“Beth ... you’re so brave. I love you baby.” He covers his trembling mouth with his hand.
Even in my jaded state I perceive his love for me; it glistens from his tear filled eyes, warming me
from the inside. My eyelids are heavy and my head is nodding. I cannot focus on him. Even though my
eyes are closed I hear every word.
“Lester,” he calls. “How does she look?”
“Pale Mr. Stone, but I think she’s okay.” I feel him lifting me onto the bed. “Wait!”
“What!”
“There’s blood! It’s all over the carpet and down her legs .”
“Is it Beth’s?”
I sense the panic in his voice but I cannot wake. My eyes will not open. I’m fading out of
consciousness.
“Yes! I’m sorry Mr. Stone. I had no idea ...”
“Then fucking deal with it. Call an ambulance. Fuck! Fuck! Do something ... I can’t lose her. Beth
… Beth! Wake up baby, wake up.”
The room is spinning.
I’m sitting on my mum’s knee … she’s singing a lullaby...
I’m playing gin rummy with my dad ...
I’m dancing, twirling on a terrace in Rome with the man of my dreams …
I have wings …
5
Familiar fragrances and sounds bring me to consciousness.
Where am I?
Without even opening my eyes I know Ayden is here; call it a sixth sense. I manage a watery smile
and even that hurts. One at a time I engage my other senses: my ears pick up gentle, even breathing;
through eyes that refuse to focus, I make out shapes and shadows that are unfamiliar but reassuring
somehow. My mouth feels so dry I doubt I could speak. But that’s nothing compared to the dull ache
coming from my back and the barbs of pain spiking in the soles of my feet. What’s happened to me?
Snippets of information filter through to my memory; images, words …
Why is my head so muzzy? I feel like my brain has been wrapped in a thick, impenetrable blanket. I
try to turn left onto my back but there are pillows and, when I crush them, I realise they are a man-
made barricade between Ayden and me. Why! And when did he get back? Finding some strength in
my arms I try to sit up, but I’m dizzy and have to grip onto the sheets to steady myself.
Ayden is sleeping peacefully on top of the bed; he’s still wearing his suit pants and a white shirt
that is open to the collar bone. His shirt is creased and pulled roughly out of his waistband and his
tailored trousers are gathered at the knees.
Stuffing down the pillows I reach out to him and push his messy hair from his face. He wakes with
a start. I whisper softly, “Hi,” and rest my chin on the cotton barricade.
“Hi to you too.” He pushes down the pillows and kisses me softly on my parched mouth. “Am I
glad to see you?”
“Not half as glad as I am to see you.” I smile as broadly as my cracked lips will allow. “What time
is it?”
“It’s three o’clock.”
“In the morning!”
“No, in the afternoon. You’ve slept nearly ten hours straight.” He sits up and yawns noisily. “The
doctor gave you a sedative. I wanted to be here when you woke up.” He leans over and brushes back
my unruly hair.
I lean into his hand. “And so you are.”
“And so I am.”
I try to pull away the pillows between us but the pain in my back causes me to wince.
“I’ll get them. Keep still.” He drags one away, allowing our arms to touch.
“Why are they here? Were you afraid I might sneak up on you?” I flutter my eyelashes.
He sniggers. “The doctor put them there to stop you from rolling onto your back.” He brushes his
fingers along my arm. “My little genie has got some nasty bruises.” I watch his face reshape and form
into a sympathetic frown. “That was a close call Beth. I don’t want you to ever have to go through
anything like that again. I can’t afford to lose you.” The anguish in his voice is perceptible. “You’re
irreplaceable.”
“It’s okay Ayden. I’m alright now. You saved me.”
He is shaking his head. “No. I didn’t. It was my fault the security wasn’t on duty. I left early, I was
more concerned about the fucking merger and I forgot to tell the guys to cover you on Sunday night. I
fucked up Beth.” His guilt ridden eyes lock into mine with more emotion than I can handle right now.
I try to speak but he looks away and cannot hear my words.
“You see, I was planning on staying with you and flying out this morning. I wanted us to have the
weekend together, you know, after Rome.” I nod and continue to offer a patient ear. “How could I have
missed that …?”
“Ayden, I made you leave early, remember?” I try to lean over to wrap my hand around his face but
the feeling of tightness and discomfort in my back prevents me. “Remember, you had a bolt put on my
bedroom door and the bars on the window. Those things saved me Ayden.”
“Don’t Beth. Don’t let me off so lightly. I deserve to feel bad about this. Look at you. You’re
bruised and bandaged.” With his hand on his neck in that visible display of anxiety I’ve come to
recognise, he inspects my body from top to toe. “Fuck! Look at you!”
“Calm down. You feel like you’ve let me down, I get it. But you’re wrong, you haven’t. This is my
past, it’s come back to haunt me. I knew it would one day.” I offer a smile of resignation but it’s not
enough to banish his guilt.
