Repentance (The Darkness Series Book 4) (8 page)

He ignored her and leaned in closer, grabbing her when she leaned back to avoid him touching her.  He inhaled and then sat back, his face contorted in disgust. 

“You smell like him.  I saw you.  I saw you two today in his workshop.  He had his hands all over you, his fucking cock was in you.  He touched you when you are
mine.
”  He grabbed the knot of the rope and pulled her onto the floor, heading back towards the bathroom.

“I can’t take you home in this state.  What will the others think?  I need you clean and pure for me,” he rambled on to himself as he dragged her.  Emma fought and twisted her body, trying to angle her bound foot around the leg of the end table, hoping to slow him down.  She cried out in frustration when she missed and instead starting flopping her body like a fish, trying to dislodge his hold.

Once in the bathroom, he pulled back the shower curtain and turned the water on to a scolding temperature.  “Hot water will do the trick.  We’ll get you all cleaned up and then be on our way.” He spoke as though he was outlining the itinerary for a family vacation instead of how he was about to burn her in an unwanted shower.

“God. No, please don’t do this,” she begged as he grabbed a pair of scissors that she kept in the bathroom to cut tags from new articles of clothing and made quick work of slicing through her t-shirt and bra.  He untied her feet and pulled down her pants and panties avoiding her kicking feet as she struggled to get a shot in at his nose.  Once she was completely naked, he picked her up and dumped her unceremoniously into the tub and under the spray of the hot water.

It hit her like a red-hot iron poker all over her body.  The pain was immediate and hurt more than anything she’d ever felt before.  Cole dumped soap over her head and began scrubbing her with one of her hair brushes.  The bristles felt like steel and she screamed bloody murder while trying to squirm out of his hold.

“Better.  Don’t you see how this is better? I love the smell of your soap, Emma.  This is how we’ll start our new lives.  Clean and pure and ready for a beautiful beginning.”

Fat tears rolled down her cheeks at the torture.  Her body had grown used to the water temperature, but the brush?  The way he was dragging it over every inch of her skin—even between her thighs—was an agony she wouldn’t wish on anyone.

When he was satisfied, he shut the water off and wrapped her in a fluffy towel before pulling her from the tub.  Her body was limp, the fight gone from her for the moment. She looked him straight in the eyes and mustered all the hate she could gather and hoped it showed on her face.

“I’ll never love you.  I’ll never think of you as anything more than a cruel, cowardly piece of shit.  You’re nothing to me and you never will be.  You may win in taking me from my home today; but you’ll never have me.  You’re beneath me and always will be.”

Cole sucked in a shocked breath at her words and anguish splashed across his features, which quickly turned to rage.  He grabbed the end of the rope around her neck and began to pull.

“No.  No!  You are mine.  We
are
destined to be together; you’ll see.”  Emma choked as the air was sucked out of her lungs and black dots danced in front of her eyes. 
I’m sorry, Sam
was the last thing she thought before everything went black.

Sam walked up to Emma’s door practicing eating crow every step he took.  After she’d left, he really felt like an asshole for the way he’d thrown her out after fucking her brains out.  She was worth more than that and didn’t deserve the way he’d treated her.  The fact of the matter was, she meant more to him than he cared to admit—he was dangerously close to falling in love with her.

This business with the stalker really had him worried and he didn’t want her waiting until the following day to report it to the authorities.  He was going to convince her to let him help if he had to drag her down to the station.

Stepping up to her door, he thought he heard a muffled scream.  Not hesitating to see if he’d actually heard something, he tried the handle.  Finding it locked, he stepped back and with one kick, broke the door down and charged inside.

The pillows from the couch in the main room were all over the floor and most of the furniture was askew.  Hearing sounds from down the hall, he took off running and stopped at the bathroom door.  Seeing the man leaning over Emma, he let out a roar and attacked.  Looping his arm around the bastard’s neck, he dragged him backwards and away from her.  His frame outweighed his by fifty pounds but Sam had rage on his side plus years of combat training.

They ended up on the floor in a heap and the attacker got in the first punch to the side of Sam’s head.  Seeing that it was Cole Masterson shocked him for a moment, but he quickly regained his senses and returned his blow with one aimed at his windpipe, effectively disarming him. Cole fell back and Sam gained the upper ground, delivering another blow to his nose.

Cole screamed at him and threw his other arm up to block the next punch.  “She’s mine! You can’t fucking have her.  I’ll kill her before I let you fucking touch her again!” He managed to knock Sam back on his ass and ran back into the bathroom, scissors raised over his head and he reached Emma’s side.

“No!” Sam bellowed.  He tackled Cole to the floor once more and wrenched the scissors from his hand and in one fluid movement, plunged them into his jugular.  Cole gurgled as blood spurted out, covering them both.  He strangled on his own blood and the light behind his eyes went out.  Without waiting to see if he was truly dead, Sam rushed to Emma, dropping to his knees beside her.

“No, no, no, Emma.  Don’t die on me.” History felt like it was repeating itself as he felt for a pulse.  She wasn’t fucking breathing.  He immediately started CPR, begging and pleading with her to wake up as he started compressions on her chest.

It seemed like years passed as he worked on her, desperate to see her chest rise again.  After a few minutes, he sat back in disbelief.  It happened again.  He’d been too late and hadn’t saved the woman he cared about again.

“Fuck, no. No, no.” He covered his face in his hands and let his head fall onto his knees.

