Quarterback Keeper (Fall Lake Ballers #1)

Chapter Thirty-Two

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

AURORA

I knew what I was giving up and why. Defeat-infused nausea churned my stomach. I can do this. I forced myself to take each step away from Kylian’s condo and toward Dayton instead, despite the way my body rebelled at the action. Dark clouds coated the sky, obscuring the sun. The threat of rain, thick in the air, had nothing on the dampness coating my palms. Saliva pooled ominously in my mouth. I swallowed frantically to quell the urge to vomit at what was in store for me.

The need to protect Kylian from my monster was greater than fighting Blondie and staking a claim on what I thought we could have. It would have been selfish. I had to save him from the danger that waited in plain sight. That was why I left the condo and went toward my worst nightmare. I owed Kylian, and more than that, I wanted him safe—even if it cost me my freedom.

In the very beginning of my relationship with Dayton, I’d thought I loved him. He was so handsome and wealthy, and I was shocked he’d shown any interest in me. We’d gone to the finest restaurants. His home was incredible, and I’d spent the majority of my nights there until he’d asked me to move in with him, which I’d done happily—albeit blindly. Over time, his control had eaten away at my self-confidence, and it wasn’t long before I saw him for the monster he was.

Dark spots danced along the edges of my sight as it tunneled, and I latched my vision onto the banked fury simmering in Dayton’s eyes. I was aware of his power play yet helpless to fight it. He let me come to him, and I gagged at the perverse pleasure at my expense, which curved the corners of his mouth in a sadistic smirk.

A few feet away, I stopped, unable to force myself closer. He bared his teeth, and a violent shiver rocked me onto my heels, but I refused to retreat, to let him win another battle.

“How did you survive?” He couldn’t swim. It didn’t make sense.

“Not well, bitch.” He held up his hand, and I winced at the missing pinkie finger. “This is your fault. I couldn’t go to the hospital, and it got infected. If it hadn’t, you can be damn sure I would’ve taken back what was mine much sooner.” Darkness swirled in his eyes. “You’re going to pay for making me chase you, my fallen angel.”

I cringed. The addition to his favored pet name hadn’t escaped my notice. He used to call me “angel.” The added “fallen” lent insight into my newly tainted status.

In a move too fast for me to react to or pull away from, he latched onto my wrist with a crushing, viselike grip. I swallowed a whimper at the pain radiating through my fingers and up my arm as he yanked me to his side. It was the same wrist he’d broken before, and I knew the brutal pressure he applied was a reminder to instill fear.

It wasn’t necessary. I was terrified of what he would do when we were alone. I’d lived through that nightmare before. It was the reason I’d run. Now, I feared it would be what killed me.

I kept my mouth shut while he shoved me into a nearby car. As he rounded the front of it, his eyes never left mine—daring me to make a break for it. But too much was at stake. It wasn’t just my life in the balance. It was Kylian’s too.

With his gaze locked on mine, Dayton rolled his full lower lip into his mouth, caught it with his teeth, and scraped across the flesh as he released it. He thought it made him look hot, sexy. In the beginning, it had, and I’d wondered how it would feel to have his lips pressed against mine. Until I’d found out.

Despite the car’s cleanliness, the scent of tobacco and mint permeated the interior. His scent. My stomach clenched. I hated it.

He got in the driver’s seat, the smell growing stronger with his presence, and started the car. As we drove, I systematically locked everything that mattered to me in a mental box. The only way to survive Dayton’s moods and appetites was to become an emotionless shell.

When we stopped at a red light, his fingers cruelly fisted the hair at my nape. Like a rag doll, I went where he pulled me. His efforts to keep me present intensified the more I drew into myself. The feel of his nose along my neck sent a volley of unwanted goose bumps across my flesh. Sharp pain exploded along the sensitive skin by my pulse as his teeth nipped hard enough to bruise. It would be one of many.

He wanted to mark and own me. To punish me. And while he might control my body for the foreseeable future, I’d won. Kylian was safe. Dayton’s focus was solely on me. That fact was what kept a tiny spark of satisfaction and hope alive. It would have to be enough. Without it, I didn’t know if I could mentally survive what was coming.

When the light turned green, he released me, and I shifted against the door. It was temporary. I wasn’t out of his reach, and based on his anger, he would keep me close.

In the distance, thunder rumbled. I wanted to will the storm closer, for lightning to strike the car. Piece by piece, I hid more of myself, huddling in a corner of my mind, just like I did against the passenger door. The pain he inflicted when it amused him dulled my thoughts elsewhere. I spun a web of fantasy, retreating to a moment when Kylian had touched me.

I had the time, and what better way to transport my mind than to go back to the beginning. Kylian had exhibited kindness toward a stranger. Looking past the invasion of his property to the person, not the crime. He saw someone in need and reacted. Sure, our arrangement was mutually beneficial, but he didn’t have to help me. He’d given me a way to accept his handout with pride.

I basked in how safe he’d made me feel—how my ability to smile and laugh had returned. The longer we were together, the faster I’d fallen for him. Though I’d tried to bow out of his life so I didn’t complicate things further, I’d never wanted to.

I recalled the first brush of his lips, the way he’d slanted his over mine, deepening the kiss, my body lighting on fire for his. I escaped into what it was like to be in Kylian’s embrace for as long as I could until Dayton pulled me back to the present during our drive. But I had practice escaping reality—my small rebellion—and used every ounce of my strength to transport myself elsewhere.

The door wrenched open, violently tearing me from the past, and I fell backward with a shriek. Dayton grabbed my upper arm. Fingers bit into my bicep, stopping me from crashing to the cement. He dragged me from the car, and I stood on shaky legs, orienting myself as quickly as possible.

The harbor? Shock momentarily stole my words until the pieces fell into place. It wasn’t over. I’d thought I was saving Kylian, but I’d condemned us both.