Get to Mitch. Get to Mitch. But how? Just in case the guards were looking up, she stayed low and crept into the adjoining garage. Was it Mitch’s? Who the hell knew? It looked exactly the same.
His office was on the fourth floor, so she headed down the ramp, keeping her steps slow and light, not wanting to disrupt the silence and alert anyone she was there.
She had to figure out what to tell him, find a way to make him believe the unbelievable. Explain to him that he needed The Clinic’s drugs. To say it would be a tough-sell would be a huge understatement. She needed to tell him she’d changed, that she was different now.
A thought slipped into her consciousness, stopping her in her tracks. Why was he here? Why wasn’t he out looking for her? Maybe he’d gone back to work—just another day at the office. Like she’d never been anything to him. By the time he closed that door on her, maybe he’d already forgotten everything that had happened between them.
She looked back at the way she’d come, knowing she couldn’t trust them. But was the road ahead any different? Mitch had constantly told her that she should never count on him. But, then again, he was a liar. And had done everything he could to push her away.
No. She couldn’t go back there without seeing him, touching him. She just couldn’t.
The light grew dimmer on the fourth floor, countless overhead fluorescents having fizzled out at some point. She had to squint to see anything. Something shimmered up ahead. A car. A silver sportscar like his. She stopped breathing on an inhalation when she heard steady footsteps coming closer, from the lit hallway on the other side of the garage.
When she saw him, she sighed, the nervousness disappearing from her clenched muscles. Replaced by an overwhelming desire to be with him. Any way she could.
He walked with his head lowered, his shoulders slumped. His t-shirt pulled across his chest, moving with him as he slowly made his way to his car, never looking up. The darkness overtaking him with each step he took towards her.
She wanted to see his face, wanted to know what expression he wore, selfishly hoping the sluggishness of his steps were because of losing her. She called out to him, unable to stop herself. “Mitch.”
He jerked his head up, searching the darkness. His posture changed, the vague outline of his body more alert, on edge.
“Mitch?” she whispered.
He flinched. “Where are you?” He spoke slowly, as if he wasn’t certain he’d heard anything at all.
When she stepped towards him, he flicked his head in her direction. “Is that really you? Come out. Come out if that’s really you.” He sounded desperate, anguished. “Please.”
She ran to him so fast, her feet barely touched the Earth. Beneath a cover of almost pure black, she slammed into him and flung her arms around him. With no intention of ever letting go, she felt the immediate reactive heat as their bodies collided.
“I missed you so goddamned much,” he mumbled into her hair. “Where have you been? What did they do to you?”
“It’s like I just woke up from a horrible dream,” she said, pulling him even closer. “They tested me. Blood tests, scanning for stuff, I guess. But they didn’t hurt me.”
“Good. Because if they had, I’d be picking out recipes for their fucking heads.” He held her face, resting his forehead on hers. “How did you get away?”
“One of the guards, he…he just let me go.”
And then it hit her—a blinding wave of passion and want like she’d never felt before. Her mind consumed by the desire to be with him, to have him inside of her, filling her with his strength. Hands that seemed to be controlling themselves gripped his clothing, wanting to tear it off of him, rip it to shreds just to feel his warmth. This wasn’t her. This was…
Chastity. Eden tried to fight her. Tried to listen to what he was saying. Tried to think of anything other than the otherworldly lust that coursed through her veins. The sensation was blinding, its sole focus on eliminating any barrier between their bodies. She struggled against it, her mind screaming in vain for her body to stop, for the desire to stop.
They needed to get out of here. Fields wouldn’t be able to hold his men off forever without creating suspicion. But Chastity had taken control now, and she didn’t care about the danger. She wanted Mitch. Now.
Fuck the consequences and let’s fuck.
‘No!’ Eden screamed silently. But her will was nowhere near strong enough.
§ § §
“Oh, Eden. I can’t believe it’s really you.”
She felt so good, every soft curve bending to his hard edges, pressing against him, knocking him backwards a step. But the separation was only momentary. Thank God.
When he’d heard her say his name, he was so afraid. Not afraid of danger—afraid it was his mind playing tricks on him, like a mirage appearing to a dying man. But it had been her voice—timid and unsure, as if she had no idea the power she had over him.
He took care not to smother her like he wanted to. Not to wrap his arms around her so tightly she couldn’t breathe. No, he had to protect her now. From them…and from himself.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” He pushed her away slightly. Since he could barely see her, he touched her, caressing her all over, making sure she hadn’t been hurt. His hands remembered her, where to go, every inch of her body.
“I’m okay,” she said, relief deepening her voice. “Now.”
When she kissed him, it felt like the sky had opened up and given him a perfect view into heaven. Her mouth was needy, opening his and diving in. Full throttle passion. From zero to one hundred and ten in one moment. And he never wanted to slow down. If he spent the rest of his life right here, right now, he’d be satisfied. Fuck, he’d be more than satisfied—he’d be whole.
She snuggled even closer, pulling his t-shirt up as if she needed to feel his skin. He let her, feeling exactly the same way. She slipped her hands into the waistband of his jeans. Her fingers were freezing cold, making him shiver.
