“I want this to be good for you,” Zander groaned, moving her hand away from his aching cock. “It’ll be over too fast if you keep going like this.”
Sliding his hand over her stomach, his fingers skimmed the scar from her surgery marring her delicate skin. Anger flamed, but she shook her head gently, bringing his eyes to hers.
“There’s no past here, Zander. No one but us.”
Moving his finger through her slick folds, he found her wet and ready. Her body taut with need, it only took a few minutes of sliding his finger in and out of her sex before tweaking her clit and he watched her fall apart in his arms.
The orgasm rushed through her, the currents tingling throughout her body as she held on to his shoulders, her fingernails digging in as though afraid she would drown without his body to anchor hers. She leaned up, pulling the sweatshirt over her head and throwing it off the bed.
Not knowing how long it had been since she had been with someone, if ever, he lifted himself over her body after rolling on a condom. Holding his weight up with his forearms, he kissed her softly. The blush of sex painted her breasts and he bent to suckle each one, savoring the taste and feel of her. Entering her slowly, he filled a little bit at a time, allowing her to adjust to his size. She moaned at the feeling of fullness and the pressure that immediately began to build. With a final push, he was in all the way and began to pump slowly. Her legs circled his waist and she dug her heels into his ass, moving in time to his thrusts.
“More, I need more,” she said in a whisper, and that was all it took for him to move faster.
The delicious feeling of friction had Rosalie hanging on, the sensations threatening to drown her as she was flung over the edge again. As the shock waves pulsated from her inner core outwards, she felt their bodies moving perfectly as one.
Zander felt her inner walls grab his cock, her natural juices making the thrusting easier. He captured her lips once more, imitating the motion of his thrusts with his tongue. He could feel his balls tighten and knew that he was close to his own orgasm. Peering down, he watched as her gaze held his, and the pleasured smile that covered her face was all it took. Throwing his head back, he powered through his orgasm, pulsating deep inside as her channel tightened around him again.
Rolling to the side, he lay panting as he pulled her body in close to his. Sweaty, still shaking with the intensity of the moment, they clung to each other. Neither of them spoke for several minutes, the emotions of the act too overwhelming. Too important.
Finally, able to speak, Zander only said one word, but it meant the world to Rosalie. “Perfect.”
24
Walking out of the bank, Zander led Rosalie to the truck, his arm over her shoulder as he admired her relaxed smile. “Feel good?”
“Oh, my God, you have no idea!”
They made a trip to the DMV that morning to get a new driver’s license based on the copy of her Maryland license Pete had provided, along with her birth certificate and a copy of her social security card. Then, they went to the bank where, with her identification and bank account number, she was able to receive a new debit card and put a stop on her former one.
He had asked the teller if anyone had used her card in the past weeks and Rosalie breathed a sigh of relief that the answer was no. Then he inquired if her card had been used for a motel in the area in the past month. From that, the teller gave them a printout of the last activity for her account. Scanning it quickly, they were easily able to see the last charges were at a small, local hotel, only about six blocks from Grimm’s Bar.
Now, climbing up into his truck, Rosalie placed her new cards and bank checks in the small purse Lynn had provided. Turning to her, he grinned as she clutched her purse in her lap as though afraid to let it go.
She returned his smile, saying, “This is like getting more pieces of my life back together. I’m finally starting to feel like Rosalie Noble again.”
Meeting in the middle, over the console, he kissed her, hard and fast. Moving back, he said, “Next stop, let’s go to the motel and see if we can get some of your things back.”
As Zander pulled into the modest hotel’s parking lot, Rosalie leaned forward, her gaze pinned on the building.
“It looks vaguely familiar.” Huffing, she flopped back against the seat. “Why is it that I can remember my childhood, my teen and young adult years now, but I can’t remember the time right around the attack?”
Shifting in his seat, he said, “Dr. Calhoun said that most of your memories would probably come back, but for some people they never remember the trauma that caused the brain injury. I guess since you were here for a short while before that night, this is part of what is still hidden.”
