Marked. Part I: The missing Link (9 page)

BOOK: Marked. Part I: The missing Link
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“There's your answer.”

I can't stop it from happening and my face breaks out into a huge smile.

Jay grins, “I love the way your eyes glow when you smile. You could get a man to be your slave with a smile like that.”

I didn't think it was possible, but my mouth widens even more and I feel like my face might crack.

“God, you're beautiful,” Jay says, so low and soft I almost can't hear him. I place my hand firmly over my stomach, hoping to stop the wave of flutters that pass through.

Wow, that's a strange sensation.

Naomi comes stumbling over and leans on me, “I'm exhausted. Between running my boss's errands all day and dancing, my feet are killing me. Sorry, but you're gonna have to say goodbye to lover-boy because we're calling it a night.”

Jay leans over to speak into my ear. “See you later,” his voice is low enough that only I can hear and I give a slight nod. I'm sure the large smile on my face is giving away how excited I am, but at the moment I really don't care.

Naomi drunkenly steps between us, “You're one scary-ass guy. You know that?”

I gasp and my eyes bug out, but to my relief Jay only laughs.

Naomi’s face turns serious. “Be good to her,” she warns, “She doesn't need another douchebag hurting her.”


I second that,” Stevie says, joining us, “and we're not just talking physically here bucko.”

Jay's face hardens as they lead me out the door. As we walk I look over my shoulder to see Jay watching us and deeply frowning.

By the time we reach Stevie's jeep the two are groping each other and making-out. When Naomi gets drunk the two of them always fool around. It's been that way since high school.

 

 

 

Chapter 9

 

Saturday, January 11

3:23am

I feel Jay slide into bed and lie flat on his back. He lays there a moment or two, then he starts to wiggle, adjusting his comfort. He rolls so he is almost on his side, then seems to change his mind and returns to his back. He does this two more times. I'm about to ask him what he's doing when he lies all the way on his side and stays that way. I begin to fall back asleep but then I feel his hand briefly rest on my hip before sliding away. I sense it hovering over me, ready to try again, but it pauses, then slowly lowers back to my hip. I hold my breath. I can somehow sense that there's more to what he's trying to do. I don't want to move or speak for fear it will prevent him from doing what ever it is he seems to be struggling with. Jay's body seems to relax more the longer he lets his hand rest on my hip and I begin to grow disappointed that that's all he was trying to accomplish, but then I feel his hand start to slide over my waist, hesitate a split second, then continue sliding until it is all the way around  me. I'm about to scoot back to close the gap between us when his arm gently pulls me in so that my backside is tightly held against him.

I move my hand and grab hold of the one clutching me. I weave my fingers with his and bring his arm up so I'm cuddling it in my arms against my chest, forcing him to hold me tighter. His muscles tighten and I think he's going to pull away, but he's only adjusting himself so he can rest his cheek against my head. The way it feels to be cocooned in the arms of his massive body makes a sigh of contentment slip out, causing Jay to hold me tighter. I completely melt into him because nothing has ever felt more right than being wrapped in him. I can feel Jay's body doing the same and in this moment we are connected; I know he feels it too.

I listen and feel his warm breath pressed close to my ear, enjoying the way it makes my skin tingle.


Lily?”


Hmm?”


Are you awake?”

A sensual shiver starts from the brush of his lips when he speaks and trails down my whole body.

“Yeah,” I barley manage to get out.


Can I ask you something?”


Anything,” I hope he can hear how much I truly mean it.


Do you remember the first time we met?”

I smile, “Every second.”

I feel him smile too, “Me too.” He pauses and I know he's working up to whatever he needs to get out, “The moment I leaned in closer to you, you flinched as though you thought I was going to hurt you. I wasn't. You know that, right?”


Yeah, I do.” Or at least now I do.


It bothered me how much I frightened you. I'm used to people being scared of the way I look, but you looked so doe-eyed and innocent it shattered a piece of me. The only reason I leaned closer was because I saw the faded bruise on your cheek and I wasn't sure if it was a shadow or not. Then you flinched, flinched the way a woman does before a man strikes her,” he pauses and my breath hitches before coming to a complete stop, waiting for him to continue. “Did someone hit you?”

I don't respond. I'm not sure if I want him knowing how I let someone treat me the way Will did.

He lightly shakes my body. “Lily,” he pleads.


Yes,” I shamefully whisper as softly as I can.

Jay's whole body clenches tightly. “Who?” I can hear the menace behind his words even though he's trying his best to conceal it.

“My ex-boyfriend.”

His breathing becomes ragged,“Is that why you moved back home?”

I nod my head yes.

Jay lets out a low curse word as he lowers his head to bury it in my neck. “Was that the first time?”

Again I don't answer and he gently shakes me, but I can't. “How many times?”

I just can't seem to bring out the words to respond. I'm embarrassed and humiliated. I'm afraid if I talk I might cry.

His lips press a kiss so softly on the curve of my neck I barley feel it. “Talk to me Lily, please,” the sincerity and despair in his voice forces the word to come out.


Three.”

Jay doesn't respond and I begin to think I spoke too low for him to hear.

“How badly?” I no longer feel his warm breath on my skin and I know he's holding his breath, waiting for my response.


The first time he pushed me hard against my chest, causing me to stumble back and smack the back of my head on the coffee table. The second,” I pause to calm myself and to stop my throat from tightening up for how stupid I was. We were having a silly argument and he claimed he only meant to give me a light shove so I forgave him. Even a light shove shouldn't be okay. “The second time he didn't hit me, but forced me to have sex with him, which hurt worse.” I try to push back memories of Will shoving my face down onto the mattress and forcing himself into me, brutally and hard from behind. Jay's the first person I have told about the first two incidents.

