Stolen Innocence (Becoming Elena #1)

by Melody Anne

  Her eyes opened and she looked into his scorching gaze as her body responded to his commanding tone. She let go and flew even higher than when his mouth had worked magic between her thighs.

  He groaned as he pressed tight inside her, and she felt his thickness pulsing against her sensitive walls.

  Their breathing fogged the windows of the limo and he quickly sat up, adjusting his clothing, which was barely out of place, leaving her lying there with nothing on her but a sheen of damp sweat.

  Finally she was able to move, and she sat up, pulling her clothing back on as quickly as her trembling fingers would allow. He still said nothing.

  She began to fidget as she got the last of her clothes on, wondering what she’d done wrong. That had been the single most incredible experience of her life, but he seemed utterly unfazed.

  Elena suddenly felt like crying. She didn’t know why. It wasn’t as if she’d had good sexual experiences so far. What did it matter what this man thought of her? She’d never cared what Leo thought . . .

  “You are quite obedient,” he finally said.

  When she turned she found him looking directly at her. She wondered how long he’d been staring and how she hadn’t felt his gaze boring into her.

  “I . . .” She trailed off, not knowing what to say to that.

  “I thought one time would be enough,” he said, almost looking confused. “Obviously I was wrong. That’s something that doesn’t happen too often.”

  She was silent as he continued staring at her, the sign of possession in his eyes almost too much for her to bear. This was a look she hadn’t witnessed before. It was a look she couldn’t comprehend.

  “Don’t you have anything to say?” he finally asked.

  She was silent a few more heartbeats before meeting his gaze. “I don’t know what you expect from me,” she finally muttered.

  “Tell me you enjoyed what happened.” Those words were certainly a command.

  She refused to respond. He obviously didn’t need his ego stroked. He had a big enough one for the entire state of Washington, obviously.

  “I can make you tell me how you feel,” he said with no inflection in his voice.

  “You can’t make me do anything,” she said, feeling a slight buildup of her earlier defiance.

  The grin that overtook his features told her she’d said exactly what he wanted.

  Lightning fast, his hands reached out and she found herself facedown over his lap while his hand caressed her backside in a swirling motion.

  “Oh, Elena, you are so not what I was expecting. I’ve decided I’m done being patient with you. Before this night is out you will tell me all I want to know, and you will do whatever I want.”

  She faced the seat, her anger rising as he continued stroking her ass. She hated him so much at this moment because the touch of his hand on her covered skin was making her wet again, making her feel those stirrings in her stomach.

  Was it possible to feel desire and hate at the same time? Apparently so.

  “Go to hell, Dalton,” she whispered.

  His hand moved from her ass and she thought he was beginning to take the hint. That was before it returned, this time not in a caress though, this time in a slapping downward motion that left a sting where he’d hit.

  She was so shocked, her mouth gaped open and she tried to struggle to get away. His one arm didn’t budge, holding her in place as his hand came down again, hitting her other cheek, leaving a sting where he’d slapped her.

  Elena had been beaten, raped, and terrorized and had felt only fear. This fear was so much worse than any of those times, though, because even as his hand came down one more time, making her cry out, it wasn’t pain that was filling her.

  No, this was worse than those beatings, because as his hand slid beneath her, still leaving her pinned against him, and reached into her pants, it only took a few strokes of his hard finger against her dripping wet core and she came even harder than when he’d been buried deep inside her.

  Tears fell down her face at the humiliation of how much she wanted this man, how much control he had over her. It was so different than anything she’d experienced so far, and she felt her world was spinning even more out of control.

  He sat her up, this time her legs straddling his as he gripped her waist and looked into her eyes. There were questions in his gaze, and she wanted to turn away, but couldn’t.

  “Yes, Elena, I’m done playing,” he said before lifting a hand and rubbing a piece of her hair back from her cheek. “You will tell me what I want to know.”

  She trembled in his arms but didn’t say anything. The car stopped and he smiled at her. It was a predator’s smile, a victor’s smile. It was a smile that told her there was nothing she could do to stop this — to fight him and herself.

  The door opened and she waited. She wasn’t sure what would come next.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Return her to her room,” Dalton said before walking away from the car, disappearing in a flash.

  “This way, Elena,” Lincoln said as he held the car door open for her.

  “And if I refuse to follow you?” she asked, only the slightest tremble to her lip.

  He was quiet for a moment as he looked at her. If she didn’t know better she would think it was respect she was seeing in his expression. But Elena did know better. That couldn’t possibly be what she was reading in his eyes.

  “Then I would help you to change your mind,” he answered.

  A shiver ran through Elena as he said these words so nonchalantly. It didn’t seem to be a threat exactly, but he’d been told to return her to her room, and that’s exactly what he was going to do — any means necessary.

  She hung her head the slightest bit and began to move toward the house. A movement down the driveway caught her eyes and she saw a reflection of what appeared to be a pair of eyes looking at her through the bushes.

  A shudder passed through her and suddenly she picked up her pace, wanting to be anywhere other than outside in the lighted driveway. There were just too many shadows beyond the area they were currently in.

