by Penny Dee
He turned on his heels and ran a frustrated hand through his hair.
I thought of Jake and my chest caved in with the heartache. I would never see him again. Never kiss him again. We would never get our happy ending.
“Because I don’t love you,” I trembled.
Derek swung back to look at me. I thought he would erupt into anger but he seemed suddenly inspired by whatever mania was going through his head and his face lit up with excitement. “Of course you don’t. How could you? You don’t even know me.” He smiled and I looked away because I didn’t want to watch as he crossed the room to me. But when he reached me he lifted my chin again and spoke to me with an excited affection. “But you will. I know you will. You just need to get to know me. Just like I got to know you over that summer at college.”
He spoke of that summer at college as if we had been lovers.
But we hadn’t been. He had stalked me. Obsessed over me. And then viciously attacked me.
I trembled beneath his touch.
“Derek . . . please—” My face broke. I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want to endure what was about to happen.
Derek wiped my tears. From a lover it would have been a gentle, loving moment. It would have been intimate and soothing, and it would evoke a flood of affection. But this was none of that. This was torture.
“Oh, my sweet Mackenzie,” he said as he looked down on me with a delusional adoration. “We are going to be so happy together.”
I felt more tears spill down my cheeks. “No.”
His mad eyes searched my face and I could see the craziness there. It wasn’t bright and vibrant, it was dark and sinister, and it terrified me.
“Mon cherie,” he whispered.
As he leaned in to kiss me I closed my eyes and forced my mind away from what was happening. I forced my mind away from the touch of his lips against mine. Away from his insistent tongue as it forced its way into my mouth in an unwanted kiss. I gagged and he moaned, and when I gagged again he crushed his body against me, gripping my arms until they hurt. He moaned again, desperately this time, and I realized with a sickening terror that he was getting off on my fear.
When he pulled back to look at me his face was a mask of unconcealed evil.
“Let’s take this to the bedroom,” he said.
I stiffened, my body absolutely rigid with fear. Oh, God.
Derek exhaled deeply as if a sudden surge of pleasure rippled through him.
“Tonight is going to be magical,” he sighed and brushed a lock of hair from my face. “When I finally make you mine.”
“No!” I pleaded, terrified of what was about to happen. I tried to shake him off me. I was going to fight this right to the end, right to my very last breath. But when I struggled against him he gripped me tighter and laughed at me, getting off on my panic.
“I know, I know,” he laughed. “It’s always so crazy the first time together. But don’t be nervous, mon cherie. You can trust me. I know we’re made for one another.” He sighed deeply again. “When we finally make love . . .”
His words filled me with revulsion and I struggled again, fiercely trying to break free from his grip. “Derek, no—”
This time a dark shadow crossed his face and he gripped me tighter. “Why are you fighting me?” His fingers dug deep into my arms. “Why are you trying to get away from me?”
“Let me go,” I begged. “You’re hurting me.”
He shook me and I was like a ragdoll in his hands.
“Why are you not happy? When we can finally be together!” Anger was bright on his face as he yelled. “Why are you ruining our first time together?”
“Because this is wrong, Derek,” I cried. “You’re sick!”
Rage erupted across his face as he struggled to keep me restrained. “We belong together!”
“No.”
I whimpered as he shoved me toward the bedroom. “I know we do. And you will too when I’ve finished with you.”
I fought him. I fought him so hard but in the end it only increased his arousal. He forced me up against the wall, mashing my face into the plaster and pinning me there with his body. My body jerked and flinched as he reached around for the buckle of my belt.
I struggled but it was no use. This was going to happen.
I squeezed my eyes shut and forced my mind back to that first night in Jake’s cabin, when I had told him about Derek and his madness. When Jake had pulled me into the safety of his arms and surrounded me in his warmth. If I tried really hard, I could feel that warmth around me now.
I would not be here while Derek did whatever he was going to do to me. He might overcome me physically but I’d be damned if I was going to let him take my mind. I would think of Jake and those four magical days at Moose Lake.
Derek ripped my belt through the loops of my jeans.
And I thought of Jake and his beautiful smile.
Derek’s tongue slid into my ear like a slug.
And I thought of Jake holding me tight against his broad chest.
Derek’s moan filled my ears and rushed to the receptors in my brain.
And I thought of Jake’s exquisitely gentle touch.
Derek’s breath filled my nostrils with suffocating intensity.
And I thought of Jake and the look of affection on his face as he told me he loved me.
“Jake.” His name was just a whisper on my lips as Derek struggled with the button on my jeans.
That was when the front door exploded.
Distracted by the disturbance, Derek’s hold on me loosened and seconds later an unseen force removed it completely, freeing me so I was able to swing around and see what was happening.
Jake.
He had Derek in a tackle and threw him against the wall. But Derek was like a wild animal and fought viciously, growling like a feral cat as he struggled against Jake’s bulk.
That was when the gun went off.
* * *
Chapter Forty-Three
Mackenzie
I stood outside the ICU and stared into the room where tubes and cables came out of the body on the hospital bed. And I stood there alone, quiet and disbelieving, my heart as heavy as a sack of potatoes in my chest.
