I couldn’t move. All I could do was shut my eyes and cringe in preparation for the pain that would surely follow.
It never came.
A foot or a fist or maybe even an elbow, I don’t know which, connected with Kenton, sending him sprawling onto the hard stone floor.
I opened my eyes to find Des standing over Kenton, kicking him in the face, in the stomach and balls while he rolled around on the floor trying to protect himself from her vicious onslaught.
Her fury was out of control and with each strike she screamed, “I told you to leave her alone! I told you to!” She wound up and gave him a powerful roundhouse to the side of his head. Kenton wasn’t going to be getting up again any time soon.
Even though he wasn’t moving, Des continued to kick him. “Bastard!”
“Des, that’s enough.”
The voice came from beside me, and I turned to see Josh crouching at my hands, unchaining me. His lips were bleeding, and his cheek was cut. His eyes flashed with a mixture of rage and disgust. He was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen.
I fell into his arms and buried my head against his chest and wept. “I’m so sorry,” I cried over and over again.
Chapter Fifteen
Josh removed his shirt and pulled it over my head. Then he scooped me up into his arms and followed Desi up the stairs and out of the dungeon. I wasn’t prepared for what was going on above. First of all, Vivien, of all people, met us at the top of the stairs. Secondly, and more shockingly, there was a party going on.
That sick bastard had been about to rape and torture me while his house was full of people.
My body began to quake and shiver despite the warmth of Josh’s arms.
“She’s going into shock,” Vivien said after one look at me. She glanced over her shoulder and shouted, “Daniel, get over here and guard this door.”
Some guy, who looked like a steroid-abusing asshole, walked over, holding an icepack to his face. He glared at Josh. A strange rumble emanating from Josh’s chest like a growl. Had these two tangled before Des and Josh rescued me? By the looks of their battered faces, they had.
“Unless you want to be charged along with Kenton,” Vivien said, “I suggest you make sure no one goes down or comes up. Is that clear?”
He snarled but nodded.
“Come on,” she said and we followed her through the hordes of scantily clad people, wearing Santa hats and little else, toward the stairs and the second level. There was a security door at the top. Vivien typed in some numbers then pushed the door open. Kenton’s private rooms. There was an enormous master bedroom at one end of the hall. Another large bedroom had been converted into his office. Screens covered the walls from floor to ceiling. He had that many cameras going at once.
The fucker.
Vivien held up a memory stick. “This is it. This is the video of Kenton raping Tina. I erased the last part where Des came in and kicked the shit out of him. I don’t want him to have any opportunity to turn this against any of you.”
I gasped. But why was I shocked? “Put me down!” I cried. I scrambled over to Vivien and punched her in the jaw.
“Tina!”
“You watched me get raped? You sick—” I pulled my fist back to strike again but Des stepped in front, grabbing my shoulders and pulling me into her arms
“She didn’t watch,” she whispered into my hair. “She came to get us. We got here as quick as we could. She saved you.”
I collapsed into Des’s arms. The image of what would have happened if they hadn’t arrived when they did filled my mind and the need to vomit overwhelmed me.
I ran to the bathroom across the hall and retched into the toilet. Desi held my hair while Josh propped me up. Vivien sat on the edge of the tub and watched.
When I was done ridding my body of everything inside, I looked up at Vivien and for the first time, I really saw her. She was a young, beautiful woman who, despite her own exploitation, had risked her life to save mine. “I’m sorry,” I said, tears welling in my eyes. “I shouldn’t have hit you.”
Her lips quivered when she smiled. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault.” She sniffed and glanced at Josh and Des. “Tina, if we’re going to do something about this, we need to do it now. It’s completely up to you, though. What do you want to do?”
“Are you talking about calling the cops?” My voice was rough and barely audible. I looked from Vivien to Des to Josh.
“Yes. We’re talking about calling the cops,” Des said.
I licked my bruised lips. I swallowed. “Call them,” I whispered. “Call them now. Kenton is never going to do this to anyone ever again.”
* * *
I woke up screaming. Where the hell was I? For a minute I thought I was still in that dungeon, but then I felt Desi’s hand in mine, saw the monitors and the white walls and felt the crisp white sheets. I was in the hospital.
“Shh,” Desi crooned. “I’m here. You’re safe, Teen.”
I gritted my teeth and cringed. My whole body ached. The skin on my back and buttocks, my face, my arms and legs. “When can I get out of here?” I whispered hoarsely.
“As soon as you’re ready.”
I was discharged within the hour. I guess they’d done a whole rape kit last night but I didn’t have any memory of that. It was probably for the best. When we got home, the police were still there, looking for evidence of a forced entry into our house. I knew they wouldn’t find anything. I had to answer more questions. Not that I remembered answering any the night before. But the female officer I spoke to seemed nice and wrote everything down carefully, a look of genuine compassion in her eyes. I wondered if she’d seen the video yet. I hoped to hell I’d never have to see it again.
