Battered and Bruised, But not Broken

by Piper Kay

  “No dude, it’s cool. I’ll totally help,” he chimes in.

  Those mere words confirm I’m truly, madly, deeply falling for Hunter. I wouldn’t say it’s love yet, but my feelings are well on their way to the “L” word. No matter how battered and bruised we both are, I know together we can fix whatever is broken inside us.

  We go to the garage to retrieve the ladder and gloves then go up and assess the gutters before deciding what tools we’d need. Scanning the gutter line, we determine there isn’t much in them, so Hunter grabs the hose and spray nozzle while I grab the broom to sweep off the roof while he hoses out the gutters. All in all, the whole process only takes us about an hour.

  Once we’re back inside, we check with Granny to see if she needs anything else done.

  She says, “No, boys, thank you,” pecking us both on the cheeks. “Go enjoy the rest of your afternoon.”

  I remind her, “I’m running Hunter home so he can do laundry and whatever else he needs to take care of.”

  Hunter gives her a hug. “Thank you for everything,” he says, then we head out the door.

  I hate taking him back to that place, it’s in a seedy part of town, and the protective side of me is kicking in. Wishing he could stay with me, I know we aren’t at that juncture in our relationship– if we’re even in a relationship. Hell, for all I know, I’m nothing more than a hook up to him. This thought makes my stomach turn as I swallow the bile building up in my throat.

  We walk inside his room and he offers me a beer which I accept.

  “Hey, Hunter, where do you take your laundry?” I ask.

  “There’s a place down the street.”

  “You take it on your bike?” This seems a bit outlandish to me, but having never ridden a bike I don’t know how that works.

  “Nah man, I walk it down there. I load up my duffle bag and off I go.”

  “Ah.” I take a sip of my beer, not sure what to say next. I watch him pack up his laundry while I finish my beer, then stand to say goodbye. Our kisses quickly escalate as he grinds up against me, clearly getting hard. “Dude, you’re insatiable,” I tell him, nipping his bottom lip.

  “I’m not the one who got the afternoon fix,” Hunter pouts.

  “Ya, but if I don’t leave now, I’ll never make it to work on time tomorrow morning.”

  He laughs, kissing me again. “Okay, drop me off at the laundromat, will ya?”

  “Of course.” I walk over, holding the door open for him. He tosses his duffle and bag of detergents in the back seat before we set off. Once there, he kisses me again before reaching for the door handle. Earlier thoughts of where this is going and what it means to him floods me and the look on my face must say it all.

  “What’s wrong, Ell?” he asks.

  “Ah, nothing.” I fidget, pulling at a rogue string on the steering wheel cover.

  “It’s nothing? Really? Something’s wrong because it’s written all over your face,” he says, setting his palm against my cheek.

  I feel sheepish asking, but if I don’t it’ll eat me alive. “Um, where do you see this going, you and me? Am I a hook up or do I mean more to you?” I look down at my hands, picking at my cuticles hoping his response is I mean something to him.

  Chapter Nine

  Hunter

  Why does he always leave me hanging, speechless, not even knowing how to answer him correctly? Where do I see us? Oh my God, if I knew that, life would be so much easier.

  “Um, well I like the way things are headed. But we still have a lot to talk about, things I’m not ready to share. Things that might scare you off.” He looks at me with that deer in the headlights expression. Hopefully I haven’t screwed things up with my bluntness.

  “Sure, I understand. I had a great weekend.”

  “Me too, Ell. If I text you when I’m done, can you pick me up?”

  That brings the light back to his face. Hell, I’m finding it hard to leave him, but I need to sort some shit out before committing to him. Fuck, commitment– what a scary ass word.

  “Okay.”

  Damn, why do I feel like I just kicked a baby? Reaching over, I run my fingers along his jawline, planting a sweet kiss on his sexy ass lips before retreating inside to do laundry.

  I have to give Elliott this, he keeps me on my tip-toes all the time, but can I really trust him with my past right now? Things are working out so perfectly, better than perfect. Ell stirs me up and sends my head spinning in so many ways it almost blinds me. Fuckkkk.

