Battered and Bruised, But not Broken

by Piper Kay

  I fight back the tears, looking forward to the door slamming, so I can break down in private. And not humiliate myself in front of him.

  Eyes closed hard, it’ll take a pry bar now to open them. The door doesn’t slam and I don’t know why. Maybe my Elliott slipped out and made it a point not to be dramatic about it. I don’t freaking know right now.

  It seems like a year has passed. I’ve given it time, and need to face the facts.

  Taking a deep breath, I slowly open my good eye. The whole room spins into a blur of dizziness and darkness. I guess he killed the lights on the way out. I can’t see straight anymore, I’m so tired. My heart’s killing me, and I can’t focus, I need to go curl up with my pillow and sleep it off. Get some rest, then deal with the consequences tomorrow.

  Stumbling my way across the room, I kill the bathroom light, and strip down to nothing at the side of the bed, then crawl in naked, yanking the comforter around me. Sleep, it’s the only thing that makes sense.

  My body collapses, as I damn near hug myself to death. No one ever sticks around long enough to do it for me, not that I give them a chance to get that close. This is a self-saving thing I do for myself. Just wrap up tight, and keep hangin’ on.

  Before I give it a second thought, I try to comfort myself, and mumble out loud, feeling the need to hear a voice in the room, even if it is only my own.

  “I wasn’t put here to fail. I don’t have it in me to quit. I’m better than this, I don’t give up, even when it makes no sense to anyone else.” No clue who I’m talking too, but I need to hear this right now.

  Warm, soothing hands caress my back, wrapping around my chest, and grip me so tight it shocks the breath out of me. I want to jump up and fight; I don’t have it in me, but it’s a nice ass dream.

  A warm breath blows against the nape of my neck, sending every hair on my body, straight up to alert level. I can’t move. I’m so tired.

  “Baby…”

  “Yes?” I answer, silently, but know it escaped my lips somehow. I’m so out of it right now, maybe that hit to the head totally warped me out.

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  It’s Elliott, but why? I thought he left me.

  Am I thinking out loud now, it’s like he knows what’s running through my head, but, how could he?

  Ell curls his body up against mine, the warmth sinks though me. I’ve never been so thankful in my entire life to hear his voice, feel his touch.

  “I thought you hated me, my past, hell, everything about me.” Holy fuckenshit.

  “I told you I don’t quit, do believe me yet?”

  I roll to my side, feeling every bit of him, but on a whole different level.

  Without words, I grab him and yank him up on top of me, rolling my cock into him, but in a purely passionate way, I don’t want to fuck him, I want to make love to him, show him a different side to me.

  He moans and I jerk his mouth to mine, needing him, wanting to taste him. Ell grinds down on me, horny as fuck, but I need to tame that in him. As he sways against me all hard and forcing it, I slowly wind my cock against the bulge in his boxers, letting us tease each other. I glide my hand over his dick, letting my fingers feel the twitches forcing him to moan. Then wind it down a notch, as I slow my roll and go compassionate and passionate with him.

  He’s still here, I didn’t scare him off, don’t even ask me how that happened, but he didn’t run, he’d crawled in my bed, and waited for me.

  Gently running my fingers through his curls, I tangle them at the ends. The outside parking lot light shines through the blinds on the window and I notice the way his eyes roll back in his head. He’s the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen. I’ve never made love to a man in my life, but I’ve got to do this for him. I respect him enough to try and pray I get it right.

  He pushes down on me, and I claw my fingers across his back, letting him work it all out.

  Somehow in the middle of all this, he calms down, so easily, and that’s where we meet. The way he caresses me, the adorable grins he gives me, with such flirty winks and kisses, smiling in between, he cups my face in his hands. He runs them across the shady stubble I’ve got going on right now, but he doesn’t care.

  Clasping his back, he rolls forward, slowing his pace, yet teasing at the same time.

  “You don’t know what you do to me, Hunter?” he expels like he just gave up his naughtiest, dirtiest wet dream.

