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Tiger
Tamed

Paranormal Romance

Ava Frost

Tiger Tamed

Chapter 1

Stockholm Syndrome... I suppose that's what you might reasonably refer to it as. I mean, I guess that probably sounds too dramatic for what the situation really was, but it more or less captures the effect as I perceived it. The feeling that I'd just gotten out of a relationship in which I'd been treated lower than dirt, insulted and made to feel worthless, and yet I'd thought, at the time, that such a relationship was somehow crucial to my existence.

Trevor was the asshole's name... And I was glad to be rid of him, free of that addiction- even if, at the time, I might not have seemed especially so.

I sat at the bar, alone for the first time in years. It felt so strange. As liberated as I might have felt deep beneath the surface, there were still so many layers that I was struggling to wade through, such deep wounds that I couldn't seem to overcome for the life of me. I'd had to come halfway across town just to find a sort of dive bar where I felt confident that I wouldn’t run into Trevor, and there was a strange comfort to such sequestration, even if it only really got me so far.

It was dark, and the bar was mostly empty, though from across the room I occasionally heard outbursts of barking laughter and profanity from a particularly rowdy party, a group of tough guys and their lizard-like girlfriends from what I could see. I would tense up every now and then from such disturbances, but overall I wasn't much bothered by their presence, feeling somehow that their unity rather isolated me even further, putting me on a separate level, and allowing me to bask in my solitude.

It was hard to say whether I wholeheartedly wanted this, really... I didn't want to be alone, but right now I felt that was just about all I could do.

I leaned over the bar, and peered into my glass of alcohol, the surface amber and crisp, but the effects of the beverage having failed me up to the present point in the evening. I'd been hoping for a relief from my misery, but intoxication had only deepened it and deepened it, and now I was trapped, left thinking about the road I'd taken to get to where I was now.

Trevor had been so perfect, I thought, when the two of us first met I was in college. A hard worker, aiming for a bright future, and allowing nothing to get in my way. It had been finals week at the time, during my sophomore year, and I'd just finished taking my last exam. I'd been out celebrating with a group of my friends, allowing myself the rare night of levity during which to cast aside the majority of my inhibitions, and to simply enjoy my newly gained freedom for what it was. This was a college town, and though I lived here year-round, I knew most of my friends would be going home for the summer, leaving me to my own devices. It was well worth enjoying one last hoorah with them, before the months of summer break left me high and dry once again.

I hadn't especially been looking for company that evening, though if I had been I could have found it easily enough, I'd imagine. I was curvy in all the right places and attractive, with dark brown hair and milky white skin, sumptuous and clear, my features ideal, and my proportions mouthwatering. I was well dressed, wearing a short skirt and a low cut blouse that were more tasteful than trashy, but that nonetheless went about showcasing my feminine assets with greater emphasis than just about anything in my wardrobe.

All of my friends had been taking on the advances of men from the bar throughout the evening, and several had given in, in their celebratory revelry, clinging to the arms of strangers. For whatever reason, I'd been the only one not to partake in such flirtations up to that point. I'd always been a bit hesitant when it came to dating. I'd had my share of boyfriends, sure, but I'd made it a point not to let myself get distracted, my focus put on things that would only serve to slow me down and subvert my future.

Tonight, though, with everyone else hooking up and me just sitting there like a nobody, I was beginning to feel rather lonely. As if reading my mind, Trevor had appeared like an apparition, taking a seat next to me and immediately beginning to penetrate my already low defenses, making me vulnerable, yet giving me a feeling of security by his presence.

“Can I buy you a drink, beautiful?” he'd asked me, in sort of a scumbag tone that I'd interpreted, for whatever reason at the time, for romantic.

I'd accepted his offer, and soon the two of us were talking at the bar, our knees close to one another as he flirted shamelessly with me, making me laugh, making the evening a far more enjoyable one than it had been up to that point in time.

In not much time at all, the two of us had progressed to the point of leaning in to kiss one another, our mouths dissolving together, our tongues pushing, twisting into one another in no time flat. It was rare for me to let my defenses fall so far so fast, and to this day I can't completely say with confidence just what it was that led to my quick and effortless surrender to his advances.

I went home with him that night, and let him fuck me. And God, did it feel wonderful. I'd spent so long living in practical celibacy that I'd forgotten how pleasurable sex could be when you found the right partner, someone who knew what he was doing. I'd stayed the night over at his place, forgetting about the fact that my friends from college would all be leaving soon, and instead taking solace in his strong, seemingly loving arms.