My eyes dropped to my shaking hands in front of me.
“Miss Eden?” A female detective appeared at my side. “We’re ready for you.”
I glanced at her and then back at the body on the hospital bed. There was some doubt he would survive. The doctors said the bullet had entered through his temple and grazed a part of his brain, and now it was a waiting game.
Biting back my nausea, I followed the detective to a small room off the corridor. Inside, was another detective, male.
“How are you feeling?” He asked.
I slowly lowered myself into the chair, feeling vague and dizzy.
“Is he going to die?” I asked, finding it hard to form words over the lump in my throat.
The detectives glanced at one another before the female replied, “The doctors say it’s still too early, but it doesn’t look good.”
I nodded, waiting for the relief that didn’t come. I should want him to die. It would mean this would all be over.
“You’ve been through quite the ordeal,” the male detective pointed out. “You’re lucky.”
I didn’t feel lucky. I felt numb.
“How did this happen?” I asked, feeling blindsided. “How did he get out?”
“There will be an investigation. But it appears he had stopped taking his medication a week or so ago, and was able to escape.”
I wanted to be sick but swallowed back the spit that filled my mouth.
“Are they sure?” I asked in disbelief.
The male detective nodded. “They found more than a week’s worth of medication stuck into a hole in his bed mattress.”
My fingers curled around the armrest of the chair. If Derek had been off his meds for a week or so, then he was in a full-blown psychosis when he’d found me. I sh
ivered and tried to calm the palpitations as my heart beat wildly in my chest. After he’d raped me, he would’ve killed us both—I just knew it.
“You’re quite lucky your friend showed up when he did,” the female detective said.
She didn’t need to tell me, I already knew that.
“Is Jake okay?”
“Do you want to see him?” The male detective asked.
My head shot up. “He’s still here?”
He nodded. “We’ve questioned him and he’s free to go but he won’t leave until he can see you.”
When the female detective left the room, the male detective then turned to me.
“You’re free to go, too, Miss Eden,” he said.
Good because I needed a long bath and a massive glass of wine. And by massive, obviously I meant the whole fucking bottle.
The door opened and Jake walked in. I didn’t hesitate, I jumped up from my chair and went to him, throwing my arms around him. Big hands held me against a broad chest and I buried my face into the warmth of him, fighting back a sudden wave of fatigue and tears.
When I pulled back, he pressed his hands into the side of my face. “Are you okay?” Judging the urgency in his voice he was more than concerned. He was faltering and panicking. His eyes dancing all over my face.
I nodded quickly. “I’m okay.” I reached up and touched his face to calm him and I saw him relax, but only slightly.
“We’ll leave you to it,” the female detective said, appearing behind Jake. “You’re both free to go but we will need to see you at the precinct tomorrow.”
When they left the room, I turned to Jake and hugged him again. When we finally stepped back I looked up at him.
“How did you know?” I asked.
“When you mentioned the Philly Penguins. At first I thought you were simply mistaken but then I realized there was no way you would get something like that wrong. No way in hell.” He sucked in a deep breath. “I knew something was stopping you from opening that door and that you were trying to tell me something. Truth is, I had no idea what was happening on the other side of that door, but I knew it wasn’t good.” I watched his Adam’s apple deepen in his throat when he swallowed. “I was outside your apartment building when it occurred to me. Christ, Z—I’ve never run so fast in my life.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck again and breathed in the familiar and comforting scent of him. Engulfed in his warmth and with his strong arms around me I was calm. Immediately, my body relaxed against him.
Then remembering the game and the fact that the Fury had won the Cup, I gasped and stepped back.
“Oh, my God, Jake! You won!” I said with wide eyes.
He nodded, but it lacked excitement. “Yes, we did.”
I grabbed his hands, my head dizzy with everything that had happened. “You really won!”
His smile was big. “We’re the Stanley Cup champions, baby.”
I laughed but took a sudden step back when I realized he should be with his team and not here with me. “I’m so sorry. You should be celebrating with your teammates. Not here with me, caught up in my mess.”
Jake had overcome a lot, put in the hard work, moved cross-country, sank a lot into the championship campaign, and won. I was taking his moment of glory away from him.
But Jake simply pulled me back to him and wrapped those big, strong arms around me again.
“There is no other place I’d rather be, Z.” He pressed another kiss into my hair, and again I melted against him.
“But you’ve worked so hard for this,” I murmured against his warm chest.
He waved it off. “I’ll celebrate twice as hard when we win it again next year.”
I couldn’t see him but I knew he would be smiling.
I looked up at him, calmed by the simple fact of being with him.
“So what happens now?” he asked.
I pulled away from him a little and said, “I guess that all depends on you.”
His perfect eyebrows rose. “Me?”
I dropped my gaze as I struggled to find the words. But Jake gently lifted my chin to look at him and tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear.
“Why does it depend on me?” he asked softly.
I took a step toward the edge of the cliff. And for the first time in my life, I jumped.
