Let Me Heal You: Beautifully Broken Book 3

by Samantha Wolfe

  We were led into the same room again as the parole board filed back in. Rollins' family entered next, and then Rollins was escorted back in for the board's decision.

  "Mr. Rollins," the same middle-aged man from earlier announced. Jackson stood with an expectant look on his face. "The board has come to a decision. We are recommending that you not be granted parole at this time due to the heinousness of your crime and your lack of remorse. You will serve out the rest of your sentence at this facility." I missed the rest of it as I watched Rollins' face go pale at the announcement. He merely nodded in shocked disappointment and stared at the floor. I think he honestly thought he was going to get out of here. What a fucking idiot. He was immediately escorted back out.

  I turned to Sydney, and the sheer relief on her face filled me with joy. "It's over, baby." I leaned in and kissed her temple. "Let's go home." We stood, and the four of us were escorted out. We stopped in the security office again for our phones, and then finally walked out into beautiful sunny skies. Sydney and I said our good-byes to Lauren and Adam. We got into my truck, and sat in stunned silence for a few moments.

  "I'm so proud of you, Sydney," I told her as I put my hand on her leg. "You were amazing."

  "I was?" she asked, her voice sounding like she was still in shock. "I'm not even sure what the hell just happened in there. It doesn't seem real yet."

  "I'm just happy that asshole gets to rot in prison," I growled.

  "You got me through this." She grabbed my hand and held it tightly. "I couldn't have done it without you. Look what you did for me. Don't you see how strong you are?"

  "I...I think so," I stammered out at her unexpected words.

  "I know so," she said vehemently. "You're the strongest person I know." She reached for me and took my face in her hands. "And I love you." She kissed me, her lips melding into mine. I could feel her love and her belief in me. And maybe, just maybe, I was starting to feel that same love and belief in myself.

  **********

  We stayed in to celebrate Friday night, neither of us feeling very sociable after what we'd been through today. We took a nap when we got home from the prison, and we slept for hours. Neither of us had a nightmare nor woke up even once. When we finally got up, we both felt rested and calm. It was such a relief to see Sydney being herself again.

  Sydney insisted on dragging me to the grocery to buy something special to make for dinner tonight. I told her I was fine with ordering out, but the look of disdain that idea got me made me change my mind. I picked out some really nice steaks to grill, and Sydney grabbed some potatoes to bake and some asparagus. Top that off with some rocky road ice cream, and we had the perfect meal.

  I finished the dishes after dinner, and cleaned the counters and the table then made my way to the living room to find Sydney sitting on the couch. She was just saying good-bye to someone on her phone. She looked up as she ended the call, and smiled when I walked in. It was a real smile, not one of the forced ones she had been wearing for most of the last two weeks.

  "Who were you talking to?" I asked as I sat down next to her, and snatched up the remote off the cushion next to her before she could stop me.

  "David," she answered as she shot a glare at the remote in my hand. "He was checking to see if we're alright, and see how things went today."

  "What did he have to say about it?" I asked as I started flipping through the channels.

  "He's really proud of both of us," she answered with a huge grin.

  "Good," I added with a grin of my own. "We were pretty fucking badass today."

  "You were," she said wryly. "I pretty much cried through most of it."

  "Well, neither of us freaked out during the hearing, so I consider it a victory."

  "If you put it that way, I guess we are pretty bad-ass aren't we."

  "You should listen to me more often." I suggested.

  "I'll think about it," she said sarcastically.

  I found a Joe Bonamassa concert on one of the music channels. We sat and watched for a while. She asked me who the artist was, and I told her. She really seemed to like it. After a while, I could feel her eyes on me. I glanced over to see a pained look on her face.

  "What's wrong, baby?" I asked with concern.

  "I've been wanting to ask you something for a long time, but I don't want to upset you."

  "You can ask me anything, Sydney," I assured her. "Go ahead. It's okay." She looked at me with a doubtful expression for a moment, and then sighed.

