Saved By Her

by Michelle Horst

  I take a handful from him and shove them in my pocket. We go our separate ways and I do everything Adam told me. I keep to the shadows and avoid places where I know guards might be.

  At the first door I reach I have to use three cable ties. I tie the first two around each of the doorknobs and then use the third one to link the other two together.

  I keep my head low as I sneak from door to door. There are a few windows that are open, but I don’t bother with them. I can use those windows to throw the bombs inside the house. When I’m all done I go back to the middle of the yard, where the rose garden is. I crouch down between the roses and then carefully place the bag on the ground. I remove all three bombs and the small can of gasoline. I quickly wet the pieces of cloth and as I’m about to light the first cloth, I hear screaming come from inside.

  There’s no time to think. I run to the window that’s furthest away from the rose garden. I quickly light the cloth and then toss the bomb through the window. I run as fast as I can and then it explodes behind me.

  I grab another bomb and light it. I throw it against the glass door I’ve used so many times before.

  I run back to get the bag and the last bomb when someone tackles me from behind. There’s a hard blow to the side of my head, but I push my hands into the ground and use my whole body to throw the person off of me.

  I grab the bomb and run for the other end of the house. “Stop, fucker!” I recognize Sven’s voice and I stop. I stare down at the bomb in my left hand and the lighter in my right hand.

  I slowly turn around and then Sven starts to laugh. “It’s you.” He laughs harder as if it’s a huge joke for him to see me here. Then he says, “So the beating wasn’t enough? You’ve come back for more?”

  Smoke bellows from the house and the screams are getting louder. I should finish the job and run, but instead I say, “You were always the one who beat me. Did you beat me that last night too?”

  Sven scowls at me, his face going hard. “You were a good fuck, especially when you were younger,” he raises his hand with the gun, pointing it right at me, “but like David said that night, every hole has an expiration date.”

  Anger floods me, hotter than the flames around me. Sven was the first one to rape me. He trained me to be a slave. He burned Momma.

  I look down at the last bomb in my hands and I light the cloth. I throw it hard and the bottle crashes hard against Sven’s chest. He screams and a shot goes off as the jar explodes over his body, setting him alight. I feel a slight sting on my right arm, but there’s no time to waste!

  I run back to the corner of the estate and pull myself up on the wall. Once at the top I look back at the burning estate. I quickly find Sven’s burning body and I soak in the sight and screams around me. It’s a beautiful sound, listening to the monsters screaming and crying. When I see people slamming their fists against the windows and glass doors, I look hard trying to recognize them. They’re all gasping for air, trampling each other to try and find a way out.

  I see Eduardo and my eyes start to search frantically for Cameron. One of the glass doors burst open and a flaming body comes running through the doors. A smile slowly creeps over my face. David. It’s only right that he goes the same way our mother did.

  I hear a high pitch scream and then I see the old bitch - Westbrook. I watch until I don’t see anyone but the flames, and then I jump off the other side and run back to where we left the station wagon.

  I see Adam pacing in front of the car, his whole body tense. When he sees me he hisses, “What the fuck took you so long?”

  “I had to watch,” I say, and we get in the car. “I had to make sure they all burn.”

  “And did they?” he snaps as he drives off in the opposite direction.

  “Yes,” I say and then I sigh with relief, “and it was beautiful.”

  I can’t describe all the feelings coursing through my body. Relief, liberation, freedom … I’m feeling so much that it makes tears spill from my burning eyes.

  “I’m free,” I whisper to no one in particular.

  ~*~

  Chapter Twenty Two

  River~

  Two long days. Two days that almost cost me my sanity.

  That’s how long they were gone. Forty eight hours of raw fear eating away at my heart. A million thoughts kept bombarding my mind. It’s amazing what horrors your mind can conjure up when you’re worried about someone.

  Sophia is the first to see Jack and Adam. She’s been living on the patio since they left, her eyes never leaving the entrance.