  Lincoln said nothing else as the two of them made their way inside. She slowed down when she reached the huge staircase that would take her back to her prison. She really couldn’t complain — it wasn’t the worst of accommodations.

  Stepping into the room, the finality of the door clicking shut behind her, the lock going into place reminded her that she wasn’t free to do whatever she wanted.

  Elena noticed a tray of food sitting on the corner table in the room. Although she was hungry she was too frustrated to even think about eating. That moment of freedom as she ran down the windy beach had been the only joy she could ever remember feeling.

  Now that she’d had a taste of it, she wanted more — so much more. She wanted to run and laugh and be able to make choices for herself. She wanted to outrun the horrible past of what her life was.

  Elena walked over to the patio doors leading to the balcony and turned the knob, surprised when it opened. It hadn’t been unlocked the entire time she’d been up in her current prison; she had still tried several times a day to get outside.

  When the cool air hit her face from the safety of the second-story enclosed balcony, she felt as if she could finally take her first real breath since being taken so passionately in the back of that limo.

  When she heard the door to her room unlocking, she tensed, but she knew whatever was to happen would happen. She couldn’t fight any of this any more than she could fight a wild animal.

  It was silent for several moments, but she was more than aware of his presence. It didn’t take long for him to come and stand directly behind her, his hands coming up to rest on the rails on either side of her body, trapping her between him and the safety of the patio fencing.

  The feel of his hot breath against her neck sent a shudder through her — but it wasn’t unpleasant. How she wished that it was. Elena would love if she were just as repulsed by
this man as she was by Leo.

  One hand remained on the railing while the other one moved to her stomach and glided up the underside of her shirt while his lips made contact with her neck and he pushed against her, his erection very evident as he pressed against her backside.

  When his hand glided over the swell of her breast and squeezed, his mouth opened and sucked at the skin of her neck; she couldn’t stop the moan of pleasure from escaping.

  “Sir, I’m going to leave now,” Lincoln called from her room. Elena’s body tensed in mortification. She’d thought they were alone.

  Before Dalton could respond, Elena heard a sound below and then her body shook when she met the eyes of Leo, who was standing in the yard looking up at her with such venom, she knew he was now going to kill her. There was no longer any doubt.

  He had to have seen the pleasure on her face as Dalton touched her. She might not like wanting Dalton, but she did indeed want him, and in a way she had never responded to Leo. The man below them was more than furious, and she would pay for what he would see as cheating. Her breath hitched.

  That’s when she noticed that Dalton, still pressed against her, was suddenly a statue. She couldn’t even feel his breath on her neck anymore, though he hadn’t pulled back yet. That didn’t last long though.

  Suddenly she felt herself spinning around, and his gaze was boring into hers. She was more terrified of the look in Dalton’s eyes right now than anything she’d seen on Leo’s face.

  Without her saying a word, Elena had no doubt whatsoever that Dalton now knew it was Leo who had been raping and beating her. He pulled back, a low growl in his throat.

  She was rooted to the spot.

  What if Dalton went after Leo and he got away? She knew he would assume she’d told Dalton everything. She didn’t see this ending well for her no matter which way the situation was to go. Fear made her eyes fill with tears.

  “I’m going to kill him,” Dalton said in such a low rumble she was frozen in place when he stepped away from her.

  Dalton walked to the door and called the guard in. “Stay with her. Lincoln, you come with me. We have business to take care of.”

  Elena snapped out of her frozen state and rushed forward.

  “No, Dalton, don’t,” she gasped, grabbing his arm.

  He looked at her grip, terror freezing her to the spot. She had really screwed up this time. No matter what happened she would be the only loser.

  “Stay inside this room, Elena,” he growled, unclasping her fingers and handing her off to the guard who awaited her.

  Dalton began walking toward the door, and Elena panicked. She freed herself from the guard and caught him before he made it halfway to her door. Not even thinking, she jumped on Dalton’s back, making him stop in his tracks again and making Lincoln look at her in shock.

  “Thanks for the help, buddy,” Dalton told the man with sarcasm. Lincoln hadn’t moved an inch.

  “Do you really need help with a hundred pound woman?” Lincoln asked, his lips lifting the slightest bit, and a sparkle popping into his eyes.

  Dalton glared at him, but he easily got Elena off his back. “What in the hell are you doing?” He didn’t seem as angry as he had a moment ago, but still, his brows were raised.

  “I don’t want you to leave,” she said, not able to think of a single other excuse.

  “I’ll definitely be back,” he told her. “I have business to attend to first.” He physically carried her over to the guard; the man apologizing profusely.

  “Can you hold on to her this time?” Dalton snapped.

  “Yes, sir, I’m sorry.” The man was red in the face as he grabbed Elena. “Don’t hurt her.” Dalton’s terse words seemed to make the man’s face even redder.

  He held on tightly, and Elena watched as Dalton and Lincoln walked from the room.

  “Let me go,” she cried out to the man who was solid as a board and not even grunting beneath her struggles.

  “Are you going to try to leave the room again?” he asked, his arms not loosening.

  “No! Just let me go,” she demanded.

