She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not (The American Soldier Collection 8)

“I will. Good-bye.”

“Good-bye.”

Ellie felt better as she disconnected the call, but as the evening went on and the office was mega quiet, she started to feel unsafe. Her mind traveled back to when she first met Paul, and how perfect, and caring he seemed. How had things gone so badly? When had she missed the signs of his possessive behavior, his distrust, and his ability to be violent?

She closed her eyes, letting the paperwork go untouched as she remembered that night.

It was raining. She was running late from work and had gotten into an argument with Paul because he wanted her to meet him at a party. From the sound of his voice, he had drunk a lot. She wasn’t in the mood, so she told him she was heading home, to bed.

She took a shower and got dressed in a tank and shorts. Her roommates were out partying, so she had the house all to herself.

She watched TV for a little while and then turned off the lights and got into bed.

She had just begun to doze off when she heard the strange noise. It sounded like glass breaking. Before she could get out of the bed to check, he appeared. A man dressed in black.

She tried to run toward the door, but then she heard her name. Turning back toward him, she saw that it was Paul. He was drenched from the rain and staring at her with wild eyes and raw hunger.

“What the hell are you doing? Did you break into my house?”

He grabbed her and she swatted at his hands. “Get off of me. Have you lost your mind?”

The backhand across the mouth shocked her, and then he pulled her by her tank top and threw her onto the bed.

“You think I’m not good enough for you? You like those high-class business men with all the money and the charm more than me?”

“What are you talking about? Don’t do this.” She cried out. He slapped her again and pulled her down the bed by her legs, getting in between them.

“I can turn you on, baby. I can make you cream yourself right now.”

She could see that he was drunk, but there was also this crazy look in his eyes. She didn’t understand it. It was like he was getting off on doing this to her.

As he raised his hand, a switchblade popped open.

“You’re mine.”

She screamed and tried to get away from him but she couldn’t. He ripped her tank top open revealing her bare breasts. She struggled to get away, begging him to stop but he wouldn’t. He struck her once, twice, three times. She was losing focus. He was so much bigger than her, a large man, nearly six feet tall, big muscles, a corrections officer, he knew how to fight, to stay in control.

When he used the knife to tear off her bottoms, she knew his intentions. She begged him to stop as he ran the tip of the blade across her breast, down her ribs to her mound.

“I wouldn’t move, Ellie. This is all mine. No man will ever fuck this pussy, or feel up these tits again. I’m going to make sure you never forget who owns you.”

The sound of the office phone ringing brought her out of her daze. She realized that she had been crying, as she wiped away the tears with the back of her hand. She was so lost in remembering, and feeling the pain she had lost track of time and where she even was.

She picked up the phone. “Yes?” she answered.

“Ellie, it’s Lionel. There’s some guy here to see you with dinner. Seno Lawson. He showed me ID, says he’s a criminal analyst, and that you’re friends. Is he legit?”

“Oh God, yes. You can send him up. He’s a friend, Lionel. Thank you.”

“Of course. You call me if you need me.”

“I will.”

She stood up placing her feet back into the high-heel shoes she wore all day. Her feet protested as she walked over toward the mirror and checked her makeup. It was obvious she was crying, but she hoped that Seno wouldn’t be able to tell.

Looking out her office window, she saw him coming through the dark office, looking around with a concerned expression and carrying a box with brown bags in it. She could also see bottles of water.

“Hi, what’s all this?” she asked, opening up her office door.