Chapter Fifteen

Elise

One Month Later

“Do you have everything?” Lucian asks as he stands in the doorway of the bedroom.

“I believe so,” I say. “Wanna ask me a few more times so I can make sure?”

“You can’t be a brat literal minutes before you have to leave,” Lucian laughs as he walks over and smacks my ass.

“I’m sorry,” I giggle and turn to face him. “Yes sir. I have everything.”

“Good girl,” he says. “Sit, so we can talk before you go.”

I nod and sit on the bed. He sits beside me and takes my hands into his. “You know I trust you, right?” he asks.

“I know you do,” I say. “I understand why you are worried, though.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because we’ve not spent a day apart since someone left that black rose. You are worried for me to leave without you, especially because Jake has feelings for me, or did,” I say. “You trust him, or you’d cancel your plans and join me. Also, if you didn’t trust him, you’d probably ask that I quit my job or find a new one.”

“I would definitely think about it,” he says honestly. "I know Jake won’t let anyone harm you, but it doesn’t stop me from being paranoid. I don’t like the way he talks about you.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“Well, since I have asked that you two not communicate on a friendly basis, I have communicated that to him as well. He has respected my command, but he still asks about you when he comes to meetings. Also, he is trying to buy your house. I think it’s a way to be closer to you, but I can’t exactly stop the sale without looking like a dick. My father never wanted me to be a tyrant of a leader, and I’m not about to let my paranoia turn me into that person.”

“That was a bit back and forth, but I understand,” I say. “I am driving separately from him. We are in the same hotel, but I will be in my room most of the time. I may try to be sociable with the people I’ve worked with for years now and go down to the bar to have a drink.”

“It just strikes me as odd that you worked for him since you were an intern. Although you worked for him, it’s awfully convenient that he ended up working for a company that was an hour from your mother’s home. Also, he reached out to you for that intern position. The fact he let you work remotely that entire time is unheard of,” he says.

“I know, but he’s harmless for the most part. He’s respectful at work and everything is kept professional,” I say. “Maybe he’s just being weird with you for the same reason Bradley captured me the night of the games. He just wants to rub it in your face that he was able to do what he did.”

“Yeah. Let’s not even talk about that,” he says with a frown.

“What?” I ask. “I feel like I have a right to know what’s on your mind, considering I am the one he fucked that night. If you feel some type of way about it, I want to understand.”

“He pushed the limits that night, and I don’t like it,” he says. “The very first thing he did was cover your mouth and put you in a position that you couldn’t ask him to reveal. You couldn’t call the safe word if you were hurt. Also, you even said yourself that he was aggressive with you.”

“Bradley was aggressive with me,” I counter.

“Yes, but he didn’t cause you pain. Jake did,” he argues.

“That’s… true. He scared the hell out of me. I think he honestly only uncovered my mouth because he had to put the condom on,” I say.

“Next year, I’m going to be making sure he isn’t in town for the games. I will send him to do work out of town or you and I will not participate. I don’t want him touching you ever again,” he says. I can sense how angry he is becoming, so I put my hands on his face.

“Luci, I am yours. Okay? The games are fun and all, but you are the one I want to capture me. I would happily spend the night of my birthday being ruthlessly fucked by you until you have me begging for mercy. If you don’t want to participate, okay. If you want to send him on a bogus business trip, that’s okay, too. Also, remember you are the leader, and you can impose any rule you want. If you don’t want certain people being freely captured or want to limit who can, then do it. No one gets to question you. It doesn’t make you a tyrant for doing what you have to do to ensure my safety, especially if you’re having reservations about him.”

“I know,” he says, kissing me softly. “Thank you for letting me vent.”

“You’re most welcome, Luci. I do need to go,” I say. “I will be stopping by Security Plus to run the software one last time before the launch party. The last thing I want is the software crashing with our largest client yet.”

“Okay. I will be there tomorrow afternoon. Please, call me when you get there,” he says as we stand and gather my bags.

“I will. If I get bored, I might call you on my drive. It’s only four hours, but I hate driving.”

