Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
JAKE
I feel the anger rise up in me. Not because of her but because of him. She was eighteen fucking years old…practically a child. He saw an opportunity, and he took it.
“How old was he?” I ask suddenly, hoping I’m wrong.
“He was forty when I met him, so forty-five now,” she admits quietly.
I close my eyes tight and force the air painfully into my lungs. The bastard took advantage of someone desperately in need of wanting to feel loved. He was old enough to know exactly what he was doing.
“What happened after you got married?” I clench my teeth, and my jaw hurts from the pressure as my molars grind together.
“After I said yes, things happened quickly. He was true to his word and got my mom into a place where she was under a doctor’s care. I moved into his home shortly after.
He was very careful with me and hardly touched me except for a quick peck on the lips. We had talked before about my inexperience. I had never even kissed a guy before, let alone had sex. I didn’t have the luxury that most kids my age had with going to parties and dating. He said I was his precious girl , and he wanted to wait until our wedding night.”
Fuck. This is going to kill me.
“It’s okay, Lyla,” I say when I hear her hesitation. “You need to get this out to move forward, and I need to understand it better so I know how to help.”
“We married at the courthouse with strangers as witnesses. The night of our wedding, I knew I had made a mistake. I hated what he did to me,” she whispers. “It hurt so bad, and the blood…” she shudders against me, and I hold her tighter.
“There was so much blood. He said he was sorry the next day for being rough and bought me more gifts. He kept telling me that it wasn’t his fault. He just loved me so much that he couldn’t control how badly he wanted me. I didn’t know what to do. I felt trapped. I had no family and nowhere to go. I eventually learned to shut myself down enough to where I could get through it.”
“Fuck,” I say in a pained voice. My heart feels like it’s being ripped in half when I picture eighteen-year-old Lyla going through that.
“After some time, it got a little better. He traveled a lot for work, so I was free to do what I wanted. I baked a lot and tried new recipes. I learned what he liked and didn’t like to make things go smoother for me. Looking back now, I see how manipulative he was with words. The lower he made me feel about myself, the more I started to believe that I wasn’t worthy of someone better. I mean, who would want a girl that just wanted to lay there and go someplace else inside her head because she hated sex and being touched?”
“Lyla, look at me.” I haul her up so she’s straddling me. She tries to look away, but I touch her chin, bringing her back to me. “You know that what he’s saying is not true, right? He’s a sick fucker who preyed on a young, innocent girl. There is nothing wrong with you. You did what you had to do to survive the situation.”
She nods her head slightly, and I shake my head when I still see the doubt. “Not good enough. Tell me something he said to you so I can give you the truth. Remember, I can’t lie to my best friend.” I give her a small smile to try and ease some of the pain I see in her eyes.
“Okay,” she nods her head. “He would never go down on me because he thought it was disgusting and hated how I tasted.”
“Well, I already know he’s lying on that one. You taste fucking amazing. Did you see me gagging at any point or making disgusting faces?”
“No,” she says, trying to suppress a smile.
“Exactly. Let me ask you this. Did he ever taste you?”
She wrinkles her nose in concentration and shakes her head. “No, I guess he didn’t. I just took what he said as truth.”
“The truth is he’s a pussy and doesn’t know how the hell to be a man and please a woman down there, so he lied to you to make himself better. Next question.”
“I could never get him to cum with blowjobs. I hated them. I even threw up on him once, and he said I was the worst one he had ever received, and he never asked for one again.”
“And what did you feel with me? Did it disgust you?”
She shakes her head no, and a blush creeps up her cheeks. “No, quite the opposite. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.”
“One, that makes me very happy because I promise you that you were the best I’ve ever received, and I will gladly let you do it anytime you want.” Her blush deepens as a smile plays on her lips. “Two, it makes me very happy you threw up on him. If I had his ugly dick in my face, I would have thrown up too.”
She laughs like I wanted her to, and I grin back .
“Anything else?” I ask.
“One last thing,” she bites her lips, and I release it with my thumb.
“Don’t hold back on me now. I can take it.”
