CHAPTER FOUR

Burning rage hissed through Derek’s body like deathly poison. He knew what Chloe needed right now was for him to be strong and hold her and make her feel safe. But what he wanted to do was release that rage into the kind of wrath that would completely engulf his morality. He wanted to find Tom Ward and kill him with his bare hands…slowly. He wasn’t a violent man, so the intensity of that feeling almost frightened him. It took every ounce of energy he had in his body to keep his focus on Chloe and off of how satisfying that act would be right now.

“Hey,” he said softly after a while. “I don’t think you need to be out here in the cold any longer. Can we go to a hotel? I’ll get you your own room. It’s late and you need some rest.”

“What about the rest of it? I thought you wanted to know about my connection to Jesse?”

When she said Jesse’s name, her whole body quivered. Derek had a really bad feeling that what she had to tell him about the other man was as shocking if not more so than what she’d had to say about her childhood.

“That can wait. Let’s get you somewhere warm and at least get a cup of tea in you. Please.”

She nodded and he pulled her in one last time and pressed his lips to the side of her head. He suddenly realized why he wanted so badly to focus on the rage towards her father. That was because the way he felt when he tried to imagine the pain and agony she had gone through was almost unbearable to him. She had to be the strongest person he’d ever met to be able to handle it herself…alone. He helped her into the car and then he drove them, in complete silence, back towards the city.

When they got there, he found a nice hotel and as she was getting out of the car, she said, “Just get one room, please. I don’t want to be alone tonight.”

Derek was relieved. He would have had a really hard time leaving her alone. He registered them and arranged for them to bring up their bags as well as a pot of hot tea.

“Are you hungry?” he asked her. She looked like the very thought of food made her feel nauseous.

“No thank you,” she said.

The elevator ride was silent, and while Derek let the bell hop in with their bags and then took care of room service, Chloe sat silently on the balcony and looked out across the city. He poured her a cup of tea and took it out to her. “Thanks,” she said, taking it and wrapping both of her hands around it. He could see the Goosebumps on her arms. She was cold. Likely the myriad of emotions ripping through her at the moment was blocking the receptors in her mind from even realizing it, but he was worried that she was going to get sick.

“How about I start a hot shower for you?” he asked. Chloe actually managed a smile as she looked up at him.

“You don’t have to do that,” she said.

“I know,” he said, “But I need to do something. Let me take care of you tonight, Chloe. I know that you’re more than capable of doing that yourself, but for me…let me help you somehow.”

She reached her hand out and he took it. He felt her squeeze his and she said, “Thank you. I’ve never talked to anyone about all of this. It’s kind of exhausting.”

“I wish I could say that I can imagine,” he said, dropping to his knees next to her. “But I can’t. I can’t even begin to imagine.” He laid his head against her and she put her hands in his hair. He was even more encouraged when he felt her lips brush the top of his head. He let her hold him like that for several minutes before he said, “I’m going to draw the bath.” She smiled again and nodded.

Derek went into the bathroom, and before he did anything, he stood with his hands resting on the counter and looked into the mirror at his own face. He was still struggling with the rage. It felt like it was eating him up. He only even came close to feeling this way once before and even that couldn’t compare. When he was in high school, he went to a private school in Manhattan. He was surrounded by rich, arrogant boys and girls and most of the time, he got along with everyone, and he learned over time that most of the people who acted like they were so much better than everyone else were struggling with their own insecurity.

There was one kid. His father was the CEO of some corporation that his family founded in the 1800s. They were old money and they had so much of it that no one really knew exactly what they were worth. The kid’s name was Brandon and he walked around the school like he was king. Brandon had “yes” men even in high school. These were the guys who scrambled to do his bidding at every turn. Most of the girls wanted him too. Derek didn’t pay him much attention until one day, the girl that Derek was dating didn’t show up for school. Her name was Rachel and as hormones would have it, Derek’s fifteen year old heart was convinced that he loved her. He was on the phone on his break, calling to find out why she wasn’t at school and if she was okay when he heard Brandon telling a group of guys that he had gotten a “hand job” from that “slut” Rachel at the rally the night before. Derek ended the call before she answered and turned around towards Brandon.

“What did you just say?” he asked him.

Brandon looked up and smiled at him and said, “You’re a lucky guy, Derek. That girl of yours knows how to make a guy feel real good.”

Derek saw red. He barely remembered what happened to this day but it took about five guys to pull him off of Brandon and when he was finished, his face was a bloody mess. He probably wouldn’t have stopped if those guys hadn’t pulled him off, and that had scared him. He found out later that Rachel hadn’t even been at the rally the night before. Her aunt was sick and she’d gone to see her in the hospital. Derek was expelled and his father had to find a new school for him to go to. That was his last fight and until tonight he’d never felt anything comparable to that rage. The rage he felt now was like a volcano in his chest and he feared what he would do when it erupted.