“If I don’t answer, just call Laura and I’ll call you back as soon as I get out of my meetings,” he says. We walk downstairs and into the garage to load my stuff into the car. He wraps me in a tight hug and sighs.

“You’re going to make me cry,” I sniff.

“Oh, don’t do that,” he says as he pulls back and kisses me. “I love you, Elise. Please, be safe.”

“I love you too, Luci. I will be safe. I promise,” I smile. He opens my door, and I turn back to kiss him one last time before getting in. He opens the garage door for me and waves goodbye before I pull out.

I don’t like the feeling of driving away from him. It puts an uneasy feeling in my belly.

The road stretches out in front of me, endless and empty. I grip the steering wheel tightly, feeling the ache in my shoulders from the long drive. The clock on the dashboard says 2:45 PM. I still have at least three more hours to go. Leaving home was harder than I thought. Not the house but leaving Lucian. It's strange how quickly he's become such a big part of my life. I miss him already. I miss the way he makes me feel safe and thrilled at the same time. I miss the pride in his eyes when I say ‘Yes sir,’ to him or go to my knees to present myself to him. I adore every moment of being not just his submissive, but his wife. I hated his very existence because it was the only thing that kept me from falling for him. The moment our eyes met; I felt the pull. I knew I was in deep shit the first time he appeared and I fought against the feelings as hard as I could. He never relented, and I am thankful every day for his persistence. I look at the empty passenger seat and imagine Lucian sitting there, his large frame filling the space. I can almost hear him teasing me about my music choice or how tightly I'm holding the wheel.

The client’s launch party is important. It's a big chance to show off the software I built and celebrate our hard work. But the idea of being away from Lucian, even for just one night, makes me sad. The miles drag on, the scenery blurring together. The only thing keeping me going is the thought of seeing him tomorrow. The excitement builds with each mile. I try to focus on the positives— seeing the client's reaction, networking, and the satisfaction of a job well done. But my mind keeps drifting back to Lucian. To the way he looks at me and makes me feel alive. A sign for a rest stop appears, and I think about taking a break. But I just want to get this drive over with. I keep going, my thoughts filled with memories of Lucian and the promise of seeing him again. The day drags on, and I get more anxious, but I push on. For the next few hours, it's just me, the open road, and the thought of Lucian waiting for me when I get back. That thought alone makes the long, grueling drive worth it.

I get to Security Plus and the CEO greets me warmly before leading me to their main server room so I can run my final check of the system. As I expected, everything is running beautifully. Once I am finished, she walks me out and I drive to the hotel. I get checked in and go up to my room to change before calling Lucian. When he doesn’t answer, I leave him a voicemail telling him that I love him before going down to the hotel bar to get a bite to eat and a drink with coworkers.

“Hey,” Jake says as he approaches the bar. “When did you get in?”

“I’ve been in for a while now. I stopped in to check the program one last time, then went upstairs to change,” I explain.

“Where is Lucian?”

“Oh, he will be here tomorrow. He had some meetings to attend,” I say. “How have you been?”

“Good,” he says. “You’d know that, but your husband doesn’t want us talking.”

“Really?” I deadpan.

“I’m just teasing you, Elise,” he says with a chuckle as he lightly squeezes my shoulder. “I have some people to greet, though. Have a good rest of your evening.”

“You too, Jake,” I say.

Now that I know he has feelings for me, it feels wrong for him to be close to me. I cannot believe I invited him over to fuck. The whole situation, including Halloween, feels icky now. He’s a handsome man, but there is just something about him now that I don’t find appealing. To be fair, no one will ever compare to Lucian.

“Hey,” a man says as he sits beside me at the bar as I am scrolling through social media. I glance up at him and simply show the gorgeous wedding ring that Lucian bought me. “Where is he then?”

“Around,” I say flatly, and turn back to my phone.

“Come on now,” the man chuckles. “I saw you come in alone. You can have a little fun.”

“You don’t take hints very well, do you?” I ask. I hear someone laugh loudly behind me. I glance back to see a group of drunk girls having the time of their lives.