“He wouldn’t have found you if I hadn’t been so eager to show you off. For all those years you were
safe and then I come along and … this!” As if embracing a small child, he softly wraps his arms
around me, keeping clear of my back, resting his hands in my hair. “If anything had happened to you
…” Harrowing notions cause a mask of pure anguish to obscure his beautiful features. He is a man
tormented by dark thoughts of what could have been.
“It didn’t and it won’t. I’ll heal.”
“I want you to stay here until you’re well, so I can take care of you.”
I smile inside and out at the prospect of being waited on hand and foot by this gorgeous man. “Have
you any nursing experience?” I enquire playfully.
“No but I’m a fast learner.” In that simple declaration, all shame and fear begins to dissipate. The
muted hues of green begin to fade as that wondrous sparkle returns.
“You do know that you’ll have to attend to my every need?” I purposely put my thumb nail to my
mouth, faking innocence, waiting for the reaction. I’m not disappointed. He takes a lingering look that
has me forgetting all about bandages and bruises; I see the sizzling intensity of his stare and it occurs
to me I have not touched him, I mean really touched him for two whole days.
He’s tutting. “Are you going to be a difficult patient?”
“Not difficult but very demanding.” I lick my lips.
“In that case I think I might contact the doctor and have him increase your medication. You’ll be
less trouble, sedated.”
I fake surprise. “I thought you liked trouble?”
“Oh, as a rule I do but I think your body has been through enough. The last thing you need right
now is any …” He stops to consider his next word. “ … exercise.”
He means sex - I hope he means sex. There’s no way we can simply lie here together and do
nothi
ng. “I can do without the exercise, it’s sex I want.” I lean in so close our noses are touching.
“Hot, wet, gentle sex with you. That’s the best medicine.”
So what do you make of that Mr. Stone?
I do believe he is lost for words. “And, as my back is sore, I’ll have to be on top.” Just saying the
words makes me needy and ready.
Pain, what pain?
“Like I said, I knew you’d be a difficult patient but, you do have me at a disadvantage …”
“I do?”
“Yes. I still feel like shit for leaving you unprotected.”
Not that again!
I decide to put him out of his misery. “Then, I’ll have to think of a suitable punishment won’t I?” I
raise my brows to signal the start of our game.
He is more than happy to play along. “I’ll accept whatever punishment you think is appropriate
Elizabeth.”
I’m happy to report his eyes have turned into my favourite colour, midnight blue. I can even see
stars flickering and sparkling behind those rings of teal green. “I’ve never had to carry out punishment
sex …”
“You’ve been on the receiving end of it though, remember?”
I shake my head. “No. I have a bad case of retrograde amnesia.”
“Oh, really? I’m glad about that.” He’s holding back on a grateful smile.
“I’m not very experienced in the punishment department, so I’ll have to improvise.” He has no idea
what I’m about to say and is content to stroke my hair adoringly. I remember his words and prepare to
replay them. “Now this is what we’re going to do. You’re going to get me a glass of water and get
naked.”
With happy obedience, he rolls off the bed and starts to unbutton his shirt. It lands on the floor a
couple of feet away.
“Where’s my water?” He nods his head to my right where a tall glass of water has been the entire
time. I take a sip. When I turn back to him, expecting to see a naked Adonis, he’s still wearing his
trousers, although the top is turned down and his boxers are showing. He’s flirting with me.
Taking his time, he removes his trousers and allows me to simply look at him, this man of mine. I
know he’s reading my thoughts. Watching him become physically aroused is totally hypnotic. The
cold water finds its way to my stomach via some hard swallowing and I wipe the liquid across my lips
to ease the sensation of dryness. I watch him shift from left to right; he’s mirroring me and licking his
delicious lips while his hands are closing into fists against his cotton briefs. This is sensual torture at
its best; who knew punishment sex could be so erotic?
When I call his name, his eyes flicker to attention and he seeks me out. “Take off everything.” I
give my order quietly, and he obliges by looping his thumbs into his Calvin Kleins and pushing them
down a millimetre at a time. At the sight of his pubic hair and the descending V shape that points to
that place, I feel my body rise a couple of inches off the bed. I gasp at the sight of him and gulp down
another mouthful, taking care not to choke between breaths.
I reach over to pull back the duvet for him but my back hurts, making me call out and pull back. He
darts over, lifts the cover and climbs in. We are face to face. He lifts the glass from my hand, takes a
sip and puts it down on his bedside cabinet. I want to be close to him and try to crawl across his body,
but so intense is the pain I have to rethink my plan. I push with my feet but even that is painful. Unless
I make a miracle recovery, I fear the punishment sex might be more punishing for me than my naked
reprobate.
Sensing my awkwardness and inability to actually move, let alone initiate sex, he comes to the
rescue. With casual nakedness, he kneels up, throws off my cover and slides his hands underneath me.
Instinctively, I wrap my arms around his neck and hold on. He carries me over to the high backed
chair by the desk, sits down and gently manoeuvres my right leg so I’m straddling him. He bends back
my legs, just below the knee and keeps my bandaged feet off the floor. He’s restraining himself and
giving me a comfortable and painless experience.
