Law lay awake in the guest bedroom, staring up at the ceiling. As usual, his insomnia had left him exhausted but unable to fall asleep even in the warm and comfy bedspread. Penguin and Shachi's snoring weren't helping either, but at least the volume was at a tolerable level that night.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ymzN1iB2N
His eyes followed the random, textured pattern of the white ceiling, seeing indistinguishable shapes and strange ridges all over. The emptiness of the house, along with the unbearable silence, permeated only by his engineers, left the pirate to dwell on only his thoughts. And that night in particular, his mind was at greater unrest.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡGVJ3Boasrg
It bothered him how much he was hesitant to return to his world, where everything he knew and needed to do were waiting for him. His crew was there, along with that unfulfilled promise, and the lure of unfathomable riches on Raftel. His name was feared, he had power unimaginable in this world…copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡy4mzUW2jdN
Why was he so reluctant?copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡYellO9m6Ko
Angrily, he sighed, closing his eyes slowly to the fact that he himself didn't want to admit to the answer. It was that Lexi, and her intriguing story. Nothing and everything about her made sense. How had she dealt with these tragedies from her past and present with such determination and pride? Where did her motivation come from? In a world as seemingly boring as hers, what was there to look forward to?copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡUqjEuU2Emu
At the same time he understood why she was so cautious. She'd never encountered death up close, day in and day out, as he had. She'd never been faced with the difficult choices only those who had lived through torture and pain and anguish could know, as he had. The illusion of safety and ease of life was certainly a pull. But her interest in his world was all too real. It was as if she envied the life he paved for himself and his crew, and he could understand the thrill of adventure of the rush of excitement as well.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVyivsexMr
Yet, he thought that when he went back to his world, he'd feel like something was missing. He'd miss seeing the easily-annoyed brunette bark at his engineers to clean up their mess or show him something he'd never seen before.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡkLGG6vQtBB
He would miss Lexi, as irritating as that thought may be. It was the truth, one he wanted to deny.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡRw2aaw5dbs
Though, she seemed to have promise as a medical professional. She was quick to learn, and easy to teach. Her willingness to see things a different way and her attention to detail were all vital in a medic. Perhaps…copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡH6ogpTJEqw
When they found the way home, he'd have to convince her to join them. How he was going to accomplish that was the only unknown. But, Law was confident in his ability to persuade, even manipulate when need be. He would find a way to convince Lexi to go with him, he was sure of that.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5LhMrohiRT
"Law…" She muttered, running her hand gently up his uncovered back. The hot breath at her neck was paralyzing, making her eyelids flutter closed as his mouth slowly made its way lower, and lower still, until his lips grazed the fabric of her bra, sending a thrill up her spine and straight into her nipples. Then, as if knowing what it was she wanted, he chuckled and brought his face back up to her, staring with half-lidded eyes into hers.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJqVUArZND
"Tell me what you want." He whispered, once again covering her mouth in a gentle kiss. Lexi couldn't hold back the strangled moan as she was barred the sensations she so desperately craved through her body, and she squirmed under him in the jostled bed covers, the heat of her exposed skin making a sheen of sweat all over her body, in an attempt to convince him to continue. Talking such dirty things was embarrassing.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡsvKQL9JuN9
"Please, just do it." She whined, leaning forwards to kiss him again. To her dismay, he pushed himself up off of her just enough so she couldn't reach, and he smirked down at her pout.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1TViGmHXFz
"Patience, Lexi-ya…" His amused expression wasn't doing her any good, and so she decided to take matters into her own hands, lifting her hips upwards into his crotch, earning her a fraction of the pleasure she'd been wanting, and eliciting a groan from the tattooed pirate. His hands clenched the sheets, and his eyes snapped shut at her warmth rubbing against the fabric of his pants.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyjhtdSVdG
"How long are you gonna make me wait?" She breathed out, sending all the lust she was feeling through her gaze alone, and he seemed to receive it, because with a wolfish grin, indicating to her that she'd just awakened some sort of instinct within the dangerous man above her, he grabbed the front of her bra and ripped the material right off of her chest, capturing her lips in another heated-copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡyFbjvXsfsg
