Saving Beth

by Kaylee, Katy

  But still I hesitated for another moment, feeling suddenly like I was standing on the edge of a giant cliff with no way of knowing what would be at the bottom waiting for me. Aiden just watched me, not pressuring, waiting for me to choose. And I knew he would accept any answer I gave him without question. It was that that finally gave me the strength to nod my head.

  “Yes.” The word flew from my mouth as soft as a spring breeze. Aiden’s eyes lit with a fierce joy, and for that alone it was worth any niggling sense of doubt.

  I let out a sigh, looking around, suddenly unsure of myself.

  “So, what are the steps? How does this work? What happens next? Should I do something special?

  Aiden let out a rough chuckle as my nervous questions as he shot me a heated look.

  “Just turn your brain off for a little while, bella. All you have to do…is feel.”

  I opened my mouth to ask another question, but he cut it off with a searing kiss. I felt his kiss tear through my like a knife, so sharp that it cut through the fear, the doubts, the panic, all the way to the icy core inside of me.

  Aiden slipped the towel away from my body and I shivered at the sudden chill, but I was instantly set on fire as his hands traced patterns across my skin.

  Slowly, his touch started to thaw the ice inside of me, but the numbness still sat heavy and painful inside of me, blocking out everything else.

  A part me wanted to feel, wanted to reach out and grab what Aiden was offering me with both hands. But the other part, the deep, secret part my myself, was afraid. Because I knew that once those emotions came back, so would the fear and pain and doubt and grief. All of the terrible things that I had blocked out.

  But Aiden was already pushing me forward, not giving me a moment to let those worries plague me as he picked me up and laid me out on the bed. My breath hitched hard in my chest at the look he gave me. It was warm and dark and safe and there was something there that I couldn’t put a name to, but it made me feel cherished. Like a treasure so great he would do anything to keep me.

  I let out a soft sigh as that look put another crack in the ice encapsulating me. Aiden kissed me again, his fingers spearing through my hair, angling my head closer until he drew the kiss even deeper. We came together like a storm, out lips teasing each other’s until we were breathing the air from the other’s lung.

  Our hearts were beating out a frantic rhythm as one and I felt like, once again, that he was pushing me towards a precipice. I was moving closer and closer to the edge of a great cliff and I couldn’t see the bottom. It felt like I would just fall into a black abyss and be there forever. With that thought, the worry came back.

  Aiden felt in my sudden stuttering breath, in the hesitation of my lips against his.

  “Hush, it’s okay, bella. If you want to stop, all you have to do is tell me to stop.” Aiden whispered the words against my cheek and I felt them rush through me like a cooling spring breeze. “You are in complete control.”

  “I don’t feel in control, Aiden,” I whispered back, the words broken and he kissed them away, this time trailing his lips down across the line of my jaw and then the sensitive side of my neck. I couldn’t hold back the shudder of response as he had desire pooling low and heavy inside me once more.

  “Let me show you.” Aiden said, breathing the words against my ear, “are you ready?”

  I nodded, the barest movement of my head but he caught it. He was so focused that I was pretty sure he would have noticed the slightest change in my blood pressure.

  “I’ve…never done this before.”

  Aiden’s kiss reddened lips quirked up into a lopsided grin. “Don’t worry, tesoro. I’ll go easy on you.” He said the words with a soft laugh but then his icy blue eyes flared into pure heat, “Remember what I said, Beth. Just feel. Close your eyes and feel what I’m doing to you. Feel the pleasure run through your body. Feel my touch. My kiss.”

  My eyes drifted closed, unable to resist the temptation of his words, of his husky voice.

  His touch is featherlight as his fingers traced invisible patterns across my skin, sending electricity shooting through my body and his kisses lit me up from the inside, putting more cracks in my armor of ice.

  I drew in a deep gasping breath. A part of me was still fighting to hold on to that feeling of numbness, of nothingness. The emptiness was so much easier to deal with than the messy emptions that were running chaotically inside me, hidden for the moment but lurking just out of sight, waiting for their moment to strike, to pounce on me and tear me to shreds.

