Sweat collected against his brow at the sound of metal grinding against metal. At this rate, he worried that the odds of making it back were getting slimmer and slimmer by the minute. Thick black smoke began to pour out of the room below, and Behr’s heart sank. At that moment, he knew The Sea Witch would go down.
The steering wheel he grasped onto jerked hard to the right, tightening and locking in place. Behr tried with all the strength he could muster to pry the wheel back in place. “What the fuck!” he ground out as he strained unsuccessfully to wrench the steering wheel, but it didn’t budge. Not even an inch. The engine screeched with a noise loud enough to crack glass, demanding his attention.
He whipped his head back up just in time to see the Ferry heading right for the rocky cliff walls. Hesitating for a split second, reluctant to abandon his beloved boat and livelihood, he finally made his decision and leapt off the side, just moments before it crashed head on into the punishing Trotternish Ridge.
The sound of the impact thundered all around, even while thrashing around underneath the powerful waves. The sea crashed down onto Behr with brutal force, knocking him around like a weightless ragdoll. He tried with all his strength to surface, but the punishing surf rolled and pushed him down again and again. The unforgiving force dragged him dangerously close to the jagged rocks. The more he struggled to keep clear of them, the more they seemed to reach out to him in a sinister way.
Every time he made it to the surface, he had but a moment to suck in a quick breath before he was hit again by the brutal punch of the unforgiving surf. His lungs burned with the effort to hold his breath and fight exhaustedly to break the surface for more air. After each crushing hit from the sea, waves took turns beating down on him like a game. And all Behr could think about, even then, was Ellora.
He had to make it back to her and let her know how much he loved her.
Dalton lay in wait, a desperate predator on the prowl. The late afternoon shadows kept him hidden as he grew more and more thrilled with overwhelming anticipation, knowing that Ellora was on her way over and he was only moments away from being alone with his girl. As time silently ticked by at an agonizing pace, his body quaked with need as he imagined his decadent green-eyed obsession in this very room with him. Finally, after long last, they’d be alone.
This was his chance; one he could hardly wait to take. Dalton’s ears perked up at the not so far off sound of boots pounding up the old stairway. His heart swelled and thundered rapidly inside his chest as the footsteps grew closer. “Come to me, my love,” Dalton hissed to himself. Moments later, she burst through the door in a rush and kicked it closed behind her with her boot clad foot.
Dalton watched with morbid amusement as she kicked off her ugly manly boots, sending them flying in opposite directions. The frantic girl breezed past the silent intruder, and he inhaled her scent deeply as she went, completely unaware of his dark presence. Dalton frowned as her usually tempting smell was tainted with paint, sawdust, and murky sea air. He despised it. She didn’t belong here… with him.
Desire quickly morphed to blind anger as he thought of how many times that ape had his hands all over HIS Ellora. She had always belonged to him. She just didn’t know it yet. But she would… soon enough. Dalton was brought out of his cloud of fury, and watched with fascination as the girl in question peeled off her soiled shirt right in front of him, tossing into a corner hamper.
Rage bubbled up inside him when he spotted, for the first time, the long jagged scar that marked up the soft delicate skin on her back. He would make Giddeon suffer dearly for daring to touch her in such a way. Dalton must have unconsciously crawled out of his hiding place, because he found himself drawing so close to her that he could smell the fresh scent of the clean shirt she pulled over her head.
Dalton slithered closer, need bringing him every step closer to his love. Obviously still unaware of the ominous presence, Ellora collected the soft black river of hair in her hands and pulled it out of the shirt. Dalton’s body stirred in response as she tossed it aside. The action sent a swooshing breeze filled with the scent of her lavender shampoo in his direction. Stray strands brushed across his face as he inched closer.
This was a magnificent torture, and too much for him to bear any longer. With gritted teeth and a wandering hand with a mind of its own, the predator reached out, aching to touch her after so much time had passed.
Ellora froze on the spot. Then, just as quickly, she stepped back and turned on her heel, colliding right into Dalton’s chest. She gaped with wide eyes in horror as the Devil himself smiled ruthlessly down at her.