  Tossing my clothes in the washer, I set another load in the dryer at the local washateria, but also know one thing for a fact. Shit happens in this place, and they’re things that don’t need to be known by Elliott, he’d freak. You got the pingers in one corner who dip their whole life savings into a machine, gambling on the odds that they might hit a lick, and the ones who run the place which are the same ones who run the carwash across the street. That’s where they deal dope from. I refuse to expose Ell to all this madness that makes no sense, and will scare him off.

  I quickly run back outside to him. “Do you mind dropping me back off at the motel, instead?” I try my best to get him away from this scene immediately and glad I looked back to see him still safely confined in his car. They’ll eat him and his innocence alive if ‘they’ thought ‘they’ could. Thankfully for me, that’s when and where I’ll step in and shut it all down. I don’t play that shit.

  “Ya, no problem. I was kind of hoping we could talk a little more.” He blushes, as he looks to the floorboard, then meets me eye level again.

  “Then let’s blow this joint.”

  I climb into his car, and I can see the predators crawling up on us. Typical! All it takes is one look from me, and they back the fuck down, pronto. Been in this scene too long, but, here’s the thing. When you’ve got it, you can spot it. It’s all a matter of who wants to push it through with you. I have certain tatts for a reason, so all I need to do is roll up a sleeve, and they know to get the hell away from me. Luckily for me today, they decide to go find a new victim. They won’t get to my Elliott, and Ell has no clue what’s even happening. There’s a body language, a show and tell that can run all around one’s who can’t see it. These guys spot it, but the know enough not to try me today. Smart fucking move.

  We arrive back to my shithole of an excuse place to live, and Elliott sits on the bed. I grab a bottled water out of the fridge, and offer him one, but he says no. I do live on a liquid diet at times, but it’s not always got booze involved. Now what to say.

  Before I even get the thought through my own brain, Ell pops off the question.

  “What happened to you?” He’s innocent and sweet, and I know he cares, but how do I even go here with him?

  “What do you mean?” I put up the fake front for his protection and scoot back against the headboard.

  He walks over to me, straddling my lap, and caresses both of his hands against my cheeks.

  “It’s not important.” I tuck my chin up against my chest, and stay focused on the ground, not the fact that the hottest man on the god-damned planet is on top of my lap.

  Elliott jerks my head up to look him square in the eyes. “Stop that. I know there are things you’re not telling me. Don’t you trust me?”

  He runs his fingers through my hair and I close my eyes. His touch feels so wonderful.

  I guess it’s best to get it out of the way, though I don’t want to go there. I never wanted him to see this side of me.

  “Um...it’s a long story.” I try to brush him off, but he’s not going for it. Not one damn bit, he’s so freaking determined.

  He caresses across the scar under my eye. “Here, let’s start with this. What happened here?”

  “A fight when I was younger.” It’s the truth, to a point, he doesn’t need all the details.

  He peppers gentle kisses against it, and somehow that eases the sting it’s caused me since it happened.

  And then he slips his hands up under my shirt and p
ulls it over my head, so I’m bare chested against him.

  “And this one?” His fingers trickle across me, from one side to the other, I cringe and chills break out as he touches the gash across my chest from left to right.

  Oh Gawd.

  “Car wreck.” I leave it at that and pray he doesn’t see the one on my side, the one that almost killed me, the one that changed my entire life.

  “What kind of car wreck, Hunter?” He strokes his gentle finger across it.

  “The normal kind I guess, I just happened to be street racing at the time. We used to do that as kids.”

  “How? You already told me you were kicked out as a kid, and then your parents turned their backs on you again when you went to prison. How did you afford a car and stuff?” he asks.

  Hells bells, he’s gonna take this deeper now. “Because a kid does whatever they have to do to fend for themselves. Hustle, or whatever. I’m uncomfortable talking about this, Ell. My situation is different than yours. I don’t think you’re ready to hear all that about me yet.”

