Oh my God, he’s going to assault me. He’s going to assault me here, in The Den.
No one knows that he has brought me down this corridor, and with the music loud, no one will be able to hear me scream.
I continue to try and jerk him away from me, but he just pushes his body into me so much that I almost feel like I can’t breathe. I am trapped. I can feel my stomach churning, my heartbeat is racing, and I am desperately trying to figure out how to get myself out of this situation and away from this man.
“Donnie, get the fuck off of me, NOW!” I scream at him again and again, but he’s still not stopping. I feel like I might pass out at any moment.
As his hand moves upwards and brushes my sex, I suddenly hear a voice.
“Get the fuck off of her, now.”
Oh my God, someone has come to save me. Thank fuck for that.
A feeling of recognition rushes through me at the voice that has spoken.
I feel Donnie’s grip on my hands loosen slightly. His other hand moves back to my waist, and his grip there is still firm. He turns his head in the direction of the voice at the same time as I do.
Jake is standing there with his fists balled at his sides, and he looks all shades of pissed off. I feel immense relief at seeing him standing there and I can see the menace in his eyes, which are fixated on Donnie.
“And what are you gonna do about it?” Donnie goads.
“You don’t want to find out, believe me. Now get your filthy hands off of her and I’ll let you walk out of here with your face still in one piece.” Jake’s voice is like ice.
Donnie looks back to me and smirks.
“She wants this just as much as I do, mate. Now, why don’t you piss off and leave us to it?” Donnie says as he looks back to Jake.
My eyes plead with Jake to stay where he is. Jake however is keeping his gaze on Donnie. I hold my breath as I will Donnie to let go of me.
“I’m going nowhere. Now. Let. Her. Go.” He pronounces each word slowly, and I almost whimper at Jake’s answer.
He’s not going anywhere. He’s going to help me.
“For fuck’s sake,” Donnie says as he lets go of me and turns to face Jake.
My legs give way and I collapse onto the floor as the tears that I have been holding back start to fall from my eyes. I move myself along the floor and as far back from Donnie as I can.
I see Donnie move towards Jake, but he’s not quick enough. Jake launches himself and punches Donnie in the face. Donnie falls to the ground where Jake proceeds to punch him in the face, repeatedly.
Donnie is shouting at Jake to get off of him, but it’s like Jake has completely lost it. I need to do something and quick, before Jake puts Donnie in a coma, or worse.
“Jake!” I shout. “Jake, please don’t. He’s not worth it. Please stop.” I sob as the tears continue to fall.
My voice has an impact as Jake looks at me. He has Donnie pinned to the floor, his arm across Donnie’s neck.
“Please Jake,” I whisper as a last attempt to get him to let go of Donnie.
He registers my words, although how he hears me over the background music, I’m not quite sure. Jake takes his eyes off of me and looks back to Donnie.
“If you ever go near Stacey again, I will kill you. Understand?” Jake’s voice is laced with venom. Donnie just nods his head. He looks petrified. “And if you ever tell anyone what I did to you, your pathetic existence won’t be worth living. Understand?” Again Donnie just nods.
Blood covers Donnie’s face, but I don’t feel sorry for him. How could I ever feel sorry for someone like him? I dread to think about how far Donnie would have gone if Jake hadn’t shown up when he did.
Jake stands up, releasing his grip on Donnie and picks me up in his arms as if I weigh nothing more than the weight of a feather. Jake carries me past Donnie and out into the main room of The Den. I bury my face in Jake’s chest so that no one can see that I have been crying. The last thing I need is Lydia or Susie spotting me and asking questions about what’s wrong.
We walk through the main room undetected, and straight out of the front doors. It is only when the fresh air hits me that I turn my head to see where Jake is taking me.
I see Jake’s limo parked across the road from The Den. There is a man leant against it, and I assume it is Eric as I didn’t actually see what he looked like the last time I was with Jake. When he sees us approaching he opens the door and Jake slides me in first, climbing in after me.
