by Sam Crescent
Once the last of her orgasm ebbed, Noah was there, his hands in her hair, pulling on the strands, tilting her head back so she had no choice but to kiss him back with a passion.
Their past didn’t define them, and yet here they were, back where they started. Noah didn’t want her as a teenage boy. They’d been thrust into their world because of some monster. They were not the monsters; they were merely the victims of one.
She scored her nails down his back as he continued to pound away inside her, taking her breath away.
“Fuck!” He growled the last word, and she felt his orgasm. Each pulse drove deeper inside her, connecting the two of them together.
****
Two weeks later
“Yeah, I’ll be home tomorrow. It’s nothing really. Just a small contract I want to deal with personally,” Noah said.
“If you’re sure. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Take care, babe,” he said.
She chuckled. “I can’t believe you call me that.”
Skye hung up the phone, and Noah pocketed his cell. The past couple of weeks, since he revealed the replica cell, they had talked a whole lot about the past. He rubbed at his eyes, feeling the exhaustion fill him.
He was back at that place. He’d parked his car on the outskirts of the gate. There was a small parking within the grounds of the mansion where he and Skye had been kept.
Once the investigation had been completed, or at least, that section of the case signed off, the grounds had been sold. Last he heard, it was picked up by a private group, and now it was a home for the elderly. A place to retire to.
The one place that still haunted his nightmares and had defined the rest of his life was now a place of happiness and peace in later life.
He stared out, quickly changing the scenery before him, to see the imposing building of his past. Stripped away, he stared at the truth.
Even as he made his money, became successful, Mitch and his goons constantly kept him in the grip of his fear.
Climbing out of his car, he made his way over to the main building. He’d called ahead as he spoke to the manager about taking a look around. He’d lied about one of his parents needing a place, as they were both touring the world on a yacht.
His siblings were also off doing their own thing.
When they moved away from Skye for his father’s promotion, he stopped trying to give a shit about anyone or anything, and instead, put all of his energy into his studies. He gave them all money, but that didn’t mean he had to actually be near them all the time. He liked his space. Needed it.
After grabbing his visitor badge and having a woman in her late fifties take him on a tour, he was able to drown out her voice by giving the occasional hum and smile. She seemed to get the idea that he didn’t want to talk but to listen, so she didn’t ask him too many questions.
What he saw now, walking the grounds, seeing the people who now lived here, was the mansion itself was changed. Each room was now a resident’s home. They showed him an example of one of their spare apartments, each with a bathroom. The kitchen was communal, so the residents were never alone unless they requested it in the morning, and they would accommodate their needs. There was a pool, a gym, a game room.
The house that was once his living nightmare was now a game room.
There was no torture chamber where they were all made to watch as one of their fellow captives was raped.
Nothing of any living memory for him was here. There were no cells.
Everything that surrounded him was filled with warmth. Even the forest that he and Skye had run through to get to their freedom, where he had no choice but to kill dogs, was clear. A few trees remained, but he saw there was a tennis court and even somewhere for them to walk dogs and play bowls.
The memory he had was slowly being wiped clear by what was now before him, and it truly was a gift that this space had.
When he first heard about the sale of this place, he’d been so fucking angry. He’d thrown himself into his work so he didn’t have to think about what it all meant. What a place like this being sold meant.
Over the years, he knew they had caught several of the men and women who had paid for the privilege of having their needs met. He saw the news headlines, and each time he did, it filled him with joy to know they were not going to be able to hurt anyone else.
Once he finished with the tour, he handed his card back to the reception staff, thanked them, and went back to his car.
Without another look behind him, he turned over the engine of the rental car, and drove it back to the airport before getting ready to catch a flight that would take him home. His plane was delayed by a day, so he had no choice but to take a hotel room.
After a shower, he sat on the bed, pulled up his home phone number, and dialed Skye. She picked up on the fourth ring.
“Hello,” she said.
He felt his smile beam as he thought of her walking around naked in their apartment.
“Hello, beautiful.”
“Hey, yourself. So, how was your contract thing today?” she asked.
“It was good. I doubt I’ll be taking it, but they did a good sale.”
“And you’re still not going to take it?”
“I’m not. When I get back, I want to take you out to dinner. We need to talk.”
There was silence on the other end.
“Skye?”
“I’m still here.” Her words were no louder than a whisper.
“I’m not breaking up with you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’ll be home tomorrow. Wear that blue number I picked up for you.” He could imagine her rolling her eyes.
“You’re so bossy.”
“Only when it comes to you.” He laughed as she snorted. She was so adorable. “What are you wearing?”
“Seriously, you’re trying to get phone sex?”
“Have you ever tried it?”
“No.”
“Me neither. I’m always willing to try new things. What are you wearing?” He uncrossed his legs, sitting back against the headboards.
