Skin Deep Page 26

  What I didn’t know, though, was how I was going to survive what was happening to my body so far below me. The monster was on top of me, beating me with his fists and ripping my clothes away. He wanted to rape me, but I’d effectively made sure that wouldn’t happen when I maimed him in the basement. His fury exploded and I watched in horrified numbness as he grabbed the knife I’d dropped on the floor and impaled my side, the blade sliding through my flesh and lodging in the floor beneath me, while his other hand circled my throat and pressed down.

  I watched as my blood pooled beneath me and began to spread, making macabre designs on the tile. I watched as I floated…away…and the darkness swallowed me down.

  Chapter 24

  A steady beeping was the first thing to break into my consciousness. I heard it faintly, a constant sound in my ear before the darkness claimed me again. Then, low voices…voices that sounded vaguely familiar…pulled me up from the depths, and I struggled to get to the surface, to see who they were, but pain washed over me and I let the darkness pull me back down. It was safe there. Nothing hurt there.

  “Emma? Sugar, its time to get up. You’ve been out long enough. Come back to me now. Emma!”

  The voice was deep, rich…sensual. And so damn familiar it made my heart ache. I forced myself through the fuzziness, blinking my eyes slowly. The room was mostly dark, a dim light casting a glow across the face of the man sitting beside my bed, his head resting on the mattress beside me. God, he was so beautiful, even looking like he hadn’t shaved for a month, let alone slept.

  I tried to speak, but couldn’t force any words past my lips. A small gasp did come out and that was enough. Luke’s head jerked up, his eyes going wide.

  “Oh, God…you’re awake! Emma! Baby, I love you, hang on…I gotta get someone-” he jumped up and ran for the door, throwing it open and yelling, “She’s awake!” before running back to me, kneeling at the side of my bed.

  I looked around for a minute, taking in the hospital room around me. I was hooked up to all kinds of monitors and foreign looking machines. An IV was slowly dripping fluid into my arm, and I figured that was the only reason I wasn’t screaming in pain. Luke shifted, bringing my gaze back to him.

  He was watching my face, his eyes shining with so much love and excitement and…pain. He sat back as a nurse dressed in cheery looking scrubs bustled in, a woman in a white lab coat hot on her heels. They stopped on either side of my bed, checking machines, smiling, and talking a mile a minute.

  “Emma? I’m Dr. Hart and this is your nurse, Sarah. You’ve been in a coma for two weeks and we’ve been trying to get you back. Don’t try to talk, because you’re throat has had some trauma and is still pretty bruised. Are you in any pain?”

  I shook my head slightly, wincing at the pinch of pain I felt in my neck. I opened my mouth, intending to ask exactly what injuries that psycho monster had inflicted, but sighed in frustration when the doctor shook her head at me.

  “Okay, I’m sure you have some questions, and then we’ll leave you to your reunion with lover boy over here. He’s not left your side the entire time, and the waiting room is full of people who’ve been camped out for days waiting on you to wake up. Since I don’t want you talking just yet, I’ll ask the questions, and you can blink once for no and twice for yes. Got it?”

  I blinked twice. The nurse moved away from the bed to check on something and Luke slid his chair back to my side again, gingerly taking my hand in his.

  “Do you remember what happened, Emma?” Dr. Hart asked.

  I blinked twice, and then once. I knew what happened, but there was some parts that was fuzzy. Like, what happened when everything went black? I assume the cops came because I woke up in the hospital, very thankful to be alive, now that I think about it. But when did they get there? Had he…had he done anything…? I shut my eyes tight against the thought.

  Dr. Hart cleared her throat and I opened my eyes to look at her again. “Do you remember how you were taken?” Two blinks.

  “How about how you got to the kitchen where they found you, remember that?” Two blinks again.

  “Emma, do you remember him stabbing you?” Two blinks.

  “How about calling 911?” Two blinks again.

  I really wished she’d get to the parts that I didn’t remember. I hated not knowing what had happened, but at the same time, I was relieved…and almost wished I didn’t remember the whole ordeal.

  “Emma…do you remember him choking you?” Two blinks.

  “What about after that? Did he do anything that you remember after that?” One blink.

  “Okay. It might be hard to hear, but do you want me to tell you what happened?”

  I hesitated for a second, and then blinked twice. Luke’s chair scraped the floor as he stood quickly, shoving the chair back from his legs. He leaned down and lightly touched his lips to my forehead, murmuring that he’d be back in a minute. A frown furrowed my brows, but I nodded slightly and he strode out into the hall.

  Dr. Hart perched on the edge of the chair that Luke had just vacated and took a deep breath. She flipped open my chart and proceeded to tell me what had happened after I blacked out.

  From what they could tell, I had passed out from oxygen deprivation and loss of blood. Once my 911 call had come through to dispatch, they had traced the number to the address and the police, fire, and squad were sent out. Apparently the dispatcher was able to hear everything that was going on because Creepy was very talkative, even when I was out. She was able to radio the first officers on scene and tell them everything that was happening.

  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 ha
ppened 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 u
p 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…