by K. L. Donn
Ignoring the jocks, she slunk into her first class of the day deciding to, at least, try to make the effort of being present instead of running away like she had the day before.
Sitting in the back of class, she watched as students piled in. Some she recognized, some she didn’t. A high-pitched cat call drew her attention to two boys sitting a few rows down from her. Looking covertly through her hair, they were pointing and laughing at her just as Ashley strolled through the door looking angrier than she’d ever seen her.
Her and Ashley had been in school together almost their entire lives. She’d never understood the other woman’s hatred towards her so she always tried to ignore her.
Cecilia watched in trepidation as she stomped up the steps to where she was sitting with a look of pure malice on her face.
Shocked when the back of her hand connected with her own cheek, she sat in stunned silence as the room grew quiet.
“You stupid bitch!” Ashley screamed at her. “You’re ruining everything!”
Confused, she didn’t know what do, what to say. So she sat there, one hand pressed to her throbbing cheek while the entire class watched in fascination of what would happen next. Some had looks of curiosity, some were confused. Others felt pity towards the freak with the scars. But the majority held laughter in their eyes.
“I didn’t… I don’t know… I’m sorry.” She stuttered out, mortified that she was apologizing after being assaulted. She’d done nothing wrong.
“Stay away from my brother you stupid tramp. He doesn’t want your crazy ass,” she snarled, making her way down to the two boys that had been laughing at her before.
It wasn’t long before rumors started to swirl around the classroom and spill into the halls.
Slut.
Tramp.
Gold-digger.
New names. New school.
Same Cecilia Marks. The girl forever bullied.
The first thing Landon heard when he walked into the building he’d first seen Cecilia in a few days prior was nasty comments and crude words.
“She’s such a whore. She deserves everything she gets.”
“I can’t believe she’s fucking so many men.”
“I heard she was found with a professor in a closet.”
“The football team has been bragging about how her mouth sucked like a hoover vacuum.”
The comments made him sick. He couldn’t believe college kids had nothing better to do than spread rumors about someone. When he was in school, he didn’t have time. Clearly the standards for learning had dropped.
The further he got, the nastier the comments. When he came upon his sister standing outside a classroom with some of her friends, she looked at him and any trace of amusement was gone from her face. She darted a guilty look towards the door she was standing by and he knew. He just knew the words being said, the nasty remarks, all of it was because of her. And it was all directed at Cecilia.
Storming up to her, he crowded her against the wall whispering only loud enough for her to hear, “You did this didn’t you?”
She looked away.
“You hate this girl that much you would choose to ruin her for popularity?”
Still nothing.
“You’ve always been a lot of things Ashley: spoiled, selfish, an airhead, but never, not once did I figure you for cruel. You are or were beyond this. Why?”
Her eyes were glued behind him as he heard a door open. Turning, he watched as a pathetic excuse for a human being walked out of the classroom; her clothes were torn. What he could see of her was bruised. Exhaustion weighed heavily in her face.
“Sweets?” he whispered, his voice cracking. “What happened?” he asked going over to her. She flinched as he put his hand on her back gently. That hurt.
“Who are you?” The older woman that was with her asked him.
“I’m her fiancé. What the hell happened to her?”
“Seems she tripped down the stairs.” The way she said tripped led him to believe she thought something else happened.
“All this bruising, though?”
“Happened yesterday, too…” She trailed off.
Lifting her chin carefully, he forced her to look in his eyes. Her normally dark brown orbs were dull, flat; the life was sucked out of them. His heart broke for her in that moment. He’d done this. He wanted to come see her but gave her some time, hoping she would cool off. That was his first mistake.
Spinning on his sister he demanded, “Who? And don’t you fucking lie to me, Ashley.”
She seemed to freeze at his words. “Tell me you didn’t do this?”
Crossing her arms defensively, she glared at him. Her friends began to back away as they saw the seriousness of the situation.
Movement from his left caught his attention and he saw the jock from a couple of days ago stalking towards him. He prepared himself for whatever crap the kid was going to try and pull only to be shocked when he told him, “She didn’t personally.” Nodding his head towards one of the guys she’d been with.
Narrowing his eyes on them, he told the woman still standing with Cecilia, “Call the cops. I want them all charged with assault.” When his sister went to say something he turned his back on her saying, “Ashley included.”
“What! Landon, you can’t!” she screeched.
“I am, Ashley. You crossed a line. I warned you to leave her the fuck alone, but you stepped in it by scaring her off and filling her head full of bullshit lies. Now you spread disgusting rumors and have her assaulted? I don’t fucking think so. For once, you’re going to face the consequences of your actions.”
Walking away from her, he went to Cecilia who’s eyes were wide in wonder. “Landon?”
“I don’t care what she told you, sweets, none of it’s true. What we shared? That was special and I’m telling you now, nothings ever going to change that,” he vowed vehemently.
Wrapping an arm gently around her shoulders, he handed the woman his card with his numbers on it for the police to contact him about charges.
