Wildest Dreams (Dreamers Series Book 1) (16 page)

Fighting the butterflies in her stomach, she knocked on his door. Her hands were shaking again, and she took a deep breath. She was going to go back to their apartment when she heard the knob turn.

“Ember?” Blake appeared surprised as he opened the door.

“Can we talk?” He raised his eyebrow, and she decided she might need to explain more, “I had a dream, but I think it might have actually been a memory.” She blushed thinking how stupid this must sound to him, "Never mind," She said as she turned to go back down the hall.

“Wait. Come in.” He opened the door to let her in, and she realized he was wearing only a pair of sweatpants and having not noticed what she had worn out of the apartment she glanced down quickly,
Oh good, I’m still dressed
she thought.

“Sit, I’ll be right back.” A small table lamp was the only light in the room. He pointed to his couch as he walked toward a door that Ember assumed was his bedroom. When he came back, he was wearing a white tee-shirt.

He sat on the other side of the coffee table watching her, “So what’s up?”

“You and Jenna both mentioned that I sang.”

He nodded.

“The song that I sang, do you know what song it was? Jenna didn't say, and I never thought to ask her.”

“I don’t know the name of it, but I'd know it if I heard it again.”

“I dreamed I was singing “Wildest Dreams” but I’m not sure if that’s because I actually did. It's on my phone. If I play it for you, will you tell me if that’s it?”

“Sure.”

She found the song and Blake nodded after it started. “That’s it.”

“We danced after the song?” She sounded anxious to hear the answer.

“Yes.” She thought his face seemed to brighten.

Looking at her hands, twisting her ring she recounted what she had seen in her sleep. She remembered the young man who asked her to dance, how Blake had asked her if she was hungry, and how she had wanted pancakes. She slowed down when she thought of the kiss, “We were by the car when you kissed me. Not like the first time, but sweet,” Blushing she looked back at him and bit her bottom lip.

Relief washed over his face, “That all happened.”

“We had fun.” She spoke softly, still looking at him. “I saw the picture that Lana had taken, but now it makes more sense.”

“Picture? What picture?” She wasn’t sure if he meant to sound upset or not, and she was reluctant to show him the photo in case he told her to delete it, but she decided that since he was in the picture, he should get to see it. She wasn’t going to delete it, though.

Blake took the phone and stared at the picture of the two of them together. It was too dark in the room for her to judge his reaction to it, but she prayed he wouldn’t delete it even if he didn’t like it. “I’m not going to show it to anyone else. Please don’t erase it.”

He looked at her confused. “I’m not going to delete it. I just didn’t know anyone was taking pictures of us.” His response was quiet, and he went back to looking at it. “I think your dress was ruined.”

“I didn’t get it back, so I’m sure it was.” She frowned at the thought. She really liked the dress but decided that she would make it a goal to buy one similar in the future.

“Why did you kiss me by the car?” She wasn’t sure why but she needed to ask. It just popped out before she could rein it back in. She looked down at the phone when he handed it back to her. She remembered that she had asked him about the first kiss and thinking of his answer she figured he might avoid the question again.

He sat forward with his elbows on his thighs, “Honestly, I like you, Ember. I like you a lot,” His voice was quiet, “but this is as close as we can get.” She thought he sounded sad “I wouldn't know how to do a relationship even if I wanted one. I’m what Ridge calls a love-’em-and-leave-’em kind of guy.” Ember remembered that was exactly how Ridge had described him. “This wouldn’t go any further than my bed. I’m not saying I’m proud of it; it’s just the way it is. I don’t want to do that to you. You deserve someone that can give you everything you need. Ridge was right to tell me to stay away from you. It’s just a lot harder to do than I thought it would be. I should never have kissed you, but I couldn’t help myself. I hope you can forgive me.”

Ember hoped the room was dark enough that he couldn’t see her eyes glistening. She was determined not to shed the tears. He was still watching her, waiting for a response, so she cleared her throat. “There’s nothing to forgive, Blake. I’m just glad I finally remembered. Thank you for being honest with me. I appreciate it.” She could feel a tear escape and run slowly down her cheek as she looked down at her hands in her lap.

