Page 36 of Incipient

“You left me with no other choice,” he said as he put the phone to his ear. “I’m calling Trace.”

15. WITH OR WITHOUT YOU

The breathtaking Reaper from my dreams materialized in the cellar before Ben had a chance to end the phone call. His expression quickly morphed from annoyance to seething rage upon spotting me chained to the wall, dry heaving and shrieking as though Ben were getting ready to skin me alive.

“What the hell is going on here?” shouted Trace as he rushed to my side and picked up my chin, carefully brushing the matted hair back from my forehead. “Why is she chained up like this?” he asked and immediately started playing with the chains, pulling at them in an effort to break me loose.

“You have to help me,” I pleaded with him, my teeth chattering as though I were standing in the middle of an ice storm. The pain was making my entire body tremble.

Trace swung around to Ben; his hands clenched into fists as though he were going to hit him. “I said what the fuck is this?!” he snapped, getting directly in Ben’s face now.

“She asked me to do it, I swear it,” he quickly defended, raising both palms in the air. “I think Dominic compelled her to do something she didn’t want to do.”

Trace swung around, his eyes probing me for confirmation. “Is that true?”

“It’s…he…I can’t—” I shook my head, unable to utter a word about our secret rendezvous.

“I think he compelled her to keep quiet about it,” suggested Ben as Trace made his way back over to me, cursing under his breath.

He brought his hand to my face and caressed my cheeks with the pad of his fingers. The second his skin made contact with mine and stayed there, the blood-curdling ache inside my head eased just a tiny bit. Not enough to make a real dent, but enough to keep me from vomiting all over his shoes.

“Dammit, Jemma. Why didn’t you come to me?” he murmured as he continued to stroke my cheek. It was almost as though he knew that his touching me was making the pain more bearable.

“Icouldn’t,” I said, closing my eyes as tears dripped out from the corners. “And I wouldn’t have even if I could.”

His eyes darkened in vexation. “Why the hell not?”

“You know why.” I tried not to blink as though the gesture might give my leaky eyes a break. “You’ve already done enough for me, Trace. I’m not your responsibility, and I can’t keep pushing you away with one hand and pulling you in with—”

“This is different,” he quickly cut in. Without stepping away from me, he turned slightly toward his best friend. “Ben, can you give us a minute?” he asked, his jaw muscle pumping profusely.

Ben made a face like he thought that was a bad idea. “Are you sure, man? I don’t think those chains are going to hold her much longer if she keeps pulling at them.”

“I got it,” he said firmly and ducked his chin a nod.

“Alright…I’ll be upstairs if you need me,” he said wearily and then looked over at me. “I’m sorry, Jem. I did what I thought was best.”

I nodded, because I knew he only wanted to help me, and he did. “I’m sorry for putting this on you.”

“Nah,” he said and chucked me under my chin. “That’s what friends are for.”

I tried for a smile as I watched him leave the room and then shut the cellar door behind himself, leaving me alone with Trace and the disturbing feeling of Dominic’s words scratching through my insides.

“It hurts so bad,” I said as I tried to move closer to him but was abruptly halted by the chains.

At this point, the only thing that was making me feel even remotely better was his touch, and I was willing to do just about anything to get it.

He closed the small gap between us as though knowing exactly what I needed. With his hand still pressed against the side of my face, he circled his other arm around my waist and leaned me back against the wall. Momentarily lulled, I rested my cheek against his palm and closed my eyes as he traced small circles with his thumb into the small of my back.

I could still feel Dominic’s words scratching inside my head, beating me into obedience, but the longer Trace stayed beside me, touching me the way he was, the more the pain and compulsion became manageable. The easier it become to resist his call.

“How long do you think this is going to last?” I asked after a while with my eyes still closed tightly.

“I don’t know.” His tone was clipped, as though he were pissed off and having a hard time hiding it.

I chanced a peek at him and met his troubled gaze. “Are you mad at me?”

“No,” he said, but his expression was saying something entirely different.

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