Page 24 of Bound To Me

“It’s a bit chilly outside,” he said, holding up the blanket and reaching for my hand.

I took his hand, and he led me out the back door. We descended wooden stairs to a paved walkway. His backyard was even greener than the front; trees lined each side, and a small hill sloped down to vibrant succulents and a lemon tree. At the end of the walkway stood a wooden deck with a pergola overhead and a small wooden table surrounded by comfortable chairs. As we approached, I noticed an outdoor loveseat with two small matching chairs beside it.

“This is one of my favorite places to be. It’s so peaceful out here when everything else in the city feels so chaotic,” he said, settling onto the loveseat and pulling me down with him.

He draped the blanket over us as I sat cross-legged, one knee resting lightly on his leg. A tingle ran through my belly when his hand brushed over the inside of my thigh.

“It’s…it’s beautiful out here,” I murmured, almost too distracted by Elliott’s touch.

We fell into silence for a moment, and I closed my eyes, listening to the birds chirping and the leaves rustling in the trees above. At that moment, I felt peaceful, like I was exactly where I was meant to be. But then, Michael’s face crashed into my thoughts like a wrecking ball.

“You said you had family in New York?” I asked, trying to push away the intrusive thoughts and focusing on my first encounter with Elliott.

He took a sip of coffee before he spoke. “Actually, in Connecticut. My mom lives in New Haven. I grew up there. We moved from England when I was about ten or so,” he explained.

Of fucking course.I was getting involved with another rich boy?

“And no, I didn’t attend Yale. I wasn’t smart enough.” He laughed. “But my father was a professor there. My mom was a therapist before she retired. We made out okay, but we definitely didn’t live in the nicest neighborhood,” he went on.

Okay, this is better.

“Do you have siblings?” I asked curiously.

“Two sisters—twins. They’re twelve years younger than me. Katherine and Kennedy.” He smiled as he looked down at me; I could tell he thought fondly of them. “What about you? No, an only child, you said?”

He remembered. “Probably better that way,” I joked.

Elliott was quiet as he squeezed my thigh.

“It’s somehow easier to talk about Michael than my parents. I don’t remember them much,” I explained.

He looked down at me and his gaze sharpened.

“It’s weird to say his name; I called him Daddy. He was only ten years older than me but…he liked me calling him that.” I couldn’t believe how easy it was for me to talk about. “He would call me his sweet girl. Sweet Jackie. His little girl. I ate it up, of course.”

Elliott tensed. “Did you like calling him that?” he asked curiously.

I eyed him; I wondered what his dominant name of choice was.

“Yes,” I admitted.

I waited for him to offer information.

“I was wondering if it would be too weird for you to call me that, with the age difference and all. Now I know that’s probably not a good idea,” he observed.

I shook my head. “I would call you anything you wanted me to,” I breathed, the heat rising between my thighs.

Elliott’s expression suggested his mind was racing as he glanced down at me.

He hesitated before asking, “What more did you have to tell me?”

I turned my gaze across the yard, watching the trees rustling gently in the light wind.

“After Michael did all of that to me, I still begged him to stay. I tried to kill myself once I realized he was tiring of me,” I explained, my tone somehow emotionless. “I followed him on more than one occasion after he dumped me. I was…stalker level.” I looked up at Elliott, ashamed. “I was very fucking naive and very fucked up in the head.”

He placed his coffee on the table in front of us, then gently cupped my face and shook his head. “You were holding onto someone you thought you loved. There’s nothing to be ashamed of, Jacqueline. You put him behind bars through your own strength.”

I looked down, tears streaming down my face. “But I didn’t. That wasn’t me who put him behind bars. He kidnapped and tortured the woman he found after me. They wouldn’t even listen to my story. Not that I could tell it anyway.”

---