It seemed to take forever for the police to finally leave us alone. That’s all I wanted. To be left alone. Well, not completely alone. I needed Josh and Des and that was all.
I got my wish a few hours later. I sat on the couch, bundled up in a pair of loose workout pants and a sweatshirt and the three of us quietly drank tea. I looked around at the living room with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. The pictures on the walls, the things Des and I had picked out together. God, where had this lump in my throat come from?
“Des?”
“Yeah, hon?”
“I called Carol a few days ago. I asked her to list the place.”
Des looked at Josh and frowned. “Sell the house? Why would we do that?”
I cupped my mug, trying to absorb some of its warmth into my skin. “I thought it might be easiest. That way you and Josh can have a fresh start. And I can start over somewhere too.”
Des scooched closer to me on the couch, took my teacup out of my grasp, set it down and held my hands. “Why would you want to start over?”
I swallowed, looked her straight in the eye and said, “Because I love you.” I turned to Josh. “And I love you too. But I can’t choose between you.”
“Choose between us?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “I want the two of you to be happy.”
“But Tina,” Josh said in that wonderfully deep voice of his, “the only thing that would make us happy is if the three of us are together.”
“But…” I looked at Des and saw she was still frowning. “But you asked me to choose.”
She blinked. “Choose? Not between Josh and me. I wanted you to choose between the three of us and Kenton.”
“What? Why would you think I was in a relationship with him…” I trailed off as I remembered what Kenton said. You know what I told her? I told her you were in love with me. That you were doing everything willingly. I even had the video clips to prove it. I also had your key.
“I went to Kenton’s to tell him to leave you alone. He showed me something that convinced me you were with him…that you—” she cleared her throat, “—were in love with him.”
“The video,” I said quietly remembering what Vivien had said. It was me and yet it wasn’t me. “He faked it, Des. I have no idea w
hy, but he must have taken some footage of me and some of someone else. It wasn’t me. I did some work for him. That’s all.”
Suddenly the conversation I’d had with Desi when she’d found me with Josh that last time took on a whole new meaning. Oh my God, of course. It was Des who’d run out of Kenton’s that day wearing the ball cap, not Vivien.
Is he that much better? She hadn’t been asking about Josh, she’d been talking about Kenton. No wonder she was so appalled. Sweet Jesus! The thought of me willingly sleeping with that sick bastard…
“I’m such a fool,” I whispered.
“You’re not a fool,” Des said, squeezing my hands. “You’ve been through so much. But I would never ask you to choose between Josh and me. Never.”
Josh pushed himself out of the chair and came to sit on the other side of me. He kissed the top of my head. “Neither would I. I love you. I would never hurt you.”
I laughed and then I cried.
Once my tears ran their course, Josh kissed me again. “I hope those tears are because you’re happy.”
I nodded.
Josh’s smile was like a burst of early morning sun after a wonderful sleep. Then he glanced at his watch and frowned. “I’m sorry to run out like this, but I promised my mom I’d take her to her doctor’s appointment today.”
I took his hand and squeezed. “Of course.” I smiled up at him.
“Are we good?”
“Yeah, we’re good.”
He leaned down and ever so softly, touched his lips to mine. He squeezed Desi’s shoulder in passing and she patted his hand as she glanced up at him. The love that passed between them was unmistakable. I watched him go with an aching sense of desire and contentment.
After we heard Josh’s car pulling out of the drive, Des turned to me and said matter-of-factly, “We’re not selling, Teen.”
“No. We’re not.”
She smiled, her big, wonderful wide smile. Then she kissed me. It was gentle and sweet and it made the air in my lungs hitch.
“Can I get you something? Are you hungry?”
I shook my head. “Des,” I said.
“Yeah?”
I couldn’t keep the secret any more. It was time. “I slept with Curtis.”
She loosened her grip on my hands and her eyes went wide but I didn’t look away.
“I’m so sorry. I don’t know how it happened. It just did. I’ve always meant to tell you but—”
Desi pressed a finger to my lips. “Don’t apologize. It wasn’t your fault.”
“You knew?”
“Yes. I knew. In fact,” Des took a deep breath. “I told him to go see you that day.”
“What?”
Pinching the bridge of her nose she said, “It was stupid. I mean, I didn’t tell him to go over there to have sex with you. He’d called me and sounded so upset, so scared and I…I just…oh hell, I don’t know what I thought would happen, but I couldn’t do anything for him and I knew you’d make him feel better. You make everyone feel better.” Her gaze met mine. “He called me afterward and confessed.” She paused. “I wasn’t even upset. I mean, how weird is that? And that’s when I realized it.” She took hold of my hand again. “I wasn’t upset because I had feelings for you too.” She caressed the back of my hand with her thumb. “That’s when I started to fantasize about you.”
“Oh, Des…”
“Then Curtis died and, I don’t know, I got all messed up. I didn’t know what to think. What to do.”