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡpt9kMPHtNm
Lexi's eyes flew open, her heart racing a million miles a minute, searching frantically around her for whatever it was making the awful noise. Then, as the few seconds went by after coming aware of her surroundings, she reached over and turned off her alarm on her nightstand, sighing as she slumped back into the messed-up covers.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3FUmWoAPjN
"God dammit…" She murmured to herself, rubbing her hands over her face as her dream began to take form in her mind.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSsHbYEEd7
That was the second night in a row she'd been plagued by such…naughty dreams. The nightmares had began to subside a little, but in their place were either nights of being unable to sleep at all, or reenactments of her subconscious fantasies…or whatever they were. In contrast to her nightmares of cold hands touching her body, Law's hands all over her felt…welcome, and wanted. Which she couldn't really comprehend.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡUCA3XmTEQG
Apparently, her subconscious really wanted to have a half-naked pirate captain hovering about her, planting kisses down her neck, whispering dark and dirty things in her ears-copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0UlUgiiQ7C
"Stop." She said aloud, feeling the heat on her face as the blush spread against her skin. God, it wasn't like she hadn't had sexual dreams before. Actually, something like that was pretty normal every once in awhile. But the frequency at which they were happening, and because it was always about him, at that, was slightly disturbing and creepy.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡDDv6lG5Zlj
There was a soft knock on the wood of her door. "Lexi?" Bepo's voice called from the hall.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7fWHjT4dxU
"What is it?" She answered back, covering her eyes with her arm as she tried getting rid of her blush. It wouldn't do to have Law come in and see her all hot and heavy, especially after she'd just envisioned him doing such things…copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡTxOfs5xKWF
"Penguin and Shachi offered to make breakfast. It'll be done in a few minutes. I just wanted to let you know." The bear said, and Lexi's mood instantly shifted.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡnAjSGEzMEU
"I'll be down in a sec." She said, instantly swinging her legs over the side of the bed and going to her drawers. If the state of the kitchen was as bad as last time when she went downstairs, there'd be hell to pay for already ruining the start of her day.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5La1ttVxGs
*The Next Day*copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡrA0gQslndh
Monday. A day she'd always hated, but now so more than ever. Even as she showered and got ready for the day, that queasy feeling wouldn't go away.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ARnsy11kG
It was the day she'd told herself she needed to go back to the university, back to classes, and back into the place where there was a possibility of bumping into Cooper. The thought filled her with such dread.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡWqr6sUAnsh
Brittany had called with a concerned tone in her voice before she was on her way out.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡQTRQaIiv5v
"Lex? Are you sure you want to go back so soon? Maybe you could take a few more days off." She tried convincing her. But the brunette only shook her head, grabbing her keys from her purse and heading towards her bedroom door.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡN96FwyeyAz
"I can't just sit at home and let my studies pile up. I'll fall so behind and fail classes. I have to go, even if I don't want to."copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡewZGCrBdP3
And that was the end of that. Brittany recognized that stubborn tone in Lexi's voice, knowing that she was set in her decision, good or bad, and there was no changing her mind. Her friend sighed over the line.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFXmv74ODa
"Alright, if you say so."copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡjrkp7RYlpy
Lexi pretended that the day was just like any normal one. Or at least she tried to. Those knots in her stomach still wouldn't go away, even as she walked into the medical anatomy hall to pick a seat.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡUE5UlImXVb
Every deep voice she heard, she glanced around like Cooper was standing right beside her, ready to pounce with his hands out towards her. But that was ridiculous. No such thing was ever going to happen, and she forced herself to focus on her notes. Thankfully, before too long the professor shuffled in and everyone quieted down. Learning was something Lexi was good at, and so she was able to calm down a bit as his boring drone filled her ears.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1qQYNm6RaK
Brittany arrived late to class, sitting beside her friend as she plopped in the seat and opened her textbook.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2tcmTjdSFD
"I told the dean what happened." The black-haired beauty muttered, staring at the board and writing down the words. Immediately, Lexi's head snapped up.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡrzhwuDeQAa
