A Graceful Mess (23 page)

“Yes…yes I can.”

“Then what are you waiting for? Touch it.” The sternness and raspy tone in his voice is doing something to my libido. Even though I feel a little bit frightened, I know he would never intentionally hurt me. So I do my best to mask my fear. Rubbing my fingers in circles on my clit I can feel Parker planting small kisses on my legs and butt. He stops as his fingers hover right over my back door.

Oh, no.

“You are so fucking sexy, Grace, your little body and those perky tits. Do you know what you do to me? And here you are with your ass in the air, an ass that is begging me to take it. Do you want that? Do you want me to fill you and then take you there?” My eyes widen as I stare at the wooden headboard in front of me. I know the
there
he is talking about, and I know for certain I never ever want anyone to take me there, but I don’t admit that. Instead I lie.

“Yes, Parker. I want you to.” Trying to hide the quiver in my voice, I clear my throat. He notices. One hand holds my stomach as the other grabs my hip and flips me over. Now I am lying on my back again, facing him.

“You would let me do that?” I nod my head up and down.

“You trust me enough to let me do
that
, but you don’t believe I love you?”

Taking his face in my hands like he did mine only moments ago, I whisper, “It’s not that I don’t believe you. I want to believe you, trust me I do, because I know how I feel about you. It’s just that you keep pushing me away. How could you love someone and push them away at every chance?”

“I’m pushing you away because I love you. There are things you don’t know about me, sweetheart. I just want to keep you safe.”

“Parker, I am safe.” I place the palm of my hand over his heart. “My heart is safe with you. I just want you to man up and take it. I love you too. I can’t believe you are too blind to see that. ”

Something in the air shifts as those three magic words leave my mouth. He grabs my face and kisses me hard and then slows down his pace. Being extra gentle he lays me back and slides into me. Parker Porter claims me – mind, body, and soul. It feels kind of surreal, but this is love, and this is lovemaking. This feeling is something I never experienced with Brody. At the time I thought I did. Sure, I thought I was in love, but this, this feeling, is nothing compared to what Brody and I had. Whatever Parker is trying to protect me from, he will have to try even harder now, because there is no going back from this.

Holding her body in my arms after making love, I know she is mine. I knew it was only a matter of time. I only had so much willpower to stay away and I didn’t know how much I hurt her by pushing her out of my life. If I had known how horrible she actually felt, I know without a doubt there would be no way I could have done it.

We leave everything in that moment. The hurt, confusion, and pain Brody caused us both. Sex isn’t the right word to describe what just happened. She marked me and I marked her; there is no going back from this. And to think she would have let me take her in no man’s land is a huge fucking turn on. Not the fact of actually doing it; it’s, well, it’s okay, but not my favorite. It’s more the fact that she would trust me that much. That speaks volumes.

My hand strokes her blonde hair as she cuddles next to my good shoulder. I don’t think she is sleeping, but neither one of us moves. I can’t believe that shit she said about Brody. He is truly a sick fuck, and here is Grace, my jaded girl, who survived his hand, not once but twice now.

“I think Josie needs to go outside. Do you hear her whining?” Grace giggles.

“Shit. Hold on just a sec.” Jumping up, I slide on my basketball shorts and grab my gun, then open the door and walk down the hallway. For some reason I have a strange feeling in my gut. Trying to shake it, I notice the sun is shining and for the first time in a few days I feel like all is right with the world. Other than Brody being missing, everything seems perfect. Josie does her business as I stand on the back porch.

“Good girl. You wanna treat? That a girl. Chew it up good this time. I don’t want you getting sick.” She wags her tail and I pat her head and then walk back towards my woman in my bed. I open the door and feel my stomach immediately bottom out, dropping straight to the floor. Standing behind Grace, with his hand clamped over her mouth, is Brody.

How did he get in here?

He must have been here the whole fucking time. I move my hand behind my back and feel the gun secured by my pants. He doesn’t have a weapon, at least not one that I can see.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You see our Gracie here is a little whore. You’re not the first guy she has fucked and then left, and you won’t be the last. Well, actually you will be, because I’m going to kill her. Just like I did our child. And you’re going to watch. And then I’m going to kill you.” His words sting me, but his threats don’t scare me. I have the advantage here. This is my house and that is my girl. Raising my gun from my pants, I casually click the safety off. I’m not planning on using it, but I will if I have to. He eyes me as his head tilts to the side. If he thinks I’m kidding, he has another thing coming.

“You know the difference between you and me, Brody?” He doesn’t answer. Grace’s eyes widen and she squeals under his hand that is still covering her mouth.

“The difference is, I am one step ahead of you. And
my
little Gracie is a very, very smart woman. You see, she saw you following her when she left her parents’ house and just like the stalker you are, you took the bait. Right now there are half a dozen police officers waiting outside. Go ahead; look out that window behind you. No? You don’t want to see your destiny waiting to haul you away back to jail? I didn’t think so. Guys like you don’t deserve girls like Grace, because she is all woman. Trust me, I would know. Well, I guess since you have been here the whole time, you not only heard her telling me how much she hated you, but you also saw me claiming her. She is mine now.”

