Charity's Secrets (19 page)

I want
him so bad, I can feel my as my orgasm flourishes under his aggressiveness. I
want him to make me cum. I beg him as his body thrusts over and over, our
voices twisting through the rooms and back out into the kitchen.

Justin
fucks me until we cry out together in between our heavy breathing and strained
grunts. He tightens his masculine hands around my thighs, squeezing them during
each thrust and grind of his hips. Finally, I am crashing in rapid waves of
relief, my wetness gushing down his shaft as he is releasing inside me.

This is
a celebration, but not about the New Year. This is about us, about our new
lives.

After
his thrusts slow to a stop, Justin backs himself out of me and helps clean me
up before even bothering to untie me and remove my blindfold. He moves quickly
now that I'm beginning to feel the cold without his passion keeping me heated,
getting me dressed as quickly as he can.

After
my clothes are back on, he fixes the plastic strips, shuts the freezer door,
and leads us out of the cold room, shutting that door carefully too.

The music
and noise hit us the second we are back out in the club. Justin has my hand in
his. "I love you, Warrior," he shouts through a smile, that beyond
sexy spread of his lips.

Before
I can reply, he drags me out where the crowd swallows us. Eventually we find
Trisha dancing with Sam and they beg us to join them. I run out for a moment
and grab Melissa and Lena, forcing them all to follow me where we form a huge
group around the others and spend the rest night dancing in the New Year with
my friends.

I only
have Melissa until the afternoon tomorrow, so I make the best of it now. Clearly,
she will be bringing Tommy home with her tonight, so I've already made it
understood they are having brunch with Justin and I tomorrow.

It was
too quick, this visit with her, just like I knew it would be.

T
his morning, her first thought was
that Charity and Justin had outdone themselves for everyone last night at Cipriani.
Watching the two of them together was so much fun. The whole evening was
incredible, but now she feels completely hung-over. It was an awesome night,
but the price is being paid today, mostly by her head and her sore dancing
legs. It took forever to climb out of bed and get the day rolling, but now
there was something in her stomach helping her.

The
warm body in her bed when she'd gotten out made her smile. It was so nice to
have him there—even nicer to remember that he is the reason her girlie parts
are tender.

That
makes her tingle inside.

Maybe
there would be more of that soon, once he finally shakes his exhaustion. She
smiles in hopes of it.

Another
bite of toast vanishes into her teeth, followed by a sip of coffee that was not
her best. Facing the window, the sun is filtering through the blinds and
soaking her delicate skin, making her feel beautiful. As she gets better, her
outlook of the day is growing brighter.

Behind
her, back by the bedroom, she hears him beginning to stir. There's a low thump
that was probably his hand hitting the empty mattress beside him where she was
lying before. He groaned lightly into the emptiness, and she decided that she
would be seeing his handsome face soon enough.

The
coffee is hot against her full, maybe even swollen, lips, and the last of her
toast disappears. She slowly licks the crumbs from her fingers and rolls up the
napkin she'd carried her food on. When she stands, she moves to the coffee
maker and slides out a drawer filed with different K Cups, trying to guess
which one he would prefer.

Probably
something sweet.

Thump!

That
sounded like his head on the headboard, and she laughed easily. "Are you
okay?" she calls in to him. He doesn't answer, so she moves closer
curiously. "Babe?"

Maybe
he's still out of it. He did drink more than she had. That makes her smile
again. She's sure he's going to wake up lousy.

Maybe
she should check on him. Her stiff gait delivers her through the hall.
"Babe?" she calls softer, just in case he's still sleeping or nursing
a headache.

There's
no reply as she pushes the bedroom door open, but she does hear the thump
again.

"Babe?"

Suddenly
the door is ripped out of her hand angrily, yanking her into the room with it
violently. There is a searing, hot pain in her left shoulder as if the muscle
has torn. "Fuck!" She hollers, instantly groping for the hurt deep
under her skin.

She
rights herself the best that she can, and her eyes tear around the room. It
would be better if she didn't find him, if somehow he wasn't home, but that's
not the case. He looms over her like a shadow and swings, hitting her in a
thump that makes her screaming head see stars in the fresh blackness.

THE CONSTANT BEEPING OF
the heart monitor is maddening. The sterile smell makes
me dizzy. This is not where I thought we'd be today—or any day.

"I
hate hospitals," I mumble to myself. I'd seen enough of them last year. My
hands fumble nervously as they look for some distraction.

When I
received the call earlier, my body went numb and I couldn't move. Once I did
get moving, I went at full speed to get here. The shock continued to threaten
me all the way.

Now I'm
numb again, and I need to throw up. Everyone knows what probably happened, but
no one is talking about it and that makes me want to scream. One more sheepish,
sideways glance, and I might haul off and deck someone and not give a shit that
it isn't their fault.

"I
just want my friend to be okay," I say when I look a Justin. "No one
is helping her." I know they've done all they can for now—it just doesn't
feel enough. She had gone through surgery before they found me in her phone as
her emergency contact. The worst part of that was over before we got here.

"They're
going to take care of her Charity," he reassures me, rubbing my shoulder.
All the emotion he needs to give me is right there on his face waiting for me,
and I feel myself calming. I breathe him in through my eyes, finding a normal
rhythm.

