Page 18 of Temptation Unleashed (Talaenian Fae #3)

“ Y ou did wonderful today, Rori. You had a difficult patient load and approached it with professionalism and eagerness. Your evaluation for today’s clinical will reflect your attentiveness and growing skill set.”

Rori shared a closed-mouth smile with her instructor as they stepped through the sliding doors of the hospital’s lobby.

Her classmates had already left for the day, but Rori had asked to stay a little longer due to her phone call with the lawyer and the complexity of some of the patients she was helping with.

Her instructor had agreed without hesitation and happily stayed to oversee her through the end of the day’s shift.

Immersing herself in her clinicals distracted Rori from the unease of the lawyer and the situation with Cael and Thaddeus.

“Thanks again for allowing me to stay later. I know you must be wanting to get home. I appreciate your time,” Rori said, motioning vaguely toward the opposite side of the parking lot. “I’m over here. Have a good night, Ms. Colsten.”

“You, too, Rori. See you in class. ”

Rori waited as her instructor headed toward the opposite lot.

She pulled her phone from her bag, turned it on, and started her trek toward her car.

Several text messages and two missed calls popped up almost immediately.

She listened to the message from her lawyer, confirming receipt of the medical records from her emergency room visit the night of the assault, and erased the message from a spam number.

Her stomach tilted as it often did when she saw the dozen or so text messages from Rich. With a groan, she erased the thread without opening the messages. Brandon, Cassy and her work had left texts while she was in clinicals, Brandon’s text being the most recent.

However, it was “Steve” that drew her attention. Her brows cinched as she opened the text.

Steve: Hey Rori. Know you’re at the hospital but hoping to catch you before you make plans. Any chance you can swing by when you’re done? Have some things to discuss with you. Alone.

God, would there be a single day she didn’t have to deal with the world caving in on her?

With a heavy sigh that pressed down on her shoulders, she ignored the text and moved to Cassy’s.

An update of her evening plans with Steve once she got out of work and an invitation for Rori to three-wheel it at a local pub.

She politely declined under the pretense of exhaustion.

A small part of her wanted to tell Cassy her boyfriend had invited her to meet up, but how was she going to explain that away?

“Secrets. Gotta love them.”

Her secrets would send her to a mental institute for sure, or drive a wedge between Rori and her best friend. It was only a matter of time before the secrets would be questioned.

At least Brandon’s text was a simple, “Hey hermosa, let me know when you get out and stop making all of us slackers look bad.” She couldn’t help but chuckle at the lighthearted jab and quickly replied that she was headed home.

Then she scrolled back to Cael’s text. Reread it. Contemplated answering him or ignoring it altogether. Unfortunately, her damn curiosity would be the death of her. She replied with a short, “Heading over now,” and locked her phone?—

Strong fingers grabbed her upper arm in a steely grip.

Her body jerked as a hand smacked over her mouth before she could start screaming.

She stumbled against the burly body and merciless grip until her back slammed up against the side of a dark van.

She blinked, terror soaking through her mind, adrenaline exploding through her body.

It took her a few crucial seconds before the face hovering near hers came into focus.

“Hiya, doll face. Since you’ve decided I don’t exist anymore, you left me no choice but to get your attention this way.”

Rori’s eyes widened, her heart about to rip from her chest. Her stomach twisted in a knot, threatening to spill the meager contents from her midday snack.

She struggled to free her arm from Rich’s bruising grip while shoving at his shoulder with her other hand.

The bastard wedged his legs between hers, pinning her to the van, leaving her little room to fight back.

His fingers dug, fucking dug , into her biceps until she cried out behind his hand and tried to shrink away.

He snickered, glancing one way, then the other.

Despite the receding sunlight, it was early enough there should have been more cars in the lot.

Instead, it was almost empty. There was no one in sight to help her.

Damn her for parking toward the back. Damn her for being too engrossed in her thoughts and text messages to bother assessing her surroundings like she normally did.

