healing-hearts (35 page)

Jason stooped down on his hunches before them. “We’re going somewhere, but guess where you two get to go?”

“To the moon, maybe?” Joshua, Mr. Adventure yelled, making the sound of a shuttle blasting off.

“Not yet, Joshua.” Jason answered, laughing at the child’s wild imagination. “You’re going to a sleepover at Mrs. Charmagne’s house.”

“Can I bring my dolls?” Jessica asked.

“You can pick one.” Yasmine told her and followed up with, “And remember when she takes you to daycare in the morning you have to leave it in the car.”

“Okay.”

“Can I take a
truck
?” Joshua roared.

“A small one, and—,” Jason began to tell him.

“Leave it in the car.” The little boy finished in a singsong voice.

Laughing, Jason reached out and tweaked the little boy’s nose.

~ML~

When they arrived at the station, Yasmine and Jason were escorted to separate rooms for their statements.

Yasmine’s took the longest, as she had to give the cops the background history on her and Blake. She also informed them about the phone call she had received months back and the letter he had sent her.

When Detective Marshall, who interviewed her with Officer Hughes, asked if she still had a copy of the letter, Yasmine felt guilty. She had not only thrown it away, but shredded it, too.

The cop asked her why she hadn’t informed the police that he had made contact with her or made sure the restraining order was reinstated. She told them that she had just thought he was trying to scare her. She had neglectfully assumed he wouldn’t try to visit her. Besides, she had been so preoccupied with everything that was going on in her life she didn’t have time to think about Blake and what he may or may not do for long spans of time.

The cop had her fill out another restraining order, for herself and the children, just in case Blake happened to get an amount granted to him at his bond hearing, and was able to post bail money. Even though Detective Marshall didn’t think it was likely, considering the case, and Blake’s behavior.

“I don’t want to leave you by yourself.” Jason expressed his concern once they had returned to the house and were standing inside the front door.

They were facing each other, but not touching. Jason had not touched her since he had helped her into the car at the police station.

“Good, because I don’t want to be alone,” she announced.

It seemed as if an eternity had passed before Jason reached a hand out and brushed her bangs back from her forehead. She was letting her hair grow out, but kept the front short, just for this purpose. Yasmine closed her eyes welcoming the familiar touch of her husband’s hands.

“Jason...” her voice drifted off as she was embraced in Jason’s arms. She buried her face in his neck and inhaled his scent. Jason always smelled like a blend of his spicy cologne and honey that seemed to come naturally from his skin.

With Blake having touched her, Yasmine felt filthy and soiled by the monster’s smell.

“What are you thinking about?” Jason questioned, as if sensing that something was troubling her.

“How I want to wash Blake completely out of my life, Jason.”

Understanding what she meant, Jason picked her up and carried her up the stairs, not letting her down until he had reached the bathroom. He turned on the water, set the temperature, then undressed her and placed her in the shower. Yasmine wasted no time to use the water to wash her face and rinse out her mouth from her violator’s kisses.

Moments later he joined her, having removed all of his clothing.

Jason started by tilting her head back and underneath the jet’s stream and began to wash her hair gently. Yasmine’s eyes half closed at the hypnotic feel of his fingers massaging her scalp, and enjoyed the warm flow of water streaming down her back.

After he was finished, Yasmine watched him pick up her Spring Bouquet liquid soap bottle, but instead of applying it to her puff, as she normally would have done, he filled the palm of his hand with a generous amount and then began to wash her body.

Yasmine relaxed into Jason’s compassionate cleansing ministrations as she felt his hands begin at her neck. Tears began to join the water sliding down her face, as he lovingly touched each of the marks on her throat, then his hands moved down her arms, until his fingers slipped between hers; taking care to wash them.

Yasmine began to tremble as she felt his slick hands move back up and without pause touch her breasts. Not missing a beat, he cleansed them then moved to her stomach, hips and each leg down to her feet. Turning her around with care, he glided his hands across her backside giving it the same type of treatment he had performed on the front of her body. Yasmine could feel the heat of his body as his hand shifted back around to the front of hers and applied the same purifying ministration to her most intimate part.

Every nerve ending in Yasmine’s body was on edge as Jason rinsed the suds from her skin, turned off the water then exited the shower. He returned with a towel around his waist, wrapped her body with another towel, and carried her to the bedroom.

He continued the chivalrous attention as he dried her off then laid her down in the center of the bed and joined her. Jason began to kiss her, using his tongue to touch every recess of her mouth. His lips moved down to her neck and began to apply soft kisses to the column of her neck, as if each touch of his mouth could take away the evidence of her attack.

Jason’s hands were not idle as they kneaded her breasts and coasted along her petite waist and full hips, keeping Yasmine’s body humming for release.

Moving down her body, he dipped his tongue in her navel, teasing her before he progressed further. Reaching her thighs he placed kisses down the tops, down to her knees. He returned with his tongue slowly dragging up the center of each thigh tracing small circles. Her body pulsed with expectation.

Spreading her legs wider, he began tasting her, the heat of his mouth caressing her sensitive wet skin. Slipping between her swollen folds, he savored her essence, causing her to lift her hips toward him begging for more as she began to tumble toward completion.

Her whimpers and cries of ecstasy urged him in his quest to satisfy her. Pulling her stiff clit into his mouth, he flicked, nipped and swirled around it until her legs bounced on the bed, her hips jerked erratically and her body tightened, moments before her spasm into rapture.