  But Aiden was making it impossible to focus on anything but what he was doing with his hands, and with his mouth.

  I almost forgot all about the restraints completely as he slowly teased apart my trembling thighs. He ran his soft touch along the hyper sensitive skin there until I was soaking wet and ready for him but still, he kept up the same agonizingly slow pace, taking his time as my body grew more and more restless beneath him.

  “More, Aiden,” I panted the words, barely able to form the, “I want more.”

  “Whatever you want is yours,” his voice was warm and teasing against my ear and I writhed on the bed, my hips arching desperately for his touch but suddenly he was gone.

  I slid open heavy eyelids to see him. A soft gasp escaped my kiss swollen lips as I drank in the sheer masculine beauty of him. He was standing there, so much like a Greek Adonis come to life some sort of fantasy. He was naked and proud, his erection hard and heavy, jutting from between his thighs and the muscles of his abs ripple as he pulled open a drawer and came back out a moment later with a length of black silk.

  He turned back towards me, his eyes meeting mine and I swore I could see sparks. I was mesmerized by the fire shining in his pale blue eyes, like looking at twin, wild blue flames that were burning into me.

  Aiden walked closer, the ties in his hands. He reached for my wrist, but I jerked back, instinctively fleeing. Not from Aiden, but from the memories that flashed in my mind of the attack by Cooper’s men, of them tying me up.

  “Do you trust me, Elizabeth?”

  I stared up at him. Gathering my courage. Finally, I nodded again. “Yes, I trust you, Aiden. Maybe I shouldn’t, but…I do. Completely.”

  He melted at my words, and then bent down, kissing me so deeply that it wiped away everything else, every other thought, every other feeling except for the need that he was stoking once more deep inside me.

  “Just remember, all you have to do is tell me to stop. If there’s anything that frightens you or that makes you uncomfortable. You have all the power. “

  I nodded one last time, unable to speak as he slipped the blindfold over my eyes.

  “I’m going to tie your wrist now,” Aiden said softly, and the blindfold enhanced every other sense. His voice sounded deeper, richer somehow. His touch was that much more exquisite as his fingers teased down my arms to my wrists.

  Even the silk ties felt softer as he wrapped the fabric around my skin and anchored my arms above my head.

  His hands trailed down my body until I was on fire once more. He moved so achingly slow that I wanted to shout at him to hurry, but I also wanted to revel in every single moment of this. Every single moment of him.

  “I’m tying your ankles now, alright tesoro?”

  It was that word, tesoro, that softly whispered sweetheart that had my nodding my head yes.

  Aiden tied one ankle first, and then the other, spreading my legs apart even wider and I gasped at the sudden feeling of exposure. But the blindfold wrapped me in a world of comforting darkness and I realized after a moment that it wasn’t panic I felt, it was power.

  “Don’t worry, bella, I’ve got you. I’ve got you now.” Aiden whispered the words against my skin and I shuddered at the intense pleasure that swept through my body like a tidal wave, driving away every other thought, every terrible memory from before. All that existed in the world was my body and the pleasure that Aiden can wring from it and with one last sigh,
I gave myself up completely to him. No longer holding anything back.

  “I’m yours.”

  * * *

  Aiden

  I leaned back on my knees, just staring down at her.

  Jesus, she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life. I had to clench my jaw as the urge to take her, to ram deep inside her never leave her, tore through my body. The need was shredding me alive, but I knew that this moment wasn’t about me. It was about her. It’s always been about her.

  Beth.

  She was spread out on the bed before me like an offering in some pagan temple and all I wanted to do was worship her. Worship her body, her spirit. Her beautiful, complicated soul.

  She was so bright. So strong. So unlike anyone else I had ever known. The one to always challenge me, to push me, to never accept the easy way.

  I shuddered at the memories that assaulted me. Memories of seeing Beth covered in blood. Of seeing her tearful, fear filled eyes cling to mine. The memories of destruction and death that clung to me like a shadow. I knew that moment would be branded in my mind for a lifetime. The memories would never truly leave me. Not really.

