Scarred (Damaged Souls) (7 page)

“Wow
, Alexis! That sounds fantastic!” Sloan exclaimed, looking at the spread. “This’ll be my first home cooked meal in almost two years.” He admitted softly, feeling a little choked up.

“What happened to you?”
Lexi blurted out before she could stop herself.

“It’s not easy to talk about, but if I tell you
, will you tell me something about yourself? How you came to be here?” Sloan asked, trying to bargain with her.

“I…I…I can’t, Sloan. I’m sorry.”
Lexi said sadly, grabbing some silverware out of a drawer. “So you don’t have to tell me anything. It wouldn’t be fair for me to expect you to tell me about yourself and not do the same in return.”

“You know what, it’s alright
. If I’m going to be staying under your roof…a man you barely know, I owe it to you to tell you my story. And maybe, just maybe if you know me better you’ll eventually feel that you can trust me enough to know who you are as well.” Sloan offered generously.

Lexi
just nodded her head in agreement as they took their seats across from each other. Sloan used the big spoon and fork to lift the pasta out of the giant glass bowl, serving her first and them himself. They ate a few bites in silence while he got his courage and thoughts together. Taking a deep breath, he started.

“
I come from a wealthy family, from old money. My family earned their money as real estate tycoons in South Carolina. And of course growing up I was groomed to take over. But my interests laid more in home construction. I wanted to build them, to use my hands, not sell them and sit in an office.

“
Then in high school a couple of the poor families in town lost their homes in a massive hurricane, but unlike many others, they couldn’t afford to rebuild or buy new. So Habitat for Humanity offered to rebuild their homes and I volunteered. And once I helped build those houses, I was a goner.

“
Instead of going to an Ivy League school like my parents wanted me to, I went to trade school to learn construction after I graduated high school. I was good at it and I got jobs working for contractors.” Sloan looked at Lexi with a guilty look on his face. “Yeah, I know a little more about construction than I let on.”

“It’s okay.
Don’t worry about it, just go on.” Lexi said, letting his little fib slide, absorbed in his story and wanting to know more.

“
So, after I finished trade school, I worked for three years building my resume, to the total and complete displeasure of my parents. But I made a name for myself. People respected my work ethic and skill and I was hired on as the general contractor for a bunch of jobs. And then 9/11 happened, and it changed everything. I was twenty-three and pissed off and wanted to defend my country. So I joined the Marines, ready to leave behind my nagging parents, putting a whole ocean between us.” Sloan sighed and ran his hands through his thick hair.

“God, it was hell on earth
, Alexis. Young men who started out as strangers, then bunk mates, then friends and finally brothers. I watched them drop like flies. But somehow me and my buddy Vick kept going and climbing the ranks over the years, me Lieutenant and he a Sergeant.

“We made it through nine years. And then on a day that we all just wanted to hang out in town, doing some shopping for family and friends back home, we were ambushed. Vick and a nineteen year old kid were killed. I made it out alive, but with these scars to remind me every day that I unfairly made it out and they didn’t.

“I was discharged from the Marines, my nearly deadened nerves on my left side not allowing me to continue. So I came back to South Carolina, back to my parents who still didn’t hide their disappointment in me. Even though I came home with a medal for courage under fire, a bonafide “war hero”, they weren’t impressed. Shortly after I was home, my parents had a dinner party with friends and business associates. One of them started talking smack about the military and the war and I lost it on him and knocked him out cold. That night my parents kicked me out of the house.

“
So I came down to Savannah because one of the contractors I had worked for years before was working on a subdivision and he hired me on to help me out. Only a few days on the job and the sounds of a nail gun caused me to have a flashback and I attacked the guy, nearly choking him to death. As much as my old buddy wanted to help me out, he knew he couldn’t risk it, so he let me go. I tried to find other jobs, but everyone in town had already heard about the war vet with PTSD. Nothing like bad news in a southern town…spreads like wildfire. So no job, no money…here I am two years later.” Sloan took another deep cleansing breath, finished with his story.

“But what about your vet benefits? Aren’t you getting paid those?”
Lexi asked perplexed.