“Just… Go find someone who’s interested,” I say as I take a sip of my drink.

“I think you’re more interested than you are letting on. I’m a pretty great guy, ya know,” he says. He touches my upper thigh and I immediately stand with my phone and drink. “Was it something I said, baby?”

“Ew,” I say, finishing my drink and setting it on the bar before turning and walking toward a few of my coworkers.

“Hey, Elise,” April Kinsley says. “How are you?”

“Grossed out, actually,” I laugh.

“Oh, was that guy being a creep to you too?” she asks. “Watch your drink around him. He was fucking with Jane’s drink a little bit ago.”

I stare at her for a second, but as dizziness sweeps over me, panic follows right behind it. “Yeah. I’m just going to head up to my room. I’m pretty tired, anyway. I’ll see you at the launch party.”

“Have a good night,” she says before I walk away. My whole body is blanketed by a numb, tingly feeling. I feel drunk off my ass, but I had a virgin daiquiri. I intentionally didn’t have alcohol because I didn’t want to drink without Lucian around. The drink was so sweet that I wouldn’t have noticed if he put anything in it, but my dumbass looked away from my drink multiple times while he was sitting there.

“Fuck,” I mumble when I trip and nearly fall.

“You okay?” I hear the man ask from behind me.

“Ah fuck…” I mutter. “Yep. You can go away.”

“You sure? You seem a bit woozy,” he says. When he puts his arm around my waist, I have no strength to push him away. I turn and put my hand on his chest to try, but he has a tight grip on me.

“L-Leave me alone,” I slur. “Let go of me.”

“Oh, come on, baby. Let me take you to your room,” he says. “Actually, let’s just rest in my room, hmm?”

“Stop,” I say louder. I can’t push him away, so I drop all my weight to the ground. If he wants to rape me, he’s going to have to carry my big ass off somewhere. We are in a hallway by the elevators, so he takes the risk and grabs me by the hair before fumbling with his pants. “Stop it. Let go of me!”

Someone pulls the man away from me and there is a swarm of different noises around me, but I go down to my hands when I start feeling nauseated. “Come on,” Jake says as he scoops me up from the floor. “Are you okay?”

“I think he put something in my drink,” I slur. I can’t keep my head up, so I give in and lay my head on his chest.

“Is she okay?” a woman asks.

“No. Some fucker from the bar drugged her. He was trying to assault her but ran off when I got here.”

“I’ll call the police. Do you know her? Honey, are you okay?”

“I know him,” I mutter. “He’s okay.”

“I’m going to take her to my room. I don’t know if he found out her room number. I am in 3213. She looks like she’s going to throw up, so just have them come up when they get here,” Jake says.

“Okay,” she says. Jake walks with me into the elevator and sighs when the doors shut.

“You still with me, Elise?” he asks.

“Mhmm. Just gonna barf, I think,” I mumble.

“Do you have your phone on you?” he asks.

“Mhmm,” I say as I start to doze off. Everything comes in choppy and the next thing I know, I am laying on a hotel bed and I can hear Jake talking.

“No, she’s okay, Lucian. I promise. I just gave the cops all of the information. They have her number and yours… She’s in and out of it. I think she might be awake… I don’t think so. When I got there, she was on the ground and he had a hold of her hair. He had his dick out, but I think I got there just in time… No, I was so focused on her. She looked rough, so when he ran off, I just went to her. The cameras at the bar and in the hotel caught him. The cop said everything was on video, so I assume there was a camera where they were at… Okay. I’m going to keep her in here with me. I don’t trust that she won’t throw up again while she’s passed out… No, it just needs to get out of her system. I’m keeping an eye on her, so I’ll call an ambulance if I think she is struggling… I will go ahead and let you know something. One of my employees ran to her room and got a change of clothes. The first time she got sick, it got all over her, so I had to change her. April was here, though. She helped me… Yeah, April felt bad because everyone said the guy was fucking with all the women, but no one warned Elise when she got there… Yeah, she was at the bar eating and having a drink. The bartender told the cop that he saw Elise get up and walk away from him… Okay. If she wakes, I’ll tell her you are on your way… I don’t doubt it… Okay, man. Drive safe…”

“Lucian,” I mutter.

