from Pain to Pleasure (Gainesville Book 1) Read online

  “There’s always time for cumming. I’ll be fast.” Alex rolled them, so she was on her belly and held her shoulders. His strokes came faster and got more intense. “Goddamn, Danielle.” He moaned loudly.

  She was shocked she could orgasm from semi-forceful sex. Her body trembled, and her hands balled into fists. “Alex…” she called to him, filled with pleasure.

  “Babe, oh fuck…” He closed his eyes. Why is sex so much better with her? He grabbed the end of the bed and slammed his hips into her harder. “Danielle… God… Danielle…”

  Danielle cried out. Ecstasy surged throughout her entire body. “Alex… Alex… Alex…” She tensed while her back arched. Her pussy clenched hard, and she couldn’t stop it.

  “I’m cumming…” Alex groaned loudly. Then he sighed with relief. As soon as he could think, his mouth dropped open. “Oh, shit! I came in you!” He pulled out fast. “Oh God. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I just… I just had to have you. I’m sorry.”

  She lay there, in tears. “It’s too late.” Her tears were not only from the accident. Too much had piled up inside. She felt as if she was about to break.

  “No, it’s not.” He turned her over and hugged her. “After class, I’ll take you to the clinic. We can get the morning-after pill, so you won’t get pregnant. I’m sorry.”

  “OK.” Danielle clung to him, only slightly reassured. She closed her eyes, her head on his shoulder. “Don’t tell Marie.”

  “I won’t.”

  Danielle pulled away and fixed her clothes. Then she walked to her dresser and opened the middle drawer. Her hand went up to her head. It pounded even more with the added stress.

  Alex got up and touched her face. “You look like you have a headache.”

  “I do,” she admitted.

  He held her from behind and ran a hand through her hair. “Do we have enough time for a massage? That always helps you.”

  She turned and looked at her clock. “Maybe.”

  Marie suddenly walked in. “My, my, what do we have here?” She quickly closed the door behind her and scanned Alex’s naked body. She wished he faced her. “Nice ass, Alex.”

  He hugged Danielle closer. “Uh, hi, Marie. Um, we were just…”

  “Fucking, huh?” She smirked. “I heard you. We both did.” She bit her lip and thought about their cries that had come through the wall. “Don’t mind me. Go ahead and get dressed.” She stood several feet away and waited for him to make a move.

  Alex reached into Danielle’s drawer and grabbed a T-shirt. Then he held it over his crotch while he went to his clothes. His face was red as he pulled on his jeans while he tried to hide his crotch. If it had been any other girl and Danielle wasn’t there, he wouldn’t care.

  “You’re no fun.” Marie frowned. She opened her own dresser drawers to take out clothes for the day. Then she left the room to take a shower.

  Alex sat on Danielle’s bed. “Come here, babe. Let me help you with the headache.” He was surprised the powerful orgasms hadn’t chased it away. Maybe it’s a stubborn one.

  Danielle was grateful he offered. She slowly walked back to her bed. Then she let Alex take her top off and help her lie down. His hands soon rubbed her back. She involuntarily gave him cues to where it hurt the most. He followed her unintentional lead, and her headache finally lessened.

  When Alex had massaged as much of her body as he could, he asked, “Is it better?” He kissed the skin of her back up and down as he waited for a response.

  Still rattled about their accident, Danielle had trouble thinking. “Yes.”

  Alex ran his hands over her back lovingly. “Your skin is so soft.” He traced her scars, slowly. “I love everything about you.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Come on. We gotta get ready.”

  * * *

  As soon as Danielle’s last class ended, she walked toward the Computer Science building. Alex had his last class there, and it always ran late. She was shocked to see him after only a few feet. He looked stressed and worried.

  Alex was all that, and angry with himself as well. He had beaten himself up all day for his carelessness. His hormones had gotten the best of him. How could I do that to her? She wasn’t just anyone. She was everything to him. Maybe I should talk to her about birth control.

  “I’m so sorry,” Alex blurted out when he reached her. He took her in his arms. “I never meant to put you through this.”

