Love Resisted (Entwined Hearts #2) Read online

  I lean down and kiss her tenderly on the lips. “I just want you happy and safe, babe,” I say grabbing her hand and jogging to catch up with the others.

  “Is that all you want?” she asks me suggestively.

  “That, and you underneath me hot, ready, and dripping wet,” I answer with a smirk.

  “Well, let’s get back to the house then. We just need to be quiet, as I don’t want to wake up the others,” she says.

  “Can’t promise quiet, babe. Can promise satisfaction.”

  We come to a stop and she leans up to me and I feel her hot breath in my ear when she says, “Well, satisfaction is all I need.” At her words I lift her over my shoulder and jog the last little bit to the holiday house we’re sharing with the others, and tap in the code on the keypad unlocking the door. I don’t stop as I take the stairs to our room with Soph screeching and the others jeering. In fact, I don’t stop until the sun has nearly risen.

  "Mmm," I moan sighing at my wake-up call. The second one in as many hours. Earlier this morning Saul woke me up with his hands and his mouth. Which were then joined by his cock. I didn't complain. We got hot, sticky and sweaty, then showered together, which resulted in us getting hot and soapy. Afterward, I had no energy and fell back to sleep. Saul went to the gym. I have no idea how he manages it, especially after he kept me up for nearly the whole night too. Now though, he's waking me up again with kisses down my bare back.

  "Saul, have I been asleep that long, baby?" I groan as I move to sit up.

  "No Cherry Pie, you haven't."

  At those words and that voice I freeze. But only for a second, then my senses come rushing back. I try to sit up, but Patrick puts his knee on my back and bends down bringing his mouth to my ear while he grabs my chin with his hand. I try to scratch him with my hands which are the only things not pinned down. He hisses when I get a good swipe at his leg, enough that I think I may have drawn blood.

  "I wouldn't keep doing that. You're not the only one in this house." At his words, I stop moving.

  Pea.

  "That’s right, now be good and I'll take you to her." I nod.

  I have to make sure she's okay.

  Slowly he pulls me back off the bed gripping the top of my arm and digging something into my back. It feels cold and pointy.

  Shit! He has a knife.

  He pushes me forward using the knife. We walk down the hallway and turn into the lounge. The French doors are open and I can smell the sea, but the curtains are closed. Even if I could make a run for it, I wouldn't be able to take Pea with me and I'm not leaving her. She's here because of me. We take a few more steps forward and then I see her. She's sitting in the armchair at the other side of the chimney breast. Her hands are tied together in front of her and they rest on her bump. She has what looks like a scarf tied around her head and in her mouth gagging her, and her fear-filled eyes are wide, staring at me while constant tears track down her cheeks.

  “Let her go. You only want me anyway,” I plead with Patrick.

  “No Cherry Pie, if I do then you become less…agreeable.”

  Shit!

  “I see you’re getting where things lay with me, this is gonna go quick little girl.” At his words, I twist my head to look at him wondering what he means by that.

  Closing my eyes, I breathe in through my nose and out of my mouth while I run, trying to calm the burn. The machine tells me I’ve been running for fifty minutes so far, just another ten to go. Then I can stretch and move onto weights. I open my eyes again, knowing I can’t keep them closed for long while running. Jason Derulo ‘Want To Want Me’ pumps through my iPod as I run.

  When I’m at the gym, running is the only time I listen to music, but I can’t keep Soph’s face out of my mind. You would think after staying awake half the night to be inside of her, I’d be satisfied for now, but damn, that woman, I can never get enough. I might skip the weight session today, I feel the need to be with her. It’s scary how much my mindset has changed. I used to say it was because of the accident, and although to a certain degree that is true. I think it's really because I’ve allowed myself to be happy. Finally. I’ve let Soph in, and for that I'm being rewarded by feeling complete. I can’t ever imagine a time when she won’t be the person who I want next to me, forever.

  Fuck, I’m a pussy.

  “What are you grinning about?” Con asks walking over as I stop running.

