Blyssful Lies (The Blyss Trilogy 2)

“Oh, my God!” My trembling hand covers my mouth in reaction. I find myself backing up until there’s nowhere left to go. When the back of my knees come in contact with the side of the bed, I realize I’m trapped; I can’t go any further. “I trusted you,” I whisper behind my trembling fingers, while shaking my head in disbelief. I think I’m going to pass out right where I stand.

Hurt, anguish, fury, and fear mixed with despair overtake me; it’s emotional whiplash. Without warning, fight or flight instincts kick in, taking over on autopilot and overriding my emotions. I’m fairly certain I can twist my body around and jump on the bed in one swift motion while making a grab for the gun. I may not get very far, but I won’t know unless I try.

So I make a move for it.

Twisting my body around in one fluid motion, before my stomach even hits the mattress, my hand reaches under the mounds of pillows to find the hidden cubby hole that houses the concealed gun. Then, without warning, all the air in my lungs is expelled, forced out of my body as I feel every pound of Travis’ heavy frame slamming on top of mine. I don’t let go of the firearm. I hang onto it with a death grip as my fingers stay firmly wrapped around the handle of the gun, while Travis’ hands come up to wrap around both of my wrists as he locks them fiercely in his grasp.

“Don’t!” Travis demands in a gruff voice, his strong tone reverberating throughout the bedroom. In a flash, he has me flipped over onto my back, and is straddling my waist with his strong thighs on either side of me, pinning me down with his solid body. Even now, with his heavily muscled frame hovering over me and his fiery eyes searing mine, his touch scorches my wrists, but it’s the burn of betrayal. The close proximity to him is ripping my heart out, and my lungs work overtime as I desperately and angrily heave in gulps of oxygen.

I struggle with all my might to get free, and when I can’t, the growing anger boils over the top, allowing me to find my voice in spades. “It’s all been lies, Travis! You’re one big lie!” I spew while sucking in another deep breath, my adrenaline off the charts. “Tell me one thing. Which Travis is the real one, huh? The sex slave trafficker or the master manipulator? Oh, wait! Both! So…what’s the matter, you didn’t have the drugs to seduce me this time, so you manipulated me into a relationship instead?” I hiss, and then pause as I suddenly remember my nightly medicine, and my gut twists with a horrid emotion.

I struggle against his hold with everything I have, fighting back. “You’ve been drugging me all along, haven’t you?! You’ve been pumping that aphrodisiac shit through my system every fucking night, all while continuing to lie to me! What else have you been drugging me with, Travis? What else?” I shriek. I’m out of control, wild, and I want to kill him.

“No, God no, Jules! It’s not like that. I swear!” he shouts back, strongly affirming another lie as his grip tightens on me.

“Yes! Yes, it is like that! You knew who I was the entire time, but yet you still chose to keep me captive. I just didn’t know it. You even know where my home is, who my father is, and that I was engaged to the love of my life!” I gasp out loud, as another epiphany hits me. “You…you even made love to me knowing all that you knew, and then asked me to marry you!” Anger like no other courses through my veins. “You seduced me with your web of lies and deceit. Who in the hell are you, anyway?! Is your name even Travis?”

“Calm down, Jules…I can explain.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down. I have every right to be angry here. You used me!” My voice escalates with each word. “Did you even care?” My eyes narrow as I try calculating the lost time in my head, but I come up short. “How long have I been this way? How long did you hope to keep me this way?” I hiss. “What the hell do you want from me?”

“I wasn’t using you, Jules! This…”

“Just shut up and let me speak,” I yell, interrupting while I shake my head. “What you have to say doesn’t matter. You know why? Because they’re all lies. One. Big. Fucking. Lie!”

“Stop! Think about this, Jules. You’re being irrational. You’re not thinking this through!”

Both my brows arch with incredulity. “I’m not thinking this through?” My voice rises to a soprano. “From where I’m at, I see things pretty clearly. Tell me, what were you hoping for, Travis? That you would marry me, so when I got my memory back I would be captive yet again? Caught in a catch-22?” I scoff at him. “Why even bother? I mean, you’ve been so successful with the drugs and the lock-and-key method. Why did you even bother with the bullshit romance, huh? Tell me!” I scream. “Why didn’t you just pick up where we left off in the dank dungeon in that hotel? I’ll tell you why—because Nick acquired a toy that you didn’t have.” My eyes go narrow, displaying vicious hate. “I’m caught in the crossfire between two sex offenders.”