Guiding her outside and to his waiting car, he took her home, making a quick call to his doctor to come give her an exam at his penthouse so she didn’t feel any more traumatized than she already was.
Cecilia was so wrapped up in her mind, she hardly paid any attention to her surroundings. She knew she was in Landon’s car because she heard him speak to someone on the phone as he was driving, but nothing registered.
She had a hard time associating herself with the goings on, having no interest in what was happening around her. Locked in her mind as the cruel words taunted her and the pain assaulted her body, as her classmates watched in fascination.
It brought to life the deep-seated root that any good left in humanity was gone. Students that didn’t know her gathered around to see what would happen next. Students that did know her and what had happened to make her the way she was had turned their backs and walked away. The students that had tormented her, her entire life laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world to watch a person be brought down to the lowest point they could reach before they broke.
And she wondered, not for the first time, if she would be better off dead. The pain would end. No one would miss her. And for once, she would be free.
The sad thing was, the only thing holding her back was not wanting them to find someone else to make their target. If they were tormenting her, they weren’t after a new target.
She would save the innocent and become the damned.
As they pulled into the parking garage, she watched as Landon got out coming around to her door to help her. They made their way to the elevator that went directly to his penthouse. As they stepped off, she couldn’t help but murmur, “Back to where it all began.”
Hurt flashed across his face so quick she nearly missed it, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. If it weren’t for him locking onto her and demanding her to let him in, then she wouldn’t be t
argeted with such vengeance from Ashley.
Over the years, she’d watched the girl become more bitter and angrier with a vindictive streak a mile wide. She had always feared what would happen if her cruelty was aimed at her. Now she knew.
With his hand on her back, she followed where he led as he sat her on the couch facing the window where he’d so thoroughly loved her just a few days ago.
“Cecilia,” he murmured kneeling before her, her hands crushed between his. “I’m sorry, sweets. I should have come for you sooner. I shouldn’t have waited. I thought you might need to cool down.” Wiping a hand down his face, he looked pained. “I still don’t know what she said to you. I wish I did. I wish I’d never left, but I swear to you Cecilia I won’t let anything touch you again.”
She heard the promise in his voice, the pain he was feeling. She believed him. At least, her mind did. He hadn’t done anything wrong towards her but his actions put her in a difficult spot. A painful spot. One she was having a hard time finding her way out of.
Averting her eyes, she watched the clouds in the breeze, the birds fly high, and the sun shine so bright it was blinding. Wishing for another life. One where she was perfect and not this ugly broken girl
He watched the light in her eyes fizzle and die. In that moment, Landon Powers, thirty-two years old, owner of multiple successful businesses, richest man in the state felt like the lowest form humanity had to offer. He helped do this. He made her question what little self-worth she had.
He didn’t take his eyes off of her while he waited for the doctor to get there. He needed to know if she was still in there. The girl who gave herself to him so freely had to come back. She had so much fire and passion held deep inside; he’d only gotten a small glimpse and he wanted it all. Every little spark, the giant flames, and the anger. God, did he want to feel her anger right now. She would have so much of it too.
His phone dinged letting him know the doctor was waiting in the lobby for him let him up. “I’ll be right back, sweets,” he told her kissing her head lightly.
Buzzing the elevator down for the doctor, he waited impatiently, not taking his eyes off her. Her gaze never left the window where he’d taken her innocence, marked her as his own.
“Mr. Powers,” Dr. Ganes greeted him as he walked in.
“Thanks for coming.” He offered his hand, shaking lightly.
“How may I help today? My assistant didn’t have very many details when she called me.”
“My fiancée, Cecilia, was tripped at school today and yesterday from what I understand. I want to be sure she’s alright,” he explained as they walked towards her still form.
Landon took a seat beside her as Dr. Ganes sat on the table in front of her. Pulling out a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff, he chattered away to her.
“Cecilia, would you please remove your sweater, dear?”
She winced at his question. Raising her eyes to meet his own, he saw raw fear and pain in her depths.
“Sweets?”
“Please don’t make me,” she begged, lower lip trembling as a lone tear rolled down her cheek.
“Talk to me, sweets,” he begged her. “Is it the scars? He’s a doctor. He doesn’t care and has probably seen worse.”
“Landon,” she exhaled. “I don’t want it to get worse.”
Anger rolled through him like a tidal wave. It had been bad before him, but it got worse when he practically devoured her minutes after meeting her. Then one magical night in his bed and his sister was trying to ruin her life.
He had to fix the mess he made before he could gain her trust back.
In all her years of being tormented and bullied, physical abuse had not been an issue. She’d been shoved around but no one had punched or kicked her the way they had as she was falling after being tripped. It was terrifying knowing people you were around every single day would want to inflict that kind of pain on another human being.
The names were always bad because they affected her peace of mind, but nothing compared to the way a full-on assault felt. There were times in middle school when she had wished for the names to stop and the physical to take over. She was now glad it had never happened.