Nodding, she agreed, “Makes sense.”
Once inside the small lobby, they approached an older man sitting behind the counter. His grey hair was neatly trimmed, while his suit was slightly wrinkled. He looked up, staring at them over the rim of his glasses, which were perched on the end of his nose.
“Can I help you folks?”
Zander approached and said, “Ms. Noble was a customer weeks ago when she had an accident. She’s just now out of the hospital and was hoping you still had her belongings.”
The man’s penetrating gaze turned toward Rosalie and his eyes narrowed for a moment, before widening. “Oh, my goodness! Yes! I remember you.”
She noted his gaze lifted slightly, focusing on her forehead where the jagged scar and barely-there hair was growing back over it.
“I went out one evening,” she said, “and…uh…well, was unable to come back.”
He nodded, “Yes, yes, I know. You had paid for a week and when the week ran out, the housekeeper told the manager she had not seen you in days. I was gone to visit my daughter and when I got back, I overheard them say someone’s belonging were in the storage if they came back.” His face scrunched as he shook his head. “I’m real sorry…now I realize I should have tried to figure out whose belongings they were but I never took notice.”
“It’s fine,” she said, seeing his distress, offering him a small smile. “But, can you let me have my things now? I’ll be more than happy to pay for the time they were here.”
Clucking, he said, “Lordy, no. I reckon the manager just put them in the storage room back here and, God knows, that room’s so messy, no one even goes in anymore.”
He disappeared for few minutes and returned with a sheepish expression. “I got the smaller suitcase, but” looking up at Zander, “do you mind helping with the other things? It seems Ms. Noble had quite a few items.”
Zander disappeared around the counter as Rosalie immediately opened the suitcase and breathed a sigh of relief, recognizing her clothes. Looking up, she grinned as Zander returned, carrying much larger suitcases in each hand while the clerk carried another suitcase and laptop cases.
“Oh, my, thank you,” she gushed, hurrying to take the case from the clerk as Zander moved out the door.
“No, problem, my dear. I’m just glad you’re reunited with your belongings.”
Throwing her arms around his neck, she gave him a quick hug and, as she pulled away, she watched him blush, grinning back at her. Zander walked in again, this time picking up the next two suitcases and with thanks thrown out, escorted her back to the truck. She stood, watching as he placed her cases in the bed of the truck.
Zander walked over to her, his heart light as her smile lit his world.
“That smile warms my heart,” he said, pulling her into his arms, kissing the top of her head.
“I can’t thank you enough, for all you’re doing for me,” she breathed into his shirt, her arms around his waist.
Her body fit perfectly underneath his chin and he fought the desire to take her home and spend the rest of the day in bed. Fighting the urge, he said, “Come on, princess. I’ve got somewhere I’d like to take you. Somewhere nice and easy. And somewhere we can get some homecooked food.”
Rosalie leaned back in her chair, her tum
my full of good food and her face hurting from all the smiling she had been doing for the past hour. Looking at her hostess, she said, “Miss Ethel, how do you fry chicken so crispy? I swear, I’ve never had better.”
Miss Ethel preened, lifting her hand to smooth a few loose wisps of her hair back into its bun. “Oh, my, how sweet you are. But I’ve been frying chicken for as long as I can remember. My grannie used to sit me on a stool, near the stove…not too close, mind you, ‘cause of the splattering oil, but close enough I could watch her cook. And, I reckon, she sat at her grannie’s stove as well.”
“Maybe you could teach me, sometime,” she asked, suddenly feeling shy, wondering if it was presumptuous.
Zander reached under the table, linking his fingers with hers, recognizing the slight tremble in her voice.
“Rosalie,” Miss Ethel declared, “there would be nothing I’d like more than to have you spend some time with me. And if some chicken gets fried at the same time, then we’re both winners!”
