Forever Lost: Becoming Elena - Book Two (6 page)

W
hen Elena woke
up the next day, Dalton was gone, but later that night when he returned, he didn’t mention her trip to the bar or her behavior. Over the next few days, he said nothing, and slowly the unease Elena had been feeling from the moment she’d woken with a massive hangover, began to ebb.

It disappeared completely when he asked her to leave the house again. The next few weeks flew by, and Dalton was giving her more chances to pass his test of whether he could present her in public.

The afternoon air and hot sun came through the sunroof on the SUV and Elena sat back, feeling relaxed as she looked at the Seattle skyscrapers. Dalton expertly maneuvered the vehicle, returning from a pretty spectacular lunch date.

As much as she wanted to be strong enough to be on her own, she couldn’t imagine leaving Dalton. She was too secure with him — too comfortable in his large home, and in his presence — even when times weren’t perfect.

His phone rang over the speakers of the car, and it startled her, making her jump. Instead of pressing a button, he picked up his cell and spoke, his relaxed expression instantly evaporating.

“I told you I didn’t want to be disturbed,” he curtly said into the phone. He was silent for less than a few seconds. “I’ll be right there.” He didn’t say goodbye before disconnecting the call and getting off at the next exit on the freeway, turning the vehicle around.

“We have to stop at the office,” he said. Then he was silent again.

They pulled up to the huge building in downtown Seattle; Elena couldn’t help but be awed. So many people were bustling around in a flurry of motion, and she wanted to get out and walk the streets.

Dalton quickly pulled the car into a garage, driving to a spot close to the elevators and turned off the engine. Elena wasn’t sure if she was supposed to stay in the vehicle or go with him, so she stayed where she was as he exited the car.

When he came around and opened her door, she was surprised and delighted.

“I guess you’ll see where I spend most of my days,” he told her.

“What kind of business is this?” she asked, realizing she had no idea what the man did for a living. Obviously whatever it was, he made a lot of money.

“I own a private technology firm that focuses mainly on government contracts,” he told her.

Elena knew nothing about technology, but that was a pretty vague answer.

“What do you do?” she asked.

He pushed a button on the elevator and they began going all the way to the top floor of the building. She couldn’t wait to look out the windows.

“A lot of what we do, I can’t speak about,” he told her, then surprised the heck out of her when he winked.

Was he joking with her, or did he just not want to tell her? Or was he serious? If it was government jobs, it might have to do with weapons or something like that. She was dying to know, but she didn’t push him.

The doors opened and Elena took everything in. Several people milling around the huge reception area greeted Dalton before continuing on their way.

Dalton led Elena down a wide hallway with door after door, some opened with people behind desks speaking on the phone or typing on their computers, and some closed, the blinds on their windows drawn.

Elena wondered what they were doing in there. She wondered what it would be like to go to work everyday. The feeling of accomplishment had to help them feel good about themselves.

She really didn’t have a purpose in life other than pleasing Dalton. The more Dalton took her away from the only home she truly remembered, the more she wanted a life outside of it. Maybe he was helping her so she
would
be able to go, or maybe he didn’t realize what he was doing. Either way, Elena wasn’t going to say a word.

“How many employees do you have?” she asked as he continued moving down the hall, being stopped at times by people they passed.

“In these offices, I have just over three thousand. But all over the world, there are over twenty thousand employees,” he told her.

Her mind was reeling to even think about trying to manage that many people. No wonder he always seemed in control. He had no choice but to be a leader.

“Here’s Tina’s office. I’m going to leave you with her while I take care of some urgent business.” He didn’t even say goodbye, just left her in the doorway and took off.

Tina was on the phone but when she looked up, she flashed Elena a big smile while holding up a finger, letting her know she’d be just a few more moments.

Elena didn’t move from her spot in the doorway. She hadn’t been invited inside. She hadn’t spoken with Tina since their night out. The confusion of not knowing if Tina was disgusted by her or not made her motionless.

“I’m sorry about that, Elena. Sometimes I want to take my phone and chuck it out the window,” Tina said after she hung up.

She stood and walked over to Elena.

“It’s not a problem. Dalton got called in for something and said he wouldn’t be too long,” Elena said as she shifted nervously on her feet.

“Well, he says that frequently and then his ten-minute meeting turns into three hours. Let’s go to the cafeteria and grab some coffee and a donut,” Tina said as she led Elena down the same hallway. “I’m sorry we haven’t gotten to speak since our night out. I was called out of the country for some problems in one of our divisions.”

“That sounds good. I’m a little tired today, so caffeine is the perfect solution,” Elena told her, ignoring the other statement for now. She was nervous what Tina would say about it.

