Protecting Her Lost Soul

Chapter 22

The next few days pass by in a blur. My ribs are feeling better, I'm not so groggy. Today is New Year's Eve. My family go overboard with the party shenanigans. I help Mom prepare for the party. "Honey, the lights aren't straight."
    I mutter under my breath and do my best to make it straight. In all fairness I can't see from this angle. Once I have Mom's approval I get off the ladder. Best not to let Flynn catch me on a ladder.
     "Mommy, the lights are pretty," Miley points. They aren't even on yet but I imagine it's all overwhelming for her. She's had a terrible life since her parents died.
    "They are baby, let's get you some lunch shall we?" she nods and grabs my hand. I lead her back into the house and I take her to the counter and lift her up.
    I wince slightly but it's all good. "Sandwich okay baby?" she nods at me and I grab a plate from the cupboard. I start preparing her a ham and cheese sandwich.
    I add some crisps and make her some juice. I place it all on the table and she waits for me to help her down. She skips to the table and pulls herself onto the chair.
    She tucks right in and I smile at her. She's so happy. I go to the fridge and pull out a sausage roll and cram it into my mouth. This will do. I chew until it's all gone.
     Flynn and my brother have gone to the store to get some supplies. I think they drew the long straw. My mom is driving me insane.
      "Lee, I need you to help with the table decorations," speak of the devil.
"Yeah Mom, once Miley's finished I'll be there," she nods and heads outside. Trixie our maid is also helping and also Ruby. It's not like she hasn't got enough pair of hands.
The front door opens and I sigh with relief that the guys are home. They come in loaded with alcohol and pop it in the laundry room.
Once they return to the kitchen Flynn makes his way to me and I bite my lip. He's too good looking for his own good. He kisses my lips, "She's driving me insane," I mumble but feel better that he's here.
"Let's be fair, Ri, most people drive you insane," he says barely an inch away from my lips.
"The lights aren't straight, tables need to be perfectly lined, the stage needs to look out perfectly with the dancing area, I love her but it doesn't matter," I grumble.
He chuckles, Miley starts tapping my leg, "Mommy more pretty lights," she says excitedly. I smile down at her and slide off the counter essentially sliding down Flynn and he growls.
We spend the rest of the day helping Mom making everything perfect. What a big hype for bugger all.
I'm in my room with the door locked whilst the new year's party has started to get going. The garden looks spectacular. The noise of the party is traveling upstairs to my room. I'm showered, my hair curled and makeup done plus covering the bruising on my neck. It's just putting the dress on that Mom bought. What has she ordered now?
I open the dress bag and look at it. My mouth falls open. Christ, what is she trying to do to me? It's a floor-length red lace dress. Red? Can't be any worse than white, right? I take a breath and take it out the bag. I slide it over my head and it fits like a glove, it's rather snug. I look at my boobs and I groan. Why? They are hanging out of the dress. It's holding no support and I can't even wear a bra with it.
    I slide on the red panties and the red high-heeled shoes. I look at myself in the new mirror that is now housed in my room. I sigh, it's a v-neck dress with a slit down the leg. The slit goes a little high for my liking. It's a sexy dress, it's just not me. I walk out of my room and walk to the stairs. "Mom!" I yell. "Mother!"
    "What honey? Why aren't you coming down? We are all waiting for you so the party can start!"
    "What are you trying to do with this dress, Mom?! Are you trying to get someone to impregnate me!"
    "Really? Maybe I should inspect this dress in private first," I hear Flynn say. "Ow!"
    "Honey, just come down, I'm sure it looks lovely," Mom calls up the stairs. I sigh and start walking down the stairs. As I come into view, they stare at me. Some even let their jaws drop.
   "Stop staring or I'll go upstairs and take it off," I whine. I stop and they all recover themselves. Flynn jogs up the stairs to meet me so I don't back out.
    "You look breathtaking but it should come with a health warning. I'm not sure what your Mom's motive is with this dress," he says into my ear. He places his burning hand on my naked back and escorts me down the stairs.
