Bound by Rapture (6 page)

Even if it meant I had to kill them. 

FOUR

Julia.

I stared blankly at the ceiling. It was white, plain, simple. A popcorn ceiling with those funny little bumps that had gone out of style years ago. At least that’s what HG-TV said. 

When was the last time I watched TV?

I wracked my brain for the answer. It had been weeks, maybe longer. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been staring at the ceiling. For all I knew it could have been years. Time seemed to stand still the longer I looked at the bubbles on my ceiling. Some were bigger than others, misshapen and bulbous. I wondered whose idea it was in the first place, to make a ceiling that resembled a movie-time treat. 

It didn’t matter really, but I wanted to know. There was suddenly this burning in my heart, this absolute need to know the answer, the truth behind the popcorn on my ceiling. An answer to the
why
in my head. 

“Julia.” The voice was back. That gravelly handsome voice. I knew whom it belonged to. I
loved
the owner of that voice. I was certain of it. But he was far away, on the outside of my popcorn curiosity. I considered asking him, but decided he probably wouldn’t know. 

But then there was another voice. A woman’s voice. I didn’t recognize it. 

Why is a woman here with him?
Something strange bubbled in my chest. It prickled along my skin and made my heart pound.
A woman shouldn’t be here. 

I blinked my eyes, letting the popcorn come in and out of focus. Another male voice sounded but I couldn’t focus on it. I was too overwhelmed by the intense feelings swimming inside me. The voices continued to murmur to me, to each other. I didn’t know why, but I knew I needed to stop them. Especially the woman. She needed to leave.

What if it’s Elaine?

It seemed like a hundred years had passed since I’d thought about her. Like she was a distant memory from a life that was long gone. But now she was back pressing at my mind, sinking her red claws into what was mine. 

Cole.

His name sent a blistering hot shiver down my body. No one could have him. No one. He was mine. And if anyone was going to stare up at the popcorn on the ceiling with him, it would be me. Only me. 

I blinked harder and the ceiling came back into focus. I looked to my left and I saw her. The woman. It wasn’t Elaine, and a small part of me relaxed. She had thin red hair that stopped at her shoulders. A plain, tan pantsuit encased her body as she sat in a chair next to the window. She was nodding at someone who was talking. Her hair swinging back and forth. 

Who is she?

All of a sudden my view was clouded, blocked by a tight orange shirt encasing muscles. I looked up, up, up until I was gazing into light green eyes. Eyes I knew. 

I blinked harder. 

“Vic?” 

He pushed his hair out of his face, but his dark bangs swung back to cover one eye. “Jewel?” The clarity of his voice snatched me out of the stagnate reality that had become my home. 

“Are you real?” It had to be dream. I hadn’t seen Vic since I dropped him and his boyfriend Chris off at the airport months ago. Before everything happened, before Cole, before the attacks. Before my life was turned upside down. 

“Oh, Jewel.” He got down on his knees, leveling his gaze with mine. His nose was a little crooked from when he was punched in the face at a bar fight after I first met him. It actually improved his looks and gave his handsome face even more personality. “I’m real. And I’m here for you.” He grabbed my hand. “I’ve been so worried!” 

I couldn’t stop the smile that tweaked at the corners of my lips. “You aren’t telling me how hideous I look, are you sure this is real?” I didn’t have to look in a mirror to know I probably looked less than ordinary. 

He grinned, revealing straight white teeth. “I’ve only been here a few minutes. Don’t worry. I still have time!” He pulled me into a hug, his musky cologne teasing my nostrils. But once I was in his embrace I could see the woman on the other side of him, the redhead. She stared at the two of us with a light, innocent smile on her lips. And I was reminded of what awoke me to begin with. Her voice. Cole’s voice. 

“Who is she?” I pulled back and glanced around the room to find Cole standing at the end of the bed. He towered over everything, his presence nothing short of overwhelming. Something dark and sinister was painted on his face, reminding me of the last time he had towered over me while I lay in bed. 

“Who is she?” I repeated, directing my question at Cole this time. 

“Her name is Sarah Arnold. She came here to see if she could help you get out of your funk, but clearly all you needed was Vic.” His words were bitter. 

I glanced back at Vic and then at the woman. “Why would I need someone to help me?” 

Sarah cleared her throat and stood. “Mr. Maddon called me because I’m a psychologist. He’s been worried about you.” She glanced at Cole. He gave a little nod and she continued. “He thinks you went into shock two days ago when several traumatic events occurred. You’ve been very listless and unresponsive for the most part. You’ve allowed him to lead you around, bathe you, feed you, but you have been staring off blankly. Which in most cases indicates shock.”

Vic squeezed my hand. 

“I’ve been out of it for two days?” I rubbed my forehead with my free hand.

“Yes.” Cole growled, crossing his arms over his chest. 

I tried to remember the past couple of days, but it was all a blur running through my head, vague and distant like I hadn’t really been there, just a far-off observer. 

“Jay,” I whispered the name and closed my eyes. The bloody lifeless body flashed in my head only feet away from me. I sucked in a deep breath. 

“Shhh.” Vic comforted me, his hand brushing against my cheek. “You’re okay now. Cole told me what happened and you’re going to be all right. He can’t hurt you anymore, Jewel. You’re safe and I’m here.” 

I let out the breath and opened my eyes. “I missed you,” I whispered to him. He was the only person left from my old life and him being here meant a lot to me. It meant I could move on from this. I could move forward; life could return to some semblance of normalcy. 

“I would be happy to stay and chat with you, Miss Collette.” Sarah stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. 

I shook my head. I didn’t want to talk to a stranger. “I think I’ll be okay.”

She looked at Cole, who said, “Randy, the guy just outside the door, will pay you.” She nodded and left the room. 

