Ashley's Bend (19 page)

I was too busy worrying about getting to Ashley that I didn’t even realize my own thoughts. Knox appeared at my side just as I removed the key to open the door. Bursting in, Knox immediately took off toward Asher as I made my way toward Ashley. She was struggling to breathe and her eyes looked like they were starting to roll into the back of her head. Fear overcame me as I struggled to remove the ball gag from her mouth and made quick work of getting the restraints off of her wrists. Knox had Asher by the throat threatening to kill him. Ashley collapsed in my arms looked at me one time before the darkness consumed her and she passed out. Placing my hands beneath her knees and lifting her into my arms, I reached for the sheet on the bed and covered her up before I made my way toward the door.

“Get that fucker out of here and see that he never sets foot in my club again. If he even tries, I will fucking kill him!” I roared at Knox as I left the Rapture Room and made my way to my office with Ashley in my arms. Rage and vexation emanated through me and all I wanted to do was turn around and make sure that fucker never saw the light of day again. Instead, Ashley was my priority and I needed to make sure she was ok.

Once in the safety of my office, I gently laid her down on the couch and knelt down next to her. I gently caressed her face trying to get her to wake up.

“Ashley? Ashley, can you hear me?” I asked her. She whimpered and shifted restlessly on the couch. I continued to try to stimulate her back into consciousness. The sheet slipped down, and that was when I noticed the giant bruise starting to develop on her ribcage. A bruise that was not there when I was with her earlier this evening. Fury raced through me and my body started to vibrate with anger.

I’ll kill that fucker for doing this to her!

Her head started to violently shake side to side. Suddenly she sat up ramrod straight on the couch with her eyes widely opened trying to breathe. She looked as if she had been held under water for a long time and was just able to come up for air. She saw me and started to scramble to try to get away.

“Shhh, Shhh. Ashley, it’s me. It’s Dominic. Calm down baby. He’s gone. We took care of him.”

I grabbed her and held her against me, afraid to let her go. We rocked back and forth for what seemed like forever as she was overcome with tears and emotions over what almost happened to her.

“I’m so sorry, Ashley. I’m so fucking sorry.” She collapsed into me and shook uncontrollably.

“Oh my God! He−he−he was going to−” She couldn’t get the rest of the words out. There was no doubt in my mind that that fucker would have most definitely taken her without her permission if Knox and I hadn’t shown up when we did.

I continued to console Ashley as she sobbed uncontrollably into my chest. I should have seen the signs in that asshole the other night when he was trying to hit on Ashley in the Common Room when she was serving drinks. Her tears and sobs started to deteriorate and she started to relax leaning into me more as she finally gained control.

“Are you hurt anywhere other than your ribs?” I asked her. She pulled back and looked up at me and that was when I saw the bruise on her cheek and the blood from her cut lip. Anger didn’t begin to describe the thoughts that were circulating through me at the sight of what Asher had done to this beautiful girl.

“Son of a bitch!” I growled in forced anger.

Ashley flinched frightened at my outburst. I cupped the back of her head offering her more consolation. That was not me. I was not a man who offered comfort to a woman, but when I saw that asshole with his hands on her, something inside me snapped. I had never felt rage like that before. It brought back too many memories of what my mother had to endure at the hands of my father and my protective instincts kicked in.

“Do you need a doctor, Ashley? Can I take you to the hospital?”

“No, I’m−I’m ok.”

I was about to ask if she was sure, when Knox came bursting into my office. His demeanor showed that he was just as pissed off about the situation as I was. I looked over his shoulder to find Kelly right on his heels.

“I thought that she might want Kelly,” he said a little hesitantly to me.

“Oh my God, Ash! Honey are you ok?” Kelly cried as she entered the room. She sank to her knees and threw her arms around her friend.

“I’m ok, Kelly. Can you just take me home? Ashley said as she climbed to her feet. She wobbled slightly and I caught her before she fell. She looked up at me and my heart seized in my chest. Our eyes connected and there was a buzz of electric current that passed between us. I couldn’t explain it. I did not understand how one girl could bring out emotions and feelings in me that I had buried away to keep myself from being hurt. Her beautiful green eyes shined up at me with gratitude.

“Thank you for coming for me, Dominic. I hate to imagine what would have happened−”

“Shhh don’t think about that,” I said as I drew her into my chest once more and wrapped my arms around her. I was overcome with sensations about how incredible she felt enveloped in my arms. I felt protective over her. The thing that surprised me the most was that she made me—
feel
.

