kiss him on his cheek for his thoughtfulness. He managed to pick up my favorite wine and prepare one of my favorite meals. Pesto pasta with roasted tomatoes. Yum.

“It’s perfect,” I tell him as I sit down.

“You’re perfect.” He captures my hand and kisses my palm.

I don’t even bother to correct him as it will just cause a fight between us. Like it usually does whenever he calls me perfect. I’m so far from perfect, it’s laughable.

Chapter Thirty-Two

I curl up closer into the warm arms around me. They squeeze me tighter. I’m afraid that I’m dreaming so I keep my eyes firmly shut. I’m in Jax’s arms again. I don’t care about the repercussions of being here with him. If I’m dreaming, I never want to wake up. I want to forget about the secrets and be happy in the arms of the man I love. Eyes still tightly closed, I turn around so that I can snuggle into his chest. Inhaling deeply I feel like I’m home.

“Are you really here?”

“Where else would I be, babe?” a voice that doesn’t belong to Jax whispers back.

Immediately my entire body tenses. It wasn’t real. I’m not with Jax. It was just a dream. When I open my eyes, Kohen’s dark blue ones stare back at me. If I wasn’t in Kohen’s arms right now, I would smack myself. I can’t believe that my dream of Jax was so vivid that I carried it with me when I woke up . . . actually I can. Jax isn’t the type of guy easily forgotten, dream or otherwise. I take a couple deep breaths and count to five. I can do this. I can move on. Kohen is changing, he wants to be better for me, for us.

Remembering that I never answered him I say, “I thought you would be up by now.”

“I’ve been up for an hour or so. I just couldn’t get out of bed. I finally have you and I’m never going to let you go.” He squeezes me closer to prove his point. I know that I should find his statement endearing, but I don’t. The way he said “never” isn’t settling well with me.

“Do you want to go on the boat today?” Kohen sits up and yanks me with him so that I’m still using his chest as a pillow.

“I would love to,” I say with more enthusiasm than I’m feeling.

“Great. Then we should start getting ready. There’s a storm coming so we need to be back before it hits.” Kohen climbs out of bed.

“No more sleep?” I complain.

Kohen stops in his tracks on the way to the bathroom. “You’ve slept enough, Adalynn. It’s time to get up now. You might be able to take a nap later when we get back since you’ll be awake all night this time.” He shoots me a warning look before continuing to the bathroom.

Well, I guess someone isn’t in the mood to be playful this morning. Rolling my eyes, I wonder if the tampons in the bathroom are for me or for him. With his moods swings this morning, it’s a tough call. Hesitantly I walk over to the bathroom.

“Do we have any special plans tonight?” I reach for my toothbrush.

Kohen doesn’t answer me at first. He continues to brush his teeth without looking at me. Its obvious that he’s mad, I just have no idea why. He was fine a few minutes ago. If he’s seriously mad about my joke, he needs to get over it. I enjoy my sleep more than anyone I know and that’s not something that’s going to change.

“Everything is special if you’re involved,” Kohen says once he’s done brushing his teeth.

I can’t help the nervousness sinking into my voice when I ask, “Well, is there anything special for tonight since you just said you want me awake?”

If he’s hinting that he wants to take our relationship further, I’m out of here. That is not going slow and it’s not what I want. Even though taking our relationship to the next level might help me wash away my feelings for Jax, I can’t. I’m not ready and it wouldn’t be fair to Kohen since there’s a good chance I’ll be picturing Jax which is so not how I’ve imagined our first time.

Kohen marches over to turn on the shower. He takes deep breaths, trying to calm himself, I think. Again, I have no idea what’s going on. All I asked was a simple question.

“I would just prefer that you don’t pass out on me again.” He strips out of his gym shorts, steps into the shower and closes the door.

Feeling guilty that I’m ruining our morning and the only day we’re going to be here, I contemplate joining him in the shower. I know it’s not my fault for how he’s acting this morning. If I’m enough for him, I should be able to snap him out of it and make him happy.

Chewing my lip, I lift my shirt, but stop before it even grazes my belly button. I don’t want Kohen to see me naked for the first time pissed at me. Deciding to let him calm down, I change into a bikini and a pair of shorts, despite the chill in the air. I’ll make us breakfast and call my brother while waiting for everything to cook. Perfect game plan. I steal Kohen’s phone and head down the stairs.

In the kitchen, I press the home screen on Kohen’s phone. I frown. It’s password-protected. He’s never had one before. I know the easiest thing would be to ask for the password, or to at least wait for him to come down here. I do neither. The easiest way is always the most boring. Hmm . . . My finger hovers over the screen. I can’t think of anything to guess. I doubt it’s his birthday . . . which I don’t even know. I try mine instead. I’m not surprised when it vibrates in my hand, informing me that I didn’t crack the code.