  His arms loosened, but he quickly moved so he was blocking her bedroom door. Elena glared at him before swiveling around and marching back to the patio doors, slipping outside. She could hear the guard quickly approaching.

  “Leave me alone,” she whispered harshly as he stood behind her.

  He had to already know this deck had no exit unless she planned on jumping. Of course he was only a couple feet away, most likely thinking that’s exactly what she was going to do, and he wasn’t going to let it happen.

  She heard the voices before she found where they were coming from. She leaned over the railing, which earned her a tug from the guard on the top of her arm.

  “I’m not going to jump,” she snapped at him.

  He didn’t let her go. But he also didn’t try to pull her away from her viewing spot.

  Leo was standing in the corner of the yard with Dalton quickly approaching, Lincoln on his right side.

  “Hey boss,” Leo said, but she could hear the slight hint of menace in his voice.

  Elena wasn’t sure if Dalton heard the same thing or not. But without slowing his pace, he reached the man, and his arm came up and suddenly blood was squirting from the corner of Leo’s mouth and dripping from his nose.

  “What the hell?” Leo shouted as he staggered on his feet but didn’t go down.

  “You’re the one Elena is afraid of. You’re the one who has left her bruised and I’m sure so much more,” Dalton said, his voice cold as ice.

  Leo’s eyes widened before he jerked his hate-filled eyes in her direction and then spit blood out to the ground.

  “I’ve done nothing your family hasn’t demanded I do,” Leo snapped.

  Dalton did show a reaction to this, which might have bolstered Leo’s confidence.

  “Your sick bastard of a father had us kidnap all sorts of girls. Elena normally would have been too old for the perv, at almost seventeen, what with training time and all, but she was a real treat — even back then,” Leo said with a laugh. “Besides, this wasn’t just any kidnapping was it, Dalton? No, this one was for hire.”

  Elena couldn’t tell what Dalton was thinking about all of this because he didn’t show the slightest reaction. She, however, was rooted to the spot. Kidnapped? What was he talking about? She knew she was a prisoner here? But they’d told her she was a runaway.

  “I’m not my father, and I told you there would be no abuse here,” Dalton finally said. “I also don’t owe you a damn explanation.”

  A shiver traveled down Elena’s spine. If Dalton spoke to her in that voice she would quickly heed to whatever it was he was commanding of her. There was power in his tone, but Leo didn’t seem to be picking up on it.

  “You knew what was going on,” Leo thundered. “Just because you wear your fancy expensive suits and watches that cost more than some people’s houses doesn’t mean you’re above the law. You kept the bitch even after your father died, and from what I’ve seen, you’re following in daddy’s footsteps.” Leo spit at the ground again, this time the blood and mucus almost landing on Dalton’s shoe.

  Apparently Dalton was done. Before the man knew what was happening, Dalton attacked, punching him over and over again, blood splattering against him and the ground.

  Elena couldn’t move as the man who had caused her so much pain was being beaten to death. Even after Leo was crumpled before him, Dalton continued to pound his fists against him.

  “It’s time to go in,” the guard said as if just realizing that maybe she shouldn’t watch this.

  “No!” she screamed at the man.

  Her voice must have done something because midair, Dalton’s fist dropped as he turned his head and found her standing there, staring down at the mess.

  He turned away and looked at Lincoln before grabbing a handkerchief and wiping blood from his face.

  Leo lay there motionless in a bloody heap, his nose and
jaw obviously broken.

  “Get this filthy piece of trash off my property. You know what to do,” Dalton said to Lincoln who nodded at him.

  He then looked back up at her, and Elena decided she’d seen enough. What had Leo been talking about? She wanted answers, but she didn’t know how to get them. The one person who appeared to know who she really was wouldn’t be talking to anyone anytime soon — or more likely, anytime ever again.

  She moved over to her bed and fell onto it. She barely breathed as she waited for Dalton to come back to her. And she knew he would very soon.

  When the door opened and shut again less than ten seconds later, she knew Dalton was with her and the guard was gone. She didn’t turn to look at him.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, fury still clear in his eyes.

  “I knew if I did that Leo would kill me,” she said, no emotion in her voice.

  “I would have protected you — I still will,” he thundered.

  “Really, Dalton?” she screamed as she shot up in bed. “Because I don’t know anything anymore. I don’t know who I am. I don’t know how I got here, and I don’t trust you.”

  She was panting hard as his eyes narrowed, and he stepped closer to her.

  “You don’t want to know who you really are,” he warned her.

  The conviction in his voice and eyes as he said that made her think she might not want to know. Fear was racing through her, and she wondered if she would be okay not to know.

  “I deserve to know,” she finally said, trying not to back down from him.

  But when he took another step closer to her, she knew this wasn’t a battle she was going to win — she’d never had a chance of winning.

  “You should have told me,” he said, his tone so deadly it made her shake.

  “I . . . I don’t know what you want from me, Dalton,” she gasped when she found her voice again.

  “I want the damn truth, Elena!” he thundered.

  “I don’t have a right to tell the truth!” she said, her temper coming back even though she was still terrified.

  “What in the hell is that supposed to mean?”