Run To You: The Damaged Series - Book Four

by Shayne McClendon

  “You two are shameless at piling on the compliments but Rowan has her doctor’s appointment today and she asked me to go with her. When a pregnant lady asks a favor, you do it so the baby stays calm and steady.”

  The girls sniffed and Nina fought not to laugh.

  “Fine.”

  “Extra stories at bedtime then.”

  “With the voices!”

  “And the animal sounds…”

  “You ladies drive a hard bargain. Deal.” She held out her hand and shook each smaller hand seriously. “Keep an eye on Miss Jeffries for me, alright? She still hurts from her fall.”

  “We’ll get her whatever she needs.”

  “We promise to stay out of trouble.”

  “I’m trusting you to be my backup. This a mission you can handle?” They nodded stoically. “I appreciate it. Eat your breakfast so I can clean up before going over to Rowan’s.” One of the women hired to help at the home entered the room and smiled. “Good morning, Nina. They go straight to you in the morning. So much for sleeping in.”

  “I don’t sleep much anyway, Ally. I’ll be with Rowan today. These young ladies promise to be on their best behavior and help Miss Jeffries if she needs them. ”

  The middle-aged woman nodded. “They’re angels. Especially for you. You have a knack for little ones.”

  “Because I refuse to grow up.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Nina walked into Rowan’s house and heard James talking to her in the kitchen.

  Rowan sniffed and said, “Crying is always just under the surface, waiting to wreck my makeup.”

  “Bitch, you don’t wear makeup,” Nina quipped. “What brought on the waterworks this time? Because girl, you have had a hair trigger for weeks.”

  “Thinking about that Folgers commercial with the brother and sister...gets me every time.”

  Nina sighed and went to perch on the stool beside Rowan. Staring at her intently, she murmured, “When you lie, you blush and look up like you’re asking forgiveness in advance. They’ve been your tells since you were twelve.”

  “Um…”

  “Don’t struggle.” Glancing at James, she winked. “She asking a lot of questions?” He held her gaze without a word. “It’s likely to get worse.” She nodded at the blender. “I’ll take one of your shakes if you have enough.”

  “Coming right up,” he answered quietly.

  Returning to the counter, he started cutting up fruit. Rowan looked back and forth between them and Nina knew what she was going to say before she said it.

  Sweet, innocent Rowan.

  “Are...you guys having sex?”

  James muttered, “Fucking hell.”

  His thumb was bleeding profusely as he dove for the paper towels and wrapped one around the wound. It was quickly soaked in blood.

  Hand over her mouth, Rowan rushed for the sink and threw up. It made figuring out what to do first difficult.

  Nina said, “I’m not sure who to help first here…”

  “Help James,” Rowan managed. “It just hit me wrong.”

  Walking to the man with a serious expression on his face and a quirked brow, she ignored the smug vibe of “I told you so” coming off his person.

  Unwrapping the paper towel, she groaned. “It’s deep, James. You might need stitches. I’ll drive you.”

  Rowan rinsed her mouth and the sink. “I’m sorry, James, blood never freaks me out.” Facing them both, she asked weakly, “Stitches, huh?”

  “You up for a little drive?” Nina asked. Rowan shook her head and turned to rest her forehead on the cool faucet. “Alright, let me get Mary-Margaret.” In the office down the hall, she whistled at the assistant. “Little bit of an emergency and I’m gonna need you to spot Rowan.”

  Back in the kitchen, she announced, “I’m going to check out this wound and see how bad it is. If necessary, I’ll drive him into town.” Taking his arm, she said, “Let’s go, Grace.”

  She led him to his bedroom on the first floor and through it to the attached bathroom.

  He said, “You know I don’t need stitches…”

  “Just buying you some time. Also, I really wanted to kiss you.” Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she made love to his mouth and sighed. “Let me clean it up. Where’s the awesome first aid kit I know you have in here?”

  Pointing at one of the cabinets, he didn’t let her go. “One more kiss. I’m wounded.”

