From the Heart: A Valentine's Day Anthology

by Anthology

  “Want a drink baby?” Reluctantly he let her sit up and away from his body, he wanted nothing more than to drag her back into his embrace.

  “Sure water’s good for me” Her voice carried a husky edge to it, one he hoped he had caused by making her scream numerous times.

  Andy climbed out of bed and grabbed a pair of running shorts from the chair by the bed.

  “Stay there baby, I will be right back, I’m not finished with you yet.”

  ~

  Carly’s eyes followed Andy and watched his bare arse flex as he tugged up a pair of shorts, she had to bite her lip to stop herself from groaning out loud. The cocky grin he sent her proved he knew what had her all flustered, with a wink he left the room, leaving Carly to deal with a hot flush as she remembered what they had done a few hours before.

  Unbelievably she had zero regrets about what had happened, it had felt right and she only hoped Andy felt the same and would like to repeat the experience.

  Carly wedged the sheet under her arms and slid off the bed in search of her purse and in turn her phone. She checked that she hadn’t missed anything important before she fired a quick text to Robyn.

  To Tart @5:10pm

  Guess what happened ;)

  OMFG

  Carly xx

  Carly couldn’t stop smiling as she sat back on the bed, her life was now starting to fall into place. She already knew she had strong feelings for Andy. She wouldn’t have fallen, well jumped into his bed if she didn’t. She was pulled from her inner musing by the doorbell and followed by Andy’s voice as well as that of another.

  Carly bent and collected one of Andy’s discarded t-shirts from the floor and tugged it on as well as her panties before she peeked out of the bedroom door. A stunning blond stood in the doorway, a pleading look upon her face as Andy scowled down at her. Now this was the sort of woman she had always imagined Andy to be with. Unable to keep quiet she edged out more.

  “Andy, everything ok?”

  She must have surprised them both as they both turned to look at her, the blonde’s eyes widened before she smirked and a look she didn’t recognise flashed across Andy’s face before it was hidden.

  “Yes fine,” Andy’s tone was harsh. “Might be a good idea if you get dressed.”

  His voice was cold and distant, his eyes never met her own as he turned to face the blonde once again.

  Carly closed the bedroom door and quickly located her clothing. She dressed then retrieved her handbag and phone as she attempted to fight back the tears that threatened to spill. It didn’t take a genius to realise that something was going on between those two. That coupled with Andy’s harsh words so soon after their afternoon tumble hurt more than Carly was ready to admit. Maybe it was best if she just left. Her logical side had said all along that he was well out of her league.

  Fully dressed she opened the bedroom door and walked towards the front door, both set of eyes watched as she drew closer. One laced with sadness and the other a look of smug indifference.

  “Carly you don’t have to leave,” Andy looked down at Carly as she stood by the door. She lifted her chin and met his gaze head on, her voice calm.

  “Yes I do and it’s probably for the best, I will leave you both to it.”

  The blonde then moved so Carly could walk out of the door. Her face clearly showed she was enjoying the little drama.

  “Carly please.”

  “Don’t Andy, I get it ok. I just…yeah goodbye.”

  Carly turned and walked away, she bit into her lower lip to stop a sob from escaping. Yes they had only been “together” for a few hours but she had known him 14 months and had in all honesty fallen for him not long after they had met.

  ~

  Carly’s thoughts were in a whirl as she walked home, she didn’t doubt that she looked a mess but she couldn’t give a shit. Her phone vibrated from inside her bag, but she left it where it was, she really couldn’t be bothered to check it right now. Why did she always have the worst luck with men? It just proved that no matter your weight they all tended to be arseholes.

  “Princess, you alright?”

  Carly jumped in surprise and lifted her head to see Simon in front of her. She had just turned down the alley that was a shortcut to her house but it also went past the back of the gym.

  “Shit Simon you scared me.”

  She went to move past him but he grabbed her elbow in a bruising grip.

