Trusting You (Second Chances #2)(62)
The thought made my chest ache, but from out of nowhere I actually sat there and laughed. I laughed until I cried and Daniel stood there staring at me as if I was the one who was crazy. Wiping away the tears, I got to my feet and glared at him. “For your information, no I’m not pregnant. It might happen to be the fact that you drugged me with God knows how many sleeping pills. Not to mention I haven’t eaten anything since you kidnapped me.”
Daniel crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged. “I wouldn’t have had to drug you if you didn’t go running off. That was your own fault.” He tilted his head back in the direction of the room. “I actually picked you up something to eat while you were passed out. Why don’t you take a shower and then you can eat. Your back looks like shit and needs to be cleaned. When I saw all the blood I had to make sure it wasn’t serious.”
“Well, thank you for your concern, but I don’t need an audience while I take my shower. You can leave now,” I remarked through gritted teeth.
Daniel’s grin widened and he bit his lip, his eyes wandering down my body. I held the sheet tighter and swallowed hard. “Okay, I’ll leave you alone … tonight,” he said, backing out of the bathroom. “But soon, baby. I have needs, too.”
The second he was out of the bathroom, I slammed the door shut and locked it. There was no escaping out of this bathroom, but at least I could have some privacy for a while. I turned on the shower water and waited for it to get hot. I glanced at the door one last time before I stripped off my now ragged jeans and tossed them to the floor. My toiletry bag wasn’t in the bathroom and I refused to walk out, so I decided to make do with what was already in there.
The water had a dingy smell to it, but anything would do for the moment. Once the shower water hit the sores on my back, I gasped and turned quickly away. Biting my lip, I slowly washed the front of my body before letting the water hit my back again. I knew it would hurt like hell, but my sores needed to be rinsed off. I did my best to soap up a washcloth and run it over my tattered skin to help clean off the dirt and dried blood. I wanted the pain to go away. I wanted to feel numb.
Instead, my body didn’t listen and I felt every ounce of heartbreak, every single ounce of loss, and it all came crashing down on me. Sinking to the shower floor, I did something that I hadn’t done since the night I told Brett everything that happened with Daniel. I cried and shook until the shower water turned ice cold; and even then, I cried some more.
Thirty-Four
When I finally crawled out of the shower, I was shivering uncontrollably and couldn’t stop. My chest was on fire and it felt like I was hyperventilating. Teeth chattering, I staggered out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my body since I didn’t bring my clothes in with me. The second Daniel saw me he bolted away from his computer at the desk and took my face in his warm hands. It almost felt like they seared my skin I was so cold compared to his heat.
“What the hell did you do, take a cold shower?”
He lifted me in his arms and placed me on the bed, his face was a worried mask as he wrapped all the blankets around me and tucked them in. He climbed in behind me and folded me in his arms. I wanted to pretend it was Brett, but even I knew my imagination wouldn’t let that happen. Being too weak to move or speak, I didn’t even respond to his touch when he rubbed my arms and legs to generate heat.
“I promise everything will be all right, baby. You’ll be happy with me. I know it,” he whispered in my ear. “You need to stop tormenting yourself.”
The shaking grew worse and he cursed under his breath behind me. Please, just let it end, I thought to myself. Closing my eyes, I thought of Brett. Of how his gray gaze glittered like the sea after a storm, how his arms held me close, and how his lips tasted when he would kiss me. I could almost imagine I could hear his voice whispering in my ear how everything will be okay and how he would find me. For me to trust him. With thoughts of Brett consuming my mind, I drifted off into the deepest and best sleep since being taken, and I prayed that I could stay there with him. Unfortunately, I wasn’t so lucky.
When I woke up, I had no clue how long I was out that time, but there was one thing for certain … I was burning up. The blankets were still wrapped tight around me and Daniel still had his arm draped over my stomach. I tried to wriggle out of the blankets, and once I got free of them tucked around me, there was something else that gave me pause.
“Good morning, baby,” Daniel whispered huskily in my ear. “I can’t believe you slept so long. I thought I was going to go insane with you lying beside me naked.” He pushed his hips into my ass, and when I tried to get out of his hold he held me tighter.
I groaned and let out an audible huff. “Yeah, I can see how hard that must’ve been for you. Do you mind letting me go?”
“I don’t think so,” he growled low. Daniel bit down on my shoulder, and I cried out, hissing in anger.
“Ow, Daniel. What the hell are you doing? Get off of me … now,” I shouted. I tried to jerk away, but he held me tighter against his body. His hand rose higher and undid the towel around my body so he could expose my bare breasts. His hand grasped onto one and kneaded it firmly, almost painfully.
“Shh … baby. I’m not going to hurt you. I’ve needed you for too long, Melissa. Please let me love you and be with you the way we used to be. I miss the times we had together.”