"What?" She quipped as quietly as she could. It wouldn't do to draw attention to herself. "Brittany-" She started, but Brittany only grinned.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1CBSBoeHgo
"I told her that Cooper threw a party that was against the rules. Turns out you can't have alcohol in a frat house that close to the campus. And there's no way I'm letting him getting away with doing that to you."copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡsiRFFLYSDE
"I wish you would have asked me first." The brunette sighed, and Brittany gave her a pointed look.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4eOBIrQy2
"For what? You want justice. I want justice. This is the best way to do it, since I know you don't want the cops involved or anything. Besides, you can't keep stalking around the campus like there's someone following you everywhere. You won't be able to focus on anything that way."copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0AECsf0GXg
As much as Lexi didn't like the whole situation going on, she had to admit Brittany was right. She hoped some kind of punishment came from all of this, maybe it would help her unending paranoia.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4qzW5eH47l
"The dean's still gotta start an investigation into it, but I'm sure it won't take more than a few weeks or so." Brittany reassured, returning her focus to the front board.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDqWr1ESRd
It turns out, the dean only needed a few days to determine that Brittany's claim of sexual assault against her friend was true. After getting a few eye-witness accounts from the party, she called Cooper into the administration office and promptly expelled him from the university. Lexi only learned about it from passing gossip between the sports students, on her way to get lunch the next week.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSNzufPuVN
The incident even appeared in the local newspaper, though thankfully they hadn't released her name to the media. Lexi was glad that Brittany had enough sense to ask the dean to withhold that information from anyone, knowing how much it would hurt the brunette to see her name plastered all over the news.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡL0dkWiyEnF
It felt really good to have the justice she deserved, and this huge weight felt like it had been lifted from her shoulder. Lexi didn't have to worry about him coming after her again. The knots didn't come around as often as before, and Lexi was able to start to catch up with the assignments she'd missed in her absence. All in all, the two weeks after the party had occurred were looking up for her.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡ05jq2KrHCi
Things were getting better, finally.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡUxbH7FXWaT
*A Basement Somewhere*copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWTXgQgPvD
If it hadn't been for his connections at the university, he never would have known that it was her that fucking football player had sexually assaulted. Seeing the article in the newspaper, he seethed.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡvvJOVLynsb
"Argh!" He yelled, crumbling up the paper and throwing at the wall, watching as it bounced harmlessly against the concrete and fell to the floor. The brunette, chained to the wooden chair in the middle of the room, whimpered at his unexpected outburst of anger. Ignoring her, he stomped over to the dvd player set up on the table and turned off the music,copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡGnJR5Qw2NH
"It's all wrong!" He screamed, grabbing the first available thing at hand, a glass angel figurine of his mother's, and chucked that at the wall as well, watching in morbid satisfaction as it shattered into a thousand pieces against the wall with a clash. The girl shrieked again, and this time he set his attention on her.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡWxDQuUGKKc
Walking around until he was directly in front of her, he pulled out and held up the sharp knife in his hand, making sure she saw it. Her crying and whimpering, and muffled pleas to let her go, only made him laugh.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡofH74DSD0l
"Looks like I'm gonna have to cut our time together short." He said simply, raising the knife above his head without emotion and bringing it down into her torso.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGIyyNp5Qc
She struggled and screamed the first few times he stabbed her, but she quickly grew still as the slick red blood oozed to the ground. The metallic scent filled the air, warming the space around him. Stabbing a couple more times, just to feel the satisfaction, he stood and wiped the bloody knife onto his pants.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡMMKqDekjZ4
Staring down at her body, he went to grab the keys for the shackles on the table, unlocking her from the chair. Her body slumped onto the floor, and he grabbed a black plastic trash bag and his duct tape.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡwnkduoRn2R
Then, as an afterthought, he picked up the crumpled newspaper on the way out the door.copyright protection69ＰＥＮＡＮＡJRysp6fPc6
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