The One That Got Away

20 - Birdie

I could feel the color drain from my face. Any trace of hangover had now dissipated with his words. "K-keep me in?"

The left corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk, but there was a coldness in his gaze that caused a shiver to rattle up my spine. "I have a very important decision to make, sweetheart. The more honest you are with me, the quicker I'll be able to make it."

"What decision?" I asked, sinking back down on my mattress, unable to process what Elijah was telling me.

"Whether you live or die."

Those words spurred me into action. I threw my drink toward his chest as I raced to the door. My body slammed against the metal slab, and I gripped the handle, but it wouldn't budge. I glanced back over my shoulder at Elijah who had stood from his seat but was making no effort to come after me. Irritation marred his chiseled features as he gripped his shirt from the back of his neck and slowly pulled it over his head. Inch by beautiful inch his muscular tableau of angels and demons waging war across his chest came into view.

"That was rude, Bird," he bit out.

"Help," I banged against impenetrable metal, tears trailing down my face and clinging to my trembling chin.

"No one can hear you." His voice was calm, and it made my heart accelerate even more.

"Help," I screamed again. "Someone please!"

"Birdie," he sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets. "No one can fucking hear you. The building is empty."

"W-what?"

"It's vacant."

"But you..." I let my voice trail off and my arm fell to my side.

"Lied," he finished. "My place is a few miles down the road."

I pressed my back against the cool door, my mind was racing. "This is about my dad, isn't it?" I asked, my chin quivering.

Elijah shook his head, taking a slow step toward me. Then another. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't find your father fascinating. But this is about you, Bird."

I pressed my back against the hard surface, hoping to meld my body with it as he continued to stalk closer. My eyes drifted over his expansive artwork as I noticed tiny numbers scattered throughout the different pieces, like a child's connect-the-dots activity.

"W-what are you going to do?"

His head cocked slightly to the right at my question just as he towered over me. With his gaze locked on mine, he bent down to grab his black duffle bag, yanking open the zipper and pulling out a clean shirt before tossing the bag to his side.

"You could at least apologize," he said with a sigh as he yanked the thin white material over his chest. I was thankful that his body wouldn't continue to be a distraction and hopeful that meant I wouldn't have to worry about him forcing himself on me. I ignored the fact that it had been me who embarrassingly threw myself at him last night and he'd turned me down at every inebriated pass I'd made at him.

"Fuck you," I bit out, trying my best to keep my spine straight as if my five-foot-six frame would intimidate him as I continued to crane my neck to meet his haunting blue eyes.

"Maybe for our next date," he mused, leaning in close enough for the mint of his breath to tickle across my lips and cause me to gasp. "For now, I'm going to need you to be a good girl and do what you're told."

"Or what?"

His nose skimmed the soft flesh of my cheek, his teeth grazing my earlobe like a dog about to attack. "I'm not your Daddy, sweetheart. I'll punish you if you misbehave."

I tried to draw back, but I had nowhere to retreat.

"I –"

"What?" he challenged, causing me to startle and my words to die in my throat. "What are you going to do?" His voice was low, menacing as the muscles in his jaw ticked. "Be careful, Birdie." His eyes searched mine, a fire in his gaze.

In that moment, my blood felt like it was simmering under my skin. I had been cheated on, lied to, and now the one person I thought was going to save me was threatening my entire existence. My fight or flight instinct was kicking in, and the next words to tumble from my lips didn't even sound like my own. "I'm going to kill you."

His eyes searched mine, a genuine smile spreading across his lips, baring his perfect teeth. "I was hoping you would say something like that," he rasped as his fingers tangled in my hair at the nape of my neck. His fist tightened, drawing me up onto my toes as my hands tried desperately to grip his forearms.

I was at his mercy as he dragged me over to the couch, releasing me with a shove that caused me to fall over the armrest. I tried to right myself, but his heavy palm splayed on my back, shoving my face back into the cushion as his other hand gripped the band of my sleep shorts and panties, tugging them down over the globe of my ass.

I began to panic, bucking my hips wildly as I struggled to twist my body to face him. But it was to no avail. He was too strong. "Let me go! Let me –" Blinding light flashed before my eyes as his palm came down against my bare flesh. A wave of heat radiated from my bottom before another sharp crack of his hand.

"You want to learn the hard way, Bird," he growled, landing another slap, this one hitting my center and causing me to lurch forward with an audible gasp. "Because it doesn't matter to me if you enjoy this or not. I still will."

I sneered, grasping the thick material of the couch in my hands, struggling to gain purchase. In doing so I was only raising my hips higher, wiggling my ass in his face. Flashes of a very different scenario of us in this position from a dream I'd had last night assaulted me and dampness flooded my center. "Fuck you!"

His thick fingers grabbed both my hips, tugging me back into place in a bruising grip. Another strike, this one hitting dead center again. The sound that left my throat was deep and guttural. Another hit landed, and another.

"Okay, Okay," I shouted, my breathing as labored as his from our struggle. "I'm... I'm sorry," I bit out a single tear clung to my lashes, threatening to spill over.

"Good girl," Elijah praised as his fingers brushed over my tender flesh where I'm sure the skin was welted and flaming from his aggression before he released me and I fell flat on my belly across the couch, struggling to calm my racing heart. 

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