“When I got home, I felt so guilty that I made it back alive and Vick didn’t, because he had a family, a wife and kid. I started sending them the money from my check.
It wasn’t much, but I figured that it would help. And once my parents kicked me out and I lost my job, I felt like a dick for even thinking about not sending them the money. I’d rather sleep in the grass under the stars, than get a place of my own knowing they needed all the help they could get without Vick to support them. And like I said before, it wasn’t a whole lot of money in the first place and I never went hungry for too long. I’m a southern raised boy after all and can hunt better than a man with a gun. Plus, these last two years were a piece of cake compared to the nine years of hell over there.” Sloan finished, finally picking up his fork again to finish his plate.

“You truly are an amazing person
, Sloan.” Lexi said in wonder at all he had been through.

“Neh. I was a hot-headed cocky arrogant son-of-a-bitch. You kinda learn to be humble when you’ve got nothing but the clothes on your back.” Sloan shrugged off the compliment. “So…is there anything you can tell me about yourself
that won’t upset you?” Sloan asked wanting to turn the topic of discussion far from him. “Age? State you grew up in? Last name? Unusual birthmarks?” Sloan grinned trying to make light of it in the hopes that she would tell him a little about herself.

“Thirty-one. Molin
e, Illinois until I was eleven and then Davenport, Iowa after that. Bolden.  A lopsided heart on the back of my thigh.” Lexi answered the questions exactly the way he asked them, rapid fire.

“Middle name?” Sloan asked, trying to keep her talking.

“Marie.”

“Mmm…Alexis Marie Bolden.
” He rolled her name off of his tongue. “I like it. Family?” He asked again.

“Nope. What’s your middle and last name?
And how old are you?” Lexi dodged.

“Nathaniel
Stryker. And I’m thirty-five. What happened to your family?” Sloan pressed on.

“Too personal. Sloan Nathaniel
Stryker” She mimicked him, testing his name on her tongue. “Sloan Stryker, you sound like a character in a movie.”

Hmm…she’s good at dodging questions and
redirecting the conversation back to me. Well she’s met her match, cause I’m as persistent as a rabid dog.

“What do you do? Why did you pick Savannah?” Sloan continued, not willing to give up.

“Nothing yet. I used to work in a call center. My mom always talked about Savannah. Talked about moving here.” Lexi sighed. “My Aunt Betty, who raised me after my parents died, just passed away not too long ago and she left me with some money. So with the money, I decided to move here in honor of my mother. And thankfully my aunt gave me the gift of being able to weigh my options on what I want to do with my life for a little while.” Lexi finished, finally giving him some of the details he wanted, without giving too much away.

“I’m sorr
y to hear about your family. But this is a great opportunity for you, to figure out what you want. Not many get that, enjoy it.” Sloan said, sliding his hand across the table and placing it over hers. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re here.” Sloan said shyly.

Lexi
looked up at Sloan like a deer in headlights, the heat from his rough and calloused hand radiated up her arm. She pulled her hand away and placed both in her lap, looking down unable to meet his gaze any longer.

