Chapter 25
The only man who ever loved you for who you are inside checked out years ago.
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This isn’t the first time in the last five minutes Lucas and I glared at my phone in utter shock and disgust.
The extent of Evelyn’s fury is far beyond what I could have imagined, and I am instantly regretting our decision to leave Jayne out there alone with her.
It’s just now that I realize the mistakes we’ve made.
We allowed ourselves to use her. We offered her up to Evelyn like bait in a trap, and now we’ve abandoned
her.
She backed us up in our lie–a lie that deceived her most of all, and, despite everything, she still covered for both of us and Howard. And we left her with the insults spewing from Evelyn’s vile mouth.
“Declan, what the fuck?” Lucas gasps incredulously at Evelyn’s last taunt, and I shake my head in disbelief.
I hear Howard through the phone, so I know any secret conversations are done, and I end the call as the patio door opens, followed by frantic footsteps across the main room.
“We need to do something for her. We need to help her, Dec.” Lucas is panicked now, and it’s because neither of us expected this. We had some ideas of possible scenarios and how we would handle them.
But this? I have no idea what to do.
We both stand at the same time and move across the room to open the door of the study. I reach the base of the stairs, and catch a glimpse of her feet as she makes it past the top stair and starts running down the hall on the floor above us.
“She’s not okay. She’s heading to the far bathroom.” I grab the railing and begin to run up, taking the stairs two at a time with Lucas directly behind me.
As we get close, I hear the tap running, and we wait just outside the door.
Just out of reach.
Her heavy breathing and soft cries make their way into the hall through the wooden door.
I need to comfort her.
I reach for the handle, but Lucas stops my advance and motions for me to give it another minute. I turn the handle in its place without opening the door, to make sure it’s unlocked, then I pull my hand back and wait.
The water is running, and she’s still crying. Lucas looks at me as we try to determine how we can help. Then, all of a sudden, her breath heaves as though she is fighting for air.
It hits me, and I whisper, “Hyperventilating. I think she’s having a panic attack.”
9:43 Mon, Sep 22
Chapter 25
🙂
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Control seizes Lucas’s being. He puts his arm out, telling me to let him handle this, and I step slightly behind him. Both of our eyes are trained on the door.
As he reaches down to open it, a heartbreaking sob lets loose, and he pushes into the room.
The sight before us numbs me. Jayne is trembling and latched onto the sink. Her poor little knuckles are white. Her face is flushed red, and tears cascade down her sweet cheeks.
She looks over at us in surprise, and for a second it looks like she doesn’t understand what is happening.
“I–can’t-” Her breathing is out of control, and she looks like she is losing her fight.
But Lucas is calm. He’s better than calm. He’s dominating.
“Jayne. You need to calm yourself. You need to focus. Now, Jayne.” He stalks into the bathroom with his hands. raised in supplication.
Jayne flashes a quizzical look at him, as if he just told her the sky was blue, then she glances at the water flowing from the tap. Her breathing is getting more labored, and I’m sure our presence isn’t helping matters.
“Jayne.” Lucas’s voice is lower and more coercive now. “I’m going to help you. You need to trust that I’m not going to hurt you. I’m running out of time.” He takes another step toward her.
She looks like a scared little animal. She shifts her wild eyes between us, and I notice her body soften just a bit as she nods through her sobs.
When Lucas reaches Jayne, he’s not gentle. He forcefully reaches for the buttons on the front of her capris and whips her pants down to expose her panties. The weight of her pants carries them down to her ankles. and he turns her around and nudges her against the wall, making sure that her head is turned toward the full- length mirror.
Her mouth is open wide, and her brows are furrowed. She’s disoriented, and she struggles to right herself, but her breathing remains harsh.
Placing his forearm across her upper back and pinning her to the wall, he looks at her reflection, which is fixated on him in the mirror. “That’s right, Jayne. Don’t take your eyes off me.”
Lucas handles Jayne as I watch them from the doorway. I don’t move a muscle. I know what he’s doing. He’s taking her anxiety away. He’s trying to control her fear. I lean against the doorframe, and I’m stock–still for her. She needs to only see him right now.
Lucas reaches down, grasps her hip bone, and jerks her ass slightly back to him. Then he moves his hand across her lower back and hovers on the round of her ass on top of her panties.
Her breath catches in her throat, alerting us to a break in her frenzied state, and the corner of Lucas’s mouth twists up as he moves his attention to her ass and raises his hand.
