Page 49 of Taking

“I-I don’t want to relive it, Gideon.”

And I didn’t want to fucking hear it, but a sick part deep inside me needed every detail. Every last fucking thing he’d said to her while taking what didn’t belong to him.

“I’m going to ruin him, so fuel my fire, Addilyn. Make my revenge that much sweeter.”

“Gideon…” She choked on my name, tears rolling with abandon.

“Christ, princess.” I pulled her into my arms, just like I’d done all those years ago, but more for my sake than hers. Sinking down onto the mattress, I cradled her against my chest, closed my eyes, and fucking soaked in the soft feel of her. She tucked against me like she belonged there, her tears wetting the shirt her hands grasped at, as though afraid I would dissipate into thin air.

I understood her shakiness, her gulped breaths while quieting. Time halted—or perhaps sped past—as we settled into silence, in a cocoon of warmth and heavy limbs.

“Tell me,” I whispered against her silky-soft hair.

And she did.

19

Addilyn

I felt no shame being naked and held against Gideon’s hard body. My insides still buzzed from the best fuck of my life, from the connection between us that had snapped into place like a puzzle piece.

Perfectly fit.

The fight, the pain, and the release of cum was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. And he’d found the struggle sexy, hadn’t pulled away, hadn’t been turned off by how his body and the violence between us had made me come.

With my face against his chest, I breathed him in, pushing away the euphoria that hovered near exhaustion to give him what he asked for—steadying myself for the nightmare I would relive.

I inhaled until it hurt.

“It started sixteen days after they locked you up.” My stomach churned at the memory, but I stared at Gideon’s shoulder so I wouldn’t see the flashbacks behind closed eyelids. “He’d had it planned. Said things couldn’t have gone better. He sent Mother away.”

A shudder rippled over me, and Gideon grasped the back of my head. Held me tight against him, offering comfort like he’d done all those years ago. The steady thump of his heart beneath my ear soothed me, and I listened for a few moments, thankful to hear its steady beat.

Alive.

Here.

“My protector was gone,” I whispered, thin and reedy. “And it was all my fault.”

“He would have found a way to get rid of me.” His deep voice rumbled, sending a shiver down my spine and reminding me of my own words.

“But you planned on taking off after graduation, didn’t you?”

“I did—until the night Devon kissed you. I knew then I would never leave you. Never let you go.”

A heavy sigh escaped me, my heart fluttering regardless of the story I needed to tell. “Your father hit me in the temple, enough so I couldn’t fight him off but not enough to black out. He threatened me in order to keep me quiet, but I wasn’t about break for him. I told Mother.”

My eyelids slid shut at the memory of the screaming match between us. The red handprint I’d carried on my cheek for three days.

“Twice after that, he drugged me since I refused to give him what he wanted,” I whispered, my guts clenching over the memory.

And my body…

Stomach threatening to heave, I blinked my eyes open. Stared hard at the way the rounded muscle of Gideon’s shoulder stretched his shirt while I swallowed against the need to vomit.

“He was rough,” I finally managed to continue. “Left me bruised and aching. Took what innocence I had left.” My voice caught on a choking swallow to rid the bitter tang in my mouth, but I felt compelled to tell Gideon everything like he’d demanded.

My skin crawled, my cheeks hot, but I forced the words out.

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