“He could only get off if I struggled with him. He liked it when I said no and fought him. Holding me down was the only way my body would excite him. The funny thing was, I wasn’t acting,” she says softly as tears begin to fall down her cheeks. “I would take all my anger out on him and fight him until I was hoarse and bruised for days. I learned that if I fought really hard, he would be done faster, and I could be alone to cry myself asleep all that much quicker.”
I blink, unable to process what she just said, as the words finally sink in. “Lyla, that’s rape,” I say hoarsely. I run my hand furiously through my hair, wanting more than anything to seek out this bastard. “He fucking raped you for what…five years? The motherfucker got off on raping you.”
“He was my husband…I…”
“I don’t give a fuck that he was your husband. It’s still rape.” My jaw ticks, and I grip her hips tightly. I’m so fucking angry at him right now I can’t see straight.
I lean my head against the headboard and shut my eyes tightly to try and get a grip on the need to kill him right now. I feel her hand rub my chest to try and soothe me when it’s me who should be soothing her. I force myself to breathe deeply to calm down. The last thing she needs in her life is to feel more anger.
“What made you finally leave?” I say quietly when I feel more in control of my emotions.
“After four years, he started drinking more when he came back home from his trips to the point where he became unrecognizable. His words became more hateful, and he was harder to please in the bedroom when he was home from his trips. I knew I couldn’t stay with him any longer, so I started putting money back little by little so he wouldn’t notice anything was taken. I pawned what I could of my jewelry where he wouldn’t notice it was missing. I needed enough money to get my mom moved someplace else and have some left over for a bus ticket.”
The tears start back up, and she swipes them away. I take her hand in mine and place it over my heart, trying to give her any comfort I can.
“He had a week-long trip coming up, and the night before he left, I knew I needed to get out of there. I didn’t have enough money, but I would get the rest when I could pawn my wedding ring after I got to where I was going. He had more to drink than usual, and when I tried to fight him off, he hit me so hard I saw stars. He was so angry at me because he couldn’t get hard. He kept telling me how useless I was as a wife and how lucky I was that I met him because nobody else would want me.” She finally breaks down and cries.
I pull her to me as she lets it all out. “It’s okay, baby. No one is ever going to hurt you like that again. I promise you, I won’t ever let it happen,” I murmur in her ear. “You are safe with me.”
Her body heaves with sobs as years of anger and hurt flow onto my shoulder and slide down my chest…tears that have been held back but are finally set free. I sit with her in my arms until she finally exhausts herself.
“Will you do me a favor,” she hiccups against my chest.
“Anything,” I say right away as I brush back her hair.
“Stay with me until I fall asleep.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” I scoot us down on the bed and spoon her from behind. Wrapping as tightly around her as I can without squeezing the life out of her, I hold her against my body.
“Thank you for not running,” she whispers sleepily as the emotional exhaustion takes over .
“There’s nothing to run from when everything I want is right here in my arms,” I tell her, laying my heart at her feet.
“Everything I want is right here with me, too, but I can’t completely have it until I’m no longer chained to him. I’m still married, Jake,” she says quietly.
“We will figure it all out. One of my parents' friends is a lawyer here in town, and I’ll reach out to her for advice.”
“He can’t know where I live. I don’t want you getting involved or getting in trouble. You don’t know what he’s capable of,” she pleads with me, and I can hear the panic rising in her voice.
I kiss her neck and bury my face in her hair. “Let me worry about him. He will never hurt you again, not when there is still breath in my body. He will have to get through me and my three brothers first, and trust me, guys like him are weak when it comes to facing another man head-on. That’s why he preys on women. It makes him feel stronger.”
“Just please promise me you’ll be careful. If anything happened to you because of me, it would be the one thing that would finally break me.”
“I promise you I’ll be careful. Nothing is going to happen to me. Now go to sleep,” I lightly tickle her, causing her to giggle and squirm against me.
“Okay, that was a big mistake with your naked body pressed up against me,” I laugh, feeling my dick respond against her bottom. “Just be a good girl and go to sleep. You have a big day tomorrow delivering your first order.”
“I do.” I can tell she’s smiling by the tone of her voice. “Sweet dreams, Jake.”