As soon as she left, it was as if she took all the air with her. The room suddenly seemed very small with both Vic and Cole inside. But I couldn’t deny how happy it made me to have both of them there. 

“Is Chris with you?” I directed my attention to Vic.

He nodded his head. “Yes. But he’s visiting his mom at the hospital today.”

“I’m glad. Is she doing okay?” I remembered she had been sick several weeks ago when I was hospitalized after the attack.

“I’m not sure. I haven’t seen her, but Chris seems optimistic about her recovery.” There was a sense of sadness in his voice, reminding me he’d never met any of Chris’s family on account of them not accepting his homosexual lifestyle. 

“Good.” I smiled. “Where are y’all staying?”

“We’ve got a hotel.”

“A hotel? No. You can both stay here.”

“What?” Cole hissed. 

I glanced up at him, annoyed. “Why should they stay in a hotel when they still have a furnished room here. I won’t be using it.” 

His stance annoyed me. It was threatening, domineering. Here I was, just woken up from shock or something, and he didn’t even seem happy I was back to my normal self. He seemed angry. 

“I don’t trust them.”

I rolled my eyes and sat up, stretching my arms. An over-sized my little pony t-shirt hung off my frame. “It’s not your call.”

I glanced back at Vic. He was staring at Cole, his gaze full of irritation. 

“What the hell is going on with you two?” I rolled my eyes. Neither man said anything. “Fine. Don’t answer. But I want Vic and Chris here with me.” Just the thought of having them back in the room next to mine was more comforting than I could even explain. 

Cole was quiet, his gaze boring into Vic’s. After several moments he finally spoke. “Fine.” He glanced at me. “If that will make you happy.” His jaw was clenched angrily.

Vic smiled at me. It was that wide, blindingly handsome smile I’d come to love and appreciate as his best friend. “Thanks, Jewel.” He leaned in and kissed my forehead. “It will be nice to be back home. I have to go meet up with Chris, but I’ll be back here tonight.” 

“Great.” I couldn’t keep the smile off my lips either. It was contagious. 

“And girl, you need to hop in the shower and get that hideous shirt off. I’m almost embarrassed to be in here with you.” 

I chuckled. “Working on it.”

He didn’t say anything to Cole as he left the room. Once the door shut behind him I climbed out of bed, not making eye contact with Cole. He didn’t seem as worried as that psychologist made him sound, standing at the end of the bed like some damn crazy guard. 

I headed into the bathroom, but before I could shut the door, Cole followed me inside. 

“What?” I turned slowly to look at him. 

“That’s all you’re going to say? What?” He seemed perplexed, his gaze hard. 

“You’re the one who followed me in here.”

He rubbed his chin with one hand. “I’ve been worried about you.” 

“Could have fooled me.” I turned away and jerked the shirt over my head.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means exactly what you think it means, Cole.”

“Fuck, Julia. What do you expect? I’m fucking shocked you’re standing here right now giving me lip, when an hour ago you were a zombie.”

“You don’t seem too excited about it.” I turned on the faucet, keeping my back to him.

“So, you’re just okay now. Just like that. No more worries or trauma about the things that happened.” His voice was accusatory.

I spun around. “What is that supposed to mean? You think I was faking it?” It was strange, I supposed. I didn’t feel off, or upset. I remembered the things that happened. Jay. Mandi. My own attack. The memories piled one on top of the other, but they weren’t in the forefront of my mind. Instead they were somewhere in the back, covered with a blanket, leaving me numb and separate from all of it.

Cole’s dark blue gaze traveled up and down my body. All I wore now was a pair of green bikini underwear. “I don’t know, Julia. I’ve been busting my balls the last two days doing everything I could to bring you out of whatever the fuck you were in.” He took a step closer. “But then Victor Marlin shows up miraculously like some fucking show dog, and you wake up for him like he’s your knight in shining armor.”

“You’re jealous.” The words slipped out before I could stop them.

Something like a growl escaped from his lips. He fisted his hands at his sides. “You’ve fucked him. I’ve
watched
you fuck him. And you just want me to be okay with him staying here, feet away from you?”

I narrowed my gaze and shifted closer to him, letting my breasts rub against his chest. Something wicked flared inside me. Something that wanted to snap at Cole like a cobra. “You
chose
to watch me fuck him.” I trailed my hand up his torso, feeling his skin jump under my touch. “And you liked it.”

His reaction was instant. He slammed me back against the wall, his hands caging me on either side of my head. “You don’t want to push me right now, Julia.”

“Or what, Cole? You’ll take me back into the basement and let someone else try to strangle me?” I hissed.

Something hideous skittered across his face and it made my heart jump uncomfortably in my chest. For a moment it looked like he would try to explain himself, defend what he did, but he didn’t. 

“I don’t want him staying here.”

“That’s not your call.” I looked him straight in the eye. The darkness behind his eyes called to me. It made my cunt so wet, the arousal dripped down onto my thighs. I wanted to rip his pants off.

“It is my call, Julia. Someone is trying to fucking murder you. We can’t have a bunch of people in the—”

“Oh, don’t try to make this about my safety. If it was about that you wouldn’t have taken me into that basement.” I don’t know why I kept bringing it up. Cole had saved me, I knew that, and it wasn’t his fault, but part of me wanted to hurt him. I wanted to wound him for standing at the end of my bed, looking at me like he didn’t give a fuck if I was okay or not. 

“I would
never
intentionally put you in danger.” His words came out thick and hard, as if they meant nothing to him. But I could read through them. 

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Vic and Chris are staying.” 

His gaze hardened and I felt his cock pulse through the jeans he wore. 

He likes this. 

“No.” 

I pushed at his chest. “You don’t get to make decisions like that just because you’re jealous.”