Temper Him by Caitlyn Dare

Chapter Twenty-Three

Kennedy

“Go look,” Conner says around a knowing smirk.

I climb off his lap and retrieve the box, butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

“Get over here, Lowe,” he adds.

“If that’s a ring, I’m out of here,” Shelbie grumbles, sending my heart in a tailspin.

Conner wouldn’t...

Although Cole did. I’ve heard Hadley say it doesn’t mean anything, but we all know she doesn’t take it off because secretly, she wants that.

She wants to be his.

“Relax, Shelb.” Conner lets out a nervous laugh. “It’s not a ring... yet.”

My eyes almost bug out, but then he pulls me down on his lap, capturing my lips in a passionate kiss.

“One day, K,” he whispers, his hand curling around the back of my neck, anchoring us together.

Shelbie fake retches and we both chuckle. “Sorry,” I say.

She waves me off. “At least one of us is getting some. So what’s in the box?”

I flip the lid, frowning. “It’s a... what is it?”

Conner plucks the key from the velvet cushion and grins. “This is the key to our future.”

“Okaaaay.” My brows furrow. “Still not following.”

“It’s the key to our brand-new camper. Well, brand new to us... it’s actually a heap of junk that I intend on restoring with Ace and G at the shop. But it’s ours.” He shrugs. “I thought we could take it cruising over the summer. Just you, me, and nothing but the open road.”

“You bought us a camper?”

Conner nods.

“Holy crap, that’s so cool,” Shelbie says, and I’m glad she’s answered him because I can’t find my voice.

A camper.

He bought us a camper.

“Babe, you’re looking at me like I’ve grown a second head.” It’s Conner’s turn to frown.

“I... a camper?”

“Yeah?” His eyes cloud with uncertainty. “I thought it would do us both good to get away from Sterling. Just the two of us... if you want to, I mean.”

“Yes,” I breathe, throwing my arms around his neck. “Yes, I want to.”

“She said yes!” Shelbie shrieks with amusement, and I flip her off over my shoulder.

“I can’t believe you did this.”

“Believe it.” Conner peppers my mouth with tiny kisses. “I want us to enjoy each other, K. I want us to heal.”

His words hit me right in the chest. He did this for me.

“I love you.” I squeeze tighter. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, babe. And after tomorrow, it’s just you, me, Betty, and the rest of our lives.”

“Betty?” I gawk at him.

“Yeah, our camper.”

“You named our camper Betty?” Soft laughter bubbles in my chest. He is such a goofball.

My goofball.

And I wouldn’t want him any other way.

* * *

“Oh my God, you can’t stop smiling.” Shelbie arches her brow as I walk her to the door.

“He’s just so...” I can’t even put into words how I feel about Conner.

“You’re so freaking lucky. Makes all this worth it.” Her expression falls. “Shit, that was a stupid thing to say. Me and my big—”

“Shelb, it’s fine. Besides, you’re right.” Knowing this will all be over soon and that I’ll be with Conner makes me feel like I can survive anything.

One more day.

I only have to get through one more day.

“You sure you don’t want me to stay?” Shelbie asks, lingering in the doorway.

“I told you already, I’ll be fine.” Besides, I don’t want her to be here if Warren comes back early. Who knows what kind of mood he’ll be in.

“So I’ll see you at the party tomorrow?”

Nervous energy zips through me. “Yeah, okay.”

“Hey, it’ll be okay.” She reaches for my hand and squeezes. “Just think of Betty.” Shelbie winks before skipping off down the gravel path. I watch her disappear into the darkness and then I close the door, sliding the deadbolt in place.

Conner only left an hour ago, but I already miss him. Part of me wants to leave now. To beg him to come get me and take me far away from here. But I know James Jagger has a plan, so I need to be patient.

One more day.

Trying to push all negative thoughts out of my head, I clean up the pizza boxes and empty cans of soda before switching off the lights and going to my room. Mitch must be staying over at Hilda’s, but—unsurprisingly—I feel safer in the trailer alone than I do when he’s here.

He knows how Warren treats me. He knows, and he’s never once tried to stop him. But I feel an immovable sense of sadness for him too. His wife is gone. He obviously never got over the heartache, and Warren as his son isn’t exactly a consolation prize.

I change into my pajamas and brush my teeth before combing out my hair and braiding it loosely over one shoulder. Then when I’m ready, I go to my drawer and pull out my toiletry bag. Hopefully Conner will still be awake. I want to tell him how much my gift meant.

But when I open up the bag and rummage inside, horror washes over me.

My cell phone is gone.

Fear snakes through me as I pull out the entire contents of the small bag. The rational part of my brain knows it’s gone, but the irrational part, the part trembling with terror, needs to be sure.

“Where the hell is it?” I mutter to myself, throwing myself on the floor to make sure it hasn’t fallen out in the drawer.

I’m so lost in the frenzy that I don’t hear the door open. I don’t see Warren looking over at me until it’s too late.