  Danielle shuddered when she thought of why he was sorry. If she had gotten pregnant, Brian would know for sure she cheated on him. It wasn’t all Alex’s fault. She should have known he didn’t wear a condom. I need to get on the pill or something. Brian didn’t like the weight gain side effect, so he forbade it. She shivered.

  “We have to go.” She was anxious that time was of the essence.

  Alex ran his fingers through her hair. “I called the clinic. They can give the pills to you. I’ll pay for everything.”

  She suddenly realized people could see them together and pulled away. “Diego might see us.” She looked down and walked in the direction of the clinic.

  Alex followed a few feet behind her. He was scared his mistake would end their relationship altogether. If she freaked out enough, that might happen. Or worse. What if Brian finds out and retaliates? He was sure Brian couldn’t get into her medical records, but if someone at the clinic knew him, that could be a problem. Damn, now I sound as paranoid as her!

  When they called Danielle’s name, Alex took her hand and followed her into the back. He anxiously stood by while Danielle went through a few precursory tests. She reached for his hand when they pricked her finger. He had no idea they needed so much just to get a few pills.

  “Wait in here while we get the results,” a nurse told them while she led them into an exam room.

  Danielle sat on the exam table, but Alex paced. He couldn’t sit still. His father and brothers had taught him that it took only one accident to get a girl pregnant. Nathan, his closest brother, had twin girls because of an accidental pregnancy. At least Alex realized his mistake before it was too late. I’m never fucking up again.

  “Alex. Please relax,” Danielle called to him. “You’re making me nervous.”

  He sighed and moved to stand between her open legs. “I’m sorry. I’m usually so careful. I have no idea how I could’ve forgotten a condom.” He hugged her, tightly. “I won’t fuck up again. I swear.” He closed his eyes and tried to let it go.

  Danielle rubbed his back and leaned her head on his shoulder. “As long as Brian never knows, it’ll be OK.” That was the only thing she was scared of at that point.

  The door opened, and they both were startled. “I’m Dr. Jane. I have the results.” A woman in a lab coat entered the room. “Danielle, you said your last period was September 17th?”

  Danielle looked up. “Yes.”

  Alex’s mouth dropped. It was November 1st. She had to be wrong. “You mean October. Right, babe?”

  The doctor looked at them and saw confusion. “No. She’s correct. The test came back positive.”

  Alex’s head whipped around. “For what?” His mind raced. Brian gave her a disease?

  “She’s already pregnant. I can’t prescribe the pills.”

  Danielle felt nauseous and dizzy again. “That can’t be. The test is wrong. I’m not pregnant. I can’t be. Please, Alex. Tell her… Please, Alex.”

  He held her close again. “Babe, it’s OK. I’m right here.” She sobbed uncontrollably. He thought hard about every time they had sex. Then it came to him. He didn’t remember if he used a condom that night in Knoxville. I must’ve come in her then, too. Damn it. How stupid!

  “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” He kissed her cheeks and tasted salty tears. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I’m here. I’ll do anything, babe.”

  “I can recommend an abortion clinic if need be.” Dr. Jane saw hope in Danielle’s eyes. “It’s not a very painful procedure.”

  Alex gave the doctor a dirty look
, and then looked into Danielle’s eyes. “Please don’t kill my baby.” Tears rolled down his own cheeks when he realized he couldn’t stop her. “I don’t wanna be like him, but please… Please don’t do this.”

  “Can we do it today?” Danielle tried to ignore Alex. She couldn’t risk Brian ever knowing about them.

  Dr. Jane hesitated. It was obvious to her that the father wanted the baby. “You should discuss this first.” She quickly left the room.

  Alex crossed the room and leaned on the wall. “You don’t want my baby?” He closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands. “They’ll just throw him away you know.” He didn’t know what else would convince her.

  “I—I’m scared.” She gripped the cushion beneath her. “Brian will flip when he finds out.” Her hand slid over her abdomen. She didn’t want to lose Alex’s baby. Strangely, she wanted it more than anything. It meant a part of him grew inside of her. “He’ll see it when he comes home.”

  “Fuck him!” Alex screamed. “If he lays a hand on you, I’ll bury him. We’re not killing my kid just because of that asshole!”

