Of course he believed my every word and for the first time in over a month I saw daylight as he put me in the car. But I must have pa.s.sed out because the next thing I knew I was being placed outside the emergency room doors and the last thing he said to me was, "Don"t say a word and I will be back to get you." Of course it didn"t take long before I was found by the hospital staff. Once inside I screamed as loud as I could for the police to be called as I had been kidnapped! Well it didn"t take long before they finally took me seriously and my parents confirmed it, as they had been looking for me after only two weeks of me being taken. They arrested Morgan when he came back trying to get me as the reception told him I was in a different room, which was full of cops waiting to take him down."
"That was an incredibly brave thing you did but there is one thing I still don"t understand...Why didn"t you give a statement?"
"I have my reasons which are personal, but it helped that I didn"t need to as they went to Morgan"s house and found more than enough evidence, which unfortunately included more dead bodies. I found out later that he had killed my room mate Charlotte, making it look like suicide. They found Tom"s body dumped in the woods near the University, he"d had his throat cut so deep it nearly severed the head, so naturally the police were already investigating his murder. For a time I was even a suspect as I had disappeared. They also found the body of the real Hugo Morgan as he had taken on his life and fooled everyone. They had told me his real name was Douglas Brone and his background was a sketchy one. They knew he had a sister who was also called Catherine and that he thought of her as more than a sister, if you know what I mean. They don"t know how but she died and she was the one in the picture that I found."
"They also found a room in his attic that was dedicated to his obsession with me. They found hundreds of pictures of me, ones he"d taken, and ones he"d drawn and painted. There was also my hair, some of my clothes and some other sicker things that he had removed from my trash. But the worst thing they found was my body double."
"What do you mean by body double?" Draven asked as he leaned forward.
"The frozen body of a murdered girl who looked like me, she had also gone missing close to the same time as I had and they believed they could have a serial killer on their hands. But then they realised why her. See the police believed he was planning to fake my death and for this he needed someone that fit my body type. He thought that he could just take me and that we could disappear, but my family were making that difficult, as they got the police searching for me and people at the University were being questioned. Morgan was also questioned and soon became a suspect. It wasn"t going to be long before they found me but of course I didn"t know any of this. Naturally as soon as he was caught it was clear to everyone he was insane and instead of going to a usual prison he pleaded insanity and was sent to a highly secure mental inst.i.tute."
"Fools...he deserved the chair!" Draven shouted in anger as I had now clearly come to the end of my near destruction two years ago.
"So now you understand why I have to go?" I said standing and walking towards the door, knowing this would be that last time I would see him. I swallowed the lump in my throat at the thought, as I tried the door which was still locked.
"NO I don"t, if anything that story just confirmed my justification for keeping you here." He said standing himself, folding his arms across his chest making his stance more powerful but I wouldn"t back down to his intimidation.
"WHAT! That"s not fair... you gave me your word!" I threw at him but he didn"t bat an eyelid.
"I gave you my word that if I was satisfied I would let you leave. That story just proved how afraid you are of being caught again and this I won"t allow to happen again...EVER!" He replied retaining his cool countenance after shouting the last word.
"You have no right, I want to leave! I have to!"
"And why exactly is it that you want to keep running forever? If you think this will keep you safe then you"re more wrong than you realise!" His black eyes stared at my face, searching for some reasoning there.
"I"m not trying to save myself d.a.m.n it! I am running away to save my family! If he finds me here then people I care about could get hurt... People died because of me once before, I am not going to let that happen again! NO WAY...I ...I just want to save Libby and Frank and most importantly their unborn child!" I was crying fully now at the thought of losing them, this was all my fault. I was a freak of nature and should never have been born!! I just cause pain to everyone around me, like a disease with no cure.
I could see his expression soften through my watery vision. And then there was another look. One I couldn"t quite place but I got the distinct impression that he didn"t like seeing me cry.
"And this is the only reason you want to go...So you can prevent the people you care about from getting hurt?" He asked coming closer to me but I stepped back with every step he took forward. I didn"t want him to cloud my mind"s decisions and I knew that as soon as he got close to me and touched me that I would be lost under the power he had over me.
"Don"t come any closer!" I warned with a jittery voice.
"Answer me!" He said ignoring my request as he still kept taking steps towards me.
