Page 34 of Penny
I threw the front door open, and my heavy steps reverberated off the cobblestone. Hopping into my truck, I twisted the key and blared music to drown out my racing pulse hammering in my ears.
She needed to go. I didn’t have a choice, and I shouldn’t give a fuck. She was a homeless wash-up with a pretty smile, who, weeks prior, smelled like a dumpster rat.
Bile threatened to break free, and its acid burned my tongue. Her haunted glare stared back at me in the front windshield’s reflection, compelling me to admit things I couldn’t and wouldn’t. She had me twisted to the point that my mind was playing tricks on me.
My engine roared as I slammed my foot down on the pedal, and my thoughts raced faster than I could keep up with. My palm stung as I slammed it onto the steering wheel over and over, making my truck swerve.
“Fuck,” I roared in my cab. This wasn’t supposed to happen, and I cranked my wheel to the side of the road as my demons caught up with me.
I threw my door open as cars raced by me. Bile and my breakfast lurched out of me, splattering on the asphalt. My eyes watered from the acid pushing into my nose, and I gripped onto the steering wheel as I leaned out of my truck.
If I hadn’t drank while I filled out that contract template, I wouldn’t be here. Emily would be staying with me and not forced to go into my father’s dungeon. Thoughts of him taking what belonged to me and pushing his cock inside her made more vomit hit the road. All I had to do was tell her and force her into the backseat. Then it would all be over. This pain. My doubts and the obsession I feel for her.
***
I shoved open my door, looking around the room for my unsuspecting captive. That was all she was, and I needed to keep reminding myself of that. All I saw of her were her legs, which were propped up by the arm of the couch. They were smooth, and my palms twitched to run up them.
My steps were slow, and her soft breaths relaxed a sliver of my racing thoughts. Her long eyelashes were spread across her golden skin. I had loosened my reins too much with her and being with my father would be harder because of it.
I left her be and went into my office. Pulling out the medical kit, I rummaged through it, only grabbing what I would need. The needle and tracker were heavy in my hands, but I needed to always know where she was. I may be giving her up, but she originally belonged to me.
Emily slept like a log, but this was sure to wake her up. I wiped the side of her neck that was showing with rubbing alcohol and quickly plunged the needle into her skin. She shot up in her sleep, gasping, and I shoved the evidence under the couch.
“Wake up,” I growled, pretending like nothing happened.
“What the heck was that?” she whined as she lazily rubbed at her neck, smearing a small drop of blood around.
“I pinched you to wake up because you were out cold,” I lied, putting off, letting her know what was coming. My throat started to ache thinking about it, and she tilted her head at me.
“Everything okay?” she asked, furrowing her brow as she continued to rub at her neck.
I snatched her hand away from messing with it and yanked her off the couch. Her chest smashed against me, and she let out a soft huff of air. The burning in my chest started inching its way back up, and my ears thrummed with my pulse.
“Yep,” I answered, not looking her in the eye.
This had to happen, and I needed to stop delaying the inevitable; it was either her life or my own. At least she had a shot of making it out on the other side.
“Let’s go upstairs.”
I yanked her arm behind me and walked up the stairs. I kicked open my bedroom door, and her smell mockingly overrode my senses. Her arousal was still lingering in the air from when I fucked her this morning, and the unmade sheets reminded me of watching her come undone over and over again. She was branded into me, leaving a mark, and I needed to tattoo over it.
“I was thinking. We should go out to dinner again. Just you and me this time, and if you are okay with it, maybe Liam and I can…”
“Stop,”I roared, unable to take another moment of her planning a future that didn’t exist.
How did this happen? My drunken self fucked this all up and let her weasel into my heart that I didn’t know existed. Her eyes widened, and she cautiously took a step back from me.
I raced into the bathroom, flipping on the faucet to run my toothbrush under it. The taste of vomit was lingering on my tongue, and I had to scrub it away. Mint replaced the vile taste but didn’t expunge the visions of Candice kneeling in the corner of the office. Soon, that would be Emily, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
“Connor, please tell me what’s wrong,” she pleaded.
Her kindness was suffocating me. It was time to rip the Band-Aid off. I spat the toothpaste out and slammed the toothbrush on the counter. The world spun faster as I turned around to look her in the eyes.
“You will be staying at my father’s from here on.” I came out with it, trying to force down the emotions that were trying to lurch out of me.
Her eyes became distant, and the color drained from her face.
Chapter 19
