Healing Inc.

by Tarbox, Deneice

  Tyler was glad she couldn’t see the emotions that played on his face no matter how hard he tried to force them back. He kept his eyes closed, continuing to wrestle with staying calm.

  “This time Miguel had me stay with him and Enrique, thinking David wouldn’t be foolish enough to come and get me. That didn’t stop him; he came and got me from school. He repeated the same pattern as last time, beating me then having sex with me when I was too incapacitated to refuse him. A few weeks later it hit home that Miguel was right; I had to get out of there before he killed me. They helped me come up with the plan to escape to Oklahoma and hide out with Nita. The only thing I planned to take with me was my mother’s ring that her mother had passed on to her. I kept it in his office safe…”

  ***

  The Night of the Incident…

  Evy tip toed into the small office located in the back of David’s Juke Joint. It was well after three in the morning. Everyone else was gone. She made her way to the small safe hidden behind the nude painting on the far wall. Her delicate fingers quickly worked the combination. Retrieving the ring, she quietly closed the safe door replacing the painting over it. She turned to find five other people in the room with her, David, Raheem, and three other men that she had never seen before. David and Raheem were higher than ever. They were so juiced they couldn’t stand still without jerking. The other three men, all in black leather were unnervingly calm.

  “David…hey, I was just checking on my mom’s ring.” She was surprised that she didn’t sound panicked. The way they were all looking at her put her on high alert.

  “At three thirty in the morning Evy?” David responded. His right eye kept twitching as he stood opening and closing his fists.

  “I told you her ass was uppity, didn’t I!” Raheem gestured toward her with a quick jerk of his head. “I think it’s about time we put the bitch in her place.”

  Before she could blink, the largest of the three men and Raheem had snatched her up and pinned her to David’s desk. She bucked and screamed trying with all her might to kick, hit and bite the two men. Her actions only served to arouse them further. She watched as the other two men grabbed and held David once he realized what was happening and tried to come forward to assist her.

  “Get the fuck off me! What the fuck you doing to my girl?” he shouted, trying to free himself from their vice like grip.

  “You see man, that’s the problem. She ain’t your girl! Your stupid ass got this pussy up in here going all to waste and shit!”

  Raheem managed to get this out while fighting to hold Evy down. He roughly started ripping at her clothes causing a new wave of terror to pass over her. She looked up through her tears to see an evil face grinning back at her belonging to the other man holding her down.

  “David, please stop him!” She pleaded but to no avail. David could only stare in disbelief at what his best friend was doing to his woman.

  “You two always thought you were better than me. Not tonight, bitch! Not tonight!” He claimed as he viciously violated her. “Thought your fucking pussy was made of gold, huh… You ain’t shit! Don’t fucking look at me bitch!” Evy kept pleading for David’s help, hoping her sobbing would snap him out of it. “Shut the fuck up! You should be yelling my name and shit, not his!” He reached up and slapped her causing her head to loll to the side. That seemed to jolt David into action.

  “Get the fuck off her Raheem. I’m gonna kill your ass!”

  His struggle against the two men was futile. They didn’t give but his threat had an effect on Raheem. Evy felt him go soft. He pulled out of her and clumsily tucked himself back into his pants. He walked over to David, pulled a gun out of his pocket and aimed it at him.

  Bang! The gun fired, making Evy jump as a high pitched “no” erupted from her throat. Uncontrolled sobs started to rock her body. The large man still held her on the desk, that sinister grin ever present on his face.

  It wasn’t clean like in the movies… There was blood everywhere, including on Raheem. Without warning, he turned and aimed the gun at her. All she could see was the dark hole that was the barrel of the gun, the route of her intended bullet. She lay there, frozen in horror as he pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. He tried again but still, nothing. Anger seized him. He began beating her with the weapon. She knew the large man no longer held her when she flew through the air, her back and head forcefully making contact with the wall on the opposite side of the room. This beating was nothing like the attacks from David. Raheem wanted her dead...

  ***

  Present Night Italy…

  “Then it occurred to me, ‘stop screaming… Play dead!’ It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life but it worked. I actually had to force myself not to pass out so that my breathing wouldn’t regulate.” Tyler marveled at her calmness. It was as though she were relaying a tale about someone else, someone she had heard about in the news or somewhere else.

  “When I woke up in the hospital Nita was there. She told me Raheem was in jail but the other three were nowhere to be found. She stayed with me throughout the whole ordeal. She and you are the only two people I’ve told about the rape. The prosecutor suggested we not bother. Apparently shaking your ass on stage to support your drug dealing boyfriend’s habit is the equivalent of prostitution. He said the defense would use my stage life to make it look like I provoked Raheem.”