  “Just at how much of a pussy I’ve turned into since I got with Soph,” I answer still grinning.

  Con smirks back at me. “True story, bro,” he says shaking his head.

  “Those women have us wrapped around their fingers. I’m just glad they don’t realise it,” he continues.

  “If you think they don’t know you two are wrapped around their fingers then you’re delusional,” Dane chips in as he stops next to us wiping his face with a towel. We all laugh and nod. There is no answer other than to agree.

  “Come on let’s get some weights going,” Con says and Dane nods.

  “I was thinking of dropping the weight session today and getting back to Soph,” I tell them.

  “You two spent enough time last night keeping the rest of us awake, I’m sure she’s still asleep. Unless you don’t care about keeping up your stamina,” Con says while slapping my stomach with a shit-eating grin.

  “Come on funny fucker, let’s go,” I say slapping him round the back of the head and laughing. As I walk over to the weights, thinking for the first time in my life, how everything is slotting into place, and about how much I love my life.

  “Lay down,” Patrick says, digging the knifepoint into my lower back. I nod and lower myself down to my knees, turning to look up at him.

  “Here? On my front?” I whisper. He looks at me and I can see his eyes are cold, but they’re tinged with something else, they’re wide and flitting around here and there. He looks like he’s finally lost the plot.

  This does not bode well for me.

  “Yes lay here,” he tells me pointing to the floor. I lay flat on my front and turn my head to look at Pea. I want to reassure her. I can’t say anything, but I try to keep my eyes soft as I smile at her and mouth ‘it’s okay.’

  Patrick moves around behind me, but I focus on Pea. I feel him kneel and move himself over my body. Pea’s eyes widen and I wait until she’s looking back at me to shake my head no very slightly, to try and convey for her not to worry and to look at me instead. She doesn’t realise that I’m gaining strength from focussing on her as much as I’m trying to keep her calm.

  I feel his body cover mine and he puts all his weight on me so I can’t move. Laying his head on top of mine he says, “I’ve put the knife next to me, so don’t try anything, Cherry Pie. You may get away, but she won’t.” I nod at his words. At my nod, he licks the edge of my ear making my body shiver in disgust. Running his hands up my arms he grips them and places them in front of me. “Lay your head on your arms,” he tells me and I do.

  I want to close my eyes and pretend this isn’t happening, but I can’t. Instead, I continue to watch Pea, her tears haven’t stopped and I offer her a small smile. Patrick slips one of his hands down my side and under my breast, squeezing it in his palm. I breathe through my nose to stop from being sick. I can feel his weight lift off me slightly and curse myself for wearing a silky nightdress to bed, rather than PJ’s, when he pulls up the edge of my dress and slides his hand across my bum cheek.

  I put all my energy into looking at Pea. I’m worried that she is going to be sick. She’s extremely pale and as there is a gag in her mouth I don’t want her to choke. Patrick pushes his hand between my legs and squeezes my inner thigh.

  “You see how much power I hold over you, Cherry Pie?” he asks.

  I reply, “Yes Patrick,” hoping to appease him.

  “There was a time I wanted you. There was a time you were clean, then you tainted yourself again and again, just like your mother.” I still at his words and he laughs. “What? You never considere
d that you might be a dirty whore like your mother?” he snaps and I say nothing. “I was always gonna find you, Cherry Pie. I wanted you, and I told you that, but you didn’t listen. You had to get yourself pregnant by a little boy. It’s a good job it bled out of you or I would’ve had to remove it myself.”

  I can feel tears forming in my eyes, but that’s what he wants. I'm stubborn if nothing else and refuse to let him make me cry anymore. I close my eyes and take a deep breath in. I focus and reopen them staring at Pea again. She’s even more ashen than before and I’m starting to really worry about her. I try to smile at her again but as I do, I feel a blow hit the back of my head.

  “You! You were supposed to wait for me. You were pure. I wanted you. I needed you. You were going to help me become clean again.”

  What the actual fuck is this freak talking about?