Damn—

“Aw, doll. Why aren’t you happy to see me?” Rich cocked his head, narrowing his eyes. His smile turned cold, predatorial, as he leaned closer. Mere inches from her face. She could smell the grease and oil from his shop mixed with his cologne. Smell the hint of alcohol on his breath.

He finally released her arm and twirled one of her waves that didn’t reach her hair tie with belying tenderness. Traced her cheek to her jaw, lower to her throat. Her breath seized in her lungs as his hand wrapped her neck and began to apply pressure slowly.

Panic surged. She pounded against his hard chest, fought to wedge a leg between his. Air slowly thinned, each draw harder and harder. She shrieked, screamed against his hand, but her sounds were nearly inaudible against the distant interstate and local traffic.

“You promised me you’d always be mine, remember?”

She shook her head, tears welling in her eyes.

“I told you if you ever broke your promise, the consequences wouldn’t be pleasant. But”—his smile chilled her worse than Thaddeus’s—“I’m willing to forgive you under one condition.”

The smile dropped. Evil shadowed his entire being as he brought his face even closer to hers.

His grip on her neck tightened abruptly, cutting off all air.

She coughed, clawing at the back of his hands, thrashing against the vehicle, praying someone would see her.

Rescue her. Take her away from this nightmare.

“Drop the fucking charges, Rori. Let it go. Don’t be stupid. You’re mine . Nothing will keep me from taking you back. Certainly no court order.”

His nostrils flared. Fear unlike any she’d ever known poured through her like liquid ice. He was insane. Completely, utterly unhinged.

She had to escape.

Desperation rode the heels of panic as her lungs began to burn for oxygen. Her punches and scratches weakened, and her muscles ached.

“Drop. The. Charges. Do you understand?”

Rori nodded. Over and over, tears running down her cheeks. Rich stared at her, his dark eyes soulless pits. After a moment, he smiled.

“Good little girl.”

His hand at her neck loosened, but didn’t let her go.

She gasped in air as he pulled his hand from her mouth, prepared to scream at the opportunity, only to suffer the brutal crush of his mouth, the plundering possession of his tongue, choking her in a whole new and disgusting way.

He devoured her, sucking her tongue until she whimpered in pain.

He bruised the inside of her lips with his force.

Sucked her bottom lip between his teeth.

Bit.

Hard.

Blood slid over her tongue. She squeezed her eyes closed and tried to hold back her cries. Rich was so focused on brutalizing her that he failed to notice when she dug into her bag and pulled out her foldable metal clipboard.

Without hesitation, she put all her strength behind slamming the edge of the clipboard into the side of Rich’s face.

“Fuck!”

As he stumbled away, Rori unleashed a kick to his crotch, sending him to his knees.

She bolted down the aisle, fumbling for her keys.

She threw a single look over her shoulder as her car beeped, doors unlocking.

Rich rolled on the ground, a stream of blood flowing from a gash at his temple, curled up in a fetal position.

Rori trembled so bad the door handle slipped from her hands. Trying again, she threw open the door, dropped behind the wheel, started the car, and peeled out of the spot, the lot.

Only when the hospital faded in the rearview did she let out a shaky sob, followed by a loud wail.

She clung to the steering wheel with both hands, knuckles white, arms stiff.

Tension rode through her shoulders and back.

Blood oozed from her lip, torn worse when she’d hit him with the clipboard and he’d jerked away.

A throb developed at her throat and arm where Rich had held her.

God, the tremors needed to stop. She couldn’t drive like this.

But she did. She drove recklessly, her mind spinning, replaying the events, fear so potent she couldn’t simply wipe it aside. It penetrated her, infiltrated her to the marrow. Fear was all she knew in those moments.

She had no recollection of her route, or how she managed to find her way to Cael’s complex. Cael. The very Fae her conscience struggled to balance. Brandon was home. She should go there. To someone who understood her situation and would protect her.