My words are meant to hurt him. The pain he caused her is one hundred times worse than the throbbing in my shoulder. His face turns pale and his jaw clenches, but he doesn’t move. Using our sexual acts as a pawn to distract him and hopefully get him pissed off enough to let go of Grace and come after me, I keep going.

“Now where were we? Oh, yeah, Grace was blowing me and then…wait did you hear her? She is a naughty little thing, isn’t she?”

There’s a loud bang in the living room. Brody steps away from Grace and braces himself on the wall. Assuming the cops have busted in the house he flinches, waiting. Grace runs over to my side and positions her small, naked body behind mine. There isn’t much I can do with my fucking shoulder messed up to protect her, but my gun will. A few seconds later Carson walks through the bedroom door holding the pain medication I sent him to pick up from the pharmacy hours ago.

“Holy shit, bro. What’s going on?”

“Carson, are all the cops ready to come get this piece of shit?” He looks wary but notices my grin.

“Yeah. Everyone is ready and they’re itching, waiting for this sorry ass bastard.” Brody drops to his knees surrendering to our will. Before I know it Grace runs over to his side. In one quick motion her leg is in the air and connects with his face, causing him to fall to the ground. My eyes watch her every move making sure he doesn’t fight back as she climbs on top of him and starts punching him. I look over at Carson, we make eye contact, and he knows he needs to look away. Her naked body sits on top of Brody as her fist connects with his face over and over. I didn’t peg her to be a fighter, but she isn’t holding back.

“Gracie, it doesn’t have to be this way. Baby, I am so sorry. I’m sorry for the pain I’ve caused you. Fucking stop hitting me!” Brody’s voice chants over and over, like his sudden apology is going to make up for all the shit he’s already caused. He doesn’t fight back, which surprises me. Carson and I stand and watch her for a few seconds. She needs to get her anger out. Standing up she gives him one last blow in the stomach with her foot, and then she bends down and spits in his face. The act of spitting in someone’s face alone is the worst thing you can do, but this dude deserves far worse.

Brody starts to laugh. Carson and I brace ourselves. We don’t know what this man has up his sleeve. He looks at me and back at Grace as he starts to stand up and stagger towards her. Moments before he reaches her, I cock my gun and pull the trigger. A single bullet flies out of it and enters his abdomen. Watching him fall backwards, I ruminate the feeling of being shot only days prior, but I have zero remorse for him. Grace screams as she drops to her knees and Carson shouts in disbelief at the sight in front of him. My jaw clenches knowing I had no other choice. There is no way in hell I would ever let him put his hands on her again.

Brody holds his stomach as blood pools on the carpet around him. I feel an urge to end him. Not only am I pissed that he shot me, I am angry at what Grace shared with me earlier. How could anyone ever hurt her like that? I run towards him and kick him in the stomach. His body lurches forward from the impact as he screams in pain.

I feel two strong hands brace my arms. I know it’s Carson.

“Carson, go call the police.” My voice sounds calmer than it should be for having just shot someone. From the corner of my eye I see Carson move in front of me and bend down towards the window Brody is lying under.

“You sorry son of a bitch!” His fist rises seconds before it flies into Brody’s cheek. “That’s for shooting my fucking brother, you asshole!” He coughs up more blood, and I know this has gone on long enough.

“Carson, back up, go into the kitchen and call 911. Right now!”

He stands up and wipes his bloody fist off on his pants, then turns and walks away. Moving over to Brody I bend in front of him so we are eye to eye. The sound of Grace crying behind me breaks my heart, but knowing what this piece of shit did to her breaks my heart even more. I quickly grab my shirt off of the floor and throw it in her direction. She doesn’t need to be naked when the cops arrive.

“You were bluffing?” he mumbles as his face tenses from the pain and blood oozes from the corner of his mouth.

“Don’t ever underestimate me again.” I lean down closer to his ear. “I hope you rot in hell.”

“Thanks for being here, Carson, and thanks for playing along.”

“No problem. I don’t know what it is about Grace, bro, but you have it bad. She’s had a fucked up past from what I can tell. Just take it slow, all right?”

“Bro, there’s no taking it slow.” Standing on the gravel in my driveway I look up and see Grace sitting on the edge of the steps. There is a female police officer sitting beside her. I know she is just giving her formal statement, but the thought that this is the second shooting she has borne witness too in the last few days makes me want to strangle Brody for causing such a mess.

Carson catches me watching Grace.

“You love her, don’t you?”

“I love her like I’ve never loved anything or anyone in my life.”

Carson pats me on my back and then walks to his car, leaving me standing alone. We have had a house full of police, reporters, and family here for the past few hours. The sky is getting darker and the crickets are out. Their sounds in the field are somewhat relaxing compared to the noise of everyone’s questions. One reporter even called me a hero for bluffing Brody. I’m no hero, just a man in love with a jaded woman.