Page 205 of Brainwashed

He pulls my pants up first—my Lem, the gentleman—then he removes the ball-gag. My jaw is so sore from being held open like that for so long, it hurts to close my mouth. I spit out some blood, hoping I didn’t get it on him. But he doesn’t seem to care. He simply tugs the blindfold off of me, immediately wrapping his large warm hands around my jaw to hold my face as he does.

My eyes try to adjust, but it’s hard because it’s so dark and I’m still crying. I don’t even care. I won’t try to act hard, because it doesn’t matter. Breaking the fuck down, I whimper out ragged sobs while Lem folds my body against his.

“Felix, baby.” His voice shakes with emotion, large palm cradling the back of my head while I shiver in his arms. “I want to hold you forever, love. Ineverwant to let you go, especially not now, but I have to get you down from here. I need to get you down right now, baby. Your wrists are bleeding.”

I sniffle and nod, forcing my head back to croak, “Okay. Yes, please. Get me down.”

He leaves me, my body withdrawing within seconds as he rushes over to the body slumped on the floor, which my fuzzy vision assumes is Templeton. I don’t have my glasses, but my eyes have mostly adjusted, and I find Lem digging through Templeton’s pockets for the keys to the cuffs and shackles.

He locates them then comes back to me and I’m glad his face is blurry, because I don’t want to see anything like pity on there. But when he gets up close enough for me to make out his lines, it’s not pity. He’s not looking at me like a victim. He’s just worried about me because he cares.

Everything feels thick and sluggish inside me, my heart struggling to pump me back to life. There’s a glimmer inside my chest, a ray of sunlight in the darkness, spreading renewed fervor through my veins, because my Dr. Love is back.

He’s reallyhere.

He unlocks my cuffs and immediately grabs me around the waist, hoisting me on his large body as my arms fall to drape around his shoulders. “Hang onto me, baby. I’m gonna bring you over to the wall so you can lean on it while I take the shackles off.”

I nod with my face resting on his shoulder, inhaling the longest breath of his scent like the freshest air from high atop a mountain. The soft roughness of his dreadlocks on my cheek is euphoric right now, mixed up with the sweet, masculine smell of him. The feel of his strength, all his hard muscles with us chest to chest… It’s my favorite feeling in the world.

I’m complete;wholeagain. He’s putting me back together. Stitching up all my nasty cuts.

When I feel my back connect with a concrete wall, I pull off him again so that he can bend and remove the shackles around my ankles. But movement catches both of our eyes. The guy who’s not Templeton, who had also been lying on the floor, is stumbling to his feet and scrambling out the door. He takes off running away so fast, if he were a cartoon witch, there would be bobby pins lingering in the air behind him.

Lem scoffs and shakes his head. “Fucking idiot. Where does he think he’s gonna go??”

I snort out a laugh, and he looks up at me. Our eyes connect, but I can’t really see him well without my glasses and the fog of lingering tears in my eyes. Still, Ifeelthat amber, glowing as he stands up slowly, only an inch of space between us. Both of our chests are moving with harsh breaths, bumping together while his mouth hovers over mine.

“You came back for me,” I whisper.

He nods. “Of course I did. I don’t think I know how to live without you anymore, Felix Darcey.”

My heart melts in my chest while his lips brush mine. But then a groan steals the moment, and our attention.

“I want to kiss you breathless right now, but I don’t want this one getting away,” he croons.

I nod in agreement, eyes going to Templeton, who seems to be waking up from the state of unconsciousness that Lem apparently put him in.

He burst in here and knocked two guys out cold for me?? Wow… He’s like Idris Elba or something.

He stalks over to Templeton and puts a foot on his throat. “Don’t move.” He glances up at me. “Baby, will you grab those handcuffs, please?”

The haze clears a bit as I realize that I’mfree, and my rapist is in front of me. Just like I’d been wishing for…

It’s like my prayers were answered. And this is my gift.

Twisted thrill rises inside of me, The Carver waking up from his dormant state. My body is hot-wired back to life, running on adrenaline as I push past the pain of even moving to walk over and grab the cuffs.

I nod at Lem. “Stand him up. I’ll cuff him to the pipe.”

Lem lets out an appreciative sound. “Good thinking, gorgeous.”

I’m physically unable to stop the corny smile from gracing my lips while I watch my man hauling Templeton up like his body weight is nothing. “I’m so damn happy you’re here.”

Lem grins—it’s strained, but still beautiful—and murmurs, “Me, too.”

He stands Templeton up, who seems to snap back into consciousness, struggling while I attempt to handcuff him to the same drainpipe he had me hooked to for fucking days.

“No! Wait wait, please—”