Chapter Twenty-One
She was in my lap, and my senses were screaming that at me, over and over, because this is all I’d wanted since the day we fucking met. But I was taking liberties, pushing too hard, and risking rushing things just to get off. Maybe I really was the asshole.
“Sorry,” I murmured, pecking her lips again before I pulled back again. She looked about as dazed as I felt, her lips kiss-swollen and forming into a smile.
“For what? That was amazing.”
Rocket’s comment came back to me, as I sat there cradling the woman I’d always wanted in my arms, pressed against my entire body, with the parts of me that wanted more firmly cradled where they wanted to be.
“That’s better than your last kiss assessment.”
Her smile slipped a little as she frowned. “What? When did I assess a kiss before?”
I wanted to devour her, and that little crease in her brow just made me want to smooth it away, by giving her so much pleasure that she’d never frown again.
“Last time I kissed you, you said it wasn’t bad.
This time it was amazing. That’s much better for my manly ego.
” Although I was pretty sure I didn’t have one, because I just kept putting myself in a position to look like a pathetic twat in front of her, and I had no intentions of stopping anytime soon.
Glory cupped my face with her good hand, resting the other on my shoulder.
“With the greatest of respect, Henley, shush. We’re going to kiss a little more then get some sleep.
I’m exhausted, and I’m still processing what happened tonight.
That’s not the time to be making decisions for the future, but this?
Me and you? Not going away, okay? So kiss me, then hold me while I sleep. ”
“You’re so hot when you’re bossy,” I said with a grin, pulling her lips back to mine to taste her once more before we sleep.
Holding her while she slept was great, until it wasn’t. She suddenly began to flail and scream and her elbow hit me right in the face as she tried to escape whatever was in her nightmare.
I ignored my pain as I carefully tried to wake her, holding her close as she sobbed in the wake of whatever had terrorised her in her sleep.
“Shhh it’s okay, I’ve got you.”
“It was so real,” she sobbed, reaching up to stroke my face, gasping as she sat up a moment later.
“Your face is wet.” She sat up and flicked the lamp on, and that’s when she realised it was blood. That elbow hit me right in the fucking nose, and throbbed like a bitch, but I couldn’t hold that against her. She didn’t choose to have a nightmare.
The knock on the bedroom door a moment later made me groan, so I slid out of bed, telling her to stay under the covers, while I ran to the door, cupping my nose with half of my t-shirt.
“What?”
At the door was a guy in a security type uniform and he looked concerned.
“Reports of screaming coming from this room?” He eyed my bleeding nose and his eyebrows lifted.
“You were screaming?”
I snorted, and that hurts like hell when your nose is throbbing, plus I nearly drowned in my own blood, but I backed up and held the door open so he could see Glory, who was wrapped tightly in the covers.
“You okay, love? Did he do something to you?”
She shook her head. “I had a nightmare, I’m so sorry. Can… can I focus on fixing what I broke?” She pointed at my face and the guy chuckled.
“Ah, so nothing untoward happened here?”
I nodded frantically, which also added to the throbbing in my face.
“She’s a psycho, man.”
“Henley!”
The guy looked at her again, eyeing the stack of my leathers warily.
“So you don’t need help?”
Glory shook her head. “I’m so sorry if I woke anyone. I promise we’re fine, even the man-child over there. Thank you, though. I appreciate you checking on us.”
As soon as the door closed behind him, she slid out of the bed and headed for the bathroom, dragging me along with her.
“Let’s fix you up, poor injured baby.”
“Harsh.”
Glory
We made it home mid morning the next day, and Henley went off to make some calls, and check in with his President, and I focused on making us some lunch, grabbing my phone when it rang.
“Lenore?”
“Hi girly. Just wanted to check how you’re doing. That man looking out for you?”
I smiled, my fingers touching my lip as I remembered his sweet kisses, and the way it felt to be held so tightly by those strong arms.
“God yes.”
She chuckled softly.
“Wow, I’d ask for the deets, but that’s not my business. Sean’s never coming back, okay? He’s uh… crossed the river, so to speak.”
“River?”
“Yeah. He’s uh… headed down South.”
“Huh?”
“You know… Elvis has left the building…”
What?
“Lenore, what the hell are you talking about?”
She started laughing. “Trying to be coy over the damn phone, Glory. It’s done. You’re safe. Okay? Forever.”
