Forever Lost: Becoming Elena - Book Two (7 page)

T
he annoying beep,
beep, beep of an alarm clock startled Elena from her deep sleep, making her turn in confusion as her fingers stretched out, seeking the culprit of the intrusion to a beautiful dream.

Her alarm was going off, but as Elena wiped the sleep from her eyes, her foggy brain cleared and she realized she hadn’t set it. That’s when she noticed the note from Dalton.

It was simple and to the point. “Meet me in the gym in thirty minutes.”

Stretching, Elena got out of bed, her legs throbbing as she moved to the shower, turning it as hot as she could handle, letting the water soothe her sore muscles. They’d played the night before, and her body hadn’t been up to all he’d had her do.

Dalton was a virile man, wanting sex almost daily, and some of those days the sessions would last for hours.

Realizing she had used up most of her thirty minutes with her shower, she stepped out and toweled off, quickly dressed in her yoga pants and sports bra, threw her hair into a ponytail, and made her way down to his home gym.

She spent some time there, but he’d never requested her to meet him there before. She wondered what he wanted.

There Dalton was, looking so incredible her mouth began to water as she took in his shirtless chest, covered in a sheen of sweat, and his muscles bulging as he bench-pressed what looked like an entire set of weights.

When he was finished, he looked up, set the weights on the bar, and then stood and walked over to her. Elena wanted to reach out and run her fingers across his nipples, before trailing her hand down his happy trail and sliding inside the waistband of his shorts.

The thought of it was making her begin to sweat as she pictured him throwing her on the floor and working up a real sweat.

What in the world was wrong with her? She was still sore from their session the night before. It seemed that Dalton had made her insatiable when it came to sex. She didn’t want to think too deeply about that.

“Did you sleep well, Elena?” he asked.

“Yes, like the dead,” she told him.

She’d never fallen asleep so quickly, truth be told.

“Good. Last night I could tell you were strained,” he said.

She didn’t know what to say so she chose not to speak. Dalton didn’t like filling silences with meaningless words. That was something she’d learned quickly about him.

“I’m going to have a trainer coming in twice a week to work with you, but I want you in here at least forty-five minutes a day, six days a week. You need to build up muscles you haven’t been using. Today I just want you lifting light weights and doing some cardio. The trainer will work on defining your muscles.”

“I don’t understand,” Elena said as she looked cluelessly around the room. She’d never been in a gym before and had no idea what he wanted.

“Your workouts will be written on this board over there,” he said, pointing, and she saw he already had her day mapped out.

Moving over to it, she was to do twenty minutes on the elliptical, and then there were several exercises listed below it. She had no clue what they were.

“Don’t worry, I’ll show you how to do these and what weights you should start with. After a few weeks, you’ll get the hang of it,” Dalton told her.

The next hour was about the most uncomfortable of her life, and that was saying a lot considering what she’d been through.

The elliptical wasn’t too bad after the first ten minutes. Her sore muscles actually loosened up and began to feel better. Then Dalton took her to his monstrous sized machine and had her doing leg presses and lifts, then squats, which was something she was sure a sadistic person had come up with.

By the time they left the gym together, she was sweaty, stiff, and ready to strangle Dalton. He looked down at her and gave her the first smile she could ever remember him giving. It was wide, and his eyes sparkled. The look actually stopped her in her tracks.

“Don’t worry, Elena. It isn’t always so difficult, and the more you do it, the stronger you’ll feel,” he told her as they stopped at her bedroom door. Then he leaned closer and she forgot about her sore muscles and took a big breath, inhaling his musky scent.

“Most importantly it will make you more flexible.”

With that he turned and walked away, leaving Elena standing there panting. Damn, the man infuriated her while turning her on at the same time. One thing was for sure, though: she would rather be with him than without him.

E
lena found herself
stiffly moving around the house for the next few days. She was in complete envy of all those cover models who showed off their perfect physiques and sculpted muscles. After only a few days in the gym, she didn’t understand how they did it all year round.

Her body felt as if it had been pushed through a meat grinder . . . twice. Walking up or down stairs led to complete misery, and something so simple as sitting in a chair was a feat worth smiling over.

But as always, Dalton was right, because each day, although she was sore, the aches began dimming a bit with each passing hour. And during her new transformation, Dalton was giving her a little break. No, he wasn’t abstaining from sex — thank goodness — but he was a heck of a lot more gentle with her.

He assured her that wouldn’t last long. And sadly enough for her, she was glad of that. She loved Dalton pushing her to limits she had never known existed before meeting him.