“You wouldn’t be the only winners,” Zander said. “I’d expect to share that chicken.”
Beaming, Rosalie teased, “I suppose I might share with you.”
He barked out a laugh, loving the relaxed banter coming from her.
“All I know is, if you two are cooking, then I want to be invited,” Jayden said, reaching over to grab another piece of chicken.
“Boys, save room for pie,” Miss Ethel reminded, immediately drawing the interest of the rest of the group. She looked at Rosalie, “When I decided to start taking in my boys, I had no idea how much they would eat.”
“That was so brave of you,” Rosalie said, awe in her voice.
“Oh, fiddle. It was the boys who were brave.”
She glanced around the table and could easily see from their expressions they disagreed with Miss Ethel.
“I had this big ol’ house and my George had died. We never had children and, when a friend from church called me to say that she knew social services needed a foster mom for a young boy, I accepted. Best decision I ever made.” Her grey eyes landed on Zander, a smile playing about her lips. “He was my first to stay for any length of time and was such a good boy. It made it easy to decide to take in more.”
Rosalie peered up at him, noting the blush staining his cheeks.
“Good thing she didn’t get us first,” Jaxon quipped. “She woudda stopped right there.”
The others laughed, but Miss Ethel just shook her head. “You might have been a bit of a scoundrel at times, but just like all the others, you were a good boy.”
“We were the lucky ones,” Zander said, immediately gaining agreement.
“I’ll get the pies—”
“Miss Ethel, sit back down. Asher and I can get them for you.” Cael and Asher pushed back their chairs and headed into the kitchen.
“Don’t cut the pies in there,” Jaxon called out. “Bring ‘em in here so we can make sure the pieces are even.”
Laughter rang out as a scowling Cael walked in carrying two pies, followed by Asher with dessert plates and clean forks. “Man, you gotta forget what I did when I was about six,” he complained.
“You were twelve and I remember it clearly,” Jaxon retorted. He turned to Rosalie and explained, “He used to always help Miss Ethel serve the dessert and we soon figured out he cut the largest piece for himself.”
“I was scrawnier than you all. I had to do something to bulk up.”
Rosalie laughed as Cael tried to defend himself. She felt Zander’s fingertips caress her shoulder and twisted her head up to look at him. Moving closer, she whispered, “Thank you.” Bending, he touched his lips to hers, quick but sweet.
As the apple pies were being devoured, Jayden asked, “So, what now, Rosalie?”
She halted in her chewing, licking the juicy apple from her lips, carefully considering her response. “Well, the last part of my life that I need to find out about is where I was going to be working. My friend in Baltimore said I had a teaching job at a high school. But she only remembered the name was a president’s name. I haven’t looked yet, being too busy trying to get my identification back in order.” Shrugging slightly, she added, “So I hope to tackle that tomorrow.”
Asher said, “There’s a Jefferson High School in the county…about ten miles from here.”
Jayden pulled out his phone, flashing an apologetic look toward Miss Ethel.
She laughed and said, “It’s okay. I’ll allow it this time, since it’s for a good cause.”
Zander leaned over to her and said, “Miss Ethel’s rules…no cell phones at the table.”
“I think that’s a good rule,” she agreed. Biting her lip, her eyes gained a faraway look in them.
Zander stayed quiet, his gaze shifting from her to the others across the table in a silent message to let her have her moment.
Eyes clearing as though coming out of a trance, she grinned, looking up at him and said, “My parents always had the same rule! Although, my mother included books at the table too.” Seeing his surprise, she explained, “My father and I could get lost in a book and if we were reading during a meal, no one talked. Mom always said that mealtime was for sharing.”
“Absolutely,” declared Miss Ethel, her grey eyes shining.