They rode the elevator to the first floor, which opened to another large lobby. Around a corner were a few different cafeteria areas.

They entered a Starbucks where several people were sitting at tables with their laptops while others were in line, waiting for their order to be taken.

“I wouldn’t survive without this place,” Tina said as they joined the line.

“Is this just for employees or is it open to the public?” Elena asked.

“It’s open to the public, sometimes we get other people in here, but it’s far more frequented by the employees than anyone else. However, there are times when you just have to get out of the offices even if it’s to go to another building that’s almost identical,” Tina told her.

The barista took their order, and they waited for their drinks then found a small table in the corner.

“What have you been doing today?” Tina asked before taking a bite of her maple bar and sighing in pleasure.

“We went to lunch. I think Dalton is still testing if I’m suitable to take out in public, especially after the bar scene,” Elena said as she winced.

When Tina laughed, Elena relaxed the tiniest bit.

“Hmm. I think Dalton needs to be taught how to behave in public himself and not worry about you,” Tina said when her chuckles died down. “Last year at the annual charity ball he got in a fight with his best friend, and it was splashed over all the papers. Don’t even worry about our night out on the town.”

Elena was completely shocked by this. Tina brushed off the event like it was nothing at all. The relief surging through Elena was monumental. If Tina wanted to drop it, she was more than happy to do the same. She focused instead on the rest of what Tina had said.

“What happened?”

“Oh, they weren’t really fighting. Tanner, his friend, was doing a publicity stunt and Dalton was his unwilling accomplice. Dalton’s head was spinning, he was so irritated. If any other person had pulled that, he would have been ejected from Dalton’s life. He doesn’t tolerate ‘shenanigans’ as he calls them,” Tina answered.

Before Elena commented, a man interrupted them.

“Who’s your friend, Tina? Is she a new employee?” the man asked.

The second Elena looked up at the man, she wanted to scoot closer to Tina. He was smiling at them, but it wasn’t a genuine smile, more of a predator’s sneer right before he pounced. His blond hair and green eyes gave him a beach-boy look, but she could see intelligence brewing just underneath.

She wanted nothing to do with interested strangers anymore. She really didn’t want anything to do with this one since he reminded her of Leo, which wasn’t a good thing.

“No, Jim, she’s not an employee,” Tina said shortly. It was obvious Tina wasn’t a big fan of the guy either.

“Too bad. I’m Jim,” he said, holding out his hand.

Elena took a second longer than was courteous before she extended her own and felt the man’s fingers clasp hers and hold on a bit too long.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you . . .?” he said it like a question, leaving her no choice but to give her name.

“I’m Elena,” she said and attempted a smile.

“Beautiful name for a beautiful face.” He winked, and her stomach churned.

“We don’t have much time, Jim,” Tina said, making Jim’s eyes go back to her, and giving Elena the chance to take a relieved breath.

“I don’t want to bother you ladies then,” Jim said, immediately focusing his attention back on Elena. “But I had to stop by when I saw you sitting here.”

She didn’t know what to say to that, so she gave him a semblance of a smile, hoping he would be off.

“Why don’t you give me your number so I can take you out for a drink?” he asked.

The man obviously wasn’t picking up that she was clearly uncomfortable. Before Elena could utter a rejection though, they were interrupted again.

“She’s not free for drinks — ever.”

When Elena saw fury on Dalton’s face, she was surprised. She’d done nothing wrong in speaking with the man. He’d approached them. And this time she was stone-cold sober so she wouldn’t be allowing the guy to drag her off for a session of dirty dancing.

“I’m finished here. We’re leaving now,” Dalton said, gripping her arm and tugging her from her seat.

“Thank you for the coffee and donut,” Elena said to Tina before he could drag her away. Tina nodded and then Elena was pulled out of the coffee shop.

Dalton said nothing as he led her to his car, opening her door and slamming it shut almost before she was inside. She decided she’d best be quiet with the mood he was in. Maybe his meeting hadn’t gone as well as he’d hoped it would.

After about fifteen minutes of driving, he finally spoke again.

“I don’t want you flirting with men,” he said. “Especially after the bar fiasco.” His body and tone were rigid in his seat.

“I wasn’t. Jim walked up to us and was only there for a few moments before you arrived,” she told him.

“Well, I think you need reminded about who you belong to. If I want to share you, it’s on my terms.”

With those words, he went silent again, and Elena’s body went cold. What did he mean by share her? She didn’t want to be shared. She’d had enough torture with multiple men touching her to last a lifetime.

Maybe they hadn’t thrown her on a bed and all taken her at once, but they’d touched her, beaten her, and broken her in ways she couldn’t even begin to think about without breaking down.

