“Kiss me,” he breathed.
“Rory…” she whispered back.
“Rory? What does he have to do with this?” Dale pulled away with a rightful look of confusion on his face.
“I…,” she couldn’t stop his name from leaving her mouth. There was no excuse, “I have to go, Dale.”
She reached in to her purse, pulling out a hundred-dollar bill and tossing it on to the table, “I am sorry, again. That should cover it.”
Without looking back, she ran for the door. With a defeated sigh, she looked around the unfamiliar town, realizing she didn’t have her car.
A group of teenagers were getting in to a small Honda, “Hey, I know you don’t know me, but I will give you two-hundred dollars if you will drive me to the B&B at the edge of town.”
“Fuck yeah,” the driver responded waiving her over to the car. She hurried, knowing Dale wasn’t far behind her.
The kids weren’t moving fast enough, “Three hundred if you can leave this parking lot before that door opens.” She pointed to the restaurant and the driver grabbed his friend by the shirt, throwing him in to the back seat, crushing his friends.
As soon as she closed the car door, the car sped out of the lot, “Thank you, here,” she handed him three hundred dollars and turned to watch Dale burst through the door of the restaurant, searching for her in the parking lot. The kid knew how to drive and she was suddenly very appreciative for the inability of a teenager to understand the consequences of speeding.
Again, they missed every red light and made it to the B&B in record time. She jumped from the car without a word to the teens. The car pulled away and she figured she only had minutes before Dale would arrive.
“Where’s Dale?” Terri sat on the porch with her arms crossed.
Laurel made her way to the door, “He will be here soon.”
Her bedroom was packed up and ready in record time. She was going to keep her promise, no matter what. She couldn’t let Rory down again.
Grabbing her bags, she made it outside with no sign of Dale. Miss Terri on the other hand, wasn’t going to make it that easy.
“Where are you going?” She stood at the top step with he hands on her hips as Laurel pushed her bags into the trunk.
“You won’t understand. No one would understand, but I…,” with a sigh, Laurel continued, “You have my credit card number; bill me whatever. I have to do this.”
She slammed the trunk and got in the car. Pulling out of the driveway, she hoped she could find the house in the dark.
At the corner, there was a dark truck with the interior light on. She was watching him closely to make sure he wasn’t going to pull out in front of her. He put down the piece of paper he was reading and locked eyes with her. His eyes said everything she needed to hear; fear seeped through her veins as she crossed the street as he followed. Her heart was racing as he kept the same speed through the first part of the town. “Maybe he isn’t following you. This is a small town, Laurel.” She kept telling herself that nothing was wrong, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of being followed Watching him turn, she relaxed only to remember, Dale.
Watching for Dale’s truck was impossible. Everyone drove a fucking truck in the mountains. Headlights would follow her and veer off. One truck after another, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being followed. Every time a truck would pull off, another would follow. She had no idea if she was going the right way. Every turn put her in another neighborhood with another vehicle behind her. At one point, she pulled in to a random driveway and killed the lights. She needed to calm down and figure out where she was going. It was easy to run from Roy, but finding him was a nightmare.
After leaving her faux home, she managed to calm down enough and concentrate on the street signs. One after another, she was beginning to recognize them. Her instincts were lost on the paranoia, leaving her to remember twenty-year old information.
“Hunting Drive,” she said as she finally came to the same stop that led her here before. Taking the turn down the street, she pulls up in front of the house that she promised she would return to.
She grabbed her purse and cell from the front seat, running for the front door. It was left unlocked. She pushed it open, quickly locking it in place. She couldn’t breathe, and she needed to find Rory. She placed her forehead against the cool glass of the door, taking several deep breathes.
She could feel him before he even announced he was there. His scent was a drug to her. The hair on her neck tickled her skin as he padded closer to her through the living room. She didn’t need to turn around to know that it was him.
“Laurel? Are you ok?” his words were laced with concern and empathy.
She could barely answer in return, she was scared and there was no reason to be. Was there? She had no idea where the feeling was coming from, but she knew it was there; it was real. “No, I am not ok.”
Rory moved behind her, wrapping his hands around her waist. He stood quietly behind her, holding her until she was ready to talk. He knew her past and what she had been through. “You have no reason to be afraid of me. I am not going to hurt you.”
She turned in his arms, staring in to the eyes of the man that stole her heart as a boy. She was in love with him, and she couldn’t tell him. He already tried to run her out of town and made it clear that he didn’t want her in Crater City.
She was wrong, there was nowhere else that she belonged. Her hands found his hair, pulling him close, “Rory, I never wanted to leave the first time, and I shouldn’t have left the second time. Don’t make me leave a third time,” she pleaded with him.
He crushed his mouth to hers, taking her breath away. The urgency in his kiss was a need; a promise. One she intended on making him keep.
Chapter Fourteen
Rory
Finally, this was where they should have been. He didn't care where she had run to, all he cared about was that she had come back to him. Their lips worked together as their tongues wrestled for dominance. He pushed her back, pressing her against the wall. He grabbed under her ass and lifted, her legs automatically wrapping around his torso. She held herself up, and his hand had the freedom to roam over her breast. He didn't want this to be a quickie here against the wall, he had waited for this moment, and he planned to take his time. Her legs were still wrapped around him, which made it easier to carry her to the bedroom. He laid her across the bed and looked down at her. She was beautiful, her cheeks flushed, her teeth grazing her bottom lip.