Jay has me held tightly against him as he buries his face deeper into my neck and hair. “And the third.”

“Which was also the last,” I need to point out, as if that made the situation any better. “It was the morning after he forced himself into me and I told him I was leaving him. He grabbed me by my cheeks, smushing them together, yelled horrible things, then backhanded me and kneed me in the stomach, causing me to go down in pain. Then he kicked me extremely hard in the same spot and I thought I would pass out from the pain.” He kicked me hard enough I saw stars, something I had thought only happened in cartoons, but there they had been: tiny sparkling specks dancing in a blurry haze.

We lay together for a long time while I listen to him trying to regain normal breathing, and over time his clenched muscles slowly soften.

“What's his name?” The ice-cold tone he uses sends a different kind of shiver down my spine.


Why?”


I'm gonna kill him.” The air in the room stills from the harsh, menacing way he grinds out the words.

I twist my body as best I can but he has an iron grip around me. I need to see his face and how serious he is. I get a small glimpse through the edges of my eyes and his face is shadowed in all-consuming savage brutality. Although I trust he would never hurt me, he still has the power to terrify me. He means it, there is no doubt in my mind.

“You’re serious,” I gasp.


I've never wanted to kill anyone more,” he inhales sharply, as if shocked by his own words, then completely unhooks his body from mine and rolls to his back. I follow so I'm on my other side, viewing him.

Jay has his eyes closed and his hand is scrubbing the scars on his face.

“You okay?” I ask, growing nervous by his sudden change of moods. He seems to be internally brewing on something.

He pinches the bridge of his nose before sitting up. He rests over his bent knees, dangling his arms over and hanging his head.

I sit up and scoot my body, resting my cheek against his shoulder blade, and I run my hand back and forth up his bicep. I would like to be able to wrap both arms around him but know it would be physically impossible from the sheer size of him and my short, tiny frame.


Jay?” This time I'm the one pleading for a response. I nudge him with my whole body and he doesn't budge. I'd giggle if this moment wasn't so serious. “This time you have to open up to
me
.”


You're the first person to ever ask me if I'm okay.” I know this isn't what's got him bent out of shape, but I'm glad I've got him talking.


Ever, as in your whole entire life?”


Yeah,” the gruffness to his voice is back, but this time the sound tugs at my heart.


You never got hurt in school or at home and had an adult ask you that?” Surely someone at least once in his life asked if he was okay.


I never went to school, my dad taught me everything I know.”

My hand stops rubbing his arms, “No mom?” I was almost hesitant to ask but he's opening up to me and I don't want him to stop.

“She died when I was six, so she might have but I don't remember,” the vulnerability his voice carried squeezes my gut and takes hold of my heart.

I restart the rhythmic motion of stroking his arm. “Your dad's not the...” I swallow hard, not sure if I can finish my question for fear of the answer.

“Are my scars from him? No, they're not.” I notice my fingers have begun stroking the long, thick scar on his forearm without realizing it. “He raised me the best he knew how. It might have been more than a kid should have to handle, but he was never cruel.” I hadn't a clue what to make of his remarks; they did nothing but expand the growing mystery that is Jay.

There are so many more things I want to say and ask, but at the moment all I can do is let my other hand start playing with the nape of his neck.

“What did he do when you left?”

I had to think and register back to our previous conversation. “Begged me not to, and promised that he would never do it again so many times my head hurt.”

“Has he contacted you since then?” Jay had an edge to his tone.


Yes, but I never respond.”


When was the last time?”


Last week.”


Think he'd ever come here?”

I lift my head to rest my chin on him so I can view his face, “Why are you asking? In hopes he does and you can hurt him?”

“I'm trying to figure out if he's still a threat to you or not.”  He moves around, making us face to face. He bends one of his legs over my lap so his arm can rest on top and he brushes the hair off my shoulders with the other. “I won't go looking for him, but if he comes here looking for you I can't promise anything.” He refuses to meet my eyes. He seems scared and unsure about what he's telling me, but I can see he fully means every word.

Jay scoots closer, forcing me to move my legs so that they come around his hips and I'm between his thunderous legs. The nearness causes my heart to quicken.

He lets out a long, heavy sigh, wraps his arms around my waist, and lands his forehead on my shoulder. I place one hand on his shoulder and the other plays with the hair behind his ear at the bottom of the hair line. I can feel goosebumps form on his skin from my touch.


I don't want you to ever be alone until I'm confident he won't come near you.” His breath runs down my chest and my nipples harden from the contact.

Jay's head marginally lifts and he plants his lips on my shoulder. He begins to caresses the skin with his mouth, tenderly sliding along. I move the hand playing with his hair to hold the back of his neck and my bottom moves closer. We both let out a groan when we touch, causing his arousal to press firmly against mine.

His mouth continues to play along my skin, working its way up my neck. One of his hands comes up to hold my head in place from wanting to roll back in ecstasy. The closer his lips get to mine the heavier our breathing gets, and my hips start to grind against him. This causes him to pull away from me. He lets go of my head to swipe down his face before using it to cover his eyes and massage his temples.


It's late, we should go to sleep.” He backs away and slides back under the covers, yanking on my arm to join him. I curl back into his arm. Even though I'm tired I can't fall asleep, thinking about Jay's lips on my skin.

BOOK: Marked. Part I: The missing Link
8.6Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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