Rescue Me (12 page)

Chapter Fifteen

Adam

Holy shit, Erin’s story about Joel has me raging inside. And then she flips and tells me she loves me. She examines me so tenderly, and I know she is waiting for some kind of response from me. I have never been in love before, but I do know I love Erin.

“I love you, too,” I say softly as I swipe my nose against hers. “I would lay my life down to protect you. My life isn’t just mine anymore, it belongs to you and Sierra. God, woman, you do nothing but amaze me every single day. I know it had to be hard for you to see Joel tonight and look at what you did. You turned this terrible evening into something perfect. And just for the record, it is me who is not worthy of a woman like you.” I know I sound like a lovesick fool but I really don’t give a shit. My pulse quickens as I take in what sits before me and I can’t even begin to fathom what my life would be like without her.

As badly as I want to make love to Erin and erase everything that has happened tonight from her mind, I feel like she just needs me to hold her, and for her to know that she has me, and together we will fight the demons of her past and win.

When she walks out of the bathroom and I see her naked body crawl into bed next to me, I pull her as close. I can I feel a ripple of satisfaction seep into my chest as she lays her head down on it. This woman is all mine, and yes, I will do everything in my power to protect her from the biggest form of scum that has ever walked this earth.

************

Three days have come and gone without a word from Joel. Erin and Shelby have been glued to each other since that night. It gives me a sense of peace every morning when I leave for work knowing she is not alone and that when she does go out, she has her sister with her. Shelby has a mean streak in her like I have never seen in a woman before. She scares me with that mouth of hers. Her mouth alone could whip anyone’s ass. It’s amazing how two women can look so much alike, yet have such different personalities.

My plans to take the three of us away for the weekend will have to wait for another time as today we’re having everyone over for a cookout.

Jesus Christ, and this was my idea,
I think to myself as Erin steps outside onto the deck wearing a tank top that is stretched tight across her mind-bogglingly gorgeous breasts. Now all I want to do is get everyone the hell out of here so I can have my way with her. I wanted to give her a few days to recover from the other night but every time she walks by me and I get a whiff or her sweet scent, my cock jumps to attention as if he knows her pussy is in close proximity. Yeah, he knows and he wants in bad.

As I flip the burgers and chuckle to myself I feel a friendly slap on my back as Bubba approaches. “Dude, I heard from Shayne about that asswipe ex of Erin’s. You know I got your back and hers if you need me. That prick doesn’t stand a chance against all of us,” Bubba reassures me.

“Appreciate that, man. I know he is still around and Erin is on pins and needles just waiting for him to strike. We’ll be ready when he does.”

I close the lid on the grill and turn around, scanning the backyard until my eyes find her.

“We’re all lucky sons of bitches, aren’t we, man?” Bubba grins as his eyes catch his wife Jen’s.

“That we are, bro. Now if we could just get Mr. Slutbag Antonio to grow the fuck up and find himself a good woman we would be all set.”

“I said something to him the other day about it, but that motherfucker don’t listen to anyone. I mean, look at the way he is checking out Erin’s sister. All he thinks about is the next piece of ass he is going to get. Stupid asshole.”

“I would love to see him try and pick up Shelby. Man, I think she might tear him a new one if he tried to use his slick words on her,” I say.

“She seems like a feisty one from what I can tell, but her coming all this way to be here for her sister makes her all right in my book,” Bubba counters.

“Those two are close and I am so glad my girl has her. Oh, shit.” I take my beer and tip it in Antonio’s direction as he walks over to Shelby. Bubba and I both tilt our heads back and roar with laughter.

After the party I shove the last of our guests out of the door so I can have my house back to normal. And I mean literally shove. You would think Antonio would have gotten the hint by now with Shelby. Erin shared with me the fact that her sister is a virgin. I would be lying to myself if I said I wasn’t shocked by this rarity in a stunningly beautiful twenty five year old woman. Erin told me Shelby is just so absorbed in her restaurant that she never has time to date. Or chooses not to.

“Can you believe that dickhead and the way he was talking to me?” I hear Shelby saying to Erin as I enter the kitchen. “And you,” she points her finger in my direction. “Don’t bring that perverted creep around here anymore, or at least warn me the next time.”

I back up holding my hands up in protest. “He’s harmless, girl. Settle your spunky ass down.”

“Well for God’s sake, what kind of man propositions a stranger? No, don’t answer that. I will answer it for you. A douchebag who has his head so far up his own ass he can’t see straight, that’s who.” She turns her angry, feisty self back towards Erin who is standing there with an amused look on her face.

“What?” Shelby exclaims.

Erin narrows her eyes and walks over to her sister.