  Grinning, she obliged. Against his lips, she said, “I think you might be milking this thing, Mr. Statton.”

  He stroked his uninjured hand over her hair. “Rowan finally figured it out. We’ve been sneaking in and out of this house every night.”

  “She’s never been the suspicious type. Her trust is hard to earn but unconditional. I was messing around with Gage for two months - climbing through the window of the room we shared - and it never crossed her mind to question me.”

  With a sigh, she pulled from his arms and removed the kit. Flipping it open, she removed antiseptic, gauze, and butterfly bandages.

  He leaned against the counter, his hand over the sink, as she cleaned the wound and wrapped it snugly. “It will be sore but at least it’s not your primary gun hand.”

  “You’re quite the nurse, Nina.”

  She cleared her throat. “At the warehouse, there was a girl. She was older than me. Her dad was a medic in Vietnam. They’d been homeless for a couple of years when she was snatched. She taught me a lot. Sometimes, it was necessary to patch up the others.”

  “What happened to her?” he asked softly.

  “One day, one of the regulars couldn’t get it up. Said she was too old and used up.” Nina hissed, “She was thirteen.” She cleaned up the counter and put the supplies away. “Most of the ones who disappeared were drugged, taken out when we were sleeping. Sh-she fought them. Scratching, biting, screaming.”

  Gripping the edge of the counter, Nina stared at nothing. “We were in fucking cages. Fortified dog kennels. None of us could help her. I couldn’t help her. They beat her to death in front of us.”

  Shaking her head, she whispered, “They dragged her out by one arm like she was a bag of trash after they’d used her, profited from her repeated rapes and torture for years. That’s when I knew I had to get us out - no matter what it took.” Meeting his eyes, she said, “Her death made me the oldest.”

  Nina slipped her arms around James’ neck and kissed him. Her fingers gripped hair that he wore longer since they’d moved to Daingerfield. He growled against her mouth.

  Pivoting them smoothly, he slammed her back against the wall by the door, devouring her mouth. His uninjured hand slid down her side and held her ass.

  She held his gaze. “I heard you with Rowan. You’re worried about our age difference. I thought it didn’t bother you.”

  “You were here longer than I realized.” He sighed and she knew he was comparing their similar features. “Everyone is going to think you’re my daughter.”

  “Not if I fuck you in public.”

  He rocked his cock against her with a low growl. “I’m sixteen years older than you, sweetheart.”

  She shrugged. “I have daddy issues…”

  “I’m serious, Nina.”

  “So am I. James…I look at you and see a man. The man who belongs to me.” She trailed her fingertip over his jaw. “You do belong to me, don’t you?”

  “You own me. You have from the start.”

  “You’re mine and I’m yours.” She lightly kissed his lips. “Age will never matter because you understand me. You soothe my nightmares, fuck me like an animal, and make love to me...something I never knew I needed.”

  He lowered his mouth to hers and she parted her lips on a low moan. He sucked her tongue and he lifted her with his unbandaged hand. She wrapped her legs around him.

  James carried her into the bedroom and lowered her to his bed. He stretched out over her with his cock notched against her center and rubbed himself against her clit.

  His
hands stroked down her sides and went to the hem of her t-shirt, pulling it up and over her head. He kissed down her neck and over her collarbone, sucking first one nipple and then the other firmly.

  Nina held him close.

  She never wanted to let him go.

  “I love you, Nina.”

  “I love you, too.”

  His smile was slow. “What sort of day is it, sweetheart?”

  Tugging her lip between her teeth, she answered, “Quick and dirty with an edge of violence.”

  “As the lady demands.”

  They worked together to shove their clothes away. When they were finally naked, he reached between them, placed the head of his cock at the entrance of her pussy, powered forward, and buried himself to the base. He held her still while he worked his hips in short, powerful thrusts that vibrated her bones.

  “Yes, James, yes.” She groaned, her eyes closing, as the first climax hit her system like a tidal wave.