I sit on the plush leather seats, but I feel no comfort this time. I feel numb.
As Eric gets back into the driver’s seat, Jake puts his arms around me and pulls me onto his lap. I can feel my body shaking and my tears keep flowing.
“It’s okay, baby, I’ve got you. No one will hurt you again.” Jake speaks softly as he places a kiss on the top of my head. His words make me feel safe and I cling to him. I don’t want him to let go of me.
I don’t ask where we are going, and I don’t really care either. I am far too dazed to concentrate on anything but the feel of Jake’s arms holding me.
This was supposed to be my night, my new beginning, and my celebration.
Now it just feels like my world is ending.
Chapter Ten
I manage to stop crying as the limo pulls to a stop. Jake gently slides me off of his lap and tilts my chin up to look at him.
“It’s okay. You’re safe. I’m going to look after you.” He cups my face in both of his hands and gently wipes my cheeks with his thumbs, wiping away the remainder of the last of my tears. The act is so unexpected that I almost start crying again from how gentle he is being with me.
I don’t have the energy to argue with him about letting him look after me, so I let him take my hand and lead me out of the limo.
Jake turns to Eric, who is stood beside the limo. “Thanks, Eric. Take the day off tomorrow. I will be working from home.”
“Yes, sir,” Eric replies. Eric is an older guy with greying hair, but he is huge. He must be in his fifties, and his shirt can barely contain his muscles. He has to be at least six foot in height, if not more. “Goodnight to you both.”
I manage a feeble smile to acknowledge him. My eyes wander from Eric to the impressive building in front of us. It is massive. From the outside there appears to be three floors. The house is detached and is surrounded by a six-foot-high red brick wall. Flowers line the steps up to the front door, and hanging baskets show an array of colourful flowers. We are stood on a large gravel covered drive way. I look behind me and see that Eric has returned to the limo and is reversing back out onto the road.
“Where am I?” I ask.
“You’re staying at mine tonight,” Jake says in a firm tone.
I fall silent as I let him lead me up the few steps to the front door. Once Jake has opened the front door, he takes me down a long, spacious hallway and only stops when we reach a door at the very end.
He opens the door and leads me into the biggest kitchen that I have ever seen. Beautiful oak cabinets line the back wall of the room, and the black granite worktops sparkle as if they are brand new. For all I know, they could be brand new.
There is a kitchen island in the middle of the room with two bar stools on one side. To the right of me there are a set of impressive French doors. I don’t know what the doors lead out to as it is pitch black outside, so I can’t see anything.
To my left is a stunning black aga and more granite worktops housing different kitchen equipment. I turn slightly and see that behind me is an American sized fridge. It must cost a fortune to fill it up with food. I feel like I have walked into a show home.
Jake clears his throat which draws my attention back to him. My eyes connect with his and he gestures for me to take a seat on one of the bar stools. I oblige as I suddenly feel very tired.
As I sit, I think about how this room alone is bigger than Lydia’s entire flat.
Oh my God! Lydia!
She has no idea what her boyfriend
has done to me tonight.
“Jake, I need to see my friend Lydia. I need to speak to her. I can’t let Donnie get to her first.” The last thing I need is Donnie telling her some cock and bull story that he has concocted. Saying his name leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I start to feel panicky that she may be left alone with him at some point.
“Oh God, what if he tries to hurt her too?” My mind is in overdrive now. I feel sick at the thought.
“Don’t worry, I have asked someone to get a message to her to let her know that you are safe,” he says as he hands me a glass of water. I gratefully take a sip as my mouth is so dry.
“How the hell have you managed that? And how do you know who Lydia is?” He’s been with me since it all happened, and I can’t recall him talking to anyone.
“It doesn’t matter how. The important thing is she knows that you are safe. I just want to make sure that you are okay. Don’t worry, she will get home safely. I promise.” I don’t quite know what to say. He seems to have taken care of everything.