Cael helped rescue you from Rich, and you told him you’re coming over. Whether you like it or not, he’s more capable of protecting you than anyone else.

He had protected her and Cassy from Thaddeus, hadn’t he?

Once she’d parked, Rori sat in her car for close to ten minutes, calming herself down.

She poured water from her cup onto a napkin and wiped off her face, then dabbed at her tender lip.

It still bled, and she considered the likely possibility of needing stitches.

She took a few moments to survey her neck, where a dark red mark had had time to form.

A mark that would surely bruise by morning.

She pulled her hoodie from her bag and tugged it on, zipping it up as high as it would go. The mark was still visible, but shadowed. Her lip, on the other hand, would demand an explanation.

“Combative patient. That’s all he needs to know,” she whispered to the stranger in the mirror. Hair ruffled, eyes glowing with adrenaline and fear, reddened from tears. “He’ll know. I can’t hide this from him.”

Despite the dismal realization, she turned off the car and climbed out into the muggy evening.

The briny air met her, riding off the music from the ocean’s waves.

The gentle swish and occasional squawk of a seagull.

Her muscles began to loosen. She took in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and let the sounds and smells fill her with a sense of calm.

As her mind cleared, she realized she’d need to let Cassy know not to go back to their apartment.

Not while the attack was still so fresh.

Rich would be on the hunt.

Trying to relieve some of the tension by rolling out her shoulders, she headed up to Cael’s unit, this time keeping her eyes peeled for any threats.

She wouldn’t put it by Rich to have figured out where Cael lived, but she didn’t think he’d consider she’d come here.

With that thought, she sent a short text to Brandon warning him Rich might try to stake out his place. She promised to explain later.

She also saw a response from Cael telling her to go in and wait for him, the door was unlocked. He was around the block grabbing a few things for dinner.

Well, at least she could hide out for a bit, if nothing else .

She hesitated at the door, a stark memory from the last visit here flashing in her mind. No. There wouldn’t be another replay of that nightmare. After all, she’d unlocked a whole new level of reality that night. One she couldn’t go back from.

Swallowing the knot from both residual adrenaline and the swelling Rich’s grip had caused, she let herself into the condo.

A single lamp in the living room was all that provided light as the sunlight through the windows faded.

Shadows filled nooks and crannies of the spacious pad, along with the scent of ocean and sweetness.

Rori slipped her bag off her shoulder and dropped it on the floor in the entryway, scanning the area for any sign that Cael might have returned.

As she came around the corner to the formal sitting area, she saw one set of French doors to the long balcony was open, the gauzy curtains billowing in the breeze.

A shadowy figure leaned against the railing, distorted by the curtains and the wall.

She crossed the space, a sense of relief overwhelming her. She was safe .

“Cael, what did you want to…talk…”

The figure straightened up, turned.

Her voice faded, a new wave of dread crashing over her. God, how much more did she have to take today? What the hell did she do in her past life to deserve one blow after another?

Because the man on the balcony wasn’t Cael.

No.

The godforsaken gorgeous Fae who stepped through the curtains like the mystical creature he proclaimed to be was no other than Thaddeus.

White-gold hair secured half up at the back of his head with a fancy gold clip while his waist-length strands curled and swayed around his narrow waist like a short cape of magnificence.

Those Arctic blue eyes fastened on her, unblinking, unreadable.

A face cut from marble, not a single imperfection in the sharp, severe angles.

A white button-down shirt open to the V of his chest, black pants fitted too perfectly to strong legs.

The very sight of him dried her mouth, set her body on fire, and sent her heart into a frenzy despite her encounter with Rich less than a half hour ago.

This male was one she should fear more than Rich. So much more.

Thaddeus defined lethal.

Yet all he produced in her was a vile frustration and sinful heat she refused to acknowledge. Not while bearing battle scars from a mortal version of this potential monster.

“ You .”

Thaddeus took one more step, then paused. A flat half-grin crept along the corner of his mouth as he folded his arms over his chest.

“Me.”