He tossed his shirt to the side, unbuttoned his jeans, and slid them off, thankful not to have to bother with shoes. Laurel watched him intently. Covering her body with his, he began to kiss her again, slowly. He rolled over and pulled her on top of him, upright, and played with the hem of her shirt. She raised her arms and he pulled it over her head, throwing it over his shoulder as he admired her. He bent down and cupped her breast that threatened to spill over the lace holding them. He pulled one side down and his mouth embraced her, his tongue swirling around her hardened nipple, before his teeth grazed her. He sucked hard, making Laurel throw her head back with a moan. He moved to the other side and repeated his actions. Laurel's breath came out ragged.
He laid her back and undid her pants, pulling them down, letting them fall to the floor. She laid across the bed, her breasts on full display, with matching lace covering the part he was dying to taste; to fuck. Her big, blue eyes were pulling him in as she continued to stare at him. He pulled her panties down, falling in line with her pants, and ran one finger across her pussy until it was met with her wetness. He couldn't wait any longer to taste her, so he stuck his finger in his mouth and sucked it clean. At the sight of that, she moaned again. He spread her legs and dipped his head down to taste more. He licked, sucked, and nibbled, he couldn't get enough of her sweet taste. Her moans echoed through the room as he slid two fingers in her easily, making her hips buck against him. He sucked her clit, moving his fingers in and out of her. Taking the hints her bod
y so readily gave, he sped up, his fingers sliding in and out; sucking her clit harder. She started to shake, and her legs tightened around him, he had to stroke his cock with his free hand to release some of the tension he felt. Her hips bucked hard, riding his face, he could feel the muscles in her legs tense and she screamed his name as her orgasm hit hard. He slowly licked up every last drop of her as she came back to Earth. Her body went slack, and he finally picked his head up to see her lazy smile.
"Rory, that was - you are amazing," she was still breathless as she spoke.
"It's not over baby." There was no way that the night was ending.
He climbed on top of her and kissed her hard. He had taken his time with her but now it was his turn. His dick ached to be inside of her. He trailed kisses down her neck and back up to her mouth again. She was starting to squirm beneath him, already wanting more. He grabbed her throat, licked her lips and with one hard thrust filled her. He stayed still for a moment; her pussy was so wet and tight he was afraid he would finish right then. She looked up at him and bit her lip. He got back to work. His hand still around her throat, he rode her pussy. He started off slow, but quickly built up speed. She was so tight around his cock, her moans and her ragged breaths were making him want to cum. He pulled out of her and slammed his dick back in. Her body met him thrust for thrust. Sweat trickled down his forehead and his breathing was hard.
"Oh, Rory, I'm going to come again. You feel so good inside me." He pulled his hand back so she could speak clearly, or as clearly as she could between breathlessness and moans.
He went for her breast and sucked hard. He was getting close and he wanted to finish with her. He wanted them to experience it together. The muscles in his arms tensed as she called his name. He pulled out one last time, biting her neck as he pushed back into her, making her shudder and cry out as he hit her peak. Her pussy squeezed him as his cum filled her. Pulsating inside her, riding the orgasm to the very end, Rory savored the feeling of being inside her. It was nothing like he had ever imagined. He kissed her again before collapsing beside her. They both laid there staring at the ceiling; panting.
Rory rolled over and propped one hand under his head. His hand trailed over her stomach making her shiver beneath his touch. He kissed her forehead.
"Want a drink, baby?" He wanted to take care of her. He wanted this, all of it, and he didn't want to let her go.
She giggled softly and his dick was already coming back to life. "Some water would be great."
He leaned over and kissed her swollen lips. He got up and headed to the kitchen to grab her some water. The whole way there, he wanted to high five himself. As gay as it sounded, he felt like the kid who had felt a boob for the first time. He couldn't get over the fact that after all this time, things were almost perfect. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and grabbed his phone off the counter. His dick was already imagining being back in Laurel as he headed back to her. He got to the doorway and stopped. Curled up on his side of the bed, Laurel had fallen asleep. Her breathing was quiet and she looked more peaceful than he had seen her before. He sat the water and phone on the nightstand beside the bed and pulled the blanket over her. He crawled in beside her, and as if she knew it was him, even in her sleep, she curled into his side and sighed. No matter what, he would figure out how to keep this.
He hadn't realized he had dozed off until his phone started ringing. He didn't want to wake Laurel who still slept soundly beside him. He eased away and grabbed the phone, hitting the button to answer and went in the hall.
"What?" he growled into the phone.
"My мальчик," he laughed. There always seemed to be a joke happening in Yuri's head. "Did you have a good time tonight?"
He had no idea how Yuri knew what he did tonight. He wouldn't put it past him to have his house bugged. "What do you want?"
