Unimaginable

by Sophia Kenzie

  She placed her bag down, and her hand found the wall, feeling around for the light switch. But before her fingers could flip the switch, she felt two arms wrap around her and pull her back. She tried to scream, but a hand slapped against her mouth, covering any sound.

  She felt a feeling a nausea wipe over her as her assailant dragged her from room to room, still not announcing his presence. She tried to fight, to break free from his embrace, but she was no match for him. Megan kicked her legs up, hoping the momentum would swing her back and throw off his balance, but he must have anticipated her movement, because he grabbed her legs and pushed her into a ball.

  It was all happening too fast. She didn’t know what her next move should be, or could be. She was trapped with no way out.

  They were in the living room. She knew that because the room was washed with the pale moonlight bouncing off the lake. Megan tried to wretch her neck around to see who was behind her, but his hold on her was too strong. She was immobilized.

  She felt his hands loosen their grip and all of a sudden, she was in the air. She threw out her hands to block her from the inevitably fast coming floor, but instead, she felt the cushions of the couch break her fall. She used her left arm to propel her around off her stomach, but mid-turn, she felt the weight on a knee in the small of her back. His hand wrapped around her hair and pulled her chest up and neck back.

  She groaned from the pain, but tried desperately to stay strong. She needed to keep her wits about her and save her strength. There would be a time when she could fight back. A piece of cloth covered her eyes, and the moonlight was gone. As soon as the blindfold was tied tight around her head, he let go of her hair, and she fell face first back into the couch cushion.

  Another piece of cloth wrapped around her wrists, in a figure eight form, so it would be harder to break free. But not impossible. Megan ran through her options. Her legs were still unbound, but almost useless in that position. She would need to flip over onto her back to have the most leverage against her attacker. She could always head butt him, but again, flipping over was necessary, and there was always the possibility that she would knock herself out in the process.

  A hand grabbed the back of her head and held her in place. He was now straddling her hips, and she felt him lower on top of her, his weight slowly distributing over her back. His mouth was by her ear, and he was breathing hard. With his hand, he turned her head so her face was no longer pressed against the cushion, but now facing out, toward the moonlight. She felt his hot breath on her ear, her jaw, her cheek, and finally, her lips. His mouth was on hers.

  Her mouth kissed him back. She knew those lips.

  “Evan?” She whispered.

  “Shhh.” It was all he said before he stuffed a gag into her mouth.

  The nausea that had swept over Megan quickly subsided as she realized it was him all along. Evan had planned the whole thing out. He had turned off the lights, he had waited for her, and he had attacked.

  He was unquestionably now in control of their sex games, and he had managed to frighten even her.

  Had her mouth not been gagged, her lips would have upturned with the hint of a smile. With each night they spent together, Evan took more and more liberties with the ways he took control in the metaphorical bedroom. They created a safe word, which neither dared use, for it was far too interesting to see the extremes to which they could push each other. Megan woke up with bruises on her arms, her hips, her legs, but it was all worth it. With him, she felt, and she wouldn’t trade that for anything else in the world.

  But that night…that night was something different. Up until the moment she felt his lips on hers, she was under the impression that she was in real danger. It wasn’t a game anymore. Her life was on the line. The rush, the need to fight back, the desire to live…it was there. She felt it. She knew that she wanted to live.

  And he had done that for her.

  Evan tore off Megan’s pants from her hips, leaving them to bind her ankles.

  “Scream for me.” It was all he said before he pulled back his hand and released his power, his strength across her backside.

  She screamed from the pain of it, but through the gag, the sound was muffled.

  “I can’t hear you.” He growled as he retracted his hand again. He slapped her harder.

  She screamed louder, but again, the sound refused to carry.

  “Does this not hurt? Let me hear you.” He slapped her again, this time harder still.

  Each stifled scream only made him slap her harder. Megan’s eyes began to fill with tears from the pain, and yet her body filled with the heat of passion. It was an odd mix, to be aroused by such an extreme level of pain, and yet she could feel herself becoming wetter and wetter with each slap. She wanted him inside of her. She wanted the slapping to coincide with him taking her. She arched her backside in the air, hinting her wants at him.

  They had been playing these games every night since she had come back into his life. He didn’t need words from her to know what she wanted. Her body language was enough. He knew exactly what she was asking of him.

  He stopped his slapping and grabbed a cheek in each hand, spreading her in front of him. He lowered his mouth to her and sucked her wetness. Evan felt her body shake from his touch, but it only made him suck harder. As her whimpers grew louder, even behind the gag, he stuck his tongue inside of her, only heightening her desire more.

  Then he dropped her hips. It was time to take her as his own.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Evan kissed her neck as the water from the shower ran over them both. He ran his hands over every inch of her body, examining what new bruises she was sure to develop from the enthusiastic game they had played.