Whenever you’re ready…I’ll be here.

~~~

Shortly after dinner
Lexi had excused herself and went up to her room, getting ready for bed. Sloan couldn’t sleep and with nothing to do but stare at the ceiling, curiosity got the best of him. He went downstairs to grab the pink binder that Lexi had been carrying with her for her meetings with the contractors and he brought it up to his room to look at her design ideas.

Flipping through the pages, Sloan thought she had impeccable taste and decided in that moment to offer
to do the renovations on her home in return for her letting him stay there.

Closing the binder, Sloan
pulled off his t-shirt and laid back on the mattress that he had placed on the floor since he couldn’t fit on the small bedframe. He closed his eyes finally feeling tired enough to fall asleep.

An ear piercing scream rent the air
through the house, scaring Sloan half to death. Adrenaline coursed through his blood as he jumped up from the mattress and ran full speed to Lexi’s bedroom door. Tank was already at the door whining and scratching at it just as urgent to get to Lexi as Sloan was.

Sloan burst through the door, prepared to take down an intruder. But all he found was
Lexi in bed, tangled in her sheets, thrashing around in only a tank top and panties. Ignoring the beautiful full body that called to him on the deepest level, Sloan ran to the bed and gripped her shoulders, trying to shake her awake gently.

“Alexis, wake up! It’s just a dream.
Lexi!” Sloan exclaimed in a loud whisper.

“Eric?!”
Lexi screamed finally coming out of her nightmare and starting to struggle and fight against Sloan.

“It’s me, Sloan. It’s okay. It was only a dream.” Sloan crooned to her.

Lexi finally realized that the dream wasn’t real and stopped fighting Sloan, though she still shrunk away from his touch and quickly covered her scarred thighs with her sheet, before he could see them. The moonlight streamed in through the windows and glistened off the tears that ran down her face. Sloan’s heart broke seeing her pain.

“What did he do to you?” Sloan whispered into the darkness.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. No one did anything to me.” Lexi lied.

“Don’t do that. I’
m not a fool, Alexis. I could see how upset you were with whoever you were on the phone with earlier today and you just screamed the name Eric. Not to mention the fact that you can’t stand to be touched. So don’t tell me it’s nothing. It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me the details now, but like I said before, I’m here, whenever you finally decide you can trust me.” Sloan said seriously.

Sloan started to rise from the bed, but stopped when she said his name softly and
briefly touched his bare arm.

“Sloan.” She said again, and then hesitated for a moment. “I…I don’t want to be alone
. But I…you’re right, I don’t like to be touched. So I…so I…” Lexi stopped not knowing how to articulate what she wanted.

“You want me to stay with you, but you’re not comfortable with me sleeping next to you?” Sloan asked, instinctively understanding what she wanted.

“Yes.” Lexi whispered shyly.

Sloan got up not saying a word and left the room.
Lexi didn’t know if she had insulted him in some way, but before she could even finish the thought he walked back in with the small mattress and a sheet. He laid the mattress down on the left side of the bed and sat down pulling the sheet over his lap.

“How’s this?” Sloan asked looking up at
Lexi’s astounded face.

“It’s okay.” She said softly.

“Good. I’ll be here all night if you need me.” Sloan said, reassuring her.

Lexi
laid down on her right side facing Sloan.

“Thank you.” She whispered softly.

Sloan laid down on his left side, reaching up with his right hand he found hers and gently clasped her soft hand with his rough one.

“You’re welcome. Whatever you need, I’m here.” He whispered back.

They both drifted off almost immediately.

Ch
apter 6

“Fix You”

Lexi slowly opened her eyes to the soft light of the sunrise. She looked down at her hand still clasped tightly in Sloan’s. Sitting up slowly on her elbow, Lexi looked over the side of the bed down at the sleeping man and the big dog beside him.

His unfairly long dark eyelashes fanned the tops
of his cheeks. His thick dark hair spilled over his arm that he used as a pillow. His arms were thick and corded from the years of training in the Marines. His defined chest was nearly hairless and his sculpted abs had a sexy trail of hair that disappeared into the low slung sweats around his hips.

Cran
ing her neck a little, Lexi tried to take a peek at the tattoo on the left side of his chest, near where his dog tags rested. From what she could see it looked like it was the simple phrase ‘Semper Fi’ in a beautiful script with the eagle and the earth symbol for the Marines beneath it.

Looking at the side of his face that was unmarred with scars,
Lexi could see that Sloan was probably a heartbreaker before he left for the war. His gorgeous almost pretty face more than likely made hearts and panties drop all around South Carolina.

The way he had acted last night,
Lexi was sure that he was self-conscious of his scars. But what Sloan didn’t seem to realize was that the scars only enhanced his beauty, not took away from it. They gave his face another dimension. Instead of pretty it was rugged, dangerous and interesting.

Last night Sloan had been her dark angel. She had been reliving the last time Eric had beaten and raped her, trapped in a nightmare dredged up by the phone call she had received that day. Sloan staying by her side all night had given her comfort, making her feel safe enough to go back to sleep.

Gently sliding her hand out of his, Lexi got up quietly trying not to wake him. She grabbed her black pair of palazzo pants, a bra and panties, and a bright teal racer-back tank top. She jumped in the shower, threw on some quick lotion when she was done and crept into his temporary room. She picked up his old boots and checked the size and did the same with his worn pants. And then she quickly left the house for a quick shopping trip.

~~~

Sloan woke up to an empty room, except for Tank who was licking his face, ready to go outside to relieve himself. He felt well rested. The previous night was the best sleep he’d had since he left home to join the Marines.

Sloan stood up and stretched, wondering where
Lexi had run off to so early. Picking up his mattress and sheet, he walked into his temporary room and put them back on the bedframe and walked downstairs following Tank.

