The Avoidance of Love (The Daniels' Sisters Book 2)

by J. L. Monro

  Arriving at my grandparents’ house, I felt nauseous. They had already lost my parents; I didn’t want to be the one to tell them that they might lose a granddaughter as well.

  My grandmother answered the door and could tell by my face that something was wrong. There was just no way for me to hide it. I was beyond the ability to school my features to try to hide how bad things were. I thought she was going to collapse on the doorstep, so I urged her back inside.

  Granddad came into the living to find out what was going on. We quickly brought him up to speed and told him to stay with Jakey while we went to the hospital to find out what was happening. Granddad was furious. I had never seen him so angry. Grandma thought it was best if he stayed at home for that reason alone. He would only get angrier at the hospital and it was better for his health not to be so agitated. It was better for the medical staff at the hospital as well.

  Tara didn’t take the news well either, but that was to be expected. She told me that she was leaving work right away and would meet us at the hospital

  The waiting at the hospital was terrible. All we could do was pace up and down the corridors and drink shit coffee to pass the time. After what seemed like hours, a doctor finally came in to see us. Fortunately, Dana only had a few broken ribs and some serious bruising to her face and body. When Mills had come to see her, she’d inadvertently distracted Mitchell from the attack he was about to launch on Dana. She would be able to go home in a few days.

  At some point, Deacon showed up, and he went in with Grandma to see Dana first, even though she was still asleep. I guess my little sister had worked things out with her guy as well. I could only hope that she got well enough to put this all behind her and make a go of things together.

  When Grandma came out, my sisters and I took our turns just so we could see for ourselves that she really was still alive. I finally remembered to check my phone when I came out of her room. There were several text messages and voice mails from Jace. Each one more panicked than the previous one. I decided to call him back rather than text him but as soon as he answered, I broke down.

  “BonBon, talk to me. What’s wrong, baby? Where are you?”

  “It’s my sister, Jace; I don’t know what to do anymore. I can’t do anything.” I told him where I was in the hospital and he said he’d be there before I knew it. True to his word, he was there in less than half an hour. When I saw him at the corridor, I couldn’t help but run to him. I crashed into his arms and he held me tightly, uttering soothing words while stroking my hair and softly kissing the top of my head.

  When I had finished sobbing, we took a seat in the waiting area. Jace made his way over to my grandmother and introduced himself. On a normal day, I would probably have felt uncomfortable and embarrassed. I’ve never brought a guy home, but today, there were more important things to be concerned about.

  Since no one was talking, Jace took a seat and pulled me down onto his lap.

  “She’s going to be all right. You said a few broken ribs and bruises. She’s not going to die from that. If she’s anything like you and Lana, then she’s stubborn as hell. She won’t let that keep her down for long.”

  I talked into his chest. “I know. I don’t even think that’s what’s worrying me. It’s when she finds out what has happened to Mills. It’s going to crush her, Jace. I know my sister; she’s going to blame herself.”

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

  He continued to rock me in his lap and soothe me as best as he could while humming a little tune that vibrated in his chest against my ear. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed before a doctor came out to talk to us again. Just as Jace had told me, there was nothing really to worry about.

  Dana was sedated and she would wake up in the morning. Her blood work and x-rays had all come back clear, so we were free to go home and come back in the morning. Deacon insisted on staying. He looked so distressed that the doctor caved and allowed him to stay in the room with her. We let him know we would all be back first thing the next morning and that if anything happened during the night, he should keep us updated.

  Jace took me home. He held my hand the whole way, and I was at a loss for words. When we got inside, he headed to the bathroom and he turned the shower on, which was just what I needed. Once I’d washed as much of the day away as I could, I came out to find sweat pants and a cami vest laid out on my bed. I smiled at the thought that had gone into the gesture as I slipped the clothes on. They were perfect. I really just needed to feel comfortable tonight.

