by Liz Crowe
“Chief?” Cal said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Wade kept staring down at her, crooning nonsense words, telling her he was there for her, that he wouldn’t let anyone hurt her ever again. “I’m calling ahead for a rape kit.”
Wade closed his eyes and clenched one of his fists on the floor next to Sam’s prone body. “Yeah,” he croaked out.
“What is it,” Sam asked, her voice raspy as her eyes fluttered open.
“It’s nothing, darlin’,” he said, forcing himself to smile at her. “Everything’s gonna be fine.” He glanced up at Cal. “We ready?” He stepped away from her so they could get her up on the gurney.
“No, no, no, Wade, don’t.” She gasped, heading into hyperventilation again. “Don’t leave me.”
“I’m right here, honey,” he said, his throat closing up with emotion. The cops had already wrestled her attacker out of the house, and the fire trucks had left when they emerged into the now dark, sticky night air. He held onto her hand as they rolled the gurney to the ambulance. “I’m never leaving you, Sam,” he said, kissing both her bloody cheeks. “Ever.”
She nodded and closed her eyes. “So tired,” she whispered.
“It’s okay,” he said, glaring at the men staring at him as he remained crouched beside her in the rig. “I’m not leaving her,” he told them. Cal spoke to one of them. Then they shut the doors with a firm clunk.
Chapter Fifteen
The nightmares were relentless. No matter what she did, she couldn’t escape the man with the baseball bat. She hurt all over. Her entire body felt like a giant, abscessed tooth—rotten and pulsing with agony. But she was comforted by the fact that Wade never left her side, not once, although she floated in and out of it for two days.
Finally, her eyes opened, and as she took in the sterile white of the hospital ceiling, she felt the oddest sensation—one she finally identified. “Hungry,” she whispered through dry lips. “Wade? Skye?”
“Right here, darlin’,” Wade’s voice coated her nerves like a shot of bourbon-infused honey. “There’s my girl,” he said, running his huge hand across her forehead, his smile infusing all four corners of the room. “Welcome back, Miss Sam.”
Tears flowed. She hated herself for all the crying. “I don’t deserve you,” she said, sniffling and snorting, all kinds of gross. But her re-set nose was too sore to wipe.
“That is a hard truth, my love.” He held up a cardboard carton that smelled so good, her mouth actually watered. “And I come bearing your favorite—filet mignon from our first date restaurant.”
“Perfect. Okay. Enough talking. Feed me?”
“Your wish…” he said, pulling a set of utensils from somewhere and tucking a cloth napkin under her neck, “is my command.”
He cut small bites and fed them to her, cautioning her to go slow and interspersing them with sips of water. His dark eyes made her feel warm and safe. Which of course, brought on more tears.
“He never raped me.” She closed her eyes against the onrush of horrific memories. “But he kept talking about it, over and over. It was like he wanted me to be afraid of what he might do…you know?”
“I know, sweetheart,” Wade said, his jaw clenched as he put away the remains of her dinner. “The doctors told me everything.”
“I never should have gone there,” she said, her throat closing up tight. “Never.”
“It’s fine, Sam. It’s not your fault. Not at all. Now, please relax. I brought dessert,” he said, waggling a pint of coffee flavored ice cream. “Hush up and let me feed you a few bites.”
She nodded. “Just a few. I’m full. And tired. When can I go home?”
Wade opened the ice cream and dug out a small helping. She took it, trying to smile at him. The actual fear of going home had her in a tight grip, but she wanted to put on a good face, to sound normal, like a woman who wasn’t afraid of her own shadow.
“I think they want you here at least one more day.” He smiled at her as he held a much bigger bite to her lips. She frowned at it.
“I can’t eat all that,” she said. “Go on, go home and get some rest.” A weird sort of frustration had settled over her, combined with a bone-deep terror of crossing the threshold of her own condo, of locking the door, taking a shower, going to bed alone.
Wade poked her lips with the cold spoon. “Cut it out,” she said.