"мальчик, I'm tired of waiting. I expect something to happen tomorrow. We wouldn't want that sweet Hollywood princess to have an accident before she can get back to her real life, do we? All sense of joking was gone, and the tone Yuri had scared the shit out of him.
"Leave her out of this, she has nothing to do with anything." He couldn't mask the fear in his voice.
"That's where you are wrong. She was there in the beginning, it would only be fitting to see if she has the same look at the end." He hung up. "Yuri, Yuri? Fuck!" He threw the phone against the wall watching it shatter.
"What was that about?" Laurel asked quietly from behind him.
He spun around to see her looking at him in the doorway with only a thin sheet wrapped around her. There was no way to know how long she had been there or what she had heard. "Nobody baby, let's go back to bed." He attempted to walk by her but she blocked his door.
"Rory Petrova, don't you dare lie to me. I know what I heard and I am pretty sure something had to do with me," her accent shined when she was pissed, and he almost laughed at her.
"Really, it's nothing to worry about, I have it under control." He only hoped she believed the lie.
"Rory, we have been apart for twenty years. We finally find our way back to each other. Now you want to stand here and fuck up the most amazing night of my life by lying to me?" She looked angry but on the verge of tears.
"Baby, I'm sorry. Come back to bed and I will explain as much as I can." She nodded at him and turned away.
They climbed back in to bed and even angry at him she leaned to him. He started from the beginning; from the moment she had left, his mother's funeral, taking care of his grandmother, and even getting involved with Yuri. She listened, and though he could tell she wanted to speak, she stayed silent. She wrapped her arms around his arm and laid her head against him. Once he started, everything spilled from him. He only paused before telling her Yuri's threat. He was scared she would run; scared she wouldn't want him anymore. He took a deep breath and finished. He had come too far not to tell her everything. The sun peaked through the curtains when he had finally finished.
"Say something," he urged her.
"I, I don't even know what to say. You can't do this. You can't hurt innocent people. You know what we went through." She now sat up and looked right into his eyes.
That day echoed through his mind. All of the small details that he has tried to block for so long flooded back. The screams, the blood, the sound of bones breaking and chains snapping, metal bending… all of it.
"Rory? Rory, where are you? Rory!" She snapped her fingers in front of his face.
He blinked and realized he was sweating. The memories had never been as strong as they were now. "I'm sorry, baby please tell me you aren't leaving? Tell me we can work through this. I can't lose you again," he pleaded with her like a love sick boy.
"Rory, I don't know if I can do this. I just, I need a little time to wrap my head around all of this. I need a shower and I need to clear my head," she kissed him softly and stood to gather her clothes.
He didn't know what to do. He has spilled his guts to her and she wanted to walk away again. "You're right, you should go."
"What?" she sputtered.
"Go, grab your shit and go home. You don't belong here. You made that choice a long time ago. You may not have had a chance when you were little, but you could have come back before now. Now you can say you went home again, you saw what happened to that small-town crush of yours, go back and stop wondering if there was anything you left behind." It hurt; his stomach felt sick telling her to go, but it was for the best. He couldn't have her hurt, and if she stayed, that was exactly what would happen. Whether by him or Yuri, it would happen. She was ready to walk out again; he had to let her go.
"You don't mean that. I said I need time, I never said I wanted to leave for good," her eyes watered as she spoke.
He gritted his teeth and swallowed the bile that had risen to his throat, "Go Laurel, and don't come back." He grabbed his jeans from the floor and this time, he walked away.
Chapter Fifteen
Laurel
He walked away; this was his decision, his adult decision. She knew her decision to leave was never hers. She wanted to stay, but her mother couldn’t run fast enough from the one place that she knew as home. Rory blamed her for leaving and there was no other way for him to see it through the hatred in his eyes. Laurel was left with no choice. She had to go.
Her blood boiled as she collected her clothes, dressing as fast as she could to avoid the look of disgust that Rory sported only a few minutes before. She felt used and betrayed, now casted to the side as if she never mattered. Her body was used, but her heart was shattered. He fucked her and left her. He made her feel loved and pushed her out of the door, even after telling her the truth. The carnival was going to open and more people will die, but this time the blood was on Rory’s hands.
He was right, there was nothing left there for her. She refused to be with a murderer, at least one that was old enough to know better. Pulling her shirt over her head, she made the decision to leave. She needed to get out of this town. Every memory she had was tainted with the horrific memories of the carnival, and Rory was going to let history repeat itself. She thought he cared, the way he held her, touched her, fucked her; but it was pure lust, and nothing more.
He didn’t love her, he was no different than the last guy that just wanted a piece of her before turning his back on her, leaving her alone and craving something more. If he was intending to make her feel like a piece of shit, he succeeded. She was nothing more than a shell of a person with few emotions left to destroy.
She found her purse and phone. She pulled the keys from a pocket, stopping at the door. She wanted to leave, yet her body had other plans. There was something stopping her this time.
“Ugh... where are you Rory?” She needed to say something to him and he needed to hear it. Laurel waited for a reply until none came. She heard nothing. Going to look for him was the next plan. She knew that he wouldn’t go far. “Rory?”
Bound by an Echo Page 8