“You’re not even ready for this, Noah.”
“Try me.”
“It’s so sexy.”
“Go on.” He wrapped his fingers around his cock, waiting.
“I’m wearing sweatpants and one of your shirts. It’s got paint on it. Do you paint?”
“I don’t paint. I had to do another coat over my sitting room when it was first decorated. I needed the distraction, and since then, I wear that whenever my place needs some work done.”
“I don’t believe it. Noah King gets his hands dirty.”
“And not just in making millions every single day.”
“I hear you, buddy.”
“What are you wearing under the shirt?” he asked. He’d tossed out all of her old lingerie that had been washed one time too many and replaced it with all the good kinds that he loved.
“I’m wearing the peach set.”
“The lace peach set?”
“Yep.”
He groaned.
“Are you touching yourself?” she asked.
“Skye, are you alone?”
“Of course.”
“Then why are you whispering?”
She chuckled. “I don’t know. This feels naughty.”
He smiled. “It is. Take off my shirt.”
“I’m going to take this into the bedroom. I’m just closing everything first.” He heard her padding around their apartment, turning the lights out before she made it to their bedroom. “There, I’m in your room. Two seconds.”
He waited.
“And now I have no shirt on.”
“Now take your bra off.”
“Done,” she said.
“Touch your tits. Slide your fingers over your nipples, touch them.”
“I’m leaning back.” She gasped. “They’re so sensitive, Noah.”
“Do you want my lips on them?” he asked.
“Yes. It would feel so good if you licked them, touched them.”
“I can’t lick them, but I will. I’m going to spend a lot of time worshipping your tits.”
She moaned.
“Take off your sweatpants.” Pre-cum already leaked out of the tip of his cock, and he rubbed it into his length, needing the extra lubricant.
“Done and my panties are gone, too.”
“I didn’t tell you to remove your panties, naughty girl.”
“You’re going to have to punish me when you get home. I’ve been a very bad girl, Noah. I’ve done something without your permission.”
“And I will punish you.”
“What will you do?” she asked.
“You’ll know when I do it.” He worked his cock up and down, closing his eyes, imagining her on the bed, legs spread. “Open your thighs.”
“They already are.”
“Touch yourself.”
She did so. “I’m so wet, Noah. I want you.”
“Slide a finger inside your pussy. Are you tight?”
“Yes.”
“Add another.”
“I’ve done it.”
“Touch your clit with your thumb.”
She cried out.
“Don’t come yet. Take your fingers from your pussy and lick them. Tell me how you taste.”
“I taste good.”
“When I get home, I’m going to lick your pussy until I fill you with my cum.”
“I want that. I want you, Noah. So much. Are you touching your cock?”
“Does it feel weird saying cock?”
“Yes.”
“Say it again.”
“Cock.”
“I’m going to shove my cock into your pussy and watch as you come all over it.”
“Yes.”
“Good, you’re going to be begging me to stop because of how good it’s going to feel, and I’m not going to. I know what you want. I know what you need. You’re going to give it to me, aren’t you?”
“Yes!” She screamed the word.
“Now come for me, Skye. Let me hear you.”
She cried out as he groaned. His cum spilled out of the tip of his cock, raining down on his stomach. He didn’t care. He loved hearing Skye as she came, his name on her lips.
Seconds passed, possibly minutes. “That was amazing.”
“That was all you.”
“I miss you, Noah. I wish you were here.”
“I am. I’ll be there tomorrow. Get some sleep.”
He wanted to say something more but instead hung up his cell phone, dropping it beside him on the bed.
Changes needed to be made.
And soon.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Skye was still at the office, and his plane had landed three hours early, still technically late, but he wasn’t about to complain. Noah stood in his apartment, alone.
The scent of Skye lingered in the air, and it helped calm him. He’d left his suitcase in his bedroom and made his way toward the replica cell room he’d kept locked. It was still locked as he held the key, and he wasn’t willing to leave it for anyone to see. He never had any intention of using it on some poor, unsuspecting woman or couple. This was his sanctuary and hell.
No one shared this.
Opening the door, he stared into the past. That’s what he did whenever he came in here.
It transported him back to the past in ways memories never did. Seeing the truth of what he’d been through, it was hard for him to distance himself from that reality. This had been a defining moment in his entire life, what changed him.
Nights when he woke up completely drenched in sweat, panicking, he’d come here to know that he wasn’t the one at their mercy anymore. He’d taken their lives from them, and in doing so, he’d given back his own and Skye’s.
Just thinking about her filled him with a happiness he couldn’t understand. She was part of his life, his future.
Why had he built this … shrine?
Was that what it was? A shrine?
Stepping into the room, he looked around at the walls, picturing himself and Skye as they’d been then.
He’d done it … to remember her.