   "Oh honey, you look beautiful," Mom gushes.
   "Enough of that," I mutter. "Can we go?" I hate being stared at like this. I walk to Ruby and she's in a beautiful navy-blue dress. The colour really suits her. "You look beautiful," I say to Ruby and she blushes. Miley jumps into my arms, she's in a cute red dress too. Was that coincidence?
   "So do you," she says. I roll my eyes, I hate the attention on me. Flynn takes my hand and we follow behind Mom and Dad. We walk towards the garden and Mom and Dad walk out on stage and everyone claps for them. I have no idea why we have to make such a grand entrance.
   "Stop worrying," Flynn whispers into my ear.
   "I don't like these damn grand reveal shit. I'm a nobody," I whisper so he can hear me and not Miley.
   "Pfft, you aren't a nobody. You're everything."
   "Thank you for coming everyone," Dad says on the mic system. "It's been a tough year for my family but I believe we've just started to pull through and we are glad to celebrate the new year with you all. We have a few new family members this year. Although they don't tie us together by blood they are family all the same.
    "Princess, would you come out please?" I sigh as Flynn pulls me outside to the stage. He helps me up the steps and then we stand by Mom and Dad. "Riley has had a tough year but she's come out the other end. This is Flynn, her boyfriend, and our son. He saved my daughter more times than I can count. He has earned his place in our family. This little one is Miley, Flynn's sister but more importantly Riley's daughter. She adopted her and she's a much-loved member of the family. She's a bit shy until she knows you."
    I take a peek at the crowd and obviously, they are all faces from my childhood. They are listening intently to my life. I hate this little show. Flynn puts his arm around us and kisses my temple. "Son?" Dad says and we see Tyler and Ruby walk out. "Tyler's girlfriend Ruby. He struck gold with this one, he normally goes for dumb-dumbs." The crowd laughs and Tyler glares at Dad, "Sorry son, it's true. Anyway, we hope you enjoy tonight and that the new year is everything you hope for. I know mine will be with my family around me. Cheers," he says and the crowd claps and I hastily walk off the stage now that's over. Can't even drink the night away. Miley continues to cling to me.
    "Ri!" Flynn calls after me, "Ri," I sigh and stop to face him. "What's wrong?"
    "They all know me, they all remember one thing. And this dress, well it's revealing," I sigh.
Someone pulls at my dress and I look down to see Charlie the kid from down the street tugging my dress for attention. "Pretty girl," he says. I kneel on the floor so I'm his height. I'd say he was around the same age as Miley.
    "Hey you, look at you, you look so handsome, Charlie, remember my name is Riley," I say softly and he grins at me.
    "Still pretty," he smiles. "Can I play with your daughter?" I hear Flynn growl and I laugh. Overprotective of his sister too I see. "What's your name?" he asks her.
    "Miley is a bit shy Charlie, you'll have to ask her," I reassure him.
    "Hi, Miley, I'm Charlie. You want to play tag with me?" Miley clings tighter to me. "Does she not like me?" he says disappointed.
    "I'm sure it's not that. Honey, can you say hi to Charlie?"
    "No, Mommy," she whispers to me.
    "Charlie wants to play with you, you'll be nice and look after her won't you, Honey?"
    "Sure, come on Miley," he holds his hand out to her and she peeks at his hand.
    "It's okay, I'll be here all the time. Uncle Tyler is over there," I point to him. "And Nana is over there," I point to her. "We are all here honey, have fun." She nods and takes Charlie's hand. I place her on her feet.
    "Bye, thank you, pretty girl," Charlie says and pulls a willing Miley with him. I stand up straight and watch them from a distance. Flynn puts his arm around me and his lips touch my temple as I continue to watch my child.
    "Even the kid knows you're pretty," he says, and his minty breath fans across my face. "Ri, they will be fine. As long as the kid keeps his hands to himself that is."
    "Flynn, he's a kid for god sake. He won't even know what it means."
    "Know what, what means?" his hand skims up my bare leg and I gasp. "This dress has its advantages, I'll be peeling this dress off you later." He keeps his lips on the side of my face as he embraces me into his arms. He starts swaying us to the music. His hand resting on the top of my backside. "You're right, you know?"
