The Surviving Trace

by Calia Read

  “Only you can get away with playin’ games with me like that,” he half-growls in my ear.

  Reaching between us, I drag a finger against the hard length of him. “You didn’t seem to mind my games too much.”

  He mutters a curse and grabs my hands, holding them above my head. I let him. My eyes close as I feel his lips connect with my neck and make a hot trail to my breasts. My fingers itch to curl around his neck, then my nails would rake dwn his back and only the two of us would know those marks were there and that I’d made them. Just like I made the carving on the tree.

  I was there.

  I was here.

  Both belong to me.

  In breathless anticipation, I wait for what he’ll do next. I feel him squeeze one breast while exposing the other. The strap breaks. I don’t care. I open my eyes to see a well-defined bicep against my arm as Étienne hovers over me. His head is bent and his lips are warm against the very tip of my nipple. Teasing him might have backfired on me; every part of my body feels tender to the touch, and we’ve just begun. I groan as my back arches. His tongue moves against my nipple, then he switches to the other breast. After a while, he lets go of my hands. Immediately they seek his shoulders and travel to the back of his neck, holding him in place.

  He lifts his head. My breasts ache and every brush against his chest has me almost crying out.

  Étienne gathers the material of my dress and lifts it up and over my head. My bra and underwear follow, and so do his clothes. Before he can place his hands on me, I push him back on the bed and straddle him while I look him over.

  God, I missed this man.

  Every inch of his big body is defined by muscle. I watch in fascination as his abs contract, forming perfect rigid contours when my fingertips trail over them and drift down to his dick. It’s thick and hard and within reach.

  Étienne tremble.

  My lips curl up into a half-smirk as my hand curls around the length of him. I’m not naive. I know that these are my last intimate moments with Étienne and I want to make them last. I want any other woman who comes after me to never compare.

  I will make him feel me. My hands will leave a trail wherever they go, and my kisses will burn like fire. I look at him from beneath my lashes. Yes, he’ll remember me.

  Scooting between his legs, I lick the length of him before I wrap my mouth around the tip. Étienne sucks in a harsh breath and curls his hands around the sheets.

  Every lick and suck on my part is spurred by Étienne’s reactions. As the seconds tick by, he grows more restless. His legs scissor-kick the bed, his back arches, and he growls my name, which only makes me take him deeper. Opening my eyes, I see him. His head is arched back, and his eyes are closed. His neck is taut as he tries to stay in control.

  But in pleasure and pain, everyone has their limits.

  My tongue twirls around him one last time, and he savagely curses before he hooks his arms under my armpits and pulls me up to him.

  “You want me to come right now?” he pants.

  Above him, I rub against his straining dick. “Of course not.”

  Before he can react, I grab hold of him and guide him into me.

  Étienne can have me any way he wants, but first I want him to remember me like this. I want him to remember that I, Serene Parow, brought him to heel. No other woman can or ever will be able to say that.

  My rhythm is slow, but that’s not good enough for Étienne. Impatiently, he grabs my hips and furiously pumps into me. I lean forward and grab hold of his shoulders for balance.

  The feel of him is amazing. My climax is so close. I can feel myself tightening around him, and I pant his name. He brusquely flips me over onto my stomach. The abrupt change of position leaves me momentarily stunned, but Étienne’s body is soon covering mine. His knee gently pushes my legs apart.

  Moving the pillows aside, I rest my head on the mattress as Étienne rubs his dick against me. I arch against him, seeking more. I’m slick and wet, allowing him to slide in. This position makes me see stars. My mouth opens, but no sound comes out.

  My arms are spread wide, and as Étienne pumps into me, his arms cover mine and he laces our fingers. He rests his sweat-slicked forehead against my shoulder.

  “I love you, Serene,” he pants.

  Each thrust allows him to move deeper, if that’s even possible. Speaking isn’t possible. I absorb his words and hold them close to my heart.

  In the end, I think I scream his name as I have one of the best orgasms of my life.