“You like him!”

“I...I do not!”

“Yes, you do!”

“Ugh! He’s a self-centered pig! You heard the things he was saying.”

“Oh, you mean like the fact that he wanted to take you to dinner and show you the sunset over the lake from his house?” Erin shouts. “Where did you get a self-centered pig out of that?”

The two of them stand there and hold each other’s gazes for several seconds until Shelby finally caves.

“I can smell a pig a mile away. I simply don’t like him. In the future, just keep him away from me.” With that, she turns and Erin and I watch her stomp out of the kitchen and walk down the stairs. As soon as we hear the bedroom door close, I divert my attention back to my love, who is standing there smiling. She turns her gaze towards mine.

“Wow,” she says.

“Hmm?” I take the few strides toward her that are separating us.

“My little sister has never acted that way over a guy before.”

“Really?” I ask distractedly as I suck gently on the delicate skin just above her collarbone.

“Uh huh,” she breathes.

“Enough talk about your sister, sweet cheeks,” I demand as I grab a handful of her luscious ass.

“Fine by me.”

She tilts her head back and places her hands around my neck giving me all the encouragement I need to pick her up and carry her into my bedroom. I shut the door with my foot and sit down on the bed with Erin still in my arms.

“Strip for me,” I order as she sits sideways on my lap.

“You want me to strip for you?” she asks nervously.

“Yes. I want you to strip for me, and when you do, I want to see this ass bare and right in my face.” I bend my head down and pull one of her nipples that are poking through her thin t-shirt into my mouth. “Don’t be shy, lover. I saw you shaking that fine bottom of yours the other night when you were dancing with Sierra and I want my own private dance. Now get up and show me.” 

She looks nervous as hell as she starts her show, but when she slowly lifts the hem of her shirt over her head and throws it at me, her face has a look of confidence and pure fucking seduction written all over it. As she turns around and slowly struts her fine ass away from me, my cock is aching to get out. She is about to get the fucking of her life because I am about ready to bend her over and fuck her right where she stands.

Erin stops a few feet away from the bed and spins around. With a come-hither look and a crook of her finger she has me stalking toward her in two seconds flat.

“Don’t touch me,” she says in a sexy voice. She takes one step back and as I take a look at her pert tits through that fucking green lace bra, I visualize fucking her with just it on and nothing else. Her hips are swaying back and forth and her eyes are closed. She brings her hands up and cups her breasts, and the action is my undoing. I lift her up and throw her over my shoulder.

“What are you doing?” Erin squeals as I toss her down in the middle of the bed. “I thought you wanted me to strip?”

“I thought I did, too, but the moment I saw that sexy as fuck bra I couldn’t take it anymore. I have to be inside you now.”

“Oh. Well, then,” she whispers.

“But first...” I say as I strip out of my jeans and yank my shirt over my head.

“But first what?” She looks so beautiful right now laying there in the middle of my bed with her hair all wild and her eyes staring at my dick. I bend down and undo the button of her jeans and tug them and her panties down before tossing them over my shoulder. I gaze intently at her spread out bare before me and I lick my lips as I realize I am about to make another fantasy come true.

Bending down, I flip Erin over on to her stomach and climb on top of her. The feeling of my cock between her ass cheeks feels so good.

“But first I need to taste you, my beauty. Now lift that ass in the air and bury your face into the pillow. I am about to live out one of my fantasies,” I hiss into her ear. She lets out a loud gasp and does exactly as I ask. When I sit up and see the round globes of her tight ass, I want to fucking explode.

“Jesus Christ,” I murmur. “You have the sexiest ass I have ever seen.”

I run my hands over her, kneading and squeezing. I spread her cheeks and she moans lightly. I bury my face into her pussy. Fuck! She tastes so damn sweet and tart at the same time. My tongue is never going to get tired of tasting her.

“Oh, God, Adam! Don’t stop. Please,” Erin all but screams.

I lick and suck on her clit until I feel her start to shake, and when she shoves her ass into my face and comes on my tongue, I know I have to be inside her now.

“Baby, I am going to take you hard,” I announce as I take my mouth off of her.

“God, just do anything you want. I need you so bad.”

That is all I need to hear as I reach over and grab a condom out of the nightstand. Once I have it on, I grip the base of my dick and line it up to her entrance. I slam into her so hard that both of us take in a sharp breath. I close my eyes and start pumping in and out of her tight pussy. When I hear soft moans coming from my girl’s mouth it makes me want to fuck her even harder.

I open my eyes and see myself buried balls deep into her. I have to hold back from coming so fucking hard right now because in this moment, the need to satisfy her first is the only thing that matters to me.

