Chapter 49 Trapped With You
Elena didn't sleep.
She lay in bed staring at the ceiling, reliving the kiss, feeling Pierce's hands on her, his mouth on hers, the way her body had responded despite everything her mind was screaming.
She'd finally said she loved him out loud and he'd kissed her like he'd been waiting his entire life to hear those words, and she'd pushed him away.
Elena got up when pale light that came through the small window, knowing she couldn't avoid him forever but wishing she could.
Downstairs, she could already hear movement. Of course, Pierce was awake.
Elena stood at her bedroom door for a full minute, gathering courage, before finally opening it.
The smell of coffee hit her immediately.
She moved down the stairs quietly, each step feeling heavier than the last. When she reached the kitchen, Pierce was there, back to her, pouring coffee into two mugs.
He turned when she entered, and their eyes met for a split second before both looked away.
"Good morning," Pierce said, his voice carefully neutral.
"Morning."
He slid one of the mugs toward her across the counter. Elena took it without saying a word, without looking at him, hyperaware of the three feet of space between them.
She could still feel his hands on her, could still taste him.
Elena took her coffee and moved to the far side of the kitchen, putting as much distance as possible between them in the small space.
They stood in silence, both drinking coffee, both staring at anything except each other.
"We should talk about yesterday," Pierce said finally.
"I need to shower." Elena set down her mug. "Excuse me."
She left before he could respond, practically fleeing up the stairs.
In the bathroom, Elena turned the water as cold as she could stand, trying to shock her system, trying to stop thinking about how Pierce's body had felt pressed against hers but it didn't work.
When she came back downstairs twenty minutes later, Pierce was gone. Derek sat at the table, laptop open, looking up when she entered.
"Boss is in the office," Derek said carefully. "Said he'll be working all morning."
"Okay."
Derek studied her face. "Everything alright?"
"Yes." She said quickly.
"You sure? Because the tension in here is.." He stopped. "Did something happen?"
"No." Elena poured herself more coffee she didn't want. "Everything's fine."
Derek didn't look convinced but let it go.
Elena spent the morning in her room, trying to read, and failed miserably. Every sound from downstairs made her hyperaware of Pierce's presence. His voice on the phone, his footsteps, yhe creak of his chair in the office.
She was trapped in a bunker with a man she'd confessed to loving, a man who'd kissed her like the world was ending, a man she couldn't have.
This was hell.
Around noon, hunger forced her downstairs.
Elena moved quietly, hoping to grab something quick and retreat. But as she rounded the corner into the kitchen, she nearly hit with Pierce coming from the opposite direction.
They stopped inches apart, so close Elena could feel the heat coming off him.
"Sorry," Pierce said, not moving back.
"It's fine." Elena stepped sideways at the same time he did, and they ended up even closer.
Pierce's hand came up to steady her, fingers wrapping around her arm. The touch sent electricity through her and Elena jerked back like she'd been burned.
"Sorry," she breathed.
Their eyes met, and Elena saw it, the same want, the same frustration, the same impossible situation reflected in his expression.
She moved past him quickly, grabbed an apple from the counter, and left without another word.
That afternoon, Elena was reading in the living room when she heard sounds from the basement. Curiosity got the better of her and she went to investigate.
The basement had been converted into a workout area, weights, a punching bag, mats on the floor. And Pierce, shirtless, working through what looked like a brutal training routine.
Elena froze in the doorway.
She'd seen him without a shirt before, had treated his wounds, had been pressed against him just yesterday. But watching him now, muscles shifting under sweat-slicked skin, completely focused on his movements, was different.
He moved like violence itself and God help her, she couldn't look away.
Pierce landed a series of hits on the punching bag, each strike perfectly placed, showing exactly how dangerous he was. How capable of the things she couldn't accept.
Then he turned and saw her.
They stared at each other, Pierce breathing hard, Elena rooted to the spot.
"Need something?" His voice was rough.
"No. I was just..." Elena couldn't finish the sentence.
Pierce grabbed a towel, wiping sweat from his face, and Elena tracked the movement, her mouth going dry.
"You're staring," Pierce said quietly.
"I'm not." She said sharply.
"Yes you are."
Elena forced herself to look away. "I'm going back upstairs."
"Elena, wait."
She stopped, hand on the railing, not turning around.
"We need to talk about what happened yesterday," Pierce said.
"There's nothing to talk about." She said sharply.
"You told me you loved me."
Elena's hand tightened on the railing. "I know what I said."
"I kissed you.."
"Then I pushed you away." She finally turned to face him, her voice firm. "Which should tell you everything you need to know."
Pierce stepped closer, his eyes locked on hers. "It tells me you're scared."
"I'm not scared." Her voice was rough.
"Yes you are." He moved closer still. "You're terrified of what happens if you let yourself have this."
"There's nothing to have." Elena's voice rose slightly. "You said it yourself, you can't change what you are and I can't accept what you are. So there's nowhere for this to go."
"Elena..."
"Yesterday was a mistake." She wrapped her arms around herself. "I was frustrated and trapped and I said things I shouldn't have said. That's all."
"You're lying."
"Maybe." Elena's voice cracked. "But it's easier than admitting the truth."
"Which is?"
"The truth is I'm losing my mind in this place!" The words burst out of her. "Four days, Pierce. Four days in this concrete box with no windows, no air, no escape. I can't sleep, I can't eat, I can't think. And having you here, so close, after what happened..." She stopped, pressing her hands to her face.
Pierce took another step toward her. "Elena.."
"Do you know what it's like being trapped in here? This is what it's like." Elena's hands dropped, her eyes meeting his. "It's waking up every morning knowing I can't leave. It's staring at the same four walls until I want to scream. It's being so desperate for fresh air that I tried to leave even though I knew it wasn't safe."
Guilt flashed across Pierce's face.
"Then you kissed me," Elena continued, her voice shaking. "And for five seconds I forgot about the walls and the concrete and the fact that I'm a prisoner. For five seconds all I felt was you and how much I wanted you and how good it felt to finally stop fighting it."
"Then why did you push me away?"
"Because this place is already destroying me!" Elena's voice broke. "Being trapped here, being isolated, feeling like I'm losing pieces of myself every day, and if I give in to you, if I let myself have what I want, I'll lose what's left of me completely."
Pierce stared at her, something raw in his expression. "I never wanted this for you."
"I know." Elena's voice was barely a whisper. "But wanting and having are two different things."
"If I could change this..."
"But you can't." She wrapped her arms tighter around herself. "You can't make it safe for me to leave. You can't change what you are. You can't fix any of this. So we're both just... stuck."
Pierce's hands curled into fists at his sides. "I'm sorry."
"For what? For keeping me alive?" Elena laughed bitterly. "I should be grateful, right? I should be thankful you're protecting me. But all I feel is trapped and suffocated and so tired of pretending I can handle this."
Silence fell between them, heavy and devastating.
Pierce looked at her like she was breaking his heart. Like seeing what this was doing to her was worse than any physical wound he'd ever endured.
"I'm sorry," he said again, his voice barely audible.
"I know." Elena wiped at her tears. "But sorry isn't enough to fix this."
She turned and walked up the stairs, leaving Pierce standing alone in the basement, carrying the weight of what he was doing to her.