Open Wounds (Damaged Souls Book 2)

by Twyla Turner

  Once dressed, she walked into her master bath that still left her breathless. She brushed her teeth, then fluffed out her afro, before securing it back with a hair-tie into a big curly puff. Feeling that she was as ready as she’d ever be, Lexi headed downstairs and out back. She stopped on the top step of the back porch, mesmerized by the sight before her.

  Sloan and Tank were playing a game of fetch while waiting for her outside. Sloan hadn’t put on a shirt, so the morning sun shone down upon his naked chest and back. Lexi delighted in the rises and valleys of his muscular form, moving and flexing as he threw a stick for Tank. His jeans hung low on his hips, showing just a peek of the very top of his rock hard ass in the back. And in the front they hung just so, where Lexi could clearly see the sexy muscles that lead from his sides, down to his groin.

  Tank grabbed the stick after Sloan threw it several yards away, and he sped back over. Passing Sloan, he ran up to Lexi with the stick, ruining her secret appraisal of Sloan’s stunning body. She bent over, grabbing the stick from his mouth and throwing it as far as she could, and he took off.

  “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not teaching you that kind of wrestling. In fact, you already know how to wrestle like that…very well.” Sloan grinned at her as he strode over to the porch steps where she stood. Standing at the bottom of the steps, Sloan rose his face up, waiting for a morning kiss. Lexi leaned down and gave him a quick, but soft kiss on his full lips. “Now, it’s time to get serious. Come on.” Sloan stated, grabbing her hand and leading her out into the grass.

  “I honestly don’t know if this is gonna work. I’m not the most athletic person on the planet.” Lexi said doubtfully.

  “Don’t worry about how fit you are. You’ll have some strength behind your punch, I’m sure.” Sloan said confidently. “Especially when you’re scared, and adrenaline is pumping through you. Besides, a lot of it is the element of surprise. Most men aren’t going to expect someone as tiny as you to fight back, and in the right way too. All the better for you to knock them on their ass.

  “Now, I’m not going to teach you a bunch of combat moves. That would be pointless because you won’t be able to remember them all, in a moment of panic. So I’m going to teach you some basic moves that will incapacitate long enough for you to run and get the hell outta dodge. Got it?” Sloan explained.

  “Got it, Sensei,” Lexi answered with a grin.

  “Alright, Lexi-chan,” Sloan smirked.

  “Lexi-chan?” She asked curiously.

  “I was stationed in Japan for a few years, so I know a little about their language. They add –san to the end of boys’ names, like in the movie The Karate Kid. You know, Daniel-san. The girls get –chan added to the end of theirs. So you would be called Lexi-chan by a teacher.” Sloan informed her as he grabbed her shoulders, and positioned her to face him straight on.

  “You learned a lot in the Marines. I’d love to know more about your experiences.” Lexi said, honestly.

  “Oh, you’re about to get a firsthand lesson in some of the things I learned.” Sloan smiled one last time before his face turned completely serious. Lexi took notice, the look of authority making her stand a little straighter. “Now, it’s time to get serious. This is no joking matter. If you’re ever in a situation where you need to use these maneuvers, it’s usually a matter of life or death. And as far as I’m concerned…death is not an option.” Sloan’s silvery blue eyes were dead serious.

  “Understood.” Lexi nodded nervously.

  “Good. Now let’s begin. Before I teach you any moves, first I wanna know how you hit. How hard you can throw a punch.” Sloan stepped back and held out his hands palms out. “Now punch my hand, so I can see how you punch,” Sloan order.

  Lexi balled her hands up into tiny fists and punched as hard as she could, which wasn’t nearly as hard as she’d hoped. Sloan’s hand didn’t even budge. She scowled at the offensive palm, and a slight glimmer of amusement passed over Sloan’s face.

  “Don’t be discouraged. Most people who aren’t trained in combat, martial arts or boxing have a hard time putting power behind a punch. And I did this as an example of why trying to punch or fight your attacker will be useless.” Sloan educated her. “What I want to do, is to teach you how to inflict the most pain, in a short amount of time, so you can get away to safety.”