Jason’s tongue soothed her, gliding over her slick skin in a soothing caress. When her quakes faded, he began to adore her breasts, suckling them to stiff peaks as his hand built her arousal again, his finger stroking within her damp core.

She refused to climax again, without him. Reaching down and taking a firm hold of his solid manhood she massaged the length from tip to base. Yasmine could feel his groan of satisfaction vibrate around the breast being pulled into his mouth.

“Jason, I need you inside of me,” she entreated, breathless.

No further words were needed as Jason positioned himself between her parted thighs and entered her body in one slow movement until he was buried deep inside of her.

Yasmine wanted to weep as Jason made love to her silently and gently in an attempt to remove the residue of every violent act that had been done to her that night.

At the end, both of their climaxes seemed to respect the soothing atmosphere, as their bodies quaked together quietly.

Jason rolled to his side, pulled the blanket over their bodies, and wrapped her in his arms and they slept.

~ML~

The clock on the nightstand read six am. Jason looked down at Yasmine who was curled up facing him. She looked innocent and vulnerable, with the bruises on her neck. With the thought of how close he had come to losing her, his blood began to heat up with rage again toward the man who had done it.

When he lifted the covers to leave the bed, he caught a glimpse of Yasmine’s naked form. Jason’s blood began to boil in another way. He had a strong urge to lean down and kiss; to fondle her body until she woke up as stimulated as he already was with just the thought of her.

Jason forced his own nude, fully aroused body out of the bed and pulled on his clothes. He knew that if he made love to Yasmine right then he would be inside of her all day. Not that it was a bad thing, but she needed space to realize what they had together and he needed time to take account of his own life and discover if this was truly what he wanted.

The next time he came back home it was going to be for good. He was playing this thing for keeps and if Yasmine wanted the same thing there would have to be a no holds barred agreement.

All or nothing.

~ML~

Yasmine awoke and discovered she was alone. She showered, dressed and arrived at work to find a bouquet of chrysanthemums on her desk with a card that read: “If you need me I’m here for you.”

Yasmine loved chrysanthemums, because they were strong, enduring flowers. While other flower’s wilted under pressure, they continued to hold themselves high and proud, unfazed by touch or change.

“I signed for them. I assume they’re from Jason. Do I get an explanation of what’s going on?” Leigh walked into the office.

Yasmine put her purse in the drawer and sat down behind her desk. “You may want to sit for this.” Yasmine told her friend.

“That good, huh?” Leigh chuckled.

The smile dropped off her face as Yasmine unbutton the top to buttons of her shirt and revealed the now dark marks on her neck, accompanying the view with one word, “Blake.”

“Oh my God, Yassi. How did he do this? What happened? Where did you see him?”

Yasmine lifted her hand up in the air stop the flow of questions from her friend. “I’ll tell you everything.”

Yasmine started at the beginning and told her friend everything about yesterday’s horrible events.

“So, he knew that you and Jason didn’t live together anymore?”

“He knew practically everything. I didn’t know what to say. All those times he had been writing and calling me, I just figured he had tracked me down. Not that he had actually been following me.”

“So, you think that he waited until he knew Jason wasn’t going to be around to make his move?” Leigh asked.

“That’s exactly what I think.”

“Boy, I bet he was surprised when Jason began to pulverize him.”

“Frankly, I don’t care as long as he’s locked behind bars.” Yasmine opened up a fresh water bottle for the morning.

“So, if Charmagne couldn’t reach Jason, what was he doing there?”

A warm glow washed over her body. “When I asked him that on the way to the police station, he said it was Wednesday and his scheduled night to spend with the kids. Can you believe he even apologized for being late?”

“It’s just a blessing that he showed up when he did.”

“That’s what I told him,” Yasmine confirmed.

“That’s some man you got there, Yasmine.” Then Leigh asked, “What about the children?”

“They’re fine. They didn’t even realize anything was going on. Charmagne had the good sense to play some music in a room with them. Then, after the dust had settled, she took them to her house for the night.”

“That must have been frightening, staying in that house all by yourself.” Leigh commented, shaking her head incredulously.

Yasmine looked down at her hands in her lap guiltily.

“Yasmine Sousa Richardson, you got some last night.”

Yasmine looked up at her friend with light in her eyes and a broad smile on her face. “What makes you think that?”

“Well, the Cheshire cat look, for one.” She pointed at her friend face.

“Why didn’t you tell me he moved back in?” Leigh asked.

Sobering, Yasmine finished by saying, “Because he hasn’t.”

“Come again? Didn’t he stay the night last night?”

“Yeah, he left sometime this morning and so we never got a chance to talk about it.”

“But, you’re going to call him today and tell him to come home, right?” Leigh almost demanded.

“No, Leigh, I’m not. If he wants to come home he can call me.” Yasmine replied bluntly.

“So, let me get this straight. You kick him out, but he is the one who has to ask to come back.”

Yasmine couldn’t miss the lift of her friend’s eyebrow.

“Let’s just leave it alone, Leigh. I’m just not ready now to ask him to come back. If anything, seeing Blake just made it harder to open myself up again.”

Leigh nodded her understanding. “I guess last night you made love to him because it was what you needed at the time?”

Yasmine leaned back in her seat and slid down until her head rested on the back of the chair. “Yeah, and I don’t regret it at all.”