by Kendra Leigh
“I understand. I can see it in you—the fight.” He pauses, his eyes narrowing. “Which begs the question, what do you want to do about it?”
“If you’re asking me if I want to press charges, then the answer is no.”
I can’t tell what he’s thinking as he tips his chin, his eyes burning a hole in me.
“Savannah, an offense like this would mean jail time. You could be free of him. Let him rot in a cell like he deserves.”
“And have him walk free in five years owning everything that is rightfully mine, thinking he got away with terrorizing me for all of my adult life and all he gets is a few measly years behind bars. It’s not enough. If I turn him in, I lose everything. I need time to get my company back and … and my house now too.” I suddenly remember something. “During the attack, he was goading me about my ordering Erin out of the house because it belonged to me. He said it didn’t anymore, that he’d falsified a contract, forging my name to have me sign it over to him.
“I know you think it’s just material, but it’s more than that. It’s about defeating him. About taking back control. I’m not ready to just hand him over to the police, not yet. I could have done that a million times before, walked into the nearest precinct and shown them my bruises. If I do it now, the endless beatings I’ve taken will be for nothing because in his mind he will have stripped me of everything. After the years of degradation and ridicule, he won’t count on me coming back with my dignity intact. No. No police, Jackson. I want payback.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Jackson
MY SMILE SPREADS OVER MY face as I watch her silhouetted against the light coming in from the wall of glass that separates my apartment from the view of Central Park. Dark against light, she stands with her hands on her hips in a pair of jeans and an oversized shirt. She looks almost like her namesake, wings spread spectacularly as if about to take flight. Breathtaking. As I move toward her, I notice her eyes are alight as she scans the panorama before her.
“It’s amazing. Truly amazing. And only two floors down from Angel and Ethan. Why didn’t you just give me your address?”
“As I remember, you didn’t want much to do with me at the time. Angel was the compromise.”
“Oh, right, yes.” She shrugs it off and walks around some more. It doesn’t take long. It’s not a big apartment, not in comparison to the Wildes’ which takes up a whole floor, but I like it. “It’s strange, but I didn’t picture you somewhere like this.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Contemporary and sophisticated. Everything’s so minimal and … clean.”
“The latter will be thanks to my housekeeper, actually.” I want to say, “You remember Annie, my housekeeper? You met her at the park,” but that’s for later, much later.
“You have a housekeeper?” She looks astonished.
“Yes. I work long hours.” My mind is still focused on the fact that she’s been picturing me. The thought makes me smile.
“So, where did you … picture me if it wasn’t somewhere like this?”
“At the cabin, I suppose. Silly really, because I knew you didn’t live there, but it was the only backdrop I’ve really known you in. It’s what makes this so surreal, though. You in jeans at the cabin is a complete contradiction to you here in a suit.”
“Does it change how you think about me?”
“No, not at all. I like the contradiction. A lot. It’s a perfect contradiction.”
“I’m glad you approve. You hungry?”
She takes a second or two to answer, and I can see her expression change, her eyes darkening to a midnight blue. “Yes, actually.”
I swallow. “For food?”
“Not particularly, no. I mean, I could eat … but it’s not essential.”
“Oh? What is?”
She moves closer, just out of reach. “I think you know.”
“I think I do too, but … you’re still healing.”
“I’ll heal quicker with the right remedy. I know what’s good for me.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“What’s good for you, Savannah?”
“You. You’re what’s good for me.”
I step into her space, reach down to stroke her hair away from her face. It’s been almost a week. The majority of the swelling has gone down, but the bruises, though faded, are still evident. “Yes. I am. And I want you so badly right now, Sparrow, but I can wait.”
“Well, that’s very magnanimous of you but … I can’t. You see, I’ve waited a lifetime for you and I don’t want to wait a moment longer.”
