Chapter 3 Escape

[Raelyn’s POV]

Things progress quickly after that, from me and the man sharing some drinks and chatting lightly to our hands and bodies tangling together in the back seat of a taxi while it takes us to a hotel close by. When we arrive, the man scoops me into his arms and then carries me into the building and then the elevator, where we start attacking each other again.

Everything is a blur of passion, need, and a desire that I’ve never felt before, and when we reach our destination, a penthouse suite, I don’t even stop him as he begins to undress me.

“You’re beautiful,” he growls, taking in my exposed body. “So fucking beautiful.”

How long has it been since someone said such a thing to me? In the past Daniel would say the same thing, but after years of being together he stopped saying it to me. Maybe that was a sign of his cheating that I missed completely. I wasn’t sure, but now that it was over, there was no reason to even think of such a thing.

“Are you thinking about someone else while you’re with me?”

The man’s voice is deep and full of warning as he stares at me, his eyes dark and dangerous. And I realize too late that I’m zoning.

“Not at all,” I purr, collapsing on the couch behind me and getting comfortable. “I’m only thinking about you.”

For a moment, he doesn’t speak as he stares at me, and I can’t help but wonder if I’ve ruined the moment, but when he moves, kneeling in front of me and lifting a leg so he can start trailing kisses up it toward my eager and waiting pussy, I know that I didn’t.

“You smell divine.” He growls, licking his lips while keeping his gaze locked on me. “I wonder if you taste divine as well.”

“Why don’t you see?” I breathe, feeling greedy.

“Don’t regret what you’ve said.”

After that, I find myself falling into a world of pleasure and bliss. One where the pain that I was feeling from Daniel and Becky’s betrayal doesn’t exist and only the man who touches, kisses, caresses, and then fucks me does. He’s a beast, wild and fierce in the things he does to me, but I find that I don’t dislike it.

Instead, I enjoy it much more than I should, and I slowly convince myself that it is the alcohol making me feel such things, and when morning comes, it will be nothing more than a hot memory.

That’s why the next morning when I wake up and find that I’m alone in bed while the sound of a shower running reaches me, I don’t waste any time throwing on my clothes and scurrying out of the room and into the elevator, where I let out a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding.

Sure, I was being a coward having a one-night-stand like this and then leaving, but I didn’t dare wait for the man I slept with to tell me to leave. I was old enough to understand how these things worked and frankly, since I just got my heart ripped out of my chest and stomped all over, I had no intention of even trying to start something new.

“Shit,” I hiss, gathering my curly brown hair and throwing it up into a ponytail while the elevator makes more distance between me and the man. “What the hell did I do?”

I mean, I knew exactly what I did, but to just leave without saying anything after a night like that was a bit extreme, wasn’t it?

No. The small voice in the back of my head counters. You had an exciting evening with a man whose name you don’t even know. I’m sure that he would have done the same thing once he finished showering, and I was just saving him the trouble of leaving.

Right. That was how these things worked, right? You find a handsome stranger at the bar, you enjoy his company for the evening, and then you part ways like nothing ever happened.

Anyway, I didn’t have time to reminisce with him over what we did since I needed to gather my things from the home that I was no longer welcome in and then find somewhere to stay.

This realization immediately dampens my mood, and when I pull my phone out of my pocket and begin to scroll through names, I understand just how alone in the world I was about to be.

Daniel and Becky were basically the only people that I associated with, which meant that I didn’t have anyone to rely on until I could get back on my feet.

“You’ve got this.” I tell myself, refusing to let this break me. “Even if you have to stay in a hotel for a bit, you’ve got this.”

That’s why I quickly look up a local moving company and storage place and set things up. Once I’m finished with that, I search through hotels that have vacancies, and after securing a place, I hail a taxi and have it take me back to the bar that I visited that evening to retrieve my car.

Later, I pull up in front of the home that I once shared with Daniel and take it while letting all the memories of the good times play out before me. After this, I wouldn’t look back on those memories. I would lock them away in my mind and only focus on the future, where Daniel or Becky wouldn’t play a part for me.

Settling on this, I climb out of my car and head up the drive and then onto the porch, and before I can knock on the door, it opens, and Daniel is there staring at me.

“Where have you been all night?” He demands, glaring at me. “Don’t you know it’s dangerous for a woman to be out alone?”

“That,” I say, peeking around him at Becky, who just watches angrily. “It isn’t any of your concern anymore.”

“Like hell it isn’t,” he growls before his eyes come to rest on my neck. “What the fuck is that?”

For a moment, I don’t speak as I try to determine exactly what it is that he sees, and when I once again remember the things I did the previous evening, I let a smile slowly creep up my face as I push past Daniel and head inside to begin packing my things.

“It’s exactly what it looks like.” I tell him, satisfied with the hurt in his eyes. “Since you can fuck whoever you want, I can too.”

“Rae!” He hisses, his voice shaking with the effort it takes to remain calm. “How could you do such a thing?”

Eyes widening, I feel like I’ve been slapped over the accusation in his voice. Who was he to try to make me out to be the bad guy when he was the one that ruined everything?

“Easily,” I tell him, heading toward the stairs. “Just as easily as you cheated on me. Now, stop bothering me. I didn’t come here to talk; I came here to pack.”

“You’re really going to leave?” He gasps, causing both Becky and me to let out hisses of shock. “And where exactly do you plan to go?”

“Anywhere but here.”