Having Landon and his doctor want to see the result of such abuse was even more terrifying because they would see her failure to defend herself. One thing she always asked herself was why can’t you fight back?
She fought with herself on that daily. And the answer was so simple, yet so complicated…
She couldn’t inflict the same kind of pain on someone else as she suffered.
“Cecilia?” Landon called quietly, “Worse how?”
Darting a quick glance to Dr. Ganes, she settled her gaze back on Landon, thinking on how to explain so he would understand. “Anytime I’ve done something to make it stop, it’s gotten worse. You tried to defend me one day and the next, I’m tripped down a set of stairs... and the next, and the next. I can’t handle any worse, Landon.”
He seemed to mull over her words for a moment before answering her. “You’re not going back, Cecilia.” When she went to protest, he told her, “You’ll go somewhere else, somewhere better. I won’t let you suffer this abuse anymore.”
“I can’t afford better, Landon,” she whispered brokenly.
“You may not be able to.” Placing a finger under her chin, he brought her head up to meet his intense stare. “But I can.”
“You can’t do that!” she protested.
His indulgent smile told her he would do whatever he damn well pleased.
“Ms. Marks? May I see now?” Dr. Ganes drew her attention back to him.
Removing her sweater, she held her breath as they saw the bruising for the first time. She’d always had delicate skin and things looked far worse than they actually were. That didn’t stop the anger from entering Landon eyes or the sharp intake of breath from the doctor.
He spent the next hour going over her medical history while inspecting every bruise she had, it seemed. Checking her heart rate and blood pressure for good measure, the doctor made sure she had no concussion or hearing and vision issues. By the time he left, she was thoroughly exhausted.
“Sweet?” Landon called walking up behind her as she stood in the same spot where she’d fallen in love only three days ago.
Love? In three days?
At any other time in her life, she’d have laughed and thought it was a joke. Yet here she was admitting that love at first sight not only existed, but she was one of the lucky ones to experience it.
It was empowering and overwhelming. Sensational and heady.
The most amazing feeling she’d ever had.
Turning to face him, she thought, now if only he felt the same.
“What are we doing, Landon?”
The look he shot her was full of heat and need. A dark need her soul couldn’t resist as his full lips descended on hers slowly.
“We’re falling, sweets,” he murmured softly against her.
“Are you?”
“Crashed and burned. The minute I saw you, I was hooked.”
Her eyes flew to his at his confession. She knew he’d lusted after her, even claimed she was his. Said he was never letting her go. But she never thought that could mean love.
Was it too soon?
Who the hell cares!
Pushing that last small millimeter to his lips, she decided tonight she was going to own him. He was clearly surprised by her bold move because he froze for about half a second before taking over the kiss.
Sweeping his tongue into her mouth, demanding submission from her seeking tongue, he retreated sucking on her lip as he did. She felt an answering throb in core. Her breasts grew heavy with need.
Rubbing his swollen cock into her soft belly, he whispered, “You feel that, Cec? That’s all you. I need you, sweets.”
Moaning into his mouth, she pressed herself as tight to him as she could. Kissing her way up his jaw to his ear, sh
e moaned, “I’m yours, Landon.”
Growling, he picked her up tossing her over his shoulder and with a determined stride, they were in his room in a matter of seconds. Door slamming behind them, he tossed her on the bed like a feather.
“Eeek!” she squealed as she landed in the middle while he stripped out of his clothes quickly.
“Strip,” he demanded in a low sexy voice. All gruff and lust.
“Yes, Landon.”
“I like you agreeable,” he teased her.
Smiling coyly at him, she began to slowly undress. Crossing her arms, she grabbed the hem of her shirt and bringing it up her torso, stopping to meet his eyes when she reached her breasts. His impatient growl had her giggling.
Quickly tossing it over her head to land at his feet, she undid the button of her jeans slowly pulling the metal tab down. She turned, then bent over as she pushed them past her ass. Looking over her shoulder at him with hooded eyes she asked, “Pull, please?”
He seemed transfixed with her near naked ass as he slowly grabbed the end of one pant leg then the other, pulling her jeans right off.
Kneeling in front of him once again, she ran her hands up his naked, chiseled chest. His muscles had a light dusting of hair that she couldn’t wait to rub her breasts against as he loved her. His abs rippled with tension every time she moved. His cock stood proudly to his navel, weeping with fluid.
Dying for a taste of him, she bent over slowly, eyes locked on his as she licked the pearly drop from the tip, moaning deep in her throat at the burst of salty sweet flavor on her tongue.
Landon’s hands threaded through her hair as she gently licked and sucked as much of his dick as she could. She’d never done it before so she was terrified of hurting him. His deep breaths and low growls told her he was enjoying her torture.
“Sweets,” he moaned as for the first time she took him into her mouth as far as she could. “Fuck.”
The loosening of her bra had his hands quickly on her breasts, pulling on her already sensitive nipples. “Oh,” she moaned when he twisted one a little harder than before. The slight pain mingled with the pleasure and she felt her panties getting wetter with her juices.