  Entering the living room, I saw that Jace had lit several of the scented candles I had around the room and dimmed the lights. As sensual as it was, my stomach had other ideas about relaxing and chose that moment to growl.

  Jace smiled. “I didn’t know what you wanted to eat, but I’ve ordered a pizza since it was probably the quickest thing that would come and I figured you probably hadn’t eaten all day.”

  I wanted to cry again. I felt so vulnerable and open and Jace was doing all the right things.

  “Come here, you.” He pulled me down onto the sofa with him and turned the TV on. After searching for a while, he stopped when he found Dirty Dancing. “Every girl I’ve ever met in my whole life loves this film. Not exactly sure why, but you want to watch this?” I nodded my head, so we settled to watch Patrick Swayze gyrate his hips beyond redemption. The pizza arrived promptly, and we adjusted ourselves on the sofa so I was lying down between his legs with my back against his chest.

  “Thank you, Jace, for being here for me. No one has ever done this for me before.”

  “No, BonBon, thank you.” I knew what he was thanking me for. I’d allowed him to take care of me and, in doing so, I’d given him the control he wanted from me.

  DANA WOKE THE next day and the days that followed went by in a blur. She was grieving for Mills so badly she had turned Deacon away in the process. I knew that was something she would regret, but she needed to work that out for herself.

  Mills’ funeral was beautiful and awful at the same time. Entirely bitter sweet, the service was perfect. It couldn’t have been a more perfect day to say goodbye. The day managed to stay dry; all the readings and hymns suited Mills as much as I knew of her.

  Joe was silent for most of the service and once it was over, he disappeared. I noticed Joe and Lana having a final goodbye. I never understood what was between those two. Sometimes they seemed like best friends and other days it was as if they could barely tolerate each other.

  Jace stayed with me the whole time. He had been my rock through it all even while going to visit his dad. The family had stepped in to help with Jacob while Dana was recovering from her physical injuries. None of us seemed to be able to help her with her emotional turmoil. Nothing brought her much comfort.

  She had stopped crying every minute, which was progress, but she truly looked miserable most days. I knew she was missing Deacon, but she refused to admit it aloud. They had been having problems before the incident with Mitchell and when she woke and learned of Mills’ death, she had blamed him somehow.

  A few days after the funeral, we were all trying to get back to our normal routines. Dana had finally come to her senses and gone after Deacon; the rest of us went back to work.

  I had been working late every day to catch up on a few projects that had come in. I had Jace’s house to work on since contractors were coming back to me with quotes and Coops had taken on a couple of lucrative projects that I couldn’t afford to reject. Since I couldn’t spend time with Jace during the day while I was at work, we agreed to take it in turns staying over at each other’s homes. This week it was my turn to spend the weekend.

  “BonBon, you ready to go?” Jace had also taken to being my personal chauffeur as much as possible which was nice, but I knew he was still worried that I might take off like before if I felt things were getting a little too heavy and serious. I wasn’t sure how much more serious they could get. We practically lived together.

&nb
sp; Sometimes I felt a little scared about how deep I was falling for him. My natural inclination was to end things before a man found a way to hurt me . . . even if it was unintentional.

  “Yeah, I’m just shutting down my computer. What do you want to do tonight?” We were actively trying to go on dates as often as we could. Jace wanted us to do the normal relationship things.

  “I was thinking dinner and then a trip to the movies?”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  We went to a nice little bistro not far from my office that did amazing steaks. Jace ordered the biggest one just to see if he could finish it . . . which he did. I settled for something smaller but just as tasty.

  You wouldn’t have thought that Jace had just eaten when we got to the theater. He ordered large nachos, a large hot dog, large popcorn, and a mammoth sized slushie to wash it all down.

  “Where do you even put all of that?”

  “What? This? BonBon, you’ve been working me out so much lately, I need to keep my strength up.” I rolled my eyes at him even though I did find it a little funny. I walked past him trying to hide how much I wanted him after making that comment.