He took a few deep breaths and then he ran water from the shower head into the large, Jacuzzi tub until it was warm. He took the soap and shampoos and body washes out of the basket the hotel had left on the counter and sat them near the tub. He made sure there were a clean fluffy towel and the complimentary robe within reach. Then he went out and let Chloe know it was ready. She thanked him and started towards the bathroom.

She stopped when she was about halfway there and turned towards him and said, “I’d really like it if you joined me.”

“Are you sure?” He asked raising an eyebrow.

She nodded and then she said, “Because of you, I’m slowly beginning to separate in my head the differences between loving and abusive. I know that doesn’t make much sense to a “normal” person, but when you’ve lived with it; it sometimes gets all twisted in your head. I need you to love me tonight, Derek.”

He felt tears stinging his eyes again. He went to her and took her hand, leading her into the bathroom. When they got there, he cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her face up to his. He covered her mouth with his and let his tongue taste her languidly. He was gentle and the kiss was sweet. He wasn’t certain that he’d be able to do more than kiss her and touch her, but it was what she was asking for and obviously what she needed, so he was going to do whatever he could to make her feel good tonight and help her forget…if only for a little while.

He reached back as they kissed and lowered the zipper on her dress. He used his hands to push it off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor. He pressed his lips down to her shoulder and kissed all the way along it to the top of her arm. Then he reached back and unhooked her bra and she let that slide off and fall to the floor as well. He was looking at her standing there in her panties and trying not to remember where the scars on her body came from. He’d known before that someone had to have hurt her but knowing the facts now made it so much harder. She was watching his face and he knew that she was worried he wouldn’t want her. The truth was she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen and knowing now how strong her spirit was, made him want her even more.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said.

Chloe’s eyes filled with tears and she lifted up and kissed his lips softly. Then stripping off the little panties, she stepped over and into the running water. Derek could feel himself becoming aroused as he watched her. He was struggling with whether or not he should feel guilty about that. Then he reminded himself of what she’d said about “the difference between love and abuse.” He started taking off his clothes. He could tell her a million times that she could trust him to never hurt her but right now; he was going to show her.

She closed her eyes and under the hot spray, she reveled in the sheets of warm water that coursed down her skin. Chloe could hear Derek step in behind her. She flinched slightly as she felt his strong hands caress her body, rubbing vanilla scented body lotion across the length of her back. Every part of her was suddenly on fire in the wake of his strong hands.

She could feel herself becoming wet, a heat unrelated to the water flooding into her loins.

She needed him.

She craved him.

Chloe gently pushed her ass back slightly against his cock. Her body shuddered when she felt his fingers stroke her folds from behind feeling her wetness.

She moaned into the spray.

Derek smiled to himself and his hand came up and cupped her breast, tweaking her rock hard nipple.

Chloe gasped with pleasure as he ran one strong hand up her thigh to rest on her vulva, his thumb firmly settling between her labia. His fingers glided back and forth between her wet folds and then he slipped a finger into her opening. She let out a gasp and licked her bottom lip as her wet locks hung around her face, moving in exaggerated time to the way she tossed her head with pleasure.

Her hands palmed the tiled wall in front of her as she felt a second digit slip in, stroking her inner walls faster. With each caress, every long thrust of his fingers; his lips devoured her neck and shoulder making her shudder uncontrollably.

She gasped feeling the wave inside her build at a steady pace.

“I'm going to cum.” She breathed feeling the pace of his fingers go faster, pounding into her pussy. She twitched and moaned helplessly. Pushing his fingers deeper, filling her warmth, her body arched and twisted beneath his powerful ministrations as the first wave of her climax hit her like a tsunami. Pushing down on his fingers she yelled out his name as her orgasm exploded and suddenly he pushed into her— the hard, thick length of him filling her so abruptly that she cried out again with pleasure.

Her breath began to come in ragged pants and her gorgeous hips began to buck of their own volition. Her moans were coming louder as he thrusted deeper inside her. Chloe leaned against the wet tile for support, her knees weak from the sensation as her body heaved with pleasure. His size filled her, stretching her walls, but fit her perfectly.

Derek began to move in and out of her harder, causing the sensations to become intoxicating. Her pussy throbbed with need and pleasure as he hit her back wall once again. With one hand on her vulva and his index finger on her clit, he stroked her while he thrusted in and out.

Derek turned her into a whimpering wreck as she pushed into him, moaning out load in pure ecstasy. As his cock buried itself to the hilt in her throbbing pussy, her ears rang with the sound of her own gasps and moans.

Her body vibrated from head to toe with revelry as the wave of pleasure hit her like a mac truck, drowning her with the intense sensation of her orgasm. Screaming out, he thrusted deep inside her one last time with a low moan as he came with her. She arched her back, feeling greedy and wanting more of him as he leaned against her back panting heavily. As she tried to catch her breath, her hands let go of the tile and turned to face him. Cupping his face, she kissed him with such passion, such force; she thought she would melt right there.