  Going up on one hand, he pushed her knee out from her body. “Look, Nina. How pretty your pussy looks spreading to take me.”

  Shaking, she went up on her elbows to watch him fuck her. His dick was slick from her come. Staring at where they were joined, she whimpered.

  “More, James.”

  “All you want. All you need.”

  By the time he released his control, she was drenched in sweat and barely conscious. He lay beside her, stroking his fingertips along her face and into her hair.

  “Sorry about my minute of insecurity.”

  She laughed. “You think I don’t have moments like that? The first half dozen times you touched me, I worried you could see how dirty my soul was. Your age doesn’t matter to me.” Turning on the mattress to look at him, she murmured, “You’re everything I never knew I needed in my life.”

  Leaning forward to kiss her, he rested his forehead against hers. “I’ll die first, Nina. I-I worry…”

  “James, the pain after is worth the love before. Let’s not think about that. Let’s pretend we’ll both live forever.”

  He nodded. “Alright.”

  “Think we have time for one more…?”

  With a snort, he said, “I just realized we’ve been in here for more than an hour...”

  There was a sharp tap on the door and Gage yelled, “Wrap it up! Rowan’s in labor!”

  James was off the bed instantly. He pulled his jeans over his hips, and opened the door. “Do I, uh, we have three minutes?” Rowan nodded and he slammed the door. “Sorry!”

  Jogging to the bed, he took Nina’s hands and hauled her to her feet. She laughed as he half-dragged her into the bathroom.

  “Thirty-second shower.”

  They were rapidly pulling on the last of their clothes when Mary-Margaret screamed James’ name from the hall.

  He cupped Nina’s cheek. “Ready?” She nodded. “Let’s do this. Me and you, Nina. Every step of the way.”

  “You’re a badass motherfucker, Mr. Statton.”

  “Ditto, Miss Adams.”

  Then they opened the door, exposing their secret to Rowan, Gage, and Mary-Margaret.

  Fortunately, everyone was so freaked out by Rowan being in labor that the questions were delayed.

  Nina had no doubt they were coming.

  They rushed Rowan to the hospital, watched in shock and awe as Gage delivered her baby, and embraced a new being to love and protect.

  The entire time, James was steady by her side.

  Her rock.

  Her anchor.

  The man she could no longer live without.

  For the first time, the thought of being herself openly, honestly...didn’t scare Nina as much as it once did.

  Maybe because James’ goodness, his light, his strength burned away the darkness inside her.

  Maybe she wasn’t as horrible as she always imagined.

  Time would tell.

  Chapter Nineteen

  2005 - Age 28

  “We can’t keep living apart, Nina. I’m literally spending every night in Rowan’s house alone now that she moved into Gage’s place.” James’ voice was firm and his expression was intense. “This is ridiculous and you’re barely sleeping.”

  “It’s just that Miss Jeffries needs…”

  “Stop it, sweetheart. Stop.” He took her shoulders. “You wait until the girls are asleep to sneak out and come over here. You leave before dawn every morning to be there when they wake up. It isn’t Miss Jeffries, Nina.”

  “They started school. It-it’s a lot to deal with and I want to help them acclimate to a new routine. They’re used to me and Miss Jeffries says they watch for me when I’m not there.”

  “Nina.” He gathered her close and pressed her face to his chest. “I’m trying so hard not to push, to show you that you can trust me. I’ve given you almost a year to say the words. Why won’t you say them?”

  “There’s nothing to say, James.” She tightened her arms around him. “I have everything I need.”

  “You don’t and that’s alright. I love you and that means I want to fulfill all the pieces of you…”

  “You do! I swear…”

  “Don’t. No lies.” He tilted her head back and stared into her eyes. “The other day, I walked over while Rowan was napping with Benji. You were asleep in the side yard with those little girls stretched out beside you in the grass. The tree gave you shade but the breeze made the sun flicker over your faces every few seconds.” He leaned closer. “It was the single most beautiful image I’d ever seen.”