  Lord knows why, but Jace had decided we were going to watch a Cameron Diaz chick flick. I wanted to watch action or even horror, but not a chance. Part of me thought he chose this type of film so we could get a little frisky at the back of the cinema. It was something I’d heard my sisters giggle about, but never actually experienced myself. Nope. Nada. Nothing. The only time he glanced my direction was to offer me popcorn.

  We stopped off at a bar on the way home and Jace scored extra brownie points by plying me with every cocktail on the menu while he stuck with club soda. My favorite one by far was the passion fruit champagne mojito. I literally guzzled three of them forgetting that champagne went straight to my head. Staggering out of the bar a couple hours later, I found everything entertaining and hysterical.

  “To think I thought you could handle your drink.” Jace shook his head at me while laughing.

  “I can. You put something in my drink. I’m not normally like this.” It was so hard to walk. I never knew coordinating your feet just to put one foot in front of the other took so much concentration.

  “BonBon, I don’t need to roofie you to have my wicked way.”

  “Maybe I need to roofie you to get my wicked way.” This time he laughed aloud.

  “When am I never willing?”

  “When stupid Cameron Diaz is on a large screen?” He paused and then swept me up into his arms. “Put me down.”

  “No. One, you’re taking forever to walk to the car and I want to get you home. Two, are you telling me you wanted to have sex in the theater?”

  Suddenly, my alcohol-induced haze was clearing, and I felt embarrassed. “No.” I hope that sounded more convincing to him than it did to me.

  “So my BonBon is not just sweet, she has a kinky side as well. Noted. I hope you realize what you’ve just unleashed.” I shivered with anticipation. I wanted him to give me all that he had and I’d meet him every step of the way.

  Stumbling through the door, we were trying to strip each other before we made it to the bedroom. To be honest, I just wanted a flat surface. I didn’t care which room it was. I could feel Jace was backing me over to the sofa. Yes. The perverse side of me loved the fact that every time I saw someone sit on that sofa I would know what we’d done on there.

  Jace backed me up a little too much and we both went over the back of it before luckily landing on the seat. The rest of the clothing that we both had on was torn away and we were kissing frantically as if we hadn’t seen each other months. I was starved for him. I wanted nothing more at this moment than Jace. I wanted him inside me; there was no waiting. I didn’t want slow and gentle. He needed to be rough and passionate. I wanted to feel how much he wanted me.

  “Jace, I need you.”

  “I know; I need you, too. I can’t be slow, baby. I want you too much right now.” He thrust inside me before he finished his sentence, and I screamed at the friction and pleasure combined. “I. Can’t. Stop.” Each thrust was harder than the last and the pressure was building inside me faster and stronger than I could control. “Baby, I need you to come now. I’m there. I want you here with me.” I shattered. Every piece of my body splintered and fell away as the orgasm ripped through my body. I could hear Jace yelling his own release but it was background noise. The sense of euphoria consumed me and, on the back of that intense feeling, another orgasm was building.

  “Jace . . . I . . . Oh, fuck.” The second orgasm drained me emotionally. It was the pinnacle of my feelings for Jace, and to say it felt good was the biggest understatement of the year.

  We both lay there boneless and unable to move. Completely satisfied, we lie together naked and tangled together. Jace had moved, so we were lying side by side with my body slightly on top of his. He was stroking my hair and humming a song that seemed so familiar. I had heard him hum it to me before when he was comforting me at the hospital.

  “What song is that?”

  “Hmmm?” He was starting to fall asleep.

  “I’ve heard that song before, but I can’t think where.”

  “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean.” That was why: Grandma had sung that to my sisters and me for years at bedtime. “My mum used to sing it around the house. You’re my BonBon and you remind me of that song and.”

  “My Grandma used to sing that song to me. And I didn’t save you.”

  “You did. I just didn’t know how much at the time. Don’t argue with me, BonBon. You just took advantage of me and I’m tired from all the work.”

