The lady in Red (REWRITTEN!)

Chapter 60

   Reece's hand went to my stomach, and he closed his eyes. I was able to see a very different side of him here for the first time. His body was no longer tense, his jaw was no longer clenched. He looked incredibly fragile. I squeezed his hand, and my stomach fluttered.

"You've given me a gift, Catherine. World's most valuable gift." He opened his glazed eyes, and peered deep into mine. I sniffled as he wiped the tears from my cheeks with his fingers. It was his acceptance that was the greatest gift he could have given me. I might have given him something of his own, but it was nothing compared to this. Reece pulled my hand, and I followed him to the bathroom. He then turned on the hot water and slowly began to undress me. Within seconds, steam condensed from the hot water.

"You're...not mad?" I asked, once my top fell to the floor. He reached for my bra.

"I'm furious," he replied. My bra fell to the floor, exposing my breasts. He reached for my pants without stopping, and I didn't move.

"Why?" I countered. He stared back at me after he finished with me. Annoyance flashed in his eyes once my pants dropped to the floor. As he began undressing himself, I watched in awe as his own shirt fell to the ground.

"You kept this from me." His accusation was valid, and it pulled at my heartstrings. My eyes slipped down, but his knuckles gently touched my chin, compelling me to look back at him.

"I was scared," I whispered.

"Are you afraid of me?" He traced his thumb over my trembling bottom lip.

"Yes." I grasped his hand.

"You think I'll hurt you?" Hurt flashed in his eyes. I didn't reply, but my silence spoke volumes to him, and he understood. He stepped back, distressed. I glanced down, not bothering to cover myself up. I was only given a few seconds before he grabbed my hand again and dragged me into his shower. When the hot water touched my skin it cascaded down my body, giving me an instant feeling of warmth. The water drenched us both, and he pushed me against the wall, closing in on me.

"Will you?" I asked, wanting to look away but unable to. I was captivated by his penetrating gaze. He clucked his tongue, resuming his persona, and that was what terrified me the most.

"Do you know how much you're hurting me right now asking me that?" He reeled back, putting a good amount of distance between us again. The sight of his bare, chiseled chest immediately caught my attention. After a breath, I stepped closer to him, peering up at him.

"How could you possibly want me now, Reece? I've brought nothing but trouble everywhere I went. I mean just look at me. You have an entire legacy, an entire kingdom in front of you, waiting for you to make a move so that balance is kept in Boston, and here I am ruining everything for you."

"You think you are a nuisance to me?" His jaw tightened. Taking hold of his hand again, I put it back on my stomach. My entire body clenched from his touch, and the strength to argue melted away.

"Aren't I?"

"You don't realize it, do you?" He grabbed me, spun me around, and hugged me tightly from behind. A hand circled my throat, and the other pressed against my stomach. It was his dominance that made me instantly wet in between my legs. Panting, I leaned back against him involuntarily.

"What?" I asked, my voice lost in the water. His lips met my ear, and I shivered.

"This child you have in you binds you to me for a lifetime and more. This legacy of mine stays, and my kingdom stays. Everything I have ever built remains. But, so do you, and even though I am not ready to be a father just yet doesn't mean I don't want to do this with you. You mean so much more to me than my own ego right now. This fear of yours is traumatizing you...get rid of it. You are mine, and you will remain mine with or without this baby."

"Reece—" His grip against my throat tightened, not enough to cut my oxygen off, but enough to prove a point. A throbbing sensation intensified between my legs as I gasped. His aggressive tone grated against my ear.

"You're everything to me, Catherine. When will you realize that?" His knuckles pushed my chin back until my head fell against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, sadly. I felt a little pressure on my stomach from his grasp as he kissed my cheek from the side. His admission gripped me hard around my heart, restarting what was already weakened, and brought me back to life. He held my heart tighter and tighter, and I knew there was no turning back. My hands closed around his and I squeezed.

"Why are you so afraid of me? When all I've ever done was protect you?" He let go of me, suddenly, and I turned around to face him, feeling sad all over again. He has always protected me and loved me in his own way. So why did I have such a hard time accepting that? Fear in fact had traumatized me so much that I couldn't even distinguish the difference between who was good and who wasn't. I did not have a rational explanation. It hurt me so much to be this way.

"I'm sorry. I'm just...sorry for everything. I'm sorry for not believing in you. I'm sorry for wanting to run, and wanting to keep this baby a secret. It just happened so quickly, I didn't think you'd want this child. I didn't think you'd ever accept this pregnancy. I didn't want to lose you, and the fear of losing you was crippling me so much that I even at one point of time thought about... abortion this child," I cried harder, spilling the truth out to him. He grabbed my hand and pulled me back to him.

"Shhh."

"I love you, and I don't want you to leave me because of..of..."

"I'm not leaving, and neither are you, nor is this baby. Both of you are my responsibility, Catherine. Now, stop crying. " He wiped my tears, but they wouldn't stop. My body went into shock.

"It...it could have died. It could have died back in Japan, and it...it could have died today. I'm not safe. I'm not safe anywhere!" I cried harder. Every irrational thought came out of me involuntarily as a result of the shock. Even the water couldn't wash away everything I was ever afraid of spilling out of my mouth.

"Catherine! Enough!" He growled, pushing his fingers through my wet strands and tugging my head back, roughly.

"You'd have been late today, and they would have taken me away from you. They would have killed your baby," I said, clawing at him. Gritting his teeth he closed his eyes, tensing his body again from either anger or annoyance; it was difficult for me to discern. I bit my lip, guiltily. I wasn't trying to irritate him, and I wasn't trying to succumb to shock; however, I couldn't stop myself.

"Let it go."

"What—"

"Let it go," he repeated. "Let go of your irrational fears. This ends now, Catherine, right here in the shower. Let your fears of me abandoning you get washed down this drain, because that's never going to fucking happen. Let your fears of anything happening to our child go, because I will never fucking let that happen. Let go of any fears you have about them taking you away from me. Your life is mine, mine to do whatever I please. I protect mine, and I will kill for mine. Let. It. Fucking. Go." His words spoke directly to my weakened soul, mind, and body. His words fed me strength. He gave me a profound surge of power. I could see his pupils dilating as my heart raced. I stepped back, leaned my head back, and closed my eyes. 

"This ends now," He declared vehemently.

In an instant, all traces of fear vanished from my body. All thoughts of being abandoned by Reece disappeared from my mind. All worries about our child vanished. He was right. I gave in to my fears so much that I was completely weakened. It hadn't occurred to me that the man standing before me was the worst kind of monster there is. The man had become my obsession. My family was not the real monster. The real monster stood in front of me, feeding me his power until I became him. He cupped my jaw with a steely grip as if he sensed the change within me. His lips twitched slowly.

"As long as you have me, sweet Catherine, you are safe. I'm the worst kind of monster out there when someone I love gets hurt, or threatened. You'll learn and adapt to that very soon."