“He’s on his way,” Jake says as he sits beside me and brushes the hair out of my face.

“I feel dumb.”

“Don’t do that to yourself. None of this is your fault, Elise,” he says. “I’m just glad I was there.”

“He didn’t hurt me,” I say. “He was going to, but he didn’t.”

“I’m glad,” Jake says softly. “How do you feel?”

“Bad. So bad.”

“Try to rest. I’ll wake you up when Lucian gets here,” Jake says as he pulls the blanket over me. “Try to stay on your side in case you get sick again.”

“Mhmm,” I mumble. I give into the exhaustion and fall asleep.

“Elise,” a soft voice calls out to me. “Baby, it’s me. I need you to wake up for a second.”

“Luci,” I mutter.

“Yeah, baby. It’s me,” he says. “Let’s get you to your room, okay?”

“Mmkay,” I mumble. “Don’t worry. Jake was a good boy.”

“Probably afraid of getting puked on,” Jake jokes.

“Shit, I’m afraid of getting puked on,” Lucian chuckles. “Thanks for taking care of her, Jake. It means a lot.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t let anyone get hurt like that. It wouldn’t have felt right to just drop her off in her room, either,” he explains.

“Come on, my love,” Lucian says as he scoops me into his arms. I turn into him and bury my face in his neck.

“I missed you,” I say.

“I missed you too, sweetheart,” he says. “Jake, again, thank you so much.”

“Just let me know how she’s doing, if you don’t mind,” he says.

“Come up and see her later when she’s a bit more conscious. I don’t know if she will remember any of this,” he says.

“I will. Thank you,” Jake says.

Lucian carries me out of Jake’s room and up to mine… Someone must have found my bag, because I hear him hook my phone up to the charger before undressing me. I sit up slightly to take my shirt off and nausea punches through me.

“I’m going to be sick,” I groan.

“Come on,” he says as he helps me up. I manage to get to the bathroom in time before I start throwing up. Lucian pulls my hair back into a hair tie before gently rubbing my back.

“I’m sorry,” I sniffle.

“Don’t apologize because some asshole drugged you, Elise,” he says, continuing to soothe me.

“You were worried, and I wasn’t paying attention,” I argue. “I looked away from my drink. I should have known better.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean it was an invitation for him to try to rape you. This isn’t on you, baby,” he says.

Instead of responding, I start throwing up again to the point of dry heaving. I hate throwing up so much. I’d much rather be unconscious right now. Lucian fetches a bottle of water and I take sips between episodes of vomiting, so at least I am throwing something up. Eventually, I can sip water without getting sick. Lucian helps me rinse my mouth before taking me back to bed. As he helps me get my shirt off, nausea hits me again. Only this time, I throw up, covering the both of us.

“I’m so sorry,” I say as I instantly start to cry.

“Hey. It’s okay, baby. It’s not a big deal,” he says, pulling his shirt off. “Let’s go take a shower and just relax for a moment. Okay?”

“I didn’t know I was…”

“Elise,” he says, cupping my face. “It’s okay, baby. I promise, it’s okay. Do you feel any better?”

“Yeah,” I say timidly.

“Good. Let’s go shower,” he says. He takes me to the bathroom, and we undress the rest of the way before stepping into the shower together. He takes his time washing the both of us before wrapping me in a hug. I lay my head against his chest and listen to the beating of his heart. I am still dizzy, but it’s been several hours now since the incident in the bar. I am ready to go home already. I am glad Lucian is here. I appreciate how Jake cared for me and was respectful while I was unconscious. It’s nice to know that I can trust him while in a position of helplessness. Hopefully, this will help ease some of Lucian’s paranoia. He is possessive of me, so I do understand.

We relax in the shower until I am too tired to stand, so we dry off and go back to bed. This time, we curl up in bed together. We are both naked and tangled together, enjoying each other’s closeness.