Battered and Bruised, But not Broken

by Piper Kay

  The ride back to town is quick. We pull into the parking lot and as we get off the bike, he takes me into his arms. “I love you, Ell. I don’t know why you stayed, but I’m glad you did.” He kisses me so deeply I feel it in my core, telling me all I need to know. Behind this gruff, bad boy exterior lies a lonely, broken man. A man who’s been cast aside time and time again, by the system and by his family. But with the love of a good man, he can be put back together better than he was before.

  He puts his shirt on and we grab our order. We opt to sit outside at one of the more secluded patio tables. I decide a change of subject is in order in the hopes of alleviating some of the tension between us. “So, you ready for Monday morning?”

  Swallowing what’s in his mouth, he takes a swig of his beer before responding, “Well, about as ready as I can be. Will we be able to eat lunch together?”

  “For the most part, we should be able to and I was kinda,” pausing, I take a sip of my liquid courage before sharing one of my ideas, “thinking that…uh, we could maybe carpool.”

  Noting my nerves, he reaches across the table, placing his hand over mine. “I’d like that, Ell.”

  I feel like a giddy school girl being asked to the prom, beaming from ear to ear. We finish our tacos and beer before strolling hand in hand back to his death machine. Luckily, the ride to the motel is brief.

  After grabbing my backpack out of my car, I follow him up the stairs and into his room and drop it on the chair. Hunter is still a bit reserved and sits on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. I decide to take the lead at this point. “Shower with me?” I ask, pushing his knees apart with my legs so I can stand between them.

  He strokes my sides, kissing my belly through my shirt before nodding in agreement and standing.

  I wrap my arms around his neck as his slink around my waist. He draws me in for a tight hug, there’s nothing in this world that I’d let tear us apart. The thought of being without him literally takes my breath away. They say true love is your soul’s recognition of its counterpart in another. It’s crystal clear to me that our souls are now one.

  We undress and then step into the shower. Hunter stands under the warm water stream, dazing off so I take the initiative to soap up the rag and wash him. Applying gentle strokes to every part of his body. I know he needs me to take care of him in ways no one ever has.

  “Turn around, babe,” I tell him, needing to wash his back. “Okay, get your hair wet so I can wash it.” Lathering his hair, I massage his scalp.

  The blissed-out moan that escapes him lets me know this is more than appreciated. He stands to the side while I take care of my hygienic needs. I dry us both off before we crawl into bed.

  He curls up in my arms and I hold him tight, kissing the top of head before whispering, “I love you.” Emotionally drained, I hear his breathing slow as he crashes hard and fast. This is one of those nights where making love isn’t warranted. It’s far more important to be there for one another, holding each other in comfortable silence.

  I wake him Saturday morning, peppering him with kisses.

  He rolls over grinning. “Someone woke up in the good mood,” he says.

  “Of course I did. I woke up with you.” Finally, being able to reach his lips, I give him a good morning kiss.

  “Babe,” he says, stroking my back.

  “Mmm?”

  “Are you sure you want to be with me? I’m a broke-ass mess. I have nothing to offer you and will only drag you down.”

  “Hunter, I’m more than sure you’re the one for me. Our pasts are our pasts. Sure, we both have demons to cage, but what matters most is that we battle through it together. The heart wants what the heart wants, and mine wants you. Now I don’t care to hear another word about this. I’m glad you finally shared some of your past with me, an event that molded you into the man I love. Albeit, this wasn’t a positive event, but it seemed to be a necessary evil to set you on the path to me.”

  A single tear streams down his cheek. I kiss the corner of his eye before brushing it away with my thumb. Being the silly boy that I’m, I keep kissing his face and neck while repeating, “Mine,” until he’s laughing along with me.

  “Okay, love, let’s get some breakfast before heading to Casa Ell. Grab your laundry and you can wash it at my house while we get our gamer geek on. Today will be our only chance to play because I’m certain Granny’s honey do list has expanded since telling her you’d be there too.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want to be a burden.”