  “Alright. No punching. No fighting. Worthless. Got it.” Lexi rattled off.

  “Good. Now, we’re going to go over three common types of attacks. First, is the frontal attack. If a man is coming at you from the front, the quickest and easiest way to inflict pain, is to hit him in the neck at the carotid artery.” Sloan instructed as he took her hand and flipped it over palm up, and traced around her palm with a gentle finger. “Use your palm to hit the artery as hard as you can.” He explained, running his index finger from the base of his ear down to his shoulder, pointing out where the carotid artery was located. “This will hurt like hell, and stun him because it’s unexpected. And if you do it hard enough, it could at least bring him to his knees, and give you time to run.” Sloan said as he took a few steps back from her. “Now, I’m gonna come at you. And I want you to hit my neck, with light force this first time. Okay?”

  “Okay,” Lexi answered nervously.

  “Ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be.”

  Sloan advanced towards Lexi without hesitation. But instead of standing her ground in order to hit him, she stumbled back in fear, ducking her head, and raising her hands palms out to protect her face. Her damaged and abused soul, surging to the forefront.

  Seeing her cower in fear ripped Sloan’s heart in two. He instantly stopped walking and relaxed his menacing stance.

  “Alexis. It’s okay. Look at me.” He commanded softly.

  Lexi looked up at him and saw that he had stopped. She slowly lowered her shaky hands to her sides. She let out a huge breath, trying to calm her frazzled nerves. And bowed her head again in embarrassment.

  “Alexis, it’s me. I would never actually hurt you. You know that, right?” Sloan asked.

  “Yes, I know,” Lexi answered, unable to look up to meet his eyes.

  “Okay, so I think I know the problem. The minute a man acts aggressively towards you, you instantly revert back to the times you were abused. Instead of fight or flight, you lay down and take it. Am I right?” Sloan asked gently.

  Lexi nodded her head quickly, unable to speak around the lump in her throat.

  “What you fail to realize is that, you deserve better than to be used and beatup on. You’re a strong, beautiful woman, deserving of kindness and love. And the sooner you start realizing that, the sooner you’ll get pissed off when any man treats you with anything other than respect.” Sloan walked cautiously up to Lexi, and placed his hand under her chin and lifted her face up to look at him. Her eyes glassy with tears. “Now it’s time to get angry. Just like when we tore down the wall upstairs, take that bottled up anger and hurt and use it. Get mad. Get fucking furious! Fuck your father! Fuck him for taking your mother from you! Fuck every coward that laid a hand on you!” Sloan shouted as he backed away from her. “Scream, cry or cuss. Whatever you need to do, but get fucking angry! It’s your right.” He ground out.

  The tears that trembled on the edge of her lids spilled over and ran down her flushed cheeks. A fiery ball of hatred and fury began to grow in her belly. It built momentum until it spread through every inch of her being. Her vision turned red, as she saw Sloan started to advance towards her. And she unleashed her rage.

  “FUCK YOU!!!” She screamed as she brought up her open palm and slammed it down on the right side of Sloan’s neck with all of her strength.

  Sloan instantly fell to his knees, stunned. He collapsed onto his side, holding onto his neck and hissed through his teeth.

  “Oh my God! Sloan! Are you okay?” Lexi cringed as the red haze cleared from her eyes, and she knelt in front of him.

  “Shit, woman! I didn’t think anyone so small, could do so mu
ch damage.” Sloan grimaced while rubbing his tender neck. “I guess it’s my fault. I was the one to get you all riled up. Just remember this, if you find yourself in a sticky situation. If you do, you’ll have absolutely no problem getting away. Sheesh!”

  Lexi squeezed her lips together, trying to keep from laughing at the situation.

  “Go ahead. Laugh. I’m sure I look ridiculous.” Sloan grinned reluctantly.

  “I’ve never been through so many emotions, within the span of a few minutes, in my entire life.” Lexi sighed heavily. “Alright, what’s next? That is unless, you want to call it a day?” Lexi quickly switched gears, at the wary look on his face.

  “No, no. When I say I’m going to do something, I’ll do it.” Sloan said reluctantly.

