I pulled my fingers away, dragging them slowly out of the wet heat of her mouth as I settled my hips between her spread thighs. I kissed her fiercely, her taste all over my lips and tongue as she moaned into my mouth. The head of my cock unerringly found her core. I pressed into her, the velvet softness pulling me in and surrounding me in her tight heat until I was deeper inside her then ever before.
"Holy fuck," I moaned out in pure ecstasy as I pulled my lips away from hers and our eyes locked together.
Her eyes were practically all black now, her expanded pupils surrounded by a thin ring of sapphire blue. I imagined mine looked very similar. I let myself go then, lost in her eyes as I pumped deeply into her over and over again. She flew apart within seconds, and I held her there screaming for as long as I could, until my control unraveled. My orgasm obliterated me as I followed her into bliss. In that moment, nothing else mattered or existed, and I wished like hell that we never had to come back down.
**********
"I thought you of all people would drive something flashier," I told Gareth as I glanced around the interior of his vehicle. We were in his dark-gray Range Rover and just left the lake house a little while ago to head to the police station. We hadn't talked about the interview later this morning at all yet, but I was perfectly fine with that. I wanted to live in denial about it for as long as possible.
"I left my 'something flashier' at home," he replied with an amused smirk. "I figured driving up to the police station in my Audi R8 was a bit over the top."
"You have an R8?" I asked in an impressed tone. The thing was a beast with a V10 engine and a maximum speed just a hair above two-hundred. The damn thing was one hell of a supercar. If I was into flashy displays of wealth, I was pretty sure I'd want one. They were gorgeous with sharp angular lines, and had an exotic feel that appealed to me.
"Oh yeah." Gareth grinned widely as he glanced over at me. He looked all the world like a man who'd drive an R8 in his dark pin-striped Brioni suit. I looked like a complete contradiction in my jeans and dark-blue T-shirt. Good thing I didn't give a shit. "Zero to sixty-two in three point two seconds, baby."
"Holy fuck," I said as I smiled back. "I'd like to feel what that's like."
"I'll let you drive it."
"Seriously?" I looked at him incredulously.
He smirked. "Well, it looks like we might end up being stepbrothers, so why the fuck not?"
"Yeah," I smiled. "Yesterday, I asked Mom if your dad was her boyfriend, and she blushed like hell."
He snorted out a laugh. "Dad talks about her constantly. He won't shut up about her." His expression softened. "He's got it bad."
"So does Mom," I said warmly.
"So, I take it that you're alright with them being together?" Gareth asked in a more serious tone as he looked my way.
"I am," I gave Gareth a soft smile. I was happy for my mother. She needed someone who made her happy and treated her right. Tom seemed to fit the bill for both.
"Me too," Gareth said with a small wistful grin.
I yawned suddenly as a wave of fatigue hit me. I'd slept like shit again last night, even after a marathon of sex with Jen all afternoon and into the evening. It had been so easy to pretend that we were just up at the lake house for a few relaxing days off. Unfortunately, after Jen fell asleep, my mind went straight back to reality.
I'd spent half the night staring at the ceiling while my thoughts spun with worry and fear as I drifted somewhere between sleep and wakefulness. The other half I spent out on the terrace after I sneaked out of bed around three in the morning. I sat at the table on the patio and stared off across the inky black water until the sun began to rise. I managed to sneak back into bed before Jen woke. She had no idea I hadn't slept the whole night. When I left, she'd been happily heading upstairs to don her bikini, so she could sunbath down by the lake. I really wished I was still there to watch that, even if I couldn't figure out why the hell she had a bathing suit with her in the first place. It's not like I had a pool at my apartment. Women.
"Tired?" Gareth asked.
"Fucking exhausted, man," I muttered out then sighed. "I've been sleeping like hell."
"I bet," he replied. "Go ahead and drift off for a while. We've got time."
"Sure," I agreed as I leaned the seat back. I wasn't feeling very confident that I'd be able to sleep, but I guess I'd hit a wall. Within moments, I was practically comatose in a blissful dreamless sleep.
