“Umm, not being bitchy, but when did Kat become nice?” I ask and Sophia laughs.
“She apologized a while ago. She was really sincere. We spoke for over two hours, she told me all about her ex-fiancée and that she-bitch that just walked away.” Soph actually looks happy that they made up. I know she wanted to get along with Kat, since she is Nathan’s sister, but she was a complete bitch.
“Seems Nick isn’t just gorgeous. He seems good for her.” I say on a sigh, I can’t help it that man is so hot. Soph starts laughing, and both Nathan and Sammy growl at us.
“Oh Wints, I totally forgot. Did you tick off the rest of the things on your list?” Soph asks and I have to take a few seconds to think of what she’s talking about.
“No, I completely forgot about it. I’ll do it once we’re back in the room. I think I will have them all ticked off.” I say, and she smiles at me.
“What is the list?” Sammy asks.
“When I was at SOAR SPA. I wrote a kind of to do bucket list. It’s in the hotel room. I will show you when we go back up.” I say, and he nods. But he looks worried.
The dinner comes and we discuss everything we’ve missed in the last five weeks. Soph’s worried about Skye and Ryder. She wants them to be happy and has a feeling that Skye going to London is going to set him off. We finish our dinner and everyone decides to call it a night. Sammy has been quiet and I don’t know what’s wrong. We make it to the room and as soon as the door closes Sammy finally lets me know what’s wrong. “Sweets, what is the list?”
That’s what’s got him worked out. “I wrote down everything I wanted to do, things that normal people can do that I couldn’t.”
“You are fucking normal. Stop saying that. You were violated and you got lost. So stop fucking saying that shit.” He growls out.
“Do you want to see the list?” He nods and I walk to my other purse. I switched them over for tonight. I pull out the list and walk back over to him. He has gotten the whiskey from the minibar and offers it to me. I take it and take a sip and hand it back. “This is the list. I need to mark off what I’ve done.”
“Read it to me Sweets.” I do read them and he tells me that he will help me mark them off. “You’ve told your best friend Sweets, mark that off.” So I do I cross of each one. He reaches out and puts his hand on my face, I lean into his touch. “I can touch you without you flinching. I didn’t ask. Mark that off. You told me, Scott, Luke, and the Detectives. Mark off telling others Sweets.” I do and I smile at him. “You’ve slept many nights since finding out that bastard is dead without flashbacks. Mark that off. You faced your rapist Sweets, and you survived yet again. Mark… It... Off.” I do as he says. “What’s left?” He knows damn well what’s left. His eyes are filled with love and lust.
“Have sex without being drunk.” Is my breathy reply. He notices it and he grabs my hand, I let go of the paper and I spin into him. He crashes his mouth onto mine and I’m gone. I reach up and pull his shirt off. He does the same to mine. His mouth leaves mine, making me whimper and he trails kisses down my neck to my bare breasts. He attacks them with his hands and mouth. My head is thrown back and I give into the pleasure. He walks us so my back is up against the wall.
“Sweets, it’s been a while and I don’t think I can be gentle.” He says, his voice sounds gravelly and I smile.
“Who asked you to go gently?” That does it, it breaks whatever hold he had and he undoes my jean buttons and pulls them down. I kick them off as he goes for his jeans, I take my panties off and they also get kicked off. I see his cock spring free and I drop to my knees. I take it into my mouth and his hands go straight to my hair. I suck hard and wrap my hand around his dick adding pressure. I hear his breathing start to shallow and it spurs me on. I feel pressure on my head and he starts fucking my mouth. I’m so turned on; I go straight for my vagina. I play with my clit and I’m so close. I start sucking harder as the pressure in me builds up.