"Yes of course it"s the only reason. You think I want to go on the run? Knowing that I will eventually get hunted down and my nightmare will start all over again!" I looked behind me but I wasn"t heading to the door as I thought, he was backing me up against a wall and I couldn"t even see one door in the room where previously there had been two. What was happening to me...what was he doing to me? He was getting closer and my heart responded with panic. How was he doing any of this?
"Please don"t!" I said again, which seemed to work as he stopped before getting too close.
"If that is the truth then you have nothing to fear and therefore no need to leave." He looked hurt from my fear of him touching me.
"But didn"t you hear me, I have no choice!!!" I shouted out in my last attempt at getting him to see reason.
"I have taken care of it. As soon as I was informed of his escape I took measures to see that not only you but also your family were safe." He said taking off the suit jacket that he wore over a faded dark grey T-shirt, making my legs weak at the sight of his solid torso.
"Taken care of it how?" I asked now in fear for other reasons.
"I have my people watching Libby and Frank making sure they stay safe. I also have people watching your parents in England just in case and I have even taken measures to keep your friends here safe...So you see you have no reason to leave." When he had finished I couldn"t believe it, was he right ...were they all safe? Was I even safe from that monster who wanted to destroy my life! He must have seen the shock on my face as he said, "I can guarantee your safety here but not if you run from me Keira." His voice was soft and beseeching. The way he said my name was like the nights I had dreamed of him, placing a warm blanket around my shoulders and pulling me close, keeping me safe.
"But I don"t understand...why...why would you do all this ....for me?" I asked hoping he would give me an answer that would finally make sense.
"Is it not obvious?" He said looking at me like I had never seen him before. He looked at me as though he needed me...as if he wanted me and would soon take me!
I looked down at my hands, as his stare was putting a different kind of fear through me. One of pa.s.sion and I wanted him. Wanted him so badly that even now at the mouth of my h.e.l.l, I would never stop wanting him!
"Enough!" He stated abruptly and before I could speak he made his move. He had clearly waited long enough and cut the distance between us in seconds. His body came up to mine, taking my face with both of his hands, lifting it up so that my lips could meet his before he devoured me whole, kissing me with more pa.s.sion than my body could take. It quivered under his hands and my legs were about to buckle as every muscle went soft. He reacted to this by grabbing my waist wrapping one solid arm around it, picking all of me up to the level of his face.
His lips moulded to mine taking everything he wanted from just one kiss. He parted my lips, invading my mouth with every sensory fibre he possessed. At this moment in time he owned me, dominated me and I gave myself to him like the most willing of sacrifices. His free hand moved to the back of my neck while his other hand gripped my side tighter in his hold. It was a purely possessive gesture. And just when I thought it couldn"t get any more intense he deepened the kiss until my insides were on fire. He lit my veins with utter pa.s.sion and I never wanted to cool down from it. Tilting my head even further to the side he explored at greater depth. I couldn"t help the moan that escaped from my mouth into his. I felt him smile over me before he pulled his lips from mine. I didn"t like it. I wanted him back to me. I had to control the urge not to find them again myself. But he had other plans seeing that my legs weren"t up to holding my bodyweight, when he was so close.
He carried me over to his desk, still holding all my weight in just one arm. He used his other arm to clear the top of all that lay upon it. He swiped it all onto the floor and my past was now scattered around my feet where I wanted it to remain forever. He placed me down so that I remained the same height as his perfect face. His eyes were still alight with the ache of desire.
His hand snaked up to the back of my head and his palm stretched out around the back of my neck with his fingers entwined in my hair. There he could control the position of my head, tilting it to the side so that he could bring his mouth to my neck. He kissed me there and the feel of my cold skin where his lips left imprints sent tingles down my spine. I closed my eyes as the room started to spin.
My skin was hot and sticky which he must also have felt as his hands found the collar of my jacket pulling it back over my shoulder letting the cool air work on my overheated body. That"s when I noticed the doors that led to the balcony were now open letting in the night air.
He pulled off my jacket and threw it to one side as though it should never have been allowed to conceal me away from him to begin with. Then he looked back at me and my heart skipped a few beats at the sight of the l.u.s.t in his dark eyes. One corner of his mouth quirked up exposing a confident smile as his hands gripped the back of my knees. He held them moving them to the side, separating them. He gave them a quick tug making me slide closer towards his body eliminating the s.p.a.ce between us. Not allowing it to invade our locked bodies.