  “You have no clue where you send me either,” I exclaim, then need to go into more details. “Ell.” I grasp him from behind, and roll him onto me again, making my cock want to explode. “I still have so much to tell you, besides the prison shit. I need to tell you how and why I went there, babe.”

  “Not now. I’m not going anywhere. Yes, you scared the fuck out of me earlier, so what? You didn’t do it on purpose.”

  “So sorry, baby,” I mumble, while he presses against me.

  “Don’t be, just fuck me right now.”

  “Let me show you a different side of all that,” I beg him.

  “Okay.”

  That’s all it takes, I guide him back to my mouth, gently pressing my lips to his. I have to go easy ‘cause my lip is so swollen up. Delving my tongue inside, twirling it around him as he grinds down harder. He’s making this hard for me, like literally hard in so many ways.

  I reach for my drawer, to get lube and protection. And he moans into my ear. My fuck, I want to eat him alive, but I need to stay calm.

  “Let me claim you this time,” he mumbles, his voice hitching in his throat.

  “K.”

  He takes the lube, but instead of slicking his fingers up and down my cock, he puts it on his own fingers instead.

  Elliott backs off me and stops the beautiful grinding he was doing, and slips one finger inside of me and I clench tight around him. I’ve never been on the receiving end, but by fuck it feels good. I’ve always topped, period, there was no getting around that. I might not be a so-called virgin by all means, as my first experience almost got me there, but it was horrible for me, so I had the bulk and cockiness behind me to stop the shit. Never again have I gone there, yet now, here I am anxiously awaiting it, but only from Elliott. He glides inside of me, little by little and holy fucking shit, he feels so good doing it. Amazing.

  I tense, then release, as he curls his finger inside. Oh, dear fucking Jesus.

  “Oh Gawd…” I moan, pushing against his hand.

  I can’t stop, feeling what he’s doing to me. He crooks his finger, bends and twists it.

  I wind my ass to every jab and movement, wanting to beg for more, but all I can muster is his name, his beautiful fucking name.

  “Elliott…”

  He smiles, and kisses me.

  “Oh my God, you, you gotta stop this.” I drown his mouth with my voice.

  “No, I don’t, Hunter. God, you feel so good. So tight, baby.”

  I let out a gasp, and let him have his way with me. I can’t and don’t know how to regain composure right now.

  As he slips in and out of me, I lose my head in it all, riding his fingers, jutting to every touch, thrusting up against his fingers. Oh, hell yeah.

  “I’m going to add another now,” he rumbles out.

  Just the thought makes me anxious for so much more.

  “Relax,” Elliott tells me, while smiling.

  “Quit using my damn lines.” But as soon as he does, I can’t find my voice to speak again.

  He slides inside of me, making his fingers work dreams that are un-imaginable, and all I can do is push back against him. Like my head wasn’t already fucked up enough tonight, he goes and takes it into another realm. A good one this time though.

  I know what I want to say to him, but can’t catch my voice to form words, so I just ride his fingers, enjoying every thrust. I buck up one moment, then squirm the next.

  This man is driving me insane.

  Chapter Twelve

  Elliott

  Watching my fing
ers glide in and out of this gorgeous man, my man, the only man who’s ever owned my heart. No matter how fucked up his past is, it’s just that– his past, and I know I’ll never be able to leave him no matter how at war my head and heart are.

  “Ell, baby. I don’t want to come like this, I need you inside me,” Hunter says, jolting me back to the present.

  Withdrawing my fingers, I reach across the bed for the condom and more lube. Grasping the tip, I slide it on and lube up. Placing my tip at his entrance, I watch him swallow hard. I caress his face with my palm. “Hunter, your past doesn’t scare me because I know our future’s together. I love you,” I tell him, engulfing his mouth with mine while pushing past his tight ring.

  Tears form at the corners of his eyes, he gulps, “I love you too, Ell.”

  That’s all the incentive I need to press forward, plunging us into the emotionally unknown. We both have many demons left to tackle, but the fact that this strong, independent man is giving himself to me in the most vulnerable of ways tells me this moment is a major turning point for us.