“That’s when you hooked up with Kenton?”
The muscles in her jaw tensed. “No, not right away. But I did start going to his parties. They helped me forget for a while. And they helped me deal with my feelings for you.” She drew lazy circles on my arm. “Then he asked me to help him, you know, play hostess and all that shit. So I did. He didn’t even have to coerce me. Not at first, anyway.”
I crawled into Desi’s lap and wrapped my arms around her neck. My Des. She was so strong. She’d put up with so much—losing Curtis, dealing with Kenton without telling a soul. She was my hero.
“Teen?”
“Yeah?”
“That time you saw me with Vivien? I want to tell you—”
“Des, it doesn’t matter.” I snuggled against her, not wanting to ever let her go.
“Yes, it does. You need to know. I only did it because I felt responsible for her.”
Moving my head so I could look at her face I said, “What do you mean?”
“It was me who introduced Vivien to Kenton. I knew what he wanted from her and I let him do it. I was so desperate to get rid of him, I would have done anything.” She held my head against her chest and continued. “So when we went to Kenton’s party that night, Vivien found me and told me Kenton had his eye on someone new. She asked if I’d help, so I did. God, if I’d known it was you… And then, once I knew…I should have told you what he was like right away, but I couldn’t. I was too embarrassed and I thought I could handle him on my own. I knew he was bad, but I had no idea he was this rotten.”
“Shh,” I whispered before kissing her softly. “It’s not your fault. It’s his.” I snuggled into her again and whispered, “It’s all over now.”
Des played with my hair and I curled into her, listening to her breathing.
“I love you,” I whispered against her neck.
“Oh, Teen. I love you too.”
* * *
The implications of charging Kenton were starting to take its toll. He wasn’t lying when he’d said he had friends in high places. But a number of his supposed “friends” weren’t as anxious to side with him, given the evidence against him, as I think he’d hoped. It didn’t matter. I didn’t care how long the process took. As long as Kenton was put out of commission, I was happy. Plus, I had Des and Josh to support me.
Christmas had come and gone with little celebration. Each of us spent some time with our individual families, but none of us was in the mood for making merry. But on this day, a little more than a month later, all thoughts of Kenton were forgotten. It was time to celebrate—together.
Des and Josh and I were over at his mother’s house, wearing ridiculous party hats, singing happy birthday and eating triple chocolate birthday cake—Josh’s favorite. He was thirty-three delicious years old and he told us there were only three women in the world he wanted to share the day with.
We took turns giving him a birthday kiss. His mom gave him one on the cheek and Des and I each gave him a quick peck on the lips. His mother, Barb, knew all about us; Josh had told her. I still felt weird around her, but her eyes gave off this unholy glow whenever she saw the three of us together, and she treated both Des and I like the daughters she’d never had.
After opening presents, Barb stretched her arms and yawned. “I’m bushed,” she said as she began clearing plates. Des and I jumped up to take the plates out of her hands but she swatted us away. “Girls,” she complained, “I’m not an invalid.”
Still, we helped her wash up and then she sent us home with a kiss.
I couldn’t wait to get home. Josh’s real birthday present was sitting on the patio, yet to be christened. When we got there, we made Josh close his eyes. With Des taking his right hand and me taking his left, we led him outside.
“What the hell have you two been up to?” He laughed.
“Just wait, just wait.” Des and I were both giggling uncontrollably.
“Okay, ready?” I asked.
“Open!” Des shouted.
Josh stood and stared. “A hot tub? You got me a hot tub?”
With her hand on his ass and another on his chest, Des said, “It’s not just for you, greedy boy. It’s for all three of us.”
But I wasn’t paying attention. I was stripping down. “Come on you two! Last one in…”
The three of us scrambled to tear our clothes off and jumped into the fresh, warm water with laughter and utter abandon. That night we thoroughly christened the tub—Des and me and our hunky boyfriend who’d
just turned thirty-three—and I was officially the happiest woman alive.
* * * * *
About the Author
With a degree in archaeology, Daire St. Denis was sure she was destined to be the next female Indiana Jones. That didn’t quite pan out but she still managed her fair share of exotic adventures. Some of her most daring escapades include skydiving in Canada, being trapped in the Great Pyramid of Giza, searching for tigers in the foothills of the Himalayas, touring Germany by motorbike, scuba diving off the coast of the Philippines, meeting Medusa in the bowels of Istanbul and climbing her way to the top of a number of mountains and crags in Canada and the U.S.
Daire loves to pen erotic tales full of passion and unexpected adventure, and her colorful past has provided ample inspiration for her muse. She now lives in the wilds of Canada with her two poorly trained dogs, two insufferable cats, two spirited children and one extremely patient husband.
Find out more about Daire at www.dairestdenis.com.
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ISBN: 978-14268-9382-7
Copyright © 2012 by Daire St. Denis
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
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