Watching Ames (XO Surveillance Book 1), page 26
Alex had continued his tradition of surprising me, though it was never as over-the-top as buying me a house or building me an at-home studio. They were more personal, more reflective of our newfound relationship, and it only made me cherish them more. He had surprised me with a few bouquets, often hand-delivered by Wren on random nights when she and Dev would stop by for dinner. He was still working through his silver stationary collection, the gifts always accompanied with a card written in his familiar scrawl:
You look beautiful.
Always thinking of you.
Want you tonight.
The last one had been his most recent message to me, attached innocuously to a box of pastries he had gotten delivered to me at work one morning, when an early meeting forced us to cancel our breakfast plans. The note had me thinking of what Alex was planning all day. I imagined him wanting me, thinking of me, which in turn had me tingling, a cycle of arousal that meant I was dripping by the time he got home. He hadn’t acknowledged the note all night, inviting Dev, Wren, and Bex over for dinner despite the trembling in my body every time he touched me.
And he made sure to touch me often, his possessive displays of affection not waning even around his friends. It felt like he was purposefully driving me crazy that night, his finger teasing at the edges of my clothes, running along the underside of my breast as he hugged me from behind. I ended up kicking everyone out after a few hours, Dev and Wren simultaneously boo-ing and wolf-whistling while they left. Even Bex had shot me a knowing look with raised eyebrows that almost had me blushing in embarrassment, but I was too needy for that.
Alex’s mouth was greedily biting at mine before our friends were gone, the small fire we had lit still burning behind us. The fire flickered across the space, casting shadows as sweat and ash clung to our rapidly bared skin. Alex ended up fucking me bent over the patio furniture, making me beg for it the way he’d grown to like.
“Next time, I’ll hunt you down before I fuck you like this,” he had whispered in my ear as he slammed into me harder, pulling a scream from my lips that echoed across the yard.
I was still reminiscing on that promise when I pulled into our driveway, surprised to find the house illuminated by more than just the front porch light. The garage door was wide open, light spilling out into the driveway and backlighting the familiar shape of Alex’s body, his shadow stretching long and ominously toward my car. Something about the scene sent skitters of fear down my spine, just the slightest touch that served to arouse me more than actually conjure up any panic. Even Alex’s stance was predatory, his feet spread, one foot in front of the other, as if ready to chase me down.
I parked in the driveway, Alex’s form blocking me from pulling into the garage, and shut off the engine. It felt as if Alex’s eyes were boring into mine through the windshield even though I knew the garage light must be blinding him, making it impossible to see my face. I held his gaze for a few moments anyway, trying to maintain a semblance of self-control, but my impatience won out as I fumbled the handle in my rush to exit the car.
“I thought we might play a game, sweetheart,” Alex’s words rang out as I climbed out of my car, his voice deeper and raspier than usual. Goosebumps prickled the skin of my arms, as I took a step toward him, feet stopping when Alex let out a tsk-ing sound at my approach. “I would keep your head start while you have it, Ames.”
“Head start?” I failed to keep the excitement from my voice as I asked, mind already putting together the pieces of a familiar scene from my childhood.
Even though the light spilling out of the house made it difficult to see his features, I could hear the smile in Alex’s voice at my eagerness as he explained, “You see, the last time I chased you, it was a rigged game. I took it easy on you, let you escape to give you a choice. And when you boxed yourself in our bedroom after, well, it was just too short for me. But it was too short for you too, wasn’t it sweetheart? I think you liked the chase, liked me chasing you down like a predator, like the big bad in your story. So I thought we’d have some fun tonight.”
“What kind of fun?”
“Have you ever played manhunt?”
“Yes.” By now I was breathless, anticipation and fear warring in a delicious mix that only Alex had successfully been able to pull out of me. “We used to play as kids. It was reverse hide-and-seek. Everyone but the seeker would run. If the seeker caught you, you lost. If you made it back to home base, you were safe.”
“Exactly. If you make it back to the garage, you’re safe.”
“What happens if you catch me?”
“What I’ve wanted to do to you every time you ran from me.” He threw something in my direction, and I looked down to find my tennis shoes bouncing at my feet. My heart rate spiked even higher, knowing that Alex really wasn’t playing around this time. This wasn’t a fun chase to get my blood pumping before fucking me in our bed. This was a hunt, and even though I craved the subtle threat in his words, I was also much too competitive to allow him to take me without effort.
I threw aside my trusty combat boots, knowing they were too heavy for an all-out sprint through the woods, and laced up the sneakers, double-knotting the laces. After I stood, I pulled my hair into a ponytail, making sure it was out of my face, facing back toward Alex with steel in my spine and fire burning through my veins.
“One…” Alex began, but I was already sprinting around the back of the house, making sure I was out of sight before veering to the left, through the thickest part of the trees that lined either side of the house. I was suddenly thankful for the exploratory hikes Bex and I had been taking through the area, keeping an eye out for the markers we’d been tying around the trunks to keep us from straying too far from the house.
