Lost & Found (Possessed 3)

“Relax, baby. He’s concerned.” His whispered words didn’t help calm her the way he probably would have hoped.

Pulling back, she went to sit on the small bench by the window. It had become her place of solace when her mind tried to control everything. Watching nature had helped ease some of the pain from the memory loss, to help her open her heart to these two incredible men when she felt like she had shut it off from the pain of loneliness.

Nick and Ace moved to the office, evidently intent on talking to her brother and figuring out everything that was going on. She knew Nick had gotten the name of her attacker, and she should feel some sort of relief or closure in uncovering who he was, but all she felt was empty inside.

Everything was coming to a close, and her fear was stronger than ever. She wanted to remember desperately, but with that task she knew would come the time to make decisions she wasn’t ready for. Like whether she went back to Vancouver or stayed here with them.

Pepper knew they wanted her to stay. Oddly, it was the only thing she did know. Her fear originated with the thought of what if they only said it to soothe her. What if it was said in the heat of the moment.

Roxie’s bark from the door drew her from her ruminations before she could come up with a concrete answer. Rising to her feet, she strode towards the animal. “Hi, girl,” she said. After scratching the dog’s ears, she got her own coat and shoes on, needing the fresh air to clear her mind.

As soon as the door was opened, Roxie shot off like a rocket going to space, chasing something that had caught her eye. Pepper wished she had the freedom to just be the same way the animals did. To just be herself without the expectations from others.

Clearing the snow from the porch steps, she sat and waited for the dog to come back. Her black and white fur could be seen dashing through the trees as she chased her prey. One thing she continued to be shocked about was that Roxie never pursued to kill. Even when she had an animal cornered, she always backed off so they could escape.

A classy girl she was for sure.

Closing her eyes, Pepper enjoyed the soft breeze as it cooled her overactive mind. The shine from the sun bouncing off the fresh snow lulled her into relaxation. Her mind wandered as birds chirped and branches rustled.

“Oh, Alex, it’s so beautiful here,” she exclaimed as they entered their room in the Kicking Horse Lodge. A place he’d been telling her about for weeks.

“I told you you’d love it.” His arms wrapped around her from behind as he ground his erection against her ass. Something he’d been doing more and more of late. Pepper was still unsure of how she felt about such intimacy.

“What are we going to do first?” she asked him enthusiastic

ally, not wanting to point out she wasn’t ready for taking that next step yet as she turned in his arms.

A dark look crossed his features when she moved away from his touch. “I thought we could just relax in the room for the night. Get room service, find a movie, talk.” He said all the right things, but his eyes, there was something within them she couldn’t identify.

“Oh.” Disappointment rang through her words. “I suppose so.”

“You don’t want to be alone with me?” His voice held laughter, his face held anger.

She was quick to amend her statement. “No, no, of course, I do. We have plenty of time to see everything.” She tried to smile but knew it didn’t reach her eyes.

The rest of the evening was spent walking on eggshells, trying not to anger him. He masked it well, but she saw it. Lurking behind his fake mask.

They ate dinner in strained silence, only commenting on how wonderful the food was prepared. She couldn’t even taste it. She wanted to call Tami so bad, tell her she had to leave, but he never left her side. It was like he sensed her nervousness.

When it came time to choose a movie, his pick was not something she’d have ever watched with someone else, let alone by herself. But he seemed to like the whole blood and gore of the horror flick. Pepper spent the whole time trying not to cringe when he would slide his hand up her thigh with each squirt of blood across the screen. When the villain massacred the entire town, she realized Alex was getting off on all the horror. His eyes were lit like a Christmas tree as the character licked blood from his fingers.

“I’ll be right back.” She attempted to excuse herself to the washroom, but his hand tightened on her thigh. It was almost as though he hadn’t heard what she said. His body came down on top of hers, his mouth devouring her while she fought to push him away. She knew she was in trouble.

“Alex, stop.” Her request only seemed to spur him on as he tried to force himself on her more.

“I need you, baby.” His words were distorted. She couldn’t even describe it.

“No. You have to stop, Alex.” She kept saying his name in hopes he would listen to her plea.

“I’ve waited too long already. Tonight, you’re mine.”

When he forced his hand up her shirt, grabbing a breast roughly, she cried out from the pain. He pulled back, and that’s when she pushed him off, rushing to the bathroom to escape his groping.

“I never should have come,” she whimpered to her tear-stained face in the mirror.

A pain-filled howl drew her back from the memory she’d been lost in. The man she had been dating for a month had changed so drastically. Had become someone she’d never met before. She was so stupid in trusting him just because her friend had.

Another howl had her on her feet. Roxie was nowhere in sight as Pepper ran into the copse of trees she’d last seen the animal. “Roxie!” she called, hoping the dog would come to her.