by M. C. Cerny
“Edith called to drop the case, Jack. I’m worried his lawyer got to her, or something happened. I thought things were fine after our meeting, but then she called me a half-hour later, completely changing her mind.”
“That’s impossible. We’ve got the No Contact order, and the plan was for her to give her statement. Maybe it’s because you’ve asked her to testify in court. Is there a way around that?” I’m beyond pissed that Sam has pushed so hard on this issue. No wonder Edith is backing away and running scared.
“Not if you want a conviction of some kind. Look, Jack, do me a favor and talk to her. I won’t do anything until after the holidays, but it’s on the court docket for early January.” Things have been so precarious at home and now this shit. I want all this done and over with, but it’s obvious I’m not going to get what I want and what I really want is for Edith to be okay.
“I’ll do what I can, but she’s been deeply affected by this. I won’t do anything that’s going to jeopardize her health.” Or her sanity, I think to myself. I know Edith is barely hanging on by a thread.
“Thanks, Jack.” After I hang up, I grip my phone so tight, I wish I could snap the offending piece of technology. How did life go so quickly into hell in a handbasket?
My phone buzzes again. It’s a text from Aiden.
TheDoctor: Heads up. Edie is on her way to meet me. Said the meeting with the prosecutor did not go well…
If there’s one thing I can count on, it’s that Edith’s friends love her like I do. We’re all on the same page, protecting her as best we can.
Me: Thanks, doc. Let me know if something comes up. I’m hoping she’ll talk to me when I see her at home later.
TheDoctor: Roger that, math nerd.
Chuckling, I’m not sure how I feel about the nickname, but as long as we have a common goal of getting Edith back to herself, I don’t care what those two call me. I decide to finish what I can in the office, then head home. I want nothing more than to be in the same house as Edith, even if I’m working in my office. Just knowing she’s physically safe lessens my worry.
I beat Edith back to the house and go to my office, then hear the front door open and shut.
“Jack?” Her voice sounds so uncertain, I need to make her feel at ease. The atmosphere of our household is stressful enough.
“In the office, baby.”
She stops in front of my open door and walks inside. Dumping her purse on a chair, she walks over to my desk, pushing papers out of the way before sitting on top. Well, this is a new development I don’t plan on discouraging.
“I missed you today.” Edith sits on the center of the desk, her legging-clad legs open, and I slide my chair closer, boxing her in. Running my hands up and down her legs, I try to coax her to talk to me.
“How was your meeting with Sam today?” I let my hands linger on her upper thighs. The muscles tense under my touch, so I move my hands back down her legs, over her knees, to her ankles.
“It was okay.” I know she’s lying, but I can’t tell her that because then she’ll know Sam called me and told me things that border on confidential. I can’t mention that Aiden texted me, either. I just hope she’ll eventually tell me what really happened today.
“Just okay?” Taking a chance, I let my hands roam back up her body to cup her tiny little ass, pulling her off the desk and into my lap.
Snorting, she tells me, “It’s never just okay. I’m having thoughts about all of it.” Shrugging and frowning, she shuts down. It’s the last thing I want her to do, but we just might be getting somewhere.
“As in?” Silence, uncomfortable and telling. I rub her back and pull her resisting body closer to mine, warming her shivering.
“Can I think about it some more?” She moves in to hug me and I hold her, letting her breathe until she relaxes. “I busted my phone, too.” She slips her hand into her pocket, pulling it out and showing me the cracked screen.
“It’s just a phone, sweetheart. It can be fixed.” I take the phone and drop it on the desk, going back to holding her. I’ll take what I can get right now.
“I wish…” Pausing, she stops. “I wish everything could be fixed.”
I place my forehead on hers, both of us sighing, and Edith tips her faces close to mine. Our eyes wander, looking each other over. I wait for what seems like forever before she lets her lips brush against mine. Gentle puffs of air escape from her as her wet tongue darts out, sliding against mine. I part my lips and let her play, finding her comfort zone. When she presses her lips fully to mine, I let my tongue tentatively meet hers. I nibble her soft and plump bottom lip, enjoying this small concession. Torturing me, my dick presses against my dress pants and into the soft place between her legs. I can’t hide my reaction, nor do I want to, but I won’t pressure her, even if the blue balls threaten to permanently cross my eyes. A part of me mourns that we haven’t kissed properly in weeks, nor have we had any real alone time. Sure, we sleep together, but that’s all it is…sleep.
No matter how much it kills me, I do the cowardly thing, the thing I hope will make her feel safest. I pull back. “Let me finish in here, then we’ll call Aiden and Shelby.” I help her stand up. “I’ll get your phone fixed.” Squeezing her hand, I sit back down in my chair, discreetly adjusting my painfully aroused dick. Going back to my files and spreadsheets, I wonder if I missed an opportunity for something more. Edith quietly leaves the office and I listen to her measured steps walk upstairs, the bedroom door quietly shutting. I wish she had just told me what she had discussed with Sam and Aiden. Our walls had never been higher than they are now.