“Better?”
“Better.” I smile, literally swept off my feet by his selflessness. “Do you feel punished yet?” I
watch a smile flicker across his lips. He’s so turned-on, I can feel his erection pressing into my crutch
and yet he’s not doing a thing to ease his discomfort. He has gifted himself to me.
Pushing against his strong hands I lift myself and bundle up my nightie around my thighs. With less
material between us, I feel his flexing cock against my saturated skin. I pull at my panties, moving
them aside, giving him access to my sex. Using his upper body strength and his biceps, he elevates my
knees, giving me the height I need to take him inside me. This is exactly what I asked for: hot, wet,
gentle sex.
In one slow, slick glide he’s inside, lowering me slowly until our bodies are touching. I feel the full
length of him from shaft to tip. I watch his lips twitch and part, and his breath catch. Then he settles.
“Let’s take this slow Elizabeth,” he whispers, sending a wave of hot breath across my eyelids.
“I’ve missed you Ayden.” I stroke his cheekbones with my fingertips. “I’ve missed having your
mouth and your hands on me.” He listens attentively and I see tiny droplets of perspiration forming on
his brow. “Talk to me. Elizabeth won’t be doing any punishing today.”
He’s smiling devotedly and the skin around his eyes is forming into shallow lines. “She won’t?”
“No. It’s just you and me. It’s always been you and me.”
“I know Beth. But I’m not wearing any protection. I can’t come inside you.”
“I don’t care. I need you. I belong to you.” I kiss him passionately. He kisses me back and his
voracious tongue does what it does best, fucks me. It swallows me up, wraps itself around my heart
and makes me ache for him. I need to come. “I can’t stop Ayden.” I pull away, gasping, fisting his
hair.
“Then come. I’m here for you, inside you the way you live inside me Beth. I belong to you. Do you
hear me?”
I’m kissing his chin and sucking on his bottom lip, nibbling moist flesh. “Yes, yes, I hear you.”
“If that fucker had got to you it would have killed me!” He’s shaking his head and struggling to
deal with the thought. The night sky in his eyes has lost some of its sparkle and misty clouds are
forming an opaque film, dousing some of the fire.
“Poor baby.” I kiss away the approaching storm. “Nothing will come between us Ayden. You can
take me back to bed, you don’t have to hold me like this.” I run my hands down his flexing arms,
feeling his muscular strength under my fingers.
“I’ve got you. I won’t let you go.”
I can do no more than wrap my arms around his neck and cry. All the fear and pain of the previous
night swallows me up and I sob until every last drop of fear has dissolved. He’s rocking me, and I feel
his erection clinging to the walls of my vagina. Between sobs I pull him deeper into me, hold onto
him, feeling safe and loved.
Our harmonious union ends with a cathartic crescendo of emotion, fuelled by passion and the
realisation of what could have happened. Ayden looks mournful and guilty and I see a plea for
f
orgiveness still lingering in his eyes. He cannot face me.
“Look at me.” He returns his eyes to mine. “I forgive you Ayden for leaving me. I forgive you for
forgetting to tell the security guys to watch over me. I’ll forgive you anything but not this. Stop being
so hard on yourself!” I shrug away any remaining doubts. “See, now there’s nothing to forgive.”
His nod and soft smile says it all.
I glance around the room for the first time. “Being here with you is the best medicine.”
He kisses my mouth and rubs my nose with his. “Let’s get you back to bed. Doctor’s orders.”
I slide into bed and he disappears into the bathroom. With time to myself, I reflect on what just
happened and realise; he’d denied himself an orgasm. His punishment was self-inflicted.
Feeling fatigued, I turn on my side and wait until my carer tucks me in and kisses my hair, leaving
me to sail away to a dream world where there are cotton wool clouds with glorious silver linings.
With a pair of tweezers, Dan Rizler is removing pieces of glass from his left hand. The razor sharp
shards fall into a pool of red in the basin, sink to the bottom and rattle around on the porcelain. The
cold water splashes over his shredded skin on the top and on the fleshy part of his palm, causing the
blood to trickle and drip onto the towel on his knee.
“What a fucking mess. I’ll make you pay for this princess.” He winces and tosses another sliver of
glass into the puddle of red.
“Argh. You fucking bitch!” He rips a small towel into bandages and wraps them tightly around his
mutilated left hand, making a knot and pulling it together with his other hand and his teeth. “I was
going to treat you real nice but no more Mr. Nice Guy. I’m going to make you suffer; make you
fucking bleed.”
My heart is racing. I can see a bloodied hand tearing at my curtains and I step backwards into the
shadows, hiding, trembling …
“Beth, wake up. You’re dreaming. It’s okay …”
A hand brushes my hair. It’s his hand. He’s calling me …
“Princess …”
I have to fight him off …
I am woken by the sound of my own screaming.
“You’re safe Beth. I’m here. It’s only a nightmare.”
TouchStone for giving (The Story of Us Trilogy) Page 9