“Take the damn bite, Weaver,” he growled at her. Frowning, she opened her mouth, and he shoved it inside. Her teeth clanked on something metal. Wade dropped into the chair, grinning from ear to ear like a little kid on Christmas morning.
She spit the thing into her hand. “What in the hell, Wade?”
He shrugged. “Well, you know, you’ll need that, once you get out of here.”
Sam glared at him, then down at the slimy key in her palm. “I…don’t know what to say. I was so awful to you when you got hurt. Why? I mean….”
Wade stood and pressed his lips to hers. “Because I love you. I told you that already. And I’m not about to risk living without you. So…” He folded her fingers over the sticky key. “Move in with me, Sam. I have a great house, or so my realtor tells me.”
She smiled, nodded, and cursed when the damn tears started falling yet again.
Chapter Sixteen
“Wade, seriously. I at least need to arrange to get my—”
“Samantha, if you think I haven’t arranged everything already, you are woefully underestimating me.”
Sam sighed and leaned into Wade’s shoulder, staring up at the wooden double doors of his house. She loved nothing more right then than his arm around her. “I don’t know about this. I mean, we barely know each other.”
“Well, no time like the present to get to know each other better, eh?” He kissed her hair and walked slowly with her up the stone steps to the door.
She let him guide her inside. Her one remaining qualm over the whole thing disappeared at the sight of her own furnishings melded in with his, as naturally as if they’d always been there. She stopped and put a trembling hand to her neck as she caught sight of herself in the large mirror over the fireplace mantel. The doctors hadn’t allowed her to look in any mirrors during her stay, and she could definitely see why now.
Between two black eyes, a swollen nose, and all rainbow bruising around her neck, she looked like something out of a zombie apocalypse movie. “God,” she whispered, tugging a few strands of her hair and wincing at the pain in her repaired scalp. Her lower lip still had two stitches in it, and she ached all over after being on her feet for the last ten minutes.
When her knees gave way, Wade caught her, scooped her up in both arms and carried her to the bedroom. “Shh, Sam, everything is just fine.”
“No, it’s fucking not,” she sniffled, wincing when she swiped at her stupid nose. “Everything is fucked.”
“Nice mouth,” he said, settling her on the bed and pulling a cool, soft sheet up over her. “I’ll look forward to availing myself of it soon.”
She stuck out her tongue at him, but exhaustion tugged her down, pulling her under. She sighed and settled into the huge pillow. When she held out her hand, Wade took it, kissed her knuckles and let her hold onto him until she drifted off.
**
Wade sighed and sucked back the beer Jax had opened for him. The two men sat at the giant island while Skye scurried around and filled the fridge with all the various salads and casseroles that had been delivered to his house. Between her real estate office and the fire and rescue crew, they had enough food to feed an army—for a month.
“Okay,” she said. “There are some great steaks in there, Wade. Why don’t we start the grill?”
“Huh? Oh, okay, sure.” He stared down at the countertop. He felt dull, packed in cotton, muted or something. Now that he had Sam home, in his home, where he wanted her, the sense of responsibility weighed heavy. He watched while his friends prepared the grill, made some potatoes and tossed a salad together. They ate mostly in silence without Sam, wh
o was still sound asleep. He and Jax did the clean-up while Skye helped Sam take a shower.
Finally, he stood at the door, bidding them goodbye. “You’re a pretty good guy after all,” Skye said, giving him a big hug and a kiss.
“Yeah, glad to see you got with the program,” he muttered, giving her a mild whack on the ass, and making sure Jax saw it. “Thanks,” he said to them both. “A lot.”
“Call or whatever, if you need anything,” Jax said, draping his arm around Skye’s shoulders.
“Will do,” he said, closing the door behind them. With a sigh, he headed to the kitchen and opened another beer. He sat in the kitchen for a solid hour, knowing he’d done the right thing, but second-guessing himself all the same. The thought of that monster touching her, hitting her, tying her up and trying to strangle her made him shudder with barely repressed fury. He closed his fists, reopened them, then closed them again.