My phone, which has become Grand Central Station today, buzzes again. I want to go upstairs and crawl under the covers with Edith, forgetting the outside world exists. I look down and see a text from Amanda. I had been ignoring her phone calls since all of this shit happened. I’m sure she heard something through the grapevine, but I am not inclined to be on friendly terms with this particular ex-partner of mine. Amanda has a clear agenda, one I have no desire to be a part of any longer. I probably should have told Edith about her, but it wasn’t exactly on my list of priorities.
Amanda: I hear my sexy professor is in trouble. Let me know if you need anything. I’ll be in town later this week.
She followed that with a bunch of smiley emojis. I am glad we will be on our way to Miami and far from her nonsense soon. I delete the text and shut the phone off. I have no desire to be interrupted anymore today, if possible. I shut everything down in the office, thinking that the covers and clothed is better than hanging out down here alone.
I circle the house, checking the alarm system and all the windows and doors until I’m satisfied everything is secure. The day has left me drained and lost, a pounding headache beginning behind my eye and radiating outward. I’ve got an old prescription of migraine medication in the bathroom cabinet. I need a good night’s sleep, as opposed to my restless vigils watching Edith sleep, my mind playing out all the possible scenarios.
Heading upstairs, I walk into the bathroom and open the cabinet for my seldom used medication. I look for it on the shelf, but it’s not there. I check and find it a shelf below, opening it and taking a pill out. I can’t remember the last time I needed one, but it looks to be on the low side. I decide to call my doctor and fill it up before we leave for Miami.
Chapter Fifteen
Edith
“Good morning, beautiful.” Jack nuzzles me from behind and I sink into his warmth, my head delightfully fuzzy. I borrowed some of his migraine medication last night, but I feel kind of hungover this morning. Maybe I should read the bottle next time and only take half. I feel floaty and more relaxed than I have in a while, and Jack’s body next to mine almost feels good.
“Mmm… Jack.” I roll over and let him hold me. I remind myself that I’m safe, and all other negative thoughts flee. As bad as I know it sounds, if this medication makes me horny and blocks out the bad thoughts, I’m not opposed to taking it every night.
I let my hands roam south and lightly touch him. “I’ve missed this. Missed you.” Jack grunts something unintelligible and tries to push me away. “No, please…”
“Baby, we’ve got to get ready.”
I can’t recall any appointments we might have. Technically, I’m on break, Jack only has work through his private risk analysis company now that the semester is officially over, and we don’t leave for Miami for a few days.
“Let me. I want to.” I let my hands slide lower and cup him. He’s hard and feels like he is pulsing in my hands. He moans into my shoulder.
“Are you sure, Edith? I’ll wait until you’re ready for this again.” I wonder how he hasn’t exploded yet. Our sex life was pretty active before all this, and I missed the feeling I would get between my thighs knowing he was there, sharing his body with mine.
“Jack, I’ve never not been ready for you.” Kissing down his chest, he keeps trying to gently push me away. I get that he thinks he should be doing something for me, but I want to do this for him. He’s been unfailing in his support, and I can’t not communicate that to him. I wonder if the medication is making me feel this way, but I don’t care. If doing this reaffirms for Jack how much he means to me, I will do it every day.
“Edith, baby… Not like this.”
Ignoring him, I slip further down under the covers, taking his boxer briefs with me. I nip at his stomach and look up into his beautiful blue eyes. His hands gently push my wild hair back and he lifts his head, watching every move I make. I don’t feel the flutter in my stomach yet, but I push that away, moving down the bed and kissing his stomach and hips, running my fingers all over his muscular legs as I go down.
Jack has a musky smell. When it’s mixed with his body wash, some clean scent that mixes with our laundry detergent, it brings me to a safe place.
“God, sweetheart…”
I pull his briefs off his legs and settle myself between them. I lick his cock from the base to the tip, our eyes never wavering. When I close mine, I slowly take him into my mouth. My tongue plays with his head before I start to suck him, rolling him up. Jack hauls me up by my arms so I’m over him, giving me a better angle to go down on him. I hum, vibrating my throat, and look up. Groaning, Jack pushes his head back into the pillows and arches his hips.
“Edith!” His voice calls out my name on a lusty cry and I cup his balls, squeezing them gently. I let my finger slide back to a place I remember Shelby telling me guys love but will never tell you about. I know I’ve surprised Jack when he roars his release and goes limp, his dick spurting down my throat. I will take everything this man gives me.
“Come up here, minx.” Jack disentangles our limbs and flips me onto my back. I feel a little tense when I think he’s going to ram his still semi-hard cock into me, but he doesn’t. Instead, he parts my legs and settles his mouth over my clit, sucking the nub. A finger penetrates me, but it’s rough because I’m not wet enough for his entry. I feel like it’s too late to tell Jack to stop, so I shamefully go along with it. I still can’t get myself going sexually, making me feel shame and disappointment.