  “That’s enough of that kind of talk. Boy, if I told Granny you said that she’d have your hide and you don’t want to piss the Granny off.” I wink and grin.

  He shakes his head, but there’s a faint smile on his face too. “I’m gonna take my bike so you won’t have to bring me home on Sunday night.”

  “No problem, but I’ll pick you up bright and early Monday morning so you don’t show up with helmet head on your first day. You’ll be in training with HR all day, along with the other new hires. They usually take the group to lunch.”

  He groans, “I don’t want to eat with a bunch of strangers.”

  “Oh, buck up, cowboy, it’s good to meet new people,” I teased. “You can have lunch with me every day thereafter.”

  “Fine,” he growls, but gets up to gather his laundry and get ready.

  After tossing his bag in the trunk of my car, we head over to Denny’s for breakfast. Luckily, they aren’t packed, so we’re seated and served rather quickly and the conversation is light, merely tormenting each other about who’s going to win what video games today.

  At Granny’s, we go in through the basement entrance, dropping off our bags before heading upstairs to check in with her.

  “There’s my boys,” she cheerfully sings.

  “Hey Granny,” we both say, each kissing an opposite cheek on her soft, round face.

  I love my Granny more than words can say. She literally saved my life and from time to time, I get the feeling my presence may have brought her back to life. She was so sad and lonely after my grandfather passed. They had such a strong bond and I fear a part of her died right along with him. I never quite understood this until I met and fell in love with Hunter. Now I can’t imagine my life without him.

  “You boys hungry?” she asks.

  “Nah, we grabbed breakfast on the way here,” I tell her.

  “Okay, let’s skip lunch then. I bought steaks for the three of us to barbeque tonight.”

  “Granny, you should’ve told me that’s what you wanted and I would’ve picked them up on the way here.” Argh, that woman.

  “Pish, posh. I can buy what I want to buy, Elliott. But don’t worry, I’ll make you work for it.” She winks, handing me the honey do list.

  Hunter peeks over my shoulder reading it along with me. “Good lord, Granny, this will take a week to complete.”

  “Well then, you boys will just have to spend more time here, now, won’t you?”

  Oh, she has this all planned in her devious little mind.

  I shake my finger teasingly, scolding her while Hunter grins. “Woman, are you trying to kill us?”

  “Now why on Earth would I do that to my two favorite boys?” she says, pinching a cheek on each of our faces.

  “Okay, we can tackle the small things today and still paint the shutters tomorrow. From there, we’ll need to get a game plan together since you practically have us rebuilding the entire house.”

  She knows I’m teasing as she blows us air kisses and walks into the reading room to dive back into her latest romance novel. It’s something called, ‘The Black Feather’ by JM Wolf, the way she rants about it has me sneaking in at night reading too. Not bad at all, in fact, very impressive.

  We head downstairs to change into work clothes and start Hunter’s laundry, knowing now that mindless gaming would have to wait. After picking the duties we’d tackle today, we go to the garage to grab the tools we’ll need. Hunter opts for raking the l
eaves in the yard while I grab the WD-40 and the screwdriver to take care of the interior door hinges. When everything is tightened and squeak free, I head out to help Hunter bag up the leaves and place them curbside for the Monday morning trash pick-up.

  As we finish up, Granny brings us glasses of lemonade and says, “Boys, I’d like to start dinner around four. You should get cleaned up now.”

  It’s only two, so we go back inside to shower and change into lounging clothes to relax and play games. Once we plopped down on the couch in the basement living room, I toss Hunter a controller and headset. “My Granny’s really taken to you.”

  “It’s nice to be taken too. It’s been a long time since I had a family.” He shyly smiles, absently fiddling with the controller in his hands.

  “Be careful what you wish for because this woman will wear your ass out.” We both laugh as we select our characters for the game. “Best three of five?”

  “Ha right, you know you’re gonna run circles around my ass.”

  For the first two games, that held true, but half way through game three he’s kicking my ass. I lean over and start kissing his neck, trying to distract him.

