“Thanks, Mandy, for everything,” Peyton said as she hugged her.
“Can you take my truck to the store a few blocks away and get her something to wear besides my shirt, before you go? We’ll take you to the bus stop after they release us.”
“Okay.”
Mandy took his keys, whistling happily as she twirled the key ring around her finger. “I’ll be back.”
“Don’t wreck my truck.”
“I won’t, cowboy. I like big things.” She laughed as she skipped down the hallway.
He took the seat next to the gurney to await their discharge papers. “You can move in with me when we get back.”
“But your house isn’t even finished yet.”
“I know, but you’ll be able to decorate it however you want. I’d love to have your help on how certain things should be in the house since it’ll be your house now too.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“You plan to continue your therapy, right? I think you need to so you can work through what happened last night and yesterday.”
“Yes, I will. This has all taken me back a step in my recovery, but with you by my side, I can overcome anything.”
“That’s right. I’ll be there for you every step of the way.”
“You know I love you, right?”
“I’m glad to hear you say it because you mean everything to me, Peyton. You’ve become someone very important in my life. I’ll do everything I need to do to help you. You own my heart.”
“Are you two ready to go?” the nurse asked as she came into the room. “I have your discharge papers here.”
“Good.”
Once the nurse went through the instructions with each of them after she dressed their wounds, she had them sign the papers and then escorted them out to the waiting room.
“A friend has gone to get her some clothes.”
“Just hand the scrubs back to the receptionist before you leave.”
“We will. Thank you.” He shook the nurse’s hand. “We appreciate everything you’ve done.”
“No problem. That’s what we are here for.”
A few minutes later, Mandy came through the door with a couple of bags of clothes. “I didn’t get anything fancy. Just a shirt, jeans. I grabbed your shoes from the house. He didn’t ruin those.”
“Thanks, Mandy. You’re the best.” Peyton hugged her quickly and then took the clothes into the nearby bathroom while they waited.
“How’s she really doing?” Mandy asked.
“Broken. She needs to talk to her therapist right away. That asshole brought back way too much stuff buried inside her soul.”
“So when’s the wedding?” Mandy asked, rubbing her hands together in glee.
Jason smiled and shook his head. “Soon, I hope.”
Mandy threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. “I knew you two were good for each other.”
“Thanks.”
“Hey, that’s my fiancé you are hanging all over.” Peyton stopped at their side with her fresh new tank top, jeans, and tennis shoes.
“I know! I think it’s totally cool you two are planning to get married. Jason won’t tell me when the wedding is, but I better be a maid of honor.”
“Of course you will be. We can’t give you a date because he just asked me like ten minutes ago.”
“Well, I’ll leave you two alone. I’m taking a cab to the bus station.”
“I told you we’d take you.”
“No problem. You two go on and have fun. Be careful with her, she’s been through a lot,” Mandy scolded as she shook her finger at him
“I will. No hanky panky. I just plan to hold her very tight.”
“Good. I’ll see you two in a couple of days.”
“Thanks again. For everything,” Peyton said, hugging her friend for a moment as tears sparkled on her eyelashes. Mandy only hugged her shoulders as she tried not to touch her back. He began to love her even more for her care. “I don’t know what I would have done had you and Jason not come to find me.”
“Stop. You’ll make me cry too.” Mandy stepped back, shooing Peyton into his arms. “I love you both.” Mandy disappeared out the doors, leaving he and Peyton standing alone.
“Shall we go find a hotel room?”
One eyebrow shot up over Peyton’s eye. “Can we have sex?”
“Baby, I don’t think that’s a good idea with your back.”
“You’re probably right.” She shivered next to him. “We should probably get something to eat before we find a hotel. I’m starving.”
“Considering it’s about noon, I’m not surprised. I saw a burger joint not far from here.”
“Sounds good.” She grabbed his hand as they headed outside to his truck.
He knew having sex with her could be bad for her physically, but emotionally, he wasn’t sure. He didn’t do emotions very well. He wasn’t sure if his own could handle a breakdown from her if it occurred, but he would tough it out. She would need him tonight. Her emotions would be fragile with the torture her ex dealt out. Holding her close might help when things came to a head.
Chapter Sixteen
They made the short trip to the burger joint and ordered what they wanted. As they waited for their food to come, he took her hands between his. A kiss to each fingertip made his cock stand up to take notice. Down boy. “How are you feeling?”
“Sore.”
“What about what’s going on in that brain of yours?”
“I’m not sure I know what you mean.”
“Baby, you just went through something that would fuck up someone’s emotions even on their best day. I know what happened had to have brought back a lot of memories.”
She grasped his hands like a lifeline as her knuckles turned white. “Charles didn’t abuse me physically before. Apparently, he was holding back that little bit of information from me when he was fucking with my head. Yes, it’s hard for me to wrap my brain around it right now because I didn’t see this coming. I should have. Many times when someone abuses on an emotional level, the physical is there too, but he didn’t, at least not in the past.”
