Chapter 72 Temptation
Caleb
“Stop the car, you fucking bastard “
Elsie had been banging against the inside of the car door from the moment I pulled away from the road. At first, I tried to ignore it, to focus on the stretch of darkness ahead of me, to concentrate on getting far enough away before anyone else saw what happened back there.
Still, the sound grew louder and sharper, each kick vibrating through the metal as if she were trying to break the entire vehicle apart with her bare hands.
Her voice cracked through the noise, raw and breathless, begging, ordering, crying, all mixed in a way I had never heard from her before. “Stop the car! Caleb, stop the car and let me out! Please—please just let me go!”
I refused to look at her through the mirror at first. I didn’t want to see her like that, didn’t want to see the tears streaked across her cheeks or the panic burning in her eyes, because somehow it felt like if I looked, even for a second, something inside me might break in a way I would not be able to repair.
But eventually her voice rose in a way that forced my eyes upward, and when I finally met her gaze in the rearview mirror, the breath lodged in my throat. This wasn’t the calm girl I used to pull aside just to hear her laugh softly under her breath, the girl who looked at me like there was something worth saving in me.
That girl was gone. Something sharper, fiercer, hurt beyond repair had taken her place, and her whole body shook as she pressed her palm against the window, leaving a smeared trail of tears behind.
“Elsie,” I said, my voice lower than I intended, “you need to stop.”
“Why are you doing this to me?” she cried, her voice cracking painfully on each word. “Caleb, please, I can’t go back to that house. I can’t. They will kill me. Just let me go. Let me go back to the girls. They need me—”
The desperation in her voice made something twist hard in my chest, but I forced myself to keep my tone steady. “You don’t strike me as someone who fears death,” I told her, watching her freeze as the words settled over her. “If you were, you wouldn’t have even thought of crossing that gate to the Lancaster estate to begin with.”
For a moment, she said nothing. She just stared at me through the mirror, breathing fast, eyes red but burning with something stronger than fear. When she finally spoke, her voice was lower, steadier, but somehow more painful to hear. “If you ever cared about me… even a little bit… let me out. Let me go back to them.”
I forced a humorless breath through my nose. “I never did.”
The silence that followed cut deeper than I expected, but I kept going because there was no turning back now, no softening the reality she had forced me into. “You played with fire, Elsie. You messed with my family, and in my world, that comes with consequences. You crossed every line, and you will pay for it.”
A tremor ran through her arms, and she leaned forward helplessly. “So that’s why?” she whispered. “That’s why you had me kidnapped? You were going to sell me, Caleb. Your father was going to sell me. You and your mean, wicked father—”
“Watch your tongue,” I snapped, the sharpness in my voice echoing through the car like a warning shot.
“And if I don’t?” she fired back, her breathing frantic. “What are you going to do? Send me back to be trafficked? To die?”
I felt my patience snap. “Worse,” I said coldly. “If you keep running that mouth, I’ll tie your hands together, bend you over, and reden that sweet ass of yours. Don’t test me tonight.”
She swallowed hard, visibly shaken, her chest rising and falling quickly, her emotions flickering across her face all at once.
The image of her bent over, her breath hitching, flashed through my mind, tightening something low in my gut.
But then something hardened in her expression, and the thought was immediately mixed with a sharp defiance that only made the challenge burn hotter. She lifted her chin, voice trembling but defiant. “My goodness… who are you? I don’t even recognize you. I’m going to report every single one of you to the authorities the first chance I get.”
That was it.
That was the thing that cut straight through my restraint.
I spun the wheel sharply and pulled into a clearing off the road, gravel grinding under the tires as I hit the brakes. Before she had time to register the motion, I unbuckled my seatbelt, pushed my door open, and stepped out into the cold night air.
I yanked open the rear door, and she immediately pushed herself against the opposite side of the backseat, eyes wide, hands trembling, but still trying to make herself small and invisible.
“Get out,” I said.
“No,” she whispered, shaking her head frantically. “Caleb, please, don’t—”
I didn’t give her another moment. I reached in, grabbed her wrist, and dragged her out of the car despite her kicking and struggling, her cries echoing off the quiet trees surrounding us. She tried pulling away, but she was exhausted, terrified, and no match for my grip.
“Let go of me!” she screamed. “You’re a monster—Caleb, let go!”
But I didn’t. I pulled her forward until she stumbled against the front of the car, and when she tried twisting away, I caught both her wrists and forced her hands down flat against the hood, pinning them there so she would stop fighting long enough to listen. Her chest heaved as she gasped for breath, her tears dripping onto the metal under her hands.
“You don’t get it, do you?” I said, my voice shaking with anger I could barely contain. “You don’t understand the trouble you’ve created. You don’t understand what you’ve walked into.”
She lifted her head slightly, her voice barely audible. “Then explain it to me.”
I stared at her, the words caught somewhere between my anger and the part of me that wished none of this had ever happened.
I couldn't say a word before her knee shot up and hit my cock hard. A deep groan escaped me as a searing pain raced through my body. Both my hands immediately flew down between my legs and I hunched over.
She started running as fast as she could. Even with the pain, I knew I had to get her. She was in danger and didn't even realize it. I quickly caught up to her and grabbed her around the waist. She kicked wildly, demanding that I let her go.
Anger boiled up inside me, and I snarled, "You are going to regret doing that."
I forced her back to the car. I bent her over the hood, pressing her face down against the cold metal.
"I'll kill you if I get the chance. I'll fucking kill you," she spat out.
I replied with a soft, dark chuckle. "You are welcome to try."
I lifted her dress, and shoved her panties down, exposing her ass. My hand connected with her ass in a loud crack. She yelped the moment I put my hand down on her, her ass cheek turning red.