Yes, she enjoyed a smile from him, and found herself wanting to do more normal activities with the man, but she feared if he changed too much, actually gave her what she thought she wanted, she might spiral out of control again.

Her life was far too complicated.

The rapping on her bedroom door pulled her from her early morning thoughts. Stretching out her arms, she burrowed a bit deeper into her covers, wanting to ignore whoever was at the door.

Her curiosity got the better of her when no other sound came through the doorway. Usually when she ignored someone, they continued pounding until she relented.

Jumping up, she grabbed her robe and tied it as she went to the door and waited a moment before she opened up. Normally if someone was knocking, she didn’t care to hear what they had to say.

Dang, she was in a mood.

When she finally cracked the door open, no one was standing there, but when she looked down, a large package was resting on the floor.

Her curiosity was certainly piqued.

Picking it up, she moved back into her room, setting it on her bed and feeling a little giddy as she lifted the tag that simply said “put this on and be ready by seven.”

Elena realized she’d never received a gift before — or at least she couldn’t remember having received a gift. Her fingers stroked the top of the package, and she was reluctant to open it, because the surprise would be over before she was ready.

But her excitement was too much for her to handle, so she slipped the lid off and smiled as she eyed green fabric wrapped with tissue paper.

Pulling it out, the fabric unfolded, and a beautiful floor-length dress with a high thigh slit hung before her. It was the most gorgeous thing she’d ever seen. She hugged it to her chest as a giggle escaped.

Elena couldn’t help but twirl, loving it as the material cascaded out. She couldn’t imagine what it would feel like when she actually had it on.

When she glanced back at the box, she realized there was more in it. She shouldn’t be surprised. Dalton loved lingerie. Stockings, a garter belt, and the sheerest panties and bra she’d ever seen, rested on the tissue.

Elena had no idea where Dalton was planning on taking her, but she was going to feel like a princess, a feeling every woman deserved to have at least once in her lifetime.

The rest of the day went by in a blur as she got ready, continually going back to her gift and admiring the beautiful dress and what was beneath it. When she finally slipped into the soft satin sheath she felt beautiful, especially with the barely there scraps of lingerie underneath, making her feel a little naughty.

Standing in front of her mirror, she twirled a couple times before stopping and giving herself a good look. She hardly recognized the woman she was turning into. If she were forced to describe herself she would say
sin wrapped in a perfect package.

Even more importantly she felt beautiful and confident, something she had never imagined feeling about herself. Even more intoxicating was thinking about Dalton stripping all of it away. The thought made her thighs tingle, and she grew hot and wet.

When her door opened, Dalton stepped in, wearing a three-piece suit, and excitement surged through her, making her realize exactly how much power Dalton held over her.

“Don’t move.”

His words shocked her, the foot she’d been lifting, instantly going back down and touching the floor. Doubts instantly flooded her brain, and she wondered what she’d done wrong. That confidence she’d been feeling quickly evaporated.

“You are stunning. I just want to look at you from afar before I’m tempted to come over there and rip every inch of that dress away so I can see what lies beneath.”

Elena gulped at his words, obviously spoken through a tight throat. She was now the one holding the power. That feeling was unbelievably arousing.

“Thanks for the dress,” she said and did a slow turn so he could get the entire view.

When she came full circle and looked him in the eyes, the flare in them made her even more confident.

“I knew the moment I saw it, no other woman could do it justice but you,” he practically growled.

“You picked it out?” she said, shocked.

“Who else?” he questioned.

“I just assumed you had someone buy it,” she admitted.

“Not for something this important,” he told her as he finally moved toward her. She suddenly didn’t care about going out. She would be perfectly happy to have him strip the beautiful dress off and cover her skin with his hands and tongue.

“I like the lingerie as well,” she told him more shyly than she would have liked.

His eyes flared at her words. Yes, that was completely what power felt like.

“Hmm. I’m glad,” he practically purred. “I can’t wait to see it.”

Her heart hammered as he stepped around her and leaned down, his lips trailing across her neck, making her core flare.

“We need to leave now before I decide not to take you out,” he said, his words whispering against her ear. “I will enjoy picturing in my mind the moment when I get to strip you from every piece of material you’re wearing — except the stockings.”

Elena clenched her legs together as his lips trailed to her shoulder and his tongue swept out and tasted the scent she’d bathed in.

“Mmm.” The low rumble of his voice nearly made her come right then and there.

But then he lifted his mouth and moved away from her.

“It’s time for dinner. We should leave now, or we won’t go at all,” he told her.

Elena was in a trance as she followed Dalton from the house and to the waiting limo in front of the house. He really was going all out for their evening.