  “Carly are you ok?” His words softer than his grip.

  “Yes sorry Simon, I’m fine thank you, I just want to go home.”

  Carly again tried to move past Simon but he refused to budge. “Did you not like the gifts I sent you Carly? I made a special effort with each one,” his voice strange almost flustered.

  “Gifts? What Gifts?”

  Carly’s stomach dropped, she had a good idea what he was talking about and she now wished she had mentioned it to someone, but she never thought it would be as serious as this. Simon smiled again but this time it was a cold smile.

  “Yes gifts, the flowers and notes I left you after every session you did at the gym,” Simon’s grip became tighter and Carly tried to pry his hand away.

  “Simon get off me, you are hurting my arm, now let go.” His gaze turned angry as she started to fight his hold.

  “I make all that effort for you and you don’t even acknowledge it, but you are happy to be with that prick Andy. You are a cock tease Carly. Not to worry you will learn your place soon enough.”

  “What the fuck Simon get off me!” He grinned and pulled a white cloth out of the back pocket of his jeans.

  “Oh you will learn princess,” he tugged her closer and thrust the cloth into her face, over her nose and mouth, it gave her no choice but to inhale the fumes from the cloth.

  Carly’s vision started to dim as the effects of the chloroform took effect. Her body crumpled and she lost consciousness, unable to fight the pull to darkness.

  ~

  Simon carried Carly’s unconscious form into the back door of the gym, he made sure no one was around before he shut the door and turned to make his way down the corridor to the basement. Unused equipment was propped up against the wall and free weights had been dumped here and there. He walked through another doorway and into the makeshift living quarters he had made for Carly. Ever since he had seen her 6 months earlier he had wanted her and had hoped that she had taken the hint and figured it out that he was the one that was sending her the gifts and love notes.

  He was desperate for her to notice and come to him but she hadn’t and instead seemed instead to tease him from a distance and make him jealous by flirting with that pissant Andy. It had taken months of planning and sneaking around so Andy wouldn’t notice and he was able to get things ready. But now he finally had her. He always got what he wanted and Carly was no exception. She would learn that he was all she would need and want, even if he had to persuade her. Simon stalked into the farthest room of the basement, one that had been left to disrepair and placed his new charge on the small camp bed. He would have to pop out again soon to get some more supplies as he hadn’t expected to grab her so soon. Simon didn’t want her venturing out so he wrapped both her wrists and ankles with duct tape. Carly would soon come to realise she was his, she had no choice.

  ~

  Andy growled and slammed his front door as Alexa finally took the hint and left. Seriously did she really think that he gave a rats arse about her anymore? He had stopped that shit when she had trampled on his heart. But what really pissed him off was that he had snapped at Carly because Alexa had pissed him off with her attitude. He had had no choice but to watch her leave instead of talking to her but he would be fucked if he was going to do that in front of Alexa.

  But fuck the look of hurt on her face as she had left had hit him full ball in the chest. He couldn’t deny that Alexa’s visit was an important one. She and a few of the other females from the gym had been having serious problems with Simon. One lady in particular was
now at the gym waiting for Andy and the police to show up for a statement. Looked as though Simon had finally crossed that line and Andy couldn’t wait to get rid of that prick. Andy needed to get changed and get down to the gym to sort this mess out, but he really needed to find Carly, she hadn’t answered his calls or texts, she hadn’t even read the texts but he would keep calling. It ate at him that he had hurt her, he wanted to make things right dammit. He clenched his fists, if she had only stayed she would have seen there was fuck all going on between Alexa and him.

  For fuck sake didn’t Carly realise that she was it for him. He had loved her since day one. Love is an intense word, and yes he was being soppy but he didn’t care. He had waited long enough for his other half so he would be fucked if he would let her go. Andy grabbed his keys and slammed out of his flat. A plan firm in his mind.