“I’m sorry, Ember.” He walked over offering her his hand to help her stand. Lifting her chin he wiped the tear away with his thumb. Then he softly stroked her bottom lip with it. “You really are lovely.”

She forced a smile. “Thank you. I guess I’ll see you around.”

He followed her to the door, and she heard it lock behind her as she headed back to the apartment.

CHAPTER 24

Ember wasn’t sure how long she had been sitting on the sofa thinking about what had happened the night she and Blake had gone out and what he had said tonight, but it had been long enough that she was ready to go back to bed. Then there was a knock on the door.

She couldn’t imagine who would show up this late at night unless Ridge forgot his key. Or maybe it was Blake. Ember rolled her eyes at herself for even thinking that. She knew anyone else would have to check-in at the front desk, and there wasn’t anyone on the approved list that would be showing up at this time.

In her tired fog, she forgot to look through the peephole and opened the door. The door flew open, almost knocking her out of the way. Reece stood in the doorway with a wicked grin on his face. Ember quickly backed up as he shut the door stalking her until she bumped up against the sofa. He stood staring down at her and grabbing her hair he tilted her face up to look at him.

“Aren’t you going to say hi?” His voice was hard and angry.

Her voice was as shaky as the rest of her, “What are you doing here, Reece? How did you get up here?”

He glared at her as he pulled her close and kissed her. Then he bit her bottom lip, causing her to cry out in pain. He hadn’t bit her hard enough to draw blood, but it did immediately start to swell. With his lips still almost touching hers, he asked, “That’s not how you greet your love, now is it?” He didn’t wait for her to answer as he stood up, sauntered over to the sofa, sat down and propped his feet up on the coffee table. As he patted the spot beside him indicating for Ember to sit down, he continued. “Tell me what you’ve been up to since you’ve been avoiding me.”

Ember moved slowly toward the couch and sat down but remained quiet.

“Oh come on now, you can tell me.” He waited a moment before resuming, “Well, let me tell you what I’ve been up to then. You were so adamant you didn't want me to move back that I decided not to. I got us another place.” He smirked at her. “But it’s a secret. I can’t tell you about it; you’ll just have to wait to see it. It’s a bit of a drive, though, so we need to get going soon.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you, Reece!” she exclaimed, jumping up from the couch.

She wasn’t expecting him to be able to move quite so fast, but he was up and grabbing her arm before she even finished her sentence. “Oh, but you are, Ember. The only part I didn’t count on was the girl not being here.”

Ember gasped. “The girl? You mean your daughter?” Her anger had boiled over by now, but she figured it didn’t matter at this point. She was in trouble whether she sat back and let it happen or fought it.

Reece shrugged. “Yeah, her. Eve was looking forward to keeping her. Oh well, she’ll get over it.”

Confusion swept over Ember. “Eve? Who’s that? What do you mean keeping Kaylen? What are you talking about, Reece? You’re scaring me!”

Pulling Ember toward the door, he said, “I’m glad I was there to witness your daddy apologizing. I know your brother would do anything to get you back, but the more resources, the better.”

Ember froze as she began to comprehend. “You’re going to ransom me?” she asked quietly. “What do you mean she wanted to keep Kaylen?” Panic was gripping Ember and clawing at her insides.

Reece yanked her forward, twisting around behind her and pushing her up against the door. She winced at the pain in her wrist as he twisted her arm behind her back.

“I’m not sure what’s going to happen with you, but Eve, you met her in Texas remember, well, she wanted Kaylen. It was the least I could do after having to deal with the headache you’ve caused. If you had just come back and continued to get money from your parents and brother, everything would have been fine, but you had to be difficult. You caused me to screw up my deal, and now you’re going to pay to get me out of trouble. I know your pushover brother will give me anything I ask for to see you home safely.” He ran his nose down her neck and bit her just hard enough to make her flinch before he continued, “Maybe you will, maybe you won’t make it home safe, but by then it will be too late for him to change his mind even if I do change mine.”