  I knew then, that I needed this just as much as she did.

  But I also knew that I needed to go slow, for her. For both of us. To heal. With every touch and every kiss, to draw away some of the darkness that still sat inside me despite the shower. I needed more. And so did Beth.

  I leaned forward, whispering words in her ears. They were in Italian, and I knew she wouldn’t understand them but that didn’t matter. The words came straight from my soul and into hers, soothing the wild torment in both of us.

  “Ti amo. Ti amo, Elizabeth.” I love you. I love you Elizabeth. “Sei il mio cuore. Sei la mia luce. Quando pensavo di averti perso, mi ha fatto a pezzi dentro.” You are my heart. You are my light. When I thought I had lost you, it tore me apart inside.

  “Non pensavo che sarei mai stato in grado di andare avanti senza di te. Se mai ti succedesse qualcosa, non so cosa farei. Non so come continuerei a vivere.” I didn’t think I would ever be able to go on without you. If anything ever happened to you I don’t know what I would do. I don’t know how I would keep on living.

  At the end of each word, I punctuated it with a kiss. Moving as slowly as I could, as softly as I could, I travelled up and down her lush body, worshipping her like I wanted to. Like I needed to.

  I loved seeing her tied up. I loved to see the stark contrast of the black silk against pale skin. I loved to see her body, bared just for me, her lush curves and ripe figure, so perfect spread out on my bed.

  She was already wet and restless and needing me just as much as I needed her.

  I clenched my jaw, forcing my trembling hands to take their time as they caressed her, smoothing over impossibly soft skin, praising her with everything inside me. With every touch, I erased every single awful memory from before and replaced it with a bright, shiny new one.

  I didn’t stop there. I kissed her, using my mouth the steal away the last bit of icy shadows that clung to her. I made my way all the way up her body, stopping to explore every dip and valley and peak and secret place, before sweeping back down again.

  My teeth left a trail of love bites across her hip and lower, until I could settle between the welcoming vee of her thighs. I could feel her sharp intake of breath all the way through me as I teased her with my tongue.

  I licked at her, circling her clit until she was writhing wildly beneath me. Drinking down her sweet honey until I felt completely drunk on her. I ate at her sweet pussy until she was begging for me, and the sound of her breathy cries set off something wild and out of control inside me.

  “I’m sorry, Beth. I can’t wait anymore. I can’t…” The words tumbled out of my mouth but I was no longer in control. The beast inside and been pushed too far and it tore free. I was shaking as I untied her ankles and slipped off the blindfold, cupping her face as she blinked her eyes open heavy-lidded.

  “Look at me, Beth. Only at me. Always at me, tesoro.”

  In one smooth move, I took her. My heavy erection thrust all the way inside her and I drank down her gasp of pleasure like mana from heaven. I speared inside her again, and it felt like coming home. For the first time in my life, I felt like I could finally breathe again. Like I was finally exactly where I needed to be.

  We moved together until Beth came apart beneath me. I could feel her shuddering, feel her muscles clamp down on me like a vice and there wasn’t anything I could do to hold back my own orgasm.

  My climax raged through me, scouring me, scouring away all the bad, and making room for the good. I knew I would never forget the memories of what had happened, but I knew it wouldn’t haunt me as badly now.

  I kissed her, still whispering sweet nothings to her in Italian as I untied her wrists, all the while trembling like a new born babe as Beth wrapped her arms tightly around me.

  “Ti amo, Beth.” I whispered the words only in Italian. I couldn’t make myself say it in English. Not yet. But in knew in my heart that it was nothing but the pure truth. I was in love with her. Heart and soul.

  “I promise that I will protect you. I promise that I will keep you safe. No matter what happens.”

  The promise was torn from my throat as I collapse on the bed next to her, breathing in her unique feminine scent and reveling in the feel of her wrapped in my embrace. She snuggled close into the curve of my body and I lay just like that for a long time, unmoving, just feeling her.

