Page 26 of Seductive Desires

I’m not playing, asshole! His hand was pressing hard enough and high enough now that I couldn’t breathe, and no matter how much I tried to make sound, nothing higher than a whimper escaped his grip. He tried to shove his knee between mine but I kept them together, trying to keep his attention away from there.

He grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking harshly. “I know you like it rough, Anna. You have to in order to be with me. But you need to stop now or you won’t enjoy it.” He gripped the hem of my pencil skirt and tore it upwards. A huge tear ripped up the side and he slid his hand into it, grabbing my thigh.

Panicking, I threw my hand out, aiming for his throat. It wasn’t enough to incapacitate him like the attacker in the alley, but it did make him stumble back enough to loosen his grip on my mouth slightly. I bit into the fleshy part of his palm, only releasing him when he slapped me across the face. He howled, pressing his free hand against the wound. I could see blood seeping through his fingers.

He snarled at me. “You fucking bitch!”

When he came at me again, I was ready this time. I ran forward, thrusting the heel of my palm against his nose. It cracked with a satisfying crunch. Then I gathered momentum, slamming my knee into his crotch. He collapsed to his knees, but he wasn’t out. Not by any means. It was like he was possessed and nothing I did would ever be enough to stop him. So instead, I used the few seconds I had to snatch my purse off the ground and run.

ChapterThirteen

I flew outof the main doors of the museum. I could hear him screaming behind me and to my horror, a couple guys who were outside started chasing me. I didn’t have time to stop and wait. I ran as hard and fast as I could, straight toward the busy street. I saw a taxi heading towards me. I had one shot. I flew down the stairs, past the roundabout to the museum, straight toward the street. My hand flew up and the taxi screeched to a stop right in front of me. I yanked the door open, throwing myself inside.

“Go! Hurry!”

He didn’t hesitate, the tires squealing as he slammed on the gas. I barely had enough time to slam the door closed before we took off. The guys who were chasing me tried to grab the handle but I locked it and the driver was going fast enough that they had to let go, standing with their hands on their hips as we drove away.

I sobbed, curling around myself as I sunk low into the seat.

“Lady! Lady, are you alright?”

I couldn’t answer him. All I could manage was to find my phone, pulling up the one address I knew I could go to.

Jo told me once if I was ever in trouble to go to her house. Her husband had security or worked security, I have no idea. It was just a safe place, well guarded, and I knew that Stephen couldn’t follow me there. I handed my phone to the driver, who seemed to hesitate for a moment.

“Here? Really? Are you sure?”

When I didn’t respond, he clicked his tongue and sighed. “Alright. Hold on. It’ll be a minute.”

He handed me back my phone. He didn’t put the address in his GPS but he seemed to know where he was going. I managed to focus long enough to text Jo that I was on my way before I burst into a fresh set of tears.

Stephen has been after me since I was sixteen. No, before that. He’s always been weird around me, hovering too close, trying to come into my room. I ended up sleeping with my door barricaded after I turned thirteen because I worried he’d come in while I was sleeping. When I left at sixteen, he tried to follow me, chasing me to a friend’s house. He broke in through a back window and tried to assault me on their couch. I was insanely lucky that her older brother and his friends were there. They beat the hell out of him and threw him out and her parents gave me money to get on a bus and get the hell out of there the next morning. I’ve been running ever since.

I got too complacent here. I hadn’t seen him in years. Chicago is a big city, I thought I could disappear in it until that magazine came out with my face plastered across the page like a big target saying hey, here I am, come find me! Now I’d need to find a way out of here without being caught and start over somewhere else.

It hurt, thinking of saying goodbye to Chicago. I met Carlos here, I made a life for myself here. My tiny apartment was exactly what I wanted, even down to the terrible kitchen. I knew better than to go back there now. If he could find me at the museum, he probably knew where I lived. Going back there now would be a death sentence.

I was so wrappedin my own thoughts, I didn’t notice the driver slow down until we were in front of huge wrought iron gates. Guards stood just inside, frowning at us, except one who was waiting outside the gate. He didn’t walk up to the driver’s window. He walked up to mine instead. I rolled it down.

“Mariana?”

I could only nod. He stepped back, waving at the guys behind the fence. Once we passed through the gate, he followed behind us. The driver was moving so slowly, the security guard had no trouble keeping up with us. When we pulled around front, I tried to hand the driver some cash. He shook his head, turning to face me.

“No. You don’t have to do that.” He had pity in his eyes and I hated it so I dropped the cash on the floor and slid out. He left the minute the door closed behind me. The front door of the giant mansion flew open. Jo froze at the top of the steps, her mouth falling open.

“Liam!” she screamed, racing toward me.

When she wrapped her arms around me, I felt my knees give out and I dropped, only her grip slowing me down as I landed on my knees. Sobs wracked my entire body and I clung to her like a life-raft in the open ocean, pressing my forehead against her shoulder.

“Shh… it’s okay. You’re okay.” I could hear her voice crack. She didn’t believe that. Neither did I.

I heard footsteps rushing along the gravel.

“Jo, what the hell? What happened?”

“I don’t know. Just help me get her inside.”

The idea of letting him touch me blasted me with a fresh wave of panic. I screamed, wrenching away from him when his hands touched my shoulders, my eyes squeezed shut.

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