39Chapter Nine: A Lesson Learned?
Adelynn stared back at Cainneach with wide eyes. What was he thinking?!
She wasn't his, as if she was something to be owned! There was no lesson to be learned! And since she wasn't his, he needed to stop being so damn possessive of her!
Despite her indignation, however, she made no move to contradict his apparent threat. Instead, she narrowed her eyes in a silent challenge, as if daring him to continue.
Seeing her silent act of defiance he growled, taking to steps to push her up against the wall. Trapping her against it with his chest, he sensuously slid his hands down her shoulders to her hands, twining his fingers with hers in a tender manner.
The moment Adelynn began to relax against him Cainneach abandoned the act, snarling as he roughly pulled her arms up above her and pinned them there to the wall.
Adelynn immediately began to struggle against him, trying to jerk her hands free so she could push him away from her.
"Why does this keep on happening?! Get off of me!"
"No," he ground out, teeth clenched and a growl lacing his tone. "You need to learn your place. You are mine and nobody else will touch you. Hell, nobody should dare to even look at you like I do!"
Adelynn began shaking her head, plastering herself against the wall as best she could.
"I'm not—"
"No! You are mine, now shut up and let me finish!"
Somewhat cowed, she shrank back even further as he leaned closer to her face and continued his rant.
"I know you want to be independent, to do what you want when you want, but you can't! I won't let you! It's hard enough just letting you keep the privacy of your home, but tonight at the club you just took it too far. What if you'd been drugged again? What if I hadn't been there this time? Huh?! You-you…stupid!"
He cracked, a tear dripping down the side of his face ending his angry rage. Adelynn stood there, shocked at the true reason for this latest turn of events.
He was worried.
Instead of letting her see anything else to shatter his image of an indestructible, domineering brute Cainneach buried his head into her shoulder, letting out a deep sigh as he slumped forward a bit.
She tensed as they stood there, but after a minute or two of the silent serenity Adelynn began to relax. Upon feeling her stiffness melt away he growled, biting down harshly on her neck. Adelynn winced, but said nothing as she tensed up again, giving Cainneach only a sharp inhale when he kissed the place where he bit her.
"Don't think I'm letting you off the hook," he stated lowly, muffled slightly by her neck.
The longer he stood there with his face pressed into her neck, the more panicked she became. As her breath came quicker and her pulse skyrocketed Cainneach made a growl-like purr, the sound vibrating against her neck. He pressed even closer to her, taking pains to grind up against her as he began to suck on her neck, no doubt leaving a hickey as visible proof of the encounter.
Still making the strange rumbling Cainneach pulled his head away from her neck, inspecting his handiwork.
Adelynn stared at him a moment, but as he continued to stare at her neck she huffed, shaking her head to shift her hair over her shoulder, successfully hiding the mark from view.
Cainneach stopped everything to close his eyes with a deep sigh, bowing his head before snapping it back up to glare at Adelynn.
"Do you really want to be this way?"
"What way? All I was doing was shaking my head. You shoving me against the wall puts strain on my hair, you know."
As Adelynn flashed him a not-so-innocent smile Cainneach growled and pulled away, looking down at her once he straightened up.
Adelynn felt a surge of sorrow before an unnatural emptiness echoed in its place.
Cainneach sighed once more, steeling himself for what would happen next.
"So be it."
Adelynn lay across the couch, curled into the fetal position and staring blankly into the darkness.
Cainneach had left hours ago, but she couldn't bring herself to move. The events that had occurred played like a broken record in her head, repeating over and over in her mind's eye.
After his ominous statement he had dragged her to the couch, where he-he…she couldn't even think it, much less say it. It would make it all too real for her, and all she wanted to do was block it out.
While he may not have raped her, his blatant advances and unneeded roughness were domineering and she felt…degraded.
Used.
He claimed that it was a 'lesson,' but…
Adelynn sighed, shuddering as her eyes fluttered closed a moment before snapping back open. Closing her eyes just made everything worse, and after his snarled threat earlier, when she closed her eyes to try and block him out, she was terrified to do so again, as if he would reappear the moment she did so.