When she and Dalton arrived back at the house, she was silent as they made their way inside.

“Go to my room, strip your clothes, and kneel on the floor. I’ll join you soon.”

For a moment, Elena just stood there as he walked off. Maybe now he would punish her for her unwilling defiance’s he’d deemed she had done. When she could move again, Elena did as she was told.

Elena slowly entered his bedroom and hesitated. She wasn’t sure if this was going to be one of those nights that were more pain than pleasure, and she hated that, even with knowing this, she still anticipated his arrival.

She decided she was going to hell when she began stripping away her layers of clothes. But as long as Dalton was there with her, maybe the journey wouldn’t be so painful.

Only time would tell.

The only thing Elena knew for sure was Dalton was her drug. He was her reason for existence until she was strong enough to not need him. The problem was that she didn’t know if, let alone when, she would be over the addiction.

S
he knew the
moment Dalton was in the room. It was several moments before he spoke, but there was no doubt he was there.

“Don’t move.”

Elena shook as she knelt in the middle of the room. Though her limbs trembled, she did as he asked. She had learned it was better not to resist. Sometimes, though, she couldn’t help herself and she still fought him, but it was in subtler ways, as he didn’t take well to defiance.

Messy emotions weren’t allowed in his bedroom. That was unacceptable. Emotions were for the weak-minded, something he loved to say.

The longer he left her kneeling on the floor, the more she trembled.

He moved in front of her, and she waited for what came next. One of his rules in the bedroom was she wasn’t to speak unless he allowed it. Though that grated on her nerves, she also found the control soothing in an odd sort of way.

She didn’t have to think.

“Touch me, Elena.”

She looked into his dark eyes and hesitated only a moment before they narrowed. She didn’t wait any longer. He was already aroused, standing before her. So she reached for him and ran her hand along his solid length, barely able to suppress the moan wanting to escape.

He was satin-covered steel, and she never got tired of feeling his strength resting in her palm. With a sure motion, she stroked him slowly from the base to his moist head and then back again, her fingers feathering along his tight package beneath.

Unable to resist, she leaned forward and took him into her mouth, savoring his salty taste on her tongue. This time her moan rumbled against his thickness.

In less than a heartbeat, he stepped back, pulling himself from her mouth. Panting, she looked up into his dark, aroused eyes.

“I didn’t tell you to take me in your mouth,” he reprimanded.

“I’m sorry,” she said through gritted teeth. Oh, how she hated this part of his games.

His lips turned up the slightest bit. He knew she hated following his orders, and he loved that he could make her do it anyway. He was a sadistic bastard, but still, she needed him.

“Touch me again, this time with your hands
and
mouth,” he said as he wrapped his hands in her hair and pulled her toward him.

She gripped him again, her fingers unable to wrap fully around him as she tasted the proof of his pleasure, taking him deep into her mouth and moving back and forth.

Her body ached as she touched him, her nipples peaked, her core wet and hot. She needed him to touch her as she was touching him, but she didn’t dare ask.

“Deeper,” he muttered. She looked up with his thickness filling her mouth, to watch him throw his head back and groan.

She moved faster, back and forth, wanting more than anything to please him, to make him think of no other but her. Twisting her fingers around him, he grew slicker each time she pulled back and then slipped over him again.

“Enough.”

Quickly he pulled back from her, his breathing short and labored as he gazed down at her kneeling before him, her hair tangled, her skin flushed, her core hot.

“Stand up.”

This time, Elena didn’t hesitate at all. She wanted his hands touching every inch of her body. Without another word, he led her to the bed, where he tossed her down, sending a surge of moisture to her core that had her panting.

Joining her on the bed, his fingers found her nipples and pinched them, making her cry out as jolts of pain and pleasure shot through her stomach. When his mouth replaced his fingers, the hot lapping of his tongue made her back arch off the bed.

“Your body makes me lose control,” he growled as he unlatched from her nipple and moved down her stomach, instantly pushing her thighs apart and burying his face deep into her core, his tongue flicking out and lapping over her swollen nub.

Within seconds, Elena screamed as an intense orgasm ripped through her, leaving her soul bared to him. He crawled up her body and blew on her nipple before pinching it between his teeth and tugging, making more bolts of electricity shoot through her.

“Please . . .” she cried, the feelings too intense for her to handle.

“Please what?” he said, not having any mercy on her.

“I need a minute,” she begged.

“No.” He moved to her other peaked nipple and sucked on it, making her whimper as her core pulsed.

“Stop . . .” She moaned.

Elena wasn’t sure that she really wanted him to stop, but the pleasure was so intense, always so intense with Dalton, she didn’t know exactly what she could handle before her body simply gave out.