Jayne’s eyes narrow on his reflection in the mirror. She’s watching in confusion as his hand lifts.
Our sweet little girl still has no idea what he’s about to do.
9:43 Mon, Sep 22
Chapter 25
Smack.
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Jayne’s eyes bulge, and she lets out a surprised sob as Lucas stares into her through the mirror. “Count, Jayne. I want to hear you count these out for me.”
She chokes out her first response. “W–w–one.” It’s barely a whisper, but it’s a start.
Smack.
Jayne’s tense body lurches forward, and her arms come up to the wall beside her. It seems like her mind returns to her, and she attempts to push herself away.
“Count, Jayne. I won’t ask again.” Lucas’s tone is assertive as he holds her in place.
Her sobs turn to coughs as her brain struggles between rejecting and accepting his help. “T–two.”
Smack.
I can tell his strikes are more forceful each time, but I know he is holding back considerably. He’s trying to startle her back to us, nothing more.
“Th–three.” Her voice is a little stronger. She’s trying. Our Jayne is trying.
“Good girl. Keep going.”
Smack.
Her breathing is starting to ebb and flow. She’s still gasping, but the urgency is
gone.
She’s blinking more, as if she’s just now aware of what is happening to her. What she has granted us.
Lucas allows her a moment to catch up, then urges her to continue. “Jayne.” His tone is now soft, caressing.
“Four.” Her tone is quiet, but the sobs are gone. Her breathing is shallow, and I know Lucas will continue.
He’s waiting for something to happen before he’s done with her.
Smack.
“Five.” Jayne answers almost instantly, and Lucas looks up to meet her eyes in the mirror with a concerned look on his face.
Her breathing comes in short pants.
Then it happens.
She sucks in a deep, shuddering breath, almost the start of a yawn. It fills her, then all at once she breathes out, and her terror releases its hold on her.
She blinks rapidly at her reflection, and her next breath is normal as she stares at Lucas through the mirror before closing her eyes.
9:43 Mon, Sep 22
77)
Chapter 25
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Lucas sets the palm of his hand gently on her lower back, then leans into her ear. “You did great, baby.” Then he places a kiss on her neck just below her car, and she whimpers softly.
I stand up straight and step into the room as Lucas frees her. Her eyes shoot open as she turns toward us, shifting her gaze from Lucas to me, and I approach her without words.
Lucas steps back to my place at the door and stands still, granting me my time with her.
When I reach her, she takes a half step back, almost tripping over her pants around her ankles. Bringing one hand up to rest on her collarbone, I spread my fingers in a soft grip at the base of her neck. With my free hand, I lift her chin so she looks up at me, and she holds my stare.
“Jayne. What happened?” My tone is serious, probing.
I know exactly what happened, but I can’t let her know that Lucas and I were eavesdropping on top of all the other shitty things we have done. So I need her to tell me.
“Last night. The engagement. It’s a lot.” Her eyes are still on my face, but they are unfocused. She’s chosen avoidance, which is the same as lying in my book. But we’ll have to deal with that later–and we will.
Now there is pain, and she’s choosing to suffer alone.
“Jayne. Is there anything else?” I try for a more affectionate tone.
“No. That’s it.” She thinks shutting me out will protect her.
She’s wrong.
Lucas releases a frustrated breath behind me.
Trying a different approach, I tighten my grip on her neck by only a fraction and lean closer. Her eyes snap up to meet mine.
“We will talk about all of this another time, but I need you to know that nothing between us has changed. Lucas and I want you. We need you to be open and honest about how you are doing. We want the chance to help you. Do you understand, Jayne?”
All I hear is the sound of her sweet breath leaving her lips, and I think for a moment merely telling her this isn’t enough.
With my free hand, I reach between her legs and brush my fingers along her inner thigh then up to the warmth of her panties. She lets out a muted whimper, and her jaw drops open as she indulges in the
sensation.
“Do you understand, Jayne?” I’m going to allow her omission to slide today, but I’m not letting her go until I know she knows where we stand.
“Yes, Declan. I understand.”
The sound of my name rolling off her lips tests me, and I lean in to place a tender kiss on her forehead. Then I step back from her.
“We’ll leave you here until you feel better. We’ll be in the garden when you are ready.”
Lucas turns to leave with me, but Jayne’s unsteady voice stops him. “Lucas. I–thank you.” Then she glances up at me with a look that tells me her appreciation extends to myself as well.
We nod and leave, closing the door behind us.