  Lexi stood up and held out her hand to help Sloan up. He grunted and moaned as he got up, milking it for all it was worth. Lexi raised a brow at his antics.

  “Alright, alright. Enough with the theatrics. I didn’t mean to hit you so hard, ya big baby.” Lexi scolded playfully, as he scowled back at her.

  Sloan took a deep fortifying breath before continuing. “Okay. The next thing we’re going to work on is the throat grab.” The instant the words were out of his mouth, Sloan could see that that Lexi had experienced that particular brand of punishment, firsthand. It was almost as if the color had drained from her face. “This happened to you before? He choked you?” Sloan asked, and she just nodded in response. “So then, this next move is going to be extra important to you.

  “Self-defense instructors often try to teach women certain maneuvers to break a chokehold. But I’m here to tell you…they don’t work. And they won’t work for you. The minute you try to break the hold is the minute they will just start squeezing harder. The key is to inflict pain and stun, long enough for him to let you go so you can get away.” Sloan explained logically.

  “Okay. Don’t try to break chokehold. Won’t work. Pain and stun. Got it.” Lexi listed off.

  “Now, I want you to pretend to choke me and I’ll show you what to do,” Sloan instructed.

  Lexi took both hands and tried her wrap them around his fairly thick neck. He smiled down at her in encouragement.

  “Obviously, you don’t want to get in this position and that’s what the neck slap is for. If you can do that before they can get you in this hold, fantastic. But if they do get you in this situation, I want you to pull back both of your hands. And then with all your might, I want you to smash them, palms out into his face.” Sloan demonstrated the move in slow motion, lightly touching her face with both palms. “It will literally be the last thing he will be expecting. And more than likely, he’ll lose his hold on you. Then you run like the fires of hell are on your tail.”

  “Understood.” Lexi nodded her head once sharply.

  “Okay, do you think you can handle me grasping your neck while you practice the move?” Sloan asked gingerly.

  Lexi took a deep breath, blowing it out quickly. “Yeah. I’m good.” She said as she looked Sloan in the eyes, trying her best to remember that he was her gentle lover, not her abusive ex.

  Slowly he raised his hands to her neck, not wanting to make any sudden movements, in case she freaked out. Lightly he wrapped his fingers and thumbs around her throat. They both breathed in deeply.

  “Are you okay?” Sloan asked thoughtfully.

  “Yep. All good.” Lexi answered, shakily.

  “Alright. Now bring back your hands, and then bring them forward, palms open. Hitting as much of my face as you can. Just go easy on me this first time, alright?” Sloan grinned.

  Lexi pulled back her hands like he instructed and pushed forward, gently smacking the majority of his face. Sloan released her neck and took a few steps back. He nodded his head, letting her know that he was going to advance again.

  “Harder this time,” Sloan informed her, before stepping towards her.

  Once again, he gently wrapped his hands around her neck, and this time when she struck, it was enough to make a smacking sound. But just the little force that she did exerted was enough for him to instantly drop his hands, and turn his face.

  Blinking rapidly, Sloan shook his head quickly, to clear his sting. “Well, that stung a little. Now if you smack with all your strength, you’ll be guaranteed a window to get away.” Sloan reassured her. “Now for the next type of attack. And probably the most commonly used. The attack from behind.” Sloan said as he turned her around by her shoulders. “I think men like to use this move because they can move you from point A to point B, easily. Now, you’ll only have a few seconds to get him to release you before he takes you to a spot or place you don’t want to be. Wiggling free won’t be an option. Trying to smash your foot down on top of his, like so many self-defense classes teach you to, won’t work either. But there is one place that you’ll probably always be able to reach. His groin.” Sloan stepped closer to her back and lightly kissed her temple.

  “So I’m going to wrap my arms around your arms and chest tightly. Once I’ve got you, I want you to reach down and back, between my legs. When you feel my groin, I want you to squeeze.” Sloan paused for emphasis. “But remember, this is just a demonstration. No need to get carried away, alright?”

  “Alright.” Lexi smiled, looking back at him.

  “Squeeze too hard, and you won’t be getting any sweet lovin’ for quite some time,” Sloan warned.