It was a full moon, the dim light trickling in just enough through the trees to allow me to see a few feet in front of me as I ran. I wasn’t sure how long of a head start Alex planned on giving me, but after thirty seconds of running, I slowed just a bit, trying to lighten my footfalls so I could hear if he came in my direction. My heart raced so quickly in my chest that I could barely hear anything over the blood rushing in my ears, but other than the occasional whisper of leaves brushing against each other in the wind, I couldn’t hear anything.
That, of course, didn’t mean anything. During our workout sessions, Dev had told me enough about his training in the military - the same training he extended to Alex when they began working together - that I knew Alex could likely follow me without making much sound. So I kept running, turning at the right markers as I reached the halfway point in the path. Just as I caught sight of the marker that started the curve back toward the house, I heard the crack of a branch behind me.
It wasn’t the slight snap of a small animal but rather that of a predator, and my body somehow knew what was coming, hair standing up on the back of my neck while my inner muscles tightened in excitement. Still unwilling to give up too easily, I tried to keep a steady pace on the path, keeping my face forward despite the overwhelming urge to see how close Alex was behind me.
After a few seconds, I took a sharp right, sprinting as I abandoned the path and cut toward what I hoped was the backyard. Small branches whipped in my face, tangling in my hair and pulling at my clothes. I heard Alex’s quick footfalls behind me and pushed myself harder, emerging from the woods and scrambling over the short fence that surrounded the yard. Knowing Alex would expect me to cut across the yard to the garage, I took a roundabout route, turning back toward the woods on the east side of the property in the hopes I could lose him among the trees.
I heard Alex’s quiet curse behind me as I veered away from him, gaining a few steps ahead when he realized I was heading back toward the forest. Once I was back within the copse of trees, I paused for a moment, catching my breath as I waited to see if Alex found me. I heard the crunching of leaves closer to the fence line, a couple dozen yards behind me, and took my chance, running back toward the front of the house. As the trees thinned, I caught sight of the garage, the light shining like a beacon. I let out a whoop of success as I got closer, about to pass back out of the forest and onto the lawn when I felt an arm loop around my waist, stopping my momentum.
“Got you, sweetheart.”
Alex’s sweet words were offset by his menacing voice, a low growl that sent shivers down my spine. I tried to fight out of his embrace, but he only chuckled darkly as both of his arms wrapped around my flailing limbs. He melded my back to his chest, pressing his hips forward so I could feel how hard the chase had made him. I couldn’t help the whimper that escaped my throat at the feeling of him behind me, the sound causing Alex to drop me the few short feet to the ground, his hands stopping my fall as he caught me around the hips.
He lowered me the last few inches to my knees, ripping the clothes off my body as I trembled with anticipation. There had been an unexpected cold front the past few days, meaning we had a short stint of fall-like weather in the middle of August. The cool air bit at my skin, pebbling my nipples to hard points as Alex finally pulled my leggings off my feet.
I felt him take a step back from me, hearing the soft sound of fabric brushing against his skin before falling to the forest floor. I considered making another run for it, but Alex whipped out a hand and grabbed my hair before I could even get to my feet.
“While I would love to chase you all night, sweetheart, I think we’re both more than ready.” He ran his fingers through my folds, the obscene amount of wetness between my legs dripping easily onto his fingers to prove his point. “And since I caught you, I plan to take full advantage.” His voice sounded so dark, the trees blocking out most of the moonlight so I could barely see the outline of his body where he stood behind me. The slice of fear at being unable to see his face only made me that much more turned on, and I lowered my upper body while canting my hips up, giving him easier access as he settled in behind me.
When I didn’t feel him after a few moments, I writhed in place, needing some sort of friction on my skin. “Alex -”
My begging was cut off when Alex’s hands found my skin, fingers spanning my hips in a tight grip that was sure to leave bruises tomorrow. He slammed into me in one brutal thrust, the surprise of it making me scream out as I contracted around him. Whereas he usually gave me a few moments to adjust, Alex immediately pulled back out and pressed into me at a punishing pace, one that matched so perfectly with the chase he had given me earlier.
My hands and knees dug into the dirt as he fucked me from behind, the small rocks and branches scraping at the soft skin. I loved the primal way it made me feel, knowing that I’d be marked with scratches and bruises and dirt when we were finished. Alex didn’t say anything behind me, only let out harsh growls and groans as he pumped into me, occasionally punctuated by the sound of my name in his hoarse voice.
It was endless, no clocks or light or sounds other than the snap of branches and crunch of leaves beneath our bodies giving me any indication of the time that passed as Alex took control of my body in the best way. I felt my orgasm rise from deep inside me, growing with such slow-burning intensity that I knew it would wreck me. I got closer to the peak, feeling Alex chase me there as his thrusts sped up, pulling my hair as he leaned over to rasp in my ear.
“Are you going to scream for me? Milk my cock to show me how much you like how I chase you down? How I’ll keep chasing you down, if you ever try to leave me? You -” he punctuated his words with a harsh thrust, the smack of his hips against my ass resonating through the air as I moaned. “Are.” Another thrust, this one even harder, deeper. “Mine.” A final thrust sent me spiraling over the edge, back bowing with pleasure.
