Page 53 of Ruined
His question ripped me from my thoughts as he murmured it. With each word, his hands ran over my thighs and dipped between them. He repeated this motion over and over again, never quite crossing the line my body begged him to.
The repetition was pure torture, and I found myself pulling on the restraints more than I meant to. Every time he touched me, it was just enough to promise everything but give nothing. I was whimpering before I could stop myself. He continued until my breath was uneven and my pride was long gone.
“Silas,” I pleaded, the word breaking apart as it left my mouth.
A dark sound slipped from his lips as he brought his mouth down to mine. The kiss was light, barely enough to feel before he moved down between my legs. Slowly, he licked up my center, and my body jerked from the pressure. I was completely at his mercy, and I didn’t mind one bit. Taking his time, he coaxed my body. With each pass, I tensed.
The first night he touched me, I was repeatedly shattered andthen pieced back together nine times. I had barely survived, and I knew that tonight, we were on a completely different level. Everything he was about to do to me was going to be worse, and I was ready for it.
Within minutes, I could feel myself building, and he had only just begun.
29
Silas
In the few hours I had her restrained, I learned many new things about Ember.
She had a total of five scars hidden throughout her body, most in places you couldn’t see. There were also a few scattered freckles that dusted her chest and shoulders. When she moved her left arm, a large dimple formed on her back, one that most people didn’t have.
She was wildly ticklish on the left side of her body, and the laugh she gave while being tickled was not the same one she gave when she was uncomfortable.
Every time she claimed a release, I explored more, touching and tasting her as I pleased. As much as I wanted to make everything about her, I quickly became selfish. By the time I finally let her rest, there was no area on her body I hadn’t thoroughly examined. By the time I took off the restraints, I’d memorized every sound she made. Even though I didn’t think it was possible, I felt even more devoted to her now.
I hadn’t taken my eyes off her, even now as she slept. With one arm tucked under her pillow, her hair fell in an uneven mess around her. Sweeping some behind her ear, I picked up her wristand held it carefully, examining the bandages. I’d forgotten about her wounds, but there was no fresh blood, which meant the gauze had acted like a protective layer against the straps.
I moved my thumb in slow circles over the bruised skin there, pressing gently along the dark marks originally left from my zip ties. My hand drifted up her arm, tracing her shoulder, where my fingers paused against one of her scars, a two-inch line on her shoulder. It was thin and pale, barely noticeable unless you were looking for it. I followed the line with my fingertip, tracing it over and over again, memorizing it.
Her body twitched slightly before her eyes fluttered open for a brief second. After registering that I was still next to her, they closed again. Her voice was scratchy, almost like she was dehydrated. “I need food.”
I laughed quietly at the statement because I honestly couldn’t tell if she was asleep or not. Regardless, I stood and carefully slipped away from her. Walking over to my phone, I pulled up the closest restaurants and clicked through the menus to find something to order for her. As I finalized some items and received a confirmed delivery time, several messages began to come through. At first, it was a text, then videos.
The vibrations kept going, even as I opened the thread. I noticed Knox’s name and narrowed my eyes on each item that flashed on my screen.
Thirty-seven times total over the course of the year. I went as far back as I could go and sent you everything. You never see his face, and he never fully takes advantage of her, but I wouldsuggest thinking about what you might see before watching the clips. Everything has been downloaded to the file on your phone as well. Give me two hours, I have a lead and the police on standby.
And just like that, the temporary world we had created came crashing down as a feeling of grief slammed into me. Thirty-seven times. Thatnumber, that thought, made me want to vomit.
The other thing about this situation was that I was trying to build our relationship on sturdy ground, and yet, I hadn’t told her anything. Ember was strong, stronger than most people, but this news wasn’t something anyone could take lightly. Learning this could make her spiral in a direction that wasawayfrom me. How was I supposed to tell her without cracking the foundation we had just built? I tried to push aside the overwhelming feelings that I’d already let her down.
The messages Knox sent contained seven different files, including videos. I frowned when I noticed the preview images were all identical. Each tiny box showed her sleeping in different positions. Nothing could have prepared me to learn that there were this many instances. I tried to focus on the fact he had a lead. Two hours would go by pretty fast, and it seemed like a reasonable amount of time to keep her occupied. If I could do that, I could provide her with everything she would need to know, and we would go from there.
A cold sensation slid down my spine as I convinced myself to tap the first video. I paced in the corner of the room as I watched the footage play.
The angle was unmistakable. Knox had pulled footage from the camera in her bedroom TV. I was now viewing everything from a high vantage point in the corner of the room, pointed directly at the bed. In this video, Ember slept in only a tank top, tossing slightly in her sleep. A black blanket was wrapped around her waist, and it was clearly the middle of the night.
I was too busy figuring out if she had pants on when I noticed someone step into the frame. Just like before, the figure quietly moved next to her bed. Same broad shoulders, same dark clothes. As if in some weird form of deja vu, I watched the blanket slowly peel back—
I clicked the screen and paused the video. All the contents of my stomach threatened to come up because I knew,I knew,what I was about to watch and looking at Ember now, I didn’t think I could follow through.
With one large inhale, I forced myself to push play and observe as a hand slid over Ember’s leg then moved higher. They weren’t just touching her bare legs, but her chest too. Grabbing the light fabric of her shirt, they lifted it over her head, exposing her body underneath.
The video was shut off before I even realized I had been the one to do it. I debated throwing my phone across the entire room. It was like I was right back in Knox’s garage. I couldn't think. I couldn’t breathe, but I needed to knoweverythingin order to help her.
With shaking hands, I opened the next video to the same cover and the same room. Again and again, I watched asboundaries were pushed and Ember was touched. On the final video, I only made it thirty seconds before I had to stop completely. There, on the phone screen, was a frozen image of his fingers deep inside of her.
My stomach rolled violently as I placed a hand against the wall. I needed to throw something, to strangle something, tohurtin some way so that she wouldn’t have to.
The thought of going upstairs and ripping apart my office surfaced in my mind, and my hands ached in response, begging for that type of release. Making it two steps toward the door, I stopped and looked back at the beautiful woman who was sprawled across the bed.