  Tyler couldn’t keep from clenching his jaw. “Nita is also the only one who knows they shot David in front of me. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her that the gun jamming is the only reason I lived.” Evy was silent now but Tyler could feel that she had more to say. He became aware that she was struggling with the next part of her story. She started squeezing and releasing his hand nervously.

  “Nita…” her voice broke, “Nita is also the only one who knows the real reason why I was so desperate to get away from David.” Her hand was pumping harder now. Tyler couldn’t see her face but he knew she was crying. He waited patiently for her to continue.

  “You see, I found out that I was pregnant.” Now Tyler was the one squeezing her hand. “I told David, and he handed me a wad of cash, told me to go get an abortion.” The tears were streaming faster now and her body started to tremble. “I told him I would but instead called Nita to come get me as soon as I could. The whole time Raheem was raping and beating me… he was killing my baby.” She was sobbing now.

  Tyler positioned her on his lap and held her like a child. His own tears were flowing. He rubbed her back tenderly, kissing her forehead and temple to comfort her. “Let it out, Evy. Let it all out.” His tone was caressing, soothing.

  He held her that way until the shudders subsided and she rested quietly against him. He carefully lifted her face from his neck and used the clear tub water to rinse her tears away. Taking the sponge and her special soap, he began to wash the tension from her body. Again, Evy felt herself relaxing into him. She drew comfort from knowing she was in love with this man and that he loved her just as much.

  ***

  It was a little after midnight. After washing himself and Evy they had moved to the bedroom where Tyler rubbed her down with lavender scented lotion. She finally succumbed to the fatigue brought on by her emotional endeavor, granting him the opportunity to slip off to the gym down the hall and blow off some steam on the punching bag. He showered after returning and was happy to find her still fast asleep. She needed the rest.

  He sat in the wingback chair watching the light from the fireplace dance off her beautiful features as she slept. All she had told him that night kept playing out over and over again in his head. So much had happened to her yet the one thing she couldn’t let go of was the loss of her child.

  One could only imagine the pain she had endured over the years, each anniversary of that night coming back to haunt her. True, he could help her carry her baggage; he was more than sure she was ready to leave some of it here. But, he would never be able to fill the void of the unborn child she had lost. The baby would
have been a few years younger than Cecile, may have even attended the same schools. He could only wish he had been around to save her or him.

  He was deeply concerned about the three strangers that had participated in the events of that night. Having relations to a mafia king gave him insight into the world of hired thugs and muscle. Those three sounded as professional as they come. The fact that they disappeared added more substantiation to this summation. Who had it in for Evy and what was taking them so long to finish what they had started? There was the possibility that David had been their primary target but Tyler’s gut told him that wasn’t the case. Feeling the sudden need to touch her, he transferred from the chair to the mattress. He snuggled up behind her in the king sized bed, placing a protective arm over her waist.

  “How long are you going to keep leaving the bed whenever my butt happens to rub you the right way?” Evy asked groggily.

  “How long have you been awake?” he asked, a little surprised that she was. Then something occurred to him. “Have you been doing that on purpose all this time?”

  Evy responded with a low throaty laugh prompting an astonished Tyler to gently swat her backside. “Ow! She exaggerated laughing harder.

  “What am I going to do with you?”

  “Love me is all you can do,” she responded with a smile.

  Wow! Tyler thought. His two favorite women had said those very same words to him in the same night. “I do love you, more and more each second.” He gave her a gentle squeeze.

  She turned over to face him. “Okay then. Show me how much you love me.” The amusement left her eyes, replaced with a plea from her physical longing. Although Tyler was more than ready to end six years of celibacy he didn’t want to rush her, especially after tonight’s revelations.

  “Are you sure you’re ready for that?” He held his breath, hoping she would give him the answer he wanted.

  “More than sure,” she replied, not disappointing him. She started applying faint kisses to his lips, reassuring him of her decision.

  He moved her to her back as he lifted onto his elbow to hover over her. He leaned down and kissed her softly starting at her lips then her cheeks, forehead, nose. He pulled back to look at her bringing his free hand up to tenderly stroke her cheek. “You’re so beautiful, Evy.” He moved closer to her, covering her mouth with his, sucking on her lips one at a time. He drove his tongue deep between them as his need to taste her heightened.

  Evy felt that now familiar wave of warmth wash over her, causing the delicate spot between her legs to tingle. She felt his naked erection rubbing against her thigh, rekindling the earlier image of it as he sat in the tub. It made her kiss him back harder, pulling him into her by the back of his head.

  Feeling her increase in intensity aroused him further making him harder. His hand moved down her body, stopping momentarily to play with her breast before continuing downward to her wetness. Touching her there produced a moan from her. He knew that she was ready. With speed he parted her legs further and took up his place between them.