  When he’s done, he drops to his side, half falling on me, and places a protective arm around me. I don’t want to open my eyes, because I know these are our final private moments with each other. I clutch his hand tightly to my heart and clear my throat.

  Don’t you cry, Serene, my mind demands.

  “No matter what happens tomorrow, I love you forever,” I say.

  Étienne squeezes my hand and kisses the crown of my head. “I know. Nothin’ changes between us. You’re my surviving trace.”

  THE NEXT MORNING, when I open my eyes, I’m so exhausted that I’m tempted to roll over and go back to sleep. But it takes mere seconds for the events of the past few days to rush through my mind, then my eyes fly open and I sit up straight. Holding the sheet tightly to my chest, I look to my left and right. Étienne is gone.

  I rip off the covers, get out of bed, and hurriedly change back into my dress from last night. As I rush out of the room, I call Étienne’s name. The servants I pass in the hall give me looks filled with concern. I don’t care. I just need to know Étienne’s in the house.

  “Étienne?” I say, my voice slightly rising.

  I fly down the stairs. Ben raises an inquiring brow as he stands by the door.

  I walk right up to him. “Do you know where Étienne is?”

  “Mr. Lacroix left for Charleston an hour ago.”

  “An hour ago…” I mumble as I drag my hands through my hair. That doesn’t make sense. It goes against our plan of leaving together. I drop my hands to my sides. “Did he say where he was going to in Charleston?”

  “No. But he was in quite a hurry.”

  That information doesn’t help me. It just feeds my suspicion that something terrible has happened. I take a deep breath and try to remain calm. “Did Étienne speak to you before he left?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  “Then I need you to listen to me, all right? Everyone needs to get out of this house.”

  “Mrs. L—”

  “Ben. This is serious.”

  His posture instantly changes. He stands up straighter and is more alert.

  “Every servant and worker at Belgrave needs to evacuate immediately.”

  “Are we in danger?”

  This is the end, so why lie? “Yes. It will take too long to explain, so just make sure that everyone is out of the house. Now.”

  Ben is out of my sight before I can finish. I take a deep breath and count to ten. I knew today would happen. It was etched in time and nothing could change that, but I’m still not prepared for it. My legs and arms are shaking as if I just finished running a marathon.

  Not knowing where Étienne is scares the shit out of me. Is he okay? Is he getting help? I don’t know. I just need to do what I think is right, and that’s getting everyone out of Belgrave.

  Just then, Nat appears at the top of the stairs. All color drains away from her face as she realizes what the date is and what will happen.

  “Get your shoes on. We gotta go.”

  She walks down a few steps. “But I’m not dressed. I—”

  “There’s no time! We need to leave now.” I take the steps two at a time and grab her hand. Immediately, I drag her down the stairs. “We need to leave right this second.” I usher her out of the house and down the steps. “Stay right here.”

  With her face pale and her arms wrapped tightly around her chest, she nods. I turn back to the house and run inside. A sense of panic mixes with the commotion inside t
he house. Servants are worriedly speaking to one another. Down the hall, I see Ben doing a head count as people walk single-file past him, toward the kitchen where the servant’s exit is located.

  “Is everyone accounted for?” I shout to him.

  He nods. “Almost there.”

  Uneasily, I watch the servants. I want to explain to each and every one of them what I know, but they’ll soon find out. Just seeing them alive gives me a small sense of relief.

  Ben hurries toward me, his face more stoic than ever. “Mrs. Lacroix, I can take care of everything here. If we are in danger, you and Ms. Nathalie need to leave.”

  I nod. “You’re right.” I give his hand a firm squeeze. “Thank you, Ben.”

  He nods once and turns his attention back to the servants.

  I find Nat right where I left her.

  “Serene, where’s Étienne? You told me we were all gonna evacuate together,” she says.

  Curling my hand around her elbow, I half drag her toward the car, where Warren is waiting and looking just as apprehensive and confused as everyone else. “We need to go to Livingston’s house. Now.”

  He nods and gets into the driver’s seat.

