Healing Hands

by Hoy, E. S

  Marcus was shaken but he knew that there was a connection between them he couldn't deny even stronger than he had felt even with Livvy, this saddened him a little but cheered him too he drove home excited about the future for the first time in years.

  Chapter 5 The following week dragged on for Sophie she rode a couple of times remembering Marcus day shifts meant he wouldn't be about, they had spoken every day on the phone and even a few flirty texts had passed between them, she felt like a teenager with her first boyfriend. They had arranged details for Saturday but Sophie was nervous about meeting his family as they would probably assume they were a couple or maybe Marcus had told them she was just a friend, any way it bothered her that she may not be approved of or welcomed with open arms. The huge dilemma that kept her awake most nights and was also triggering an increase in her night terrors was the fact that Marcus had trusted her enough to confide in her about his late wife and she knew if there was to be any chance of a relationship with him she would have to share her story too, how much of it to share was her conundrum, she hadn't told him her surname purposefully as it may give her away there was quite a lot of press at the time of the split, it would have to come out eventually her name would come up at some point unless she faked her identity and that was a ridiculous idea even for her. The extent her old injuries and the scars of abuse would be visible the first time she appeared naked before him if she ever did of course and as a doctor he would not be fobbed off with any tale he would want the facts, she was aware he must have seen a few of her scars when he was nursing her wound but not the deeper ones on her back and revealing how they came about could repulse him entirely, in fact the more she stressed about it the more she realised a romance was almost out of the question.

