Page 48 of Before I Loved You

My lips curve up as I slam into her, harder and faster, watching her as she’s about to unravel with me. Her whole body tenses just as I move my hand between us and press down on her clit.

“Scream for me, Sarah.”

And she does, free-falling before me as an orgasm takes over both of us. I hold her tighter to me as I wait for the tidal wave of pleasure to roll through us, leaving us both panting and spent.

“I’ve got you, baby girl. I’ve always got you.”

As I stare into her beautiful, glossed eyes, I only think about how I’m not ready to let her go and how I don’t think I’ll ever be.

eleven

SARAH

My face snuggles into my pillow, a manly, musky, familiar smell emitting into the air, eliciting a grin as I burrow into the mattress, cocooned in blankets that are…

Wait a minute.

My pillows don’t smell manly.

They smell like apples and honey, my go-to shampoo and conditioner.

Slowly, I turn my face to the side and let my eyelids flutter open, taking in my surroundings. Panic engulfs me. I twist, clutching the blankets to my body, my chest heaving steadily with each terrified breath I take.

Stay calm. Stay calm.

There’s a bookcase on one side, shelving books and trophies, a TV in the corner, and a desk on the side of the room with…a computer. A computer with a camera attached to the top of it pointed directly at me. Dread fills me as I swallow nervously, my mouth going dry.

This can’t be happening. Not again.

A bead of sweat rolls down my forehead as the once comforting layer of blankets on top of me now feels suffocating.

I throw them off of me, relieved to find that I’m fully dressed in the same clothes from last night. But my eyes dart to the camera, my chest tightens, and my breathing becomes erratic.

What the fuck happened?

I remember going to the bar with everyone. I remember Paul driving me home. I remember running out of Paul’s car and talking in the woods…amongst other things, and then… Did I fall asleep in Paul’s car?

I was so exhausted.

Mentally. Physically. Emotionally.

But how the hell could I have let this happen?

I would never voluntarily sleep in another man’s bed.

Not after what happened last time.

A horrifying flashback fills my head.

“I own you” appeared on my phone from an unknown number, followed by a video. My trembling finger clicked play, fear permeating every pore in my body, knowing what I was about to watch.

Bile rises in my throat.

I jump out of the bed on shaking legs, wrapping one of the blankets around me. Tears teeter on the edge, threatening to spill out.

No. No. No.

A soft knock causes my eyes to jump to the door right before it opens. “You’re up.” Paul’s wide smile falters as he looks at me, instantly observing my distress. “What’s wrong?’

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