  “We can’t have that.” Lexi giggled.

  “On three. One. Two. Three.” Sloan quickly grabbed her around her upper torso, holding her arms down at her sides.

  Lexi found that her forearms were in fact, able to move. She brought her right arm down and reached back franticly for the bulge in his jeans. Finding it, she applied mild pressure, and that alone made him drop her like he’d been burned.

  “Perfect! You’re doing so great, Princess.” Sloan said, high-fiving her when she turned to look at him, with a proud smile gracing her face. “Keep in mind that smacking the carotid artery, hitting the face and grabbing the groin can be used in multiple situations as well. Like if he gets you on the ground or grabs you by the hair. And I’ll show you all of that too. But whatever you do, please try not to let him get you to the ground. The first three moves, if done correctly, should keep that from happening. Also, if anyone ever pulls a knife on you, please do not try to take it from him. And use the fleshy parts of your body to protect vital parts and organs. Your arms or legs.” Sloan said, backing away from her to demonstrate.

  He turned his torso to the side and raised his arm up to protect his body then raised his leg as well, protecting his torso with his thigh. Lexi watched his every move, taking it all in and filing it away for a later date.

  “Don’t worry about memorizing all of it at this very moment. We’re going to practice these moves until they become second nature. Muscle memory is a beautiful thing.” Sloan put her mind at ease, before dropping a quick kiss on her forehead. “Alright, let’s keep going.”

  They spent the next hour going over a few more maneuvers. Then he pretended to attack her over and over in different ways until he felt that she had each technique perfected. And Lexi realized that he was right. The more she practiced, the more in control she felt. It gave her a sense of confidence and safety that she had never in her life felt before.

  As they both glistened with a light sheen of sweat in the morning sun, Lexi gazed at Sloan’s ruggedly handsome scarred face and thanked her lucky stars that she dropped her groceries a few weeks back. Setting the wheel in motion, for this wonderful man to enter into her life.

  Thank you, God. Thank you, mom. Thank you, auntie. She silently thanked them, like she often did.

  ~~~

  Around noon the next day, Lexi was working on another painting of Sloan. It was a painting that she pulled from her memory of him lying in bed, after they had made love. It was a closeup of his face as his dark hair hung limply over half of it. It was sexy and sweet, and made her toes curl just thinking about it.

 
Her phone started to ring, where she had it sitting on the old table next to her. Always a little nervous, even after she had changed her number that it would be Eric, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was Dom. Stepping out the door of the screened in back porch to get away from the den of destruction going on in the house so that she could hear, Lexi pressed the answer button.

  “Hey Dom, what’s up?” Lexi answered brightly.

  “Lexi! Oh my God! Girl, I’m so excited! So the editor of that magazine I was telling you about, emailed me back just now. They want to do a full spread on your house!” Dom screamed into the phone, getting right to the point.

  “What?” Lexi said shocked, having forgotten about Dom’s plan.

  “They loved the war veteran story, and what Sloan has done so far. They want to know the minute the house is done because they’re going to send out an interviewer and photographer, to cover the story and takes pics of the house, and Sloan!” Dom explained further, barely stopping to breath in her excitement.

  “Are you serious?!” Lexi exclaimed, trying hard to stay calm.

  “As a heart attack! They want Sloan’s number so that they can ask him a few preliminary questions. Probably about the timeframe of when the house will be done, maybe a little about his background. Stuff like that.” Dom informed her.

  “Oh my goodness! He’s gonna lose it! Wow, thanks so much for this Dom. He needs all the help and word of mouth he can get.” Lexi cheered and hopped around in delight, over the turn of events.

  Lexi gave Dom Sloan’s contact information, before ending the call. Once she hung up, she started to jump and dance around in the grass.

  “Is that a new dance I don’t know about?” Sloan’s baritone voice came through the screen door, scaring the crap out of Lexi.

  “Oh! You scared me!” Lexi yelped as she clutched her chest.

  “Sorry. I always seem to interrupt your little happy dances. So what has you dancing the jig in the middle of the yard?” Sloan asked as he opened the door, and stepped down the few steps to the ground.