“Richard!” Mom screams after I tell her what happened. What he did to my fifteen-year-old body. After I confessed what he stole from me.
It’s been forty-eight hours since Richard touched me, raped me, and I knew my mother wouldn’t believe me without proof, so I went to the hospital. I made them do a rape kit but refused police involvement, knowing without doubt that Mom would take me away from here. I could move on and have nothing to do with him ever again.
“What is with all the shouting, Alex?” He storms into the room, and my entire body shakes, the color drains from my face, and I’m not all too sure I’ll be able to keep from vomiting on his fancy carpet.
“This, you sick son of a bitch!” Mom throws the file at him, and I flinch. My mom doesn’t usually yell or get violent, but now, I can see the rage on her face. The tears in her own eyes.
“What is this?” He looks through the papers, and before he can mask it, I see wrath flash across his features.
“You raped my baby!” Mom screams this time. Her fist flies, and she connects with his jaw. At first, I don’t think he’s going to do anything, but then his hand comes out of nowhere, hitting mom so hard across the face that she flies to the floor and hits her head off the bookshelf. Blood drips from a gash in her head.
“I didn’t touch the little whore!” He leans down to her and whispers something in her ear that I can’t hear, but Mom pales and tears rush down her face. Richard gives me a thunderous glare before leaving the room.
“Mom! Are you okay?” I rush to her aid, but she pushes me away.
“Go to your room, Thea,” she hisses out, sounding pained.
“But, Mom?”
“Now, Thea!”
Racing from the room, I run upstairs, passing Richard’s office where I hear him on the phone. Slamming my door behind me, I slide down until my butt hits the floor and confusion encases my heart.
Did she just ignore the evidence? Believe his lies?
My eyes pop open, and I remember that day with so much clarity. The agony, the confusion, the anger that my own mother ignored my pleas for help. Until that day, she was the mom everyone wanted. She’s was loving, caring, my best friend.
If I knew then what would happen in the future, I’d have run away sooner.
“You okay?” Kol whispers from behind me. His hand is wrapped around my waist, holding onto my hip as he rubs circles on my bare thigh. Despite everything the nightmare brings up, I’m not waking up terrified and ready to run.
I’m sad. I’m hurt.
I want justice.
“Sometimes the dreams are so real, I feel like it’s happening all over again, you know?” Glancing back over my shoulder at him, I see the sympathy and understanding in his eyes as he nods.
“I do. I wish I could make it easier on you, Thea, I really do.” His free hand brushes the hair out of my eyes, and whether he knows it or not, he does make it easier.
“You do. If this had been last week, I’d have just run, screaming silently. You give me strength, Kol.” Cupping his jaw, I lean up, and for once, I’m the one to kiss him. Light and soft as it may be, I savor the feelings of love he ignites in me.
Turning my body, Kol lays back so I’m on top of him. I’m the one in control of the intimacy, and I feel powerful in the moment as his hands hold my hips steadily, but I know I can break free if I want. The feel of his body underneath mine awakens something deep inside my heart that I never thought I would feel for a man.
Lust.
My breasts feel heavy, my womb tightens, and my pussy throbs. My body crackles with the desire to have Kol touching bare skin instead of clothing.
“I want more, Kol.” I’m breathless as I pull away from his addictive mouth. “But I’m afraid I’m not ready.” His lopsided grin and passion-filled gaze give me confidence as he smoothes his hands up my back.
Lifting his head up, he says, “We’ll go as slow or as fast as you want, when you want. If it becomes too much, we stop. No matter how much it pains me.”
This is why I love him. His understanding and acceptance are always at the ready for me.
Wait…love?
I stare at him as he waits for my next move, and I take a few seconds to process the thought. Love…yes. It’s overwhelming, powerful, all-encompassing. When I’m with Kol, nothing else matters. Even when I’m mid-freakout, all I think of is him.
I love Kol Daniels.