I’m suddenly lifted and I wrap my legs around his waist as he enters me in one swift movement. Making me cry out as my orgasm hits. I wrap my arms around his neck as I hold on riding out the last waves of my orgasm as he thrusts in and out of me. “This isn’t going to last long Sweets. Your hot mouth and watching you play with yourself has me close to exploding.” I lift my head up and see his face. He’s sweating he looks to be concentrating on trying not to cum. I start kissing his neck, scraping my teeth along the way as I trail kisses up to his jaw. His thrust gets faster and harder and I kiss higher up his face until I reach his ear. He thrusts into me, and I’m so close to cumming again. I whisper in his ear “Cum.” And bite his earlobe. He thrust three more times and groans in my ear that sets me off and I cum again. My scream is muffled by his lips. He rests his forehead against mine and smiles. “We can’t go that long again. You can mark off having sex without being drunk Sweets.” We’ve had sex before without even having a drop of alcohol. This being the first time for us making love since David died since Sammy wanted me to be fully healed this was the perfect way to mark it off.
I laugh at his dramatics, we get cleaned up and I walk back to where I left the list and mark it off. I don’t hear Sammy walk up behind me so when he puts his hand on my shoulder, I jump. Sammy laughs and sits down beside me. “I’m sorry, I never meant to frighten you. Hey, Sweets. What’s Operation Freefall?”
“Operation Freefall, it’s an amazing thing SOAR organizes at dozens of skydive facilities across the country, men and women will take to the sky and jump, it’s the boldest, highest-altitude, and most daring event organized to put an end to sexual assault. I want to do it, I wanted to do it once I crossed everything off my list. I felt that way I’d be worthy of doing it.”
“Do you feel free?” He asks and I look to him. Where the hell did that come from? He must see the question in my eyes as he points to the list I’m holding and I see that it says once they’re done I can be free.
“Yes, I honestly do feel free. I know that I’m always going to have things that remind me of what happened. A smell or a sound. But I’m free of him and the fear he held over me. I’m lucky. There are so many women and men that don’t get the chance to be free after being raped. So many commit suicide. Others, they are so lost that they may never find their way. I’m so grateful that I had so many people who helped me. Who believed me and I found my way. And it leads to you. I love you so much, Sammy.”
“I’d do anything for you Sweets. I’m fucking glad you love me. Can anyone do Operation Freefall or is it just survivors?”
“Anyone can. It’s to raise money and awareness for SOAR.”
“When you do it Sweets, I’m doing it with you.” I sink into his side. “When we get home we are framing that list.” I smile and wonder how lucky I am to have him in my life. I look down at the list, and I’m proud of what I have overcome.
Smile and mean it. *
Laugh and enjoy the moment. *
Not to use alcohol as a crutch. *
Be able to go a day without having a panic attack. *
Tell my best friend what happened. *
Let a man I’m intimate with touch me without flinching and without being asked if it’s okay. *
Be able to tell my story to others. *
Sleep through the night without having a flashback. *
Have sex without being drunk. *
Face my rapist. *
Once Completed I will do Operation Freefall. Once I do all those I can be free.
Chapter Twenty
Sam
I watch as she walks down the aisle and she looks fucking beautiful. She has the biggest smile on her face. She walks past me and winks as she takes her spot on the opposite side of the alter than me. The door opens and we watch as Sophia and Steven walk into the church and down the aisle. Winter is the maid of honor and she looks amazing in a navy blue dress that hugs her luscious curves.
The place next to Nathan is empty in honor of the best man who died helping protect the woman I love. I w
ill always be in debt to that man. His death is felt by all of us and we will always remember him.
The ceremony is boring as shit. Seriously, why do women find this fun? I have no idea, I can’t wait to get to the bar and get some food. The best thing about this ceremony is I get to stare at Winter the whole time. She keeps narrowing her eyes every time she sees me watching her. I wink at her and she shakes her head. I hear the priest say “I now present you to Mr. and Mrs. Slade.” And I finally smile, I clap along with everyone else and we wait for Nathan and Soph to make their way out of the church because I don’t want that shit thrown on me. I grab Winter’s hand on her way out of the church.
“Hey, I want to see everyone throw the confetti. By the way, did you even listen to the ceremony or did you spend the whole length looking at me?”