  “Does that hurt?” He lightly petted the side of her hip where he had slapped repeatedly.

  “It stings a little.” She turned over her shoulder to gage his reaction.

  “And this?” His fingers hit a bruise from the day before.

  “I don’t feel that much.”

  “Good.”

  In Evan’s mind, he really didn’t want to hurt her. There was just something about being in the heat of the moment that made him snap. He could toss her around, slap her, tie her up, and it would only excite him more. But out of the moment, seeing what his acts were doing to her body…he felt something else.

  He was afraid of what he might be able to do to her. Although their sexual escapades had awoken something within him that finally made him understand his needs, it wasn’t the only reason he needed her.

  Outside of their nightly rituals, although he had made a promise to himself to keep her at a distance, he was falling madly in love with her.

  “So what are you making me for dinner?” She broke him from his fantasy.

  He softly smiled as he pushed her wet hair from her face and shut off the stream of water. “I’m taking you out.”

  He knew exactly what her response would be.

  “Evan, no.”

  “There’s only so many times you can tell me that I’m not allowed to take you out.” He didn’t look at her as he grabbed a towel off the shelf and wrapped it around her soaking wet body.

  “Well, this is one of those times. The next time will be too.” She tried to find his eyes. She knew he was avoiding her.

  This time, he looked straight at her. “Why do you refuse to go out with me, Meg?”

  “I’m sleeping with you, aren’t I?” She lifted her eyebrow and pursed her lips in a flirty fashion.

  But her dodging only made him angry.

  “So we’re doing this again?” He wrapped a towel around his own hips and led her out of the bathroom. The conversation had turned from playful to forceful.

  “My feelings on this are not going to change. I just don’t think people are ready to see us together. I told you that.”

  “Eleven years later?”

  “What?” She stopped, not quite sure which direction he was taking their conversation.

  “
I seem to remember that the last time I tried to make our relationship public, you had this same reaction.”

  “Stop it, Evan. Don’t go there.”

  “No, I am going there. I’m tired of always having to hide with you.”

  “And soon you’re going to be tired of being with someone who people still think killed your uncle. Just like eleven years ago you would have gotten tired of being with someone who never seemed to fit in with your crowd. If anything, I’m just trying to hold onto us as long as I can. Before you realize…”

  Megan plopped down on the bed and buried her head in her hands. Evan was immediately at her side, his arm draped around her and pulling her close to him.

  “Hey…Hey, look at me.” He stopped to smile as her bleary eyes lifted. “I need you to trust me. I can’t tire of you, and I certainly wouldn’t let anyone else ruin the thing what we have. Megan Coulis, I am so proud to be with you. You…” He turned to face her; “With your beauty, your brains, and this…” he inhaled sharply as he reached his hands out to her, “This body of yours that drives me crazy day in and day out. Can’t you see that?”

  “I’m not strong enough to deal with it.”

  “Then allow me.”

  “Not now.”

  “Or not ever?” He spat back.

  “Stop it.”

  Evan took a breath. “What am I to you, Meg?”

  “Evan, come on.”

  “No, Meg, I’m not going to ‘come on’. I don’t want to hide any more.”

  “My whole life is hiding, Evan. The pointing, the whispering…it hasn’t stopped. Could you imagine how bad it would be if people saw us out together? On a date?”

  Evan wrapped his other arm around her, and lowered her voice. “Megan, what am I to you?”

  Megan felt a rush of emotion take over her body. Her chin pushed forward, her lips spread, her nostrils flared, and her eyes stung.

  She looked up and away from him, but still admitted her feelings. “Everything. Evan, you’re everything to me.”

  Evan’s heart sank as Megan fell into a puddle of her own tears. He couldn’t be mad, he couldn’t be angry…what she had said was even more than he could have asked.

  He lifted her to him, cuddling her cold, shivering body into his broad chest. “Meg, I’m sorry. It’s okay. It’s okay.” He kept whispering into her ear, as her sobs grew louder. “It’s okay. Shhh…Meg, it’s okay.”

  They stayed in that embrace for an eternity before Evan felt Megan’s heart rate slow against his chest, and he saw the redness fade and her beautiful pale color return to her face. He brushed the pads of his thumbs against her cheeks, and she pushed her face into his palm.

  “I’ll make us something for dinner.” His voice cooed.

  But Megan shook her head.

  “No. No, Evan, we should go out. I can’t hide forever.”

  Evan couldn’t help the smile that peeled across his face. She was willing to try. If he could make the night go well, their relationship wouldn’t have to be a secret any longer. He could finally show her the life she had been missing, the life he felt he owed to her.

  “Let me make a call.”

  “Okay.” She shyly nodded.

  “While I do that, I have something hanging for you on the closet door.”

  Megan turned her head slightly. “What did you do?”

  He suspiciously shrugged. “Well, I think I ripped your pants, so I figured you would need a change of clothes.”