  “Th-they’re little...they like to play. I-I play with them so they don’t feel alone. It’s hard to feel like you don’t belong anywhere.”

  “I know, sweetheart.” Smoothing his hand over her hair, he said, “They look just like you. Like me. They could have been our children...and it reminds you, doesn’t it?”

  Blinking against tears, she whispered, “I can’t, James.”

  “You can. You love those girls and you want them to be yours. Say the words, Nina.” He cupped her head. “Say the words and I’ll move mountains to give you what I know you need, sweetheart.”

  “I’m poison, James. I-I would contaminate them.”

  “No. You’d love them. You’d protect them. You’d show them by example that how someone starts in the world means nothing compared to where they end up.” Holding her face in his big hands, he wiped her tears with his thumbs. “You overflow with love. Share it with them, Nina. Change their lives.” He smiled. “I’d love to be a father.”

  “You’re not like me, James. You’ve always been good.”

  “Not always. No one is perfect, Nina. No one is pure. It’s our scars that make us human. That teach us to be better, to try harder. That’s who you are. A gorgeous mix of scars and hope...someone who never stops fighting.” He kissed her for a long time and pressed his cheek to hers. “Tell me, Nina. Say the words and trust me.”

  “I-I want them to be my daughters, James. I want them so bad I can barely stand to be separated from them.”

  Pulling back, he smiled. “I know.”

  “I live in fear that someone else will adopt them.”

  “Impossible. Miss Jeffries spoke to their case worker months ago and explained that we would be adopting them.”

  “I-I’ll never get approved…”

  “Rowan enlisted her team of attorneys to make sure you did, Nina. There’s only one condition.”

  “Wh-what?”

  “You need to marry me because all the paperwork says James and Nina Statton.” Her eyes felt enormous and he shrugged. “It would be a pain in the ass to change it now.”

  Reaching into his pocket, he removed a box and opened it. On black velvet was a classic engagement ring.

  “Marry me, Nina. Marry me, adopt the twins with me, and let’s see how the other half lives with shit like a dog and barbecues and cutting the grass.”

  Staring at the ring for a long moment, Nina let the shock roll through her. No one had ever risked so much for her.
>
  “James...are you sure?”

  “I can say in all honesty that I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life. Marry me, Nina.”

  Reaching up, she slipped her palm along his neck and brought him to her mouth.

  Against his lips, she whispered, “You’re the strongest male with the most beautiful heart. I can’t believe you gave it to me. Yes. I’ll marry you, James.”

  “Thank God. Let’s seal the deal.”

  He took her apart for hours and she returned the favor. There were a lot of fears in her heart…

  She hushed them all.

  Nina planned to attempt the only role she’d always been nervous about taking on...being a mother.

  It was going to take all her skills.

  If history held, she was going to kick ass.

  * * *

  Nina and James were married two weeks later in a small ceremony at Miss Jeffries’ house.

  Ava and Emma were her flower girls and Rowan was her matron of honor. As the only parental figure in Nina’s life, it was Miss Jeffries who walked her down the aisle.

  Some might have considered it odd to have Rowan and Gage beside them after all that had happened.

  To Nina, it was closing a circle.

  Even with unlimited resources, the American adoption process was a nightmare. It took six months to officially become Ava and Emma’s parents.

  The day she arrived at the home, the day she married James, and the day she became a mother against all odds were the happiest of Nina’s entire life.

  Incredible happiness could not stand alone.

  Not in her life and not in Rowan’s.

  There always seemed to be a price.

  Nina and Rowan sat in Miss Jeffries’ living room as their children played. The girls doted on Benji. At a year and a half, he was walking and exploring in ways that kept the adults around him in a constant state of alertness.

  He was a clever toddler but the sisters always seemed to intuit what he would do or try next. Mary-Margaret called them to the far side of the room for a story.

  Watching them with a smile on her face, Miss Jeffries said, “How amazin’ it is...seein’ my two girls with their babies. The Lord was kind to keep me around long enough to witness it with my own eyes.”