“Jack, please…” I’m about to beg him to stop when he pulls his finger out and goes back to using his tongue in long strokes, trying to get me lubricated. It doesn’t hurt, but his probing fingers still don’t slide as easily as they should. He’s not rough and takes his time. Slow strokes hook my front wall and press that spot deep inside. It feels like we take forever to get there, but a tiny contraction betrays my body. It’s finally doing what I want it to do, need it to do.
“That’s my girl.” Jack continues to lick me in sweeping strokes, painfully sucking on my clit until the little button swells and his fingers pump with ease against the straining muscles and tissues. “Come on, Edith. Come for me. I love how you squeeze my fingers so hard. I love every part of you.” Knowing how much Jack cares and that he realizes how hard this is for me sends me into a little death spiral. My legs shake and my inner walls quiver when he pushes his fingers deep, licking me through each tremor. I feel barely wet, the aftershocks hardly registering fireworks, but I still consider it a small victory in getting myself back.
Jack
I hate that the simple pleasure of sex has been robbed from Edith. It has never taken me that long to get a girl to come, even one I didn’t care for. Priming her body to orgasm was a herculean effort, one I would gladly undertake again.
“Can we have lunch with Aiden and Shelby today?” Edith asks. As I look up at the light fixture in our room, I hug her to my chest and play with her hair. I feel like she’s retreated once again and having lunch with her closest friends is a buffer for what’s going on in our situation.
“Of course.” Kissing her head I roll out of bed. “I’m going to go for a run. Did you want to come or stay here?” I need some time to think and pounding miles in the neighborhood will help me do just that.
“Jack, you know I don’t run. Cardio is so overrated.” Edith flops back onto the bed, pouting and whining. She’s a wicked temptress even when having a tantrum.
Leaning back over the bed, I cage her in, giving her just enough space to escape if she needs to. “I should get you a dog.” She’s already said no to a self-defense class. She won’t go to the gun range with me to learn how to properly handle a gun, nor let me buy one. I figured a dog might be a nice compromise.
“A dog?” Edith props herself up on her arms and puts her lips in close proximity to mine. I squeeze my eyes shut to temper my desire. “Really? Like a yappy little thing I can carry around in my arms at the mall, having Shelby braid its hair into stylish pigtails?”
I smirk. “No. I was thinking of a big dog. Something like a boxer or a shepherd that barks loudly.” I’m serious, but Edith doesn’t seem as enthused by the idea.
“Jack, neither of us is home very much.” I sit down on the bed next to her and she curls into my lap.
“I’m home for dinner most nights, and you’re home now.” I think this is a reasonable thing, but she keeps trying to throw reasons in the way of it.
She looks up at me, dark eyes pleading. “But I won’t be once I resume classes in January. A dog is a huge undertaking.”
“They only need food and water, and we have a big backyard.”
“If I tried walking him, he’d probably drag me down the street.”
“But he’d also protect you if someone unknown came near you.”
“So that’s what this is about.”
“What? Yes, I want you safe, but a dog would be a great companion for when I have to take business trips during the semester.” I don’t get why she’s so against it.
“We’re not getting a dog, Jack. I still jump at my own shadow. I don’t want a dog that will only scare the shit out of me when I’m having a bad day.” Edith gets off my lap and walks into the closet. I follow her.
“Why are you being so defensive? It’s just a dog.” She’s starts to violently push through hangers, ignoring me. I see we’re going to have a fight about this. “I don’t understand the big deal. I had dogs growing up.” I throw my hands up in the air. This would be the perfect answer. She would have a companion, and I would know that she was safe when I wasn’t here.
Turning her head, she glares at me, a defeated look in her eyes. “Yeah, so did I, Jack, and it didn’t exactly turn out so well.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Do I have to spell it out for you? I don’t want a dog.”
“Apparently. Please explain it to me like I’m an idiot then.” Exasperated, I grab my own clothes as Edith turns to me, raising her arm above her head.
“We had dogs when I was a kid. My dad had no business owning dogs with a toddler in the house.”
“Jesus, Edith. I didn’t know.”
She takes a step closer to me, almost daring me to look away. She points to her
arm. “One day, my dad had forgotten to feed Charger, sending me out there with his food bowl. Unfortunately, my dad hit him and only fed him when the money was good, so Charger was aggressive.” I’m shaking my head, trying to get her to stop. “Anyway, as I was bringing him the food, I tripped down the steps too close to where he was chained up. He bit my arm real good. The only mark left are these thin scars, but I’ll never forget screaming, thinking he was going to rip my arm off.”
I see the thin, silver lines under her arm that travel from inside her elbow to her armpit. In all the times I saw her naked, I’d never noticed them before. “What happened after?”
“Luckily, my mother was somewhat sober that day and wrapped my arm up, dousing it in peroxide…or maybe it was alcohol. I don’t remember, except for the smell and the burning sensation.”
“Wait. They didn’t take you to the hospital? No stitches?” Now that I can see the scars clearly, there’s a spidery quality to them, and I can’t imagine the pain and neglect she suffered by her parents.