I don't think I'd envisioned it amounting to much more than just a one night stand, but I came to learn that he lived in town, and would still be here when everyone else I knew had gone back to their respective homes for the season.

Alright then, I thought... A summer fling. I could go with that.

For the first couple of months, our relationship proved every bit as rewarding as I'd hoped it might be. I spent most of my days working a part time job, and almost immediately after my shifts ended I could be found at Trevor's place, the two of us screwing in the warm summer air, sweating the sheets like there was no damn tomorrow.

I was happy, giddy even, and I felt like this summer would go on record as being one of the best I'd ever enjoyed.

Then time rolled along, school started again- and that was when I began to see the first signs of things going badly between Trevor and I.

I hadn't had the heart to break up with him by the time classes started again, even though I'd originally only intended it as a summer-long affair, and I decided that if other people could balance school and relationships without sending their lives into turmoil, then I sure as hell could too.

Trevor, however, didn't prove to be quite so flexible.

My classes, and the accompanying school work that went along with them- not to mention the work study I had to engage in to keep up with my finances- led to me being able to spend less and less time with Trevor. Though he was about the same age as me, a couple of years older, he'd gone straight to work after finishing high school, and he begrudged me the fact that I could only really see him any more on the weekend. He made these feelings known to me, too, on no uncertain terms.

Things began to grow tense between the two of us. Ther was a palpable discomfort to the air, and at any moment it seemed we could deteriorate into fighting and name calling, insulting and accusing one another. I should have left him by that point, I realize in hindsight. Again, I can't explain or even rationalize what it was that kept me at his side, when he so clearly served as a negative influence over my life.

Things just kept getting worse and worse, and I, God damn me, just kept yielding to his commandeering cruelty. He began to threaten to leave me if I didn't give into his wishes, and framed my very existence in such a way that I felt as though I was unlovable, that I would be unable to find someone else in the event that the two of us split up- and for whatever deluded reason, I found myself buying into his lies, hook, line, and sinker.

This man had given me some of the best times of my life, made me feel better than anyone had, and I began to believe that my own shortcomings were the reason that things had begun to go south between the two of us. I thought, somehow, I could make it up to him, that the misery of our union could turn back into that old happy feeling, and that things could be good again.

Eventually, I dropped out of school- just before finishing my junior year. I'd been more or less pressured into it, and the fact that I'd relinquished my dreams so readily only served as proof of how very far I'd fallen as a result of my infatuation with, and need for Trevor.

I'd taken on two jobs just to even begin to pay for the student loans that I'd accrued over the course of my three years in school, and though Trevor wasn't especially happy with me having to work more than ever, he nonetheless seemed happier about it now that he had me under his thumb, right where he wanted me.

I moved in with him.

For two and a half years, the emotionally abusive cycle continued in that manner, with me always struggling to do what he wanted me to, yet nothing ever seeming good enough. I was his pawn, his object, and my autonomy had all but dissipated in the ensuing years.

Then, at last, the breaking point had come.

It was like a shock to my system to discover that he was cheating on me. Not only had I subjected my very existence to this man's whims; not only had I done every single damn thing that he'd ever asked me to do, but he didn't even seem to believe that warranted fidelity to me. Not an ounce of loyalty after all that I'd sacrificed for him, from my life's plan down all the way to my very dignity.

The mother of all fights had ensued between the two of us, with him unleashing a torrent of insults on me that was beyond monstrous. But at last, I'd managed to sever that connection, freeing myself from his tyranny, and returning to the world that I'd once so foolishly left behind.

And I was scared as hell of the new freedom I'd gained in making that final cut.

The world, once something that I could manage and that seemed capable of being navigated, seemed to me now an imposing place. I felt far more alone than I'd ever felt before the two of us got together, and I wished I had someone who could guide me through all the fear and the uncertainty.

I shivered as I peered down into my glass, a deep feeling of loneliness overtaking me.

I tried to move forward one step at a time, trying to concentrate on the here and now, and avoid being inundated with too much newness at one time.

For the time being, I'd been staying with a friend for a few days, sleeping on her couch, until I got around to finding a new apartment that I could afford on my current salary. Then, once I managed to find that, maybe I could go back to school, start up again right where I'd left off. I'd gotten three-quarters of the way through, so finishing it off wouldn't be that hard, would it? I could do that, surely...

But then another shudder ran through my body, like the task ahead seemed far too herculean to be dealt with alone. Images of Trevor, his naked body around me, back when things had been good, began to flash in my mind, and it was all I could do to keep myself from crying.

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