  The men look tired as they come walking down the road. They must’ve left the station wagon somewhere, burning it like we always do, so we don’t leave any traces behind.

  Sophia runs down the road and she flings herself into Adam’s arms. Adam needs someone like Sophia in his life and she needs him. They are good for each other.

  Jack keeps walking up the road and I have to suppress the urge to run to him and to see if he’s okay. I want to inspect every inch of him.

  For an awful second I wonder if he’s going to keep ignoring me like he’s been doing the past few days, but then he climbs the stairs and walks right up to me. He throws his arms around me and lifts me off of my feet.

  “You’re home,” I whisper, getting all choked up on the happiness of having him back home.

  He presses his face into my neck and whispers, “I’m home.”

  He sets me down on my feet and then grabs my hand. He walks into the house, pulling me behind him. He goes straight for my room.

  When we’re inside, he closes the door and then he yanks his shirt over his head. Instantly my eyes flit all over his body, checking for wounds. He has a gash on his arm and I rush to him.

  “What happened?” I brush my fingers just under the gash. It just needs to be cleaned, it’s not that bad.

  Jack doesn’t answer me and undoes the button on his jeans. He lets the jeans fall down to the ground and then he steps out of them.

  “Jack, what are you doing?” I take a step back as he takes hold of his boxers and shoves them down his legs.

  He stands up, as naked as the day he was born. “I’m going to shower and then I’m going to have sex with you.”

  My mouth drops open as I watch his sexy ass walk away from me. I hear the water start to run in the bathroom.

  I walk into the bathroom and say, “We can’t just have sex, Jack. There’s so much to talk about.”

  I watch as his hands glide over his body and I have to admit, it’s by far the sexiest thing I’ve seen in my entire life. There is nothing as hot as Jack’s strong hands soaping up his muscled body. I can watch him shower all day long.

  Jack rinses the soap off and then he steps out of the shower. His eyes meet mine and I must be showing exactly what I’m thinking, because he smiles.

  “We can talk later,” he says. He grabs a towel and he quickly rubs his face and hair dry.

  “No, Jack. We have to talk first. We have to talk about where you are emotionally …” he starts to come at me and I start to sputter, “ …and … and … what about what you just did?”

  He stops a few steps from me and he tilts his head, just staring at me.

  “Jack, we have to think this through. Sex is a huge thing for me.” Immediately I feel rotten for what I just said, “I’m not saying it’s not a big thing for you.” Immediately my eyes drop to his hard cock.

  Oh my word! I’m making such a mess of this.

  “River, keep quiet,” Jack murmurs.

  I keep my mouth shut because of the look on his face. This is not the Jack I’ve come to know. This is someone else. This is a man.

  Have I been blind all this time, not allowing myself to see the real man that’s been there all along? I kept telling myself Jack needed time, but I was wrong – I was the one who needed time, but not anymore. All I need now is Jack.

  “Please don’t be mad at me,” Jack whispers. “I had to go do that. I had to kill them and stop them from hu
rting anyone else.”

  How can I be mad at him for what he did? It’s something he had to do to find himself. I’ve killed for much less than what Jack has killed for. It’s not my place to judge.

  “Please,” he begs me, and it’s only then I realize that I haven’t answered him yet.

  “I’m not mad at you, Jack. I understand what you had to do.”

  He rushes forward and grabs hold of me. He lifts me against his still wet chest. He then takes a few long strides and tosses me on the bed.

  He follows, landing on top of me. We both gasp at the impact and then he kisses me. He kisses me hard, with the same need and hunger I’ve been feeling for him.

  Jack is right. We can talk later. I get lost in his kisses, forgetting the past and only living in the moment.

  This is it.

  This is the moment we finally let go of our pasts that have haunted us for so long.

  This is the moment we find ourselves in each other.

  I’m never letting him go after this, and by the way his hands are roaming my body, I know he’ll never let go of me.