He hugged her again, cradling her, wanting to warm her, rubbing her back through the thin jacket she wore.
“I need you,” she said into his chest, nipping at him.
“I need you too, babe. God, I need you. I was so stupid to tell you to go. To let you out of my sight for one second. I’m so sorry.”
When she undid the button of his pants, he laughed. “Wait. Not here. Let’s go home. Back to my house. You’ll be safe, and we can talk.”
She shook her head as much as she could with it buried in his chest. “No, I can’t wait. Now. Please. I missed you so much.”
He gripped her arms and tried to push her away. “Eden, wait. We have time now. Let’s do this right. I don’t want to fuck this up again. I want us to…” Spend our next three lifetimes wrapped up in each other.
“Now. Please, Mitch. Here.” She took his hand and dragged him into the corner. He followed in a daze, not sure how to react—needing to be with her more than anything, but wanting it to be more than a quick fuck in a garage. She deserved more than that. This wasn’t the romantic setting he’d imagined when he’d dreamt of this moment.
But in the darkness, burning from want, that was harder to remember.
She took his hands and guided them up her hips, pushing the cotton of her dress along with it. With their fingers intertwined, they pulled down her panties. Together. Like he wanted to be forever. After she’d stepped out of them, only letting go for a moment just to put her hand on his arm for balance, she pulled him back into her.
He’d wanted romantic, but that idea was long gone. He didn’t care anymore. He wasn’t sure where he’d find that many flowers, anyway. And it would’ve been hell to clean up.
She didn’t seem to mind, either. “I want you inside of me,” she said, her voice deeply intoxicating.
With his pants around his thighs, he lifted her up, still kissing every part of her he could reach. When he slid inside of her, it felt like home. Like something that was meant to be. Her moan breaking
through any doubt he’d had.
Long strokes brought them closer together. Her whispered needs the only thing he heard. He held her tightly, not wanting her back to scrape against the concrete wall. Wanting her to only feel good, pleasure, for as long as he was able to provide it to her.
“I missed you so much, Eden,” he whispered when their lips parted. “I’m so sorry. You are everything. I was just too stupid to admit it.” Each thrust created a new thought, a new admission, a new nirvana. “But not anymore. I promise. This can work. I know it can. We’ll find a way.”
How long could they keep going like this? If he asked for forever, would it be enough time?
“Deeper,” she breathed, tossing her head back. “Oh God, Mitch. Deeper.”
He did what she asked, his words broken by each thrust. But he couldn’t stop speaking—he had too much to tell her. “Now that you’re back, I’ll take care of you. I promise. I’ll take care of you from now on.” Too much he hadn’t said. “Eden, I lo—”
Her body clenched, but not in the good way. It wasn’t a climax. It was more of a ‘stop doing what you’re doing because it ain’t working for me’ clench.
That’s not good. He stopped moving. “Am I doing something wrong?” Should’ve gone with the bed of flowers, asshole!
He felt her core tighten, felt her body jerk repeatedly. As if she was…crying.
“Oh shit, Eden! I’m sorry. Christ! I didn’t…” Fuck. He tried to lift her off of him, but she only wrapped her legs more tightly around his waist.
Her face was lowered, her shoulders hiccupping.
“Eden, let go. Please.”
But she didn’t. He stopped pulling on her legs, and lifted her face, wanting to see the tears he’d unknowingly caused.
“You want to be with me, right?” she whimpered. “No matter what?”
“What are you talking about? Of course I do. We’re in this together.”
She shushed him, putting her fingers on his lips. Around the corner, someone was getting into their car.
When the car started, she flinched. “We need to leave now. Right now.”
“Whoever it is won’t see us tucked into this corner,” he whispered, caressing her cheek. “It’s okay. And even if they do, it’ll be my ass they see.” He laughed, trying to calm her down, wanting her to tell him what he’d done wrong.
When the car pulled around, heading down the ramp, its headlights illuminated the garage.
Eden ducked her head, hiding her face.
But it wasn’t fast enough.
A momentary flash of silver-blue in her eyes. Eyes that were supposed to be brown. Neither of them moved as the car drove past, but a mile had already come between them, dragging him backwards, pissing him off.
Chastity.
“What. The. Fuck.” He pulled himself out of her and let go, not caring if she fell. If he hadn’t known better, he’d have thought his heart had just walked out on him. Like it was saying, ‘I’m not beating until you get this shit figured out’.
“Mitch, wait. Please. You don’t understand.”
Don’t think about it. Just don’t— He dragged her to his car by her arm, yanking up his pants as they moved. After fishing his keys out of his pocket, he opened the door and shoved her into the driver’s seat, the car’s interior light blinding him.
Her eyes were clamped shut. He grabbed her jaw and tilted her face to the light.
“Open your eyes.” There was steel in his voice. But he knew how brittle it was, how weak and close to shattering.
“No,” she whimpered, tears seeping out between tightly-clenched lids and clinging to her lashes. “Let me explain first.”
“Open your fucking eyes, or I’ll do it for you.”
She shivered on a breath and slowly looked up at him, her lip trembling, her silver-blue eyes shining with tears.