  “I come back, to try and cleanse myself, to give you another chance. I saw you that night, by yourself walking home, since your latest little shit dumped your arse in that club. I tried to have you, it would’ve soothed you. I could’ve made it all better. But you had to fight back. I felt sick to my stomach seeing you lying on the ground after I threw you down. I was so worried you were dead.” He laughs and I’m trying to make sense of what he’s saying, but my head is now thumping from his blow, and my body is going numb from his weight.

  “But since then, Cherry Pie, I’ve had time to re-evaluate…to reassess. You never wanted to be clean, you always wanted to be a whore like your mother. You’re not pure anymore, so I don’t want you.”

  I relax slightly at his words, but then tense when he continues with his speech.

  “However, I don’t want anyone else getting something from you. You didn’t keep yourself for me, so you don’t deserve to be rewarded with someone else.”

  I’m still watching Pea, and I see her looking at Patrick. Her eyes widen and she grunts around her gag as I feel him lift his weight, then almost instantly I feel excruciating pain in my right shoulder blade. I scream and feel a blow land on the back of my head.

  “Shut up,” Patrick shouts, but Pea is still screaming around her gag as I feel warm liquid pooling beneath my chest. He gets up off me and marches to Pea, who I try to catch eyes with so I can tell her to calm down, but I can’t see her around his back. What I can see is long blade hanging from his right hand and it’s dripping with blood. My blood.

  He gets to Pea and pulls her up by her hair. Once standing he backhands her and she falls to the floor. He then ignores her and walks back to me, but I keep my eyes on her. She has her bound hands wrapped around her stomach and she’s sobbing. I can see blood trickling from between her legs, and I know I have to do something.

  “Patrick,” I shout and he stops to look down at me. “Let her go. You don’t need her. Cut her ties. Give her a phone and take me with you. I’ll come. I won’t argue. I’ll do anything you want. Anything. Just let her go,” I plead.

  The corner of his lip curls upward and he has a manic grin on his face. “You don’t get it, Cherry Pie, I don’t want anything from you, except for you to suffer like I did.” At his words, he starts laughing. Even though I’m in pain, I’m not tied up and without him pinning me down this may be my only chance to help Pea. I roll myself over as quickly as I can and jump up. It nearly kills me, and I purposely ignore the blood pool on the floor and the pain coursing through me and instead rush over to Pea. Helping her sit up, I then turn to see where Patrick is while I stand in front protecting her from him. I know I won’t be able to do much, but I need to distract him from her and make sure she’s safe.

  He’s just laughing at me, knowing there isn’t anything that I can really do. Well, that’s where he’s wrong. I may not be able to beat him to within an inch of his life, as much as I'd love to, or escape without leaving Pea behind, but I can do something. I know it will cost me, he will make me pay, but if I can get help then keep him busy with me. Hopefully, Pea will be okay.

  With that thought, I lunge for the open French doors and rip the curtain back shouting as loud as my lungs will allow, “Help! We’re trapped here by a madman and he’s trying to kill us. Call the police. Help!”

  A strong arm wraps around my head and a hand slams across my mouth. As he pulls the curtains closed with his other hand, I managed to briefly see people outside walking by staring at the house, obviously unsure what to do. I caught a couple of people on their phones and I can only hope they’re calling the police.

  “You will pay for that now, Cherry Pie,” Patrick spits yanking me away from the door and throwing me down to the floor. I barely pull my face off the wooden floor when he grabs my still bleeding shoulder digging his thumb into the wound and twists me until I turn over. I can barely feel my arm now and everything is starting to spin slightly. Still, he’s concentrating on me, not Pea.

  I glance quickly sideways I notice that she’s passed out which makes my heartbeat pick up. He straddles me and starts talking again as I try desperately to keep from passing out.

  “I remember when you were taken to the hospital. When you were bleeding that thing out of you. You think your mother took you? Huh? You think she cared when she checked on you in your bedroom that weekend? Think again Cherry Pie. I did. I took you to the hospital and told them I was your father.”