His onyx eyes promised vile things as he hissed out, “At long last… You. Are. Mine.”
“No.”
Ellora blinked several times and chanted inside her head, This is just a nightmare, Lor. Wake up… wake up… wake up. She risked a peek through her lashes at the terrifying monster she knew deep down would still be there. He was staring down at her with dead eyes and a gut wrenching sinister smile. With a heaving chest, Ellora pinched her eyes shut once more, willing him to disappear. This had to be a nightmare. There was no way he was standing in her bedroom. This couldn’t be real.
All those wishful thoughts evaporated, and reality came crashing down around her, as the Devil himself wrapped his suffocating arms around her. The trembling girl drew in a shaky gasp as his rigid grip tightened. “I’ve missed you, Ellora Belle Sutherland.” The sound of his sleazy voice uttering her full name in such a creepy way had her stomach bottoming out. The way it slowly rolled off his tongue made her want to vomit. “I’ve dreamed of the day I’d have my dark and delicate beauty all to myself.”
Dalton moved forward, forcing the catatonic girl with him, and Ellora stumbled backward on frozen legs. She was paralyzed by the evil hidden behind his all-consuming eyes. She couldn’t pry them away, terrified of what would happen next. She wanted to see her fate coming and needed to stand ready for the fight that was sure to come. With tunneled vision, she sensed rather than witnessed his forceful movements around the room, and winced when her back hit the wall.
Still in a state of shock, Ellora repeated a shaky ‘no’ over and over, pushing back against the hard, unwavering chest that knocked hard into hers. Shaking her head from side to side, the unblinking girl finally found her voice. “How… how did you get up here?”
Dalton’s thin lips stretched over his teeth as his disturbing smirk widened. “What’s wrong, sweetheart? Aren’t you happy to see me?” Leaning into her pushing hands, he reveled in her growing despair as she desperately tried unsuccessfully to keep him at a distance. Dalton looked down on his trembling girl. His anger that had been simmering just below the surface, burned deep inside of him as he could see in her eyes that she wished he were here to save her.
Loosening his tie, Dalton hissed through tightly clenched teeth, “I’ve come all this way to retrieve you, and what do I find?” Once loosened, he methodically unfastened the top buttons of his tailored shirt.
Ellora snapped out of her nightmarish haze and pushed back harder. Finding her voice, she shouted out a high pitched, “NO! GET OUT!” Pounding away on his chest with her tiny fists, she frantically tried to get him to step back. Dalton smiled ruthlessly at her weak efforts, grabbing her wrists before she connected with his face. He easily yanked them back behind her, pinning them against the wall.
Dropping his voice to a menacing octave, the malice in the sound raised goosebumps on Ellora’s flesh. “I find you throwing yourself into the arms of that brainless Neanderthal like some kind of desperate floosy. He isn’t worth the air you breathe.” Her body vibrated with renewed fear at her helplessness. Icy chills trickled down her frozen spine as her mind tried to catch up to the danger that stood in front of her. Gritting his teeth in fury at the thought of another man touching her, Dalton marched them deliberately toward the bed, forcefully dragging the panicking girl along with him.
Ellora yanked back hard, trying desperately to break free from h
is iron-like, unmoving grip. Her joints popped painfully in protest, on the verge of being yanked out of their socket.
“Haven’t I told you once before? It doesn’t matter how far you go, how long you hide, or how much it costs me… I’ll always find you. You. Are. MINE.” Tapping into her growing panic and adrenaline, the petite girl struggled against the evil that ensnared her. Kicking and bucking, she wildly tried to fight him off of her, but Dalton’s grip was unyielding.
“I’ve been watching you all along, and I know that you’re still pure. That beast wasn’t man enough to take you, and I won’t stand by and watch him touch what belongs to me,” Dalton grated out through clenched teeth as he bent the struggling girl onto the bed.
Sweat beaded along her forehead, and her face reddened, the veins in her neck protruding as she huffed and groaned, trying uselessly to escape him. She used every ounce of strength she had to push him off.