He walked to the back o
f the house and let Tank out the back porch. He turned to head back towards the kitchen to get a bag to pick up Tank’s mess, but stopped short when he noticed what looked like an easel with a sheet covering it in the corner. Curiosity getting the best of him, wanting more clues to the woman that had become his angel, Sloan lifted the sheet just to get a peek at what was under it. His breath caught when he saw the painting underneath.
Holy shit!

Sloan stared at himself through
Lexi’s eyes. He saw himself detached from the world around him, a steady dark mysterious yet sad figure in contrast to all the light and life behind him. The beautiful painting made him realize just how much he had separated himself from everything around him. He hoped that the time he was going to spend with Lexi eased him into reconnecting to the country he called home.

Sloan was astounded by
Lexi’s talent. Her natural earthy bohemian style now combined with the knowledge that she was an artist added a new piece to the puzzle that was the secretive woman. He was anxious to get to know more of her. He wanted her more than any other woman he’d ever encountered. But he knew his best bet was to play it safe and go in at the “friend” angle.
Though I doubt many friends would look at her like a pork chop and walk around sporting massive erections in her presence.

Sloan
shook his head at himself as he let go of the sheet, recovering the beautiful painting. He walked into the kitchen and found Lexi’s stash of plastic grocery bags. Sloan grabbed one and headed outside to pick up Tank’s poop, he preferred not to litter Lexi’s yard with a bunch of doggie landmines while they lived with her.

After Sloan cleaned up the backyard they walked back inside. Once inside he still didn’t hear any movement anywhere in the house, so he knew
Lexi was still gone. Wanting to surprise her, he decided to make breakfast for her as a sort of ‘thank you’ for being so generous to him and Tank.

Finding a ton of fresh vegetables in
the fridge and a carton of eggs, Sloan decided on making omelets. He washed his hands and started to cut up the veggies, whisked and seasoned the eggs and found some cheese to sprinkle in the concoction. Heating a pan and some olive oil, he poured the eggs into the pan. As he slid the first omelet on a plate he heard the front door open and close.

“Sloan?”
He heard Lexi call out.

“I’m in the kitchen.” He called back.

He heard her footsteps and bags rustling as she headed towards the kitchen. Lexi rounded the corner and they both stood silently for a moment taking in the other.

Lexi
again took in the low slung sweats, bare chest and feet and sexy sleep roughened long dark hair that fell in Sloan’s face as he made breakfast. She felt that if this was a cartoon, her eyes would’ve bugged about a foot out of their sockets at the scene in front of her. She stored the picture in her mind, itching to get it down on canvas.

Sloan also drank in
Lexi’s appearance, his eyes devouring her as he looked her up and down. The pants hung loosely around her legs only accentuating the tight fit around her hips and ass. The teal tank top fit her smaller waist and her large breasts strained against the material. The color made her skin glow bronze in the sunlight streaming through the windows. Sloan had a feeling that he was going to enjoy her laid back dressed down style a bit little more than when she was dressed up.

Both were so absorbed in the other that it took them a minute to realize that the other was staring. They both looked away blushing, Sloan cleared his throat.

“So I thought I’d make you breakfast, as a thank you for taking us in.” Sloan said gruffly.

“Oh.
Um, that was really sweet of you. Thank you, Sloan.” Lexi said shyly as she placed the bags she was carrying on the table.

“You’re welcome. It’s nothing, just something quick. So…you were up early today.” Sloan said looking at the bags on the table.

“Yeah, I…uh…got some things for you. You can’t go around in those sweats every day and smelling like flowery soap and deodorant.” Lexi said hesitantly as she started pulling out the clothes and other items she had purchased, hoping that he wouldn’t get offended by the gesture.

“Alexis-”
Sloan started in a scolding tone.

“Don’t start. I wanted to do this. You’re selflessly helping your friend’s family, so what’s so wrong with me giving to you? I bought some stuff for Tank too. And speaking of, I got him some dog food, but I left it in the car. It was too heavy for me to carry in. As well as a dog bed, but my hands were too full with
the bags to bring that in either.” Lexi informed him.

“Yes ma’am.” Sloan
said, deepening his southern drawl and grinned at her grudgingly, deciding to pick his battles. “Why don’t you sit and start eating your breakfast and I’ll go get the rest of the stuff out of your car.” Sloan said placing Lexi’s plate in front of her as she sat down.