  Danielle trembled with torn emotions. She didn’t know what the right thing to do was. If she had an abortion, they could go on with their plan to leave Brian at Christmas. If they kept the baby, by then she could be showing. Brian might be insane, but he wasn’t stupid. He would know before she said a word.

  Alex looked toward her. She shook and continued to cry. He tried to calm down. With a few deep breaths, he was able to hold his voice steady. “Please, Danielle. If you do this, I don’t know if I can deal with it.” He sighed and went back to her. Her hands in his, he met her teary gaze. “I won’t let him hurt you, and you know it. I’ll take care of you both. It’ll be OK.” He hugged her and let his tears fall.

  She decided to trust him for once. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s OK. I get why, but promise me you won’t have an abortion behind my back. Please.” He hated that he thought she might. If Brian frightened her enough, she could, though.

  She sniffled. “I won’t. I promise.”

  He pulled her off the table and set her on her feet. “So we can go home?”

  She just nodded and laid her head on his chest, overwhelmed again.

  * * *

  Just before Alex opened Danielle’s dorm door, her phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket, slowly, and then answered, “Hi, Brian.” She tried to sound cheery, although she was still shaken up.

  “I miss you, Dani.” He couldn’t sleep because he had heard nothing about her whereabouts for days. “Can you use Marie’s computer so I can see you? Please?” He had lost control of her life and wasn’t sure how to deal with that. That day at work, he could think of nothing but going home.

  Alex entered the room first, waved at Marie, and then pointed to Danielle’s phone. Marie nodded and listened to her talk. He sat on Danielle’s bed and did the same.

  Danielle tried to find an excuse not to go on camera with Brian. “She’s doing her homework now.”

  “Tell her it’ll only be a few minutes. Please.” Desperation started to well up. Brian felt like he lost his mind.

  She looked to Marie, afraid not to ask. “Can I use your laptop to talk to Brian?”

  Alex quickly stood and headed for the door. He didn’t leave, just stood against it.

  “It’s fine.” Marie frowned, but only because she couldn’t stand Brian. She got up and set her computer on a desk. “Don’t move the screen. Logan has to replace it for me.”

  Brian heard the limitation and scowled. He wanted to see all around the room. Jeff had told him that Marie and Alex were together, but he didn’t trust Alex at all. He saw Danielle’s username light up and started a video call.

  Alex folded his arms over his chest and peeked at Brian. He looked like a wreck. Serves him right! Alex was glad he was nuts about the loss of control. He just hoped he didn’t do something off the wall, like quit his job.

  Danielle hid her shaky hands in her lap. “How was work today?”

  “OK.” He looked at her more closely. “What happened to your hair? Go get it done tomorrow. You look like a witch.”

  She turned to Alex while a single tear fell. “I will. My hairdresser was busy this week.”

  “Oh. All right.” Brian didn’t care how his words made her feel. All he wanted was to make her do things his way. “Are you alone, now?”

  Danielle glanced at Marie. “No.”

  Brian groaned. He wanted her to strip for him. The girls he had met there were too aggressive. He liked to be the dominant one. One woman at the office was a bit docile and liked it really rough. He had fucked her over her desk a few times, but he missed how Danielle tightened up because she hated it.

  Alex put his hands in his jacket pockets. His fingers wrapped around the bottle in the right one. He pulled it out, and then tossed the prenatal vitamins onto Danielle’s bed.

  Marie tried to read the label from her bed, but couldn’t. She walked over and picked up the bottle. Unfortunately, she didn’t see the horrified expression on Alex’s face.

  He didn’t think she would notice. He shook his head and waved at her, to try to get her to put it down. “No!” he mouthed.

  Shocked, Marie got closer to him. “You knocked her up?” she softly, yet angrily questioned him. “How the fuck did that happen?”

  “Shut up,” Alex quietly urged her. “He’ll hear you.” He quickly backed out of the room and pulled her with him. When the door closed, he answered her. “I didn’t mean to. She’s like, at six weeks, they said.”

