thought about the night he raped me, I knew better. It was that wild look in his eye. I knew then that my fear was exciting him, and dominating me gave him a thrill. It sickened me to even think about it, but I knew the monster that lurked deep inside him wouldn’t just disappear completely. At first, it had me tossing and turning, but with Beckett in the next room, I was eventually able to fall asleep.
Over the next few weeks, I’d had good days and bad days. I went to work, tried to face the day with a positive outlook, but it wasn’t easy. I never knew when the panic would rise up inside of me, crippling me like it had when Lucas first raped me, and while Clay had done what he could to support me, it was Beckett who’d helped me the most.
Every night, he’d come by to see how I was doing. If I was having a good day, he’d go home, but if not, he’d come in and do whatever he could to ease my mind. We’d talk, watch movies, and on some nights, Beckett would take me out for a ride on his Harley. Those nights were my favorite. I’d ridden some with Viper when I was younger, but it felt nothing like it did when I was with Beckett. I felt so free, so alive. I couldn’t have been more pleased the night he showed up at my door with a helmet in his hand. A smile crossed his face as he asked, “You wanna get out of here for a while?”
“Sure. Where we going?”
“No idea. Guess we’ll figure it out when we get there.”
“Sounds good to me. Just let me grab my jacket.”
Beckett waited in the doorway while I went to get my things, and once I was ready, he led me out to his bike. As soon as I had my helmet on, he backed out of the driveway and sped off into the night. Since it was late, there wasn’t much traffic, and we were able to move from street to street without any cars getting in our way. The lights of the city seemed so much brighter on the back of his bike, and with the wind whipping around us, I almost felt like I was flying. All thoughts of Lucas and work were gone. It was just Beckett and me, soaring through the night without a care in the world. After riding around for almost an hour, he took us into a neighborhood in Midtown. I was just about to ask him where we were going when we pulled up to a beautiful two-story brick home. Beckett parked, but before we got off the bike, he asked, “You wanna see my place?”
“This is your house?”
“Yeah, I figured since we were close I’d show it to ya.”
Beckett held out his hand and helped me keep my balance as I got off his bike, then I slipped off my helmet and he did the same. I followed him up the front porch and waited as he unlocked the door. When we stepped inside, he turned on the lights, and I was blown away at how perfect it was. There were hardwood floors throughout the entire house with furniture that looked like it came right out of one of those home-decor magazines. “It’s really beautiful, Beckett.”
“It’s just a house.”
“Well, I happen to think it’s amazing.” I walked into the living room, noting all the artwork on the walls and large lanterns on the end tables. It couldn’t have been decorated any more tastefully. “Did you do all this yourself?”
“Pretty much. Just kind of threw it together.”
“You did more than just throw this together, Beckett. A house like this takes a lot of time and effort.” I looked over to him and said, “You did an incredible job with it. You should be proud.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“I more than like it. I love it.” I crossed my arms and cocked my eyebrow. “How come you haven’t helped me more with my place?”
“Your place looks great just the way it is.”
“It’s nothing like this, but maybe one day.”
“Something tells me one day you’ll have everything you’ve ever wanted and more.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Just a feeling.” He shrugged.
Beckett took me for a tour of the rest of the house, and it was no surprise that each room was just as beautiful as the next. I loved it all, but when we