“I’m fine,” I replied, plastering on a fake smile. “Really.”
I walked to my room and rushed to my suitcase to find something to wear. Ripping off the jacket, I glanced quickly at my tattered dress and started to take it off, only to stop when I felt a pair of eyes on my body. In the mirror, Jason glared at me, his fists clenched.
Turning around, I slowly approached. “I can explain.”
“No need,” he growled. “I’ll take care of it myself.” Storming off, he grabbed his keys and headed for the door.
“Jason, stop. Where are you going?”
“To kill that motherfucker! He’s not going to get away with this.” He reached for the door handle, but I barreled into him and stood in his way.
“He didn’t hurt me,” I cried.
His nostrils flared, especially when he looked at my arms. “What do you call this?” he shouted, pointing at my wrists. There were already bruises showing up from where Chazz held onto me. Swallowing hard, I closed my eyes and then opened them slowly.
“Okay, so maybe he hurt me a little, but it’s not as bad as it looks. Trust me, if he’d gotten his dick anywhere near my orifices I was going to cut the fucking thing off.”
“It doesn’t matter! He left marks on you!” His eyes blazed and it was frightening. I’d never seen him look that way. “Where else did he hurt you?”
“Nowhere.”
He stepped back as if I’d slapped him. “After everything we’ve been through . . . you’re going to fucking lie to me? Tell me the fucking truth!”
Frozen, I stood there staring into his tormented green gaze. It was in that moment I realized I loved him. Instead of waiting on me to show him, he lowered my tattered dress to the floor and I let him. His fingers brushed across my collarbone on down to my breasts and my stomach. A murderous growl escaped his lips when he found the marks on my hips. Reluctantly, I looked down at the damage and closed my eyes. The half moon crescents were deep red and turning purple. Just a simple touch from him made me balk in pain.
“Goddamn, son of a bitch,” he yelled. Storming away, he punched a hole in the wall and ran a hand through his hair. “What the hell am I supposed to do? Just let him get away with hurting you?”
“Jason, I knew there was a chance I’d get hurt doing this, maybe even killed. It’s the risk we take. There’s nothing you can do.”
“Like hell there’s not. The next time I see him, I don’t give a shit where we are, or what’s going on. I will fuck him up.”
Slowly, I walked over to him and I placed my hands on his face. “I paid him back for what he did to me. I flogged him pretty good. So don’t think for a second I let him get away with putting his hands on me.”
Sighing, he lowered his head. “It’s not the same.”
“Why? Why is it not the same?”
Lifting his head, he looked down at my lips and kissed me. “Because I’m the one who needs to protect you, to keep you safe. It’s in my blood.”
“Is that it? You just want to keep me safe?”
He brushed a finger down my cheek. “Well, there’s that and also one other thing.”
“What?”
Taking my face in his hands, he stared into my eyes. “I’m falling in love with you.”
I clutched my chest, then jumped into his arms. “I thought I’d never hear you say those words. I’m falling for you too. So much it hurts.” He kissed me hard, opening me with his tongue. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he carried me into the bedroom, never taking his mouth from mine. “Make love to me, Jason.”
Gently laying me on the bed, he covered me with his body. “Are you sure that’s what you want after tonight? I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t. I trust you.”
The next morning, I woke up to an empty bed and panicked. “Jason?” There was no sound. I jumped out of bed and slipped on my bathrobe, rushing into the living room. “Jason?” He wasn’t in his room either. “Fuck me.”