My hands grip onto his shirt and I hold on as the waves start to roll and my orgasm hits me hard. He leans down and bites my shoulder, not hard enough to leave a mark, but hard enough that I feel it down to my very soul.
I shake, knowing he would rather do more, that he would rather bruise every part of my body to mark it as his own.
When he stops, he doesn’t pull out straight away, instead he stays where he is, not moving, while his hand comes up and brushes my long hair back from my neck. “I’ve missed you, Everly.”
I don’t reply. I can’t. I’m frozen on the spot. Incapable of movement. Unable to contemplate anything.
“Everly?” He says my name, waiting for me to speak, but instead I push him back, freeing myself from him and pull my dress down.
Walking back the same way we came in, I touch the door and he grabs hold of my wrist, spinning me around. When I open the door, the light shines out on his face, and when he sees mine, he drops my hand and looks to the ground, letting me go.
He saw it. I think he saw the moment I knew this can’t work. Nothing about this is healthy. And I can’t do this ever again.
The torment is over.
That was our last goodbye.
7
Everly
May spots me the minute I walk in her direction and her face falls, the smile that was there a second ago now completely gone. I turn, walking to the door, not wanting him to catch up to me.
May meets me outside and she pushes my hair back, a soft, sad smile now on her face. “Are you okay?”
“I need to go. Is it okay if I just leave?” I feel bad, but I can’t stay here any longer. I need to go home—oh hell, I don’t even know what I need. I just feel like I need my own space and to be as far away from him as possible. Perhaps even away from it all.
“Of course. Do you want me to come with you?”
Reaching out I touch her arm, give her a reassuring squeeze. “No. But, thank you.” I look past her and see him standing at the door not too far away from me. Dropping my hand from her arm, I reach up and hail the first available cab and don’t look back as my heart sits in my throat, unsure of exactly how I should be feeling right now.
But one thing I do know is it’s not good.
Not with him anyway.
It can never be good.
I’ve fallen for a man who’s twisted, fucked in the head. And in that man, I somehow found pieces of him that I love.
That’s the hardest part to come to terms with.
The parts I love almost surpass the other parts.
Almost.
The next day, after hardly any sleep, I open my front door, and standing there is a man dressed in a suit with glasses on his face. He looks up, pushes his glasses back, and smiles.
“Everly Reid?” he asks. I nod my head. “Good. These are for you. If you could please sign, I will be on my way.” He hands me a pen and taps on the dotted line.
“What is it?” I ask. There’s no way I am signing anything without knowing what it is.
“It’s the deed to your house. Mr. Reid is gifting it to you.”
My hand freezes as I look at him and let those words completely sink in.
“Sorry… what?” I say in disbelief.
“He asked that I come by and have you sign the forms so you can have the deed to your house back.” I nod, but I know my mouth is hanging open. “And he said to tell you to… just take it.” Of course he did. “That it’s yours anyway.”
I sign on the dotted line where it states my name, and he passes me some legal forms before he leaves.
Walking to my couch, I sit and read through it all. Sure enough, my house is mine again. All mine. I loved this place when I first moved in and I love it now. A stray tear leaves my eye and I wipe it away before getting up and going to work.
When I arrive at work the smile on my face is hard to wipe away.
It’s a good day.
Which started off shit with my lack of sleep.
“Squirt.”
Shit! Shit! I turn to see him standing there, sunglasses covering his face as he looks at me.
“Alec, what are you doing here?” I ask, while looking around making sure no one is here.
“Your father is signing everything over to me in a few years when he retires. He told me today.” I nod, because that’s good. “I want you to be a part of it. It’s your family’s legacy, Squirt.”