  Jasper was a deviant and enjoyed punishment sex but pain was definitely not pleasure for Sophie, the intensity of his punishments increased over the months after he robbed her harshly of her virginity the canes and whips were a regular part of his routine, at times Sophie begged and cried, pleaded and screamed but this got Jasper more turned on so she shut herself off and withdrew during his more imaginative sessions and her lack of emotion made him more and more vicious to force a reaction from her and it became his favourite game. Sophie tried to put it to the back of her mind until the weekend but she planned on telling Marcus before they got in any deeper. By Thursday Sophie had decided she would tell him some of her past tomorrow as he was calling after work for tea and to go over final arrangements, if their relationship had a hope of getting to the next level she needed to set out her boundaries and make it clear what she could cope with and also see whether he could handle her with all the baggage she carried. Deciding on an outfit for the wedding was first priority now, a try on session was needed so she decided to ask for help from Charlotte who was now a firm friend, Sophie had invited her around tonight for wine and fashion show, Charlotte knew about Sophie’s trip with Marcus and was so excited and only too happy to offer an opinion on her outfit, the evening turned out to be great fun Charlotte was great fun and between them they settled on a Victoria Beckham designed deep blue tailored dress that emphasised every curve along with a pair of obscenely high Jimmy Chu's. Once Charlotte had left Sophie hung her outfit up ready and felt quite excited but she had to face Marcus tomorrow so she curbed her excitement in case he decided she was too big of a risk for a respected Doctor. Friday evening arrived Sophie had spent the day rewriting her CV it was time to make use of her degree and prove to her mum that the sacrifices she made for her to get the best education were not wasted, now her confidence was growing she felt ready to face a new challenge so next week she would start job hunting. Marcus was due any minute she had worn her comfy clothes for dinner tonight, she always felt vulnerable sharing emotions with anyone so she needed to feel totally at ease, she had a couple of glasses of wine before he arrived. Marcus arrived freshly showered and smelling delicious, he had also brought along another bottle of wine so by the time they had eaten their meal Sophie had plenty of Dutch courage, as they sat relaxed on her sofa she began her story “I want to share my story with you Doc, it’s only fair after you opened up to me that you know exactly what you are getting into by befriending me” she took another large swig of wine “I had a relationship up to 3 months ago with a very powerful millionaire called Jasper Bonavia” Marcus face registered recognition and he instantly tensed up, Sophie tried to ignore hi reaction and carried on” he swept me off my feet took care of me treated me like a princess and eventually moved me into his apartment” Sophie told him how she was dragged into his special room but the toned down the next events a little as she could see he was becoming less in control. Marcus clenched his fists and struggled to keep his composure as he listened to her tell her story, no details but enough to give him a clear picture of exactly what kind of monster had repeatedly tortured abused and degraded this girl consistently for almost 2 years, he had so many questions as he had read the story of her disappearance in the news, he also knew of her mother and wondered how she hadn’t stepped in, how had he gotten away with it for so long without anyone realising was beyond his comprehension. He looked at her visibly shaking a look of despair and shame in her eyes it was almost enough to make him stand up and punch a wall, he had to reign it in so she didn't for one minute that any of what she had shared with him would push him away. She stopped talking when she came to the way she escaped it was obviously to painful she was holding her arms around herself and looking at the floor, Marcus felt such sorrow for her and his gut instincts were to pick her up and hold her until she felt whole, he held his hand out to her and gently coaxed her to come to him “Sophie I want to look after you honey let me hold you tonight I can't leave you alone like this not now” she nodded gratefully the tears started to flow he swept her up like a broken child and carried her upstairs sat on the bed and held her until her sobs subsided, “I need a shower “ she sobbed, he was aware victims of abuse showered obsessively to erase the unclean feelings they had so he stood her up and helped her to the bathroom and then closed the door softly listening to her sounds of anguish as she stood under the water for what seemed like hours, he sat on the edge of the bed just in his trousers and waited for her to come out, “Sophie are you OK?” she opened the door slowly his heart melted as she looked so broken her ethereal pale face and red swollen eyes, she was trembling and looked nervous. “don't look so scared sweetie tonight I am going to hold you all night nothing more, I want you to feel safe and to show you how much I am honoured that you chose to open your soul to me, come here” Sophie had come out expecting him to have left she looked at the gorgeous man in front of her perfect torso tight abs, she licked her lips and was almost disappointed to realise yet another night would be spent with her angel and still no passion, she knew this was the right thing though as sex after those disclosures was the last thing on her mind she craved more just his compassion and tenderness she was so grateful he was still here after her tale. She crawled under the covers and Marcus climbed in behind her and he curled into her back and wrapped his strong arms around her breathed in her wonderful aroma and the two of them soon drifted into a healing sleep. Part way through the night Marcus was aware of whimpering noises and lifted his head to look at Sophie she had curled up to the edge of the bed wringing her hands and murmuring little cries, “no please no more please no” she was then thrashing about “Jasper no I can't breathe stop please” Marcus was scared to wake her in case his presence scared her even more but she sat bolt upright and screamed grabbing at her neck furiously. No more hesitation Marcus grabbed her arms “Sophie stop its OK it’s me Marcus please you are safe now no one will hurt you” Sophie’s glazed expression started to lift and she blinked at him “oh Marcus” she sobbed and threw herself into his arms he pulled her into his body and rocked her until she stopped shaking, kissing and stroking her hair whispering softly to her, he decided at that moment he was not going to let her sleep alone ever again no way should she wake alone after a dream like t
hat, eventually she calmed and fell back into a sleep sobs still racking her body he looked down at her and snuggled back under the covers pulling her closer despite the fact his body was alert to her proximity and behaving inappropriately, it was hard to sleep as he could feel her soft breasts swelling and relaxing as she breathed then her legs seemed to tuck in between his making her ass almost unbearably close to his cock which grew steadily harder “this was going to be a long night he thought” Sometime the next morning Sophie awoke to an empty bed she felt bereft that he had gone and went downstairs to see if he was making coffee, instead she found a note

  Sophie I am sorry to have crept away this morning but I needed to go home to get my suit and get ready, as much as I could have watched you sleep forever duty calls and I will return for you as soon as I can, and I promise this weekend will be the start of good things for you and for me too. xx

  Immediately Sophie felt better made her drink then dragged her body back upstairs to get ready to impress his family and pay back this wonderful man for all he had done for her, Sophie had butterflies as today was like a proper date and after her open up session he still wanted her so life was good and she allowed herself to feel excited. Three hours later and a lot of under eyebag concealer and 2 cucumber slices! Sophie appraised herself in her full length mirror, the dress was perfect this shade of blue contrasted well with the green of her eyes and she had let her hair dry naturally into its soft curls she had made special effort with her make-up, not as much as Jasper had insisted on but enough to enhance her lashes and gloss up her lips, her boobs looked fantastic but not in a cheap way the cut of the dress made her waist look tiny and her bottom curvy and the shoes gave her legs shape and length “You will do” Sophie stated to herself and then heard her door go, “my prince has arrived”