Sadly, she wasn’t sure if it was more about him or if it was about her. She probably could never figure that out. But it was hard to not fall a bit in love with the man when he treated her like something special instead of something he owned.

D
alton was strangely
quiet on the ride to the restaurant. The intensity burning in his eyes the entire drive was almost too much for Elena to handle, but when he was unusually quiet, that shook her up even more.

She wanted to know what he was thinking or more importantly what he was planning.

Their ride took about forty-five minutes, and then Dalton was ushering her inside a dimly lit restaurant with low music playing and candles flickering on the tables. Plants were arranged around the floor, making each table somewhat secluded.

A person could dine there without fear of being seen or interrupted if they didn’t want to be. Elena couldn’t help but smile as the hostess led them to the back where a bottle of wine was in a bucket on the table, waiting.

She became even more nervous when Dalton sat in the chair beside her instead of across the table. If she understood more of what the night was about, then she would have been prepared.

But he’d given her a gift and then whisked her off on a romantic date. He was confusing her. Elena thought she was nothing more than his sex puppet. What if he was telling her he wanted it to be more?

The glimmer of hope that fluttered in her chest scared her. She tried to assure herself she didn’t want more from Dalton, but her racing pulse proved she was lying to herself.

This man, who wasn’t cruel to her but who certainly wasn’t a doting lover, was getting underneath her skin, and sadly she wanted more time with him outside the bedroom like this dinner with him. If this was the beginning, she might let down her guard.

That probably wasn’t a wise decision.

“Is the wine suitable, sir?” the waiter asked.

The man’s voice startled Elena who hadn’t even seen him walk up to their table.

“It’s perfect. Thank you.”

Dalton ordered their meal and the waiter slipped away. Any time they’d gone out together, he always chose what they ate. Giving her this romantic night and then taking her choices away instantly irritated her. Maybe it should soothe her though. This was who he was, and it would do her well to remember that.

“How do you know if I like salmon?” she asked as she sipped the wine, which was perfect, though she chose not to tell him that.

“I think I know what you like by now, Elena,” he told her.

“Maybe I would like to have a choice in the matter,” she told him.

His eyes narrowed as he looked at her and then his hand came out and rested on her thigh, intimately high as his fingers kneaded her skin, making her forget for a moment what they were talking about.

“Elena, I’ve been very clear about my expectations. I like being in charge and as long as you are with me, that’s how it will be,” he said.

The sting of his words was lessened by the feel of his fingers on her bare leg. He’d found the slit and easily slipped beneath her dress.

Elena looked out at the restaurant, hoping no one was paying attention to them. Sure, their table was private, but the waiter could appear at any moment, or someone else could pass by. Of course to Dalton, that would only add to his arousal. That much she had learned about him.

The waiter reappeared, setting their appetizers on the table before drifting away again. Dalton managed to eat and feed Elena pieces of fish, bread, and a sweet dressing all while leaving one hand on her leg, his fingers growing closer and closer to her melting core.

When she tried squeezing her legs together, he sent her a warning look and his fingers bit into her flesh. She relaxed her muscles, though it wasn’t easy to do, and she had to bite her lip to keep from moaning when the waiter placed their main course before them.

The entire meal was torture. When the waiter offered desert, Elena emphatically turned it down. She couldn’t take sitting next to him for a minute longer.

“Are you ready to leave so soon, Elena?” Dalton asked her, a knowing glow in his eyes that she wanted to wipe clear.

“I can’t possibly eat another bite,” she told him, attempting to brush his fingers aside. They only tightened on her skin.

“I need to use the restroom,” she said through clenched teeth.

He hesitated for a moment as if he weren’t going to let her go, but finally, his hand slipped out of her dress, and he stood to help her up.

Elena didn’t look back as she walked away from the table and went around the corner to the ladies’ room. Slipping inside, she was almost giddy when she saw a counter with stools she could sit on.

Practically falling into the seat she pulled her lipstick from her purse and reapplied it just to give herself something to do.

She had no idea what their night out was, but she knew Dalton was inserting his control more and more in her life. Just to show him that she wasn’t fully broken, she stayed in the bathroom for a good five minutes before walking back out to the table where he was paying the bill.

When he looked up, she had no doubt he knew what she’d been doing. But instead of looking irritated, he appeared amused. Her small tantrum had done nothing but entertain the man.

Elena knew it was a losing battle to fight him. He would win every single time, no matter how badly she fought it. But that didn’t mean she was going to give up. The day she did that was the day she truly would fade completely away.