"Ford." Gareth's voice pulled me back to consciousness. I felt him shaking my arm. I opened my eyes past the grit they seemed to be filled with to see him looking at me with a serious expression.
"What?" I asked in a gravelly irritable voice. I rubbed at my eyes as my brain tried to hold onto my much-needed sleep.
"We're here." His tone was stern and all business now.
"Fuck," I mumbled under my breath as I sat upright. I forced my eyes to focus on the police station entrance in front of us as I came fully awake. That was a bad idea, because now panicked fear hit me.
I remembered what it felt like to be dragged inside in handcuffs, and be paraded through the station like a criminal. I remembered the glares of contempt, the humiliation of being strip searched, and that god-awful panicked feeling when they closed me up in a tiny cell. I closed my eyes and focused on breathing. This was just an interview. They weren't going to keep me here today. I needed to relax. I just needed to stay calm enough to get through it.
"You ready?" Gareth asked as he watched me with a concerned expression.
"No," I growled back and started reaching for the door handle to get out of the vehicle.
Gareth grabbed my arm and stopped me with a firm reassuring grip. "Ford," he said worriedly. "I'll get you through this. You'll be alright."
"Let's just get it over with," I said in resignation. And then I can go back to Jen.
Gareth nodded. We got out of his SUV, and he led me into the building. We were ushered through security and then escorted to the same conference room that I'd talked to the detectives the first time. The sense memories from being here were making my heart pound in my chest. I struggled to get a grip as Gareth and I waited.
"Relax, Ford," he said from where he sat next to me at a small table. "You need to stay calm."
"I know," I snapped. "I'm trying."
"Just breathe and follow my lead," Gareth continued, unperturbed by my irritated tone.
The door into the room opened before I could reply. Detective Warren walked in followed by a woman I didn't recognize. Warren looked the same in his ill-fitting slacks and button-down shirt. He eyed me with a judgmental stare, and I was instantly on edge. The woman was younger with shoulder-length blond curls and blue eyes. She was dressed smartly in a fitted gray pants suit. She eyed me thoughtfully. It was the first person that worked here that didn't look at me with fear or contempt. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad with her here.
"Good morning, Detectives," Gareth announced politely, even as he gave Warren a narrow eyed stare. There was no mistaking the animosity between them.
"Caxton," was all Warren replied with.
"Good morning, Mr. Caxton," the female detective said as she frowned at Warren. She turned to look at me. "Mr. Spencer, I'm Detective Graves, and you already know Detective Warren. We'll be conducting this interview."
The two detectives took the two empty chairs across from Gareth and me. They each laid folders on the table top and opened them. I suddenly had a really bad feeling about all this. Things kept going wrong for me at every turn. Why would this be any different?
"It appears that there's been a new development in this case," Warren announced as he eyed me smugly.
"What new development?" Gareth asked bitingly as he narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Warren.
"It appears another woman has come forward claiming your client bound and raped her on multiple occasions," Warren said with unmistakable glee in his eyes.
"That's fucking bull-" I snarled out and started standing, but Gar
eth grabbed my arm. I snapped my mouth shut as I settled back into my chair. Fear laced fury raced through my body.
"Who?" Gareth demanded.
Graves looked down at her paper before glancing up at me again. "A woman named Tara Clayton."
I stared at her with my mouth gaping open in astonishment for a moment.
"Do you know her?" she asked.
I glanced at Gareth, and he nodded. "Yes," I whispered, feeling ill. This couldn't be happening, not again.
"How do you know her?" Graves asked.
I looked to Gareth again. He looked just as rattled as I was right now. Holy hell, why was this happening to me? He nodded again.
"I hooked up with her off and on for a few months until we ended it last winter."
Tara and I had a casual fling that wasn't exclusive, until she met someone, and we broke it off amicably. We'd met through a mutual friend of Nick's that was into the BDSM scene and knew she was into rope bondage. We fulfilled the physical need for dominance and submission for each other, and that's all it was. I considered her a friend when we ended things. We hadn't spoken since, and I hadn't given her a thought until now. I never would have expected her to do something like this to me. I wondered what Carter had done to get her to do this.