  He pressed his hard head to her opening and stopped. The look on her face bordered on comical. He stared at her as she lay beneath him, eyes tightly shut, every muscle of her body shaking with tension. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Just moments before she had appeared to be into it, into them and what they were about to do. Now she was suddenly as nervous as a virgin anticipating the pain of having her hymen shattered.

  “Evy,” he called quietly, “are you okay?”

  One eye popped open to acknowledge him. Then she began to relax as the realization of what she was doing sank in. “I’m sorry; I didn’t do it on purpose.” Once again she was embarrassed for ruining the moment.

  “Hey, don’t feel bad. I shouldn’t have rushed it. Just remember that it’s me making love to you, no one else. I want you to enjoy this.” He rested his forehead on hers, continuing to stare into her eyes.

  Evy wasn’t a virgin in the sense of the word but this was foreign to her. There had been countless occasions where David had entered her before she was ready, not to mention her last sexual encounter had been Raheem’s assault on her fourteen years ago. She had never enjoyed sex, just tolerated it, viewing it as something men had to do. She knew other woman enjoyed it but she had never learned how to. Now this man cared, actually stated that it was important for her to enjoy it as well.

  She continued to gaze into his eyes, noticing that the original lust that always seemed to be there had been replaced by something else. She was looking at love, all that he had for her unhidden, visible right there in those intense blue eyes of his. That familiar heat once again started to claim her body. Slowly her hands began to roam, exploring him for the first time in their relationship. She stroked his silky hair, the strong muscles of his back and sides. Her feet moved up and down his hairy legs, feeling their strength and firmness. She felt his chest hairs tickling and stimulating her already taut nipples whenever he breathed.

  Tyler remained unmoving between her thighs with his forearms planted securely on either side of her head. He was enjoying the pleasure of her having her way with him.

  Their eyes remained locked on each other’s permitting her to see his response to certain areas that she touched. She felt the head of his manhood jerk at her entry when her hands floated over his buttocks. She began to squeeze and knead the hard mounds while her mouth began a journey of its own. She kissed his tender lips, sucking and nibbling lightly on the bottom one. Tyler fought the urge to move, the need to pump further into her. She moved down his chin to his neck where she started licking and sucking his delicate skin. An audible groan escaped him as he tried harder and harder to control his hips.

  Just when he thought he would die from trying, Evy used her legs to guide him into her. Her head jerked back into the pillow as a low whimper escaped her. Tyler began to pump slowly, watching her face for any sign of discomfort. She moved her hips, raising them to meet him in response to his thrust. They kissed deeply, each taking turns making love to the other one’s mouth.

  Evy kept one hand on his head while the other held onto his back for the ride. She felt her passion building with each stroke making her tingle, the feeling radiating throughout her vaginal walls. Their vocal displays of pleasure added to the sensation, moving it ever closer to that one thrust that would send her over the top. Within minutes she exploded, her climax bringing tears to her eyes as she convulsed around him.

  Tyler pumped deeper; responding to her pleasure and prolonging her ecstasy. He needed this to be the most awesome sexual encounter she had ever had. He continued to elevate her higher, holding back his own euphoric eruption as orgasm after orgasm seized her. Each new wave pushed her further from her well warranted fear of the act and toward the acceptance of how blissful true love was going to be. Soon he tensed up and came, calling her name out as he did. He collapsed on top of her, remaining inside of her to further savor the feeling.

  “I love you Tyler Moriatti,” she whispered in his ear.

  “I love you Evelyn Stone,” he whispered back before rolling off of her.

  They lay entwined facing each other, communicating their love through soft touches and kisses. The remnants of their love making granted Evy one of the greatest nights of sleep she had enjoyed in a long time.

  Chapter 10

  The second Friday of November in Venice, Italy brought no better weather than the first, cold and rainy. Tyler sat in the office of his suite going over invoices and itineraries for upcoming maintenance on the hotel. He had been busy all week showing Evy the land of his origin. He was glad she didn’t mind the cool weather because it kept the tourists to a minimum, giving them more room to move about the enchanted cities and small towns.

  They spent mornings, when she could either get him up early enough or she was willing to wait for him, working out together. He was impressed with her martial arts skills as well as his own ability to pick up on the few moves she taught him. He hoped he would never provoke he
r to use them on him because he wasn’t so sure he would come out the winner. Their nights were filled with good food and lovemaking. Although they made love often he made it a point to try to be gentle with her, releasing any aggressive energy he had on his punching bag in the gym.

  Since unleashing his pent up urges he found it harder to keep his hands off her, night or day. She had asked him one day, “I know why I waited so long but I can’t understand why you did?” He had told her about his last encounter where Cecile walked in on him. She was only twelve at the time but the look on her face made him wish he could disappear through a hole in the floor.