Operation Endurance

CHAPTER 40

Chris pulled himself into the driver’s side of the cab of his truck and looked over at Julie’s pale face, illuminated by the soft glow of the hospital parking lot lights. The harsh dark bruise on her head stood in stark contrast to the extremely pale hue of her skin and the edge of stitches. She wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to call Cassie or Penelope?”

She wrapped her arms around her waist as she shook her head. “No, I don’t want them to know about this.”

“Julie, they’d want to be here to help.” She’d hardly said two words to him since she’d regained consciousness. He didn’t want to think about what that might mean. She seemed so fragile and if she wouldn’t talk to him, then she needed someone here that she could talk to.

“No!” She looked up at him with fierce determined eyes. “I don’t want you to say a word about this to them. They both have too much on their plates already and don’t need any more worries right now.” Her voice softened. “Please, Chris. Please don’t tell them about this. I know they’ll find out eventually, but not tonight. I just don’t want to deal with anyone else right now.” Her eyes filled with tears as she looked out the window.

He blew out a frustrated breath. “Okay, for tonight I’ll agree, but only for tonight.”

She started to tremble in reaction to either the stress of the night or the thought of going home.

He reached into the back seat to grab his sweatshirt and motioned to the center of the bench seat. “Come here and put this on.”

He wrapped his arm around her and tucked her under his chin trying to shield her from the world. “Do you want to go to your house or would you rather stay at my place for tonight? Or if you want, we could even go to a hotel. Whatever you need to feel safe right now, we can do. Just tell me what I can do.”

He could feel her shivering and her voice cracked as she spoke. “Thanks, but can we take the long way home? I’m not ready to be there yet.”

“Sure.”

As they drove, the country music playing through his speakers lilted softly in the darkened car. Slowly she began to relax. The stress of the day paired with the movement of the truck made for a good sedative. As they drove in circles around Lubbock, Chris thought about the awful events of the day.

The bastard would never have a chance to touch Julie again. He’d died instantly from the bullet Toni shot at him. Thank God, because that saved Chris from serving a prison sentence for killing him. He laid a soft kiss on top of her head. She was asleep and now she was safe. He needed to keep her that way forever.

Finally, Chris couldn’t drive any longer. Exhaustion pulled at him. He parked his truck in front of his house and brushed the soft hair across Julie’s forehead. Another few minutes and it could have been a very different result to the day. As it was, he wasn’t sure what the extent of the trauma was on Julie. He had no idea if Pete had time to consummate the rape part of his attack. He hadn’t been allowed in the room while they examined her in the hospital. A chill swept over him. If he had, they’d deal with it.

“Butterfly,” he swept a kiss across her forehead, “we’re home. Let’s go inside and get you to bed.”

“Chris?” Her voice was thick and groggy with sleep as she reached for him. A moment later though, her eyes widened with fright as the memories of the day crashed down on her.

“Shh, it’s okay. You’re safe now. Come on. Let’s go inside.”

He ushered her into his house, but she paused at the doorway to his bedroom. She glanced around the room frantically.

Chris rubbed up and down her back, feeling helpless because he didn’t know what to do to help her.

Turning toward him, she whispered. “I’m so cold, but I need to be clean.” Her voice hitched. “Please can we take a shower?”

She said we. That was a good sign, right? “Absolutely, Butterfly. Anything you need.”

In the bathroom, he turned on the water in the shower to as warm as he thought she could take it and then gently helped her undress. She continued to quake. He knew a lot of it was a result of the aftereffects of adrenaline and pain.

He had her down to her panties and bra when she began tugging at his t-shirt. Holding her hand still against his chest, he asked, “Are you sure you want me in there with you?”

For the first time all evening, she truly met his gaze. “I need you. I can feel his breath and his weight on me. I need you to help me erase that feeling. Replace it.” Her voice pleaded.

Knowing that if he tried to speak, his voice wouldn’t cooperate, he simply nodded and began to pull off his clothes. When he got down to his underwear, he glanced at her again just to make sure this was still what she wanted. Fierce determination glinted through the tears in her eyes. His Butterfly was resilient.