  “Ell.”

  “Yeah, babe?” I keep kissing him and tweaking his nipples through his shirt.

  “Oh, now I see how it is. Little gamer boy can’t handle it when he’s getting his ass handed to him.”

  Ignoring him, I move onward, rubbing the palm of my hand against his shorts where his growing erection is coming to life. He growls, but doesn’t move to stop me. Setting my controller down, I slide over propping myself between his thighs. His basketball shorts hide nothing as I slide my hands up them from the bottom. Seeing how he’s now commando, I grip his cock, stroking it from base to tip. After a couple tugs, he quits playing and switches his gaze to the Elliott show.

  I slide my hands up to the waistband from the inside, pulling them down. He lifts his ass for me to take them off. Flinging them behind me, I lean over, burying my face in his curls, nuzzling his balls and drawing in the scent that is purely my Hunter. He smells of vanilla and honey body wash which will forever be my favorite scents.

  Taking them in turn, I gently suck each orb while he massages my shoulders. Outlining the protruding vein on his shaft with my tongue, he moans as I work my way to the top flicking across the slit before drawing the head inside the warmth of my mouth.

  “Fuck, Ell, your mouth’s like heaven.”

  I smile, drawing him in further while toying with the sensitive spot below his balls. Removing one of his hands from my shoulders, I place it on my head. Guiding him back and forth, letting him know it’s okay to be a little rougher. I know he needs a release and in all honesty, I like it when he gets a little rough during sex. When he pulls my hair, it shoots through me in a heated rush, spurring my cock to life. He grips my hair tighter and I moan around him, the vibration furthers both our excitement.

  Once he’s settled in, forcing me to suck and bob harder, I sneak two of my fingers in my mouth. After they’re nice and wet, I slide them down below, toying with his entrance and look up for his approval before moving forward. He nods and I push a finger in to the first knuckle.

  He tosses his head back. “Fuck.”

  Traveling on, I push all the way in and after a couple of tries, I locate his sweet spot.

  “Ah, ah…” His back arches and he starts riding my finger in tune with the face fucking he’s giving me.

  Ding, ding, ding, winner, winner, chicken dinner! I’m well on my way to making this an orgasmic oral experience he’ll never forget. Inserting the second finger, I go straight to his spot, assaulting it with each pass. Faster and faster we fuck each other and I know eruption is nearing.

  One, two, three—

  “Elliott!” he screams, thrusting to the back of my throat as he shoots down it.

  I wait until his hips still before sliding off and out. Looking up at him through my long lashes, I give him my best innocent puppy dog eyes.

  He pats my head. “Fuck, babe, that mouth of yours is gonna be the death of me.”

  I park my ass on his lap, forcing my tongue inside his mouth. I’m so hard, beyond sensitive and ready to explode. He pulls my shorts down enough to grab hold of me and stroke me across the finish line while sucking on my tongue. Being held at bay like that is a major fucking turn on. I can’t scream, can’t move and fucking explode like a ticking time bomb.

  Panting I gasp, “Holy shit. I like it when you immobilize me like that.”

  He laughs, swatting my ass as I rise to get my mess cleaned up.

  About that time, Granny hollers down the stairs, “Boys, can you start the barbeque? I’m ready to eat!"

  Hunter slides his arms around my waist, kissing me. “I love you, babe.”

  “I love you too.” We kiss again before dressing and sprinting upstairs.

  I show him how to start the barbeque and hand him the brush to scrub the grill before going back inside to prep the steaks. Granny’s making a salad, so I open a can of beans to cook to accompany our feast before taking the steaks out to Hunter.

  “Babe,” I give him a peck on the cheek while handing the plate over, “Granny likes hers well done and the vampire in me likes mine lightly toasted.” I wiggle my brows.

  “Um, I’ve never cooked a steak before. Can you hang out and make sure I do it right?”