Leaning back against the wall, flashes of her growing up, but then of her in that room, the tears in her eyes, the hope, the pain, the fear, and above all else the strength. Being married to Scarlett, he’d missed Skye.
How had he not seen it before?
None of the women he’d been with had ever come close to being the strength that Skye was. She was in a league all of her own. One no one could ever compare to.
Running fingers through his hair, he couldn’t believe it, and yet, this was exactly what it did. He didn’t come in here to think about work or to contemplate his troubles. He came here for Skye. To remember her.
It would have been easier to find her, to seek her out, but he’d not done that because he’d been a fucking coward.
What if she looked at him with horror? Disgust? Hatred?
When they were alone in this tiny cell, their lives, who they were in high school, they didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was the two of them.
Moving out of the room, he went to his small supply closet. One of the builders years ago had left a sledgehammer, and he’d kept it for a moment just like this.
Lifting it up, he walked back inside the memory of his past and began to attack the room.
This was in the past.
Mitch was dead.
Their tormentors were either behind bars or dead.
There was nothing and no one from that time.
Bringing it down on the floor, he began to attack, to decimate, to demolish the one final piece of his past.
He knew why he built it, and now he didn’t need it.
Noah didn’t know how much time had passed, but Skye appeared in the doorway.
“What the hell?” she asked. “What have you done?”
His expensive suit was covered in a fine dusting of cement. He dropped the hammer and walked up to her, cupping her face and pressing her back against the wall.
“Noah, what are you doing?”
“It’s you. It’s always been you.”
“What?”
He slammed his lips down on hers, and she moaned. The moment her mouth opened on another gasp, he plundered inside, kissing her, needing every single part of her.
She broke the kiss first, pulling away. “I don’t understand.”
“I built this for you.”
She frowned. “I still don’t understand.”
Staring into her dark brown gaze, he knew it so fucking clearly. “Fifteen years ago, I fell in love with you.”
“Noah?”
“Let me finish. I fell in love with you, Skye. I didn’t mean for it to happen or even know it had happened, but it did. Dad’s promotion, all the shit that came after that, it doesn’t matter. You’re the only want I want, the only person I’ve ever wanted. This room, I did it to remember you. When I’m here, I think of you. I remember holding you. Even when you were afraid of me, I’d hold you. I don’t want to lose that, not ever.”
Tears filled her eyes, spilling down her cheeks, breaking his heart.
“So, I’m going to do this.” He sank down onto one knee.
“Please, Noah, don’t do this.”
“I want you to marry me, Skye. I want you to be my wife and to be the mother of my children. I want it all. I don’t care about our past.”
“But I do.” She sniffled. Holding onto his hands, she pressed a kiss to them. “I need you to listen to me. I know this is hard, but our past, it means something. We’ve barely gotten to know each other right now. We’ve both got a failed marriage, and all the other baggage in our lives. What we need is the time to get to know each other now, right now. Not here, in the past. Not like this. We’ve got to move on. Both of us.”
“You’re not moving out of the apartment,” he said. He knew they were destined tog
ether. There was no doubt in his mind.
She laughed. “I couldn’t afford a place. I’m not moving out, but can’t we just have some time together, rather than speeding everything along? We’ve been apart for fifteen years, and I don’t want to rush this. I want to enjoy this with you.”
He saw this weird look in her eye. He didn’t even know what it meant. Tonight, he wasn’t getting anywhere. Even as he understood her apprehension in getting married to him, it didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. They’d been through hell together, and no matter how much time separated them, it would never change. He wasn’t going to walk away from her. He knew how he felt, and it was real to him. He loved her so deeply and would do anything to make her happy. His biggest mistake and his biggest regret were walking away, and letting her shout at him. He should have fought more. What they had was special, but he’d allowed it to fall apart. Never again.
“You want to take time with each other?”
“Yes. Forgetting all about this. Do you think you can do that for me?”
Staring into her eyes, he shook his head, laughing.
“What?” she asked.
“You don’t even realize that there is a whole lot of shit I’d do for you, Skye. All you got to do is ask for it, and I’ll give it to you. No questions asked.”
She surprised him then by kissing his lips.
“Thank you. What are you doing with this?” she asked.
“I’ll turn the room into something. I’ve got a few ideas.” Getting to his feet, he pushed some of her hair off her shoulder.
“How long have you been home?” she asked.
“Long enough to trash this room. I lied to you earlier.”
“About what?”
“I wasn’t with a client. I went back to that place.”
“The mansion?”
He noticed she tensed.
“The very same. Did you know they turned it into a care home?”
“They have?”
“Yes. Quality apartments, a pool, tennis court, gym, everything anyone could ask for. You wouldn’t even believe what we’d once been through.”
“Wow,” she said.
“I’ll show it to you one time.”
“One time, maybe. I’m not in any desperate need to go back there. That was all in the past, and I don’t want any part of it.”