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Chapter Eight
TARA
“INFLUENCER, MY ASS,” Tara scoffed as she continued to wrestle her wrists free from the confines of the cuffs.
But it was no use. The more she pulled, the tighter the grip seemed to get, and she found herself worse off than she had been before.
She reflected back to her life, just a few days ago. How naïve she’d been when she stupidly agreed to sign up for that dumb app. She knew she should’ve just stuck with her solemn stalking of her ex-husband, a hopeless romantic from afar, but Ashley just had to be so convincing, telling her to get a life. And look where that got her.
What happened to her? She used to have it all, and not because of her fame on social media. She used to be someone, a beauty queen, America’s sweetheart, the girl all the boys loved and all the girls wanted to be. She didn’t care about hooking up or fame. She didn’t care about what people thought of her or whether someone judged her. She had a mind of her own. She was smart. And that’s why Rowan fell in love with her.
But somewhere down the line, it just all vanished. She became more self-obsessed, more focused on strangers on the Internet than on her own husband. She became obsessed with wanting to be someone, with wanting to be seen, that she never stopped to realize how dangerous that could actually be. Maybe, just maybe, if she had remained a nobody, Declan would’ve never found her, and she wouldn’t be finding herself trapped in a man’s bedroom right now.
“I swear, if I ever get out of this, I’m swearing off men forever.”
The hunger pangs were really starting to kick in now, and she felt herself growing lightheaded. She stared down at the bowl of oats Declan had left for her, as dry and unappetizing as her attraction toward him. She couldn’t eat his food. If she did, she’d be reinforcing her dependence on him, and it’d be much harder to escape.
Tara still couldn’t understand how someone so handsome, so gorgeous, could turn out to be such a monster. What had hurt him in his past? Whatever it was, she didn’t have time to wait for him to tell her. She could be dead by then. There was only one way, only one way he’d let her go. The same way all men lost their inhibitions around a pretty face.
She kicked hard against the bed frame to catch his attention, using everything she had to force a smile on her lips. Minutes later, he walked in, just as she had expected. He still had on his oil-stained sweats and ripped T-shirt, his hair greasy, and his face beginning to break out. But still, beneath all the stains and dirt, he was still as handsome as handsome could get, and a part of her still wished he hadn’t turned out to be such a sociopath.
“Come here, Declan. I’m all yours, remember? Show me how you really feel about me.” As she spoke, she almost believed her words. The look on his face was so innocent, so vulnerable, just like it had been on that first night.
Declan nodded, his pants tightening, and his palms sweaty. He clenched his fists together and made his way over to Tara as she winced, unsure of whether he was able to see right through her. Tara reached an arm out and caressed the side of his face, slithering down toward his body and massaging his chest.
“I’m all yours,” she whispered before leaning up to kiss him on the lips.
She could feel his entire body shaking, like he wasn’t expecting such a change in behavior from his captive. And she didn’t blame him. It was odd that someone would go from being so cold and rash to engaging in the art of seduction.
She watched with anxiousness when she saw him slowly pull a key from out his back pocket, uncuffed her, picked her up by the waist, and carried her to bed. She could’ve tried to fight, bite him, scratch him, kick him as hard as she could, anything to get away. But given the size of his muscles and his protruding veins, she knew there was a slim chance she’d be able to escape far.
It also didn’t help that the size of his girth when he undressed himself made her swoon with lust. If he’d just been any other guy, the guy she thought she was meeting on that seemingly innocent app, she would’ve thought she’d have a chance at a relationship with him. The daily rituals of sex surely would’ve been a blessing.
As he climbed on top of her, dancing his bare body over hers and caressing her breasts with his lips and tongue, she moaned. His hands were so gentle and smooth, and they knew the exact places they had to be on her, starting from her chest down to her hips, and soon, she found his mouth in between her thighs. It wasn’t supposed to be so easy, so simple, but as he continued to explore her body, her anger toward him seemed to fade away.
And when he inserted himself inside her, she felt as though she’d found the missing piece of her puzzle, their bodies intertwined so well that she almost found herself falling in love with him. Almost. He moaned back as she nibbled on his ears and whispered sweet words of passion, driving him to the brink of ecstasy before he finished mere seconds later.
When Tara woke up an hour later, she found his arm draped around her bare breasts like a blanket. Her head was still spinning, and she wanted nothing more than to just lie back down and cuddle beside him.
“No!” she whispered loudly to herself, suddenly remembering where she was.
She looked down at her wrists. They were free. She looked down at her ankles. Nothing around them, either. Now was her chance. She carefully lifted his arm off from her body and slid over the side to roll off. She then quickly threw on the first T-shirt she could find, his, and tiptoed toward the door. But when she got there, she stopped, turned her head, and looked back at the man sleeping soundly in bed. She didn’t know why, but the guilt of betraying him began to build up inside her, and she almost felt like she was committing a crime by leaving.
But when she looked down at the cuts and bruises on her wrists from when she tried to break free from his confines, her senses began coming back. She was his captive. And he was clearly psychologically insane. It was crazy to think that anything more than a death sentence could come out of this relationship.
When she finally got to the front door, she looked back and paused once again, almost stepping back inside, when she heard a loud thump on the wall, followed by Declan, charging at her like a raging bull. She slammed the door shut behind her and started to run. He was much taller and much faster than her, and her heart pounded harder and harder in her chest, afraid for her life and regretting having looked back. She bolted down the cul-de-sac and turned the nearest corner, her eyes focused on the woods in front of her. If she could make it there, maybe she’d be able to hide behind some trees to lose him.
But before she could, she bumped into a familiar face. Deb. The girl from the club. The girl who warned Tara about Declan.
“You!” Tara exclaimed.
“Hey, you’re that girl. I know you. Fancy running into you here.”
Tara had so many questions, so many explanations, so many things she wanted to say, but when the growls behind her came closer, none of that mattered anymore.
“Run! He’s coming! Run!” she screamed, trying to pull loose from Debbie’s grip. “What are you doing? Let me go! Let me go!”
“Declan, stop!” Debbie said sternly as he approached closer to them.