Suddenly he did stop, and Elena wasn’t sure that’s what she had wanted at all.

He sat up and looked at her, his eyes filled with excitement, his thickness bouncing against his stomach as the tip leaked his pleasure.

“You aren’t obeying very well are you, Elena?” he asked.

A shiver ran through her, because Elena knew what was coming. She knew she could stop it at any moment, but she wouldn’t get what she needed, what she knew would take the last of her worries away.

“No, I’m not,” she told him, panting as she lay there on the bed.

Dalton moved to the edge of the mattress, his feet on the floor as he stared at her, a slight quirk to his lips.

“Come over here and stand in front of me, your ass in the air,” he told her.

She had a choice — Elena always had a choice. She chose to stand and without looking at him again, she moved in front of him and bent over, her ass only a couple feet from him.

Shivering as she stood there, completely bare to him, completely at his mercy. When his hands caressed her backside, she felt moisture surging through her as she waited for the sting of his slap.

He drew it out, making her whimper in anticipation. The first hit against her skin jolted her, making her rock forward. It wasn’t a hard hit though; he never abused her. There was just enough sting that her mind emptied the emotional drama she seemed to always be dealing with and focused only on his touch.

He only swatted her a few times before she felt his hands on her hips, pulling her back toward him, his fingers sliding against the heated skin as he moved them down the crack of her ass and then slipped two fingers inside her dripping body.

Elena didn’t try to contain her moan as he delved deep inside her body. But just as her pleasure was surging again, he gripped her waist and lifted her, spinning her around and pulling her onto his lap, straddling him as his thickness rested against her wet core, his length reaching all the way to her sensitive backside.

His eyes were burning with lust as his fingers twined in her hair, and he pulled her forward, locking his mouth to hers, his tongue diving into her mouth, devouring her whole.

He caressed her back while their tongues tangled, his fingers slipping between their bodies to massage her full breasts before moving down to her behind and gripping the tight flesh, as he rubbed himself on the outside of her slick core.

He shifted, and she felt the tip of him sliding inside her. But he stopped. It wasn’t enough, not nearly enough. She tried to push against him, but he tightly held on to her hips, refraining her from moving.

“What do you want, Elena?” he teased her.

“You, Dalton. I want you inside me,” she told him, trying again to push forward.

“Tell me who’s in charge, Elena,” he taunted.

She groaned as she wiggled against him, but he didn’t budge, just the head of him taunting her, torturing her, making her unable to do anything other than beg him.

“You are, Dalton, always you,” she panted.

His lips turned up as a spark ignited in his eyes. And then he tugged on her hips as he surged up, slamming himself fully inside her.

Elena cried out as she tightened around him, moisture coating them both. It always felt so good. Everything else they did together was great, but Dalton buried deep in her wet body was incomparable.

He began moving, pulling out and thrusting hard back inside, his hands on her ass, guiding her, setting the tempo of their mating.

Elena’s head fell back as she got lost in a wash of emotions too high to ever come down. Dalton’s mouth latched on to her nipple and sucked hard and she lost all control, spiraling as her body gripped his repeatedly with her intense orgasm.

She felt his body’s reaction the moment he let go and released deep inside her. She was filled with warmth and pleasure that she could make this strong, sure man lose control, even if only for a few moments.

When they both stopped trembling, Elena slouched forward, too exhausted not to use his body as an anchor. Surprisingly, he held on to her for at least a minute, maybe two, before his hands tighten on her skin, lifted her off his lap, and set her next to him on the bed.

Then Dalton stood. Without looking back at her, he gathered his clothes and walked from her room.

This was their routine. When the sex was over, he left. He didn’t stay and cuddle her, didn’t tell her everything would be okay — he just left.

For some reason, Elena was having a more difficult time with it this time. She didn’t understand why, but she knew she had to get under control.

Rising, she went to the bathroom and quickly washed off, before slipping into a nightgown and crawling into her soft bed. She lay there for quite some time before her eyes finally drifted shut and sleep claimed her.

This was for the best. Her life wasn’t spinning, and she needed to focus on that and only that. If only it were so simple as to wish something and then make it happen.

The next day when she woke up, things were right back to normal. She stayed home, did things around the house, and went to him when he beckoned her.

He still took her out a couple times during the week, but she didn’t seem to be impressing him with her progress. Elena didn’t know what to do differently. It was with a heavy heart that she continued her day-to-day existence with Dalton, realizing she might never truly know the man — not the way she wanted to.

She wasn’t going to give up though, because giving up on him would be giving up on herself, and she wasn’t willing to that — at least not yet.