  The minute the door slams shut, I slump in my seat. I fight the urge to twist around in my seat and look at all the people I’m leaving behind. I remind myself that Ben said he had everything taken care of.

  Warren glances over his shoulder at me, and as though he can read my mind, he says, “Don’t worry, Mrs. Lacroix. I seen some buggies coming up the drive.”

  Sure enough, we pass three buggies.

  “Everyone will be okay,” he assures me.

  I nod and exhale loudly before I face Nat.

  “Where’s Étienne?” she practically screeches.

  “He’s in Charleston. Ben said he left early this morning.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know,” I answer, panic coating my words. “We’ll go to Livingston’s house and figure things out from there. Hopefully Étienne is at work, picking up something and just forgot to tell us.”

  “What if something happened to him?” Nat croaks.

  “He’s okay,” I say with more conviction than I feel. I can’t tell if it’s for my benefit or Nat’s.

  She nods and stares forward, her face pale and body alert. Neither one of us says a word. The tension surrounding us is palpable and so oppressive that even if I wanted to speak, no words would come out. I know Warren’s going as fast as he can, but I fight the urge to scream at him to go faster. My hands curl into tight fists, causing my nails to dig into my palms. Nervously, my legs bounce.

  Étienne has to be okay, I tell myself. He’s not in any danger.

  The minutes torturously tick by. Then in the far distance ahead of us, I see a car heading straight toward us. I don’t recognize the car.

  I nudge Nat. “Who’s that?”

  Squinting, she stares at the car. Her eyes light up with understanding. “That’s Asa’s car.”

  Warning bells go off in my head. “What is he doing all the way out here?”

  “I don’t know.”

  When the car approaches, a hand snakes out of the window, motioning for Warren to stop, Warren looks over his shoulder for confirmation of what he should do.

  “Stop the car,” I say.

  Before the car’s in park, I jump out and head toward Asa’s vehicle. Asa steps out as Étienne gets out on the passenger side. My knees almost buckle in relief.

  “Where did you go?” I ask as the three of us stand in the middle of the road.

  Étienne appears disheveled: hair every which way, shirt torn at the shoulder, and a fat lip. “What happened?”

  “I had a meeting that went awry.”

  “What are you not telling me?”

  “I’ll explain it later. Is Belgrave evacuated?”

  I nod. “Ben is making sure everyone is cleared out.”

  Étienne looks at Belgrave in the distance. “I need to go back. I left some important documents in my office.”

  All I hear is “go back” and ‘my office.” Immediately, I shake my head. “You can’t. We don’t know when the fire will start.”

  Étienne grips my forearms and stares at me. “Serene, this is important. I’ll be in and out in two seconds. Plus, I need to make sure everyone is out of the house. I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t check.”

  No matter what I say, he’s not going to change his mind.

  Nat hangs her head out the window. “Étienne, no! We need to go.”

  Étienne ignores his sister and watches me.

  I hesitate, then come to a decision. “If you’re going back, I’m coming with you.”

  From his scowl, I can tell that’s the last thing he wants, but he nods. “Get in Asa’s car.”

  Asa stands back but openly listens. I don’t believe he’s the one after Étienne, but that doesn’t completely rule him out. He may still have a part in harming the Lacroixs.

  “Serene, look at me,” Étienne says. “You have to believe me when I say there’s no reason to suspect Asa. He is not the enemy.”

  He stares at me earnestly. I love Étienne and trust him with my life. But the articles I found don’t lie. I can’t ignore what I read.

  “But you said you found the ledger and fired him.”

  He frowns at me as though I lost my mind. “I didn’t fire Asa. I—”

  “Can we have this conversation at Livingston’s house?” Nat cuts in.

  I turn and stare daggers at Nat for interrupting Étienne.

  He sighs and lets go of me, walking backward to Asa’s car. “I’m going back, Serene. There’s not enough time to have this conversation.”

  I know the outcome of his life, but I don’t have all the pieces. Étienne says it’s not Asa he fired. So then who?