  “Which you already happened to have hanging in your closet?”

  His smile widened. “Okay, you caught me. I knew I was going to rip your pants.”

  He gave her a small kiss on the cheek before he excused himself from the room to make that phone call.

  The two entered the restaurant arm in arm. Evan was wearing a tailored light grey suit with a light blue shirt and a silk gray tie. His counterpart was wearing a matching blue dress that reached down to the floor, save for a humble slit that followed halfway up her leg. Her hair was pulled into a low side bun, with the hair framing her face twisted in a way that gave her a bit of body. Her heels were tall and tan, and for someone who had spent nine years wearing sneakers, she had mastered her walk.

  As a couple, they were stunning.

  Evan leaned over and whispered in Megan’s ear. “They might be staring, but believe me, it’s for a very different reason. You look radiant.”

  Her cheeks blushed from his compliment. “Thank you. You look pretty dashing yourself.”

  He lifted her hand to his lips and gave the back of her hand a supple, sweet kiss.

  “Thank you, my lady.”

  “Covington. Party of two.” Evan announced their presence to the maître d’.

  “Absolutely, Mr. Covington. Please follow me.”

  The maître d’ led them through the restaurant, to a small staircase off to the side. Evan took Megan’s hand and helped her up the stairs. The door was opened, and the two walked in.

  “Evan, what is this?”

  It was a private room, with a single table standing in the center. The room was filled with twinkling candles, and rose petals showered the table and the floor. A dozen oysters sat in the middle of the table, and a bottle of champagne sat chilled in an ice bucket off to the side.

  “I figured we’d start out slowly.” He smiled at her. “We’re in public, and yet we’re alone.”

  He saw her eyes twinkle with the beginnings of a tear.

  “No, no crying.”

  “They’re happy tears.” She mustered, though her voice cracked.

  He kissed her cheek and led her to the table.

  Their seven-course meal was exquisite, from the oysters, to the gazpacho, to the foie gras, to the lemon sorbet, to the lamb, to the pickled beet and goat cheese salad, to the champagne and Turkish coffee gelato. Evan had pulled out all the stops, and he saw a sort of lightness in Megan that he had never seen before…or at least one he hadn’t seen since they were children.

  “You are my everything too.” He took her hand across the table.

  “Thank you.” It was all she could say. Everything was too perfect; she didn’t want to ruin it with words.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  “Surprise! We’re here!”

  Darren jumped out into the entry way as Megan and Evan arrived back from their romantic dinner.

  “Darren, what are you doing in my house? And who is we?” Evan instinctually stepped in front of Megan, protecting her.

  “Rachel and I.” He grabbed his wife out of the shadows and pulled her to his side.

  “Oh, so you two are…”

  “Back together. Yup. Look at us, happy as clams.”

  Rachel smiled. “We’ve decided to work things out. Then we started celebrating. As I’m sure you can see, Darren just happens to be celebrating for the both of us.”

  Darren leaned in, as if he was telling a secret. “Because we’re pregnant! Yea!” He lifted his hand up for a high five, which Evan quickly returned.

  “Congratulations. That’s really amazing.” Megan spoke up, still stuck behind Evan.

  “Oh dear, I’m sorry Megan.” Evan stepped aside. “Rachel, Megan, Megan, Rachel, and Darren, you remember Megan, right?”

  He awkwardly bowed to her. “How could I forget?”

  She placed her hand in front of her to shake his, but he pulled her into a hug.

  “I’m so glad you’re out of prison.”

  Evan pulled him off of her. “Okay, that’s enough of that.”

  They all retired into the living room, Evan pulled out a bottle of wine, and he poured out three glasses.

  “Rachel, can I get you anything?”

  “I’m okay right now.” She pulled out a water bottle from her purse.

  “Well, then, I would like to raise my glass to the soon-to-be parents.”

  Rachel and Darren kissed, and Evan threw a small wink at Megan.

  After taking a large gulp of his Pinot Noir, Darren turned over to Megan. “S
o I hear you’re trying to figure out who really killed our uncle.”

  “Darren, not now.” Evan tried to stop his brother from doing something really stupid.

  “It’s okay, Evan. I don’t mind talking about it, as long as he doesn’t.” Megan calmly announced.

  That wasn’t the point he was hoping to make. He really wasn’t interested in getting into this conversation with his brother as drunk as he seemed to be.

  “Has Evan helped you at all? He might know some things that happened leading up to the…murder.” Darren said the word ‘murder’ as if he was mocking it.

  “Honestly, I haven’t asked Evan for any help, and I wouldn’t. I know this must be hard for you guys, and I really appreciate how open you are to even being in my presence.”

  Darren lazily patted her back. “Well, we always knew you didn’t do it.”

  “Really?” Megan puzzlingly looked up at Evan. “I mean, I didn’t, I promise you that, but you never had your suspicions?”