Up until this point, he’d been able to nursemaid and manage his plan to get her to move in with him. But now that she was here and on the mend, he had to face his own deep horror of hurting her in any way.
The sound of Sam’s scream made him startle and drop the half empty beer bottle, sending shards across the counter top.
He ran to the bedroom, pausing in the door at the sight of the empty bed. “Wade,” she called, her voice hitching. “In here.”
He ran to the bathroom door and found her curled up on the tile floor, pressed into the corner near the huge soaking tub and shower. He sat and tugged her into his lap, wrapping one of his giant towels around her. “I fell,” she said, sniffling and gripping his shirt. “I’m useless. Just take me back to my condo and leave me alone. You don’t need all this…crap.”
He sighed, and lowered his lips to her hair. “Samantha Jean, I want all this crap.”
“But, I’m all messed up, you know? I don’t know, I mean, how can I ever have normal sex again? You, you’re normal and you have needs, and I’m…I don’t think I can…” Her voice got higher and squeakier.
“Shh, shh, shh,” he said, rocking back and forth. “Just hush all that right this minute. I’m fine. You’re gonna be fine. We’ll be fine.”
“No,” she said, beating his chest with her fist. “No, we won’t be.”
“Oh, hell yes, we will be. Now,” he said, “let’s get you back in the bed.” He stood, and tried to pick her up but she flailed at him.
“I can walk, damn it.”
He stepped back, hands raised. “Whatever you wish,” he said, watching as she made her slow way back to the bedroom.
She got herself settled, then glared over at him. “Listen to me, Wade Roberts. I’m not fragile and I never have been. But I don’t know…if I’ll ever be able to…to…,” she said, as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Honey, just relax. I love you, and I want you here, and I fixed it so you could be. So if you concentrate on getting better instead of worrying about our future sex life, it would be really super.”
She sighed and wiped at her face. “You’re bossy,” she whispered, looking down at her clenched hands.
“Yep. Now, sleep,” he insisted, kissing her forehead and turning off the bedside lamp.
“Come to bed with me? Hold me?” she asked.
He swallowed hard, unsure how he might be able to do that, exactly. “Sure, darlin’,” he said, moving to the other side of the bed and sliding under the covers.
Chapter Seventeen
Two weeks later
“Sam, stop it.” Wade looked away, gnawing the inside of his cheek at the sight of the fading bruises on her neck and wrists. “Put on some damn clothes already.”
“But…”
“No. You’re not ready.” He got up, his entire body on fire with the need to do exactly what she’d asked him to do. But his brain still boiled with the memory of her, bloody, mentally and physically violated by that animal. “Or maybe it’s me but…”
“If you don’t take off your clothes and get into this bed with me right now Wade Michael Roberts, I am going to walk out the door and find someone who will.”
He turned, a smile on his lips. “Hmmm….feisty. Think that’ll convince me?”
Her huge blue eyes were swimming with tears. With a barely suppressed groan, he grabbed her and held her close to his chest, his face pressed into her hair, his heart racing with remorse. “No crying. I’m sorry. I want to. I really do. I just want to make sure you’re ready.”
She pulled away and tilted his chin down so she could glare at him. “I’m ready for you to make me feel like a real woman again. Not like a victim. Humor me?”
He nodded and watched as if from a long way away as she stripped him out of his shorts and T-shirt, then led him to their bed.
“Just hold me, if nothing else. Skin to skin this time.”
Wade gripped her arms gently, but the sensation of trying to anchor himself to the earth was never more prevalent. He couldn’t even look at her, in all her naked glory or he would toss her down and plow into her to put his mark on her, to make her his again and erase anything that remained of the attack.
“Okay,” he finally managed, his voice croaky and weak-sounding. “I’ll hold you.” He held up the sheet, and she slipped underneath.
The smell of her hit him right in the libido, as he knew it would, but he took a long, deep breath, summoned his inner grown-up man, and wrapped his arms around her trembling form, kissing her hair and making soothing noises.