I gasped out but he crushed his lips to mine once more and I could taste the scent that I had craved. I had never experienced any feeling like it. I had never been kissed like this before as it felt like we were designed for each other. My hands finally found the courage to touch his hard chest and they were received with a stronger need for my body. His hands curved around my back trying to get to my skin through the layers that obstructed them.
His kiss became soft until his lips left me again. He pulled back to look at me and I felt self-conscious as his serious face studied me. He was looking at my hair and then he frowned. I was just about to ask him what was wrong when he moved his hand holding it from the back of my head without touching me then my clip opened and jumped into his hand releasing my hair down like a golden waterfall. He put down the metal clip and then let his hands feel the ma.s.s of hair through his long fingers.
"Clavis aurea"(Means "Golden Key" in Latin) He said in a rough voice that still held the hunger he had for me. I didn"t know what it meant but I responded by putting my head down making my hair fall forward hiding my embarra.s.sed face.
"A beauty like yours should never been hidden," he said as he lifted my face up to his eye level, moving my hair back off my skin. And then his hands went down to my sweater and he pulled down the zip allowing his hand to find my waist. An intense feeling shot up my body making me a puppet in the hands of a Master. He pulled me back to him and his smile lingered over my mouth, toying with my logic of right and wrong. This was most definitely wrong....So wrong that it made sense in my life! But I knew I had to stop it and I knew that I would never accomplish this if I let him kiss me again. So before he could, I placed my hands on his chest and pushed him back which was like pushing a stone wall with pillows.
"We can"t do this!" I found my voice, but he wasn"t convinced as when he slid his hands down to the base of my spine so close to my underwear I let out a moan which provoked his mouth to turn into a satisfied grin.
"Really...?" He said tilting his head to see my eyes which I tried to hide. But I remained strong and pushed him back again, which he finally took seriously and his hands let go of my body. I had to use every ounce of self-control I had to jump off the desk and walk away from him. I was trying to calm my breathing and with that, the other parts of my body that were affected by his skin touching me. I mean was I crazy? This was all I had been dreaming about ever since I had first let my heart beat in the sight of him and now I was walking away. If I didn"t go to heaven over this then the Pearly Gates were going to have problems!!
"This is wrong...we can"t do this...we shouldn"t have..." I said trying to find words that felt right but no matter how strong my morality was it felt as though I was going against G.o.d himself by walking away from Draven.
"I disagree and so does your body. Stop fighting it Keira." He said with intense eagerness to have me back where I had been. But I couldn"t, it was morally wrong and why couldn"t he see it.
"Draven, you"re going to be married...I can"t and I won"t!" I said feeling the pinch of hurt this caused me. She could have this. This was hers and I was so jealous I could almost taste the green air around me! But Draven didn"t seem to feel anything but amus.e.m.e.nt by my reasons.
"And this is the reason I don"t have you in my arms where you belong?"
"Isn"t that enough of a reason?" I asked frowning at his reply.
"I guess in your eyes what I am doing is a sin?" He said smiling at the thought.
"What would you call it?"
"An inconvenience! ... One I will soon rectify." He walked over to an intercom that was mounted into the wall, pressing a red switch.
"Celina, come in here please." He said and my heart sank at his request. What was he doing! This wasn"t what I meant!
Then his fiancee entered the room looking, as always...
Radiant.
Chapter 37 - Impossible truth.
Celina didn"t look surprised to find me in her Fiance"s bedchamber nor did she look upset. What was going on here? If that had been me I would have lost it! She walked up to Draven but not in the same manner as she had done last time. No, this time there was no embrace, no kiss and I silently thanked G.o.d for it. Knowing I wouldn"t have been able to cope at that sight again...not now.
"Celina, you remember Keira?" He said nodding to me.
"Yes but of course, h.e.l.lo again Keira" she said politely. I was still standing there in shock, frozen in front of these two who were playing with me.
"h.e.l.lo..." I managed but it didn"t sound like me.
"Celina, please tell Keira if we are engaged." Draven asked her outright and I shot him a look as if to say "what the h.e.l.l?"
"No we are not." She said as certain that the sun will rise again.
"Have we ever been?"
"No."
"And one last thing, have we ever been romantically involved?" Draven"s eyes were on me at this last question but I was numb from the answers she was giving. What type of trick was this?