  ~

  Carly felt hands on her face as she waited for the grogginess to subside. Her head felt like it was full of cotton wool and her mouth was drier than a nun’s flip flop. Her mind was slow to process her current predicament, the words spoken were at first garbled until her brain finally caught up.

  “Oh princess, I’ve always wondered if your skin was as soft as it looked, especially after watching you take those long showers.”

  Carly struggled to hold back a shudder as he continued to stoke her face and neck, she remembered now that it was Simon who had surprised her in the alley and used something to knock her out. Now she was lay tied up on a platform of some sort and he was spewing some shit about them meant to be together.

  Carly opened her eyes and glared up at Simon whose own face was disturbingly close to hers.

  “Ahh awake at last,” he sneered his fingers continued to stroke her skin.

  “Fuck you Simon, let me go!”

  “Now now, that’s a dirty little mouth you have there my precious, a lady should know her place”

  His eyes seemed wild as they continued to roam up and down her body.

  “How about you let me go you twisted fuck before I scream.”

  Simon’s face became distorted with anger and he grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her face closer to his own, his breath putrid as it washed over her face before he slammed his lips on to hers, his teeth latched on to her lower lip and forced a cry of pain from her. His voice was almost a growl when he released her lip and pulled away.

  “You will have more respect for me now Carly. I have you where no one will find you and you are mine.”

  He reached past her and grabbed a roll of duct tape, quickly pulling a piece free and forced it over Carly’s lips.

  “Now you will behave and sit nice whilst I leave for a short while to go get you something more suitable to wear. I will let you have some food as well but only if you are a good girl,” he smirked and let his hand move up her thigh until he pushed it against her core.

  “And then once I’m back we can get better acquainted; I have waited a long time to sample you.” He moved his hand back to her thigh and squeezed as he got to his feet, with one long perusal of her stretched out body he left, the slam of metal doors echoed through the basement. Carly closed her eyes and tried not to panic, that would get her nowhere and she needed a way out of this sooner rather than later.

  Her wrists were tied together with duct tape so tight that she had no movement, her ankles had been taped the same. Carly decided she would get out, there was no other option, she slid to the end of the bed and looked around the room, a plan quick to form.

  ~

  She still hadn’t answered any of his calls or his text messages, even her best friend had only received one text and that had been before she had left his apartment. Andy was now sat in his office at the gym, his phone in his hand as he continued to call Carly. He had also yet to get a statement from the female attacked by Simon to make sure she was happy that the police had been informed and she would give them a statement. He needed to be careful with how he dealt with this. The police being involved just showed how serious the event had been. Andy was pissed at himself that he had missed the signs and this could cause a lot of bad press for the gym.

  “Andy are you busy?”

  Andy’s head snapped up and he smiled and lifted his hand to motion a clearly shaken Sonja into his office.

  “Come on in honey and take a seat.”

  Nearly two hours later Sonja had left and Andy had what he needed now to press charges on Sonja’s behalf against Simon. He was a goner pure and simple but what made Andy really nervous was being told of Simons continued obsession with Carly. He had been heard numerous times making lude comments about her.

  Andy tried her mobile again and cursed when it wasn’t answered, he slammed the mobile onto the counter before he turned back to his paperwork. He had now to type up the report from his perspective but he would keep trying her mobile until the police arrived. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted movement on one of the cameras that fed the live footage from the CCTV placed around the gym. It clearly showed the image of the back of the gym, where the door was located that went into the basement. He watched as Simon’s form dived through the door, his arms burdened with bags.

  “What the fuck are you up to?” Andy mumbled to himself as he stood, he called out to one of the trainers that were sat on the reception desk to send the police to the back when they arrived. He pocketed his phone and made his way quickly out of the front of the gym and round to the back. His gut feeling told him he needed to find out what Simon was up to and find out fast.

  ~

  Carly’s hands were free. It had taken a few attempts but she had finally pulled off that trick that she had seen on Youtube of how to get out of having her hands tied by duct tape. She had quickly untied her ankles and removed the tape from her mouth. All that was left was to see if her handbag had been left nearby so she could find her phone and then get the hell out of here.