“Sweets, of course, I spent the entire time watching you. You look gorgeous and I spent most of the time think of ways to get you out of that dress. Let’s just say I’m about to get creative tonight.” I watch as her eyes flash with heat and lust. My dick starts to stir. “Sweets, unless you want someone to find us in the middle of fucking take that look off your face.” Oh, fuck me. Her eyes turn carnal. We make it to the doors to the church and I tug on her hand. I bring her to the bathroom and into the stall. I place my hand over her mouth and I breathe into her ear. “This is going to be quick. You cannot make a sound.” She nods and I look to the ceiling and mutter. “Forgive me Lord for I’m about to sin.” I undo my belt buckle and pull my trousers down, they are around my ankle and I lift her dress, she places one leg on the stall wall, giving me access.
I take it and I enter her. Home. That is what it feels like. I thrust hard and fast. She’s moaning. I cover her mouth with my hand. I continue the fast pace. I hear the door open and watch as Winter’s eyes go massive. I keep thrusting. Harder and faster, I can see she is so close to the edge. You can hear whoever came into the bathroom, taking a piss. I thrust into her again, and she cums, she comes apart, my hand muffling her scream, her vagina is squeezing my dick. I’m close now. It feels as if she’s giving me a hand job, it feels that fucking tight. I thrust twice more and I’m done. I groan into her ear and I hold her in place as we wait for the person to leave the bathroom. We clean up and leave the bathroom and join everyone waiting outside the church.
We get to the hotel where we are staying, it’s also where the reception is. I see Oscar,and he makes his way over to us. He claps me on my back as he whispers. “Dude, fucking hell, couldn’t you wait until you got back here? Fucking taking a piss and listening to you having sex is something I never wanted to do.”
“Fuck off asshole.”
He chuckles. “I’m pleased for you brother. She looks happier and lighter. Whatever you are doing. Keep doing it. Domestication looks good on you.”
“I plan to. What about you. How is Emma?” I see the shocked look on his face. “What you didn’t think you could hook up with Connor’s sister and none of us know about it. I’m not going to judge you. But bro, you have to tread fucking carefully. She just lost her brother and she has a little kid. Just be careful. Yeah?” He goes to say something but I cut him off. “You know I don’t mean any disrespect by that. I’m just cautioning you. You know that no matter what I got your back.” He nods and walks off.
We go in and sit down. I’m starved and I have to sit on the opposite side of the table to Winter. Ryder is like me, I can’t take my eyes of Winter and he can’t take his off of Skye. “It’s your own fault. You’re a jackass and you know it.” He scrubs his hands down his face as he sighs. “So, what are you going to do about it?”
“Fuck. I don’t know. I screwed up and she won’t even talk to me now. How do I fix things?”
“Give her the annulment!” I tell him and watch as his face turns hard.
“I won’t do that.” His voice has an edge to it, that tells me I may get punched if I suggest it again.
“If you don’t want an annulment then put yourselves out of this stupid misery and just fucking get your girl.”
“That can’t happen either.” This time, his voice is regretful and he looks lost.
“Then you’re an asshole, Ryder,” I growl at him.
Once the dinner is finished, I get up and make sure that the taxi is ready for Skye. I walk outside and it’s there, I tell the driver she will be five minutes and walk back inside. She’s saying goodbye to Soph and Nathan. Winter walks over to me, she has Skye’s luggage in her hands. I take it off of her and throw my arm around her as we wait for Skye to make her way to us. She finally does and she looks happy, she needs this. She has lost a lot of weight. The stress with Ryder is taking its toll on her. “Are you ready Skye?” I ask her as she nods. “Okay, the taxi is outside. Let’s go.”
I walk ahead of Winter and Skye and put her luggage in the trunk of the cab. I turn and see the girls hugging. I look up at the door to the hotel and see Ryder looking on. Great just what she needs right now. The girls break apart and they walk towards me. I reach into my pocket and hand Skye her ticket. “Skye, Ryder’s at the door.” She turns and I watch as she stiffens. Ryder walks to us looking confused.
“Where are you going, Skye?”
She sighs. “I’m taking the consultant job in London. The one Sam couldn’t do. We’ve postponed them long enough. Look I have to go. My flight’s leaving soon.” The moron doesn’t say a word and Skye shakes her head, she kisses Winters cheek and I lean down and kiss hers.