"Hooked up," Warren said snidely. "That's a funny way to describe systematically brainwashing a woman, then tying her up and raping her isn't it?"
"Goddamn it! It was consensual!" I snarled out as indignant rage exploded inside me, and I surged to my feet. Gareth grabbed a handful of my shirt and jerked me back down before I could launch myself at Warren and completely ruin my life. Holy hell, he was a lot stronger than he looked. He glared at me until I settled down.
"Detective Warren, you're baiting my client, and I've had enough." Gareth threw a baleful look across the table at him. "I want to see this woman's statement for myself."
Graves pushed her papers across the table to Gareth. I watched Gareth's eyes scan down the page. I didn't look at it myself. I didn't want to know what it said. His face paled, and now I really knew I didn't want to know. His eyes flashed up to glare at Warren again. "It's her word against his again. There's still no proof of any rape occurring."
"Yet," Warren added with a smug smile. "We've talked to the prosecutor, and he's willing to offer your client a deal with a lesser charge and a lighter sentence if he confesses now."
All I could do was sit and stare in horrified silence. A deal? A lighter sentence? Confess? The sudden terror felt like ice in my veins. Fuck, I'm innocent, goddamn it, innocent. How was any of this even possible?
"That's not going to happen," Gareth snapped back angrily. "This is all hearsay and bullshit." He shoved the file folder back across the table at Detective Graves. He shook his head in exasperation. "I keep telling you he's being targeted by Elliot Bennett. He's most likely blackmailing those women. Have you even looked into that possibility?"
"That's the most ridiculous idea I've ever heard." Warren gave him a skeptical expression. "You must think I'm stupid. I'm not accusing the CEO of the Bennett Corporation of that. I'd lose my job." He glanced at me with a stern expression. "Do yourself a favor, and take the deal."
"My client is innocent. We're not taking a fucking deal."
Warren and Gareth stared each other down for a long tension-filled moment. Gareth's face was hard, and his eyes glittered with a dominance I'd never seen from him before. I suddenly suspected that he was a fierce uncompromising Dom who demanded obedience and respect from his submissives. He wasn't a man you crossed lightly. I'm glad he was on my side.
Predictably, Warren looked away first. "Very well," he pushed back from his chair. "This interview is over then. We'll continue to gather evidence and see what else we dig up." He looked sharply at me now. "Just remember that this deal will only be around for so long, Mr. Spencer. I'd hate for you to wait until it's too late and end up spending the rest of your life behind bars." He stood and left the room without another glance our way.
Graves stood and gathered up the file folders, frowning after her partner. "We'll be in touch," she told Gareth before turning to leave. "I'll make sure you get a copy of all this."
"Thank you, Detective," Gareth told her gratefully. She nodded once and left the room.
"At least one of them isn't a raging unbearable asshole," he mumbled under his breath.
A moment later, an officer walked in to escort us from the building. By the time we climbed back into his Range Rover, shock had set in. I sat there in silence as Gareth told me what was in that folder. I listened and didn't like what I heard, so I started tuning it out. My brain just turned it into an annoying buzzing sound off in the distance that my ears couldn't quite make out. Eventually, he stopped talking and left me to my much-needed silence. All I could think about was Detective Warren's warning about the time limit on the deal to shorten my sentence. It suddenly felt like my freedom was now measured by a clock that was counting down, and time was swiftly running out.
Chapter 9
Jenny
The doorbell startled me awake. I sat up and blinked at the sunlight that was shining in on me through the floor to ceiling window that overlooked the lake. I'd fallen asleep waiting for Ford on the plush white sofa in the vaulted living room after a long morning spent sunbathing by the lake.
The doorbell rang again, and I surged to my feet, knocking blue paisley throw pillows to the floor in my wake. I rushed to the door and peeked through the sidelight window next to the door. Gareth was standing there alone with a worried frown on his face. Terror flared to life inside me, and I unlocked the door and flung it open so hard it bounced back and would have hit me if Gareth hadn't flung a hand out to stop it.