  “You’re depraved, you know that?”

  “And you wouldn’t have me any other way.” I playfully slapped him on the chest, which led me to stroke his chest. This led to me moving my tongue to laving his nipple and making him groan. “You’re utter sin. Come on, I clearly didn’t finish my job so, let me fuck you until you go to sleep with a smile on your face.” I jumped up ready to run for the bedroom. “Eager much?” He rolled off the sofa to chase after me.

  “Catch me if you can, old man.” I started to sprint when there was a loud knock on the door just as I was about to run by. The door had a glass pane which anyone outside could see through, so I tried to stop myself from flashing them but ended up slipping on the hallway rug and landing on my ass. Hard. I could hear Jace howling with laughter behind me. He came and helped me up. “Just go and put some pants on, ass.” I rubbed my ass cheeks and went to grab some of my own clothes and put them on before he answered the door.

  I recognized the voice that greeted Jace as soon as I heard it. I tore out through the living room to go and tear a strip off the bitch. When I reached the door, I stopped in my tracks. Jace had Brielle in his arms and she was sobbing. My heart cracked at the sight. Why was he holding her like that? I didn’t care that she was sobbing. She’s a grown woman. He must have heard me and turned to face me with her still in his arms. Her face was battered and bruised. I couldn’t help the gasp. I had seen those kinds of bruises before, recently in fact, on Dana.

  “Jace, what’s happened?” Brielle looked up at me in surprise and with what seemed like embarrassment on her face. She looked back up to Jace and clung to his arms in panic.

  “I’m so sorry, Jace. I didn’t realize she would be here with you.” She still couldn’t bring herself to say my name. I know I’m a bitch, but still. For fuck sake. “I just came to the first place I could where I would feel safe.”

  “It’s okay, Brielle. Let’s get you inside.” Jace helped Brielle into the living room. Luckily, I had most of my clothes on and the only things of Jace’s on the floor were his T-shirt and boots. Once seated, Brielle rested her head on his shoulder and began to cry again softly. I went to the kitchen to get her a glass of water, hoping that would help somewhat.

  “Jace, I’m sorry to do this to you. I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

  “Who did this to you, Brielle?”

>   “It was Eric.” She was crying harder now. “I came home, and he’d been drinking. He usually never drinks. He’d had a hard time at work and he was just so angry. I tried to comfort him and the next thing I know, he hit me.” I handed her a tissue while she continued with her story. “You know me, I’m not just going to sit there and take it, so I started yelling at him and telling him to leave but that just made it worse. He just wouldn’t stop.”

  “We need to call the police.” I went for the phone, but Brielle practically screamed.

  “No! Please don’t. I don’t want this to go any further.” I remember when Dana was with Mitchell, she didn’t want any of us to make a fuss over the bruises she had. In the end, Dana had to make the choices to save herself.

  “Okay, Brielle. We won’t call the police. Just bear in mind that if he’s done this to you, he could do this to someone else.”

  “I know. I just need some time. This has all come out of nowhere.” She was crying uncontrollably again. Jace was trying his best to comfort her, but it was having little effect.

  “It’s late, Brielle. How about you get some rest and we deal with this in the morning.” She looked up at me giving me the first genuine smile I had ever seen from her and it was pitiful. All the hatred and anger that I had for her melted away. All I saw was my younger sister, and I wanted nothing more than to help her.

  I offered my hand to her–which she took–to lead her to one of the guest bedrooms upstairs. Brielle had always been thin, but now standing next to me, she appeared frail. I went to show her the bathroom. “I know where it is.” There was no triumph in her voice, there was nothing. Just an emptiness where emotion should be.

  “I’ve got some spare clothes here you can borrow. I don’t mind. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable and I’m sure you want to get out those clothes and put on something fresh when you get out the shower.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want to put you out. Jace has probably got loads of clothes that I could borrow instead.”