  “Absolutely, let me grab us each a beer and I’ll be right back.” I’m in and out in a flash, plopping down in one of the deck chairs beside the Q. He has a better grasp of what needs to be done than he thinks he does. I mostly sit there chatting with him while we finish our beers.

  The dinner conversation consists of Granny sharing my most embarrassing moments while Hunter doubles over laughing. My face must be brick red. Thank God, she hasn’t broken out the photo albums. By the time we clean up, we head back downstairs, full and totally wiped out. Curling up in bed together, we assume what has become our most comfortable positions consisting of him spooning me with his arms securing me in place and then we’re down for the count.

  I wake the next morning to Granny starting her car and heading off to church and then jolt my sleepy prince back to life so we can get started on the shutters.

  Cranking up the tunes on my iPod through the Bluetooth speaker, we jam out to a little Five Finger Death Punch, which more than helps move the process along. Things are back to normal for us and at one point, he takes his paint brush dotting the end of my nose with white paint and laughs when I cross my eyes staring at it.

  Not long after we finish the shutters, it’s time for Hunter to pack up and head home. I dread spending the night without him, but know he has things to take care of in preparation of starting his new job in the morning.

  He kisses me goodbye before sliding his duffle bag across his shoulders like a backpack then waves as he heads off.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Hunter

  I didn’t want to leave my Ell last night, but today’s the day and I had shit to do. New job and all, which freaks me out. I want to walk out of the big picture, and never show up again. I know for a fact, that there’s going to be a rejection in it, there’s always is, when I try to accomplish something. Just as soon as I almost reach it, taste and lick it, it’s yanked away, so I keep chasing it. I’m so fucking tired of quitting on myself, it’s unreal.

  If not for Elliott, I’d do what I do best. Run or fail. Story of my life. Just the way it is. I’m trying to ease him into this, if I didn’t, it would overwhelm him. If I spoke the words, he’d leave, so I keep it all in my head. At least it makes sense there, the dangerous little playground in my head, the one no one else gets. Or hasn’t until now, Elliott doesn’t seem to give two sheets to the fucking wind about that, and it’s why I’m amazed by him. I want to know more, yet I’m scared to take him there. Spent the better of my life trying to protect others, and taking that fall card, it’s what I do to save someone else.

  Pulling up to the job, I’ve got no
clue what’s instore for me today. Ell knows I was in prison. How he didn’t reject me, or tell me take a long walk off a short pier, is beyond me, it truly is. Why would anyone in their right mind keep me around? I just hope the big bad boss man, who’s not all that big, or badass, and quite an asshole for the most part, gives me a shot here. This is the kind of job I can hack, plus it pays way more than what I was making. I could stack my chips, and get an apartment within a month.

  Coming through the front doors, we head up the elevator to Shane’s office. Ell, has this way of reading my every thought as soon as they pop in my head and notices I’m nervous. He squeezes my shoulder and nods before heading to his cubicle as I watch him walk away. I don’t get that. How does he get me the way he does? He soothes and comforts me in a way I’ve never know before. Plus, I don’t want him thinking I’m some sort of weak, or poor soul that needs to be saved. Veering to the left, I knock on Shane’s door.

  He hollers, “Come in,” from the other side.

  “I was told to report here, first thing Monday morning.” I step inside his office.

  “Good to see you, Hunter. I’ve got a busy day ahead, but wanted to meet with you before you head down to Human Resources for training. Tomorrow will officially be your first day at your new job, today is paperwork and HR day. But we need to finish up a few more technicalities before I send you down.” He fumbles around his desk, yanking out the file Ell gave me the other night to sign.

  “Did I not fill out everything, or is something wrong?” I ask.

  “No, it’s fine, I just need to get a copy of your ID and have you sign our confidentially agreement, because we handle many high-profile clients, some of which like to stay hidden as we work behind the scenes…when necessary,” Shane belts out, then hands me a few papers. “Go down to the first floor and sign the releases so they can notarize them. Tomorrow come in promptly at seven. You’ll clock in downstairs, get your badge and whatnot and the security supervisor will show you the ropes.”