"No my lord, never...will that be all?" She said with her perfect complexion remaining a calm colour whereas mine felt as though it was burning crimson!
"Yes that will be all...Thank you Celina. You may leave us now." He said dismissing her and once again we were left alone but my acceptance to this news was not going down well.
"What the h.e.l.l?" I said looking away from him.
"I apologise for the deception...it was necessary."
"OH really...I"m just dying to hear this one Draven!" I shouted feeling my pa.s.sion for him change into distaste for all the lies I had been allowed to believe.
"I had no choice...only now it seems to have been in vain."
"And why is that, because tonight you decided that you want me and then tomorrow I will be cast aside so you can be engaged again?" It was my true feelings that came flowing out. He looked guilty but he remained strong in believing his reasons.
"Everything I have done with regards to you has been for your best interests whether you choose to believe me or not I speak the truth, sadly I could not take your feelings into account."
"And why not?"
"Because it was your feelings that I depended on for my plan to work," he said, making me remember how much my heart was filled with pain the day he was referring to.
"I needed to hurt you so you would stay away from me. I needed you to hate me Keira...it was the only way I could keep you safe." He was almost pleading with me but I wasn"t about to cave yet.
"Safe from what?"
"From me!" He said exasperated as if he really believed it, but I wasn"t buying it. It didn"t make sense.
"That night you got stabbed was because of me, because of what I am and what I have to be...I wanted to spare you from the weight I have to bear." And for the first time I saw Draven as a torn man. The power he held was reduced to nothing more than the single thread of a spider. Still I couldn"t help but think that I was the one twisting on the end unable to get away.
"I don"t understand...what are you talking about....who are you?" I asked but his face was full of sorrow for where this night was now heading. I mean did I even care what he was? I knew the answer, I was too far past the line to turn around and go back to caring. I loved him and I knew that was all that mattered. So before he could answer I walked back up to him and found what I was looking for.
"Actually, I don"t think I care." I said before I reached up on tiptoes to find his lips. At first he was in shock and remained still, until my hands went to his face, then moved around to his hair, pulling him roughly down to me. This woke him from his trace and once again he took all control, reverting back the powerful Draven I had only known him to be...and I liked it. He was after all, my Master and I was his slave. And G.o.d, I wouldn"t have had it any other way. And I was about to understand the full meaning of why this was a d.a.m.n good thing!
His hands finally removed my sweater leaving me in my little black t-shirt and gloves. He put his head down inhaling the smell of my hair and he groaned as my arms locked around his waist, where I was finally brave enough to lift his t-shirt up at the bottom, feeling the soft skin on his back. His body responded to my touch just as mine did to his. I felt my power over him and I enjoyed it. For the first time I had some control instead of it all belonging to him. However, it didn"t last long as he tried to remove one of my gloves. I pulled my arm back from his hands and held it firmly behind my back.
"Keira...do not hide from me. Ever" His smouldering voice tried to get me to comply but I couldn"t do it. He grabbed one of my arms and pulled it gently back around and it instantly sent me back to the first time he touched me.
"Please trust me," he asked as he removed the tight material. I couldn"t help my reaction. I tried to pull away but he wouldn"t let me. I pleaded with him with watery eyes but he knew as well as I did that he needed to do this. His control wouldn"t allow him to have anything between us. He wanted to know everything about me and I knew for a man like Draven that I must give him this. So as my scars came into view, I swallowed hard and my body tensed as his eyes noted every line.
Once my arm was fully exposed to him he did the same to the other arm until they were both on show. I tried to pull them away again but he held them firmly in front of me. He studied them closely and I could feel them getting hot as this was the first time anyone had ever touched them. His fingers traced each line as if trying to take away the memory of the pain that created them. He put them around his neck and lifted me over towards his enormous bed. He kept his eyes locked on mine and I wanted to close my own against the intensity of it all. Then I gasped as all the lights died at once only to be replaced by a warm glow as every candle in the room came to life. How did he do that?
"That"s better," he said as he set me down on the top step of the bed which put us at the same height once more.
"How did you do that?" I whispered looking at him in awe. Everything he did was magical but I had no answers to any of it. He didn"t say anything, as this would prevent him from kissing me, which he soon proved he would rather be doing. I kissed him back as if my life depended on it. My lips were hungry to taste him again. This was my drug and I never wanted to stop. My elixir to life was drinking in this man and I wanted every last drop, the question was...would I ever be sated?