“I love you,” she whispered, putting one of his hands to her lips and kissing it. When she arched back into him, pressing her ass against his groin, he sucked in a breath. “I love you so much,” she said, taking his hand and putting on her breast. “Make love to me, Wade. I need you to.”
“Honey, I…I don’t want to hurt you.”
She rolled onto her back. Her blue eyes shone up at him. The dim light coming from the lights around the pool hid the worst of her injuries. But he wasn’t about to let himself pretend she hadn’t been brutally attacked. He reached across her and flipped on the lamp, taking her face in his hands.
“Sam…”
“Some creep tied me up and mind-raped me for two solid hours and tried to home run my face with his baseball bat. I feel like a chunk of week-old ruined meat.” She shook her head so he had to let go of her and sat up. “I need you to remind me that I’m not ruined.”
“Oh Sam, honey, you’re not ruined,” he said, even as his body rose to the occasion, making him have to bite back a loud groan when every drop of blood in his body rushed to his dick. “Baby, we…oh shit,” he said when she grabbed his cock and started sliding her hand up and down. “Wait, wait, just…wait.”
“No,” she said. “I’m not waiting.”
He kissed her then, unable to stop himself, owning her, repossessing her, taking her back from that monster with his lips, his tongue, his whole body, and his entire soul.
**
Eight weeks later
“So, I’m pregnant,” Sam said, as she clicked her laptop shut and started packing her briefcase. It was a news bomb to be sure. But one she’d had twenty-four hours to wrap her mind around. She was good with it. And she knew, deep down, that Wade would be too. Or at least she hoped he would be because she’d hate to have to raise this kid by herself.
Wade stopped with his coffee mug halfway to his mouth, his jaw hanging open. She smiled and pushed his lower jaw closed for him with one fingertip, then kissed the tip of his nose.
“Have a good day, honey,” she said, making her way to the mud room separating the kitchen from the garage and slipping her feet into high heels. “I’ll see you at dinner.”
“Wait,” he said, scrambling up from the counter-height seat and stumbling over to her. “Sam, shit, how, I mean…it’s not, uh…” He ran a hand around the back of his neck, looking sheepish and utterly adorable.
She shouldered her case and checked her Rolex. “I gotta get to an appointment. I have money to make, remember?”
&nbs
p; “But, it’s, uh…”
She smiled and thumbed his chin. “It’s just a baby, Wade. Relax.”
“Relax,” he said, still looking down at the floor, his hands on his hips, looking as edible and perfect as ever. “You’re fucking with me, aren’t you?”
“Nope,” she said, loving him so much at that moment she thought her heart might burst wide open. She ran her fingers through his hair, which he’d grown out some at her request. “Although….” She let her fingers slide down his bare chest to his photoshop-worthy abs, then further down to cup a hand over his cock. It stirred to life under her palm.
He stepped away from her, looking utterly wigged out. “Wait, just… hold on a second.”
She sighed and watched as he turned to one of the many kitchen drawers and grabbed something out of it.
“Guess this won’t wait until Christmas then,” he said, going down on one knee and opening the ring box to reveal the most beautiful marquis shaped diamond set in platinum she had ever seen.
“So it takes me getting preggers for you to put a ring on it, eh, Roberts?” She leaned back, crossing her arms and trying to look skeptical.
“No,” he said, rising to his feet slowly, perfectly, like a wild animal, like her wild animal, her Wade, her almost-husband. “That’s just a bonus, I guess.” He grabbed her ass and yanked her to him, grinding his now full erection against her.
“I’m gonna be late for work,” she warned, dropping her purse and briefcase and letting him slide the ring on her finger then his hands up her skirt.
“So what?” he growled into her neck. “I’ll make it worth it.”
“God, I love you,” she sighed as he ripped her panties in two and tossed her over his shoulder.
“Good thing, since I knocked you up,” he said, giving her ass a few smacks before he tossed her down on the bed. “I love you too, for the record. Now, about that fucking with me thing, future Missus Roberts?”