Not wanting to start without him,
Lexi waited patiently. Sloan walked back into the house and walked into the kitchen carrying the fifty pound bag of dog food on his shoulder. Lexi watched his muscles bunch and strain as he lifted the bag off his shoulder and bent over to place it on the floor next to the cabinet.

In that moment she realized she was hungrier for him than food. She hadn’t had sex in the two years since
the last brutal encounter with Eric. And it wasn’t like sex had ever been enjoyable for her. It was a bunch of sweating and panting and discomfort, if not pain. But no matter what her logic said to her, her body wanted his anyway.

“You haven’t touched your omelet yet.” Sloan said, bringing
Lexi out of her reverie.

“I thought since you went through the trouble of making it, that I’d wait for you.”
Lexi explained.

“Thanks. But it wasn’t trouble at all. I kinda like cooking, and doing it for someone is always better.” Sloan smiled at her.

Sloan quickly took the new dog bowl off of the table and opened the bag of dog food and poured it into the bowl for Tank. He then brought his plate over to the table and they started to eat in companionable silence.

“So I wanted to propose an idea.” Sloan started, breaking the silence.

“What idea?” Lexi asked curiously.

“I want to be the contractor for the renovation of the house.” Sloan said quietly.

“Really?” Lexi asked in surprise.

“Yes. I figure it’ll be the perfect
solution for the both of us. You need a contractor and you’re opening your house to me. I can repay you by doing the work that you need anyway, so I won’t feel guilty or like a freeloader.” Sloan said logically.

“You would seriously do that for me?”
Lexi asked in disbelief. “I mean, isn’t that a lot of work? I just don’t know if letting you stay here really amounts to what I would pay a contractor for such a big job.” Lexi tried to reason.

“Trust me. Helping someone when they’ve hit rock bottom can never be repaid fully.” Sloan said honestly.

“But what about your family? Have you tried to contact them since you left? Wouldn’t they want to help you?” Lexi asked perplexed that his family wouldn’t want to know how their son was doing.

“No I haven’t, and I don’t plan to. They never gave a shit about me and what I really wanted. All they wanted was a little minion to take over the business no matter how I felt. They didn’t have a kid to love and raise. They wanted to breed a fine upstanding thoroughbred to do their bidding. I didn’t conform so they basically disowned me,
they can rot in that giant palace they call a house.” Sloan ranted with deep seated anger.

Lexi
was taken aback by the near hatred he had for his family. But coming from a different kind of broken home, she guessed that she could understand where he was coming from. Personally she hoped her father was rotting the bowels of hell. So she couldn’t judge him on his anger and estrangement with his parents, it was a different kind of abuse, but abuse none-the-less.

“Understood.”
Lexi said with a nod.

“Good.” Sloan took a deep breath. “So, what do ya say? Do we have a deal?” He asked with a raised brow, extending his hand across the table.

Lexi looked at his calloused hand for only a few seconds.

“Deal.” She said reaching out to clasp his hand in a warm handshake that raised the hairs on her arms from the electricity crackling between them.

This should be interesting
, they both thought at the same time.

~~~

Lexi stood at the sink washing the dishes and Sloan stood next to her with the job of drying them and putting them way. Sloan felt they worked well together and thought it was a good sign for the work they’d have to do together for the renovation.

As he stood next to her Sloan tried not to stare at her like a freak, but try as he might, his eyes kept finding their way to her soft dark hair, the flawless bronzed skin of her neck and chest and the deep cleavage of her breasts. He wanted to touch her so badly that he had to twist the dry towel in his hands in a death grip.
He realized he needed to distract himself and quick before he grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her the way he was dying to.

“Alexis, I hope you don’t get mad at me for snooping, but when I let Tank outside earlier I noticed your easel on the back porch. So curiosity got the best of me and I took a peek at your painting.” Sloan said as he watched her stop breathing and her hands stilled in the dishwater. “The painting is beautiful! I didn’t realize you were so talented.
” Sloan quickly finished before she blew up at him.

“Thank you.”
Lexi said softly, trying not to freak out, she figured with him living there he was going to eventually see her work, especially if she was in the process of painting something.

“You said that you were trying to figure out what you want to do with your life. I think you’ve already found it. You should be selling your work at a gallery somewhere.” Sloan suggested.

“You’re the second person to say that this week. My realtor saw the painting when it was partially done and said the same thing. But I don’t know. Like I told her, I’d feel naked showing my work and deepest feelings to strangers.” Lexi cringed.