But what stood out through all of that and through my own confusion was how Elektra had made me feelwanted. I’d been the sole focus of her attention. She’d kidnapped me and brought me here because shewantedme sobadly, it just made sensein her mind to do that instead of introducing herself to me normally.
But to be honest, I wasn’t even sure if I would’ve given Elektra the time of day if she had. I was so used to being rejected, to being the one hurt, that I probably would’ve sent her on her way before she’d even had a chance to prove that she actually wantedme.
My own family hadn’t truly wanted me. But here she was—her sole focus being me. Even now, I bet she was sitting on that bed, staring at the closed bathroom door, waiting for me to come back to her.
My lips tilted up the tiniest bit, and my heart clenched in my chest.
This was probably wrong. Fucked up six ways to Sunday. I should probably be looking for a way to escape. A way to get in touch with the police and have her arrested.
But I wasn’t.
Because—and God help me for this—I wanted her, too. I wanted her fucked up attention. I wanted her sole focus to continue to be me. I wanted her so wrapped around me that she damn near suffocated me.
Sighing, I began to shampoo my hair. The decision was practically already made, even before I stepped into the shower. The moment Elektra touched me and revealed all that psychotic obsession for me burning beneath her skin, I already knew I was a goner. I was so desperate for someone to want me, to need me, that I was willing to let the most toxic individual I’d ever known have me.
And to be real, I wasn’t even ashamed of it. I wanted Elektra just as much. The mere thought of somehow ending this made me gasp for breath. Made me feel like my lungs weren’t working. In such a tiny amount of time, Elektra had sunk her claws so deep into me that trying to pull them out would leave me eviscerated. Shredded apart. Mere pieces of myself to scatter to the wind.
I knew without out a doubt that those pieces would still follow her.
Quickly, I finished my shower, then stepped out. A small smile tilted my lips when I saw Elektra had put clothes on the counter for me. The fact that she’d slipped in here to give me clothes and had slipped back out meant she was a keeper of her word. She’d promised me space while I showered, and she’d kept to that, even going so far as to make sure I didn’t hear her when she crept inside.
Falling for Elektra was inevitable. I just hoped she was ready to catch me and hold me when it happened so I didn’t crash and burn at her feet.
After getting dressed in the long-sleeve shirt and leggings that smelled like her—some kind of expensive, foreign perfume and her laundry detergent—I stepped out of the bathroom, using my towel to somewhat dry my hair. Elektra was sitting on the bed and frowning down at her phone, typing furiously away at it. But she looked up when I stepped a little further into the room, her phone long forgotten as she set it aside.
“Hey,” she said quietly. “You okay?”
I made my way to her, and she reached up to take my towel from me. With her other hand on my hip, she pulled me downto straddle her lap, and then, she began to towel-dry my hair for me, her brows furrowed in concentration.
“Did you mean it when you said I’m yours?” I quietly asked her, my heart in my throat. If she’d only said it in the heat of the moment and hadn’t actually meant it… well, I wasn’t sure if I could heal from the rejection. Not when she’d owned and claimed me as hers so wholly and effortlessly.
Her dark eyes met mine, and she nodded. “I never say things I don’t mean, Raine,” she told me, her voice solemn. “Why? What’s going through your head, little one?”
Fuck, I loved it when she called me that. Elektra and I were about the same size, but there was something about the way she carried herself that made her feel larger than me. Hell, she felt larger than life. Hearing her call me little one just… fit somehow.
“This is probably pure insanity on my part,” I began, drawing in a deep breath, “but I want this. With you. If you’ll…” I swallowed past the sudden lump in my throat. “If you’ll have me.” My voice sounded strangled to my own ears.
She dropped the towel to the floor, then laced her fingers in my wet, blonde tresses. I moaned when she tugged my head down to mold our lips together, the kiss hot and slow, tearing at my nervous system and making me so fucking weak for her.
“I told you there’s no escaping me,” she murmured against my mouth. “You and me, little one? We’re a done fucking deal.”
I smiled. Her eyes roamed over my face before she leaned in and pressed a kiss to the corner of my lips. “And I’ll own you for eternity if you just keep fucking smiling at me like that,” she breathed.
Epilogue
Elektra
I tightened my arms around Raine and burrowed my face in her hair, inhaling the sweet scent of coconut and sea breeze. Raine loved everything beachy, and the smell of her always made me feel like I was on some exotic beach with white sand between my toes and the ocean breeze blowing over my skin.
It’d been a year since I’d kidnapped her and made her mine. I’d always sort of feared she would try to leave me. That’d she come to her senses and realize how toxic we were together. But she was still here. She sought me out when she was feeling lost and unsure. I was the first person she called when she passed a test—not that I ever expected anything less from her. Gatlin was a brilliant guy, and he was the perfect tutor for her.
I’d even come to an agreement with him and Finn so Gatlin could keep tutoring Raine after we graduated in a few months. Because, unfortunately, Raine still had two more years of college after this semester was over. Thankfully, Finn and Gatlin weren’t planning on leaving the area, so Gatlin would be able to come toour apartment to continue tutoring her. She was doing so well under his teachings. I didn’t want her to have to find a new tutor and jeopardize how far she’d come.
The door to our studio apartment suddenly opened, and I shot up, my body immediately moving to protect Raine. But when I saw my mom standing there, I blew out a harsh breath and flopped back onto the bed, groaning. Raine sleepily moaned and rolled over, snuggling back into my side, completely unaware that my mom was here and had just barged into our apartment.
Probably had to do with us not going to dinner last night. Mom did her therapy sessions with me at our weekly dinner, and I hadn’t felt like going. In my defense, Raine had a headache, was needy, and didn’t feel like going anywhere, and fuck if I was going to deny her.
But I guessed I’d forgotten to text Mom that I wasn’t coming. Oops.
