Читать книгу Loving On the Edge 5-Book Collection: Crash Into You, Melt Into You, Fall Into You, Caught Up In You, Need You Tonight - Roni Loren, Roni Loren - Страница 24

then

Brynn thought the blindfold was part of the ­surprise. Reid had promised something special tonight, but he hadn’t clued her in as to what exactly he had in mind. She smiled as the dark fabric blocked out the low lights of the storage room. “You’re early.”

Lips pressed against the back of her neck. Hot hands caressed her shoulders, her arms. “Shh…”

She shivered beneath the touch. So he was going to be Mr. Serious Dom tonight. Alrighty. She wet her lips. “Yes, sir.”

He grabbed her forearms with firm fingers and pulled them behind her back. Instead of the usual cloth or rope, something less forgiving circled her wrists—plastic? A quick zipping sound filled the silent room as he yanked on the bindings, tightening them to the point of discomfort. “Ouch, hey. Could you loosen those up a bit?”

With a grunt, he gave another pull, and the zip tie bit into her flesh deeper. She squirmed and tried to turn around, but he gripped her shoulder and held her in place.

“No, come on, I’m serious. That hurts. Ruby,” she said, using the word Reid had told her would signal to him something was wrong.

His chuckle was low and sent a chill through her insides. “Is that the special word you use with him?”

The unfamiliar whisper made her jolt forward, panic seizing her, but the stranger wrapped an arm around her neck and dragged her against him. A scream ripped from her throat.

His hand slapped her across the mouth and his whisper turned fierce. “Now, now, no yelling. You can fight all you want, that’ll make it better. But keep that big mouth shut or I’ll find something to shove in it. Got it?”

She nodded, tears flooding her eyes. When he released her mouth, words tumbled out of her. “Please, let me go. My boyfriend’s on the way. He’ll be here any minute. If you go now, I promise I won’t say anything.”

“Ah, Brynn. So naive. Your boyfriend won’t be making it. He’s at an event with his real girlfriend, Vanessa.”

The wind left her lungs. This asshole knew her name? My God, this was someone she knew? The rest of his statement registered, and she shook her head. “No, that’s not true. We have plans. I’m his girlfriend.”

“Oh, sweetheart. Haven’t you realized it yet? You’re just his whore.” The smile in his disguised whisper rang in her ears. “You think he’s going to parade around trash like you on his arm?”

The words stung as much as the bindings around her wrists. She couldn’t muster a response.

“Of course not. But even though you’re only temporary, whores like you have a way of fucking up the lives of perfectly good men, and I’m not going to let that happen.” He pet her head like she was a dog, and her whole body began to shake with terror. “So after tonight, you’re going to end things with him. Otherwise, this won’t be the last time we meet. Only next time, maybe I’ll take that sweet little sister of yours for a ride instead. I wonder if she likes being treated like a slut as much as you do.”

An inhuman scream of rage ripped from her lungs, and his hand clamped around her neck with crushing force.

“Shut the fuck up, you stupid bitch, and let’s see how rough you like it.”

Blackness edged her vision as she fought for breath.

His other hand moved to the neckline of her blouse and ripped downward, shredding the delicate fabric and her world all in one swift motion.

Reid tucked the last surprise next to the silver promise ring nestled in the box and smiled. Brynn would probably think he was being high-handed and had lost his mind, but he hoped once she got past that, she’d be excited. He’d agonized over the decision his aunt and uncle had laid at his feet, and he still had a burning ball of guilt in his stomach. But the last few months had been the most amazing of his life, and he couldn’t bear to let the woman responsible flit off to Austin without showing her how serious he was about her. He just hoped against hope that if it worked out between them, that one day his family would accept her.

He hadn’t said the words “I love you” to Brynn yet; he’d been too afraid to scare her off, but he’d known them to be true since his trip to Galveston. Tonight, he’d tell her—lay his feelings and his plan out there and see what she thought.

He checked his watch—fifteen minutes before he was ­supposed to pick her up at the office. She’d insisted on working late again to squeeze in any last overtime hours she could get. Too bad he couldn’t tell her he already had the apartment she’d been saving up for taken care of. He’d put the deposit down on hers and the one across the hall from it a week ago.

He tucked the box with the key to that apartment and the ring into his jacket pocket and headed out of the house to his car, feeling lighter than he had in days. But as soon as he rounded the corner, the little zip in his step died. Vanessa Thomas was sitting on his hood, a big smile lighting her face. “Ooh, you look nice. But that may be kind of dressy for an outdoor party.”

His brows drew together, still processing her sudden appearance. “What are you doing here, Ness?”

She hopped off the car and brushed invisible dirt from her white tennis skirt. “Your aunt said you’d go with me to the Stevens’ barbecue tonight. Didn’t she mention it to you? Both she and your uncle are going.”

“Um, not so much,” he said, scratching the back of his head. “And I’m really sorry, but I have plans tonight.”

She stuck her bottom lip out as if it held some magic power to change his mind. “But I can’t go by myself—how would that look? Lauren Gates is going to be there and you know she’ll never let me here the end of it if I show up without a date.”

Reid closed his eyes and counted to three. Be nice. He’d been accompanying Vanessa to events over the summer to make his aunt and uncle happy, and she really was a great girl. But she wasn’t Brynn. “Ness, I really can’t.”

Her pout lifted into a coy smile. “Come on. After the party, we can hang out at my place. My parents went to the lake house for a few days, so we’ll have it all to ourselves.”