  Chapter 6 Marcus let himself in as Sophie had lent him her spare key for the dinner last night “Hi Sophie I'm back” he wondered briefly if last night had spooked her and she would change her mind about coming, he had checked his phone every minute this morning waiting for her to back out. Marcus should not have worried at all as he watched her mesmerised when she walked carefully down the stairs in her heels smiling shyly at him, as she got to the bottom he drank in all of her top to toe, she was a vision in blue and wow what a body, his pent up desire from last night reared its head again and he automatically pulled his jacket together to hide his discomfort, she was the most sexy woman he had met and even more so as she was totally unaware of the fact, he waltzed up to her held and out his hands taking her tiny hands into his own and twirled her around so he could enjoy the full effect “wow girl you are hot” he said in a total none Dr like fashion.

  Sophie was enjoying the look on her his face loving the fact he was expressing his pleasure in her and that made her feel beautiful. Marcus looked amazing too, the slim fitting pin stripe suit made him look striking and the grey enhanced the blue of his eyes, his brown hair was its usual floppy self which she loved, he held out his arm she linked it with her own and he led her to his car. He drove a Porsche Cayenne it was luxurious inside and that was good because they had a fairly long drive ahead of them and it would have been a trial in her little TT, she slipped her shoes off and enjoyed perusing his personal selection of music on his iPod, very eclectic she thought, she closed her eyes and hummed away to herself to The Lumineers and then switched it to some Take That he smiled over at her glad to see her so relaxed, he marvelled at her ability to recover after such a disturbed sleep last night, determined that this weekend was the start of something good for both of them, he wanted to start healing this girl and make her feel cherished and safe, he was curious to see how his family would react to his little red head he knew his mum was excited to meet her, she had been delighted when he called to add a guest to the list, she longed to see her son happy again. The journey was relatively easy no roadwork’s for a change Sophie even dozed off for a while enjoying the music. “Hey sleepy head we are here” Sophie sat up and took in her surroundings. The venue was breath-taking the long driveway leading up to the Marquee and stately home was in itself a treat, deer roaming freely and huge trees lining the road, a smartly dressed valet opened the door for her and took the car keys off Marcus handing him a ticket, Marcus noticed Sophie was looking a bit nervous so he took her hand in his “I will be introducing you as my girlfriend is that ok with you?” Sophie stared at him in wonder she would be honoured to be his girlfriend, maybe he just meant for the day “erm yes that’s fine in fact I like the sound of that” she clung to his hand tightly as he led her towards the main entrance. The Hall was littered with groups of smartly dressed people large hats and loud laughter chatting away in their family groups, Sophie noticed a few surprised glances thrown their way and the ladies in particular giving her a once over, “darling boy you made it finally” boomed a voice and a vision in aqua swayed towards us stylishly dressed with an amazing hat topped with huge feathers, mother of the bride I assumed, I pasted on my best smile awaiting the arrival of this formidable looking woman, “hello mother, yes it was a long drive, you look sensational” he kissed her on both cheeks with genuine warmth,

  “and you my darling girl must be Sophie, well son you under sold her to me, you are quite the beauty young lady and it is a pleasure to see my boy with such a jewel on his arm” Sophie blushed and smiled back at her revelling in her appreciation and feeling totally relaxed in her company. Mrs Taylor Senior or Barbee as she liked to be known was only just 5ft tall but had such a vibrant personality and strong character she appeared a lot taller, it was clear Marcus adored her and it wasn't surprising as she wore the love and pride she had for him like a badge of honour. Barbee led us to the front of the great hall to sit with her and a surly looking but handsome man who stared unashamedly at them as they sat down “that’s Duncan” Marcus whispered but there was no time for an introduction as the music began, Marcus threw him a begrudging nod and looked away. The wedding march began and sister Beatrice glided down the aisle on the arm of a smart pleasant looking man who had the same eyes as my angel, Marcus whispered” Don my father ex-military can't you tell with the march!!” Sophie stifled a giggle because he was right you could see Beatrice trying to pull her dad back a bit to keep in time to the music. Beatrice herself was stunning brown hair like her brother all piled up on her head decorated with a stunning tiara her dress was fabulous, though not something Sophie would wear, it was a huge sparkly frothy meringue, it look wonderful on her tall willowy figure, she gave Marcus a wink as she drew close and threw Sophie a mildly curious smirk. Marcus gave her a warm smile then said under his breath “remember Livvy was her best friend she took a long time to forgive me after the accident and thinks I should wear black for eternity so if she is less than gracious that will be the only reason” Sophie then saw the groom step forward he appeared to be good looking, a very tall man with wavy blonde hair had a public school boy look about him, she imagined him in a cricket jumper or rowing for Oxford. What struck Sophie the most though was his look of total adoration at his soon to be wife he was obviously head over heels and it was totally mesmerising to watch they both struggled to hold back tears whilst exchanging their vows, she had a job not to cry herself it was so moving, Marcus was watching them both with pride and passed his mother a fresh hanky as she was a total blubbering mess.