  The sound of metal doors caused Carly to frantically search for a place to hide or at least something to use as a weapon. Her eyes landed on a loose 5kg weight that had been wedged under the camp bed. Carly was quiet as she slid it out and moved towards the back of the door, the weight held up in her hand ready to slam into that piece of shit’s head.

  “Oh princess I hope you have been a good girl, have you…where the,” his voice was so slimy that it literally made her skin crawl so she had no qualms as she lifted up the weight and brought it down hard on his head as he passed through the doorway. As the weight connected it made a loud crack followed by his cry of pain as he hit the floor, his bags scattered. Carly immediately dropped the weight and bolted out of the door, her arms pumped hard as she ran at full pelt. Her eyes scanned for a way out, so frantic she never saw Andy stepped into her path until she had barged into him.

  “Carly, oh fuck baby are you alright?”

  Andy had somehow managed to stand his ground as Carly had ploughed into him, as soon as he had wrapped his arms around her waist she had at first panicked until she had realised he held her. All she could do was sob into his shoulder as she crawled up his body, wrapping her legs around his waist.

  “Baby it’s ok, I’ve got you,” he cupped her face in his hands and looked into her tearful eyes. “Where is he?”

  Carly looked up and nodded towards the corridor she had bolted out of, echoes of pain filled groans confirmed Carly’s answer

  “Andy Jackson?” A voice called out from behind, Carly clutched at Andy’s shoulders harder.

  “Yes that’s me, thank you for coming.”

  “Thank you for calling us, I’ve already spoken to Miss Sonja Clark, all we need now is Simon O’Connor’s location”

  Carly watched Andy as he spoke to the police, both seeming to understand exactly what was going on and were in the process of dealing with it.

  “Yes Simon is down that corridor, by the sounds of it he’s suffered a slight injury, nothing he didn’t deserve though I’m sure.”

  Andy turned and started to walk towards the exit with Carl
y in his arms.

  “Please don’t worry, we will take care of everything from here, if she is not injured we will need a statement so please wait for us inside”

  Carly watched as Andy nodded then tucked her head into his shoulder as he walked out into the night air.

  Sunday 13th February 10:30pm

  Andy looked down at the sleeping form of Carly all tucked up in her bed, the events had been too much and she had passed out as soon as the police had left. His saving grace was that she had clung to him throughout the visit and hadn’t gone to sleep unless he was holding her hand.

  He wanted Carly to wake up so he could tell her exactly how he felt. Simon kidnapping her had cemented for him how he felt about her and he hoped that she would forgive him for being a complete ass.

  “Andy?”

  “Hey baby girl, how you feeling?” His hand clutched at hers, he refused to let go and break that connection.

  “Groggy and achy, but ok I guess. You didn’t need to stay.”

  “Carly baby I wanted to,” Andy watched as she refused to meet his eyes. “Baby you know there is nothing going on with me and Alexa right?” Her eyes flicked up to his, bingo he had her attention now.

  “She came to me to tell me about Simon and she also pissed me off with her bullshit, I’m sorry I made you feel like I didn’t want you there, that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

  “So what is the truth then Andy, because that fucking hurt?”

  Andy winced then tugged on her hand, he wanted her in his arms.

  “Come here.”

  Reluctantly she sat up and moved close enough so he could wrap her in his arms, he rested his chin on top of her head and let it out.

  “The truth, ok Peach the truth is you are it for me.”

  She stiffened in his arms but didn’t move away.

  “AH fuck.”

  “Andy what?” she tilted her head to look up at him.

  “Carly baby, I fucking love you ok, I always have. It drove me crazy when I couldn’t get hold of you and the thought of that bastard’s hands on you makes me want to rip him a new one,” Andy looked down as Carly’s eyes filled with tears.