He had to stifle a laugh. So, Miss I-Wear-a-True-Love-Waits-Ring was ready to have him over for dessert. Guess true love only waits until the parents are out of town. He shook his head. A few months ago, he would’ve jumped on the opportunity to entertain the pretty debutante for the weekend. But the thought held no appeal anymore.

The only person he wanted curled up next to him in his bed was Brynn. His Brynn. Who was going to be pissed if he showed up late for their big date. “Wow, I appreciate the offer, but I can’t break this commitment. I’m sorry you came all the way out here.”

As he stepped past her and hit the unlock button on his keypad, she reached out and grabbed his arm. “Hey, wait. My dad dropped me off. I didn’t bring a car.”

Motherfucker. He glanced at his watch and sighed. The Stevens’ house was at least ten minutes out of the way. “Fine, get in, I’ll drop you off on my way.”

She smiled and lifted on tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek. “Great, and maybe you can just stop in for a minute and say hi.”

Reid took the turn into Brynn’s driveway on two wheels. Vanessa had insisted he walk her into the party, and she’d roped him into a photo-op for the society section of the newspaper and half a dozen introductions. Then, his aunt and uncle had dragged him into a conversation with the mayor. Now he was a solid hour late for his date with Brynn. He’d stopped by the office to pick her up, but she’d already left. And she wasn’t answering her phone.

Damn it. He’d wanted tonight to go perfectly and he’d screwed that up. Hopefully, once she saw what he had planned she’d forgive him.

He hustled up the sidewalk and knocked on her door, praying that she wasn’t too upset with him, but no one answered. Oh, come on. Her car was in the driveway, so he knew she had to be home. Was she mad enough not to answer the door? She usually wasn’t that easily angered.

He knocked again, and the door finally cracked open. He opened his mouth to launch into his apology speech, but when he took in Brynn’s state, the words died on his lips.

Brynn was dressed in gray sweats, her hair damp from a shower, and her eyes bloodshot and puffy.

“Sugar, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” he asked, reaching out for her.

She shrunk back before he touched her. “I… uh… I’m not feeling very well. I think I may have the flu.”

He frowned. “Oh, no, that sucks. Is there anything I can do? Obviously, you can’t go out, but do you want me to go pick up some soup and we can watch movies or something?”

She shook her head, and he had the impression that she may burst into tears. “No, but can you come in for a minute? We need to talk.”

He tucked his keys in his pocket. “Yeah, of course.”

She walked back into her living room and he followed, shutting the door behind him. She curled into the chair and tucked her knees to her chest. He had to stop himself from going over to her, picking her up and holding her. He’d never seen her look so miserable.

He sat on the couch. “Look, before you start, I just want to tell you, I am so sorry for being late. I got hung up and couldn’t get away. And I tried to call, but then I couldn’t reach you. And I feel like a dick.”

She looked up at him, her face emotionless. “We’ve got to end this.”

The words hit him like an anvil to the gut and halted his rambling. “Wait, what?”

Her eyes went watery, and she quickly swiped at her face with her sweatshirt-covered hands. “I’m sorry, Reid. But this—us—has to end.”

“Us?” His heart began to pound in his ears and panic edged in. Where the hell had this come from? “No. I don’t understand.”

She looked down, staring at the now damp sleeves of her shirt. “You knew this had an expiration date. We agreed to have a summer thing. Summer’s over. I’m leaving.”

He sat forward on the sofa, hope entering his voice. “But it doesn’t have to end. That’s what I was going to tell you tonight. There are ways we can work this out. I can go to Austin with you.”

Her head snapped up, her reddened eyes wide. “You want to move?”

He smiled. “Yeah, sugar. I want to be with you. Wherever that is.”

She shook her head, her tears returning. “No, you can’t.”

Screw the flu. He got off the couch and went to crouch in front of her chair, laying a tentative hand on her knee. “Baby, sure I can. I don’t know what the future holds. But all I know is I don’t want to let you go. Nothing is holding me here, and in Austin, we won’t even have to worry about anyone seeing us. We can just be together—wherever and whenever we want.”

She squeezed her eyes shut and stayed that way for a moment before taking a deep, shaky breath. Her voice came out flat. “There’s someone else, Reid. I have a boyfriend waiting for me in Austin. This was just supposed to be a fling. I love him.”

All sounds in the room suddenly seemed painfully loud. The ticking clock above the couch, the used car salesman on TV, the hum of the box fan on the other side of the room. His hand slipped off her knee, and he sank back onto his heels.

A lump the size of a grapefruit lodged in his throat. “There’s someone else? Why didn’t you tell me? Why—?”

“The same reason why you didn’t tell me about Vanessa.”

He sucked in a sharp breath. “It’s not like that, she’s not—”

“So that’s not who you were with tonight?” she asked, her voice more sad than angry.

His stunned silence gave her the answer.

“How long would it take for you to get tired of me? To want someone who fits into your life. We come from different worlds. This just wasn’t meant to be.” She rose from the chair and gave him one last lingering look before turning her back to him. “Please just go. I won’t be returning to work. I wish you the best, Reid.”

And with that, the only girl he’d ever loved walked out of his life.

Brynn locked herself in her bedroom and waited until she heard the front door close before crumpling into a ball on the floor, wishing she could shut her eyes and not wake up again. But every time her eyelids closed, the feel of the monster’s hands crawled over her skin, and images of Reid’s brokenhearted face tore through her.

There was no escape. No safe corner in her mind. Maybe never would be again.

So she cried and stared blankly at the peeling paint on the baseboards, letting the sobs wrack her abused body well into the night, until she was only a husk of the person she had been a few hours before. Until she felt dead inside.