I soon forgot about my exposed arms as it felt natural to be like this and as he said, I didn"t need to hide anything from him...not any more. I wanted him to have me, to take me and keep me here with him forever in his castle. I knew that at any moment he could reject me. I knew that with every breath I took in his arms, it could be the last and I would be left more broken than ever before but I just didn"t care. It would be worth it...if I died right here in his arms, it would have been worth it as I knew I would never feel anything even close to the intense pleasure that I felt now.
Then when I thought it couldn"t get any better it multiplied! His hands ran up my sides under my top pulling it up and I held my breath as he pulled it off over my head. I could feel my hair fall back down against the skin on my back. He looked down at my body hungrily before tossing my t-shirt away. I was just wearing my bra, which luckily was one of my fancy black ones.
"So beautiful, ma deesse parfaite" (Means "My perfect G.o.ddess" In French) I blushed at the part I understood and was left only to imagine what the French meant. When Draven spoke in a different language he did so with such ease and flawlessness it had me gaping in awe. It also did other things to me that made me flush a deeper shade.
His fingers traced the lace around the top of my bra and I still couldn"t breathe. I couldn"t look at him and I could feel my heart pump quicker sending even more blood to my face. It was exquisite torture. Then abruptly he picked me up forcing me to look at him. G.o.d his eyes! There was purple fire encircling the darkness, consuming every emotion until it"s all one and the same.
Pure.... raw.... pa.s.sion!
He placed me down on his bed of silk as though I was the most precious of gifts and the cool material made me shiver. He didn"t once take his eyes from my body and I found my insecurities come flooding back to me as I lay half naked knowing what I wanted to happen, what could happen and in his eyes with a certainty, what would happen. He must have realised my thoughts as he grinned, pulling his own t-shirt from his perfect body.
I couldn"t make my lungs work at the sight.
His body looked so strong, as though it could crush me to death if he wanted to but this wasn"t what he had in mind, although his muscles were going to come in handy for what was about to happen next. I wanted to trace each and every line his perfect body displayed. I was almost desperate to lean up and touch him, to taste him. His muscles twitched, the hard planes of his stomach clenched as though he could hear the want in my head but I was frozen to his cool silky bed.
He moved to the end of the bed determined to remove the rest of my clothes leaving me in just my underwear. He pulled off my jeans slowly, pealing them away like skin from a fruit. Then, holding on to my legs, he tugged softly sliding my body under his and he was now holding all his weight above where I lay. My breath caught inside me before he leaned down and kissed me once more.
Our bodies mingled together creating our own heat source, skin on skin and my nerves were soon replaced by utter bliss. I found myself lost in the storm that Draven created. The waves of emotion crashed into me with every delicious touch and I wanted to drown in him. My body reacted to every move he made causing me to groan, moan and writhe beneath him with wanting more. His hands slid down my arms finding my wrists, which he then held securely above my head, locking me where he wanted me. It was as if he knew I could barely contain my reactions towards him. I felt like I was going explode and disperse in his arms.
His kisses started to trace down from my mouth onto other body parts and I closed my eyes trying to control myself. All I wanted to do was scream out with pleasure. He was gentle yet created a brutal a.s.sault on my senses as he kissed, bit, sucked and nipped at my skin as far down as he could reach. I had to catch a breath when he worked his way down until eventually he had to unshackle my wrists from his grip. I knew where he wanted to go but my inner self-conscious wouldn"t let me go that far, making me pull him back to my lips instead. Surprisingly, he did as I demanded but he groaned at not being able to carry on his exploring. My face burned with embarra.s.sment however he found this amusing.
"Why would a G.o.ddess be embarra.s.sed with her own perfection?" He said making my shame double.
"I haven"t...Umm... done this in a long time," I said quietly, feeling as if it was my first time all over again.
"I"m glad to hear it. Don"t worry little one, I will be gentle." He said giving me a wink. I laughed, easing some of the tension from my shoulders. I tried to not start over a.n.a.lysing it or I would have just worked myself up in to a frenzy of nerves. I needed to try and give my self-conscious the boot and enjoy this. I mean if he didn"t want me then I"m pretty sure I wouldn"t have felt the evidence of it pressed firmly against me. And if I started thinking about how he was going to fit what I could feel inside me than I would start to panic big time.