“Touch that sweet pussy of yours,” I command as I keep fucking her from behind. She lets go of the grip she has on the pillow and brings her hand down to touch herself. After a few more hard thrusts into her body, I feel her start to clamp down on my dick. We scream each other’s names as we come together.

“God, I don’t want to pull out of you, sweetheart.” I flex myself into her one last time as her arms give out and she falls flat on the bed.

“I don’t want you to either. Damn I have never had mind blowing sex like that before.” She sounds exhausted.

“Me either, lover girl. I love the way you feel around me,” I tell her. She winces when I pull myself out. I climb off of the bed leaving her lying on her stomach and looking completely sated as I go into the bathroom and dispose of the condom. I hate using these damn things with her.

I shut off the bathroom light and come back into the bedroom. Erin has herself under the covers and my side of the bed is turned down and waiting for me. I climb in and lift the covers up to take a peek underneath.

“What are you doing?” she asks.

“Just making sure you’re naked under there. Now get your ass over here where you belong, woman.”

“You’re bossy,” she declares as she scoots over and settles into the crook of my arm.

“And you’re sexy as fuck.”

She lightly slaps me on my chest. I lean over to shut off the light, kissing the top of her head when I reach past her.

“Erin,” I whisper.

“Hmm?” she inquires as she starts to relax.

“We need to talk about something. I hate using condoms with you. I have never wanted to be without one before. You’re not on any type of birth control, are you?”

“No, I am not,” she chuckles. “But for once I think I am one step ahead of you. I talked to Shayne the other day and she gave me the name of her doctor. I have an appointment on Friday.”

“Thank you for doing that. You have no idea how bad I want to feel you completely. I love you. Let’s get some sleep.”

Yup, fucking pussy whipped
. I smile into the darkness. Damn it all to hell, it feels good.

“Sleep well, Erin.” I say. When there is absolutely no response from her, I close my eyes. But before I fall into what should be a peaceful sleep, I have an uneasy and peculiar feeling pass through me that something intense is about to happen.

Chapter Sixteen
Erin

“You know, Antonio’s not as bad as he seems,” I tell Shelby as we are working out after Adam has gone to take Sierra to school.

“Bull fucking shit. He is the biggest dickhead I have ever met!”

“He is not. You just have to get to know him. He is just as kind as Adam is.”

“What the hell ever, Erin. And why are we talking about him anyway? I would rather talk about all that noise that was coming out of Adam’s room last night. Jesus, sis! I was getting turned on just listening to you.”

I blush and turn my head away from her.

“I’m kidding, you twit. I didn’t hear anything, but by how red your face is I can tell you totally got some of Mr. Hottie last night, didn’t you? So how was it?”

I look over at her and she has a shit-eating grin on her face.

“I am not telling you anything! Also, Mr. Hottie is mine, so keep your eyeballs in your own head,
sis,
” I spew at her jokingly.

Doing my last rep with the weights, I stretch and look over at Shelby who is drenched in sweat.

“Thanks for coming here, Shelby. It means so much to me,” I tell her as I sit on the floor and stretch out.

I wouldn’t be anywhere else. I love you and I am here as long as you need me to be.”

“Forever, then?” I tease.

“Well no. Not forever. But at least until we know that dickwad is gone for good.”

“God, Shelby. I really am scared of what his intentions are. I know he is going to try and get to Sierra and I…I just can’t let that happen.” I feel tears start to form in my eyes and I try to hold them back, but all at once they just start to pour out of me. As I sit there crying with my sister I don’t feel as tough as I am trying to convince myself and others that I am. I feel like a defenseless woman whose life is about to spin out of control.

“Are you feeling better?” Shelby asks as we walk upstairs after my breakdown.

“I’m getting there. I don’t know if I feel better, per se, but I know I won’t give up and be a coward when it comes to him anymore. I just have to take it day by day and just keep thinking of Sierra. That is all the strength I need.”

“I am so proud of you, Erin. I really am. You’re a wonderful mother and a wonderful sister. I love you so much.” She leans in and we stand at the top of the stairs embracing each other for a few minutes.

“I love you, too. Now go take that shower while I make a few calls for Adam and then I will shower. We can head over to Shayne’s so you can see their house. It’s stunning.”

I watch my sister walk down the hall and listen as she turns on the shower, then head for the kitchen to get a bottle of water. What I encounter there, I never in my wildest dreams would have expected to find.

Joel.

He is leaning up against the kitchen counter with hate in his eyes.

“Joel. How did you get in here?” I say with a sturdy voice.

“I think that’s the least of your worries right now, Erin. Don’t you?”

Faster than lightning he grips my arm, tightly pulling me into him.