Loving the sight of his girl powerless beneath him, Dalton’s eyes dilated as they zeroed in on the tiny trickles of sweat that rolled down her temple. Groaning as he leaned down, his tongue darted out, capturing one salty bead, and continued to drag his tongue up the side of her face. Closing his eyes, Dalton savored the salty taste of her struggles. “Ah, yes, my love, I love the unmistakable flavor of your fear.”
A blood curdling scream ripped through her chest at his contact. The overpowering man shifted his weight on her, shielding his ear from the astonishingly loud shrieking. This gave Ellora the room she needed, and she brought her knee up hard, connecting with his groin. Dalton went rigid over her, groaning out his pain.
Not satisfied with the first hit, Ellora continued to kick and knee him wildly, hitting every mark she aimed for. His thighs, groin, and stomach all fell victim to her punishing blows. Unable to stop her once she started, Dalton loosened his grip on her arms. Yanking them free, she brought her elbow down hard, cracking him square in the jaw, and continued to rain down punches. The tight space made her hits ineffective against the determination of the now enraged man looming over her.
“I will not strike your face, my love, but it is not wise to anger me. I didn’t want to take you roughly, but I will if you make me.” Mustering up all her strength, she let loose one more powerful blow, connecting with his teeth and splitting her knuckles wide opened. They both cried out in pain as Dalton raised both hands to his mouth, instinctively checking his face. Ellora ignored her throbbing hands and unleashed a vicious attack with her fingernails, clawing his face savagely.
Taking advantage of the brief moment of space he gave her as Dalton rolled to avoid her onslaught, she rolled to her left, breaking free of him. She called on the last reserves of strength and sprinted for the door. All hope of escape shattered the moment his arms snaked around her waist and tackled her to the ground.
Ellora struggled to crawl away face down, trying with all her might to buck his heavy weight off her. Wooden splinters embedded themselves underneath her nailbeds as she gripped and clawed at the floor in an attempt to gain the upper hand.
With a tone all too calm, Dalton cooed in her ear, “This is not at all how I pictured our first time would go.” A crippling dread weighed heavily down on her as the realization of what was to come crashed through her consciousness. Ellora was paralyzed by fear when the clinking sound of his belt unfastening assaulted her ears.
The sound was a deafening ominous threat that pulled her deeper and deeper into despair and had her close to passing out. “The bed would have been a more suitable place for your first time, but this is obviously how you want it. You’ve made your choice.” Tossing the belt aside and unbuttoning his pants, he hissed in her ear, “You want me to just take it… don’t you? Well, I’m more than happy to comply with your wish, Miss Sutherland.”
Ellora continued to struggle, her screams muffled as he grabbed hold of her hair and pressed her face to the ground. Her tears pooled on the floor beneath her, and bile threatened to spill when he drove his hips down on her suggestively. Ellora’s voice, now hoarse, sounded scratchy as she cried out in hysteria. “Dalton, DON’T! Don’t do this! Please, Dalton, I’ll go back with you, just don’t do this. Let me go!” She cringed, repulsed as he brushed his lips over her sensitive earlobe.
“Aaah, yes, there’s nothing in this world more beautiful than the sound your voice makes when you beg me.”
Tears streamed down her face as the helplessness of her situation washed over her in this impossible position. Small whimpers slipped past her lips before she could stop herself. Ellora didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her fear, but she couldn’t help it. She was paralyzed by it. This couldn’t happen. Not like this.
“I love hearing my name roll off your tongue in that way. It drives me unbelievably wild.” Ellora’s eyes widened, and her skin went cold and clammy as all the blood drained from her limbs at the sound of his zipper dragging down the track.
Ellora fought against his weight with renewed vehemence, trying frantically to drag herself toward the door. Carrying both their body weight made this task impossible in her face down position.
Dalton fought against a struggle of his own—Ellora’s skinny jeans. He yanked hard, trying to pull the unyielding fabric down. The skin-tight pants were much too tight to pry down while she lay heavily on the buttons in the front. Losing his patience, the determined man growled in frustration as he continued to tug roughly with one hand, while the other pushed her head down to keep her in place.