I screamed my orgasm out, clenching around him just like he told me I would, as Alex wrapped his hand tight on my hip, holding me in place as he came. His free hand, the one not gripping my hair to bare my throat, moved between my legs, rubbing my clit in soft circles as he slowed his thrusts, extending my orgasm until I was limp underneath him.
As we both collapsed to the ground, Alex pulling my dirt-stained, sated body on top of his, I whispered one word before closing my eyes. “Yours.”
Chapter 25
Her
I was still pleasantly sore a couple days later, the scrapes and bruises on my hands and knees pulsing when I bent my knees or wedged clay. I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face at the constant reminders of Alex’s hands on my body, my pulse thrumming at the memories they elicited. It definitely didn’t help that Alex loved the bruises almost as much as I did, fitting his fingers into their matching marks on my hips each night with a possessive glint in his eyes.
I glanced at the clock in the front of the shop for the fourth time in the past ten minutes, groaning at the remaining half hour until Alex was due to pick me up. Classes had finished for the day, and June had already left, leaving me in charge of closing up.
I’d already mopped and cleaned up stations, but I slowly dragged my feet into the back of the shop so I could unload the last of the student pieces out of the kiln. Halfway through unloading, a chime sounded, the light clang of the bell above the door as it opened. The store was usually dead at this time of day, when classes were over and the sun was close to setting. We only occasionally had passers-by pop in, looking either to sign up for a class or buy some of the pieces June had displayed in the front window.
“I’m in the back!” I called out, voice echoing as I leaned down into the kiln.
“Hey, babe.” The unexpected voice had me freezing in place, my head emerging from the kiln to take in the face that had haunted my nightmares the past few weeks. Peter stood casually beside me, hands in the pockets of his khakis as if he were getting ready for a round of golf rather than skulking around my work.
“What are you doing here?” My voice came out steady despite the sudden trembling in my limbs. I instantly regretted begging Alex not to rush into revenge against Peter, the one time he brought it up sending the too-fresh memories back to the forefront of my mind. I knew Peter well enough to know that he didn’t like loose ends, and that standing here in front of me right now meant he had a plan.
“I came to bring you home, of course.”
“My home isn’t with you. You need to leave, now.”
“Babe, come on, don’t be like that.”
“I’m not being anything. And I’m not your ‘babe.’ I’m nothing to you. We’re done.”
“We’re far from done. I know I fucked up, Ames, but I was drunk.”
“You tried to rape me.” I growled, fists clenching as I grit my teeth, wondering how I had overlooked the red flags that stood out to me in stark clarity now. His ability to downplay what went on between us only reinforced every moment of rightness I’d had since leaving him.
“You liked it!” Peter burst out, face reddening in anger as he reached up and whipped a hand out. His palm smacked across my cheek, sending sparks of pain through my face. I froze, scared to draw any more of his anger while I stood alone, defenseless. “I wanted to play this nice, have you move to our new home after your little tantrum with no fuss. But if you want to be difficult, I can be difficult. Let me lay it all out very clearly: my father has a multitude of friends on the police force. Your sister is a criminal.”
“Now -” He held up a hand to stop me when I opened my mouth to argue. “Despite what her record says, we both know she was guilty. But to be honest, guilty or not doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I can pull one of a dozen strings to have your sister in jail within the next twenty-four hours. Further, I have a man on retainer who can very easily create a false computer trail showing how she’s embezzled money from her future brother-in-law. That is, unless you leave with me within the next 60 seconds.”
Hearing Peter call himself my future husband, even indirectly, caused bile to rise in my throat. But I knew when I was beaten, at least in the short term. Peter was larger than me, stronger, and even though I had fought him before and won, he had sobriety and anger on his side now.
Despite the increasing workouts forced upon me by Dev, life wasn’t a movie with a bodybuilding montage, and a few weeks of exercise didn’t account for the shitty imbalance of natural strength between us. My cheek was throbbing, and while I wasn’t scared of more pain, I was worried about how far Peter was willing to go if I refused to leave with him.
Bex was another story. I knew that Alex could undo any damage Peter could pay someone to inflict upon Bex, but all I could think about was the trial she had undergone earlier this year. The way the trial went on for weeks, even after Alex had buried the evidence to convict her. The way she hadn’t smiled quite the same afterward, the way she kept herself closed off from my friends, despite their attempts to let her in. I thought about the potential job she was quietly excited about, even if she tried to downplay it, and how any sort of legal trouble would ruin her first chance at hope in a long time.
So I swallowed down my anger, bowing my head in submission as I whispered, “Okay.”
I didn’t have to look up to see the look of success written across Peter’s face. It was the same look he’d made so many times throughout the course of our relationship, every time I allowed him to walk all over me, every time he got what he wanted at the expense of my happiness.
“Let’s go,” Peter barked out, turning on his heel and expecting me to follow like a leashed dog.
With his back turned, I gave myself one moment to allow the anger and disgust to show on my face, allowing it to be written in every line of my skin. I glanced up at the small, blinking light in the corner of the studio, making my wants clear as I mouthed to the camera, Take him down. Then I closed my face off, putting on the mask that I had worn for so long but no longer fit quite right, and followed Peter out the door, knowing my family would be coming to get me soon.