  Hunter nods, letting me know he’s adjusted and I move again. Leaving my palm on his face, I grasp his hip with my other hand as I pull out and push in deeper. Our eyes are still locked in a heated, primal gaze. His pupils are fully dilated. I graze his prostate, and his back arches off the bed while he grinds against me.

  I grab his cock, stroking it from base to tip. His moan urges me on as I increase the strokes to mirror my thrusts.

  “Harder Ell,” he begs.

  I’m about to blow, but try my best to hold it at bay. Pulling back, I drive harder, faster, deeper with each thrust, but I know I can’t hold out any longer.

  “Hunter, fuck you’re so tight. Can’t hold back…Gonna come,” I grunt.

  “I’m coming too, oh fuck. Ell…” he screams my name, and that’s my undoing.

  I watch Hunter’s face as he unleashes, smattering himself from stomach to collar bone. I ride out my orgasm, sated and wiped out as I collapse on top of him. Not caring a bit that his warm release lies between us. Finally breathing again, I pull out, disposing of the condom in the bathroom and grab us a warm wash cloth to clean up with before crashing on the bed beside him.

  “Fuck, babe, that was intense.” He kisses my temple.

  “I, I’ve never done that before. I hope I didn’t hurt you,” I mumble.

  He tilts my chin up so we’re eye to eye. “You didn’t hurt me, Ell, and it’s been a long time since I’ve willingly bottomed for anyone.”

  The kiss we share is full of passion, full of love. I resign to fall asleep in his arms, curling up tightly against his chest. I’m dozing off when he speaks again.

  “Ell, I hate to look a gift horse in the mouth, but why were you at the laundromat tonight?”

  “Oh shit, I totally forgot.” I climb out of bed and slip on my slacks and shoes, grab my keys, and bolt out the door heading straight for my car. After grabbing his offer letter, I return to the room, but forgot to prop the door open and realize I’ve locked myself out. Shamefully, I knock.

  He opens the door, a sad look on his face. “I thought you left me.”

  Leaning up on my tip toes, I kiss his nose. “Not on your life, love. I have something for you.”

  We walk back into the room before I hand him the letter.

  “What’s this?” he asks.

  “Read it, silly,” I tell him, grinning from ear to ear.

  I watch his face as he reads it, midway through, a smile appears and he looks up at me. “Seriously?”

  “Seriously, babe. Shane had me type it up and told me to make sure and get it to you ASAP. I wanted to give it to you in person, so that’s why I headed over, to surprise you. Sorry things didn’t turn out as I’d planned.” I look down at the ground, scuffing the toe of my shoe against the carpet. I’m so embarrassed over how my so-called surprise turned out.

  He grabs me, pulling me tightly against his chest. “I’m sorry it didn’t go the way you planned too, but I’m not sorry for the way this night has ended.”

  I melt into him, the way he draws me in, it’s like fireworks erupt inside me every time our lips meet. He pulls back slightly, but doesn’t let me go.

  “If I accept, will I still be able to see you? I mean, outside of work?”

  He’s so cute when he acts shy. “Yes, I talked to the HR admin and she said technically we will be in different departments so it wouldn’t be a problem. But no snogging at work.” I laugh.

  Hunter crooks his brow in question. “Snogging?”

  “Yup. Snogging. She’s British and that’s their way of saying sucking face.”

  We both crack up.

  “Stay with me tonight?” he asks.

  Damn, I know I need to go home because of work tomorrow, but I can’t say no to those eyes. “Yes, of course. But I’ll need to leave early so I can go home to shower and change. Shane will be expecting your response, so what do you want me to tell him?”

  He lets go of me and walks over to the table, signing the offer letter. “There, all ready to go. What started as a shit night has now turned into one of the best nights of my life,” he says setting the pen down.

  I saunter over to him, leaning across his back and slide my arms around his waist. “Outside of the damage your body incurred, it’s been one of the best nights of my life too,” I say, kissing his shoulder.

  “Now, let’s get you out of those clothes, because I want that hot, little ass naked and parked back in my bed,” he says, unbuttoning my slacks.

  I slide out of them and my shoes before turning to head back to bed. He slaps my ass and winks at me when I turn around eyeing him. Fuck, I love this man.