Hope blossomed inside of the helpless girl when Adelle’s loud voice and bouncing form burst through the door, not bothering to knock, like she always did. She was entirely out of breath, as if she’d been running, when she huffed out, “Ellora, you’ll never believe who just called… Oh! ELLORA!” Without hesitation, Adelle rushed the stranger straddling her friend. She roughly pulled at his sweat drenched, slicked back hair, yanking and tearing at his blonde locks like a rabid wild animal, screaming the entire time.
“Get off her, you bastard! Help! UP HERE! HELP!” Adelle continued to scream manically as her assault on the terrifying intruder intensified. She slapped and scratched him until he let go of Ellora and turned the full force of his fury on her. Blocking one more slap with his forearm, Dalton raised his fist and backhanded her hard across her cheek, then brought the same hand back around, catching her on the temple and knocking her backwards.
Ellora panicked, frightened for her friend, as he unleashed his fury on her. “No! Dalton! Don’t you dare touch her! Adelle, run! Just get yourself out of here!” Ellora was terrified for her, knowing that if Dalton got his hands on Adelle, he wouldn’t stop. He was capable of so much evil. Without another look back, Adelle stumbled up and out of the room. Dalton turned his attention back on the object of his twisted desire.
“This doesn’t leave us much time.” With one more forceful tug, Dalton ripped her jeans mid-way down her thighs with bruising force. Belting out an ear-piercing scream, Ellora forced the noise out of her lungs with a force that could break glass… and didn’t stop. The horrifying fear of what was about to happen, and the lack of air, clouded her vision, drawing her closer and closer to blacking out.
Fighting the pull, Ellora caught glimpse of a silhouette of a person stalking up silently behind the oblivious man. Through hazy eyes, she watched as Adelle came into focus as she drew closer. Lifting her arms high above her head, she then brought them down hard over Dalton’s skull with brutal force. The crunching noise that followed after she cracked him once more made Ellora sick. Adelle’s trusty bat had found its mark with practiced precision.
Dalton’s body fell limply over Ellora. Gurgling noises bubbled up out of his unconscious throat. “Did I kill tha’ bastard?” Adelle gritted out angrily, observing him warily before landing a swift kick to his side for good measure.
Deciding it was safe, she helped roll him off Ellora, until the exhausted girl was finally free of him. Adelle had to help her to her feet. Her adrenaline and energy reserves were completely
depleted after the fight of her life. She stood on wobbly legs and immediately pulled her jeans up, thinking to herself, I love these jeans. I’m never, ever getting rid of them, relieved that she’d decided to put on the too-tight pants that morning.
The still-shocked girls paused long enough to look over one another, taking stock of any possible injuries. Once satisfied, Adelle wrapped her arms around her friend tightly. They let their tears take over as they cried for a brief moment. Pulling back, they thumbed away their tears, mirroring each other’s actions.
Adelle tenderly kissed both Ellora’s tear-stained cheeks and lifted her weapon of choice triumphantly. “I told ya once before, I’d best the Devil with this bat!” Ellora gave a weak smile, remembering their first encounter with her terrible nightmares a few months back.
Patrick and Grady raced up the stairs, bursting through the opened door. Grady could hardly breathe from the quick trek up the narrow steps. Patrick took initiative, seeing as Grady couldn’t catch his breath yet. “We got a call from Gavin to check on ya, and ran up here as fast as our old legs could carry us when we were met with the sound of your shouts. Are ya a’right? Did he hurt ya at all?”
Holding Adelle’s hand, Ellora nodded jerkily. “Yes, I think we’re okay.”
Looking down on the unconscious man lying spread eagle on the floor, Patty inquired, “This be the man you’re runnin’ from, Ellora?”
Nodding once, she stared down at the evil man responsible for every tragic nightmare she’d ever encountered. “Yes. This is the man responsible for it all.”
Grady, finally able to speak, pointed at the frightened girls. “You two, leave us. We’ll stay ‘ere until the authorities arrive. Out of ‘ere! Now!”
Beyond Redemption (Marked Series Book 2) Page 19