He pulled off his underwear and then unfastened her bra. As it fell off her shoulders, the full extent to the bruising on her torso was livid in the purple, blue, and green colored patches across her fair skin. He hissed in a harsh breath and clenched his jaw as anger surged through his system.

She cupped his cheek, concerned. “I don’t know what they told you at the hospital, but you need to know. He didn’t get the chance to rape me. Toni killed him before he did.”

Relief surged through him and he wondered if his legs were going to continue holding him up. Tears filled his eyes as he drew her against his chest and kissed her forehead. “Remind me next week to give Toni a raise.”

She gave a watery laugh, pulled off her panties, and then tugged him into the shower with her.

She scrubbed the soap over every inch of her body for five minutes before he couldn’t watch the abuse anymore. He took the soap out of her hands and began to work it over her in a slow, methodical, massaging manner. As he slid the soap over her, he followed with his lips, caressing the bruises and marks on her, including extra care around her shredded and torn wrists and ankles where she’d been bound.

He wanted to worship and love every part of her, but she had other ideas. She pulled him up off the tile floor where he’d been kneeling to demand, “Chris, make love to me.”

Up to this point, this had been all about healing her and making her feel better. As with anytime he was near her naked flesh, he’d been aroused, but with that simple sentence, his cock now went rock-hard with need. He needed to show her how much she meant to him. How much he loved her.

Tugging her out of the shower, he wrapped her in a towel and spent long, erotic moments drying every nook and cranny, and then re-wetting it again with his tongue. By the time they made it to the bedroom, she was moaning and writhing up against him. “Now, Chris, now. I need you inside me.”

Slowly he eased up over her as he laid her back on the bed. Starting at her feet, he kissed her, tasting the arch of one foot and then the other and then nibbling at her toes in turn. He skimmed his tongue along the curve of her calf and settled behind her knee where he discovered she had a tiny ticklish spot. He spread his large hands up the inside of her long, toned legs, feeling them flex and twist under his caress. When he reached the apex of her thighs, he inhaled her unique scent of jasmine and pear. “Butterfly, your scent drives me insane. It’s f*cking perfect.”

She bucked underneath him. “Chris, you aren’t being very nice. Well, actually you’re being incredibly nice, but I need you to be nice in another way. Chris,” her voice lowered seductively, “I need you to be nice inside of me.”

“Hmm, I do think I can do that.” He slid up her, stopping for a moment to pay some attention to her breasts and then gradually eased inside her, one torturous inch at a time. They were both groaning by the time he was fully seated.

As soon as his groin met her *, she began to clench around him. He held still and enjoyed the pure rapture as the currents of electricity zinged down his spine. His forehead leaned up against hers as she regained her ability to breathe. Still holding in position, he asked, “Are you okay?”

“Oh yeah, I’m good. Now it’s time to take care of you.” She moved her ankles further up his back and twisted her hips up against his.

He shuddered as ecstasy slammed through his every sense. His hips snapped against hers as control shredded and instinct took over. She opened her gorgeous hazel eyes, the love shining there slaying him. He leaned down and kissed her, pouring all his love into the gesture as his tongue tangled with hers. She orgasmed for a second time and the convulsing of her walls dragged him down with her. His cock pulsed inside her hot, silken passage as wave after wave of delicious release barreled out of his shaft and into her. He couldn’t hold back the deep groan his release brought.

Finally spent, he rolled over onto his back, pulling her onto his chest. He lay there catching his breath and rubbing his hand up her back. Tears rolled onto his chest. He sat up and lifted her chin to look at him. The tears spilling over her lashes broke his heart.

“I didn’t think I’d ever feel this again today. I never thought I’d get to feel your arms around me again. I thought I was going to die.” Silent tears racked her and he pulled her tight into his embrace.

“It’s okay. You’re safe now and I’ll do everything to make sure you stay that way for the rest of your life. You took ten years off of mine today when I realized you were in that house. I never want to go through that again.” He kissed her softly on the top of her head just above her stitches. “Try to go to sleep now and I’ll work to keep the nightmares at bay. You’ve taken away my nightmares. Let me do the same for you.”

Slowly she relaxed against him, but he didn’t release his hold on her. He never wanted to let her go again.