  “I’d accept you for whomever you are, Hunter.” He kisses my lips again, and sends my dick in straight hard on mode.

  “No!” I push him off me, again.

  “I trusted you on everything with me so far, Hunter, so why do you clam up and go into bitch mode with me? Why don’t you tell me the fucking truth? I don’t need protection from you. I’m a big boy.”

  Goddammit, fuckenhell, shit a fucking brick. The man checks me every which way I go, and he’s never been to prison before, what does he know about checking anyone?

  In prison, checking someone means standing up for yourself, and testing limits all around you to see how someone else handles it. It happens a billion times a day. Someone always wants to check your ass, and I lived through that, somehow. They’ll check you on the color of your skin, your sexual preference, who your ‘so called’ friends are, who you’re affiliated with, hell even on what you eat, how you sleep, and they watch you, looking for any reason to jump your shit. Stick a hundred convicts, plus two hundred, maybe three hundred more, and they all gather and plot on whether they can punk you down. I fought my way out of too many situations, which pissed them all off, because I stayed ready for anything coming my way. I don’t punk down, not ever.

  “I know you did, Ell, and I appreciate your total honesty. I truly do, but there are some things I don’t know how to word to you right now, so please be patient with me on this. I’m not trying to hide anything from you, I just don’t know how to introduce you to that part of my life without scaring you off or repercussions.” I take a deep breath. “I love what we have, it’s the first real thing I’ve had in a long time. I don’t want to run you off, and I’m afraid that’s what’ll happen if you know the ‘real’ me.”

  “You don’t scare me, Hunter.” He bucks up against me, pressing his hand against my throat.

  I grin. “It’s because you don’t know me yet. Why do you think I keep it that way?”

  “Does anyone really know you, Hunter?” He tilts his head to the side as he asks.

  “You know more than most, let’s just leave it at that for now. Please,” I beg.

  Ell presses up against me, shoving his tongue down my throat, and I lose myself in the moment. I could totally fall head over heels for this guy, but there’s one issue.

  My past…

  Chapter Ten

  Elliott

  Hunter openly admitted there’s stuff we need to talk about, but then he clammed back up. I chose to leave it at that, for now, but know I’ll bring it up again when the right time presents itself– if not before then. But the way those guys watched us as we pulled away from the laundromat sent chills running down my spine. What did they want with my man?

  Having that gorgeous man below me, all rational thoughts are lost as I snap back to the present. My mind’s eye turning to him buried deep, inside me. It only took that one time we had sex for me to become hopelessly addicted, it’s as though my body craves him.

  Grinding down on his lap, I feel him spur to life as shockwaves shoot through me. The tent pitched in my pants is painfully rubbing against the interior of my shorts and the need to rip them off becomes overwhelming. It’s almost as if Hunter reads my mind as he chooses that very moment to reach over and free me. All the while his lips never leave mine.

  “Hunter?” I say, still pressing against his lap while his fingertips trace along the head of my dick peeking out of the top of my boxers.

  “Yeah, babe,” he says, kissing a trail down my neck.

  “Need you…”

  “Need me to what?” he teases.

  “Argh, you’re so frustrating.”

  “Use your words, Ell,” he chuckles.

  “Fine,” I yell, standing up. He reaches for my hand, but I pull it away. “Stand up now, Hunter.”

  I’m not sure if it’s the tone of my voice or what, but he immediately stands.

  “Good boy,” my turn to tease, “now strip.”

  He slides his shirt off, but while reaching for his shorts he pauses, “I’m not sure what’s gotten into you, but I hope this is going to have a happy ending.”

  “If by happy ending you mean having your cock buried inside me, then ya, it’s going to have a happy ending.” Wow, if I’d known that was all it took to get him ready and rearing to go, I would’ve played this card sooner. In the blink of an eye, he strips and parks himself back on the bed leaning against the headboard with his hands propped behind his head.

  “You’re turn. Let me see that hot, little ass,” he chides.