“Sweet dreams, little hummingbird,” I murmur against her hair.
I lay there holding her until, eventually, her breaths even out into a deep sleep. It’s hours before I fall asleep as images of her being hurt and scared plague my mind. That bastard better not step a single foot in her direction, or he’s going to see what it feels like to be on the other end of fighting someone off. Someone who could care less if he ever takes another breath of air.
The blaring of the alarm goes off, and I groan into the pillow. I’m wrapped around her like a spider monkey, and damn if she doesn’t feel good waking up to. She moves to get out of bed, and I bring her back to me.
Giggling, she turns to me.
“I have to get ready to leave,” she smiles and brushes a piece of my hair back. “You stayed all night.”
“I told you I wasn’t going anywhere,” I smile back. “How did you sleep?”
“Better than I have in a long time.”
“Good.”
“Is it weird that we’ve only known each other a week, and I’ve already told you my life story, ugly cried on your shoulder, moved into your place, had a sleepover, and had three mind-blowing orgasms?”
“Mind-blowing?” I grin.
“That’s what you heard out of all of that?” She laughs.
“Is it weird that the moment I saw you, I knew I was falling for you?”
Her cheeks redden, and I run my finger down the side of her face.
“Is it weird that I decided to land?”
“No more weird than me deciding to keep you as my pet.”
“A pet?” She grins. “Yeah, you win. You are the weird one.”
She shrieks when I pull her to me.
“Don’t worry, little hummingbird. You will never be in a cage with me. You are free to fly as long as you always come back to me.”
She reaches out and places her hand on my cheek. I lean into her touch, and her eyes hold me captive. So many emotions are shining through, but there’s one that I hold onto because I’m feeling the same. My heart beats close to hers as they join together as one.
“I’m falling for you, too,” she whispers.
I capture her lips in a soft kiss, barely satisfying my craving when I moan and roll off her. “Go before I change my mind and make you late on your first day.”
“Will you be okay?” She looks doubtful as she eyes the state I’m in. The sheet looks like a god-damn Eiffel Tower.
“Yes, I’ll be okay,” I laugh. “But don’t think I’m weird if the moment you leave the house, I’m getting off to your image, so I’m not in this state all day.”
“As long as it’s my image, I’ll let it slide.” She sits up, and I groan even harder when her breasts bounce in my face.
“Trust me, when I close my eyes, you are all I want to see. Now, please go put on a turtleneck or something.”
“Turtleneck? We live in Florida. I would die,” she giggles, wrapping the sheet around her and getting out of bed. “I made you muffins, so don’t forget to eat breakfast. Do you want me to make you some coffee before I shower?”
“I can make my own coffee,” I laugh. “In fact, I’ll make us both some, so join me for breakfast before you leave.”
“Thanks,” she beams at me before practically bouncing with excitement to the bathroom.
Chuckling, I throw my black boxer briefs on and purposely leave my t-shirt on the bed for her to sleep in before grabbing my jeans and walking back to the main house.
“The walk of shame looks good on you, brother. I take it last night went well.” Miles laughs at me as I give him the finger. I walk to my bedroom to put some sweats on before returning to the kitchen.
I head to the coffee maker and get a pot going before turning back to Miles. He immediately turns serious when he sees my face. “What’s wrong?”
I debate what to tell him. I want to honor her privacy, but he also needs to know about this guy. The more eyes on her, the better.
“I don’t have much time because she will be walking in here soon, but I’m trusting you to keep this between us for now. I’ll let Ryder and Travis know, but she doesn’t need all of us treating her any differently or asking questions.”
“I won’t say a word, you know that.”
“I knew she was running from something, and she finally confided in me last night. She’s been in an abusive relationship for the past five years and finally was able to get away from him. He doesn’t know where she is, but if he’s looking for her, there’s a chance he could find her. When you are here and I’m not, keep an eye on her, okay?”
“Shit,” he says, running a hand through his hair. “What kind of abuse are we talking about?”
I shake my head. “It’s her story to tell, and even if I could, I can’t talk about it right now. It’s still too fresh, and I need time to process it. The last thing she needs to feel right now is anger from me, even if it’s directed at someone else. It’s bad, though. Bad enough, I want to hunt this fucker down and feed him to the sharks.” I clench my fists before forcing myself to rein in my emotions. “There’s one more thing you need to know.”
