Free Lover of My Dreams by Lynnette Bernard

address and settled back in the seat to hold Rachel tightly against his side.
    Panic was beginning to well up within Rachel’s body. She felt as if her chest was covered with a weight of cement. She didn’t want to go to Richard’s apartment. She didn’t want him touch her. She wished she could push away the sudden fear that was paralyzing her. She wanted to tell him to go to hell. But it was too late. He had firm hold of her and the cab was already on its way. Her grip on her purse intensified as her panic and anger escalated.
    “Richard, I told you, I’m not going to your apartment,” she told him angrily, trying not to cause a scene as she pushed him away from her in the back seat of the cab. She decided that she would just stay in the cab and tell the cabby to take her back to her hotel after they dropped Richard off at his apartment. She was glad now that she hadn’t told him where she was staying in the City.
    Anger boiled within her as they rode toward Richard’s apartment. It seemed as if they had barely climbed into the taxi when it pulled up before his apartment building. He opened the cab door and turned toward her, smiling.
    “We’re home,” he whispered, reaching into his breast pocket to take out his wallet to remove some cash before replacing it in his jacket.
    “You’re home,” Rachel corrected him. “I’m going back to my hotel.” Her voice was firm as she spoke. She was determined that he would not get away with his caveman attitude.
    Richard hesitated a moment then stepped out of the cab, handing the cabby a folded bill as he did so. He turned around to face her then reached into the cab, grabbed both her arms and pulled her out of the cab, slamming the door closed behind them before she could react. She found herself being ushered along the sidewalk to the front of the tall apartment building where he lived, unable to stop herself.
    “No, Richard. I’m not going with you!”
    Her words were ignored. She found herself being carried along the street by his sheer determination. She tried to wrench her arm from his grip but her strength was no match for his. The grip on her was such that she knew she would be covered in bruises by the morning.
    Panic took hold and she found that she was having trouble breathing. She felt as if she was going to faint. She was powerless to stop him from hauling her up the front steps of the apartment house and up the two flights to his apartment. She was frustrated that she couldn’t stop the ascent. She was barely able to keep her footing as Richard roughly dragged her behind him.
    She fought to catch her breath as he stood before his apartment door and was searching his pocket for his keys. He still had an iron grip on her right wrist, and despite her continued struggling, she was unable to remove herself from his hold. She tried to kick his shin but he just laughed and held her tighter against his side.
    “I like it when you’re feisty, Rachel,” he told her. “I’m going to enjoy fucking you.”
    “Like hell,” Rachel yelled, wrenching her hand free and turning to leave. “Go jerk off, Richard. You’re not fucking me.”
    She got as far as the stairway railing when she felt his arm wrap around her waist and she was dragged back to his apartment door that was already open. She kicked and struggled but his hold was like iron around her waist. In just seconds, she was inside his apartment and the door was slammed shut behind them.
    She felt suffocated immediately. When he turned the dead bolt lock and fastened the many security chains, her heart was beating at a furious pace. She had to control her panic and do something.
    “At last,” Richard told her, releasing his hold on her to take his beautifully tailored jacket off and throw it heedlessly on the only chair in the apartment.
    Rachel turned and began unlocking the chains. “I’m leaving, Richard,” she told him without turning to look at him, finally finding her voice. She nearly had the