  Marie glared at him and gritted her teeth. “He’s gonna kill her if he finds out. For real!” Her breath came faster as her anger grew. “He’s fucking crazy. Did she tell you the other day Diego was here because she didn’t answer the phone? I heard her crying from the hallway. He was on top of her, and her face had marks like he hit her. She thinks I didn’t see anything, but she was naked, and I swore he had a condom on.” She took in a shaky breath, frightened for her friend. “I think he fucked her! Who does something like that?”

  “I’ll take care of it.” Alex hoped he really could. Even threats didn’t seem to keep Jeff or Diego away while he wasn’t around. If Diego raped her, he’s dead.

  “What did you do today?” Brian tried to will his stiff cock to soften, but it didn’t. He reached into his pajama pants and stroked it while he concentrated on Danielle’s quivering lip.

  She was terrified he might see she was pregnant somehow. “Went to class and um… uh, I…” She started to panic, unable to speak. “I…”

  “You OK?” Brian saw more than fear in her eyes. “You’ve done something. Haven’t you?” He waited, but got no response, so he shouted, “What the fuck did you do?”

  Alex yanked the door open, and then relaxed. He couldn’t come through the screen and hurt her. “Do something,” he told Marie.

  Marie saw Danielle’s frozen expression. “Danielle,” she called to her. “Are you feeling dizzy again?”

  Danielle turned to her, a look of confusion on her face.

  “You need to get back in bed.” Marie felt her forehead in full view of Brian. “Hey, Brian.” She faked sincerity. “She’s got a fever. The flu hit her really hard.” Marie brushed Danielle’s hair back. “The doctor said she has to stay in bed as much as possible.”

  Brian’s face fell. “Oh. I didn’t know.”

  “She’s been sleeping a lot, which is good,” Marie added. “But staying in this room all the time is probably boring.”

  Brian looked up at the ceiling. “I’ll let you sleep then, Dani. Feel better.” Disappointed, he closed his laptop. He had to find a way to get a handle on the situation again.

  Danielle burst into tears as soon as the window went dark. She laid her head on the desk. How are we going to hide this?

  Alex knelt next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. “I’m so sorry.” She turned and fell against him. He sat back on his heels and held her close. “
I’ll find a way to deal with him. I will. And I’ll take care of his friends. I don’t want them hurting you anymore.”

  “Diego attacked me.” She sobbed louder, unable to give him any details. She knew if he heard it all, Diego was a dead man. Her body shuddered as she recalled the scene. It had been so painful. “I tried to fight him. He pin—ned me do—own…” With a loud sob, she clung to him.

  He caressed her hair. “It’s OK, babe. It’s not your fault. He’s gonna pay for it, and he won’t tell Brian.” When her body was still, he looked up at Marie. “Stay with her. Me and Gary have something to take care of.” He got up and put Danielle in bed. “You need to rest.” He kissed her forehead. “Close your eyes and relax, babe.”

  Marie set the bottle on Danielle’s dresser and watched Alex leave the room. “You OK?”

  “No,” Danielle admitted. “I’m terrified.”

  “I see that.” Marie sighed. “Looks like you guys are keeping the baby. How are you going to tell Brian?”

  Danielle took in a shaky breath. “I don’t know.” She fought the urge to cry again. “He’s gonna kill me. Alex doesn’t understand.”

  “I know.” Marie touched her cheek and wiped away a tear. “I tried to explain it to him. If Brian finds out, he’ll know his plan failed.” She lay down and hugged her. “We’ll figure this out. Try to sleep. Please.”

  Alex walked into his room with fury in his eyes. “Go next door and protect the girls!” he yelled to Logan.

  “What happened?” Logan watched him search the room for something. He stood up. “I’ll help you. What’re you looking for?”

  Alex opened another drawer. “My knife… I might need it. I just hope he don’t have a gun.”

  “Who?” Logan’s eyes opened wide.

  “Diego fucking attacked her again. I’m gonna kill him.”

  Logan grabbed Alex’s arm. “He’s not worth it.”

  “I can’t let him touch her again. It’s too dangerous.”

  Even more confused, Logan asked again, “What happened?” He saw tears in Alex’s eyes. “Tell me.” He pulled Alex away from the closet. “What is it?”