      "What?" I gasp. I'm too busy caught up in his spell to know what he means. It feels as though it's just him and me under the moon with the garden lights. He has made me forget the town around us.
      "If I could, I'd be impregnating you. This dress really is dangerous."
      "Stop it," I joke. "You'll get your chance to fuck me later."
      "No, I'll be making love to you. We don't fuck anymore, baby," I roll my eyes.
      "May I cut in?" Dad says and we both look at him. "Come on son, one dance with my daughter, that's all I'm asking." He sighs and releases me, I walk into Dad's embrace, "Go find Abigail, I'm sure she will love a dance," Dad says to Flynn and he nods. Dad starts to dance and there is nothing I can do apart from follow. As their children we know how to dance, doesn't mean this is my preferred method of dancing. "I'm so proud of you Princess."
     "Dad," I protest.
     "What? I am, you are so strong. You have met a great young man to look after you. You're a brilliant Mother. I just wish you'd accept the money that is yours, you don't need to work. You don't need to pay any bills."
     "Dad, I need to support myself."
     "Support yourself with your hotel. It's yours, just accept it. The money is only building up, it's useless just sitting there."
     "Dad, it's not my money. The only way it would be mine is if I bought it from you. Only then would it feel like mine. I did nothing to earn it."
      "What about Miley? Huh? What if she needs it."
     "She will want for nothing," I sigh. "I'll leave her the money."
     "You are so stubborn. Well, thank you for the dance, princess," he kisses my forehead and leaves me. I'm soon accosted by the handsome doctor.
     "Nice to see you again, Riley. How are you feeling now?"
     "Better I'm not so drowsy," I shrug.
     "Can I have a dance? Will your boyfriend allow that?" he grins.
     I hold my hands out to accept, "Doubtful but he's unlikely to cause too much of a scene. I think you're safe," I giggle but soon stop. He holds my hand and hip and we continue to dance. He smiles down at me and I look away, this seems a bit too intimate for patient doctor. He hasn't asked me to dance before.
     "You think I'm safe? That's reassuring," we laugh again before I groan. "You need to stop doing that," he scolds playfully. "Is the bruising coming out yet?"
    "Dunno, I don't look at it. I just cover it," I shrug.
     "You need to keep an eye on it, Riley," he insists.
    "Alec, are you not off duty? Can you not just dance with me?"
    "Sure, Riley, I can do that," he dips me suddenly and I squeal.
    "Alec," I whine as my head is upside down. He brings me back up to him and pulls me closer to his body and I feel awkward. He looks into my eyes and I look away. He cups my face and my heart stops.
    "Sis, can I have a dance?" Tyler says and I sigh with relief. "You don't mind, do you?" he says to Alec. Alec moves away from me and nods.
    "I'll catch you later for another dance," Alec says and walks off. Tyler brings me into his hold and dances me to the other side of the garden.
    "Do you have a death wish?"
    I rest my cheek on his shoulder as he sways us. I look out into the crowd and I see Miley laughing and running around with Charlie. "No, but he obviously did. Thank you for being a good big brother."
    "Why didn't you push him away?"
    "Because I always freeze. It's wired into my brain, to respond that way," I hug him and shut my eyes as we dance to the music.
    "He was literally ready to kill him," he admits.
    "Why am I not surprised?"
    "You need to be more careful, Mom will go ape shit if he causes a scene tonight," I nod. He releases me once the song is finished. "I had better go find my girl," I nod and he walks away from me.
     "Riley?" I turn to see Ezra. "Can I have a dance?" Man, I'm going to be exhausted if people keep asking me to dance.
    "Sure," I say and he hesitates. He doesn't know where to hold and it's like he's patting my body. I roll my eyes and settle his hand on my hip. So embarrassing! I take the lead as he keeps nearly treading on my feet.
     "You look beautiful," he blushes. Be nice, Riley! It's not his fault.
     "Thank you," I smile and he blushes again.
