Skin Deep (35 page)

Shockingly, the front door of the house was
unlocked so they were able to sneak into the house and arrest John
Frank as he sat astride my unconscious, bloody, and badly beaten
body. The doctor had swallowed thickly before telling me that he’d
been punching my breasts and pinching them violently as he ranted
that I’d emasculated him. After she told me this and then clarified
that there had been no sexual assault whatsoever other than to my
breasts, I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that he hadn’t been
able to do more to me, and then smiled with deep satisfaction over
the injuries I had caused him.

Dr. Hart said he’d had to be treated before
incarcerated, because I’d ruptured one of his testicles, and his
penis had been lacerated from my nails. He was now in jail awaiting
trial, and the judge had ordered that bond be set at $200,000.00
because he was considered a flight risk, not to mention the
severity of the crime.

The doctor had then inventoried my injuries
for me. I had a gash on the side of my head that required eight
stitches from when he initially hit me and put me in his car. I had
severe bruising on my throat, shoulders, arms, legs, breasts, and
face, including two black eyes. I had a split lip, lacerations on
the inside of my mouth, a broken nose, two cracked ribs, and a knot
on the back of my head where it’d hit the concrete wall, which
caused a concussion. Thankfully, though, when he’d stabbed me, he’d
missed all my vital organs; the blade had slid in, almost nicking
my ribs, but had passed through only my flesh before piercing
through the other side. I had twenty-five stitches on the front of
my side, and thirteen on the back. Because of all the injuries and
blood I’d lost, they’d kept me in an induced coma but tried to
bring me out of it after a week. Apparently I hadn’t wanted to.

When Dr. Hart got done telling me everything,
she checked the dressings on my head and side, as well as my vitals
and everything. She finished and she and the nurse both patted my
hand and left the room. I closed my eyes for a second, feeling them
well with tears. I blinked them back when Luke came back in the
room, my mom and dad right behind him.

I smiled tremulously at them, the tears that
threatened spilling over and running down my cheeks unchecked. They
approached the bed, my dad leaning in to kiss my forehead gently,
my mom sitting carefully on the bed beside me, laying her cheek
lightly against mine. We all sat there in silence for a moment,
before they pulled back and asked how I was feeling. We visited for
a bit, mom filling me in on everything that’s happened since, dad
sitting quietly by my side, until I looked around, realizing that
Luke wasn’t in the room. I raised my eyebrows in question,
gesturing with my hand for someone to tell me where he went.

My mom smiled at me. “He’s a good boy, Emma.
Stayed by your side this whole time. I think he even tore the town
apart looking for you. I’m glad you found him.”

I smiled, and it turned into a grin when my
dad grunted his agreement. My grin didn’t last long because of the
pain, but I managed to whisper, “Thanks, Mom.”

My parents only stayed a few minutes more
before they took their leave, kissing me on my forehead and
promising to send Luke in. He was by my side in an instant, holding
my hand as I drifted off into an exhausted, but healing, sleep.

They kept me in the hospital for observation
for another week. By the time they let me go, my room was stuffed
to the gills with cards, flowers, balloons, and other gifts from
all my visitors. Allie, Brandon, Jackson, and all my family visited
every day. Hayden and Jarrod had both cried the first time they saw
me and Luke had helped them sit carefully on the bed beside me so I
could hold them. Allie would come sit with me every evening and
we’d play cards or talk, or even just sit in silence, enjoying each
other’s company. Luke never left my side unless someone else was in
the room with me. I don’t think he actually wanted to leave me even
then, but I made him go home and take a shower and get some
sleep.

Calland smuggled in chicken fettucini alfredo
and black tie mousse cake from Manny’s for me but got caught by my
nurse coming in the door. He begged and pleaded (which surprised
me) for her to let him give it to me and she “gave in“ to him.
Neither my nurse nor I had the heart to tell him that I was allowed
to eat whatever I wanted now. Hey, I was just impressed that he
actually remembered my favorite meal from my favorite restaurant,
and
he sprung for dessert!

