The Line That Binds Series Box Set (53 page)

Pop helped her up and said something too quiet for me to hear. She nodded without reply and looked back down at the ground. His eyes darted back to me then jerked his head in the direction of LJ’s house.

I nodded and watched him walk into the event house, ushering everyone else with him. LJ was still looking at the ground, her body silently shaking. Before I could think of how to approach her, I went to pick up the top hat. I brushed the traces of dirt from its brim then placed it back on my head as I walked to her.

“LJ?”

She slowly looked up. I stared into her eyes, getting lost in the wet, soul-crushing color I never wanted to see. It hurt to look at her this way. Shattered. And by what? Me?

“Ben, I…” she muttered through a shaky breath. “I’m not sure what happened. I’m sorry. I know you’ll probably never believe me… or forgive me.” Her words broke apart and she began to cry again.

“Let’s get you home. We can talk more there,” I said, taking her hand in mine. She wiped her eyes with her other hand and nodded.

We walked in silence to her house. Carson’s Escape wasn’t parked out front, which meant he had to have gone back to work sometime during the fight. LJ and I went inside and trekked upstairs to her room, passing Gavin’s room on the way. He popped his head out of his door and reacted instantly to LJ’s tear-stained face. She reassured him twice before he relented and ducked back into his room.

She pushed through her bedroom door, squishing her dress down more than it had at the front door. It bounced back into shape right away, far easier than my disposition. She disappeared into the bathroom and turned on the sink. I took off the top hat and jacket, tossing them on the bed before sitting down. Hoping to settle the adrenaline that continued to course through me, I rubbed my shaky hands nervously over my thighs. I couldn’t get the vision out of my head.
Her, in his arms.
Trying focus on anything else but that image, I took a huge breath.

LJ stepped back into the room a minute later, dabbing a fresh tissue under an eye. The makeup streaks were gone from her face, but her eyes were still red and puffy. She adjusted the dress and sat beside me, looking down at the tissue in her hand. “I’m not sure what happened,” she said, twisting the tissue nervously.

I decided it was best that I didn’t speak. If I opened my mouth, things would only get worse. So I stared at my hands instead, studying the red knuckles that had bashed Ryan’s face.

After a small pause she said, “My mom showed up tonight.” I looked at her then, recognizing the possible start to tonight’s events. She laughed a little to herself. “She had this look on her face like she was shocked that I was yelling at her. Dad showed up and told me he’d handle everything. He said I should go find you, oddly enough. Everything got… hazy after that. I’d had another drink before my mom showed, but I find it hard to believe that the drinks alone would have that strong of an effect on me. It had to be the drinks and the stress. I couldn’t think, Ben,” she said, turning and looking at me, her eyes welling up again. The urge to comfort her was strong, but I needed to hear everything. I needed to hear why she let him touch her.

She took a jagged breath and went on, her eyes drifting as she talked. “Before he took off his helmet, Ryan offered me some of his water,
unopened
.” She emphasized the word when I physically tensed beside her. “It was after I’d heard him make a wish to be more honest. Our fingers touched accidentally, granting his wish. I thought about my mom again when I went outside, jumbling my thoughts even more. Ryan took off his helmet shortly after that, showing me who he was. It felt wrong, but when I tried to think why, I couldn’t come up with the answer.” Her eyes darted back to me. “I tried to think of you. And I… I couldn’t remember you.” Tears spilled over her cheeks and her breaths became erratic. “S-Something else to make me crazy, I know, but I swear that I’m not lying to you. I tried to think of you and I c-couldn’t. Like a word on the tip of my tongue, but still t-too far away to reach.”

She broke down with the last words, crying more forcefully. That’s when everything started sinking in. She forgot me? I touched her hand lightly and her eyes met mine again. “He was just there. It felt wrong. I knew who he w-was. But I was so hurt and confused. He was nice. And I j-just needed to feel safe,” she said through more tears.

