the guests was paying me more attention than I guess was ...comfortable.’
She paused, ‘This is harder than I thought it might be ..’
‘You don’t have to...’
‘But I do Eric. I do.....’
She took another sip.
‘He got hold of me when I left the room. His fury scared me. He hauled me out of there and took me back to his house. When we were home he dragged me through to the restroom, took my birth control pills from the cabinet and threw them down the sink. He told me that I was to have his child as soon as possible. In his fury, he.....he.....raped me Eric.’
Her voice was calm now that she had put it into words.
She had never said it out loud, had choked back the words many times. Tom had been so angry he had lifted her through to the bedroom, thrown her on the bed, ripped her clothes from her and ....
She remembered her bewilderment and her protests. Tom turned into a crazed madman. She had tried to push him from her but he had taken her swiftly, possessing her body more as an act of ownership than of love. He lay with her after, her ruined clothes around them, pronouncing his love for her, covering her body to keep her warm. Kissing her, holding her close. All as if nothing had happened, the fury gone. She knew as she lay there that she had to leave him as soon as she could but it was only the night before her wedding that she found an opportunity to escape his watch. She had cried that night, silently into her pillow, as he lay sleeping beside her.
Eric pulled her gently to her feet and wrapped his arms round her and she welcomed his comforting touch.
‘You’re safe here with me Rachel. You’re safe with me,’ he whispered in her ear. And she believed him.
A feeling of calm blanketed her as she stood, held in his strong arms, perhaps the first time she had truly felt at peace since she had arrived back in Scotland.
She jumped when the phone rang.
‘I’d better get that.... ’
She walked over to pick up the phone, hesitated and then picked up the receiver.
‘Hello ?........Hello?.....’
She placed the phone down in its cradle again, a worried frown on her face.
‘I keep getting these damn silent calls. Probably sales... ’
‘Probably Rachel but I’d like it if you came back and stayed with Esme and me. Just to be safe.’
‘Thanks for the offer but..... I have to stand on my own two feet. I can’t keep running and hiding and ........well.. I keep telling myself that ... he’s a handsome man, a very wealthy man. Women were brazen about making an approach to him even when I was with him,’ she laughed, and added, ‘I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t spend much time going without, if you know what I mean. And anyway, it’s been such a long time I’ve been out of his life... over a year now. I hope that part of my life is over now.’
But she wasn’t convinced. Not quite yet.
She sat down at the table again and re-filled her cup, taking a deep breath.
Eric rubbed her shoulders and kissed her neck.
‘I’m still scared I guess......but it’s getting a little better every day.
‘I’m here for you Rachel. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.’
His voice was soft but his face was cold fury. He sat on the table beside her.
‘I’ll never let him come near you again. I make you that promise Rachel.’ His eyes were fiery, his black eyes deep and fathomless. In that moment Rachel could see the man inside the veneer of the gentle doctor; a strong man, fierce and determined. It scared her but also reassured her. She knew Eric was a man very capable of looking after himself and his family.
She could see him turning her revelation over in his m ind. His jaw clenched, the tension in his body visible.
‘Let me get changed and I’ll take you out to Ersay....let you see what a marine biologist does to make a living.’ She smiled encouragingly at him, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
‘ Sure.....OK.’ He was brooding, deep in thought.
She left him and went to
She paused, ‘This is harder than I thought it might be ..’
‘You don’t have to...’
‘But I do Eric. I do.....’
She took another sip.
‘He got hold of me when I left the room. His fury scared me. He hauled me out of there and took me back to his house. When we were home he dragged me through to the restroom, took my birth control pills from the cabinet and threw them down the sink. He told me that I was to have his child as soon as possible. In his fury, he.....he.....raped me Eric.’
Her voice was calm now that she had put it into words.
She had never said it out loud, had choked back the words many times. Tom had been so angry he had lifted her through to the bedroom, thrown her on the bed, ripped her clothes from her and ....
She remembered her bewilderment and her protests. Tom turned into a crazed madman. She had tried to push him from her but he had taken her swiftly, possessing her body more as an act of ownership than of love. He lay with her after, her ruined clothes around them, pronouncing his love for her, covering her body to keep her warm. Kissing her, holding her close. All as if nothing had happened, the fury gone. She knew as she lay there that she had to leave him as soon as she could but it was only the night before her wedding that she found an opportunity to escape his watch. She had cried that night, silently into her pillow, as he lay sleeping beside her.
Eric pulled her gently to her feet and wrapped his arms round her and she welcomed his comforting touch.
‘You’re safe here with me Rachel. You’re safe with me,’ he whispered in her ear. And she believed him.
A feeling of calm blanketed her as she stood, held in his strong arms, perhaps the first time she had truly felt at peace since she had arrived back in Scotland.
She jumped when the phone rang.
‘I’d better get that.... ’
She walked over to pick up the phone, hesitated and then picked up the receiver.
‘Hello ?........Hello?.....’
She placed the phone down in its cradle again, a worried frown on her face.
‘I keep getting these damn silent calls. Probably sales... ’
‘Probably Rachel but I’d like it if you came back and stayed with Esme and me. Just to be safe.’
‘Thanks for the offer but..... I have to stand on my own two feet. I can’t keep running and hiding and ........well.. I keep telling myself that ... he’s a handsome man, a very wealthy man. Women were brazen about making an approach to him even when I was with him,’ she laughed, and added, ‘I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t spend much time going without, if you know what I mean. And anyway, it’s been such a long time I’ve been out of his life... over a year now. I hope that part of my life is over now.’
But she wasn’t convinced. Not quite yet.
She sat down at the table again and re-filled her cup, taking a deep breath.
Eric rubbed her shoulders and kissed her neck.
‘I’m still scared I guess......but it’s getting a little better every day.
‘I’m here for you Rachel. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.’
His voice was soft but his face was cold fury. He sat on the table beside her.
‘I’ll never let him come near you again. I make you that promise Rachel.’ His eyes were fiery, his black eyes deep and fathomless. In that moment Rachel could see the man inside the veneer of the gentle doctor; a strong man, fierce and determined. It scared her but also reassured her. She knew Eric was a man very capable of looking after himself and his family.
She could see him turning her revelation over in his m ind. His jaw clenched, the tension in his body visible.
‘Let me get changed and I’ll take you out to Ersay....let you see what a marine biologist does to make a living.’ She smiled encouragingly at him, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
‘ Sure.....OK.’ He was brooding, deep in thought.
She left him and went to
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