Twelve Days The Beginning - By Jade Reyner Page 0,41

she couldn’t control the cry of pain as his hand inadvertently gripped her bruises and she spun abruptly out of his arms and stumbled off the dance floor, heading to the VIP area and the sanctuary of the booth.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!” she recited, over and over and over. The shame and humiliation of what she had been doing ....on a public dance floor for fuck’s sake..., suddenly hit and she ran on barely stable legs, up the stairs and in through the glass partition door.

Thankfully the booth was empty, the other girls clearly still on the dancefloor and Elise breathed a sigh of relief as she sank gratefully into its warmth.

What the hell had she been thinking? She knew this man was dangerous. Every time he came near her, her senses went into overdrive. Why the hell could he not stay away from her? And damn her traitorous body for responding! She was almost grateful to Dale for the wounds that he had inflicted on her; at least it had brought her to her senses before the situation had got any more out of control. And she knew without a shadow of a doubt that it would have got completely out of control.

She couldn’t believe that it had only been days since she had first met Vaughn. Nothing in her life seemed stable anymore and she melted into a hormonal teenager whenever he was around. She was a mature, married woman and there was absolutely no excuse for her behaviour.

As the whole brazen scene replayed in her mind, the gravity of what she had allowed this man to do to her sank in and she knew without a shadow of a doubt, that she needed to get out of this place – right now.

Chapter Twelve

Elise raced out of the club; pushing through anyone and everything in her way, barely aware of what she was doing and knowing only that she needed to get out of there, find her car and get the hell home. This, whatever this was, was complete and utter madness and for a moment there she had almost lost all sense of perspective. Who knew what the other girls had seen and what they would make of it – particularly Olivia, who she understood to have firsthand knowledge of Vaughn’s charms.

She had no idea why he seemed intent on pursuing her. Maybe it was the thrill of the chase and the fact that she was unavailable which added to the spice? Who knew? She didn’t care anymore and was done trying to work anything out. As soon as Dale was home from hospital, she was going to help him to work through his issues and then hopefully they could carry on their lives as if the last few days had never happened.

She reached the car park and typed a quick text to Celeste to let her know that she had headed home early, claiming she wasn’t feeling well. Hopefully the other girl would be able to get a lift back with the others and wouldn’t be too upset at Elise for bailing out on her. She sighed. Just another situation to smooth over on Monday.

Reaching her car, she was about to put the key in the lock when a shout reached her from across the car park.

“Elise! Wait! Please...!”

She turned to see Vaughn sprinting across the car park towards her, hastily shrugging into his jacket with keys and phone dangling in his hand. His long strides ate up the distance to her in no time and she found herself sucking in a breath as she took in his appearance. He was wearing dark casual jeans and a fitted top along with a leather jacket and lightweight boots. He was, quite simply, devastating and she had to force herself to remain where she was – the temptation to run and throw herself into his arms was overwhelming.

She waited for him to reach her. Devastating as he was, she didn’t really want to talk to him but she recognised that this ‘thing’ between them needed to be aired and then put to bed once and for all. It was the only way that she could ever see life resuming and reverting back to any semblance of normality.

“Elise! Look...- I’m sorry – really.” By now he had reached her and was standing just in front of her as she leant against her car door. He was breathing heavily from running the length of the car park but he