“Shh,” I whispered, wrapping my arm around her back. “I believe you. I’m sorry I wasn’t there.” The very thing I’d feared from the moment her blood touched the well was now real. And it hurt infinitely more than seeing her in Ryan’s arms. It had to be the truth. There was no other explanation. Sure, she was stressed, and had a couple drinks. But that doesn’t make you forget a person, especially one you’ve supposedly given your heart to.

She leaned into me and I welcomed her, my heart racing with the knowledge that our world was about to crumble.
How do I tell her what’s happening?
As far as I knew, she still hadn’t considered her aunt’s condition as part of the well’s curse.
How do I tell her that she’s going to lose her mind exactly like Janine had?
Her sobs continued against my chest. I rubbed her back, drawing anxious circles just below her shoulder.

“I love you, Ben. I’m s-so sorry.”

“Baby, don’t. It’s fine,” I replied softly, though I was screaming inside. I wanted to tear this whole damn house apart. What did she do to deserve this? Janine was to blame for everything. She essentially made her family come back here and deal with the curse that she never escaped. Was she angry that they never visited? Was this revenge? I never would’ve pegged her capable. She was so gracious before she’d lost her mind.

“It’s not fine. It never should’ve happened. I was so stressed out. My mom showing up, the voices… I just couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t think,” she whispered.

My chest tightened and I couldn’t breathe for the second time tonight. I had no idea what to do, but I knew I needed to get a grip to be strong for her. “I know, baby. It’s all over now. Do you need anything?” I shifted toward her.

She moved the tissue away from her face. “Maybe some water.”

I didn’t wait for any other information. I barreled out of her room and down the steps, happy to blow off the steam.

When I entered her room again, her hair was let down, flowing in crinkly waves over her shoulders. She was sitting on the bed with a bottle of Tylenol in her hand. “Here,” she said, handing me a set of pills then downing her own with her water. I took mine also. Even though my body was still amped, I was starting to feel the pain from the fight.

“I feel so horrible. Even for Ryan. None of that should’ve happened. I’m so stupid,” she mumbled.

“You’re not stupid. And don’t feel sorry for that dick. He was waiting all night for an opportunity with you. He needed a reminder to back off,” I said, setting my water down on the nightstand then rubbing my knuckles.

She set her bottle down, too, and stood up beside me. Her dress pressed out behind her as the front butted against my legs. Examining my knuckles, she splayed her fingers over mine. “Do you need some ice?” Her eyes glanced up to me, wide and gorgeous green.

I could feel my life collapsing as I looked into them.
She’d forgotten me tonight.
Would it happen again? Would she forget us? She eyed my jaw for any damage then looked back down and smoothed her fingers over each knuckle, bringing my thoughts back to now. “No ice,” I whispered. “I’ll be fine. How about you? How’s your head?” I palmed her cheek with my free hand.

She pressed her head against my hand and closed her eyes. “I’m better now.”

When her eyes cracked open again, I knew I had to kiss her. I wanted to be closer, and I could tell she wanted the same. “LJ,” I whispered, sliding my fingers into her hair to the back of her head. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Ben. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t,” I whispered, leaning in and drawing the back of her head forward until our foreheads pressed together. “None of this is your fault. I’m the one who has everything to be sorry for,” I admitted. Before she had a chance to speak again, I moved my lips closer, smelling her sweet breath as it tangled with mine. I skimmed my lips over hers, begging her subconsciously to never forget. Her lips opened, waiting. I reached down and grabbed her waist, feeling the stiff rods of the corset beneath my fingers, then pressed my lips to hers.

Her hands traveled up my chest to my face, trailing her fingers along my jaw, pushing them back into my hair, then tugging me closer to deepen the kiss. I gladly made that happen, needing her as much as she needed me. I tightened my grip around her waist and her hands found their way back down to my chest, unbuttoning my vest. After they finished, I shrugged it off and let it fall to the floor. Next, she slid the suspenders down my shoulders and started popping my shirt buttons. When she had the opening she wanted, she pushed her warm hands against my skin and sighed into my mouth.