  The first time I had sex was out of spite. It meant nothing. The second time was forced on me. This time I’m doing it for myself. I’m doing it for Jack. I want him to know how much I love him and how special I know he is.

  I want this so much!

  Excitement pulses through me. I quickly yank my shirt off and by accident my hand slams into Jack’s jaw. Hard! He grunts with pain and we both sit up. I can only stare at him wide-eyed.

  “I’m sorry,” I whisper.

  He looks at me, his eyes intense with need. He drives his body back against mine and his hands go to my hair. He pulls my face to his, our mouths greedily resuming the kiss.

  He lays me back down on the bed and his one hand finds my breast. I can feel a wisp of ecstasy. I place my hand on his side and then suddenly he jerks away from me.

  Breathless, he stares at me for a moment.

  “I’m sorry,” I start to apologize. I must have tickled him.

  “River, just relax,” he says. “No touching my sides and no hitting me.” I see the spark in his eyes and I realize he’s teasing me. He lowers himself back to me again and his fingers caress my cheek. “It’s just us here.” He kisses me once and then whispers against my lips, “It’s just you,” kiss, “and me.”

  And then his mouth starts to move lower, down my neck and to the curve of my breast. He quickly gets rid of the bra, takes one of my nipples between his lips, and sucks.

  It feels so good that I arch into him, wanting him to do more to me than just kiss.

  He must sense my need because he starts to move down again, his mouth placing soft kisses over my belly, and then his hands are on the button of my shorts.

  He pushes up to his knees and I watch as he pulls the shorts down my legs. Once he’s rid of the shorts he leans over me.

  I look up at him and I see the most beautiful man. His face looks rugged and handsome. His eyes are twin pools of heat and want. He placed a hand on either side of my head, keeping his upper body up. Of course I stare! Even all the scars can’t rob him of his beauty, and only lend to his manliness.

  One hand slides into my undies and he pushes a finger deep inside of me, his palm pressing against my clit, just like he did when he made me come the other night.

  My hands find his shoulders and I hold on for dear life as he pulls his finger out and then thrusts it back in. My hips start to move along with his hand, riding out the pleasure he’s creating.

  When I can’t stand much more, I throw an arm to the side and yank the drawer open. I grab the condom I stole from Adam’s room when Jack and I started fooling around. Rather be prepared than left out in the cold when you need a condom most. I tear the foil packet open and taking his cock in my hands, I roll the condom over his hard length.

  I fall back on the bed. Jack takes hold of my knees and opens my legs wide, to accommodate his body.

  He presses his body down on mine and then our eyes meet. I feel his cock press against my opening and then he slowly slides into me. He closes his eyes and drops his head to my shoulder as a low moan drifts over his parted lips. “River,” he breathes my name, making it sound like a prayer.

  His cock fills me, stretching me impossibly. At first it hurts a little because it’s been so long for me. He pulls out and then even slower than the first time, he enters me again.

  I see the total bliss on his face. He keeps a torturous slow pace and it’s starting to drive me wild. My nails dig into his ass and I try to urge him on by lifting my hips to meet his.

  Luckily for me it works, because he starts to move faster. “Harder,” the word slips through between gasps for air.

  His hands move behind my shoulders and he lowers his body flat against mine. His fingers dig into my skin. His one leg moves in under my thigh, opening me up even more, and then he goes back to slowly fucking me, but this time it’s so deep with the way he’s positioned our legs.

  He lifts the right side of his body and looks down between us. My eyes drift down and together we watch as he pulls out and then pushes back into me. It’s a huge turn-on, watching his cock thrust into me.

  He’s pinning my body down so I can’t meet his thrusts. He’s in total control and I realize that’s what he needs. He needs to be the one fucking me. All I can do is let one hand find its way into his hair, while the other hand grabs hold of his arm resting next to me.

  With each deep thrust my body starts to wind tighter and tighter.

  Jack lifts his head and his eyes focus intensely on mine. They start to shine with unshed tears and it makes my heart melt. “I love you, Jack,” I whisper.