“Thank you. I appreciate you helping me back there. God knows how far he would have gone if…” I shudder as I recall Donnie’s hands touching my body.
“Don’t think about that now. I think it’s best that you get some sleep. We can sort everything out when you are rested.” Jake takes my hand. “Come, I will show you the guest bedroom.”
I hop off of the bar stool, following him back into the hallway and up a set of stairs. We go up one flight of stairs and then we continue up a second flight before we reach a long corridor. There are only two doors, one on each side of the corridor.
Jake takes me into the room on the right, and I enter a large and very plush looking bedroom. The bed is gigantic; I’ve never seen anything like it. You could probably fit half a dozen full grown adults in it and still have some room left. Jake tells me that the door to the left of the room leads to an ensuite, and the door on the right leads to a walk-in wardrobe and a dressing room. A big flat screen television is on the wall at the end of the bed with a beautiful decorative fireplace underneath.
My jaw drops open at how vast and luxurious the room is. The bed looks very inviting, and all I want to do is disappear beneath the covers. I feel a little shaky and presume that the adrenaline and shock from what happened has started to subside a little.
“My bedroom is across the hall if you need me. There are some pyjamas in the ensuite but, uh, they are a pair of mine. I don’t have anything else, but I figured that you may like to wear something comfortable to sleep in,” Jake says.
“That’s great, thanks.” He is being so sweet. “Are you sure I’m not imposing on you?” I ask, hoping that he won’t say yes. To be honest, I wouldn’t feel safe going back to Lydia’s tonight.
“Of course not. Treat it as you would your own bedroom, and please try to get some rest.” Jake kisses my forehead and then leaves the bedroom, shutting the door on his way out.
I wrap my arms around myself and scan the room again. It’s like I’m stood in a room out of a catalogue. It is beautiful.
I head to the walk-in wardrobe, open the doors, and take a look inside. The rails are all empty except for the pair of pyjamas that Jake said that I could wear. To the left of the rails there is a dressing table that has nothing but a hairdryer on it. I take the pyjamas and head in the opposite direction of the room to the ensuite.
I come to a standstill in the ensuite as I see that there is a walk-in shower taking up a quarter of the space, a big oval-shaped bath tub in the middle of the room, and a toilet and two sinks at the other end.
Wow, this guy really knows how to design a guest room. All I need is a kitchen and I’m set!
I quickly strip myself of the clothes I am wearing, which I throw into a bin in the corner of the room. I will replace them for Lydia. I just can’t bear to look at them.
I turn on the shower and wait for the water to heat up, which takes all of a few seconds. There is shampoo, conditioner and body wash on a small shelf to the left of the shower head. The urge to scrub my body is overwhelming. The feel of Donnie’s hands on my body makes me retch. I scrub and scrub my skin until it becomes too sore to scrub anymore.
I turn off the shower and dry myself on a mammoth sized towel. The towel is warm as it has been hanging on a heated rail just outside of the shower cubicle. I pull on the pyjama top and put the matching bottoms on. The bottoms are too big, but I tuck the top into them to help keep them up as best as I can. I head to the sink to see if I can find a toothbrush, so I can freshen my mouth.
I look in the mirror above the sink and see that I really do look bloody awful. My face is pale, and I look like I have aged about ten years. I sigh as I contemplate my reflection and then let my eyes wander to a cabinet just to the right of the mirror, which I open to find everything that I could possibly need. It’s vanity heaven in here.
I find a toothbrush as well as a hairbrush and hair ties on the bottom shelf, all still in their packaging. I undo the packaging for the toothbrush and clean my teeth before using the hairbrush to brush my hair and tie it into a ponytail as my mind drifts off to how Lydia is. I hope that she is okay. I can’t lose her, she’s my best friend. I just hope she believes me when I tell her what happened.
I sigh, putting the hairbrush back in the cabinet before I exit the ensuite and climb into the bed, sinking into the mattress.
