Collide (Collide #1)(179)

"You will prove it to me," he rebuked, framing her face with his hands. She looked away, but he cupped her chin, forcefully bringing her attention back to him. "Because if you don't," he whispered, leaning into her ear, "then I'll know you f*cked him. And you want to know what'll happen then?"

With her heart ricocheting in her chest, she nervously swallowed, her throat feeling as though sandpaper coated the lining. She shook her head.

"You'll force me to hurt you both," he hissed, his hands fumbling to unbutton her blouse.

Standing completely still, without speaking, her instincts warned her to flee, but she couldn't. In the darkness of the room, the unshed tears she was trying to hide fell and tumbled down her cheeks. However, they fell silently as Dillon stripped her down to nothing - physically... mentally... and emotionally.

Pushing her onto the bed, he hovered over her naked body. His face was peppered with anger, lust, and possession. Spreading her legs open, he sank himself inside her, and it was then that the blackness of what Dillon had become enveloped her like a cold shadow. She knew in that very moment she was grasping onto something that would never be again. She could never love him the way she once did, and she could never love him the way she now loved Gavin. When her body had no more to give, she succumbed to the numbness that set in. Closing her eyes, she tried to shut herself down as he rocked into her harder, interminable pain pulsing through her head. She envisioned Gavin's blue eyes above her instead of the dark vengeful ones staring back at her. Inhaling, she tried to picture that it was Gavin's hands groping her breasts, Gavin's sweat dripping onto her body, and Gavin's lips kissing her mouth.

Gavin...

Dillon grunted and collapsed all of his weight on top of her when he finished. Within a few minutes, he was fast asleep. Hours. Emily lay there for hours, her mind replaying Gavin's words over and over. Feeling as though she had cheated on her own heart - the very heart that belonged in Gavin's hands - Emily slowly slid from the bed, her breathing shallow as her feet hit the ice-cold floors.

There would be no lace veils or vows taken tomorrow. No. There wouldn't be promises made or lies spoken. Gavin was correct. Her lips held lies, and those false truths had potentially ruined his and her future together. She loved him, and now she would go to him. She could only hope that he would forgive her for doubting him and his love for her. As quietly as possible, Emily gathered her clothing and got dressed. She also gathered the nerve she so desperately needed to finally leave Dillon. Turning, she stood in the threshold of his bedroom, watching his sleeping form.

As tears sprung in her eyes, she could feel her heart breaking and mending all at once. "Goodbye, Dillon," she whispered.

Almost tripping over her bare feet, Emily moved quickly into the living room and grabbed her shoes, coat, and purse. Trying to avoid making any noise, she slipped on her coat but kept her shoes in her hand as she tiptoed her way toward the front door. She reached for the knob, sucked in a deep breath, and slowly pulled it open. Though the door creaked, the sound echoing throughout the townhouse, her fear of waking Dillon was dwarfed by her incapacitating fear of losing Gavin forever.

The latter propelled her out into the cold winter air.

Tick-tock...