She was perfect, and exactly what he wanted.
At eighteen years old, she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. She was of medium build, slender, with dark hair that glinted red in the sun. Her skin was pale and smooth, and her eyes were large, blue pools that called to him. So beautiful. So innocent. So unbelievably fucking stubborn!
Pulling his cell phone from his pocket for what felt like the hundredth time in the space of ten minutes, Jack peered down at the face. Not a single new message. Fighting the desire to crush it within his hand, and smash it against the dashboard, he slipped the cell phone back into his pocket.
He had called her six times, and had sent a dozen text messages. All of which had been blatantly, and spitefully ignored. He was beginning to reach his breaking point. Three days of waiting, and all he had heard was silence. She wouldn't talk to him. She had completely shut him out. He couldn't take it anymore.
Giving her breathing room to calm down was proving to be ineffective. He was patiently waiting for her to come around, but it was starting to feel like that wasn't going to be the case. He didn't want to push his luck more than he already had, but after three days of waiting he was beginning to unravel.
The intensity of his longing was completely destroying him. He couldn't think straight. He couldn't breathe. He felt like he was going out of his mind. The desire to touch her, to feel her pressed against him again, was consuming him.
There wasn't a single thing about her that he didn't crave. Her sweet voice, her smile, her laughter. The way that she would look up at him with those beautiful blue eyes, and how he would become helplessly lost in them just before he would press his mouth to hers.
God, how he needed her.
He had never in his entire life needed someone the way that he needed her. It terrified the living hell out of him. He felt like he couldn't function without her. She had to forgive him. He didn't know what he was going to do if she wouldn't. He couldn't go on like this much longer.
Glancing towards the passenger seat, he grimaced as he looked at the envelope that rested there. It was the cause of all his strife. Snatching it up with his fingers, he peered down at the label.
Attn: Jack Strauss
Strauss Construction Inc.
812 Gibbon Street
South Burlington, VT 05403
The paper crumpled within his fingers as his hand tightened around it. That wasn't how he had wanted her to learn his identity. It's not something he could have hidden from her indefinitely, but he had been hoping for more time. She had been warming to him, he could feel it. He had just needed a little bit more time.
He should have fought harder to make her stay with him. At least long enough to make her understand where it was that he had been coming from. She hadn't been willing to listen to a damn thing that he had said, and before he could even properly gather his thoughts, she had been gone.
It's why he now found himself lurking outside of her school again. If she refused to take his calls, if she refused to talk to him, then she hadn't really given him much of a choice. She couldn't evade him forever. Sooner or later she was going to have to listen to what it was that he had to say.
A long sigh escaped him as he lifted his fingers to pinch the bridge between his eyes. It did little to relieve the tension that was coursing through him. His chest felt tight, and his nerves were practically in shreds. He wasn't used to this barrage of emotional anxiety. It felt as if though someone had been sitting on his chest since he had rolled out of bed that morning, and he didn't relish the feeling. It was an entirely new experience for him. One that he wanted swiftly to end.
A low sound rumbled from deep within his throat, and then his entire frame jerked as his fist came out to smash into the center of the steering wheel. The collision of his knuckles against the column felt therapeutic. Releasing a snarl of anger, he slammed his fist into it again, and then again. His breath seethed from between his teeth, and then he lifted both of his hands to drag them through his dark hair in frustration.
Fuck! Why the fuck was she doing this to him? Was it a punishment? If it was a punishment, then he had learned his lesson. He would never withhold anything from her again. Not a damn thing. Wasn't there a statute of limitations on things like this? How long was she going to make him suffer?
It wasn't going to end like this. He wouldn't allow it. If she wouldn't talk to him, if she wouldn't listen to reason, then he would just have to make her. He had already abducted her once. There was absolutely nothing stopping him from doing it again.
She wanted to be stubborn? She didn't know what stubborn was. He would show her stubborn, and he had years of experience to back him up. Who the hell did she think she was dealing with? Some punk kid from her high school?
This whole thing was complete, and utter bullshit. Did she really think he was just going to sit around, idly twiddling his thumbs, while she treated him like he was some kind of leper? She had already forgiven him for so much worse. Why couldn't she just forgive him for this?
What he had done wasn't that horrible. He had just omitted the fact that her father happened to work for him, and that they sometimes went fishing together, and that sometimes they would grab a beer together after work. So... that he could subtly pump him for information about his daughter.
Jack grimaced. Once it was put into perspective like that, he reluctantly had to admit that she had a right to be angry with him. His actions had been downright deceitful, and if he were truly honest with himself, they bordered on disturbing. He had just been so desperate to know more about her. His fixation had been relentless, and he had just wanted a little bit more information.