“Call as soon as you land. I mean it, Skye.” I tell her and watch as both her and Winter roll their eyes.
“I promise I will. I’ve got to go. I will call. Talk to you soon.” I open the taxi door and she gets in. I close the door, and it drives off.
“You’re an asshole, Ryder. I never thought I would be disappointed in you. You have made her life miserable for what? You’ve upset her so much she’s lost weight and she’s constantly sick. Feel good about yourself asshole? Come on Sammy. I want to celebrate my best friend getting married.” I don’t say anything, I take her hand and we walk away leaving Ryder staring at the New York streets, looking in the direction Skye just went. “I’m so glad you had your head screwed on right Sammy.”
I laugh. “I knew the moment I saw you. You were mine and I wasn’t stopping until I got you.”
“I love you, Samuel Mitchell.” I bring her close to me and kiss her.
“I love you, Winter Cortez.”
*****
Winter wanted to do one more thing that wasn’t written on the list, she’s worried that they might not want to see her, but she needs to see them. She told me about it and I set out immediately trying to find them. I finally did two days before we left Maui. I told Winter about it and here we are, on our way to see Harry and Carina Sommers. The man and woman who found Winter on the street and stayed with her the night she was raped. So here we are outside their front door. The door opens and I feel Winter’s body lock tight. I watch as a woman in her late forties early fifties stands there, takes one look at Winter and lets out a scream she has tears running down her face. “Harry! Harry! Come here now.”
The man doesn’t take long, within seconds he’s by his wife’s side. “What’s wrong Carina?” The concern is evident on his face, he hasn’t even noticed us yet, he’s focus is on his wife.
“Harry, it’s that woman. Winter. She is so beautiful.” Carina tells him,and Winter melts beside me. Harry turns and faces her, once he sees her his whole face changes. He actually cries.
“Oh, thank God. We have been so worried about you. We didn’t know what happened to you.” He tells her, his tears flowing unchecked and I don’t even know this guy, but I know that what he saw that night is something that is going to stay with him forever.
“My Harry tried to find you, but couldn’t. We didn’t know if it would be welcomed in finding you. He thought he found you a few months ago, but nothing came from it. But here you are, making too old one’s happy. Oh, look at me, forgetting my manners. Please come i
n.” The woman, Carina seems really nice.
“I’m sorry Carina, but I can’t stay, I just came to thank you both. What you did for me that night, is something I have or will never forget. You stayed with me when many would have fled. Thank you.” Winter is crying now and Carina comes down the steps and hugs Winter. Winter doesn’t flinch, in fact, she embraces her back.
“Don’t thank us, I’m just glad we found you. I won’t ask how you have been as it’s a stupid question. But you look happy.” Harry says to her, and I remember that Winter had said that she thought Carina had been raped too.
Winter looks up at me and smiles at me, “Yeah, I’m happy. It has taken me a long time, but I met Sam and I found that with the right person and love you can overcome even the worst of nightmares.” She looks at me the whole time she says that and damn, I feel lucky. Lucky to have such an amazingly strong woman to love and spend the rest of my life with.
“Oh, she’s in love, she is happy, she has someone who looks like he will kill for her. That is what we have and what every girl needs. Her knight in shining armor.” Carina says and looks at Harry with so much love. I pull Sweets toward me and she puts her arm around my back, hugging me.
“I have one question; did they find the low life that did that to you?” Carina asks and she has so much worry in her eyes, she is like a mother looking after her daughter.
“Yep, they found him and he died while in jail. Someone shanked the bastard.” I tell them and watch as something comes over Harry’s face, something that I can’t quiet place.
“Good, people like that, need to be put down. Preying on the vulnerable or the kind hearted. It ain't right. Nobody should feel that way.” Harry tells us looking at his wife.
“That is good, you are as free of your demon as you can be, just like me. I’m not going to lie and say you’ll forget about it, because you won’t, you just won’t feel as you did before.” Carina tells Winter and she nods.
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