  As I get into Asa’s car, I watch Étienne briefly speak with Nat. There’s some shouting from the two of them and glaring from Nat, but finally, she sits back in her seat and Warren drives away.

  Étienne jogs to Asa’s car and slams the door behind him. He turns and faces me. “Warren is taking her to Livingston’s house, and she’ll wait for us there.”

  Wordlessly, I nod. Asa presses his foot on the gas and goes as fast as his car will permit him.

  “When we get there, please hurry. I don’t want to be inside any longer than we have to,” I shout above the roar of the wind.

  Étienne reaches into the backseat and grips my hand tightly. “I need the ledger as proof. Once I get it and make sure everyone is out of Belgrave, we can leave.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I watch Asa. His jaw is clenched, and his hands are on the steering wheel in a vise-like grip.

  Within a few minutes, the long winding driveway of Belgrave comes into view. Dust kicks up behind the back tires as Asa flies up the drive. The trees pass us in a green blur. When he parks in front of Belgrave, I’m partially relieved to see that it’s still intact, but that cranks my nerves up a notch because it’s only a matter of time. Asa leaves the car running as we all hop out. Étienne’s long legs eat up the distance to the front door, and I run to keep up. There’s no Ben to open up the front door. He’s long gone.

  “Everyone out?” Étienne asks.

  I nod. “The home should be clear.”

  Étienne scans the foyer. “Good. Once I get what I came here for, we’re leavin’ too.”

  With a pounding heart, I stand in the foyer with Asa and keep a healthy distance between us. His posture is alert and tense as we wait. I cross my arms; it feels like I’m having a heart attack. Its frantically whispering that it’s not safe to be here right now, but I’m not leaving Étienne.

  All of a sudden, there’s the sound of glass shattering and a shout. I grab Asa’s arm at the same time he pushes me behind him.

  I jump back, my body hitting the door behind me. “What the hell was that?”

  “It came from Étienne’s office.” Asa pulls a pistol from his pocket and runs toward the ba
ck of the house.

  I follow him. We reach the hall that leads to Étienne’s office as he half falls out of it and slams against the opposite wall. His hand is pressed against his left shoulder. Between his fingers, blood oozes out. Brushing past Asa, I reach Étienne just as he slumps into my arms. I stumble back a few steps and Asa rights me.

  “What happened?” I shriek.

  “There’s no time for explanations. We need to leave!” Asa yells.

  We manage to place Étienne’s right arm around Asa’s shoulders, and I wrap my arm around Étienne’s waist. The three of us make our way to the front door as quickly as possible.

  “Did someone shoot from inside the house?” I ask.

  “Came from outside,” Étienne says, his voice strained.

  Asa and I exchange glances, both of us wearing the same expression of disbelief. We’re close to the main hallway. Just fifteen more steps and we could be out the front door. Then the second shot rings out. This one pings off a wall sconce.

  While holding onto Étienne, we try to duck. When no more shots are fired, we slowly stand. My entire body is shaking. I want to collapse and find a safe spot to hide, but I can’t.

  “Whoever is out there is waiting for us,” Asa declares.

  “So what do we do?” I ask in a panic.

  Asa gives me a grim look. “We hide.”

  “Basement,” Étienne groans.

  Asa pauses long enough to adjust Étienne. We head toward the back of the house, pass through the kitchen, and enter the servants’ quarters. We walk down a narrow corridor that barely fits the three of us. Every few seconds, I look over my shoulder to make sure no one is following us. I feel as though I’m in a haunted house and at any moment, someone is going to jump out of nowhere and shoot us.

  Then the front door slams open. Gasping, I turn at the sound of footsteps.

  “Étienne! I know you’re here.” The voice is loud and contained and almost a bit humorous, as though this is all a game.

  My grip on Étienne’s waist tightens. “Hurry!” I whisper frantically.

  Asa turns the knob of the basement door and ushers Étienne and me inside as the shooter speaks again, his voice closer than before. “I know I didn’t kill you. So where are you?”