  I feel bile in my mouth as I’m sick and forced to swallow it back down.

  “You lost one of your fallopian tubes. Your left one. Did you know it was your left?” I shake my head no, tears are gathering in my eyes again now, but I don’t think I have the strength to stop them this time.

  “Yes, they told me it meant you had a significantly lower chance of ever bearing another child.”

  I lose control as a tear slides down my face, he watches it roll from my eye down my cheek until it slips off my chin and smirks. “I don’t think you deserve to ever have children. I think you’re too much like your mother. You would ruin a child.” He laughs and then plunges the knife into my right side, low down below my belly button, right where my fallopian tube would be. He pushes it in to the hilt and I scream in agony and in defeat. I feel my eyes closing at his laughter and the raw pain covering every inch of me, inside and out. I think about Pea lying there and then about Saul and how he'll cope. Then I realise, I'll never have children. Ever.

  My eyes close. I don't fight the inevitable anymore, I have no fight left in me.

  Finally, I give up.

  I sit back and stretch my neck. Pulling the towel around my shoulders and watching Dane sparring by himself. He’s in the ring, and he’s completely engrossed in what he’s doing. I always thought Con was something special, and he is when it comes to kickboxing. Dane though, he’s phenomenal and not just with kickboxing. He looks like he has mastered all the martial arts if his movements are anything to go by. He looks dangerous like he means business.

  I take in the rest of the room and nearly everyone is watching him. All as amazed as me. It’s a good job we researched and found this boxing gym before we came here. This place is slightly off the grid, and you wouldn’t find it if you weren’t especially looking for it. My eye catches movement and I see Con is jogging over from the other side of the gym where he was finishing his workout. He reaches me with a frown on his face and shakes his hand which holds his mobile phone.

  “Have you heard from Soph?” he asks. I draw in my eyebrows at his question.

  “Why would I?” I answer confused. I stand up wondering what the hell is going on.

  “I don’t know.” He shakes his head, turning to walk away and mumbling to himself, but I can’t hear him. I grab his arm and pull him back.

  “What’s going on, Con?” I can hear the worry in my voice and I vaguely notice Dane drawing up to a stop next to us. I didn’t even realise he’d gotten out of the ring.

  “It’s probably nothing,” he mutters.

  “No Con, don’t say that. You know the shit that’s happening at the moment. Anything could mean something, so fill us in. Now,” I demand
suddenly feeling like my body has become wired and my insides are filled with panic. On the outside though. Solid. I have to be solid.

  “I’m probably overly worrying, you know since Pea was in the hospital. It’s just she’s been waking up early and when I left this morning she was in bed awake. She mentioned that she was getting up soon and I said I’d call her before I left the gym to see what she wanted me to bring in for breakfast. I’ve called her, but she hasn’t answered.”

  I look at his phone and then back to him as Dane says, “When did you call her last and have you tried more than once?” his voice commands complete authority.

  Con snaps his head to Dane. “I’ve tried three times over the last forty-five minutes,” Con answers and I see Dane’s body straighten as I turn shouting, “We’re leaving now!” I start jogging toward the door, only slowing to grab my bag as I pass it. I find my phone in my inside pocket and check it. No call from Soph. While jogging to the car, I dial her number. The phone rings and I stop as I get into the car park realising we came in Dane’s car. Spinning round I nearly run into Con who’s right behind me. Dane unlocks the car and as I’m sliding into it Soph’s answerphone picks up. My heart is drumming in my chest as I listen to her sweet, silky voice.

  I dial the number again.

  Still no answer.

  “Fuck,” I roar just as Dane peels out of the car park.

  “Saul?” Con asks and I hold my head in my hands.

  “Something’s happened,” I say quietly.

  “What’s happened?” Con almost shouts his desperation not hidden at all.

  “I don’t know. I mean, Soph didn’t answer.” I see his shoulders sag at my response. “It’s just I can feel that something’s wrong. Dane, brother…please,” I whisper the last bit as we lock eyes in the interior mirror and he pushes the car faster.