Quit being a fucking pansy, Dominic,
I scolded myself. I released her from my hold and she looked up at me one more time. I didn’t have time to react as she brought her soft, warm lips and pressed them to my cheek. My stomach bottomed out and I felt like the floor beneath me would give way. I had never been shown that much affection from a woman. I never gave one a chance, but somehow, with Ashley it was different. She was different. How was it that Ashley had been able to break through the great barrier that I so protectively secured around my heart when no one else had before? Maybe she was the one who could bring me out of the darkness and into the light. That thought terrified the ever living shit out of me.

I felt the way that Dominic flinched when I kissed his cheek. I wondered if the affection was what he was afraid of. If so, why? Just when I thought we would get close, he pulled away.

Before leaving the club, Dominic instructed me to not come in Sunday for training. He insisted that I stay home and rest, and I had to admit that was a good idea because when I woke up the next morning, my ribs ached badly.

Heading to the kitchen, I poured myself a glass of orange juice and took two Advil. I didn’t have much of an appetite, so I decided against breakfast. Kelly was still sleeping peacefully, so I went to work making a pot of coffee hoping the jolt of caffeine would be a welcoming feeling.

I shivered as I thought about how I came so close to being raped by Asher last night. If it hadn’t been for Dominic and Knox, I would have been.

While I busied myself methodically making the coffee, I took a long reflecting look back on my life. Thus far, it had been dull, boring, and unfulfilling. I had been married to a guy who sucked everything out of me in order for him to succeed and then he cheated on me. I then joined an erotic BDSM club to
broaden my horizons
, only to be nearly raped by a psychopath. I had never done anything in my life that was for me, and I felt saddened by the fact.

I took my coffee and had a seat at the kitchen table and stared out the window. There was a park across the street from the apartment and where families and children were enjoying the warm sunshine on this beautiful day. It was funny how the world outside was in complete confrontation with my mood today. Outside it was bright and sunny, but inside I felt dark, stormy and dejected. I felt sunken and hollow with this concave of emotions that consumed me. My life was nothing−meaningless.

I couldn’t help dissipate the jealousy that swallowed me as I watched the families at the park enjoy their happy lives. I watched the mothers as they adoringly watched their children frolic in the grass, laughing and playing.

“What are you thinking about sitting there all by yourself?” Kelly said breaking my trance.

I sighed as I looked back out the window at the scene in the park. My body sagged into the chair like a lead weight. I could feel the gravitational pull that was my fucked up life draw me down further into darkness.

“Sweets, are you ok?” Kelly asked as she came up behind me and placed her hands on my shoulders. I looked out the window just as a mother scooped her child up into her arms. They were both laughing and full of joy. My heart laid heavy in my chest.

“How did I get here, Kelly? How did I get to this point in my life? I−just never thought that my life would turn out this shitty,” I explained to her. Kelly, being the best friend that she was wrapped her arms around my neck hugging me from behind. Warm tears began to stream down my face at the realization of just how empty and lonely my life had been.

“Ash, please don’t cry.” She walked over to the chair next to me, pulled it close, and sat down. Placing her hands in mine, she looked into my reddened eyes. “You’re smart, funny, gorgeous and a kick ass best friend. You have always sacrificed your own happiness for others. You are giving, unselfish and kind. You deserve so much more than what has been handed to you, love.”

If she was trying to get me to stop crying, she was failing miserably. I sobbed harder from hearing the sweet words she used to describe me. She reached over onto the table and found the newspaper from the morning. She opened it up to the page that she marked about the art classes.

“I think you should do something for yourself Ashley,” she said as she placed the newspaper in my hands. I looked down at the red ring around those black printed words. Being an art teacher had always been my dream. The dream that I had sacrificed for so long that it seemed unattainable now.

“I don’t know Kelly. I−I want to badly, I just don’t know.”

“I think you should go for it, but I won’t push you,” she said as she took the paper and placed it back on the table, “now, do you want to talk about last night?”

I knew that this conversation was unavoidable. I needed to get those feelings out so that I did not keep them bottled up inside of me to fester like poison.

“I have never been so scared in my life, Kelly. I know Dominic said to not worry about coming in tonight, but honestly, I don’t think that I can go back. Every time I close my eyes, I see Asher and what he tried to do to me. Just thinking about it now sends chills down my spine,” I confessed.

“I’m sure no one would blame you if you didn’t, Ashley,” Kelly said sympathetically. The thing was that I felt too scared to go back, yet I was saddened by the thought because then I wouldn’t see Dominic. I had never had a man who had had such an effect on me. Could I get over my fear about what happened, or would I have to let Dominic go? I didn’t think I was cut out for his lifestyle.

What should I do?