Justin
sees an officer coming up the hall and I feel him stiffen. A few minutes ago he
said this might happen, and that he would have to take care of it if it did.
His serious eyes settle on me to make sure I will be okay for a moment.

I nod
quickly. I want him to take care of this; we need to handle it—not the police.
In an instant, he's on his phone.

The
officer stops at the nurse’s station, talking to someone for directions to the
right room, and by the time he's done and heading for us, Justin is done with
his call.

The
officer is slightly older, maybe fifty guessing by the grey in his short beard.
It makes him look handsome, along with the concern on his face. He's obviously
done these calls many times before. He steps into the room with us and looks at
her from the doorway first, letting us accept his presence.

"Has
she been conscious yet?" he asks at last.

The
question makes my knees buckle just to hear it.

I
just wanna fucking scream!

My
anger is the only thing that is capable of drowning my fear, but this isn't the
time or place. Justin senses my emotions, as always, and scoops up my hand.

"No.
Not since we've been here," Justin answers.

"Are
you family?"

"No,
but we're the closest she has. There's a brother in jail in Texas, but that's
it," I answer.

He nods
softly. "It was called in as a possible domestic case. Do you know who she
lives with or who might have done this to her?"

Yes!
We know exactly who the fuck it was—and he's a dead man!

"No,"
Justin lies. "She's single, no one steady."

Just
then the officers phone rings and he steps into the hall for a moment. When he
comes back in, he seems less interested.

"They
called me off," he tells us. "Not a domestic. Another unit will
probably come by soon."

That
was entirely Justin's work. He'd called someone high up, and it had trickled
down until they found what cop was at the hospital, and it had all happened
that fast.

The
officer leaves the room and I move back to her side, touching her hand as
gently as I can so that I don't hurt her more than she already is. Tears flood
my cheeks in an instant.

"I
can't even recognize her, Justin," I cry in a whisper.

His
eyes well up with his heart broken for both of us. "It's the swelling.
It'll go down in a day or two I promise. The doctor said there's nothing broken
in her face and it will heal up fine. That's always scarier looking than it is.
You didn't look too different, believe me."

That
makes me feel better. She's such a beautiful girl, inside and out, and this is
going to change her. I don't know how she'll ever trust a man again.

Justin
pulls a chair over and sits me beside her, running a strong arm around me. I
can feel his anger too, he's just more experienced with his control. This is a
friend of his, and he wants revenge as much as I do.

Suddenly,
her eyes twitch under their lids and I motion to Justin. "I think she's
waking up."

It
takes a few seconds, but finally her eyes do open. Her confusion is obvious and
devastating to witness. "Hey, Girl," I whisper, trying to comfort
her.

Her
black and swollen eyes search for me. There is a bit of relief when she sees me
and Justin. I think she wants to talk, but she just doesn't have it in her,
especially with all the pain medication they have her on.

"You're
okay," I tell her. "Don't try to talk, or move. We have you now and
you're okay."

She
tries to move despite my warning, not knowing that both of her wrists have
metal pins in them that will take some time to heal. The pain makes her wince
and Justin's anger flares through the muscles of his arm. Seeing her like this
is too much for his calm side.

"Try
not to move, Sweetie." I remind her.

In the
slightest way, she nods her head. It seems to make her eyes circle the room and
then she is out again, but at least we know she can wake up. "I have to
tell them," I mumble again, hitting the nurse call.

Justin
agrees beside me. I notice that the top of his hands turned white grabbing the
edge of her bed.

"Are
you okay?" I ask him, realizing he's asked me a dozen times and I've been
so distracted and thoughtless that I haven't asked him.

"No,"
he says, "but I will be." I know exactly what that means.

The
nurse came in and we explained the brief moment she had been awake and alert
enough to acknowledge us. Her big eyes are full of compassion, and that fits
her beautiful face and thick body. She seems hopeful while she listens and
tells us that she will enter it and call the doctor to inform him. It was a
good sign in the middle of a lot of badness.

My need
for vengeance bubbles up again. I don't understand how someone could do this to
such a beautiful person. It can't be so different from Steve—a sickness or
disconnect in their head. I remember how I felt in the hours before Justin
rescued me, that hopelessness, but at least I had Justin to think about.

This
monster left my friend with nothing! She must have been so scared. Worse, she
would have felt alone.

Bastard!

Imagining
her in that state, hurt, bleeding, thinking no one would come for her, it's
heartbreaking and infuriating. "He had no right, Justin. He had no right
to do this to her." His hands comfort me as my tears return.

Together
we will make sure she is taken care of, that she won't need a thing, but I
think she deserves much more from me than I can give her to help with the
loneliness.

One day
when she is stronger, I may have to tell her the truth about Steve and what I went
through at his hands. Justin might not agree, but I will be careful; I'll never
discuss what became of Steve, only what he put me through. He might not think
it's worth the risk to talk about Steve at all, but he doesn't understand.
Maybe only a woman could understand the bond that develops. Hell, it wasn't
until just now that I see my own emotions reaching out for a comfort that only
a girlfriend with nearly the same experience could give. I need to be there for
her—for both of us. If that day comes, I'll keep Justin out of it.

That's
something that just keeps getting easier for me, keeping secrets from him to
make things better. Justin is still so distracted from New Year’s Eve that he
hasn't even noticed that there's more going on around him. Hopefully, it stays
that way until I need to change it.