by Cee Smith
Was that what she meant when she said I had ruined her? That the mere fact that she felt anything for me ruined her? God, those words from her mouth were crushing. Her face looked devastated when the words left her lips, and I hated that she felt that way about herself—that she couldn’t see the woman that she’d become just in the short amount of time since I’d taken her.
She had flourished—a phoenix that had risen from the ashes to become something bolder, brighter, stronger, and I was left on the pyre to bask in her flames. How could she not see this?
Because she was still caged.
The thought hit me deep in my chest and sent spasms of pain throughout my limbs. I rubbed my chest, feeling the faint puffs of air from Hailey’s lips touch my fist. It was true—she would never know her strength as long as I kept her caged, but the idea of letting her go was unbearable. She couldn’t leave. She was pregnant.
Luckily, those thoughts were interrupted by Scout texting me.
The car is ready downstairs whenever you are.
I rocked Hailey’s shoulder a little to see if I could nudge her awake, but she didn’t budge.
“Hailey? Baby? It’s time to go,” I crooned so as not to startle her.
“Hailey?”
When she still didn’t move, I slid out from under her and leaned over the bed to scoop her up. I carried her down the stairs without her so much as moving in my arms.
“Our bags are in the closet upstairs,” I said to Scout as he opened the front door for us.
“Let me get the car door for you, then the bags.”
“And Clema?” I asked, walking down the few steps to the car waiting at the end.
“She’ll be staying in the guesthouse.”
“Good. This thing with Sampson shouldn’t take long to resolve, but I just want to be on the safe side.”
“Understood, sir.” Scout opened the door, and I placed Hailey into the car before climbing in after her. Scout shut it and ran back up the steps into the house, reemerging moments later with our duffel bags and a large overthrow tossed over his shoulder.
“Thanks, Scout.”
“Of course, sir,” he said as he settled into the driver’s seat, buckling in. I shifted Hailey’s head in my lap, and she tucked her legs against her chest as I wrapped her in the blanket.
Hailey was deep in the throws of sleep when we arrived at the cabin twenty minutes later. One hand was fisted against her chest as if reciting the pledge of allegiance while the other lay haphazardly across my legs. Scout got out, checking to see if the cabin was clear before we entered.
“Everything’s secure,” Scout said as he opened the door for us to exit.
We made our way inside, and I placed Hailey down in the bedroom while Scout and I went over the plan for the next few days. It was 2 a.m., and I was exhausted. The day had been long and full of surprises that had left me drained, physically and mentally. We finished up the details and stood in the foyer underneath the orange glow of the hanging overhead light.
“She’s pregnant, you know,” I said looking back at the room. The door was opened to show the dim outline of her body laid out along the bed.
“Bad news for your liver, but you’ll make a damn good father, sir.” Scout nodded his head. His words startled me as that was the most he’d said in one sitting in the ten years he’d worked for me. He was a man of few words. I didn’t know what prompted me to tell Scout, except maybe it was for more protection. Or, did I just need to tell someone else for it to all feel real? I would never ask Scout why he believed what he said, but I wondered what kind of father I would be. Would I be like my own father, or had this experience changed me? Or, was I fucked up long before I had taken her?
***
I awoke before she did. Her arms were folded beneath her head, and she had a tiny smile that held all of her innocence tied up in the little quirk of her lips. Before I knew it, I was leaning in to plant a kiss on her forehead. Her hands released and she placed one on the side of my neck, adoringly—like one would hold a lover after a soul-bearing kiss.
I leaned in again, this time touching my lips to hers, and I nearly fell apart when she granted me a soft hum that broke my lips open with the vibration. Fuck, I wanted more and she held me like she wanted more, but I knew if she woke up with any part of my body on any part of hers, she would scream deathly cries until just the thought of her made my ears bleed. So I pulled back, resting on the cold side of the bed until her eyes started to flutter open.
She noticed the absence of her chains first, clenching and unclenching her fists, as if remembering the weight of the metal cinched around her wrists.
“You won’t be chained here, but don’t get any ideas. Scout will still be standing guard.”
The cabin we were in was built so I could stay nearby while the renovations on the other home were being completed. I had no use for this cabin and didn’t particularly care for its bare furnishings and rustic look, but I couldn’t deny it came in handy, especially considering the situation we found ourselves in.
Hailey looked around the room, her eyes looking at the white quilt, the little wood table to her right, the old glass sconce that hung above the table, the stacked wood logs that ran from floor to ceiling, and the window on the left side of the room that took up half the wall. Finally, her eyes landed on me, and for the briefest of moments she looked content, like after a long day spent on the beach.
It was like a light had turned off, and her face morphed back to the Hailey that loved to hate me. I moved towards the door, but before I left the room, she spoke.
“Why are we here?”