  "Why don't you play the guitar anymore?" she asked, and my gut clenched. I felt my face go blank. Of all the things that I had imagined her asking, this wasn't one of them.

  "I...I just can't anymore," I answered reluctantly.

  "Because of Jordan?" she asked sympathetically.

  I nodded woodenly. I hadn't played a note on a guitar since Jordan died. The last time I played was with him, and I just couldn't bring myself to do it since. God knows I wanted to, but every time I thought about it, all I could think about were his dead eyes looking at me after I watched him die.

  "Do you really think Jordan would want you to stop doing something you love because of him?"

  "I think about that everyday," I whispered as tears filled my eyes, and I looked down at the floor. I felt the sudden urge to run away or hide in the garage again, to yell at her for even bringing this up, but I couldn't shut her out and push her away like that again. Not after everything she'd done for me, when I had done nothing but hurt her repeatedly. So I stared unseeing at the television trying to work up the courage to say something else and coming up short.

  "This is why I shouldn't have asked," she said with regret in her voice. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." A surge of anger at myself hit me, overwhelming me.

  "Damn it," I snarled. "I don't want you to be afraid to talk about anything with me. I don't want to be that person anymore."

  "It's okay, baby." She tried to soothe me, her voice smooth and calm. "We don't have to talk about this right now if you don't want to."

  "You know damn well it's not okay, Sydney," I insisted angrily. "And it hasn't been for a very fucking long time. You shouldn't have to walk on eggshells around me and the things I can't ever seem to handle talking about."

  "Jensen, calm down, please," she said in a pleading tone. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm the maelstrom inside me. "I know I said I wouldn't coddle you, which is why I asked the question, but if you're not ready to talk about it yet, and I push you too hard; that's not good either. Right?"

  "I guess," I mumbled in resignation as I rested my elbows on my knees and covered my face in my hands. I was starting to think I needed a push though, but not from her or David or anybody else. I was the only one who could do that for myself. All I had to do was work up the courage to try. Unfortunately, that was easier said then done. I ground my teeth together; my body thrumming with tension as I tried to make myself talk about the things I always avoided.

  "Jensen," she said gently, and I felt her fingers caress my arm. I raised my head and looked at her. "Come here." Her eyes darkened as I leaned toward her. She took my face in her hands and kissed me softly, her lips warm and insistent. I sighed as she pulled away. "Let me help you forget for a while. We can talk about this later." I nodded as she pushed me onto my back on the couch. She crawled up my body and kissed me again, harder and deeper this time.

  Her fingers clutched the hem of the T-shirt I was wearing, and pushed it up my chest. I raised myself up enough for her to pull it off of me. She began working her way down my chin with her lips. They burned a trail of hot fire down my neck to my chest. I shuddered when her warm mouth worked its way down my abdomen, and I hoped to God that she was going where I thought she was. My cock hardened at the thought of her lips wrapped around me.

  When her lips reached the edge of my jeans, she lifted her head to look at me while her fingers undid the button and pulled the zipper down slowly. Her eyes were dark with desire, and when she bit her lower li
p, I couldn't help the low groan that came up out of my throat. She grabbed the sides of my pants, and I lifted my hips to let her slide them down. She lowered her head and nuzzled her nose against my cock, making it twitch.

  "Look how hard you are already," she said seductively, her low husky voice making me shiver. Her hot wet tongue licked up the underside of my erection from bottom to top. "Let's see if we can make you harder, shall we?"

  "Please," I moaned desperately as I ran my fingers softly through her hair. She gave me a wicked smile as she wrapped her hand around the base then lifted my cock to her lips. Her tongue darted out and barely grazed the tip. She kissed the head of my cock like it was my mouth, her hand squeezing me with perfect pressure, then taking me into her eager mouth, her throat relaxing to take all of me. I swore loudly as my hips bucked up toward her. No one sucked cock like my Sydney, no one.

  She moved her mouth away from where I needed it most. "Hold still or I'll stop," she warned me with a heated glare.