  Hmm, I like that comment, so I opt to give him a show. Seductively swaying my hips while sliding my shirt off, I twist around, twerking a bit while pushing my boxers down. Ha, who knew I had it in me or that I could shake my ass like that? Once my boxers are pooled around my ankles, I bend over, sliding them off along with my shoes and socks while giving Hunter a great shot of my ass. When I turn around, he’s stroking himself, grinning. That’s hot as fuck.

  “I want to taste you,” I tell him, my face flushing.

  “Come over here.” He motions with his finger.

  Sliding up the bed between his legs, I push his hand away and replace it with mine. Licking from his balls up, he moans telling me I’m heading in the right direction. So, I continue my oral assault. Reaching the tip, I swirl my tongue around before sliding my mouth down him. I may be far less experienced than Hunter, but what I lack in finesse I more than make up for in tenacity.

  “Ell,” he moans, running his fingers through my curls.

  I look up, making eye contact, my suction never wavers.

  “You’re gonna make me come and that’s not the happy ending I had in mind.”

  I pull off with a pop while he reaches into the nightstand retrieving the lube and a condom.

  He hands me the bottle. “I want more of the Elliott show. I wanna watch you prep yourself.”

  Popping the lid open, he takes two of my fingers and squirts lube on them. Reaching behind myself, I swirl my entrance with lube before sliding my first finger in to the knuckle. Gasping, I push it in further watching Hunter’s pupils lustfully dilate. Pushing my finger in and out a couple times, I slide the second in and moan even louder while I finger fuck myself. This erotic foreplay is quickly taking me to the edge. I watch Hunter slide the condom on and lube it up. Fuck, this isn’t going to take either of us long at all.

  Straddling his lap, I grab him, positioning his tip at my entrance before pushing down on him. It stings like hell and I’m still sore from this morning. But I need time to adjust, so I lift back up. Hunter moans and bites his bottom lip. Fuck, that sexy ass moan is enough for me and the need to drive him further inside takes over. Feeling a bit overzealous, I hold my breath and push all the way down until I’m sitting flush against his lap. Pausing to accommodate this burning intrusion, I glance at Hunter noticing he looks concerned. His worry grips at my heart strings so I lean over, sucking his bottom lip in to let him
know I’m okay.

  He digs his fingers into my hips as I begin to work myself up and down him. Riding him like the prized stallion he is to me. I know I never want to feel another man inside me. Hunter and I mesh well and every time he grazes my prostate, the shockwaves shooting through give me the inertia I need to press on. Riding harder, faster I reach down, fisting my cock in tune with my gait. Beads of sweat form on his forehead and I know we’re both nearing climax.

  “Fuck, Ell, it’s hot a hell to watch you jack off.”

  “Hunter, oh God, Hunter…Gonna come.”

  “I’m right there with ya. Come for me, Ell. Come now, baby.” His eyes roll back in his head, he moans and thrusts up, shoving deeper inside of me.

  Tossing my head back, I release in a heated rush coating both of us and damn near pass out. This is by far the most intense orgasm I’ve ever had. The combination of the love I’m feeling for Hunter, the slight pain from this morning’s tryst, and the position we’re in really sent me over the edge. He hit my zone with each thrust, making me see stars.

  When the ripples cease, I slide off, noting how damn sore I really am. Hunter disposes of the condom and grabs a towel from the bathroom to clean us both off. Then we curl up together under the covers. The loss of body fluids from today’s sex fest has my head spinning.

  After regaining my equilibrium, reality kicked in. “Shit, what time is it?” I ask him.

  He grabs his cell off the nightstand. “Midnight.”

  “I’ve got to go, I need to be to work by nine a.m.” Reluctantly, I get up to get dressed. The pain nips at me and I suck in air thinking to myself, damn, I’m gonna be feeling this one for a few days.

  Hunter slides his boxers on, walking me to the door and pulling me into his arms. I lay my head in the crook of his neck. “When can I see you again?”

  “Hopefully soon, I have some more interviews this week, but I’ll text you and we’ll set something up.”

  “Text me when you get home.”