Ember felt sick. She didn’t think his deal had anything to do with his regular job.

“We have to go before your brother gets back, so no more messin’ around. We’re going to the garage, and you would be wise not to make a scene. I don’t want to have to take you out yet, but I will if I have to. Move.” He yanked her back from the door and opened it slightly to check the hallway. As he pulled her toward the elevator, Ember knew there was a possibility she may never be coming home again. She refused to cry or appear scared, though. She wasn’t going to give him that satisfaction.

He had gotten Ember situated in the backseat of his SUV and was in the driver seat when he saw Ridge pull in the garage. He glanced back at Ember with his evil grin, “Look who’s home! Perfect timing.” He waited for the elevator to close with Ridge on it before he started the SUV and pulled out.

CHAPTER 25

Ember began to come around slowly. She felt like she had been drugged, and as she tried to sit up, she realized that was a possibility. She began to recall the nightmare events that lead to her being tied up in the back of Reece’s SUV, and the all-too-familiar feeling of dread began to sweep over her.

“Reece?” She wasn’t sure what kind of mood he would be in, but she needed to make a pit stop, and she was going to have to chance it.

Reece glanced in the rear-view mirror at her. “You shouldn’t be up yet.” His tone was more matter-of-fact than upset.

“I need to use the restroom, and I’m thirsty.”

He sighed. “We’ll stop up ahead, but if you even think about drawing attention to yourself, Ember, it’s over. Think about Kaylen before you start making a fool of yourself. You don’t want her to grow up without a mother, do you?”

Ember sat staring at him in disbelief. How had she ever loved this man? He locked eyes with her in the rear-view mirror, and she just nodded slowly.

She was more afraid of getting herself killed and not being able to protect Kaylen than anything else. Without Ember around Eve might convince Reece to go back after her. She wasn’t sure if he would go through with his threats, but she couldn’t take that risk. She wasn’t sure if anyone knew that Reece had her. She imagined how Ridge would feel when he found her missing. This was going to be hard on him, and it made her sad. She knew her parents and Jade would be upset, but not as much as Ridge.

Ember missed Blake. She thought she could almost smell him now, and if she closed her eyes she could imagine the beach that his scent always conjured in her mind. After a few moments, she realized that she could smell it because it was on her. It must have been from when he had kissed her.

Ember saw the gas station ahead of them as Reece turned onto the service road. She was nervous that she would look scared while she was inside and make him mad and then he would shoot her. She had seen his gun when he opened the glove compartment. She never knew he had a gun, but to be honest, she had apparently never actually known Reece at all, period.

He got out and came around to her door. Careful to avoid being noticed he untied her hands, and she shook them loose. Her right wrist had a small bruised indention around it from the rope, and her broken wrist was hurting something fierce from the angle her arm had been in when he tied them together.

Glaring at her, he said, “I mean it, Ember. Not one bit of attention or you’re done. Do you understand?” Ember didn’t want to think about what that even meant, so she just nodded as he helped her out of the back of the SUV.

Walking inside, Ember saw where the bathrooms were in the back and rushed toward them. She went in and was just about to push the door shut when Reece’s foot blocked her. She let her hand fall and stepped back as he made his way into the room. For her ears only he said, “Did you really think I would take that chance?” Ember just continued toward the stall. He wasn’t going to leave, so she might as well do what she came in to do.

After she had washed her hands, she went to get a bottle of water. She was about to take it to the cash register when Reece took it from her and went to pay for it. She decided he must not want her to have any contact with the clerk, so she stood off to the side, hoping that she was in the man’s line of sight as she began fidgeting with her wrist that had the rope burn. After Reece had paid he headed toward the door, and Ember followed after him. From the corner of her eye, she saw the clerk but was too afraid to look him in the face, so she silently prayed that he understood she was in trouble.