“I’m in love with you, Jake. You’re all I want,” I said quickly. And, damn, tears started to well in my eyes. I exhaled as a profound regret burrowed deep into my chest. I needed him to understand just how badly I missed him. How badly I needed him. “Nothing else matters. Because all I do is miss you, do you understand that? All I do is ache for you. All I do is think of you and try and control the overwhelming need to be with you.”
Jake looked up at me through a furrowed brow. “You sound like a Dire Straits song.”
I couldn’t help but look crestfallen. “You’re totally killing the moment.”
Jake gently raised my chin to so I had no choice but to look at him. “Did I mention how much I like Dire Straits? Especially that song . . . what is it? Juliet something?”
His grin made my chest burst with love. “I’m so sorry, Jake. I never meant to hurt you.”
Those vibrant eyes of his found mine. “I know.”
“You know?”
The rough pad of his thumb grazed my cheek. “I always knew. I was just pissed. And proud. And maybe too stubborn for my own good.” A small smile tugged at his mouth, then he scraped his white teeth across his bottom lip and sucked in a deep breath. “I’ve missed you so much.”
Spellbound by his words and his beautiful, beautiful face, I couldn’t look away. Almost trance-like, I blurted out, “You make me want to have babies and learn how to bake cookies.”
His smile was as bright as a floodlight as he chuckled slightly.
I went to open my mouth to say something but he leaned down and closed it with a deep and purposeful kiss, bringing his hands up to cup my face as his mouth moved sensually over mine. I couldn’t stop the moan that rose between us. For weeks this was all I had dreamed about. To feel his mouth on mine again, to feel his warmth surrounding me, knowing he still wanted me.
He pulled away with a groan.
“Come on. Let’s go home,” he said, taking my hand in his. “I can’t promise you babies right away, but we can sure get a head start on trying.”
* * *
FIVE MONTHS LATER
Moose Lake
Mackenzie
Snow fell gently from the sky and landed on the little window pane behind us. Pale morning light broke into the dimness of the cabin as warm lips gently brushed across my shoulder, followed by the tender whisper of breath on my skin.
Fingers, gentle and smooth, made invisible lines along the length of my arms, slipping to my hips and trailing along the curves of my thighs. Behind me, Jake exhaled deeply and I felt his body shift and stir with need.
I sighed, briefly closing my eyes at the bliss of his inviting touch, shivering as his fingers pressed into my hips. He pulled me against him, his breath warm on my naked back as his erection pressed into the peachy curve of my ass.
With an insistent nudge he parted my legs, giving himself access to the most sensitive parts of me. Parts that were already slick and ready for whatever he was about to do. It was all the invitation he needed.
With one finger he worked me up, pressing and dipping it slightly in and then removing it teasingly, leaving me empty and fluttering in its wake. I moaned, wanting more, needing more. When he finally pushed his finger all the way in, I tightened around him and he moaned, his breathing coming harder when he felt how tight and wet I was.
I felt him shudder and his cock dip and lift against my back but he said nothing. He pressed forward and his finger teased me some more. It swirled around the tiny bud of nerves, then slid inside of me slowly where I suckled and clenched it like I did with his cock when he fucked me.
With a maddened groan, he withdrew his finger and pulled me bac
kwards, digging his erection deeper into the small of my back. Taking himself in his hand, he put his cock right where I wanted it to be and slowly began to rub it against my most sensitive sweet spot.
My mind spun with pleasure. Christ, if he kept doing that I was going to come so damn quick. But then, Jake knew that. If there was one thing we had lost hours to over the past five months, it was exploring each other’s bodies and what we liked.
“Please . . .” I begged.
With one push he was in me, and the curve of his body fit perfect to mine as he slowly rolled his hips and his cock tunneled into me. Strong fingers pulled me to meet his lazy, hard thrusts. We moved together, our bodies completely entwined, our breath laced with the pleasure coursing through our bodies. It started out languid and hazy, and my orgasm was a slow build of heat and sweetness as it bloomed into life. It coiled at the very depth of me and spread out slowly, swelling in me and building intensity as Jake continued his rhythmic pumps.
“Oh, baby,” he whispered. “You feel so good.”
I twisted to find his mouth. But it wasn’t enough for either of us.
“Fuck, Z—” He groaned, his voice raspy from sleep and full of need. “You’re so damn wet.”
He pulled out of me and rolled me onto my back, quickly parting my legs and plunging back into me again, this time hitting all the nerves at the front of my sex. With a grunt he pulled out of me and then roughly thrust back into me with such urgency it detonated my climax.
Pleasure tore throughout my body as I cried his name and gripped his perfect ass, pushing him deeper into me. Digging my toes into the mattress I raised my hips to meet the grind of his pelvis against mine. “Oh, God!” There was nothing on Earth that felt as good as that.
As my orgasm rolled through me, I grabbed onto the headboard behind me and cried out as my world obliterated into a million pieces of brilliant light. My eyes rolled to the back of my head, my hazy, bliss-soaked brain barely registering Jake’s climax as he was overpowered by his own euphoria. He moaned and shuddered, his teeth gently grazing my shoulder, his hips pumping with the same lazy rhythm until he was empty.