Tilting his head back, he lightly banged it against the head rest of the seat while he searched his mind for a solution to his problem. When nothing immediately came to him, his rib cage slowly deflated as another sigh escaped him. He was going to have his work cut out for him when he tried to explain everything. That was, if she even bothered to hear him out.
Leaning forward, Jack reached for the pack of cigarettes that rested upon the dashboard. Pulling one from the box with his lips, his dark gaze darted towards the rear view mirror, and his entire frame grew still while his heart kicked violently within his chest.
As if he had the ability to conjure her from his thoughts alone, there she was, just as breath taking as ever. She was casually standing on the corner, watching the traffic pass while she waited to cross the street. When she finally stepped into the road a moment later, Jack pulled the cigarette from his mouth, and reached for the handle to get out of the car.
It took her a moment to notice his presence where he stood on the sidewalk, but when she lifted her head, her blue eyes widened, and her entire frame halted in surprise. Her reaction only served to wound him further, and a slight grimace hardened his features as he swiftly approached her.
When he reached her side, his wary gaze surveyed their surroundings to ensure that they weren't being observed before he finally looked down at her. His expression became pained as he searched her gaze.
"How long are you going to torture me like this?" he softly inquired.
Sam's lips parted, but words failed her while she stood captive beneath his reproachful scrutiny. Lowering her gaze to the sidewalk at her feet, a small frown creased her brow as she crossed her arms protectively in front of her. Her thoughts raced in an attempt to grasp onto a suitable reply, but when her chin lifted, her mouth trembled, and her voice wavered with an unmistakable tremor.
"What are you doing here, Jack?" she timidly inquired.
His dark eyes slowly roamed over her beautiful face as if he were permanently etching it to memory before he finally met her gaze.
"You haven't returned any of my calls. You gave me no other choice but to come here," he quietly stated. "You wouldn't talk to me. What was I supposed to do?"
Although his demeanor appeared calm, his dark eyes burned with an intensity that made Sam shiver internally. She felt as if she were being consumed by fire as she peered up at him, and her gaze quickly drifted away while she steadfastly avoided the scalding heat.
"I needed time to sort through all of this," she tried to explain. "It feels like I never have any time to think about anything, and I can't seem to think straight when you're around."
The admission brought a reluctant tilt to Jack's lips. "I can't seem to think straight when you're not around," he admitted with consternation. Taking in a deep breath, he let it out slowly. "I had to come. You ignored every single attempt I made to contact you. I don't handle it well when you do that to me. The silence was driving me crazy."
With a small nod, Sam's large, blue eyes flickered back to his for the briefest moment before she lowered them to study the tops of her tennis shoes. Her voice was noticeably strained when she finally replied. "Can we talk about this later? I'm going to be late for school."
Jack's mouth tightened in response. "When?" he demanded. "In another three days? In a week?" Reaching for her, he roughly snatched up her arms as his restraint began to crumble. "How long am I going to have to wait until you're willing to talk to me?" he grit out.
Startled by the impassioned outburst, Sam gasped as she was lifted so that only the toes of her tennis shoes touched the asphalt beneath her feet. Her large, blue eyes widened, and her breath caught when she saw the apparent anger that was reflected within his gaze.
"You're hurting me," she accused him weakly.
His face visibly blanched, and then his gaze dropped to where his hands were clutching onto her in desperation. His hold immediately gentled, and a ragged breath escaped him as his tortured eyes drifted closed. Lowering his head, he lightly rested his forehead against hers.
"Don't do this to me," he begged in an aching whisper. His dark gaze was focused on the ground at their feet as he uttered the words, but he slowly lifted it until it seemed like he was looking directly into her soul. Another gasp escaped Sam as she experienced the power of it at such close range. "Please, baby?" he pleaded. "Talk to me. I don't know how much more of this I can take."
Sam's airways felt constricted as she slowly shook her head. "You lied to me, Jack," she choked out. "You lied to my whole family in order to get what you wanted. How am I ever supposed to trust you after everything that you've done?"
Lifting his head, Jack grimaced in response to the accusation. His mouth parted, then quickly closed as several students passed them on the sidewalk where they stood. Sliding his fingers down the bare expanse of her arms, he reached for her hands, and pulled her with him to the side until they reached the grass embankment near the road. With only a thick tree to afford them the minimal amount of privacy, Jack drew her against the side of it in an attempt to seclude them as much as possible.