I stopped, speaking over my shoulder, “You know why we’re here. You thought you could trust Sampson, and this is the price we’re both paying for your ignorance.” Before she had a chance to respond, I was already leaving on my way to the kitchen to make breakfast for the both of us, since I decided to give Clema another day off. I opened the refrigerator, taking out the eggs and bacon. Soft footfalls made their way from the bedroom to the center island, and I knew when I turned around she would be waiting for me.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she huffed. I couldn’t believe that she was going to keep up this rouse after she’d been outed, but then again, all she had left to go on were her lies.
“You know what I’m talking about and just so you know I’m not upset. I could be. I could punish you for what you’ve done, but I understand why you did it. Plus, you were still upset about what happened on the plane.”
She was silent for a moment, probably considering whether or not she wanted to stick with the lie.
“What are you doing?”
She sat down at the kitchen island with her elbows propped up on the counter and eyes that watched as I moved about the kitchen.
“Making breakfast.” I turned on the burners and pulled down two plates for us.
“Where’s Clema?”
“She has the day off. It’s just you and me.”
“Great. Tell me, how do I get one of those days?”
“It’s too early for you to be this angry. Why don’t you go rest or watch TV or something. I’ll let you know when breakfast is ready.”
“Hmh.” She turned and made her way back to the bedroom. After a few beats, I heard voices from the TV, and I returned to making our breakfast.
The rest of the day continued in the same pattern, her hiding away in the room while I escaped to the kitchen to make our meals and snacks. The other time I spent checking the feed of the other house to see if anything had changed.
It was somewhere between night and dawn when my alarm went off. My phone screeched, and I fumbled around, trying to silence it. The silent alarm for the other house had been triggered, and Sampson was probably there right now, hoping to surprise me.
I darted up from the bed, grabbing my laptop and cell phone as I made my way past the living room, towards the office. I opened my computer, pulling up the feed and saw in full frame that a few S
UVs had pulled up. Sampson exited the car, his head tilted up, looking across the large structure of my home. The video was too grainy to see his facial expression, but he looked perfectly comfortable as he stood in my driveway sizing up my property while his men lined up around him with automatic rifles. I sent a quick text to Scout telling his men not to engage Sampson and then made the call.
“Ah, look what we have here. It’s the man of the hour. And if you’re calling that would mean that you must not be home,” Sampson’s voice was like liquid pouring through the phone.
“Unfortunately not.”
“And that would mean you know I’m here. I must say, your security system needs an improvement if a man like me was able to get this close to your front door.”
“Duly noted. I’ll have to see to that later. I know why you’re here—”
“Yes, I had to see for myself what kind of conditions a prisoner such as yours would have to endure, but I must say this is some prison.”
“Let’s leave her out of this. I know what you want, and I’m prepared to make you an offer.”
“I want Callas Enterprises backing me for the buyout of those thousand acres. I want Tritan Oil to begin preparation of the land as early as next month. I want to split profits 60/40 and a public claiming of partnership. I want your marketing team on this and none of those shit interns; I want the best your team has to offer.”
“Done, but I have one request. My marketing team will want to clean up your image a bit. Just say yes and my next phone call will be to Robert.”
“Fine.”
“Good. One more thing. This thing with Hailey stays between us. I don’t think I need to threaten you to get my point across.”
“Mr. Callas, you’re more ruthless than I imagined you to be. Consider my lips sealed. You’ll have to give my thanks to the young lady; she has made me quite a penny.”
“I’ll be sure to let her know.” I hung up the phone with a heavy sigh. The problem with Sampson was far from over, but I granted us enough time to figure out our next steps. I wasn’t in the business of being blackmailed into deals, but I needed to know that Hailey was safe at least for the time being.
On my way back to the bedroom, I spotted Clema in the kitchen. I gave her a kiss on the cheek as she flipped pancakes.
“You’re up early.”
“Closing some deals,” I said, taking a seat in the same spot Hailey had sat in the previous morning.
“Oh, you’re back to work then?”
“No. Something just needed my finesse.”
“I know something else that could use your finesse,” Clema’s eyes landed on the door that Hailey was still sleeping behind. Her face drew tight as if I might receive one of her famous lectures I’d received as a misbehaving child.
“I don’t think that’s going to work with her. I fucked up. Big time. I’m going to be a father, Clem. Me—a dad”
“That’s great news, Dominic, truly, but it’s all the more reason you need to fix things with her. You need to figure it out. Make things right.”
“I know, but I won’t be around for long if I don’t get a new liver, and she obviously can’t donate anymore.”
“You worry about that later. Make things right first, and everything that’s meant to be, will be.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“It won’t be easy, but I know you’ll do the right thing, Dominic. Breakfast should be ready in ten. Do you want to wake her?”
I looked back at the closed door, thinking about Hailey’s sleeping body. She’d been a lot more tired lately. Though, thankfully she hadn’t been ill in the last few days.
“I’ll get her in a bit.”
“I’ve got my team working on this deal with Sampson so it should be safe to go back home after a few days.” Dominic picked his fork back up and continued eating his lunch as if he were discussing nothing more than the weather.
“I guess you have everything figured out then, don’t you?”