She shifted, clutching her disheveled, half-open top closer to her body just as the tears began again.
The echoing emptiness was still there. It was never once replaced with remorse, sorrow, anger, or lust.
It was just…empty. Dark.
And that was what hurt most of all.
He ran.
It was hours after the fiasco with Adelynn, but he just couldn't rid his mind of his remorse and the disgust for what he did.
"It was…needed," he had panted out earlier, but that thought never managed to sway him. He felt disgusting, monstrous.
He had hoped that running would tire him out enough to take his mind off of it all, but the quiet of the night only served to amplify and highlight every thought, every feeling. He remembered her smell, her taste…
Her tears.
They broke his heart, but what's done is done. However much he wished for it, he would never be able to turn back time.
Her sorrow augmented his own, and he wasn't sure if he could keep going. But he had to, for despite his actions, she still needed him, just like he needed her.
He reflected once more on his actions, his crude brutality and winced, his own personal torture beginning once more.
With his final statement by the wall, he had closed off his emotions to her, not wanting her to realize just how much it actually pained him to follow through with his implied threat.
He had grabbed her by the arms and swung her around, tossing her haphazardly onto the couch before moving forward and climbing over her, easily pinning her down with his sheer size. Capturing her lips, he kissed her roughly, no doubt bruising them in the process.
It was then her felt her tears, along with her overwhelming pain and fright.
He had pulled away, fighting the urge to wipe the tears away. He struggled to keep his emotions masked as well as keeping up the snarling, angry façade, but when he saw her eyes closed, trying to block him out, he broke.
"Eyes open, damn it, or so help me…"
She had quickly opened them again, a whimper escaping her as more tears fell.
He couldn't stop that snarl, for he feared that she was replacing him in her mind's eye, making the painful reality a pleasurable fantasy. It was a lesson to be learned, damn it, and he'd not let her forget that. And if she ended up crying out another's name, well, he didn't know what he'd do.
He wasn't proud of his actions, but he'd rather have her hate him for it that have her imagine someone else in his stead.
Caught up in his insecure anger he reached for her shirt, fumbling with the hem a moment before growling in frustration. With one hard tug he ripped the tank open, the thin material ripping easily.
Cainneach paused a moment, taking the time to look at the newly-exposed flesh before zeroing in on her bra. If he wasn't supposed to play the villain, he would have smiled at the cute superhero-patterned piece of clothing. Instead he roughly grabbed one breast, pawing at it as he turned his attention back to her neck.
Kissing down Adelynn's neck, he made sure to leave his mark before continuing down to her breasts. He took the cloth-covered tip of the breast not held in his hand into his mouth. Wetting the area with his tongue, he looked up at her tear-stained face, not really knowing what he wanted to see.
She was determinedly looking away from him, and he wanted to change that. He bit down slightly, causing her to jump, but she still refused to look at him.
Sighing, he abandoned her breasts in favor of wrapping his hands around her hips as his lips traveled down her torso, probably leaving livid fingerprints and bite marks in his wake.
As he dipped his tongue into her bellybutton he moved one hand to her pants, tracing the hem a moment before making a move to play with the button on them. She let out a muffled wail the moment he touched it and he stopped, instead moving his hand back to her hip as he moved up her body again to capture her lips.
Breaking apart a moment later, he moved to her ear and began tracing it with his tongue, taking her earlobe into his mouth and sucking on it a moment before pulling away slightly.
"So do you know just who you belong to?"
She remained silent, turning her head away from him as she continued to cry. His anger began to rise, and he reached for the button of her pants once more. The moment he touched the button she made a move to push him away, shuddering as she did so.
"Y-yes, I do!"
"Do what?"
"I-I know who I…belong to."
"And who is that?"
"You. I belong…to you."
Satisfied, Cainneach pulled away and got up off of the couch, making his way to the door. Reaching it, he glanced back at her.
"Make sure you remember it, love."
He left without another word, making sure to lock the door behind him and pocketing the key had snatched from her earlier.
Her sobs began the moment he closed the door, and no matter how badly he wanted to return and comfort her, he had no right to.
Especially after what he had just done.
And so he ran.