As I lie there I torture myself by replaying the events of what happened tonight over and over again, until eventually sleep takes over.
Chapter Eleven
I wake up to be greeted with a pounding headache. I sit up in bed, and for a few moments I wonder where the hell I am. Then I remember how Jake brought me to his place.
The horrendous events of last night flood my brain and I have to run to the bathroom as I feel the bile rising in my throat. Once I finish emptying the remaining contents of my stomach, I brush my teeth and wash my face. I still look pale, but that’s hardly surprising really.
I decide to head downstairs and see if I can find Jake. I notice that it is only just gone eight in the morning. At least I have managed to get a few hours’ sleep, even though it doesn’t feel like it.
I leave my room and go to the stairs, only to hear Jake’s voice coming from the floor below. I freeze and decide to listen. I know that I shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but I don’t want to interrupt anything.
“What part aren’t you getting? I don’t want you back and I never will. Now please stop phoning me Caitlin before I take out a restraining order.” Jake goes quiet and I presume that he is done with his conversation.
I wonder who this Caitlin woman is whilst I descend the stairs. Then again, it’s not really any of my business. Jake is just being kind to me after witnessing what happened last night. I just need to be grateful for his help and not read too much into his actions.
I walk down the stairs and see that Jake isn’t in the hallway, meaning he must be in one of the rooms. I continue to head down to the kitchen so that I don’t disturb him. I reach the kitchen and decide a coffee needs to be my first port of call, and I busy myself trying to find a cup. When I have located one, about four cupboards later, I spot the coffee machine on the far left worktop. I press the button for an Americano and let the machine do its work.
As the coffee filters into the cup, I breath in the aroma of the coffee beans. It smells divine.
Once the machine has finished, I take my cup and move to the sink to add a touch of cold water so that I can drink it straight away. I take my first sip, lean against the granite worktop and close my eyes at how delicious the coffee tastes.
I let out a small moan of approval and almost drop the cup when I hear, “Morning. Glad to see you’re making yourself at home.”
My eyes fly open and my heart hammers inside my chest.
“Christ you scared me,” I say as I put my hand over my beating heart.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Jake replies. He smirks as he says it though, so I would
say he is more amused by my reaction than he is sorry.
“It’s okay. Um, I just needed some coffee. I hope that’s okay?” Shit, maybe I should have asked him if it was okay first? What if he thinks that he won’t be able to get rid of me now? The last thing that I would want him to think is that I would outstay my welcome.
“Relax, it’s fine.” His playful tone makes me smile and butterflies start to dance around my stomach. “Nice pyjamas by the way,” he says with a mischievous look in his eyes.
“Oh, uh, yeah. Thanks for letting me use them.” I smile at him shyly.
“Would you like some breakfast?” he asks me.
“Oh no, I’m good with just the coffee thanks.”
“No, you need to eat. I whip up a mean omelette, or there are fresh pastries in the box on the side.” He points to where the box is sitting. I really don’t feel like eating anything, but I don’t want to be appear rude, so I go over to the box and take out a croissant. I take the first bite and it tastes good. Really good. In fact, it’s so delicious that it doesn’t take me long to finish eating it.
“Taste good?” Jake asks as he picks out a pain au chocolate for himself.
“Delicious. Thank you.” I sit on one of the bar stools and sip my coffee. Jake sits beside me and finishes off his food. He looks divine in his white tank top and grey jogging bottoms with his hair all in disarray. His caramel coloured eyes burn into mine. His very presence overwhelms me.
“How are you feeling this morning?” he asks, concern etched all over his face.
“To be honest, I don’t really know. I just need to speak to Lydia and see how she is.” She is one of the only constants in my life and I really don’t want to lose her friendship.
“She will be here at two o’clock to speak to you,” Jake says as if it’s no big deal.
I nearly spit out the mouthful of coffee that I have just taken. “Pardon?”
The Complete Perfect Series Page 7
