In Search of Grace (33 page)

             
Watching her walk to the cabin, he realized that th
e
s
e two
week
s
away did her good.  After getting through a rough couple of
days,
she eventually calmed down.  Her many walks around the lake and woods seemed to clear her head.  Cocking his head to one
side,
he looked at her face.  She looked peaceful.

             
“How was your walk
,
d
iva
?
”

             
Alex
smiled
up at him.
“
It was wonderful
,
Charles.  You should have come.”

             
Charles looked horrified
.  “I went with you the other day remember?”
L
ower
ing
his voice to a whisper
,
he stared at her wide
eyed
,
“
there are thing
s out there.”  Laughing out loud
,
she walked up the stair
s
to give him a big hug.

             
“The
y’re
not interested in city people
,
Charles
.  We don’t taste good
to them
.”

             
He hugged her tightly.
“
It
is good to hear you laughing
again
,
d
iva.” 

             
“
It
feels good
!
  Wanna go home?
”

             
He looked stunned
,
then quickly untied his apron.

             
“You betcha I do
,
girl!  I’ll go pack.”

             
Alex looked around. 
Coming up here to the mountains was the best
decision
she had made in a long time
.  The cool forest air, early nights and simplicity
allowed her to face her demons head-on
;
it was the beginning of
the healing she needed. 
Her mind no longer felt like it was in a fog.  Her thoughts turned to
Seth
and she felt the familiar pang in
her heart
.
It had been
almost three weeks
without talking to
him
,
and she missed him
. 
Sh
e
knew that he
had tried to call her
several times.  Charles told her as much, but she was not ready to talk to him
.  The first couple of days
she spent in the cabin crying off and on.  Then she spent several days talking to Charles
,
reli
ving over and over her assault.
I
t was hard
,
but at the end, they both held each other and had a good cry.
             

----------------------

             
The sweat poured
off
Seth
as he bored holes into the ground for the
trees
.  The backyard was in the final stages
of completion
.
  He
had
wanted to
re-plant the roses that Betsy had started
before
Alex
got back
,
and now he looked with pride as they stood throughout his yard.
  He knew the transformation was dramatic and every muscle in his body felt it.  Seth had spent the
past several
week
s
working on the case and
rebuilding the backyard.
Dragging himself to bed only when he was completely exhausted.  He missed her
,
and he wanted her home.  He was grateful for Charles, without
his new friend
,
he would not have known
that she was ok.  They had
talked several
times
each
week
,
and Charles reassured him that she was indeed safe and seemed to be coming to grips with everything.
It had been several days since
speaking to him
,
and
Seth
figured that he would try to call him again tonight. 

             
Pulling into the driveway and s
tepping out
of the car
,
Alex closed her
eyes and inhaled deeply t
he
familiar
scents of the evening.
Turning her key into the lock and walking through the house to the back
door,
she felt the familiar pang
of joy
. 
It was good to be home.  Alex
could hear the sound
s
of him
working in his back yard.
  She walked
quickly
towards the
fence
that divided
the two properties, sending
a
silent
prayer of gratitude to Hank
again
for installing the gate
.
Quietly she opened the gate and just as
quietly,
she closed it behi
nd her.  She watched him lift up the tool and slam it back down into the earth.  A tree
,
waiting for planting
,
stood off to the side, its roots wrapped in burlap. He was shirtless
,
and his muscles rippled with the
exertion
.
  She felt a rush run through her
as she watched the sweat run down his back
.
 
Her eyes widened in amazement at what he had done. 
New grass had been laid while a stone path meandered
to a small
seating area
. 
A tiny
bridge
was now
i
n the center of the yard
leading to a small water feature. 
She smiled as her eyes took in the replanted roses, realizing h
e had
kept his promise to her.  H
er
hungry
eyes returned to him
.

             
Stopping
to
rest,
Seth
turned, surveying his work.  Catching her
eyes,
h
is look of surprise mixed with relief caused her heart to
leap in her chest
as she watched him make strong strides across t
he yard towards her
. 
Neither one said a
word
as
he
wrapp
ed one arm around her neck pressing
her head
back
against
his arm k
issing
her
hard.  
There was no softness or
gentleness
in his embrace
,
and she opened her mouth to lessen the assault on her
lips
. 
S
he realized
that doing this
just gave him time to assault
the inside of her mouth. 
Instead of turning away
,
she put one hand up behind his head and wrappe
d her fingers into his thick
hair pulling him even
deeper into
the kiss
. 
She would never be afraid of him again. 
Her touch seemed
to inflame him even more
,
and he groaned into her mouth
while h
is
free arm
encircled
her waist
pulling
her firmly against him.  Alex
could feel every inch of him t
hrough his clothes
. 
Roughly
yanking
the top of her dress down o
ver her
shoulders, h
e efficiently unclasped her bra then
removed his mouth from hers only to bring it
to her
exposed
nipple
s.
  Seth
started sucking on one and then the other. 
The t
ugging
causing
her to inhale sharply
at the pain and pleasure he was
eliciting
from her body
.  She wanted more.
Her hands
trailed
down his back
,
l
oving the feel of his muscles. 
S
he let one hand reach his
backside
w
hile the other moved to the front
as
she slowly unzipped him. Reaching in
and
gently
releas
ing
him from the fabric
, i
t was his turn to gasp as she stroked him
.
  Seth pulled away from her
just enough to
allow him
to
bring his hand under her skirt. Sliding her underpants down
,
she kicked them away with her foot then sucked in her breath when she felt him touch her very core with his
fingers
. 
She was on fire.  Seth
did not want her to have time to think
,
only feel.
  He
lifted up one of her legs in the crook of his
arm
,
while
at the same time bending
his knees
,
drove
up
deep
inside of her.
Gasping at the suddenness of him
inside of her
, she clung
to his shoulders for support then
pressed her lips against his neck, tasting the saltiness and loving the feel of him
.
 

             
Seth pulled out
then thrust deep within her again as he
pressed her back against the
fence
.
Steadying
himself, he moaned as he felt her tightening around him
.  H
e was
on the edge of losing
all control.
The fence creaked under the assault
as
he
drove
faster and harder
until he
cried out with
h
is
release.

             
They were both
still
breathing heavy
as he slowly
pulled
away.

             
“Welcome
back
,
rabbit
.
”
He murmured against her forehead
,
and Alex smiled.  

             
“
It’s
good to be
back,
” she whispered
as the
tears prick
ed
the back of her
eyes, which
did not go
unnoticed
by Seth
.

             
“Are you ok?” 

             
“I will be
.
”

             
He could tell by her tone that she
did not
want to talk about it
just yet.
 
They adjusted their clothing in silence.  Bending over to collect her underwear, Seth handed it to her with a
grin
on his face. 
“
Lose
something?”

             
He was not sure if this was the right time
,
but he had to say it.

             
“Rabbit, I was thinking.
What would you think if I taught you street fighting?”

             
Surprised at
his
question
,
she
did not
reply. 
Knowing he meant well, she
was not
quite sure if that was going to fix her problem
s
.