His face is hard, and his body language is tense like mine. If there’s one thing we hate more, it’s a guy who hurts women. Our sister, Savi, got attacked while at a party when she was only fifteen, and if it wasn’t for Miles’s best friend, Knox, pulling him off of her, God knows what would have happened.
“Tell me,” he grounds out.
“She had a really rough childhood, Miles. She had to grow up fast and was the adult at a young age. When she was eighteen, she was groomed by this older guy. He offered her a way out on a silver platter. He talked her into marrying him, and she still is.”
“Fuck. Her husband is the abuser?”
I nod my head. “I’m going to talk to Maria, Mom and Dad’s lawyer friend, to see what our options are for getting her out of this marriage. I’ll get a description of him from her and let you all know so we can keep our eyes open when we are out and about in town. I’m hoping to talk her into getting a restraining order as well.”
“Good idea,” he grits his teeth as the reality of this situation soaks in. “If the bastard’s lucky, the sharks will get to him before we do.”
“She means a lot to me, Miles. I know I haven’t known her long, but I’ve already fallen for her. I just wanted you to know that she’s not someone I’m just trying to sleep with. I will do anything to protect her, and have no intention of letting her go.”
“I knew the night of the wedding when you refused to be my wingman. I also see how she looks at you. She’s fallen, too, whether she’s admitted it or not. I’m happy for you, brother,” he gives me a small smile.
“Thanks, Miles. And thanks for helping me watch over her.”
“If she’s your girl, then she’s family. He won’t get past me. Trust me.”
He turns when the cottage doors open. My eyes land on her, and I break out into a smile. She’s wearing a white sundress today and looks happier than I’ve ever seen her. She has a glow to her skin, and her eyes light up when they see me.
“Well, aren’t you the most beautiful sight on this glorious morning,” Miles grins at her, causing her to laugh. I knew I could count on him to keep her spirits up.
“I see you like my muffins,” she eyes the two wrappers on Miles’s plate.
“Best I have ever had.” He gets up and puts his mug in the sink. “Thank you for breakfast. I need to get going, but I’ll see you at dinner, right? I don’t head out until the morning.”
“I’ll be here. I’m making enchiladas,” she says over her shoulder as she gets two mugs down and pours us both a cup.
“Jake, if you don’t keep her, I will,” he says, walking to the door.
“Sorry, Miles. I’m keeping her,” I say, keeping my eyes on her. I hear the front door close, leaving us alone again. “You look beautiful today.” I notice she’s wearing heels as my gaze sweeps down her long legs.
“Thank you,” she blushes. “How do you like your coffee?”
“Black. I get enough sugar with my sweet tooth,” I grin.
“Nice balance,” she laughs, handing me a muffin.
“I think so.” I take a bite and moan. “Is there anything you can’t make that doesn’t taste like God himself brought it down from the heavens?”
“Nope. I’ve pretty much mastered everything these past five years. Cooking saved me.”
“Why did you decide on desserts and baked goods for your specialty? You could have chosen to be any chef you wanted.”
“Desserts have always made me the happiest. No one is angry when they eat a dessert. They immediately make you happy, and I like bringing smiles to people's faces. I guess because I had so few things to smile about growing up, I want to make sure others do.”
“You’re pretty amazing, you know that.”
“Because of you, I’m starting to believe that.” Her gaze wanders down my bare chest to my sweats hanging low on my hips.
I smirk when I see the desire in her eyes.
“Now it’s you who’s putting me in a state. You’re the one who needs to put a turtleneck on now and maybe change out of those sexy grey sweats you are wearing.”
“This old thing,” I glance down at my sweats before closing the distance between us.
“I need to get these muffins loaded up. There’s no time for…”
“I’ll help you load the muffins in a second. There’s always time for a goodbye kiss, though.”
“Those are important,” she swallows as I press myself against her and weave my fingers into her hair.
“So important,” I whisper before silencing us both with a kiss that we can hold onto for the rest of the day.