Page 7 of Unbreakable
"Not what. Who." His eyes that were soft change to rage with my admission, but still he stays quiet. I close my eyes. This last part is the hardest to say to him. I'm not afraid of Jake. He would never hurt me physically. This I believe with every fiber in me. I'm afraid the last part I reveal will be me hurting him. I gather my strength and keep my eyes on his, "My married name is Anna De Burca, and I've been running from the man who almost killed me. I'm hiding from my husband." As hard as I try I can't hold back my tears. I stand there letting them fall down my face, and I wait.
5
Jake
"I'm hiding from my husband."
It's those five words that have all the air leaving my lungs and my vision seeing red. Hearing Grace's voice shake when she makes her confession has my fist clenching at my side.Shit Jake, calm your ass down.It's not the married part that's fuckin' with my head, because a quick bullet to the motherfucker's head will solve that problem. No, it's the fear in my Little Bird's eyes right now that has my anger soaring. I note the tremble in her body, and that alone is telling me she is afraid. She's scared of this bastard, she's afraid of opening up to me, and my gut is telling me I am not going to like what I am about to hear.
Keeping my emotions in check, I go against Grace's orders, and I take one, two and three strides towards her until we are toe to toe. Reaching up, I cup her cheeks with my palms while relishing the feel of her silky skin on my rough, callused hands. I watch as her eyes close and she takes a shuttered breath before releasing it. "Tell me, Little Bird." I urge. Opening her eyes, she meets my stare.
"I'm scared." She confesses.
"I know you are, but you don't have anything to fear with me."
Digging her nails into my forearm while I keep my hold on her face, "The last time I allowed myself to get close to a man, it nearly killed me…literally," she chokes out.
"I would rather die than harm one hair on your gorgeous head, and I'd kill any motherfucker who dared to try," I say with conviction. Using the pad of my thumb, I swipe away the tears streaming down her face.
"I know you won't hurt me, Jake. I left because I was afraid," Grace whispers.
"I suspected as much, but make no mistake, Little Bird, you will be coming home with me. Consider your wings clipped." I feel her body tense at my words.
"You can't just show up and make demands, Jake. It doesn't work that way, not anymore. I refuse to have another man control me."
"I don't want to control you, Grace. I want to keep you safe, and the safest place for you is with me. Don't put me in the same category as that bastard because unlike him, everything I do will be for you. To make you safe and make you happy. You will always be my top priority." Hearing the truth in my statement Grace closes her eyes tightly and nods. "First things first though is we are going to go sit down, and you are going to tell me as little or as much about what's happened to you. I won't force you to give me everything, at least not right now, but I need something from ya Grace."
Taking a deep breath, she agrees and leads me over to sit with her on the sofa. I sit down first and Grace goes to sit at the other end, but I'm not having any of that so, not letting go of her hand I pull her down to sit on my lap. "It's been six months since I've had my hands-on you babe, I need you close." At my confession Grace's body melts into mine.
Chemistry is something we never had a problem with. We both have felt the pull towards each other from the moment we met; her hesitation is what had me treading carefully.
It takes Grace a few moments to collect herself before she begins to speak.
"Two years, ten months, and five days. That is how long I have been running from my husband. It was also the last time he beat me so bad I landed in the emergency room. It was not my first hospital visit, but it was the one where I met Finn and he convinced me enough was enough. Detective Finn O'Rourke is the officer who took my statement at the hospital."
Grace must have felt me tense underneath her and she pauses to look at me. I run my hand up the length of her back encouraging her to continue.
"Anyway, my husband told Detective O'Rourke I had been mugged, but I could tell by the expression on Finn's face he wasn't buying it, and when my husband stepped out of the hospital room to take a phone call, Finn called me out on it. I didn't say a word to confirm nor deny his suspicions. I was too scared. Why would I have reason to trust another man, especially one I didn't know. That and my husband and his family are very powerful. Escaping was nearly impossible. I was watched twenty-four seven. I did escape though, I took a chance that night and trusted Finn. He helped me escape my husband, and he's been helping me hide ever since. He found Polson for me. He rented the space for me. The bakery, that was all him. A complete stranger. After time I got to know Finn and his reasoning for helping me and the way he makes complete sense now." Grace says the last statement with a somber tone. I'm also curious to what she means by her husband being powerful, but decide not to press. Not when she's finally opening up to me.
"I married Ronan when I was twenty-one, and in the time we have been married I have had two broken arms, a broken ankle, many fractured ribs and more black eyes and busted lips than I can count along with several concussions. All the while receiving pitied looks, people looking the other way. But what pissed me off the most where those who constantly asked; why do I stay, why don't I leave him."
Lightly gripping her hips to interrupt her Grace looks at me. "You stayed because he would have killed you had you tried to leave."
With tears streaming down her face she nods her head and then buries her face in the crook of my neck and sobs. I want Grace to know I would never judge her for staying in the situation she was in. Women who are in abusive relationships work strictly on fear and survival mode. I know in my heart that is what Grace was doing all those years she was with that soon-to-be a dead man. She was surviving. A little while later her tears stop, and she looks up at me. Even with swollen red eyes and a tear-streaked face, she's still the most beautiful fuckin' woman. "No more storytellin' today, babe. You did good, and I'm proud of ya. Thank you for trusting me enough to give a part of yourself."
I pull her face towards mine, and my mouth comes crashing down on hers. It's been too long since I've had her taste on my lips. When I run my tongue over the seam of her lips it is all the encouragement she needs to open up for me, and when she does, she lets me know she is just as starved for my taste as I am hers.
We kiss for what feels like forever, only forever is not long enough when it comes to this woman. In one swift movement, I grab Grace by the waist and shift her on my lap so that she is now straddling me. Her work uniform bunches up around her waist, and I can now feel the heat of her pussy against my dick which is straining against the zipper of my jeans, demanding to be released from its confines.
Grabbing a handful of Grace's red locks, I gently pull her away and when I do the look on her face robs me of my words. Her swollen lips and lust-filled eyes are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. "Tell me you want this baby. Tell me you're finally ready to become mine completely."
With a dazed look, she nods. "Words, Grace. Answer me with words," I demand.
"Yes, Jake, I want this. I'm ready."
Hearing all I need to hear, I swiftly stand from the couch with Grace still in my arms. With our bodies moving in sync, she bends her legs around my waist and wraps her arms around my neck. Striding towards the bedroom not once do our eyes break their connection. Clearing the doorway of the bedroom, I kick it shut with my booted foot before making my way to the bed. Releasing Grace, her body slides down mine, and I don't miss the hitch in her voice when she feels my erection through my jeans. "Arms up, babe," I tell her gripping the hem of her uniform. Complying, she raises her arms above her head allowing me to slip it off exposing her lace covered breasts. Tossing her clothes to the floor, I then run my palms up the sides of her tits which are slightly more than a handful and hook my fingers into the cups of her white lace bra pulling them down.
My mouth waters at the sight of her dusty pink nipples, and it leaves me no choice but to go in for a taste. "Fuckin' perfect." I say just before my mouth is on her, taking her. Grace lets out a moan as I swirl my tongue around her nipple.