  The service was short and sweet that’s the beauty of a civil ceremony no pomp and circumstance to deal with, the happy couple were dragged off to sign the register and the guests drifted to the outer hall where champagne was being served. Marcus introduced Sophie to a few cousins and an aunt who was in a wheel chair who reminded her of miss Haversham, then his father walked over for an introduction “Sophie hi I am pleased to meet you I am Marcus dad Don” he greeted her warmly with a cheeky nudge to Marcus “son you’ve hit the jackpot here she is a diamond, make sure you save me a dance later Missy” with that he went off to his wife’s calling for photos. Sophie was aware of eyes boring into her and noticed the brother w
as leaning arrogantly against the wall openly staring but with a look of curiosity he smiled at her, it made her shiver Jasper had a look like that it was rather unpleasant, he also watched Marcus with a look of regret on his face Sophie wondered if he was sorry for their broken relationship.

  “Marcus why hasn't your brother said hello” Marcus looked over to him and frowned “We hate each other simple, he wants everything I have he always did he hates me because he had this dumb idea that I was mum's favourite. I got the degree, a wonderful career and a beautiful wife, whereas he ended up in juvenile detention for drugs and flunked uni and saw himself as a complete disappointment to our parents, it was a shame because he was very academic, could have been whatever he wanted but instead of taking responsibility for his failures he put the blame on me, we just stay away from each other”

  “Is he still doing drugs or did he get help?” Marcus explained he had done rehab got clean and now runs a successful building company so he cleaned his act up but they still avoided each other. They wandered outside to the lawns to watch the photo's Marcus was called up for a few family ones, then everyone made their way to the marquee. It was decorated with silk and flowers fairy lights and organza bows, it was beautifully done and they set about finding their table. Marcus hadn't let go of Sophie’s hand throughout the event so far, she was grateful for that as she did feel like a fish out of water with all these strangers and was anxious in case someone actually recognised her. Dying her hair back to red had been a good choice as the blonde hair was what she had been known for and it was the first thing everyone recognised due to its length. They had sat down for the meal and were relieved that the guests at their table were lovely all family and very welcoming Sophie held her own during the meal holding their attentions and she gained a lot of respect when she spoke about her MBA in fact one man who turned out to be Uncle John, owned a distribution company in Holyhead dealing with overseas exports and he was very interested in some of her ideas for clever taxation issues. John gave her his card and asked if she would consider meeting him for a chat next week with the possibility of becoming his tax advisor on a consultancy basis. Marcus watched her gradually gain confidence and noticed the curious faces intrigued by her beauty and brain combination, he was so proud of her and squeezed her thigh encouragingly beneath the table cloth, she responded by placing her hand on his leg too, they smiled warmly at each other Marcus could feel his pulse speeding with her hand being in close proximity to his groin and it was distracting him. She was totally unaware of the effect her hand was having on him and was innocently rubbing his thigh in stroking motions it was becoming unbearable especially when she laughed and her hand absently brushed over the edge of his crotch, he felt her pull her hand back and look at him with shock, a blush spreading from the top of her luscious breasts, she smiled sweetly at him but started to lick her bottom lip with nerves or arousal he couldn't work out which until her hand skimmed him again “Christ” he mumbled she gave him a quick smirk and excused herself to use the powder room. Sophie was dizzy with desire and needed air fast before she started nibbling his neck or dragging him under the table. As for Marcus he was trying to still his libido and make it possible to stand up without displaying his obvious man hood to the uncles and aunts around the table. “so Marcus how is the world of medicine?” phew a question to distract him, he chatted to his uncle John for a while but then began to feel a little edgy as Sophie had been quite a while and the ladies was not that far away he excused himself to check on her whereabouts.