  "Yes, ma'am," I promised as I fought to still my jerking hips.

  "You're such a good boy," she said as her mouth quirked up in amusement.

  "I'm good at a lot of things, baby," I said lewdly as I smiled back at her. Humor danced in her eyes, making her even more beautiful.

  "I know," she replied with a low chuckle. "Lucky me." I opened my mouth to say something else. "Shush. No more noise from you or you don't get to come."

  She laughed again when I snapped my mouth shut.

  Her attention returned to my aching cock, and she lowered her mouth to engulf all of me again. I gasped and shuddered all over as pleasure streaked through my body. Fuck, it felt so good. Her head began to bob up and down on me, and it was all I could do to keep from moaning her name. She scraped her teeth across my tender flesh, the slight bite of pain making me bite my tongue to keep from swearing loudly at how good it felt. She seemed to be taking it as a challenge to see if she could make me cry out. I'd be damned if I let her win this game.

  Our gazes met, and when her eyes narrowed I could tell she knew exactly what I was thinking. Oh shit. I was in deep trouble now. Sydney began sucking me off in earnest, her head moving faster and faster. I clamped my mouth shut and rode the waves of pleasure pulsing out from my dick. She swirled her tongue around the underside with every thrust, and my body shook with the effort to hold still. The pressure in my balls began to build, and I knew I was close.

  Just as the pressure was about to reach the breaking point, she deep throated me one more time, her throat squeezing the head of my dick and setting off my orgasm like a fucking explosion. She held her head still and swallowed down everything I gave her. I shouted her name as I thanked God it was too late for her to keep me from coming. When my release was over, she lifted her lips from me. I watched with rapt attention as she licked my pleasure from her lips with a low groan of satisfaction. She climbed up my body until her lips were mere inches from mine.

  "Good boy," she moaned. "Good, good boy." I grabbed her hair in my fist, and brought her down for a hard kiss. It was deep and toe curling. I could kiss her forever and never tire of it. When she lifted her head, her lips were swollen, and her eyes were glassy and wild with arousal.

  "Let me take you to bed and return the favor," I growled.

  "Please," she moaned.

  I sat up to pull my jeans back up, then lifted her into my arms. I carried her up to our bed, planning on giving her as good as I had gotten. It was a wonder that this woman always seemed to know what I needed, and when to give it to me. She was everything I ever wanted or needed, and she didn't know it yet, but I had every intension of making her my wife, most likely sooner than later. And once she was mine; I would never let her go.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sydney

  "We're almost done," Jensen announced as he placed a box in the bed of his truck where it was parked in front of the apartment building.

  "Thank God," I said with a sigh of relief. "I had no idea how much shit I had in that apartment."

  "Great," Jensen said in irritation. "Now all this shit will be in my condo."

  "Hey." I looked up to glare at him and saw that he was smirking at me.

  "Just kidding, baby." He grabbed my hips and pulled them flush against his as he leaned back against the side of the truck facing me. "I'm so happy you moved in with me." The wry humor slipped away from his face and was replaced with affection. He reached up and cradled the back of my head in his hand, then kissed me with a soft and sweet brush of his lips on mine.

  "Get a room," Andy blurted out as he passed us with another box. We both flipped him off without looking. "You guys are so rude," he complained.

  "They never treat me like that," David chimed in from the opposite side of the truck bed. "It sounds like a you problem, Andrew."

  Andy glared at all of us. "I am completely unappreciated in my own time."

  "And full of shit," Jensen quipped with a smirk.

  "True," Andy agreed with a wide grin.

  "I'll vouch for that," Lydia said as she walked up to Andy and patted his cheek. Andy looked down at her with adoration. She smiled back with the same expression then turned to me. "That's everything, Syd. I did a final pass, and the place is empty."

  "Thanks, guys," I said sincerely. "For everything." There was a round of "your welcomes" and nods.

  "Alright, people," Andy announced. "Let's get the fuck out of here. I was promised pizza and beer at the end of this long damn day, and I'm starving."

