Less than Perfect

24. Dark Night {part one}

Chapter Twenty-four

Dark Night

Part One

"Please stop," Rachel pleaded, biting her lips to keep herself from screaming. "I'll do what you want—just please, Johnny, stop." She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the nausea that threatened to overcome her weak, aching body.

Chuckling, Johnny ran the blade covered in blood along her arm, not hard enough to pierce the skin but enough to prove a point. "If you insist," he murmured pleasantly, as if he hadn't been cutting her flesh, breaking her down both emotionally and physically. "Just remember, Rachel, I am the one who's in control here. Your fate rests in my hands."

She nodded, swallowed hard on the bile in her throat, and closed her eyes, fighting the urge to cry. It was there, trapped in Johnny's presence, under those circumstances, when she realized how much misery Skye must have really gone through—and all she wanted to do was cry. She was being tortured, slowly and surely, and the only way of escape was unattainable. She was trapped, as long as Johnny had her in his clutches, and part of her would never be the same.

"What do you need me to do?" she whispered, choking on the words. Her heart was pounding, arms stinging where Johnny had cut her, eyes watering from the pressures suffocating her. Please don't let him hurt Skye, she prayed silently, desperately trying not to show fear. Oh Skye, please forgive me. I wish there was something I could do to save us both.

"Nothing really." He stepped back, a cruel smile on his lips. "All I need you to do is cooperate. If you can do that, things will go quite well for you. But as you very well know, if you don't cooperate I'll have to punish you—and Skye—for your bad behavior." He chuckled. "I would do as I say if I were you."

She opened her eyes carefully, watched him as he crossed his arms, leaned his back against the wall, and stared her down, eyes dark and full of schemes. What kinds of schemes, Rachel did not want to imagine, much less understand. All she could do was hope that both she and Skye made it out of Johnny's clutches alive.

LATER THAT NIGHT, after changing from their wet clothing and filling Leah in on what they were up to, Skye and Jules lay together, nestled in warm blankets, bathed in each other's company.

Sighing, Skye buried herself in the crook of his neck. "I missed you."

He took a deep breath, and then said, ever so softly, "I missed you too. More than you even know."

A small smile crept up her lips. "Prove it." Tangled in his arms, she brought his face down to hers, kissed his lips softly, and whispered, "Show me just how much you missed me."

He grinned then, pulling her face in his hands. "Whatever you say, Trouble." He teased her at first, brushing his lips over hers, before he crushed his mouth against hers, bursts of energy shaking her core. She felt one of his hands sliding down along her arm, leaving chills in its wake, and couldn't help but shiver in anticipation. He proved it enough with one kiss, but she still wanted more. She couldn't bear the thought of him letting go yet. Not after everything they had been through.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close, while his hands moved her onto her back, rolling himself on top of her. Her breath hitched, giggles suppressed in her throat. She knotted her fingers in his hair as he kissed her, gently, carefully exploring her. One of his hands rested on her hip, the fingers teasing the skin underneath her shirt, while the other kept her face close to his.