“What’s it like…remembering things?” Asher asked. Catching Zander’s glare, he hastened to add, “I’m sorry—”
“No,” she rushed, placing her hand on Zander’s arm. “It’s fine to talk about. Really.” Turning back to the others, she thought for a minute before explaining, “You know how sometimes when you wake up, you know you were dreaming but you can’t remember the dream?” The others nodded and she continued. “Then maybe later, something happens or someone mentions something and you suddenly remember the dream you had.” Shrugging, she said, “That’s the best description I can give.”
Zander shifted their chairs so that there was no space between them, tucking her in closer. “Proud of you, babe.” Seeing her open her mouth, he added, “Nope. Not listening to you deny it. You’re braver than you realize.”
“Absolutely,” Miss Ethel agreed and the others joined in as well.
Blushing, she tucked a long lock behind her ear, aware her scar showed but refusing to hide behind her hair.
Jayden piped up, “There are two high schools in the area with names of Presidents. Jefferson and Madison.”
Gifting him with a smile, she said, “That’s a big help, thank you Jayden. Miss Ethel, allow me to help with the cleanup.”
She quickly realized Miss Ethel had, indeed, taught the boys table manners, as they all stood and carried plates and platters into the kitchen. With everyone helping, the dining room and kitchen were soon neat.
As she and Zander moved to the door, she found herself engulfed in goodbye hugs. Each of the men made her promise to call them if she needed anything, especially while Zander was working. “I don’t have a cell phone yet—” she began.
“We’re taking care of that tomorrow,” Zander stated. “First thing, before we go talk to the schools.”
Grinning, she looked at the others and said, “I’ll get your numbers from him and plug them in as soon as I have a phone.”
Zander moved to say his goodbyes to his brothers while Miss Ethel stepped forward to hug Rosalie.
“My child, you are making this old woman very happy. I know the circumstances of the two of you meeting was not good, but God has a way of bringing light into darkness. And you, sweet Rosalie, are light.”
25
“Null and void.”
Once they had gotten home from Miss Ethel’s the previous evening, and Zander had carted Rosalie’s suitcases to his apartment, she was thrilled to pour through each one, discovering her clothes, toiletries, books, files, and her laptop. As though reunited with long lost friends, she sat on the bed in the guest room, going through her belongings. Firing up the laptop, she remembered her password and was soon checking her emails.
Walking into her room, Z
ander had looked at her crestfallen face. Before he had a chance to ask, she spoke.
“It was Jefferson High School that had hired me and I’ve been getting emails wondering where I was.” Sighing, she said, “The last one states that due to my being a no-show, my contract is null and void.”
“Oh, babe, I’m so sorry,” he said, moving to sit next to her, pulling her into a hug. “What can I do?”
“Nothing…it’s just that now I’m unemployed. I guess I’ll call them tomorrow to see if there is something that I can salvage from this mess.” She shifted on the bed to face him, her mouth pinched into a line. “I feel like I lost so many things and that…that…monster who took them from me is still out there.”
Rosalie voiced his same concerns and Zander slid his hands down her arms to clench her fingers.
“He won’t get near you again. And we’ll figure out something.”
The next day, Zander stood in the kitchen, the refrigerator door open, listening to Rosalie’s phone conversation. They had gone that morning to get a new cell phone for her and he delighted in her joy over her new purchase. She immediately put in his number, Miss Ethel’s and his brothers’, as well as Sidney’s and Jeff’s.
He went to the grocery store after that to give her some privacy and check on Grimm’s. Now, as he listened to her voice, it appeared things with the school were not going well.
“Yes, yes…I understand. All right. Well, can you tell me what the next step is?”
He watched her roll her eyes before her lips turned down.
“Okay, thank you very much. I’ll be sure to go online and do that this afternoon.” She disconnected and looked over at him. “I guess you can tell that I don’t have the job. I told them I could provide them with the police and hospital records so they would know I was telling the truth. They were sympathetic, but they had to have a teacher, so they hired someone else. Given my circumstances and excellent application, they did say that I could do substitute teaching this year and reapply for full-time teaching next year.”
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