“You…bitch,” he said, releasing her chin and stepping back, unable to break his stare at those goddamned beautiful eyes that represented everything that was wrong. With her. With him. With them. Why? Hadn’t he been punished enough?
“Mitch, I’m sorry. It’s not what you think. Not…entirely.”
“How did you do it, Chastity? Why did you do it? You used her voice.” Her beautiful voice. “Why?” He felt himself crumble. She’d deceived him, used him. Hell, she’d used them both—used both of their bodies in her deception. He’d been so close to Eden, so fucking hopeful things would somehow be different.
But it was all a lie. A game. Cards on the table, all-in moment. And she’d out-played him.
He’d poured out his fucking soul, exposed everything inside of him, laid it out for her to trample over. Just so she could get what she wanted—a quick fuck in the dark. He should’ve known. Was he so damn desperate that he missed all the clues? Thought that for once in his life, he’d get what he needed?
She reached out to him. But he held himself away from her, not wanting to feel her touch. Not hers. Never hers.
“Please, Mitch. Please, let me explain. It’s me. Not her.”
He wanted to yank her out of his car and drive away. Sure, like that would be enough to purge his disgust at himself for being so freakishly stupid. The Clinic wouldn’t just let her go. It had to have been Chastity—that girl could escape from Alcatraz without getting her hair wet.
Then the smarter, less sappy, part of his brain spoke up. You can’t leave her, asshole. Eden will come back. In the morning, Eden will be here. Great. So all he had to do was not look at her, not think about her until then. Sure, that’ll be so fucking easy.
“You should’ve gone to someone else, Chastity.” Anyone else.
“Stop calling me that! I’m not her!” Whimper, whimper, gasp, gasp. She was putting on a damn-good show. “I’m me. Please, believe me. I’m still me.” More whimpering.
He had to hand it to her—the girl had talent. “Joke’s over, Chastity. And, boy-oh-boy, was it a good one.” He looked down at himself disgustedly, shoved his cock back in his pants, and zipped them up. Fuck! He’d been inside of her. He’d cheated on the only woman he’d ever had a relationship with that could be cheated on. That he never would’ve betrayed.
Now, that’s fucking ironic.
And the things he’d told her…Fuck. That shit was not meant for Chastity’s ears. He felt violated, deceived, betrayed. But most of all, he felt ashamed. He should’ve known! How could he not have known this…person wasn’t Eden?
With no other option, he pulled his belt out of his pants and tied her wrists to the steering wheel, knowing the leather would just excite her. She pulled away, but her fake sobbing prevented her from fighting too hard. Plus, he was a lot stronger than she was. Rage will do that to a man.
Then he closed his ears to her lies, her bogus excuses. Sing a happy song to cover that bullshit up, asshole.
When he slammed the door, she screamed at him, still not breaking character. Though it would’ve been more convincing if she’d closed her eyes while she did it. All he had to do was look at her to know she wasn’t Eden. So that he didn’t have to, he turned around and leaned against the car.
Hell would have to freeze over before he parked in this goddamned garage again. It just wasn’t safe. Coming to the office was too fucking stressful.
§ § §
Eden tried to hold back her sobs, but it wasn’t working. Through the window, she watched him take out his phone and call someone.
Why hadn’t she said something? Explained that she was different, before he saw her eyes. When he might’ve still believed her. If she’d been able to keep Chastity’s hormones in her pants for a little bit longer, she could have told him everything. Not that he would’ve instantly trusted her, but it certainly would’ve increased the probability.
Damn it. Chastity’s power had come out of nowhere, knocking her down like a bully on the playground. And when Eden had finally been able to stand back up, it was already too late. He was inside of her, saying things he would never share with Chastity,
making everything even worse. But the emotions he’d expressed weren’t what Chastity wanted. No, she’d wanted to feel his cruelty—in the sex and in his words. That was the moment her control had slipped, allowing just enough space for Eden to crawl through. The emotional connection she and Mitch shared had beaten the bitch. But now…now even that might be gone.
Being locked in a car with her wrists bound wasn’t her idea of fun, but at least he hadn’t pushed her off of him and driven off. So he hadn’t completely given up on her. And all of those things that he’d said, before he’d seen her eyes…
All of that had to mean something, didn’t it? That she’d have another chance to talk to him. Another chance to build that connection back up. Somehow. When she’d calmed down enough to quiet the anguish that filled her head, she heard him say Landon’s name.
“…fast can you get here?”
No. We can’t wait. Now that she was thinking more clearly—less lust and more logic—she knew they needed to get out of here. Away from The Clinic guards. “Mitch! We need to leave now! Please!”
Either he couldn’t hear her through the glass, or he was deliberately not hearing her.
Her hands were still strapped to the steering wheel. But it would probably just anger him more if she freed herself, so she slammed her shoulder against the door to get his attention. “Mitch! They could be here any minute!”
He turned around slowly, looked straight into her eyes, and spoke into the phone. “Make it two. I don’t want to see her for longer than that.” The expression of disgust was so apparent on his face, it emptied her. As if the man who’d confessed his love just moments ago had never existed. As if, in one motion, it had all been swept away, or buried so deeply it might never surface again.