  Andy, Lydia, and David piled into Andy's car, and Jensen and I climbed into his green Silverado. Jensen started the truck and pulled away from the curb.

  "Are you going to miss this place?" he asked me in a curious voice.

  "Hmm...maybe a little," I admitted. "But I have a new home now, and I really like being there."

  "Good." He smiled at me then put his hand on my thigh as he concentrated on driving.

  He'd been kind of quiet today, but not in a bad way. I kept seeing a thoughtful look on his face on and off as we worked. There was obviously some deep stuff going on in his head today, but whenever he'd notice me watching him, he'd just smile at me with deep affection, so I decided not to worry about it. Whatever was going on in his head, he wasn't upset about it, and I figured he'd tell me about when he was ready.

  It didn't take long to unload the boxes from this last trip. We had already moved all the big stuff, including my bed, which was now in Jensen's storage garage at the back of the condo complex. We decided to keep using his bed since it was bigger and held a lot memories for us. His spare room was now filled with all the boxes I'd need to go through and find places in the condo to put my stuff. Jensen told me I could do anything I wanted to decorate, and that as long as I was here, he didn't care what the place looked like. I was looking forward to making this place look like our home instead of a bachelor pad.

  Everyone gathered in the living room when we were done. I went to the kitchen, where it was a little quieter, and called to order the pizzas, while Jensen got everyone else a beer and a soda for himself. I'd be shocked if he ever touched alcohol again after what happened the last time he drank. By the time the pizzas showed up, we had gotten pretty loud and rowdy, and I was thinking that beer on empty stomachs might have been a bad idea.

  Andy was in rare form as we ate pizza in the living room, telling story after story about Jensen and he when they were kids. Even Jensen joined in the stories, setting Andy straight when he started embellishing things and sharing too much. I don't remember the last time I had laughed this much, and Jensen looked relaxed and comfortable in his own skin. It was amazing to see, and I loved him even more as I realized he was really getting better.

  Eventually, Andy and Lydia had to take off, and I gave each of them a tight hug. They were both becoming very close friends, and I was so grateful for that. David and I were left alone in the living room after Jensen had walked Andy and Lydia out.

  "He seems different today," David said as he lo
oked toward the hallway where Jensen had just walked out. He was sitting on the couch next to me with a thoughtful look on his face. "I think yesterday was actually good for him."

  "It was good for me too," I said with a genuine smile.

  "Really?" David asked incredulously. "How so?"

  "I think we both needed to see how strong we were together, and that we could count on each other," I told him. "We discovered that we could deal with something awful, and still come out the other side okay."

  "That makes sense." He nodded in understanding. "I'm happy for both of you." He grabbed my hand and gave it a brief squeeze before letting go.

  "Do you hear that?" Jensen asked in an amused tone as he walked back into the living room.

  "Hear what?" I asked curiously.

  "Exactly," he smirked. "It's always so quiet in here after Andy finally leaves."

  "Oh stop," I scolded him. "You know you love it when he's here."

  "He's alright," Jensen admitted with a shrug. "Don't tell him I said that."

  "He won't hear it from me," David said with a smile as he rose from the couch.

  "Are you leaving?" I asked as I stood.

  "I have plans tonight," he answered.

  "What are you doing?" I asked with narrowed suspicious eyes.

  "Let's just say that I have a hot date," David said with a waggle of his brows.

  "With who?" I continued questioning him, knowing I would probably regret finding out the answer.

  "That's for me to know, and you never to find out," he told me with a wink then shared a knowing, very male smile with Jensen. Jensen returned the look, and I rolled my eyes.

  "Come on, I'll walk you out." I followed David out of the condo and over to his car.

  "Good-bye, Syd," David said as he gave me a brief hug.

  "Who are you going out with?" I asked in a serious tone as he opened his car door. He paused and looked at me with narrowed eyes.

  "Do you really want to know that badly?"

  "I...I guess not," I admitted as I realized I really didn't want to know.