He gently rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand until her death grip eased.
“Easy, baby. I will never let anyone hurt you again. He’s gone. Dead. He can’t hurt you anymore.” Why he brought this up here, he wasn’t sure. He shouldn’t have. “I’m sorry. We can talk about this later when we are alone.”
“Okay. I’m going to need to talk, Jason. I’ve got to let these emotions out and I don’t want to do it here in the restaurant.”
“It’s fine.” The waitress brought their food, easing the plates onto the table in front of them. Peyton took a deep breath and dove into her food like a starving woman. Jason squirted some ketchup on his plate for his fries as he kept an eye on his woman. She needed him to be strong for her and he would be. “Let’s talk about something else for now. We can get into the emotional turmoil when we get to the hotel. When would you like to get married?”
“Are you sure you want to marry me?”
“I love you, Peyton. Of course, I want to marry you.”
“How is your family going to feel about you taking on such a project?”
“My family will love you. My mother already does from what she’s told me even though she will want to get to know you better.”
“What are they going to say? We haven’t really known each other very long.”
“Long enough to know I want you in my life. When I found your car at the doctor’s office and didn’t know where to find you, my heart settled in my stomach. I knew then I loved you because I couldn’t think of my life without you in it. If I’d lost you, I would’ve gone nuts. You are the most important person to me.”
“Have I told you I love you?”
“Yes, but I like hearing it. Up to a few months ago, I thought finding the perfect person for me was impossible. I told myself I would stop using women for my own pleasure. You wer
e a test of my abilities because you wanted to have casual sex. I gave into that mentality even though it went against what I’d vowed to change, because I wanted you so badly, I would have done anything to have you.” He smiled as her eyes widened. “I’ve been watching you for several months while you worked the bar, trying to figure out a way to get closer to you. When you showed up at the muddin’ party with Aaron, I wanted to rip his throat out.”
She laughed. “You did?”
“Yeah, because I thought for sure you were going home with him and he would be getting what I wanted.”
“You only wanted me for sex?”
“No, well yeah. Sort of.” He popped the last of his hamburger into his mouth. While he chewed, he tried to decide how to tell her at first he wanted sex, but after he’d gotten to know her, it had turned into more. “You see, all I’ve ever known with a woman is sex. I hadn’t wanted anything more until you, but when I thought of you with Aaron, I wanted to be him. I wanted what he was going to have. I didn’t know what type of relationship you had with him and it bugged me. When you got into the fight with him and turned to me, it was like my entire world lit up. This is why I resisted so hard when we first started talking that night. I realized I wanted a little more from you than just sex. I wanted to hold you, touch you and love on you all night. I wanted to wake up next to you in the morning so I could see the sunlight touch your hair. I wanted your eyes to light up when you saw me like they do now. You are my world now, Peyton.”
A tear rolled down her cheek and he reach across the table to wipe it away. “Sorry.”
“Why are you crying?”
“Because I never thought I’d find a love like yours, especially with a cowboy. You’ve tempted me beyond reason to let love find us. I never thought I would fall for a cowboy.” She laughed as she wiped another tear with her napkin, smearing ketchup across her cheek.
“Why not? You don’t like cowboys, but you live in Texas?” he asked, laughing with her as he reached over with his own napkin to wipe the red from her face.
“I’ve certainly learned to love one cowboy—you.”
“Good, because I love you so much, I can’t think of anyone else anymore.” He pushed his plate away. “All finished?”
“Yes.” She bit her lip as a frown settled across her brow.
“What’s wrong?”
“What about Sheila?”
“What about her?”
“She said she’s pregnant with your child.”
“I found out from her the other day, she’s only two months along or so she says. There is no way she’s pregnant with my child. We weren’t together in the right time frame.”
“Thank God.”
“Ready to settle in for the night?”
“Yeah.”
“Let’s go find us a room then. I want to hold you.”
After they finished paying the check, they walked back out to his truck and he opened the door for her. As soon as she was settled in, he went back around the front to the driver’s side. They would have a nice room. No dive dump for them tonight. If he could swing the softest bed in the city, he would. “Where do you want to stay?”
“Nothing too expensive, Jason. You need to save your money.”
“We’ll have a nice room for the days we are here and I’ll hear no more about it. You deserve something nice. Maybe a Jacuzzi tub?”
She smiled and he got the impression she liked the idea of a whirlpool tub in their room. He kind of did too. Maybe she’d let him fuck her in it.
He pulled out his phone to check on some hotels nearby. He loved a smart phone. He found a Marriott nearby so he headed in that direction. They were usually a good bet for nice rooms even though they might not have the jetted tub. “We’ll go here first and see if they have something.”
“Are you sure? Those are expensive.”
“Nothing is too good for my girl.”
“I think you’re going to spoil me something terrible.” A smile eased up the corners of her mouth.
He loved to make her smile, moan, groan or scream. Man was he in trouble. This not having sex with her would kill him slowly. “I get to. You’re my woman now.”
They pulled into the hotel and he looked up at the high-rise. This should be perfect.