I swirled my spoon through my soup watching the tomato bisque part as I made circles in my bowl. I didn’t look up to see Dominic looking at me; I didn’t need to.
“Come here,” he said softly, rising.
“What? Why?”
“Don’t ask questions, just do what I say. For once, Hailey.”
I didn’t know what he wanted, but I wasn’t nervous. His words were almost too calm, commanding—yes, angry—no. Pushing the chair out from the table, I stood up and made my way to the side of the table so there was nothing between us.
“I want you to get it out of your system,” he said with his arms raised away from his body, his palms facing me in a display of surrender.
“I don’t understand. Is this some sort of test?”
“No. I’m giving you an opportunity. If you want to hit me, hit m—”
Thwack. Instinctually, my right hand lifted before his final words left his mouth, creating a loud smack as my palm met his face.
Thwack. My left hand lifted, smacking his face back to the right. I felt the tension in his jaw, heard the grinding of his teeth, but I couldn’t stop. My right hand reached up to grip his throat measuring how far he would let me go. I didn’t add any real pressure; I just let my fingers graze across the muscles that lined the column of his neck.
We both stood frozen, our chests heaving from the adrenaline and endorphins rushing through our blood. His pupils dilated, changing from murky brown into glinted oil. The passion in his eyes that had been missing for the last week snapped back into focus.
His moves were subtle as his body leaned into mine. The hard planes of his chest bumped against my hardening nipples. He looked down at the point where our chests touched and then back into my eyes as if he had just now noticed that I hadn’t moved.
Since we’d arrived at the cabin, I had been feeling hopeless. The note to Sampson backfired. I was pregnant. And though I shouldn’t have cared, Dominic still needed a new liver. He had never mentioned the liver since that day with Dr. Reynolds, but I wondered if it worried him. It was surprising to see how OK he was with the idea of having a baby. I tried to keep my mind focused on my hate for him, but maybe it was my pregnancy hormones that had me softening to the idea of Dominic being a father.
His face moved closer, his feather-soft lips danced precariously close to mine, testing me. I didn’t know why I let him or what prompted me to stand still, but then his mouth brushed mine, and soon I was swept away in a kiss. It wasn’t even a hint of what we had shared, but it was enough to remind me of what I missed. What I needed.
I hated Dominic for what he’d done to me, what he continued to do to me, but the one thing that I couldn’t explain—what no one would ever understand—was that I loved Dominic. It didn’t make sense. Sometimes things are just unexplainable. Dominic was one of those things. I just wanted to forget about how and why I was there. I wanted to forget that there was anything more than him and me.
He moved one hand, covering the hand I had at his throat, while his other hand rested at the back of my neck, pulling me deeper into his mouth. He teased me, running his lips across my bottom lip, gently prying my mouth open to receive his tongue. He kissed me like he was taking a victory lap around my mouth, reacquainting himself with the touch of my tongue and taste of my lips.
He moaned softly, and I could feel the thrumming clear in my chest. I removed my hand from his throat and gripped his back. His shoulders flexed as he moved closer, until our bodies were like a vise, trapping his stiff heat between us. His kisses grew hotter, less controlled as he snaked down my jaw and across my neck until his breath licked hot flames across my ear.
“Fuck, I’ve missed you so much. I’m sorry. I know that’s what you want to hear, Hailey. I’m sorry.” He stopped his movements, his forehead coming to rest against mine. All the anguish that I’d felt over the last week was captured in his voice. He had never said sorry before. For anything. I thought he would go to his grave before he ever apologized for anything that
he’d done.
“I’m going to make it up to you. I’m going to fix this.”
“Shhh.” I wasn’t ready for empty promises. His voice was too needy, and I wasn’t sure that he was even aware of the things he was saying. “Just…make love to me. I need you to make me forget.”
“OK.”
No other words were needed. He placed his hands under my ass and lifted me so my arms were wrapped around his neck and my legs around his torso. Dominic didn’t stop carrying me until we reached the bathroom, where he set me down on the bench lining the outside of the tub. He peeled off my Henley first—my skin breaking out into goosebumps as the cold air rushed in to steal the warmth of my flesh. With the snap of his fingers, my bra slid down my arms and puddled at my feet. “Mmm,” he moaned, dropping down to his knees. His lips closed around my nipple, sucking until they were pebbled, and my breasts were red from the pressure of his mouth. He continued as his fingers dipped inside my panties, rolling both my pants and underwear down to my ankles.
“I don’t tell you enough how beautiful you are.”
He turned the shower on, adjusting the temperature before guiding me under the spray.
“This is going to be good,” he said as the spray of water trickled down my body. He dropped to his knees his lips trailing kisses down my stomach as rivulets of water seeped into his mouth. His tongue parted my folds and barely touched my clit as water gushed from his lips. He pushed me until the back of my knees met the seat at the back of the shower.
“I’ve been waiting to properly worship this pussy. Would you like that? Do you like feeling my tongue inside you?”
A whimper escaped my mouth as I brushed the back of his head slowly pulling him forward as I scooted my hips closer to the edge of the bench.