  He presses his forehead to mine. I feel his hard body sliding against mine. I feel his cock filling me. I feel his breath on my lips and it all works together, taking me to the peak of ecstasy.

  My body arches against Jack’s and then his body tenses over mine, and we come together, our bodies greedily riding out the pleasure we’ve created.

  He doesn’t pull out immediately, but instead holds me. We keep breathing each other for a long while.

  ~*~

  Jack is different … in a good way. He still asks questions. He still spends his days outside. We’ve resumed his writing and reading lessons, and we’re eating and sleeping together again.

  But he’s different. He’s not as childlike as I remember. Yes, the sex might have something to do with it, but I think it’s more. It’s as if he’s at peace with himself. He doesn’t stumble over his feet to do what’s asked of him. He doesn’t leave the room when someone else comes in.

  He looks comfortable in his skin.

  I keep looking for any cracks, or signs that he might be putting up a front, but I can’t find any.

  I’m busy with the books when Adam knocks on the door.

  “Hey stranger,” I greet with a smile. I haven’t seen much of Adam since he’s been back.

  He takes a seat in the chair across from mine. “Are you finally going to tell me what happened?” I ask. I haven’t been able to get anything from Jack, so I’m hoping Adam will tell me.

  “No,” he says, without any hesitation. He pushes a hand through his hair and says, “Think of it as a boys night out.”

  “It was hardly a boys night out, Adam!”

  “To us it was. We had a road trip, a huge bonfire, got some beers on the way back.” He smiles as if that’s all it was.

  “A huge bonfire? Really?”

  “River, you know what Jack and Sophia’s been through. You’ve seen first-hand how a slave is trained. Jack deserved his revenge.”

  “I’m not saying he didn’t deserve it!” I snap. I get up and stalk around the desk. “I just want to know what happened. Will something come back to bite us in the ass when we least expect it?”

  “No. No one left the property alive.” Adam gets up and places his hands on my shoulders. “We’re safe and that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

/>   “That we’re safe?” I ask.

  “I think it’s time we retire. We’ve been saving slaves for years. I have Sophia now. You have Jack. We have all the others and we’ll be risking all of their lives if we bring someone new here.”

  “So you want to stop?” I pinch the bridge of my nose, not sure how I feel about stopping.

  “Yes.” Adam pulls me into a hug and then whispers, “I think you’ve paid enough for your father’s sins. It’s time you live your own life now.”

  He pulls back and then smiles a huge smile at me. “So … I was thinking it’s time we put all the crap behind us and focus on the good and what better way than to celebrate with a wedding.”

  My mouth drops open. “You’re getting married?”

  Adam starts to laugh as if it’s a huge joke. “Not me. I’m thinking that maybe we can organize a surprise wedding for Christopher and Maddie?”

  A huge grin spreads over my face. “That’s the best idea ever. There’s nothing like a celebration to bring everyone together again.”

  Adam throws his arm around my shoulders and says, “I was also thinking of asking Jack to help my build another guesthouse, one Christopher and Maddie can move into.”

  I throw my arms around Adam’s neck from excitement. “Yes! Of course. That’s a great idea!”

  ~*~

  Seeing as Christopher and Maddie like to sneak off for their private moments, it’s easy to get everyone together without them knowing about it.

  As soon as everyone is squashed into the living room, Adam says, “We have to make this quick. We’re going to organize a secret wedding for our lovebirds.” A collective ‘aww’ sounds up from the girls.

  Jack comes sauntering in with a bowl of cereal. He really loves the stuff. He’s been eating a lot more since his ‘road trip’ with Adam. He’s also been making his own choices. It’s as if he finally realized he’s a free man.

  He walks over to where I’m sitting and sits on the arm of the couch.

  “We’ll prepare everything down by the chapel. Jack will help with things there. We’re having it a week from now, so that makes it next Sunday at two in the afternoon.”