I set his phone on the counter and start making pancakes. There’s a lot that I don’t know about Kohen. That isn’t soothing since I’m trapped here with him until tomorrow when we go back to the city. I need to make a point of getting to know him before we return. This is our make-it-or-break-it vacation.

I’m not tip-toeing around someone I’m in a relationship with, I’ve done enough of that with Jax. If I continue to have this sick feeling in the bottom of my stomach, I have to end it. Kohen isn’t the type of guy to use as a rebound. He’s the plan-your-future-with, marrying type of man. I can’t even say who I see in my future. Before I always saw Jax, but now it’s just me. Alone.

I jump a good three feet in the air when Kohen startles me. “Why is my phone down here?”

“Breakfast is almost ready.” I ignore his question.

His sandy brown hair is still wet from the shower. A few drops drizzle down his wet hair and onto on his white pull-over. I start to feel hot. My reaction to the sight of him takes me by surprise. My mouth waters, imagining what he’ll taste like if I lick up the water. I swallow loudly.

Kohen walks towards me and grabs plates from the cupboard. “Why is my phone down here?” he asks again while he hands me the plates.

And just like that, I’m back to being nervous around him, and not because I’m attracted to him. “Thanks,” I say timidly. I put pancakes on both of our plates, add syrup, and fruit on the side. “Can you grab us orange juice?”

Kohen is already pouring juice in two glasses. I carry our plates to the patio table outside to enjoy the nice weather before the storm comes in. It’s still sunny, but dark clouds roll in and the waves crash violently into each other. I love storms.

“Are you going to answer my question?” Kohen snaps my attention back to him.

I sit beside him in the beige fabric-covered patio chair. “Sorry. I didn’t think it was a big deal. I was going to call my brother to see how his flight was.”

Kohen doesn’t touch his food. I can hear his teeth grinding. He takes a deep breath to calm himself. A move that I’m familiar with.

“Next time can you just ask? I don’t like my things out of place.”

“Yeah, sorry.”

Wow. I had no idea he would make such a big deal out of this. He’s acting like I destroyed his house while he was in the shower, not grabbing his phone from the charger and bringing it to the kitchen. Besides he’s one to talk. I don’t recall asking him to unpack my stuff.

“It’s fine. Next time just ask.”

I don’t see us lasting past this weekend. As much as I want to end things with him, it’s better to wait until we return home. I’m trapped here. No phone, no car. Besides, I’m hoping that we can turn this morning around. He’s having a rough morning, I need to stop reading into something that’s not there. Everything will be fine once I get him out of his funk.

“I didn’t even call him. You have a password now so I couldn’t get into your phone.”

Kohen nods but doesn’t explain. I’m not surprised that he doesn’t want to share why he has a password on his phone. However, I did think he would unlock his phone for me and hand it over so I could call Logan. Whatever, I’ll call him before we leave. We both eat our food in silence. It’s not a comfortable silence either; tension swims in the air.

Once we’re both done eating and have packed lunch for the boat, we’re ready to go.

“Can I use your phone please?” I ask to Kohen’s back.

“For what?” he asks.

Deep breaths. It shouldn’t matter, I want to shout at him, but I find the calm that I’m not feeling and say as nicely as possible, “I want to check on my brother.”

My earlier pep talk is flying off towards the horizon. I have to end things with him. I open my mouth to demand that he take me home, but nothing comes out. I need to break up with him in a crowd, not when I have no escape if he loses control over his rage.

Kohen doesn’t answer me. So I’m forced to wait . . . and wait. Finally, he turns around to face me. “How about you call him when we get back? We need to get going or we won’t be able to enjoy our day because of the storm.”

Forcing myself not to groan, I smile at him and pick up our towels. “Sure. Let’s go.” I don’t wait for him to respond. I stomp out of the house and walk over to the dock, and to the waiting sailboat.

Our day has yet to begin and I’m already wishing that I never got out of bed . . . or came. Kohen is acting strange. He isn’t being mean or anything, but something’s off. I can’t explain it. I don’t know why, but I’m nervous. Not nervous in a scared way, but in a way that I fear that I’m about to lose him. I can’t find it in me to care. I wonder if it’s because everything that happened with Jax is fresh in my mind, or if deep down I know I don’t belong with Kohen. I’ve been trying to push myself towards him while I’m still in love with Jax. Even though Jax and I are through, I need time to myself before jumping into anything.

Two long, dreadfully painful hours later, I jump off the white sailboat and march toward the house. I’m fuming. I don’t think I’ve ever been so upset in my life. And I can’t even get out of here because he stole my charger! I don’t care what he says, I know I packed it. It didn’t just disappear. For some reason, Kohen thought having me all to himself meant that I couldn’t communicate with the outside world. He needs to take a class on how to be a boyfriend, because nobody wants a controlling man in their lives, overstepping at every turn.