    "I heard about James, are you okay?"
    "Sure, tough as old boots me, will take more than that to get me down," he nods.
    "At least your throat sounds better," he smiles.
    "Sure, I mean it still hurts but yeah, at least I can talk okay now."
    "Good," he says. The song finishes and he steps away from me, "I had better find my sister for a dance, she's annoyed your brother has found a girl," I laugh and nod. I wave and my waving hand is taken and I'm pulled into another body. I sigh.
     "Oh, that's charming, Darlin'," Ricardo says. I put my hand on his shoulder and he takes my hip. "Your ass is actually distracting me, Darlin'," I laugh and he slides his hand down to my backside and I swat his hand away.
    "Do you have a death wish? Flynn will literally kill you," I insist.
    "Ahh, Darlin', I have a theory about that, see. You said he'd kill me last time, yet, I'm still here with his girl in my arms. I don't think he's as dangerous as you say," I roll my eyes. I hold my hand up to reveal the healing scar on my arm.
     "Oh, you think so? This is what his girl gets when she's in the crossfire of a cocky twat that nearly killed me. He's probably using a lot of self-control right now letting people dance with me."
       He grabs my arm to inspect the scar, "He hurt you?"
      "It was an accident, I was drunk, I tried to stop him from hurting someone," Ricardo shakes his head and pulls me into his arms again, and starts dancing.
     "No guy should harm a girl," he whispers.
     "Ric, it was an accident. He literally stayed away from me for ages in fear that he'd hurt me. He protects me more than he's ever hurt me. Without him, I'd be dead."
     "Hmm, I like that nickname Darlin'," he spins me around and pulls me back to his body so I'm facing away from him. I feel burning eyes on me and I frown when he's dancing with Bella. In fact, I literally scowl.
      "Oh dear, you aren't jealous? Are you darlin'?" he must have seen what I'm looking at.
     "Maybe I am," I growl.
     "Let me help you with that then," he whispers into my ear. He holds my hips and he makes me swing them. One of his hands travels up my body to my boob and I freeze. "Ha, there you go, you have his attention now," I push his hand off my boob before Flynn goes on a rampage. Tyler blocks his path to us. I turn and I kiss his cheek.
      "Thanking you," I curtesy and I walk away from him. He laughs and I walk to the back door and up the stairs and into Flynn's bedroom. I leave the door open and as if on cue he walks in.
      "What the fuck was that? Did you want me to beat his ass?" he shuts the door behind him.
      "Nope, however, I wanted to beat hers," I shrug.
      "You did this because you're jealous? Ri, you're my girlfriend, you are the one that's been dancing with all those guys. I've kept my distance so you could enjoy tonight."
     "I never asked them! I did it to be polite, in fact, it was getting rather tiresome. I'm a crap host!"
     "Oh, I don't think so," he walks towards me and slides his hand up my bare leg again. "You were courteous dancing with them all. You were brilliant with the kid, the frigid didn't know how to touch you so you had to guide him. Ricardo looked in heaven. I could go on," he smirks. He moves his hand to the apex of my thighs and I gasp. "I don't think I can wait until later," he whispers into my ear.
     "Flynn," I sigh.
     "What?" his breath fans across my face. His breathing has already hitched and I'm quickly following. "Tell me to stop," I sense his grin against my ear. Why does he do this to me? He knows I can't stop him and well, I don't want to stop him. He hastily grabs my hips and lifts me up and tosses me on the bed and I squeal.
       I perch on my elbows behind me as I admire him. Although he looks hot in a black suit and red tie, I still miss his usual attire. He shrugs off the jacket and kicks off his shoes. He climbs on the bed but doesn't take his eyes off me. He sits back on his heels to undo his tie. Once he's removed the tie he crawls over me and sits astride me with his knees on either side of me. "Hands," he commands and I bring them in front of my body and hold my wrists together. He secures my wrists with the tie and then hastily moves my arms above my head and ties them to the headboard.