“Looking for something?” he snarls, his eyes pitch black.

“You took it.”

“Kennedy, baby, when are you going to learn?” He leans down and grabs my arm, wrenching me to my feet. Pain ricochets through my muscles, but I swallow the yelp in my throat.

“Do you think I’m an idiot?” His body cages mine against the wall, his warm, bitter breath fanning my face. “Do you think I didn’t know that you and that fuck Jagger have been sneaking around? I know everything, Kennedy. Every-fucking-thing. And you played right into my hands, baby.”

“Y-you set me up. You—"

He fists my hair, yanking me up until my body hangs in front of him, the tips of my toes scraping the carpet.

“W-Warren.” My fingers claw at his hand, trying to loosen his death grip on me.

“You’re tainted goods, baby. Why do you think I’ve been sticking it elsewhere?” He cups me roughly, scratching the skin there.

I bite down on my lip to stop myself from crying out. It hurts. But it’s nothing compared to what I know is coming.

“Why?” I finally cry out.

“Why?” he seethes. “WHY? Because James Jagger and his good for nothing sons deserve to know what it feels like to have everything ripped away from them.”

“W-wha—" Warren shoves me hard and I crumple to the floor, breaking my fall with my hands and knees.

“What do you—" He backhands me so hard my head feels like it snaps from my neck, agony shooting through my jaw and into my spine.

“I should do it now.” Crouching down, Warren runs a finger down my cheek, through the river of silent tears cascading down my face. “Shit, you look good like this, baby.” He grabs my hair again, holding me in place. “It’s a real shame to dirty you all up before your birthday, but you make me so fucking mad, Ken.”

“I-I’m sorry.” Survival mode kicks in. This time feels different. He’s unstable, anger swirling around him like a devastating storm. He wants my pain, my tears, and my blood.

He wants to make me hurt.

Only, I’m not sure I’ll survive if he unleashes hell on me tonight... and I don’t mean metaphorically.

One more day.

That’s all I had to get through. But he knew. All along Warren knew, and he waited, biding his time until this moment.

He tsks, spittle flying into my face. “You’re not sorry, you’re just scared, aren’t you, baby? I could squeeze the life out of you right now,” his fingers wrap around my throat, “and nobody would know. Jagger thinks you’re safe and sound enjoying girls night with that dumb bitch Shelbie, Mitch is getting his dick sucked nice and deep by Hilda, and Daddy Jagger thinks you’re strong enough to take whatever I have to give. I mean, why else would he have sent you back to me? He can’t care about you that much, can he? If he’s willing to sacrifice you for his beloved sons.”

He shoves me again, and I land sprawled over the bed. Warren closes in behind me, pressing the length of his body up against mine. When I feel his hardness at my back, I almost puke. I can’t go through this again.

I can’t.

If he takes me like this, so angered and volatile, I won’t survive. My body might, but my heart will be shattered into irreparable pieces.

Intrusive fingers dance up my inner thigh, grazing my pussy. I clamp my legs together, trying to force him out. I’d rather take the physical beating than let him rape me.

“Don’t play hard to get, baby. You gave Jagger your greedy little pussy without putting up a fight. It seems only fair I get a taste too.”

Bile washes in my stomach.

But I can’t give up.

One more day.

I only have to get through one more day.

“I won’t let you do this, Warren,” I say over my shoulder, trying to disguise the tremor in my voice.

“You think you can stop me.” His fist flies toward me and for a second, I think I must be dreaming. That this is all some nightmare I’ll wake up from. But the crunch of bone on bone, the flash of sheer agony radiating through my eye socket, tells me otherwise.

This is real.

And there’s no escaping.

* * *

“What do you mean, you can’t come over to get ready?” I can practically hear Shelbie’s pout over the line.

It’s almost noon on Saturday. My eighteenth birthday. The day I’m supposed to be celebrating. For more reasons than one.

But it’s impossible to feel anything but bone-deep dread as Warren watches me like a hawk from the couch.

After his tirade last night, he left me cold and alone on the bed. I could barely move, every inch of me sore and tender.

I fell asleep in the same position he abandoned me. When I woke up some hours later, there was a glass of water and some pain pills on the nightstand, but no apology.

We’ve crossed a line. I feel it hanging in the air like a storm on the horizon. I need to warn Conner, but Warren hasn’t let me out of his sight.

“I... Warren wants to take me for dinner first. He’s got the whole thing planned.”

“Did something happen?” she whispers.

“Yeah, he says it’s a surprise.” I reel off the words like a well-rehearsed script. Part of me wants her to figure it out, but the other part is too scared about what might happen if she does. “So we’ll see you there,” I add with as much conviction as I can muster.

“Kenny, if something happened, you can tell me... give me a sign or something and I’ll—"

“Yeah, okay. See you later... Bye.”

Hanging up is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but I don’t know what else to do. As long as Warren is here with me, he isn’t out looking for Conner.

Although I can’t help but think he’s lying in wait for the real showdown...

My birthday party.