Ethan Was Going to Hit Me

Tara Blackwood POV

Two days later. Ten in the morning.

He is between my legs, thrusting hard.

How deeply I crave him inside me.

And of course, it is Kaiden. No one else.

His masculinity slides in and out of my wet core so smoothly, and I moan loudly beneath him.

A sharp light hits my eyes.

I open them slowly, forced awake by the sunlight pouring through the window on the wall beside me.

That cursed light.

The open window stole a dream from me.

Not just this time. Many times before.

I think it is because of my fantasies.

And Kaiden is always the one in them.

It feels good in a dream.

But what if it were real?

I am not lying when I say I want those long fingers of his to be the first to ever touch me like that.

Suddenly, a smell.

Medicine.

I push myself upright, scanning the room as the strong scent fills my nose.

I try to get out of bed, but I cannot.

So I struggle just to sit up, pressing my back to the wall behind me and resting my head against it.

My body feels broken.

Like it has not moved in a long time.

I am in the hospital.

I say it silently to myself.

I need to remember what happened last.

I groan when I lift my hand to fix my hair.

My head hurts badly.

I think it is from hitting the wall.

But how long have I been here?

I check the pocket of the jacket I am still wearing.

Strange. I remember tying it around my waist.

Luckily, my phone is still there.

I turn it on.

October second.

I remember waking up to go to the gym on the last day of September.

What is this?

Did I really pass out for two days without anyone coming to check on me?

Why did I leave my country and come to this strange place?

If I were in Italy, my father or mother or even my brother would have stayed with me all night in the hospital.

Even for a small wound.

This feeling is awful.

Being alone is horrible.

I have felt it before.

I never want to feel it again.

I open my phone again and stare at the numbers.

Who do I call?

I will not call Ethan.

He is the reason for all of this.

Mira might be at work. Or with her fiancé.

And Mr. Kaiden probably would not even look at me.

He has more important things than visiting his friend’s daughter in the hospital.

I put the phone back in my pocket.

Still sitting the same way, I stare at the wall.

Without meaning to, a tear falls.

Then another.

Until my tears turn into rivers down my cheeks.

My father always made sure I smiled.

He never left me alone.

He trusted Ethan with me.

And this is what he did.

That feeling from years ago is coming back.

Slowly.

I do not want it.

I never want it back.

It is horrible.

I do not want anything.

I just want one person.

Just him.

The door opens quietly with a soft sound.

I turn my eyes toward it.

It is him.

Kaiden.

Standing at the door in all his elegance.

The elegance I love to look at.

But right now, I want only one thing.

His arms around me.

He looks at me.

At my red eyes, swollen from crying, full of tears.

He closes the door and walks toward me.

With every step, I feel my soul coming back.

When he stands in front of me, he lifts his hands and wipes the tears from my face.

"Why is Kaiden’s little one crying?"

And just like that, my tears fall again.

I should calm down.

But his gentle tone, the one I hear from him for the first time, makes me lose control.

I throw myself into him.

I wrap my arms around his waist and breathe in his scent.

He does not pull away.

He wraps his arms around me, sits on the bed, and pulls me into his chest.

Holding me tight.

This is what I needed.

This is what I wanted.

"Are you not going to tell me?"

He says it softly, his hand moving on my back, spreading safety through me.

I calm down a little.

"Ethan was going to hit me," I say.

A sob cuts my words short.

His hand freezes on my back.

"He was scary. He scared me so much. I ran from him. But before I reached the stairs, I fainted. And before I lost consciousness, I felt my head hit the wall. It hurt."

I know my words are messy.

But that is all I could say.

He does not move.

So I lift my head to look at him.

His eyes are sharp.

Angry.

Questions fill my mind.

He lowers his head to look at me.

I think he felt me move.

"Did I not tell you to call me?"

His angry eyes turn calm again.

I do not understand this sudden change.

"I was going to go to my room and call you. But I could not."

He hums quietly and helps me sit on the hospital bed.

I do not want him to move away.

"I will check if you can leave. I will be back."

Why is his tone so normal now?

It is the tone I usually love.

But I loved the gentle one he used when he first walked in.

Now it feels dry.

Like he is trying to hide something.

He turns his back and leaves.

I should not get used to his care.

He is far from me. Very far.

It is not that I lack love from my family.

Or that I am not enough for myself.

But I am someone who loves attention.

No.

I adore it.

He comes back after a short while.

His face looks harder now.

What did I do?

Or what happened?

"Come on. Let us go."

He helps me up, the gentleman he always is.

I sigh softly.

A sharp pain stabs my heart for no reason I understand.

I wish my father were here.

I move my feet with great effort.

They feel numb.

He watches me with those sharp eyes.

Why is he like this?

I am confused about him.

He steps closer.

I think he will help me walk.

But suddenly, my body lifts off the bed.

His strong arms carry me.

Like a bride.

It is beautiful.

I take advantage of it and wrap my arms around his neck, even though we are in a public place.

I think his cold calmness is rubbing off on me.

I look at the side of his face.

Sharp features.

Only more attractive because of it.

My arms are still around his neck.

He walks through the hospital halls with me.

Suddenly, Ethan crosses my mind.

He has not come yet.

Did I really humiliate him that much?

The whole drive, silence fills the car.

I hate silence.

But at the same time, I do not want to talk.

I want to think.

Only think.

The man driving does not start conversations.

As always.

But now, I feel like he is angry.

Or something is bothering him.

What confuses me more is that he was in a good mood when he entered my room.

I do not start any conversation.

For once.

I think it is better for both of us.

I do not think he wants to talk either.

"This whole week. If I see you at the company tomorrow, I will fire you."

He says it suddenly.

I turn my head to him, pulled out of my thoughts.

What does he mean?

I missed two days already.

Is that not enough?

"Why, Mr. Kaiden?"

"I do not want to miss more work. My level might drop."

"Do you feel the cut on your head? Your body is tired. Rest a little. Your level will not drop."

"I do not care about the cut on my head. Or my tired body. Or my level. I just want to go. Worse things happened before, and I still went to lectures and did my daily tasks while I was at my worst."

I want to go see him.

No other reason.

He stops the car in front of my house.

The house I hate.

He does not open the door for me like he usually does.

I have to rely on my own feet.

I open the door myself and step out.

The stiffness in my legs is less now.

I can walk.

I move toward my front door.

Before I go inside, I look back at him.

He is looking at me.

Then he looks away.

The moment I turn my head, he drives off.

Why is he doing this?

What happened all of a sudden?

And is it because of me?