Her words are a direct trajectory to my heart, the beat pumping my blood at breakneck speed to the rest of my organs. My cock pounds inside the confines of my pants, my magnanimity flying straight out the window without a second thought. Gently, I scoop her up in my arms and carry her to the bedroom. It feels like old times, the way I used to carry her about at the cabin. Slowly, I peel off her clothes, each layer revealing another reminder of the brutality she’s been through, each bruise gripping me by the throat and squeezing until I can’t control the tear that escapes and rolls down my cheek. She stands before me naked, breathtakingly beautiful in spite of the marks he’s left behind—because the marks on her body will heal, and the emotional wounds will be the catalyst for her growth. In stature, she is the tiniest of creatures, but mentally, she is the strongest woman I’ve ever known.
She watches me as I undress, her gaze gliding greedily over the length and width of my body. The way her body reacts to me is staggering; her breath comes in tiny bursts, her nipples pebbling, hard as stone. I lower her onto the bed, my fingers tracing a path over every inch of her body as I work my way up to take her face in my hands. My lips meet hers in a kiss, gentle at first, lips brushing, tongues tenderly probing, but as our heart rates increase, so does the urgency of our kiss. There’s something very different about this union. Previously, sex between us was frenzied and impulsive, the steam rating so far off the charts you couldn’t see. But as I sink into this woman, folding her silky warmness around my eager body, breathing in her familiar scent, I see there is one major difference to all the other occasions. This time there’s an overwhelming sense of belonging. A reconnection to another half of me that is so innate it is essential to my existence. It is evidence that she is as much a part of me as I am her. It is affirmation. A promise.
“I love you, Savannah.”
Chapter Forty
Savannah
I LOVE YOU, SAVANNAH.
The words are like balm to my battered soul. A beautiful, enriching hazy dream unfolding into reality before my very eyes. My heart squeezes and the tears flow, a deluge of desire and relief combined with the most stunning emotion I have ever felt. He takes me to the furthest realms of ecstasy, my body exploding with the intensity of my climax, and as he kisses away my tears, he repeats the words until we’re boneless and replete.
“I think I’ve loved you since the second I saw you, really,” he says breathlessly as we lie side by side, our limbs entwined. “Certainly since I found you curled up asleep on the rocker on the porch at the cabin. And by the time I pulled your sodden ass out of the lake and made love to you for the first time, I was besotted. But it was when you walked away from me that day in the underground car lot and my heart began to break that I knew beyond a shadow of doubt. I love you so fucking much, Sparrow.”
I take his rugged, handsome face in my hands. “I know you do.”
“How?” He looks surprised.
“I can see it. Feel it. I’ve been waiting for you to say it, hoping you would so that I can tell you how I feel.”
“And how do you feel?”
This is it. The biggest declaration of my life, but the certainty I feel about the words I’m about to say eclipse the nerves that come with them.
“I’m in love with you, Jackson Dean. So completely in love I could burst into a million fragments, each one a reason why I feel the way
I do.”
He releases his breath, his smile spreading wide across his face. “Thank God.”
“Surely you never doubted it. I thought I had it written across my forehead all this time.”
“Um, no, Ms. Unfathomable. What about you? Did you always know?”
I shake my head. “I always hoped. But I didn’t know-know until the day I woke up in the hospital.”
“Why then?”
“Well, the memory’s hazy, but I think you were about to tell me and then Angel arrived.”
“You heard that?” He looks stunned. “You naughty girl. Why didn’t you tell me you were awake? I did wonder, because you seemed to know what I was talking about when I mentioned Barbados, and then you made reference to my stubble as if you’d overheard me say you liked it.”
I laugh. “I thought I was dreaming at first. And then I couldn’t quite find my way through the mugginess to open my eyes. It wasn’t a voluntary silence, I promise you. Though I admit, I might have held back a little when I thought you were about to say it. And, anyway, it helped me to feel more confident about the way I was feeling because I’d been confused for so long. Not about the way I felt but being comfortable feeling it. I thought that giving in to it would make me weak, that accepting you into my life would mean I needed you in it in order to escape from Nick. I had to feel that I could do it on my own.”