I breathed a sigh of relief as Luke pulled up
at the house and came around to help me in. They’d taken all the
stitches out and my bruises were all fading. My ribs, my nose, my
head, and my side were the things that still hurt the most, but it
was manageable if I took my time with everything.

I grinned as the front door opened before I
could turn the knob and tears filled my eyes as I looked at my
whole family, all my friends, and even my boss filling the living
room, yelling welcome home and holding signs with different
messages for me.

Chapter 25

My welcome home party was great, but
exhausting. Everyone stayed for a while eating, drinking, and
generally just hanging out while taking turns talking to me and
hugging me constantly. I don’t think I’d ever felt so loved in my
life!

When everyone had cleared out except for
Allie and the guys, Allie came and sat next to me on the couch
while the guys cleaned everything up.

“Emma…” Allie began, haltingly. Her eyes
began to swim with tears and I shook my head at her, silently
pleading for no more crying. She blinked rapidly, trying to keep
them from falling.

I wasn’t being heartless; I just knew that if
she started crying I would, too. But I didn’t know if I’d stop.

Allie cleared her throat and began again.
“When Luke called me, asking if you’d called me, I just got this
overwhelming feeling that something wasn’t right. It really…I
just…God, Em, I didn’t know what to think. And then Brandon called
and said that Luke was going apeshit nuts because he’d gone down to
the office and found your car still sitting there with the doors
unlocked and the keys kicked under it…I couldn’t even hardly
understand him.”

I closed my eyes for a second. It was hard to
hear, hard to think about, but at the same time, I wanted to know
what had happened while I was gone.

“I flew over here. Your parents and sisters
and Calland were here, and Noah, of course, and your poor mom was
trying to calm Luke down. Even Jackson was going crazy! I think
what had gotten Luke the most was the fact that they found blood
splattered on the car and on the ground. I guess it was from when
he hit you?” She blinked quickly again, but it didn’t help. The
tears were flowing down her cheeks and my eyes were starting to
water, too.

“I guess…I just…I wanted you to know that he
didn’t give up on you. WE didn’t give up on you. But most
especially, the fact that if you didn’t know it already, Luke is
head over heels in love with you and he wasn’t letting you go
without a fight.”

I smiled a watery smile at her while she
reached out and grabbed my hand, holding it tightly. “He almost got
arrested…did you know that?”

My eyes widened and I gaped at her in shock.
“What? No! I didn’t know that…what happened?”

Allie grinned, wiping her eyes with her
fingertips. “He was going crazy trying to get to you while they
were unloading you from the ambulance and getting you in a
treatment room. He was yelling your name like mad, yelling at them
to let him go with you, jumping up and over people…it was insane.
They called security on him and the only thing that saved him was
Noah jumping in and flashing his badge, promising that he would get
him under control. He did…barely…but he finally calmed down when
they let him sit beside you. He didn’t ever leave your side.
Brandon and Jackson came in to see you whenever the nurses would
allow, and then camped out in the waiting room along with all of
us. It was a loooong two weeks!”

I shook my head in fond disbelief, glancing
over my shoulder to where Luke was putting food away in the
kitchen. He looked up and caught my eye, winking and grinning back
at me.

Allie finally left around midnight, saying
she needed to get a couple things done at home before work in the
morning. I shrieked as Luke lifted me off the couch into his arms
and carried me upstairs to bed. Doug followed but was sorely
disappointed when Luke told him he wasn’t allowed in tonight. Poor
thing hadn’t left my side since I came back home. He huffed out a
big doggy sigh and padded back downstairs, more than likely to
crawl into bed with Brandon or to sit on Jackson on the couch.

I crawled into bed after stripping my clothes
off, not bothering to put any pajamas on. Luke made quick work of
his own clothes and slid into bed beside me, gathering me into his
arms gently. We hadn’t been alone, really alone, in three weeks.
Honestly, I just wanted to wrap myself up in him and let him help
me forget.

I tilted my head up, my lips finding his in
the darkness. He kissed me softly, sweetly, his lips brushing back
and forth across mine. I tried to deepen the kiss but he wouldn’t
let me. I pressed myself against his warmth, loving the feel of his
hardness against my softness. He let the kiss deepen a little at a
time, holding back for my sake, not wanting to spook me.