A half hour ago, this was the last thing I expected we’d be doing tonight. With my fist crushing Ryan’s head into the ground, I had my doubts that I’d ever touch LJ again. But I was grateful for the turn of events because, damn, she felt so good. It had been too long of a wait. All the worry kept me pushing to find more answers about the curse, holding LJ at a distance so I didn’t lose focus. Knowing now that Janine’s fate was really tied to the curse meant the search was even more important. We had to find the answers. Though, we needed tonight more urgently.

She slipped the shirt off my shoulders and I dropped my arms to let it fall. When her hands reached back into my hair, I dipped my face to her neck and breathed in her heavenly almond smell. My hands found the back of her dress, but it was a puzzle I wasn’t used to solving. She giggled at my struggle and I nipped her neck playfully.

“Not a dress you can take off blindly?” she teased in a whisper.

I kissed her neck once more then moved around her body for a better view. The hooks on the top piece didn’t take long to figure out. There were just a lot of them. LJ tossed it to the floor then handed me her phone before she started lifting the red skirt over her head. After removing the first piece, the extra white skirt followed. I helped her from behind and planted soft kisses along her neck when I could. Finally, she unfastened the hoop cage, stepped out, and kicked it toward the dresser. The corset and her panties were all that remained. And holy hell was it a view.

I traced my fingers over her collarbone then over the top of her breasts, pushed high from the corset. Her chest rose with a deep breath and her skin pricked with goosebumps.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this tonight?” It was hard for me to bite out because I wanted her so badly. I needed us to get lost together. It was also another way to show her how much she meant to me, hoping this memory would stay with her, even if all the others faded.

She stepped into me, reaching up and feeling my jaw before kissing the corner of my mouth. “There’s nothing more I want in this world.”

I glanced down at her phone in my hand, thinking of the pictures we’d taken earlier. I was the type of person who usually avoided pictures. LJ had already discovered that during the time we’d been together. But now I was glad we’d taken some. And with the worry of never finding the answers, I felt like those few weren’t nearly enough.

She tilted her head curiously as I swiped open her screen and opened the camera app. I held the phone at arm’s length and started to kiss her again, taking shots as I did.

“What are you doing?” she asked between breaks in the kiss.

I refused to crush her with the truth before I had a chance to fix everything. I also didn’t want to bring up the fact that she’d forgotten me a half hour ago. So I decided to keep all of it to myself. “This is something I want to see forever,” I admitted truthfully and glanced at the phone so I could text them to myself.

She shifted her hands to the front of my pants and started unbuttoning. When she finished, I kicked them off, tossed her phone, and picked her up. Her legs wrapped around my waist and she captured my mouth again while I moved us to the bed. I laid her down and she wiggled beneath me, trying to adjust inside the corset. Pulling back from our kiss, I turned her body over, skimmed my hands along the back of her thighs and ass, and untied the corset’s laces. She crawled across the bed and dug under the mattress for a condom. I watched as she slipped the corset and a tiny undershirt off, dropping them to the floor.

“God, LJ,” I said, wondering if I was imagining her. “Come here, babe.” I needed to feel her, to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. She crawled back to me and my hands roamed her skin, starting with her breasts as I kissed her lips. Then I moved them farther down, dipping my fingers under her panties while I kissed down her neck. I wanted to breathe her, taste her, to consume her completely.

I took the time to cherish every part of her body, exactly like I had the night of my birthday. She made me feel so much more than anyone ever had. She was the addiction I couldn’t get enough of, one I could never quit. I’d be her junkie forever.

A while later, I was lying on my back with her head nestled against me. One of her arms covered my chest and a leg draped over mine beneath the blankets. Her breathing started to slow, falling into a sleepy rhythm. It had been a long day and an emotional night. She was exhausted.

Her fingers twitched over my heart. “Are you staying?” Her voice was distant, slipping into her dreams.

“Forever,” I whispered. A minute later, her breaths evened out. I kissed the top of her head and whispered to her mind, “Don’t forget me.”