Page 17 of Reclaiming Love

“I’m not in the mood for a movie,” she answered. And the decision was made.

“Nice place,” he exclaimed, looking around the large open-plan kitchen dining room. “This is so cool.” She smiled, because this had also been the exact same reaction she and Heather had had when Diana had first shown them around.

She took him around, because he insisted on seeing the rest of it. It was so much bigger and nicer than where he currently rented. When he saw her bedroom, which was nearly three times the size of his, he was blown away. “What the—?” he exclaimed. His voice oozed pure envy as he walked around, examining her private space.

“Nice bed,” he commented, looking over at her mischievously. He walked over to her then and grabbed her hand. It didn’t look as though he was leaving anytime soon. She’d assumed he would walk her to the door, stay a short while and then leave. He was so regimental about his own timetable, she hadn’t expected him to hang around. She’d assumed his seeing her home was his way of making it up to her. “What about your run?” she reminded him.

“Screw the run.” he said hoarsely, leaning in to kiss her. She hadn’t factored in his male urges. By now, with his little kisses and endearments along the way, she’d come around to forgiving him.

He pulled away and sat on her bed. “Come here,” he said, patting down the space beside him. She giggled, but scooted over anyway, and barely had time to land her butt on the bed before he pulled her over so that they were both lying on their side. He kissed her hard, one hand furiously exploring her back, while his other pulled out her blouse. He was a great kisser, and she felt his urgency like a live wire igniting deeply buried desire in her. She ran her hands along his back, feeling his hard muscles, and a primal part of her responded in kind.

“This is a no photo zone.” She pulled her lips away from his and warned him, holding up a finger against his mouth which threatened to devour her.

“Okay,” he breathed, and plundered her with his lips again.

“Hey,” she said, and struggled to come up for air. “How about we slow down?” Making out was fine, but she wasn’t in the mood for full-blown sex right now. “Grab something to eat,” she added, seeing him looking at her hungrily.

“This is a much better way of burning calories.” His hot breath licked her face, before his lips came gnashing down. He slipped his hand lower and lifted her skirt.

“Matt.” She raised her voice, as her chest tightened with his touch.

“You know you want it.” He tipped her back until she was flat against the mattress and pinned her down with his strong body. His hips were raised and ready, an inch from hers, and his dark eyes stared down at her. He bent down and claimed her mouth again. She struggled to free her legs, but he had her trapped now that he’d moved on top of her.

White-hot anger knotted in her stomach and fear crawled slowly up her throat. He held both her hands together with one of his, raised above her head, while his tongue dipped inside her mouth, violating her. She angled her hips, tried to hit him where it hurt with her hip. Tried, and failed. She thrashed her neck as much as she could from side to side.

Surprised, he stopped, lifted his head. “What?”

“I don’t want this,” she whispered, in a voice that didn’t sound like hers.

“Yeah, you do.” His free hand crawled up her thigh and his fingers flirted with the crotch of her panties. She was as dry as toast.

“Yeah, baby, you do want it,” he moaned hungrily, before dipping his finger inside her.

“No,” she yelled. Her voice sounded low and weak when inside she was screaming at full volume.

She wriggled to kick him hard, but had never felt so powerless to move. He could do whatever he wanted and nobody would know. The thought flashed before her to give in, that maybe on some deep level she did want it, had given him the signals that she did. After all, she’d been lying on the bed with him long enough, making out.

If he’d been gentler with her, let her lead, she’d have gotten into the mood.

But forcing her as he had...

No, she did not want this. Leaden chains clanked around her, squeezing out the air in her lungs. She spluttered with fear, her heart pumping, beating louder and constricting her lungs until she gasped for air. “Please, no.” She thought she screamed them out but the words died in mid-air.

He kept his finger inside her, shifted his greedy face down to her chest, then, unable to open her buttons, he grazed his lips against her neck.

“Stop it,” she hissed. “Stop it.” Panic scratched her throat as the words fell on deaf ears. She tried to hit him with her shoulder, failed. Tried to hit him with her hip, failed. Tried to bring up her knee, couldn’t.

“Melissa? Are you back?” In the faint distance the sound of footsteps on the solid oak flooring announced Heather’s return. Matt stopped mid-motion, slipped his hand away from her panties and looked down at her with hooded eyes, his face blood red. The chains that choked her lungs slowly came undone. She gasped for air, her mind battling to make sense of what he had nearly done.

Taking her chance she slid her hands out of his weakening grasp. He rolled off her, and she escaped the bed.

With shaky legs she backed away from him. Inside, her body felt hollow, as if there were nothing under the skin, not even blood or bone.

“Great timing.” She heard him mutter while he zipped up his trousers.

He wouldn’t have stopped.

“You’d have carried on, wouldn’t you?” She moved away, her insides churning like stew on a slow cooker. She tried to breathe evenly—but she felt queasy and weak.

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