I finally had enough of his gentleness; I
wanted him to make me feel alive and loved! I wanted it all, just
like it was before. I pushed against his chest and pressed him back
to the bed, rising up over him and straddling his hips with my
thighs. I slowly slid my slickness against the hard heat of him,
smiling in the darkness at his primal groan that rolled through the
room.

He brought his hands up to grip my hips, his
fingers tightening before releasing almost immediately. I growled
in my throat and grabbed his hands, pulling them back to my hips
and pressing his fingers into my flesh. He made a sound of protest
and tried to pull away.

“Luke!” I half-yelled. “Stop treating me like
I’m going to break! I’m sore but I need this…I need YOU! Goddamn,
it! Fuck me already!”

I heard his breath release on a gasp. “Emma…I
don’t want to hurt you, baby. Your side…you just had the stitches
out and you still have the cracked ribs. We can be gentle tonight,
sugar…don’t rush it.” He was murmuring softly to me, trying to
placate me.

“Luke, that’s not what I want. I told you
what I want.” My tone brooked no argument, but I could still tell
that he wanted to argue. So I did what I had to. I positioned
myself, wincing a little when my ribs twinged, and even as Luke
started to protest, I slid down onto him, seating myself fully over
his hardness. I started to move, slamming myself down on him,
trying to adjust to a rhythm that would allow me to move without
hurting.

Luke, sensing that I was hurting a bit, began
thrusting up into me, holding me still with his hands on my hips. I
allowed him to set the pace, content to feel his strong thrusts
between my thighs until they were trembling and I was hanging on
the edge, ready to explode. My head thrown back, I went over,
cresting and riding the waves as my body clenched rhythmically
around his hot, thrusting length, bringing him over the edge with
me, coming hard and slamming himself home one last time as he
filled me.

As soon as he quit shuddering beneath me, he
sat up, gently taking me in his arms and laying me beside him. I
heard him swear softly before leaning up over me.

“Emma…you were hurting and I didn’t want that
to happen!”

“Luke, its fine. I just…I wanted it normal.
Okay?” I closed my eyes against the tears that were welling.

Leaning down and resting his forehead against
mine, Luke whispered, “I’m so sorry, baby. I love you so
much…I…God, I’m so glad you’re home.”

I just wrapped my arms around him, holding
tight as we drifted off to sleep.

I spent the next couple of weeks lounging
around the house and around Skin Deep as much as Luke would allow.
I wasn’t allowed to go back to work yet, and as sad as that made
me, I didn’t think I was ready to go back just yet. Floyd had
called in a “Floater” which is basically a temporary secretary,
someone who fills in whenever and wherever needed, either in
attorneys offices or in the court offices. She’d called me a couple
times to get clarification on a couple things, and sure, she was
nice enough, but was lacking that people person vibe.

Allie finally came to my rescue on the third
week that I’d been home with nothing to do. It was Friday night and
Luke had a late appointment planned. Brandon had a couple piercings
that he was going to do and was going to stick around to ride home
with Luke. Jackson had had to go back to L.A. for a couple meetings
and wouldn’t be back until late Sunday night. I was almost pulling
my hair out with boredom, and even poor Doug had taken to hiding
from me because I wouldn’t leave him alone. Maybe I went too far
playing dress up with him but, geez! There’s only so much cleaning
you can do around a house, only so much thumb twiddling, only so
many baths…

So yeah, Allie saved me. I didn’t even care
that she was dragging me to a Down & Dirty party to be her
assistant, which is something I usually tried to get out of. We
pulled up to the house where the party was to be held and I
recognized the neighborhood as my sister’s. Speaking of, Jenna
walked down the sidewalk, grinning and holding her arms out to hug
me as I got out of the car.

“Hey!” I exclaimed. “What are you doing
here?”

“Hey, Em, hey, Allie! My neighbor decided to
have a fun party and invited me. I wasn’t going to come but then I
found out that Allie was going to be the party rep so I couldn’t
turn it down. I called Allie last week to make sure she would be
the one showing up and she told me she was going to try to get you
here, too. I’m glad she did!”