“Stop swearing, you idiot.  And dammit get me a drink, this has been one hell of a day.”  Sam’s head shot up and he was met with Emma’s beautiful blue eyed stare.  She was trying to smile but it looked more like a grimace.  He didn’t care though, she was awake and alive and that was all that mattered.

“I thought you were fucking dead.” He pulled her into his arms and ripped the offending rope off from around her neck.  He untied her hands and she wound them around his neck, burying her face in his chest as tears began to fall.

“I was so scared, Sam.  I thought he was going to kill me,” she cried.  Sam rocked her gently and stroked her wet hair.

“I know, baby.  I’m so damn sorry.  I should have been here.” He noticed how red and raw her skin was and swore again.  He wanted to kill the fucker all over again for hurting her.

“We need to get you to the hospital, Emma.  Your skin is all fucked up.”  Emma nodded and Sam lifted her in his arms.

“I’ll go as long as you promise me one thing,” she conceded.

“What’s that?”

“The next time we have sex…don’t fire me right after.”

“You got it, baby.”

Two Months Later

E
MMA ROLLED OVER in bed and stretched, letting out an unladylike yawn.  Seeing Sam sprawled out beside her filled her heart with joy.  They’d been living together ever since the day that she’d been taken hostage by Cole and nearly killed.  After rescuing her, Sam had insisted that she come and stay with him at the farm house and she’d been in no condition to argue with him about it.  Since that day, she’d just never left.  A fact that secretly made her happier than she’d ever been in her life.

Sam was slowly learning to let her all the way in; he still had a long ways to go, but he was trying and that was enough for her.  Teaching yourself that it was okay to forgive and move on was a lot easier said than done.  Guilt and regret were two of the trickiest emotions, rearing their ugly heads at the most inopportune times.  Luckily for them, they had the rest of their lives to figure things out.  For now, they were taking things a day at a time.

“Rise and shine, sleepyhead!” she whispered loudly in Sam’s ear.  He grunted and buried his head under the pillow, ignoring her attempts to get his ass out of bed.  Giving up on him, she swung her legs over the bed and padded down the hall to the bathroom for a quick shower.  When she emerged again thirty minutes later with her hair and make-up perfectly styled, Sam was there just on the other side of the door holding out a steaming cup of coffee for her.

She accepted it gratefully and took a long sip of the delicious liquid.  “You look beautiful, baby,” he told her as he leaned in to claim her lips in a soft yet demanding kiss.  She smiled up at him and couldn’t be happier.  Today was the grand opening of her shop, the little bookstore and wine room that she’d always dreamed of owning. 
The Reading Room
would finally officially open its doors to the public and she could hardly stand the excitement she felt.

It had been a fight with her uncle to get the capital she needed to get things rolling, even after her brush with imminent death.  Thankfully, Sam had been by her side and together they had convinced him that opening the shop was a smart business investment for Emma.

Now the day was finally here and everything she wanted was in her grasp. “Are you ready to go?” Emma asked.  Sam was taking the morning off to be there when she first opened the doors, a fact that showed just how far they’d come.

“Just about.  I have something for you first.” He winked at her and then led her into the living room where there was a large white box waiting on the coffee table.  Tossing him a confused look, she walked over and pulled the lid off, moving aside the bright pink tissue paper.  Nestled inside the box was the most beautiful hand carved plaque with her store’s name etched in a sprawling font.  Her name as the operator was spelled out in block letters surrounded by her small logo of a woman with a glass of wine and a book.  It was painstakingly done and must have taken him hours.  Love for him bloomed in her chest and she longed to give him the words but knew he wasn’t quite ready for that yet.  This action proved what she already knew, he loved her just as much.

“Sam.  I don’t even know what to say.  It’s breath-taking.  Thank you so much.” She hugged him and sighed happily.

“Y
ou’re welcome, let’s get moving and I’ll hang it for you before the opening.”

The drive to the storefront was a short one—Emma had been lucky to secure a prime location right on the town’s main strip.   Parking the car, they walked hand in hand to the door and Sam hung back to snap a quick shot of her opening the door for the very first time.

Once inside, he scooped her into his arms and swung her around.  Nearly losing her had shown him how much he really did care about her.  Despite the darkness that now lived inside him; the urges that he had to give in to…he now had some of the light back.  Love had grown in his heart again and sharing it with Emma was something he wouldn’t give up…not for anything.  There were still moments when guilt crept in over letting in another woman that wasn’t Hailey, but something always had him pushing those feelings aside.  He liked to think it was Hailey kicking his ass from wherever she was; letting him know that she approved of Emma.  She would never be replaced, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t find room in his heart for happiness with Emma.

Together, they would build a life free from the constraints of their past.  A life built on the foundation of love and trust.  Emma deserved a man willing to give her the world, and he wanted to be that for her.  He
would
be that for her.

Kissing her gently, he placed her on her feet.  “Everything looks fucking perfect.  You’ve really outdone yourself here, Emma.” He took a moment to take in the large, hand-stained bookshelves lined with dozens of paperbacks, the small intimate tables set up for two or four and the comfier seats with throw pillows and neatly folded blankets.  Towards the back were two large wine fridges and a glass hutch filled with rows of sparkling glasses.  Chalkboard easels announced the week’s new releases in books and a few large wicker baskets were filled with more books, a drop and take system that would allow readers to take any book as long as they left another behind.  He was so damn proud of her and couldn’t wait to see her turn her dream into a story of success.