  We crash hard and fast and before long, my phone alarm is going off. I lean over, kissing my sleeping angel before grabbing the letter off the table and heading home to get ready for another fun filled day at work. The only thing that keeps the smile on my face is knowing that soon, I’ll be able to see my man every day, well every work day. Hopefully, we might be able to carpool, maybe eventually even live together. Argh, I need to pull back my reins. I’m getting too far ahead of myself.

  ***

  I emerge from the shower to the scent of freshly cooked bacon. Granny is up and cooking so it’s time to do the walk of shame.

  “Morning, Granny,” I say, kissing her cheek, “smells great.” I pour myself a cup of coffee.

  “Morning, sweetie, how’s Hunter?” she asks, grinning like the cat that ate the canary.

  My face flushes as I walk over to the table, taking a seat. “Um, he’s great.” I can’t make eye contact with her for my life. So, unbelievably embarrassing…

  She fills our plates and brings them to the table, taking the seat across from me. “You’re a big boy, Elliott, no reason to get embarrassed. I like Hunter, all I ask is that you’re both being careful.”

  Thoughts of last night’s events fill my guilty conscience and I grimace picturing Hunter’s swollen face.

  “Do you think you boys could paint the shutters for me on Sunday?” she asks.

  I’m happy for the change of subject. “Let me check with Hunter, if he can’t I will for sure.” I finish eating, rinse my plate, and put it the dishwasher telling her I’m heading into work. I shoot Hunter a quick text:

  Morning love, heading to work. Granny wants to know if we can paint the shutters for her on Sunday??

  I grab my Starbucks I.V. on the way in, knowing full well my tired ass needs a java jolt before it deals with Shane. About fifteen minutes into my shift he graces me with his presence.

  “Elliott, do you have anything back from Hunter?” he asks. No good morning, how are you doing or even a kiss my ass.

  “Well, good morning to you too, Shane. Yes, I do.” Feeling rather smug, I reach into my messenger bag and hand him the signed offer letter.

  “Great,” he says, completely ignoring my snide remarks. “Grab a pen and paper and head to my office so I can get you started on his new hire
packet.”

  “Shane, at the risk of sounding rude, how exactly did I get the job as your assistant?”

  Wow, his face paled. Maybe he does have some sort of feelings. Minimally I’m sure, but something simmers below the gruff exterior. Yeah, I wish, the man is a total dickwad.

  “Oh, ah…sorry. Sometimes I forget. There’s no budget for an assistant, so I’ve kinda been leaning on you. Let me try this again, Elliott, would you please help me get the new hire packet together for Hunter?”

  “There, that’s better and when you ask so nicely it makes it hard to refuse.” The shit eating grin on my face clearly says ‘neener, neener, neener, you’re a giant wiener.’ I grab a pen and notepad and follow him into his office, jotting down all I need to complete. Once back at my desk, I go to the shared drive the HR admin showed me the other day to retrieve all the documents. After filling them out, I print them, put them in a folder, and place it in Shane’s inbox.

  He thanks me and brushes me off in his usual way. Well, the previous courtesy he’d granted me was short lived.

  Around two o’clock, Hunter texted me back:

  Hey babe, my sorry ass just woke up.

  Ha, someone was a sleepy head??

  I’m down for helping Granny on Sunday

  And that’s one of the many reasons why I love you

  Love you too, got an email with papers from Shane. I don’t have any way of printing them. Can you do it for me and bring them by after work?

  Of course, see you around six?

  Perfect. Pizza?

  Sounds good to me

  Cool, see ya then

  I shoot Granny a text letting her know we’re good to go for Sunday, and that I’d be late because I’m going by Hunter’s place.

  Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do ??, she texts back.

  I didn’t even know she knew what emoticons are, but it makes me laugh that she included a winky face.

  The rest of the day goes by in a blur and I damn near forget to print out Hunter’s papers. After doing so, I grab them off the printer and then head over to see my man. Hehe, my man…

  When I get there, his door is open and the smell of pizza is wafting from the room. I walk in and see him setting the table for two.