  I wasn’t sure how much time passed as I held Beth close to my side, her breath slowly falling into the steady rhythm of slumber.

  My thoughts started to churn uneasily as I looked down at her sleeping form. She looked so fragile, so delicate in my arms. It made my heart lurch in my chest as I remembered the photograph. And what had been scrawled on the back of it.

  Stop looking for me, or she’s dead. That’s what it had said. There had been no signature but I had needed none. I knew who had left the message. Ian Redman. Beth had gotten too close to him, or I had, and it was the psychopath’s warning to back off. Or else he would kill Beth.

  The thought terrified me. I had already lost my father because of Redman. I wasn’t about to lose Beth, too. Ian Redman wasn’t facing a scared nineteen year old boy anymore, though. I had a hell of a lot more experience now, and some tricks up my sleeve that I hadn’t ten years ago.

  As we lay in the dark, wrapped up in each other’s arms, I made Beth another promise. I was going to track the man down, and eliminate the threat to her, to both of them, once and for all.

  Chapter 24

  Aiden

  “What aren’t you telling me, Alex?” I sneered the words, tightening the grip I had on the young thug’s coat collar. I had him pinned against a rough brick wall in an abandoned alleyway, as my uncle kept watch a few yards away.

  I shook him again, ignoring Alex’s sweat soaked brow and terror widened eyes.

  “Tell me the fucking truth!” I spit out sharply, “I’m starting to lose my patience Alex and you really don’t want to see me lose my patience, do you?”

  Alex swallowed hard and I could see his Adam’s apple bob wildly in his throat.

  “No! God, no, Aiden. But…but I am telling you the truth. I swear I don’t know. I don’t know anything. You have to believe me!” The plea shot out of Alex’s mouth so fast I could hardly make sense of it, the words tripping over themselves in his haste to assure me of his truthfulness.

  Alex was just a low-level thug that usually hawked goods he’d knabbed off the back of a truck but this morning I had been out finishing up a job with my uncle when I’d seen him selling drugs to a group of kids that were even younger than he did. He was sweating buckets, his eyes so wide from fear that I could see the whites all the way around and I realized suddenly how young he really was. Barely more than a child himself.

  “I swear, if there was any sign of Redman I wouldn’t be out here on the streets. No one wants to mess with him…
or you…after what happened to Cooper...” Alex trailed off, swallowing so hard this time I could hear his gulp. I shook my head.

  “You know about that?”

  “Shit, everyone knows about that. Well, everyone knows that something bad went down. I’ve heard some things thought. I heard that Cooper and his men got their fucking blocks blown in. And that you did it.” His gaze shifted, growing even wider which I thought was impossible, “Is that true? Did you take out Cooper? And all his guys? On your own?”

  I let out a sigh at his questions, at the fear in his eyes, and underneath that a terrible kind of admiration and respect. The rumors had flown around the city about what had happened at Cooper’s hideout that night, but the truth was, no one knew the truth. Not even me. And it killed me, that I still didn’t fully understand what had happened that night.

  The only thing I knew for sure, was that Ian Redman was involved, and that was enough to set every single hair on my body on edge.

  I jerked Alex again so that his eyes flew back to mine.

  “You swear you haven’t seen or heard anything?” I growled the words, ignoring his questions, “Not even a rumor?”

  “Not even a fucking whisper, man. I…swear…just, let me go. Please. Let me go.” He flinched and looked away, obviously expecting to be hurt, or worse.

  I let him go with a snort of disgust. Not at the young thug, but at myself. “Go. Go on, get out of here. And if I catching you selling drugs in my city again…”

  “You won’t, I swear. Never again, man.” Alex said earnestly as he took a stumbling step away from me.

  I nodded. I could see the fear in his face. He’s telling the truth. “And if you hear anything. Anything at all.”

  I handed the kid a card. It had nothing on it but a phone number.

  “Okay. I will. I mean, I won’t…I mean…” Alex’s words trailed off into panic as he cast one more wide eyed look at me and then scurried the opposite way down the alley, running as if his young life depended on it.