It was my turn to let out a frustrated sigh. I shrugged out of his grip and pushed my hand back through my hair. "You really think I don't understand? David, honestly? I'm the one wearing his bruises around my neck. It's my head he tried to bash in on the rock. It was my life he tried to take. Mine. Not yours. Not anyone else’s. Mine. I understand well enough but I'm not prepared to become his victim. I'll have plenty of that when I close my eyes at night." Tears threatened to spill down my cheeks but I held them at bay by pinching my leg. The pain helped me focus. Helped keep me calm and stopped me from wanting to scream.
David ran his hand across my thigh before he gently took my hand in his. The gesture was almost enough to undo my progress with my emotions but I held them in check.
"I just can't bear to think of anything happening to you. The more I know, the better chance I have of protecting you. That is all. You mean everything to me, Carrie. The sooner you understand that, the better."
The car ran over a bump jolting my hand out of David's and the car turned down and in to a gravel drive. I didn't pay too much attention to where we were headed. Instead all of my attention was focused on the man before me. The intensity in his eyes made me swallow with nervousness. I had witnessed David's intensity before but nothing like this. He meant every word he said. I could feel it.
The car rolled to a halt and it was then I turned my attention to where we were. The house that stood in the large sweeping driveway was huge. The stonework was a work of art in itself and I could tell the house was worth a small fortune. It was the type of house I could imagine gothic heroines running from when the bumping in the closet turned out to be much more than a mouse.
David noticed my shocked expression and a smile spread across his lips. "Welcome to my home. Well, my childhood home. It's my parents’ house but they prefer to spend their time abroad. Mother likes the warmth and father will give her anything she wants."
I turned terrified eyes to David and gulped. "Your parents aren't here, are they? Not now?"
David's smile grew even wider. "No. As I said, they prefer being abroad. They never come back here. It has some bad memories so they leave it to me and Aaron to use when we see fit."
I let out a shaking breath and turned to look up at the house once more. It was stunning. The windows sparkled each time the sunlight hit them and the huge oak door was already ajar as though we were expected. That wasn't what truly caught my eye though. It was the sight of a tower attached to one end of the house. It mesmerised me and I imagined what it would be like to climb the stairs to the top, to stand and look out upon the countryside surrounding the house. It was like something from a fairy tale.
I jumped when the car door opened and the bodyguard dressed head to toe in black held it. David's laugh made me want to slap him, but it was nice to hear him so relaxed. Since the situation with Robert had developed, David hadn't been himself. He was always tense and on guard as though expecting someone to jump out at him at any second and steal me away. It was hard to watch him behave that way. Part of me wondered how I was behaving. Perhaps it was the fear in me that was causing such a reaction in David. Could we truly be such mirrors of each other?
"Wait until you see the inside. You'll love it." David sounded so excited as though he had truly found the most exciting thing ever and he wanted to share it with me.
I climbed out of the car and gripped his arm tightly to steady myself. The blood rushed to my head and I felt slightly faint. Even though I was recovered it still didn't stop me from having funny moments. The feeling passed in an instant and David held me tightly as though ensuring that I wouldn't disappear.
"Are you alright? Perhaps this is too much?"
I grinned at him then and gestured to the house. "Are you kidding me? I get taken to beautiful, gothic mansions all the time. This is just one in a long line of gothic mansions..."
His lips crushed mine and stole my breath. His steady grip was the only thing that kept me on my feet as he deepened the kiss. I moaned softly against him as his hands pressed into my back and he nibbled slowly along my lips.
He drew back slowly and broke the kiss. I kept my eyes closed for a few seconds savouring the taste of him on my lips. When I opened them I couldn't help but smile. David's eyes were filled with happiness and something else. I knew the look. I had fallen prey to it several times. It was the look of lust. The look that David used on me that told me all of the things he wanted to do to me then and there—the way he would take my body and use it for his pleasure, sending me to new unexplored heights. I could feel things tighten low in my body and it made me want to take his hand and find a secluded corner. To me it felt like an age since he had done to me everything his eyes promised.
As though he could read my thoughts, he let out a low chuckle. "Later, my love, I promise. For now let's go inside."
We made our way into what appeared to be the hallway, except calling it a hall would have been an insult. The space itself was as big as my apartment. I stared around me at the wall hangings, drinking in the rich atmosphere and the smell of wood polish.
David's hand pressed against my lower back and I jumped, a small squeal escaping my lips. He took my hand and led me into one of the many rooms that were adjacent to the hall. The sitting room was beautiful and opulent. The crystal chandelier glittered each time one of the sunbeams hit it.
I let my eyes roam around the room until they came to rest on a man sprawled across the chintz sofa. He stirred as David and I entered the room and I realised it was Aaron.
"So this is where you hide out when you're not torturing your brother," I teased gently, a small smile creeping across my lips as Aaron grinned at me.
"They let you out of the hospital? I thought you were in there for another few days at least. David seemed to think you would be?" He turned an inquisitive look to his brother but I piped up before David could open his mouth.
"There was an incident, so I left early."
Aaron's expression immediately grew serious. "Incident?"
"Robert, paid her a visit this morning. Threatened her. Said he was glad he didn't succeed the first time because now it means that he can cause even more pain. Plans to do her in when I'm on edge trying to protect her... I won't let that happen, Aaron, I can't..."
Aaron shook his head and let out a sigh as he sat upright on the couch. My shoulders were stiff from holding all of my anxieties inside and I attempted to release them all. I breathed out, a loud sigh escaping me. David wrapped his hand in mine as he led me towards the sofa opposite Aaron. He sat and pulled me down beside him. His thigh pressed tightly against my leg, practically burning a hole in my jeans with the heat that was coming off his body.