“Calm down, Adalynn,” Kohen says, racing behind me.

I ignore him and pick up my pace. Our “romantic” boat ride was anything but pleasant. It started off fine. I left everything that happened on the beach and tried to enjoy the rest of the day with him. Wishful thinking on my part.

Kohen freaked out when a group of guys on another boat were watching me. I can feel a headache coming on just thinking about it. He pulled me into the cabin and practically forced me into one of my dresses that he packed in our bags. Apparently I look like a slut in just a bikini top, shorts, and a cardigan. Yeah, cause the girls on the other boats were dressed ready to go to church. They didn’t care that it’s cold out. Most didn’t bother with a top and their bottoms were swallowed up by their asses, leaving everything on full display. But I’m the slut. Yeah.

I just laugh as I stomp up the stairs to the house. Kohen reaches me before I’m inside. My hands shake at my sides. I want to smack him, that’s how upset I am. That was so embarrassing! He treated me like an errant child. I force my arms to stay at my sides, even though I’m itching to take the control Kohen has stolen from me.

“I’m sorry. I need to think before I say anything. I’m working on it, Adalynn. I’m not perfect!”

Flashes of the bruises, the hateful words Kohen has spoken to me, and Jax’s secrets rush forward. Making the anger I keep bottled up, erupt.

I turn on him, each word laced with the rage crackling inside of me. “I never asked you to be perfect! All I’ve asked is for your respect, but you can’t give me that! I already had a dad, I don’t need another one. YOU. WILL. NOT. TELL. ME. WHAT. TO WEAR.”

Kohen raises his hand and hits me across the face. The force of the blow makes me stumble closer to the steps of the house. The exact steps I should be running up to flee. Instead, I square my shoulders. I will not run scared.

Tenderly I touch the side of my face. I wince as soon as I feel my cheek. It’s burning hot. I force the tears not to fall. I will not cry in front of him, I won’t give him the satisfaction. HOLY SHIT! I’ve never in my life been slapped and I never want to be experience this again, especially from him.

I grit my teeth and match his stare. He smirks at me. Actually fucking smirks. I think I missed that day in high school when they taught boys like him to smack girls around and then smile.

I find my voice. “DON’T YOU EVER FUC—”

Slap! That first smack was a whisper of a caress compared to this one. The asshole didn’t even bother to hit my other cheek. No, that would have been too nice. Kohen gets right in front of my face. It takes every ounce of willpower to stand my guard as he strokes my injured cheek.

“You will not talk to me like that again. You will learn your place by my side.”

I laugh, which I know is the last thing I should do in the situation. I can’t help it. He must be high. Does he honestly think I’m going to stay with him after this? I open my mouth to tell him just that, but then close it. Panic takes over . . . I need to escape. Now. I turn around in an attempt to flee, but Kohen has other plans for me.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he says into my ear as he painfully jerks me to him.

“I’m leaving,” I whisper but it’s loud and clear.

My teeth chatter as I tremble against him. Kohen laughs, enjoying the fear he’s causing. He presses his lips to my ear. I try to squirm away, but he’s gripping me too tightly that I can’t breathe and I’m forced to let him lick my neck. I swallow down my lunch.

“Just let me leave. I won’t say anything.”

Kohen chuckles again and trails one hand down to my chest. Roughly he grabs ahold of my breast and grinds his thick erection into my ass. I close my eyes, willing myself to find that empty void I used to live in. If I can find that place, I can get past this. I can get past Kohen and his disgusting hands.

“I told you that I’m not letting you go, Em. You’re mine.”

Who the fuck is Em? I want to ask but I remain silent. He’s stolen my ability to speak. I’m that terrified.

Releasing the death grip on my breast, he licks my neck again. “And I plan on taking what’s mine tonight.” He shoves me away from him and spanks my ass before striding into the house.

I don’t even think about it. I run.

Before my feet even reach the sand, I’m yanked back. I cry out in pain, frustration, and angery. Of course it wouldn’t have been that easy. Kohen isn’t going to let me go. Okay, I need to be smart. I can’t go for the obvious moves or he’ll stop me.

I’m crying while Kohen drags me back into the house. None of my tears are for the pain I’m feeling. No, they’re all for my stupidity. I should have seen this coming. God, how could I be so stupid? He’s shown me his true colors before, I just chose to ignore everything. I wanted him to be better, I wanted to move on from Jax. I desperately wanted to be loved by someone.

Because of that, I’m stuck in a house that could be in the middle of nowhere. Kohen said we were going to the Hamptons, but we could be anywhere. I slept the entire way here. That false security I was feeling seconds ago has vanished. If he does have neighbors, I doubt I’ll be able to reach them before Kohen finds me. He knows the area, I don’t.