Slut - Woodruff Jettie. Страница 41
Ten
Paxton forced me into his arm by pulling me to his chest. Our stones collided with a click as our eyes turned to the black screen, and we both let out puffs of air.
“Where’s the video, Nick?” I questioned.
“There is no more video. Only audio.
Paxton kept one hand on my back, and one holding mine, and our magical stones. Even though we couldn’t see anything, we both kept our eyes on the laptop. I was sure Nick had adjusted the audio when the chase was cut and the show got right down to business. Lane’s voice just had to be the one we heard first.
“You still with me, Gabby?”
Why is Lane doing it? What’s he doing there?”
“Shhh, I told you stop asking questions that I can’t answer. I’ve got amnesia,” I said, eyes turning to his as I pled my case in a funnier manner than I meant to. We both snickered and turned our attention back to the computer, or the ocean. That’s where my eyes went. To a faint glow far out into the sea, a kiss from the moon. I listened to my faraway voice while Paxton’s arms comforted me in a way I didn’t understand.
I was so angry with him, so hurt that he did that to me. Even though I didn’t remember it, I could still hear his voice. I could hear him pressuring Lane into joining him while he used me in place of his wife. Sour bile pooled in the pit of my stomach thinking about it. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t be with him. I sat up a little, needing the space when I heard my own weak voice.
“Yes,”
“Good, you know I’m sorry about that, right? I love my wife.”
“It’s okay, Lane. That’s what sluts do.”
“God, Gabby. You’re not a slut. Tell me how this happened? How did you end up married to Paxton? I don’t even know where you came from. One minute, Tatiana is Paxton’s wife, and the next, she’s gone, and you’re his wife. What the hell?”
Silence.
“Gabby, can you tell me what happened after the night you were with Paxton and me?”
“Yes. Nothing happened until Sunday. You left that day around noon, and Paxton worked on his house.”
“How did you feel? Were you okay?”
“Yes, I was fine. I didn’t really feel anything. I was already pretty numb by then.”
“The rape?”
“Yes, I presume so,” I replied in the same sad tone that Lane used. Quiet and melodramatic.
“I’m sorry if I hurt you, Gabriella. I’ve never cheated on my wife. Not since that night. I was drunk, and Paxton kept, you know,” Lane coaxed while apologizing, too embarrassed to say what was really on his mind.
“Yes, I remember. He kept telling you to put your dick in my mouth. Then you did.”
“Fuck. I’m sorry, Gabby. What happened next? After that night.”
“Paxton was still there, but I didn’t know it. I thought he left when you left. I heard him on the phone the night before saying he’d gotten a flight out Sunday afternoon. I had been walking on the beach later that evening when I ran into him again. He had his jeans rolled up, sitting on the beach, drinking a beer. He told me to come to him.”
“And then what, Gabby?” Lane coaxed when I didn’t reply.
“I went to him.”
“And?”
“He told me to sit down, but I didn’t. I looked to my feet.”
“What did he do?
“He pulled my fingers and I dropped to my knees in front of him.”
“Were you afraid of him, Gabby?”
“Yes, terrified. My blood pumped like wildfire through my veins so loud I was sure he could hear the pounding in my heart.”
“What did he say?”
“He asked me what I was doing there, and I told him that he said I could stay until Sunday, reminding him of our deal.”
“What did he say?”
“I remember him leaning back on one elbow and smiling up at me with a smirk. The same smirk he always uses when he’s amused by me.”
“Why do you think he did that? Why did he smirk?”
“He just did.”
Lane kept me talking with calm persuasion every time I stopped. “And then what happened?”
He pulled my fingers, forcing me to my knees in front of him, but I didn’t look into his eyes.”
“Why not, Gabby. Why didn’t you look into his eyes?”
“I was afraid of him. He intimidated me.”
“What do you mean he intimidated you?”
“I don’t know. I wanted to be near him, yet I was terrified of him.”
“Okay, go on. What happened after that?”
“Nothing really, he kept touching me and stuff.”
“Like how? Where did he touch you?”
“My hair, my chin a lot because I kept dropping my eyes. He pulled my eyes to his every time I did it. He told me if I didn’t start looking at him when he spoke, I would be punished. That he would spank me.”
Lane’s voice lowered even more as he coaxed me to continue. “Did he do that, Gabriella?”
“Yes.”
“Did you have sex with Paxton again that day?”
“Yes.”
“Did you want to have sex with Paxton?”
“I mean, I guess. He wanted me to do it.”
“Did he hurt you? Did he do anything else to you, Gabby?”
“He didn’t hurt me. The spanking hurt a little, but he always rubs it away.”
“He spanks you now? Still?”
“Sometimes, if I’m bad.”
“How many times a week are you bad?”
“It depends on Paxton. Sometimes he’s really busy with work.”
“Let’s hold up right there for a second,” Nick said as I anticipated my response.
Paxton was the one to get fidgety with an anxious tone. “Why? Some of us have to work real jobs in the morning.”
Nick ignored him, just like Mi would have. “Gabby just told you that you scared her. Did you know that at the time?”
“No, can we go on?”
“I think you’re lying. I watched your eyes gloss over and the expression on your face change as Gabby explained that day on the beach. I think that’s quite a bit of information for Gabby.”
Paxton stood, walking away from the camera, and to the banister. “I’m done here, Gabriella.”
“Paxton, we’re barely started.”
“It’s fine, Gabriella. He’s doing just what I expected him to do. Sleep on that tonight. Your assignment before I show you more is to communicate about that. About how that made you both feel.”
Paxton took it as a cue to shut him down. He closed the laptop and walked inside. For a second I was confused, unsure of what to do. I looked around the corner and watched him walk out the bedroom door. The heavy sigh was for how far we got. Nowhere. Nick was as crazy as Mi, maybe even more. He should have let me ask the questions. I was an expert at handling Paxton Pierce. I knew how to push the buttons without him thinking it was my idea. It didn’t matter how smart Nick was, or what degree he had, I knew my husband and his self-righteous ways. That wasn’t the way to deal with Paxton.
I heard the beer can tap before I heard him. Paxton had something going on inside him that permeated around him. I could feel how anxious he was.
“Let’s hear it, Gabriella. Tell me how much I scared you. You fucking knew it. You knew exactly what you were doing, and don’t say you didn’t.”
I blinked my eyes a couple times, trying to decipher his words. “What?”
Paxton took a step toward me, pinning me between him and the ocean. “You knew what fueled me. You picked that shit up almost immediately. Don’t play with me.”
“Maybe I did, but you know what? I don’t remember it, so you can’t use that against me.” I took the beer from his hand and chugged it, remembering right quick why I didn’t drink beer. “Blah, that’s nasty. Where’s my drink?”
“You know what, Gabriella? You think you’re the innocent one, the victim.”