“Oh. Why didn’t you just say it like that?”
She was still laughing. “Don’t be a stranger, Glory. The line may be drawn, but it doesn’t mean you can’t call if you need me.”
I put the phone on speaker, dropping bacon and sausages into the pan, and grabbing the eggs.
“I mean, can Henley’s club afford it? It sounds like every bit of help we get is going on some tab, to be claimed at a later date by the bearded weirdos.”
“What? No. Anything I do for you is absolutely because I like you, and I help women when they need it. That’s all covered by the charity and stuff. The Bennetts will try anything to make people owe them. Trust me, you don’t want to be on the side that owes them. But no, I don’t work that way.”
“What smells so… oh, sorry, sweetheart. I’ll go away.”
I waved him in and grabbed the phone, ready to put an end to the call, so I could start moving on.
“Thanks for the update, Lenore, thanks for everything. I honestly feel like you gave me my life back. Thank you.”
With the call ended, I turned to smile at Henley as he came up close, and leaned over me to eye everything, his stomach growling as he did. I poked him in the stomach, and he laughed.
“Sorry. I’m starving though.”
“Yeah, you look like you’re wasting away.” A sudden bite of memory hit me, and I froze, because why was I mocking his appetite, and making him feel bad for it? Was I doing what Sean did to me?
“Glory? Look at me.” Henley’s finger tipped my chin and he smiled at me. “It’s just banter. We’re good. Don’t let him in ever again.”
I knew he’d seen it, because he always saw it when I fell into bad memories.
“I’m trying. He doesn’t deserve any more of my time.”
“Damn right, sweetheart. Now, what can I do to help? Let’s get this show on the road.”
Between us, we cooked the scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, and took that with coffee to the dining table, sitting side by side to eat.
“This is amazing,” Henley murmured between mouthfuls.
He was eating like he really had been starved, but something about it was endearing.
And more than that, the satisfaction I felt for cooking, and for it being appreciated like this, was another boost to my spirit.
Maybe all I needed was to not be taken for granted.
And he did that. He always treated me like I mattered, appreciated the things I did, and was just as willing to step in and help.
“He never helped,” I blurted, rolling my eyes at myself, “we just said not to let him in, and here I am, but I felt like it needed to be said.”
Henley nudged my knee with his.
“If talking helps, then do it. You can disparage him all you want, and I’ll join in, but he doesn’t get to live rent free in your head anymore. You can do and be whatever you want now.”
I nodded, setting aside an empty plate with satisfaction, because I served up a decent sized meal, and I ate it all without guilt or recrimination. I wrapped my hands around my coffee, and mused quietly.
“I said talking’s okay, Glory. I won’t get mad or blame you for any of it. I think that’s part of the problem with people outside of what you’ve been through. They judge, even if they don’t mean to. Who the hell cares how they’d have handled things? They weren’t there.”
“You’re right. It’s why I didn’t go home to my parents. Not only did they resent my distancing from them, but they can’t really understand how I let Sean have so much power over me.”
I sipped my coffee. “I don’t even really know how it happened, but it was so gradual that it just seemed like natural progression.
It wasn’t a fast thing. Like I didn’t just go from having family and friends to nothing, it was a little at a time.
Missing going to things because of date nights, and him feeling like I spent too much time with certain people, him introducing me to other people, and drawing me into his life.
It seemed normal, but now I see it for what it was.
Him choosing my friends. Him deciding who I spend time with.
Him isolating me, until he was all I had. ”
Henley groaned, shoving his plate aside, and resting a hand over his stomach.
“Fuck me, I’m so full, but it was delicious.
Thanks, sweetheart. And look, I’m sorry for my part in that.
I know I drifted away, but it hurt so much to see you choosing him instead of me, and I get it.
I was being a petulant little prick. I just…
I felt like I had to move on, because you had.
I wish to god that I’d pushed more. I should have started stalking the hell out of you when you disappeared from my life, but instead I accepted it, because I figured it was what you wanted. ”
I reached over and grabbed his hand, squeezing it gently, my wounded hand from yesterday wrapped around my mug and feeling mostly back to normal thanks to plenty of ice and anti-inflammatories.
“It wasn’t my fault or yours, and that’s what we’re taking from this. He was an asshole, and now he’s simply a dead asshole.”