Survival ( Book 2: Stronger Series )

28. Acceptance

I woke up the next morning with a jolt from a nightmare and was consumed with more pain than I thought imaginable. My body ached, my ass burned, my pussy throbbed, my throat was sore, and my eyes felt puffy and heavy from crying. I was a fucking wreck. When I opened my heavy lids, the light in the room was still very dim and soft. It was probably near dawn.

I rolled over, clutching the soft bed sheet to my chin and realized Darren was not in bed with me; he wasn't even in the room with me. I was beyond thankful. Last night, he had completely destroyed my body with pain, pleasure, and more orgasms than I could count. After seeing my family on TV, I had obviously been in a stupid, uncalculated rage, and I tried to make Darren pay for it, but I was such a stupid little girl if I thought I could ever really hurt him. And he certainly proved that to me last night. Eventually, I had just given up, too exhausted to continue fighting with him, and just let him prove his point until he was well satisfied. And now I was still paying for it. I would probably pay for it for the rest of the week.

And then I realized my family could pay for it, too. When he threatened to eliminate them like that, it put things in a whole new perspective for me. He had used them as leverage if I ever managed to kill him, but now he was using them if I simply didn't behave for him. I definitely couldn't let anything happen to them. I would have to behave until I figured something out.

As I laid down, I realized how the pillows and sheets smelled just like Darren. That clean musky, woodsy scent of his was engulfing me, and I suddenly didn't want to spend another moment in his bed no matter how shitty I felt.

I slowly rolled my naked ass off the bed, taking small steps between winces of pain as I grabbed a silky black robe from Darren's closet, it reaching well passed my knees, and made my way toward the bedroom door. I was determined to sleep in my own fucking bed since he was probably gone for the day. But as I just about grabbed the handle, a small warning shock from my collar stunned me, and I stumbled back away from the door.

Son of a bitch.

Well, I might not be able to leave his room, but I certainly wasn't staying in his bed. I decided to step out onto his balcony and watch the sunrise from one of the cushioned lounge chairs. But as I stepped out to admire the view, my eyes focused on some movement on the beach.

When I focused my eyes, I realized it was Darren. He was standing in the sand, bare-chested, black pants, and barefoot holding what looked like two wooden sticks in his hands. Surrounding him were four men dressed in all black, each one holding a single wooden stick similar to Darren's. When I focused my attention, I realized they were arnis sticks, another traditional weapon of a practicing martial artist.

One man stood in front of him, one to his back, one to his left, and one to his right. And then all at once, they attacked him. But, oh, he was flawless. He maneuvered around his opponents effortlessly, blocking their attacks with his arnises and aggressively counterattacking.

Darren's muscles flexed under the weight of each strike, and I found my heartbeat suddenly increase at his graceful yet ferocious agility. His technique was beautiful as he wielded his weapons with absolute perfection, carefully calculating every move, every strike, and subduing his opponents in less than a few minutes. They all laid in the sand surrounding him while they clutched their bodies and moaned in pain. It was then that he looked up and saw me standing on his balcony, arms folded across my chest and watching him. He smirked, placed both arnis sticks in one hand, and blew me a kiss. I just stared him down before slowing turning on my heels and heading back into his bedroom.

Fuck, he was impressive and obviously really fucking dangerous. I wished I could compete against him like that. But if he could handle four guys at once, then I was seriously fucked; especially since he had just spent all night fiercely fucking me before being out there at the crack ass of dawn, training like it was no big deal while I was up here throbbing and aching all over. He had to be an alien. There was no other explanation.