Following Me by Linde, K.A. (best books to read in your 20s .txt) 📗

he yanked on her ankle and pulled her flatagainst the bed.

“If you’re going to act like awhore, I’ll treat you like one.  You’re mine.”  He ran his hand up between herlegs and massaged the sensitive skin with his thumb.  “I’m going to take what’smine.”

Devon gasped in shock at hiseager touch.  It felt so wrong.  He had been forceful before, but that had beenwhen she trusted him.  This was different.  This was…that word she never thoughtabout.  No, she couldn’t even think about it now.  It was demoralizing.

Without a second thought, Reidgrabbed her underwear and yanked them down past her knees.  Tears burst fromher eyes as he probed her body.  It was a violation, and it felt wrong, sowrong.  She tried to pull away from the touch, but he held her legs open, soshe couldn’t move.

“Reid, no.  I don’t want this!  Idon’t want you to do this!” she yelled, feeling more alert than she had minutesbefore.

“You’ll get what you deserve, andI’ll take what I want,” he said matter-of-factly.

She closed her eyes and tried tothink of what to do.  She had to get away.  She repeated that to herself a fewtimes.  She couldn’t let him get away with this.

When she heard a zipper, her eyesflew open.  Reid wrenched his pants down and moved to position himself.  He wasalready hard.  He must have gotten off on the control, at having her weak, attaking what he wanted.  It was sick and twisted.

Before he had the chance to doanything further, Devon screamed at the top of her lungs.  She didn’t know ifanyone was around, but her fight-or-flight instinct was taking over, and shecouldn’t let this happen.  She had endured enough.  This was too much.

Reid’s hand clamped down on hermouth.  When he leaned forward over her, she jabbed her fingers into his eyes. He cried out in pain, pressing one hand over his eyes.  He used the other handto backhand her with enough force to knock her off the bed.  Devon screamedagain as she tumbled to the floor.

It felt like her eye had explodedas blood rushed from her nose all at once.  She pressed her hand to her cheek,and it hurt all over, but she didn’t have time to think about it.  She stood asquickly as she could and rushed toward the door.

Devon had just yanked it openwhen Reid was upon her.  He reached out for her, and she turned and brought herknee up into his groin.  Then, she slammed the door open into his head.  Hefell backward, but she hadn’t knocked him unconscious.  It gave her just enoughof a head start to make it out of the room and run down the hallway.

She jammed the elevator button asmany times as she could.  Devon heard him rushing down the hallway, comingafter her, just as the elevator door dinged open.  Adrenaline threw her intothe elevator, and the door closed just before Reid got there.  She clicked thebutton for the lobby and prayed to whatever god would listen that she made itto the bottom floor before he could run down the stairs.

In the mirrors of the elevator,her reflection stared back at her.  She could already see her face swelling uplike a balloon.  She would for sure have a black eye tomorrow.  He had onlyever given her one of those before.  She choked back tears.

The doors opened on the bottomfloor, and she ran as fast as she could out of the hotel.  People stared ather, but she didn’t care.  A cab was idling in front of the hotel, and sheyanked open the door before the valet could even approach.

“Where to?” the cabbie asked,pulling out of the hotel entrance.

Devon leaned her head backagainst the seat of the cab and slowly breathed out a sigh of relief.  Shehad made it.  She had gotten away.

 

THE CAB MERGED into traffic andbegan to drive her away from the hotel.  Devon pulled out her phone with shakyhands.  She needed to get a hold of Hadley.  She needed to tell her aboutReid.  That had to be the first place he would look when he came after her. She wasn’t stupid.  She knew he wouldn’t stop until he got what he wanted.  Hehad been holding back since he had gotten here, and the hotel room had pushedhim over the edge.  She didn’t know what he would do next.  All she knew wasthat she needed to stay away from him…or she would never get away again.

“Come on, Hadley,” Devon grumbledinto the phone as it rang.

Hadley’s voice mail picked up,and Devon hung up and tried again.  No luck.

“Fuck.”

She needed to keep Hadley andGarrett safe.  No one else needed to get hurt tonight.  Knowing what she had todo, she dialed Garrett’s number.  He was normally up this late since he didn’thave to work in the mornings.  He better answer!

Garrett answered on the secondring. “Devon?”

“Garrett, thank God youanswered.  I’ve been trying to reach Hadley,” she said desperately.

“Where have you guys been?  Ithought you were coming back to the apartment.  I tried reaching you, but younever answered.  I was waiting up for you,” he said a hint of panic in hisvoice.

“Reid took me back to a hotel. He said he wanted privacy,” she told him.

“A hotel?  Are you okay?  What’sgoing on?”

“No.  I don’t know.  Reid got outof control.”  She didn’t want to tell Garrett.  She didn’t want to confide inhim.  But what other choice did she have?  She needed him right now. “He hit me.  I just barely got away.”

“Fuck, Dev!”

She could practically see him pacingthe apartment while he talked to her.  It was a common habit of his.

“Do you need me to come get you? Are you safe?”

“No.  No.  I’m in a cab.  I’msafe for now,” she whispered.

“Good.  I’m glad you’re away fromhim.  Are you on your way here?  I can go downstairs and wait for you,” hesaid.

She heard shuffling on the otherend, like he was pulling on shoes or something.

“Garrett, no.  I’m not comingback there tonight.  That’s where he expects me to go.  I’m not safe there,”she told him.

“Devon, you’re safe here.  Whereelse are you going to go?” he