“I know. And I wouldn’t have had you deal with it in any other way than your way. You’ve handled this situation the way you needed to. You needed to run with it alone, make your own decisions at your own pace, realize your own strength. Anything less wouldn’t have sufficed, I get that. I support you in the choices you’ve made—all but the one when you opted to confront him and ended up in hospital, obviously. I respected your need for space.” He looks nervous suddenly. “But I had to know you were safe.”
“I know. And I’m sorry I wouldn’t allow you close enough to know that.”
“No. You wouldn’t. But … I still had to know.”
“What do you mean?”
He looks worried. “I think there’s someone you should probably meet. But you have to promise you won’t be angry.”
* * *
Jia stands before me. My friend Jia from the park—my Sanshou friend. I couldn’t be more confused. There was a knock at the door and in she walked. She looks a little different, wearing a high-class business suit and heels that put her at least six inches taller, but it’s definitely her.
“I don’t understand. Jia, what are you doing here? How did you find me?”
She scans the bruises on my face as if she hasn’t heard me, a flicker of fury marring her perfect brow. “I hope you’re not going to let that piece of shit get away with this?” She directs the question more at Jackson than me. “Tell me we have a plan to take this fucker down, Jackson.”
“Wait. Do you two know each other?”
Jia looks mortified as does Jackson. “You haven’t told her?” she asks.
Jackson tilts his mouth wryly and rolls his eyes as if she’s just stated the obvious.
“Angel said you were telling her today.”
“We’ve been busy, Jia.”
“Oh. Oh …” she repeats with sudden understanding.
“You know Angel, too?” They’re confusing the hell out of me now. “Will someone please tell me what is going on?”
Jia stares at Jackson, who stares at Jia, who says, “Hey, this is your story, pal.”
He clears his throat nervously. “Yes, Angel knows her, Savannah. We both do. She’s our friend, but I can explain.”
“I’m listening,” I say, eager for some clarity.
“Well, like I said earlier, I knew you wanted the space to figure things out on your own, but I wasn’t comfortable leaving you alone with that fucking animal with no way to know if you were okay. I had no choice but to respect the distance you’d asked for, but I also had to know you were safe, so … I started out watching the house for a few days. But then Angel said I could find myself up on a stalking charge if someone saw me, and so she suggested that Jia could maybe just check in on you while she was doing her daily workout, kill two birds and so forth—”
“Oh please,” Jia interrupts, shaking her head. “Stop apologizing for being in love with her.”
“I’m not,” he objects.
“Yes, you are. What kind of man would you have been if you hadn’t been concerned for her wellbeing?” She turns to me. “He needed to know you were safe and so he sent me to check. It’s that simple. See, she isn’t mad. Are you?”
I look from one to the other, uncertain what to feel. Looking at Jia, I ask, “So, you’re only my friend because Jackson and Angel asked you to be?” I see Jackson put his head in his hands.
“What? No.” Jia looks incredulous. “Okay, let me tell you how this really is. Jackson told me where you hung out in the park, asked me to say hi, get a feel for how things were with you, and report back. That was all I was asked to do. But when we got chatting, I don’t know, I saw something in you—a fighter. Someone who isn’t prepared to spare anyone’s balls to get what she wants. And I thought, hey, this girl reminds me of someone—”
“Who?” I ask, even more confused.
“Who?” She looks insulted. “Me, of course. Tell her.” She gestures to Jackson who nods. “No one gets through me or past me. Not unless I want them to. Because I learned how to defend myself. Not just here…” she gestures at her body and then points to her head “…but here. When we met, I knew your story, but I didn’t know you, and I liked you … instantly. I wanted to help you channel the determination that I saw written all over your face, the desire to stand up for yourself and fight back. What better way than Sanshou? I could see your strength, but I wanted you to see it too. You needed to know what you were capable of. You were halfway there already. You just needed to perfect your skill, fine tune it. And you did. So how does it feel?”