     When I'm secured he slides down my body between my legs and he slides his hands up the side of both legs to the back of my knees and I groan. His hands alone do all kinds of things to my body. He shifts me further down the bed so the restraints are tight. He starts hitching my dress up my legs touching whatever skin he can on the way causing goosebumps on my skin. "Flynn," I whine.
      "Now, I know you're not begging me so soon. This isn't going to be quick baby, not by any means."
     "But—" he cuts me off with his finger over my lips before I can carry on.
     "You've been off limits for days. If you think this is going to end too soon then you've got another thing coming. I need to reclaim every inch of what is mine. All those guys touching what is mine. I need to show you where making me jealous gets you."
      I hum my reply hoping he's going to be generous and not cruel. He's rarely punished me that way, he's normally encouraged me to tease because the outcome is so rewarding. He continues to hitch my dress up over my hips. I lift my hips assisting him, he continues over my breast and the dress rests over my arms. He carefully covers my eyes but leaves my nose and mouth uncovered.
       His hands skim across my neck causing me to pull against the tie. He continues to skim down to my collarbone, to my breasts. I arch my back to welcome him but he continues his teasing touch down to my hips. Man, has he ever been so slow? His hands caress my skin until he gets to my mid thighs and he suddenly pushes my thighs apart and grips them open. Even if I wanted to clamp my legs shut I couldn't.
      "Hmm, these are sexy," he growls. His hands reach to my panties and he starts nimbly sliding them down, "As sexy as they are, we don't need them." I arch my back again pulling on the restraints trying to get some sort of release. His words and his delicate touch are doing crazy things to my body. I no longer feel my panties or his hands on my skin for many moments. I squirm waiting for his burning touch to return.
      "Flynn," I beg.
     "Missing my touch already? Well, I'm not sure you deserve it, baby," I grumble pulling against the restraints. "You let him touch what was mine," he cups the same boob that Ricardo did. "You had no reason to be jealous, yet you played those games," he removes his hand from my boob and I whimper. "How many times do I have to show you that I only want you?"
      "Flynn please," I squirm again. I sense his smirk.
      "Shh, before I gag you," he kisses my lips. I jump when I hear a knock at the door. "Fucking hell, what bad timing. Stay here and keep quiet," he pecks my lips again. Like I can go anywhere anyway. I feel him climb off the bed and hear him walk across the room and I hear the door open. "Bro? Can I help you?"
      "Mom has noticed your absence. She's put a lot of effort into this and she wants us all to make an effort."
       "Who said I wasn't making an effort?"
       "Bro, food will be served soon. Just make sure you come down soon. Where's my sister?"
       "Well, she's a bit tied up right now," I hear the grin in his voice.
       "Fucking hell, bro! You need to get the fuck down here," Tyler growls and I hear a bit of commotion. Almost as if the door is being pushed and pulled.
      "I promise, I'll be down soon. I just need to teach your sister that it's not okay to make me jealous. Trust me, you do not want to see the way your sister is tied up right now. Completely at my mercy."
       "That is actually gross, if you aren't down there in twenty minutes I'm dragging your ass down there."
      "Can we make that thirty? Then I'm all yours. I just don't think that time frame is long enough. Don't forget how stubborn your sister is."
        Tyler groans loudly, "Fine, thirty minutes not a second longer," I hear the door close and then shortly after the bed dips.
     "Thirty minutes to do as I please to your beautiful body baby girl," I bite my lip in anticipation. I jolt as his fingers touch my hip. "So responsive, so mine."
      "Flynn," his fingers on my lips silence me again.
      "Shhh, I've got you. I've always got you. No one can have you like I have you," his fingers skim from my lips down to my neck all the way down to my boobs. I moan as his fingers tease my nipples. I can't handle this torture for much longer. "I want to hear you baby."
His lips attend to my other nipple. I pull on the restraints wanting to touch him. I hate not seeing him or being able to touch him. The bed moves again and his fingers and mouth disappear from my body. "Say it," he demands. What am I saying? "Say you are mine."
        "I'm yours, Flynn. Please!" I flex my hips and his hands pin me back to the bed. I'll always be his. There's no doubt in my mind.