"Where's Ford?!" I asked in a panic as I looked frantically behind Gareth to find him. "Did they arrest him again?" Tears immediately burst out of my eyes in a stinging flood.
"No, no, no," Gareth blurted out and grabbed my shoulders, his eyes calm and focused on mine. "He's fine Jenny. He just went for a walk."
"A walk?" I asked in annoyed confusion. I stepped outside and tried to push past him to go find Ford. "Why?"
"Let's go inside and talk," he said firmly as he held me still. "He needs a little space right now, but he'll be back."
I nodded as I stopped fighting him, but inside, I was still freaking out.
"Come on," he said gently as he put an arm around my shoulders and ushered me back inside. He took me to the living room and sat me down on the sofa. I watched him in bemusement as he gathered up the fallen throw pillows and put them back on the couch before he sat next to me. I'd never seen this soft side of Gareth. Whenever I thought that I figured the guy out, he'd go and do something unexpected again.
"Another woman has come forward to accuse Ford of rape," he said with no warning or preamble whatsoever.
"Wh...what?" The shock stuttered my brain to a halt. "How did...what...who..." I shook my head in denial. "No, no, no." The tears started up again. What had Carter done now? Was there no way to save the man I loved?
Gareth put an arm around my shoulders again, and I sobbed onto his designer suit, my tears soaking into the soft wool of his sport coat. I didn't care, but neither did he as he rubbed comforting circles on my back.
"Her name is Tara Clayton."
"Ford never mentioned her before," I whispered harshly between sobs. Why would he? We never talked about our exes. They didn't matter to us. We only cared about our relationship and our future. If we even had a future anymore since Carter wouldn't stop playing these sick games and just leave us alone.
"She claims that Ford systematically brainwashed her, then pressured and manipulated her into letting him tied her up, so he could rape her on multiple occasions. She also claims that he threatened her if she didn't keep her mouth shut about it." His arm tightened around me as I started crying even harder.
"Ford hasn't said more than a couple of words since we left the police station. I don't know what's going on in his head right now,
and I'm worried about him."
"He's not doing well," I told him. "I don't think he slept last night at all. I woke up alone really early this morning and saw him sitting outside in the dark staring at the lake. I'm certain he didn't want me to know, so I left him alone. He hasn't been sleeping well for days, and he keeps jerking awake in the middle of the night. I haven't said anything about it, because he's such a proud man, and he doesn't like looking weak," I said as more tears poured out of my eyes, "but maybe I should."
Gareth sighed. "Most men don't handle feeling powerless very well, but it's even worse for men like Ford and me. I guess it stems from our penchant for dominance and control. The lack of control that comes along with feeling helpless is unsettling and feels like weakness. Accepting help is hard, since we're used to dealing with everything ourselves. Denying it and stuffing it down is easier, but eventually it always backfires when it catches up to you."
"Has that happened to you?" I asked, even though I knew it was a really personal question, but I needed some advice. Ford was struggling, and I was at a loss for what to do for him. He promised he wouldn't give up, but I suspected he was just trying to shove all his feelings down to put on a brave face for me. His lack of sleep was probably a symptom of that. This added development would only make things worse for him, and he needed to find a way to deal with it that worked.
Gareth took his arm from my shoulders and fiddled with the knot of his tie in discomfort as his face became unreadable. I was just about to apologize and tell him to forget I asked, when he suddenly snorted out a laugh. "See?" He smiled sheepishly. "It's still a struggle even when you're aware of it."
"I'm sorry," I said regretfully. "I didn't mean to pry."
"It's alright," he answered with a smile. "It's good for me to face my insecurities now and then." His grin turned into a roguish smirk. "Thank God, there aren't very many, or I'd be completely irresistible to the ladies," he added shamelessly as he winked at me. Who'd have thought such arrogant cockiness could be so amusing?
An Act of Redemption: Order & Chaos Book 3 Page 19