I look down at my battered body. “I hardly think this is the result of successfully fighting back.”
She laughs. “Of course it is. Okay, so you picked up some bruises along the way—which, I accept wasn’t exactly the plan—but you did it. You stood up for yourself. You’re here, in control and about to start a new life with a man who adores you. I’d call that a win.”
I’m not even aware that I’m beaming from ear to ear until I turn to Jackson and see my smile reflecting back at me. This man and the people he has surrounding him are amazing human beings. I suddenly feel so overwhelmingly lucky to have them in my life. My new life. Jia’s right. It’s an outstanding win. Without pause, I stride into Jackson’s open arms and plant a kiss firmly on his gorgeous mouth.
“Well, that went well.” Jia smiles widely and heads toward the door, turning briefly to call out over her shoulder. “Wait until you tell her about Annie.”
Chapter Forty-One
Jackson
NICK HARPER SITS A MATTER of feet away. I can’t even look at him, afraid that if I do I will give the game away in seconds. My body vibrates with the longing to haul myself across the boardroom table and snuff out his tiny, miserable, insignificant life. I can feel the muscles on my face jittering, jaw bunching, almost snarling. My hands are fisted beneath the table, knuckles scraping together in a bid to distract myself. Sweat has begun to trickle down my back. My collar feels too tight. This is harder than I imagined it would be. I’m conscious of Ethan’s watchful gaze, his warning prior to the start of this meeting. “If you can’t restrain yourself, Jackson, maybe you shouldn’t be present.” There was no fucking way this was going ahead without me being here. I want—need to be here for Savannah.
Over the past five weeks, the woman has become my life. So much that I literally don’t know what sustained me before, because the obvious vital life supports of oxygen, food, and water would definitely not cut the mustard anymore. Without her I am fucking doomed, and as much as a part of me loves that knowledge, it also scares the living shit out of me. She has suffer
ed relentlessly at the hands of this man; he’s taken everything from her, and today I’m here to witness her take some of it back. It may seem inconsequential to some, barely recompense for what she’s been through, but it’s important to her. And for that reason, it’s important to me.
I home in to the meeting going on around me as Ethan reaches the crux of it, his calm authoritative voice explaining to Harper that the recently appointed board has submitted a vote of no confidence in his abilities as CEO.
“I’ve been going through a tough time recently, is all. My wife has left me.” I look up for the first time at the man across the table. The gutless fuck is practically sniveling, his voice wavering on the last few words. I notice the way his suit hangs; he’s lost weight, his skin is sallow, his sunken cheeks unshaven, and I suddenly realize with utter joy that he’s suffering.
Karma—you fucking beauty.
“I’m afraid the decision has already been made, Nick. The newly elected CEO is on their way as we speak.” Ethan checks his watch. “Any moment now, in fact.”
“You can’t do that. This is my company.”
“I think you’ll find it’s mine, actually. At least for the next few minutes.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’ve decided to sell. The new CEO has made me an offer I can’t refuse, and … well, I’m a business man at heart.”
“Well, who is this guy? What will it mean for me?” He looks like he’s about to throw up.
“I guess you’ll have to wait and see.” Ethan’s cell beeps with a message, and he picks it up to read. “Ah, bang on time. Smile, Harper. You better keep your fingers crossed she likes you, otherwise…” he makes a cutting gesture across his throat “…pink slip time.”
Harper looks aghast, his eyes turning to the rest of the board in desperation.
Suddenly, everyone turns to the sound of heels walking slowly and confidently toward the boardroom. My heart hammers inside my chest, anticipation and excitement stampeding though my body like a herd of wild buffalo. The handle turns slowly, the door swinging open on its hinges. My heart stops.
