Someone I Used to Know - By Blakney Francis Page 0,70

except instead of pulling teeth, Madeline was pulling memories out of my very soul. Teeth would have been less painful. At least at the dentist’s office you get that fun gas that makes needles about as scary as a puppy.

Showing weakness here wasn’t an option. It was what they wanted. Madeline wanted to take, and take, and take, until there was nothing of me left.

I needed the money, I told myself for the millionth time.

Maybe that would matter again in a few more minutes, but at that moment, defeated, alone, and faced with my deepest shame, I could find no strength. I didn’t want to stand up. I couldn’t let myself move.

Because if I did, I was walking off that lot and never coming back.

Chapter Twelve

Adley

I was still sitting there when Declan barged in without even a hint of a courtesy knock. I couldn’t say I was surprised. Courtesy wasn’t his strong suit.

“Hey,” I said numbly. I was tired – so damn tired of rifling through emotional baggage day after day. It wasn’t worth it.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said, bobbing his head towards the open door. “Come on.”

“I’m not in the mood.” I meant it, and that was really saying something when it came to sex with the Greek god offering it. I eyed the stretch of his jeans contouring around his hips, trying to stir up my libido.

His gray eyes narrowed. “You sure do think a lot of yourself. I’m not trying to have sex with you. Now, come on.”

He turned on his heel, departing swiftly and leaving the door open in his wake. I stared at the hole leading to the outside world, more annoyed at his audacity than anything else. With a drained sigh, I moved to close the door, except that when I got there, it seemed a whole lot easier to follow Declan than return to my wallowing. At least if I was following his orders, then I wasn’t having to make any decisions of my own.

I stayed a few steps behind him all the way to the limo. Once we were wrapped inside the quiet luxury of his car it didn’t take him long to find his voice.

“Now, aren’t you glad we have our own set of wheels?”

My jaw dropped.

Suddenly all the pieces fell into place. He was being nice to me. Declan, Mr.-I’m-so-charming-and-famous-even-my-scowl-makes-girls-swoon, had come to set that day (his off day) with the sole purpose of doing something nice for me. I wanted to recoil from the notion. Even the smallest bits of kindness were a slippery slope. First, he shows a little consideration, and the next thing I know, we’re getting a dog named Lila together and cuddling.

He’d purposefully come, made a point to be with me, offered his acceptance with silence, all because, just like Fran, he’d thought it would be hard for me. I wanted to hate it. I wished for revulsion.

I told my face to frown. I swear, I did, but it just wouldn’t cooperate. I couldn’t spite him for what he’d done, no matter what it meant.

“Quit staring at me like that,” he said without looking at me, a pout worthy of a four-year-old on his face. It was as if he could sense my sudden awareness, and by knowing, I’d forced him face-to-face with the ugly truth as well.

“You’ve never minded it before.” The seductive hitch in my voice didn’t go unnoticed.

Whatever contriteness I’d seen evaporated into thin air, and he turned to me with a smirk I recognized all too well. There was the Declan Davies I’d come to know and…well, appreciate.

“Don’t mind us, Lazarus,” he spoke at a louder volume meant for the driver, but his eager eyes never left me.

A nervous giggle bubbled out as the privacy partition took it’s time cutting us off from the third party in the front seat.

“What?” He questioned my amusement.

“I just realized I’ve never known his name. In my head I always call him ‘driver’.”

Declan made a face. “Do you spend a lot of time thinking about my driver?”

“Well he does have a certain silver fox appeal.” I grinned, but only for a second, because in the next, he was on me.

He played me hot and cold; his hands hot, squeezing my ass with a demanding firmness; his mouth – well, I wouldn’t exactly have called it cold – more like soft, the gentlest of pressures. The shallow kisses were nice – different than before – and I sighed, content to let him work his