When they walked through the lobby, he saw all the marble accents and wondered briefly if his wallet could afford a room here for a couple of days, but decided it didn’t matter. She was worth every penny. “Do you have rooms with whirlpool tubs in them?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I need one for two nights, please,” he told the man behind the desk. He swore his credit card groaned as they swiped it for the charges.
“Are you sure about this, Jason? That’s a lot of money.”
“Very sure.”
“You are in twenty-four forty-five. It’s a suite on twenty-fourth floor.”
“Thank you,” Jason said, as he took the key card.
“Do you have luggage?”
“No.”
The clerk’s eyebrow rose. “I see.”
“This was an unexpected trip. We’ll be doing some shopping in the morning.”
“Very good, sir.”
They headed for the elevator to go to their room. “I feel so cheap. That guy thinks this is a hook up.”
“Don’t worry about him, baby. We’ll get some clothes for both of us and a suitcase. It doesn’t matter what he thinks, it only matters what we know.” He grinned as he slipped his arm around her waist, trying not to touch the sores on her back. “We can do some engagement ring shopping too.”
“I can’t believe we’re going to get married.”
He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her palm. “Believe it. I love you with all my heart.”
“I love you too.”
The door opened to the twenty-fourth floor. As they walked down the carpeted hallway, he was in awe. There were only three doors along the whole thing. The deskman had said it was a suite, but holy shit! He found their door, then swiped the key before he pushed it open. “Wow.”
They walked inside and let the door close behind them as they stood with their mouths open at the grandeur of the room. “Oh my God, Jason. This is gorgeous!” She walked around touching the marble with her fingers, the crystal on the lamps and the cherry wood tables. “Look at this view!” A large bank of windows looked out over the city. “I’ve never seen Austin like this.”
“Me either, but I can imagine you against these windows with your hands braced against the glass as I fuck you from behind.”
“If you aren’t going to do it, don’t tease me like that.”
“But just think, tomorrow it’ll be better with the anticipation.”
“Asshole.” She laughed as she spun around and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you.”
“I love you too. Shall we get some sleep?”
“Yeah. I find I’m really tired now that things are calm.”
“Good. I hope you can rest without nightmares or anything.”
“If you hold me, I should be fine.”
He eased the tank top over her head, revealing her bare breasts. “Did she get some sexy-ass underwear?”
“Yes,” she whispered, her breath coming out in short, panting bursts of air. “I want you.”
“I want you too, but for now and tonight, I’m just going hold you.”
“But…”
“No, buts, darlin’. You need to ease into this again. You had a rough time.”
“I know what I want, Jason.”
“I know, but we just rest tonight. I have a feeling you’re going have a rough night.” He stripped off his shirt and T-shirt. She touched his chest, earning herself a moan from his lips. He loved when she let her fingers walk along his skin. He grabbed her hands to stop the motion.
“I only want to touch.”
“I know, but your skin on mine is something I can’t handle too much of. Holding you without lovin’ you is going to be hard e
nough.”
“Party pooper.” She pouted with her lip stuck out.
“It’s for your own good, darlin’,” he said, tapping the end of her nose with his fingertip.
“Okay.” She stripped off her jeans, leaving her in nothing but her lacy panties. “I’ll sleep in my underwear, but since you are declaring this no sex night, you’ll have to suck it up, cowboy.”
When she turned to pull down the blankets, the stark whiteness of the bandages on her back made him want to kill the son of a bitch all over again.
They both crawled beneath the covers and he dragged her into his embrace with an arm around her shoulders so he wouldn’t touch her back. He wanted to feel her next to him like he needed his next breath.
Within minutes, her breathing slowed to a rhythmic rate indicating she slept. When he thought about what that asshole did to her, rage swept through him. He would die protecting her for the rest of his life.
The feel of her against his side lulled him into a half sleepy state. He knew the night would be rough on her so he slept lightly waiting for the storm of nightmares he felt sure would assault her soon.
He came upright in the bed as she screamed out in her sleep. “Baby, wake up.”
“No! Don’t hurt me!”
“Peyton, it’s me. I’ll never hurt you, sweetheart. Wake up.”
She jumped out of the bed with her fists clenched and her eyes wide. “Jason?”
“Yeah, baby. It’s me. Come back to bed. He can’t hurt you anymore.”
“Oh God.” She scrambled onto the bed, practically jumping into his arms.
“Easy.” He swept his hands down her arms, rubbing the warmth back into her limbs. “I love you.” Once he pulled her into his embrace, she settled against his side. Her body still shook from the nightmare. “Why don’t you tell me about your dream?”
“I was back in that room. He cut off my clothes with a knife, slicing my skin as he did it. The pain was too much, but as I cried, he’d just laugh.” She shuddered. “His laughter was crazy. Then he started whipping me so hard, I screamed. That’s when I woke up.”
“It’s over, baby. He’s dead.”
She pulled him closer. “I know, but I think these nightmares will continue for a bit.”
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