“Get your hands off of me, Joel. Now, or else.”

“Or else what, you stupid bitch? You gonna scream?” He brings his face within an inch of mine. “Because if you do, I will go into that bathroom and kill your sister. Do you fucking hear me?” he growls as he grips my arm tighter.

“Y...yes. I hear you.”

“Now, the last several years of my life have been nothing but hell because of you, and you need to pay for that.”

I try to keep my head down because if I look at him I know he will see the fear in my eyes, but he’s not having any of that.

“Look at me, bitch!”

Even though I am shaking everywhere, I find the strength to lift my head. When I do, he is looking at me like a crazy madman. His eyes are dilated and bloodshot.

“Joel, if you leave now I promise not to tell anyone you were even here. You don’t want to do this. I know you don’t.”

“You don’t know shit! Do you know where I have been for the last four years, Erin? Of course not. Because while you have been here playing house with another man and MY FUCKING DAUGHTER, I have been rotting away in prison because of you.”

I soak in what he is saying about going to prison. I am in a state of shock at this sudden news. “W...what?” I stammer.

“That’s right. Prison.”

“What did you do, Joel?” I cry.

“I did what I had to do to survive since I lost my family too because of you. And what I did is none of your fucking business.”

I have never seen him as mad as he is right now.

“You took my daughter away from me; you had a restraining order filed against me. And even though I wanted to come back and beat the living shit out of you more, I stayed away. And that was my biggest mistake.”

I feel my body start to shake uncontrollably as reality starts to sink in about what Joel is truly capable of.

“I should have come back and killed you. But what did I do? I signed those damn divorce papers and skipped town. You left me with nothing, bitch, and now I am going to take away the only thing that matters to you. But before I do that, I am going to take out on you the four years of my life I can never get back.”

The next thing I see is his fist slamming right into my face.

“Shelby.” I struggle to say as his fist connects with me again and I feel myself fall to the floor. Oh, God. Help me!

“Shut the fuck up. Or I swear to God, I will kill her.”

I will not just lay here and let him beat me. I can’t, I have to get to Sierra, so I start to kick and scratch at him, and oh God, he is so much stronger than I am. He has me pinned to the floor with one of his hands around my neck and with the other hand he starts punching me in the face. I feel blood start to pour from my nose and I swear I am trying to scream but nothing is coming out. He is on top of me and his grip around my neck seems to be getting tighter. I can’t breathe- he is squeezing the life out of me.

I try and bring my hands up to loosen his grip, but he won’t budge. I am going to die right here on this kitchen floor in the house of the man I love and I am going to die by the hands of the man I hate. The last thing I remember before everything goes black is the sound of my sister’s scream.

************

I can hear the familiar voices of my family and friends but I can’t see any of them. Why can’t I see them? Oh my God.
Joel
. He was here. He got to me. Oh no. Where is he? Sierra! Oh, baby, where are you? I need to see you. Somebody help me!

“She’s been out for hours, doctor. I just don’t understand, why won’t she wake up?” I hear my sister pleading and she’s crying. Oh, Shelby. Why are you crying, honey? Is she talking about me? Everything goes black again.

My head hurts so badly. I feel my eyes start to flutter open and when they finally do I look around and notice that it’s dark. The small glimmer of light shining from underneath the door is the only light I see. I try to take in my surroundings and then I notice a dark figure sleeping in a chair next to my bed.

All of a sudden, the memories come rushing back. Joel being in the house; his threats. Sierra! I hear beeps and then the dark figure from the corner is by my side.

“Erin. Honey, don’t move. Let me go get the nurse,” Adam says in a shaky voice.

“No. Not yet,” I whisper. “I n...need to know something first.”

“What honey?”

“Sierra,” I say hoarsely. My throat hurts so badly I can hardly talk.

“She’s fine. She’s with Shayne and Luke. Now let me go get the nurse, okay?” he pleads.

I reach out and grab a hold of his arm. “Don’t leave me yet. Please,”  I beg.

“Erin, you have to let me go get the nurse. And you need to stay calm and try not to talk. Please, baby. She is just right outside the door.” His eyes are pleading with me to let him go, so I do. But my gaze stays with him until I can’t see him anymore. I have so many questions. I need to know if they found Joel. I need to know if my daughter is all right.

When the nurse and Adam walk back in I am instantly blinded by the light when she turns it on. I close my eyes and gradually open them again. My entire body hurts. I can feel my heart beating rapidly in my ears and my throat feels like it has been scraped raw.

“Hello, Erin. My name is Julie and I am your nurse for the evening. I am not going to ask you how you’re feeling, honey, but I do need to check your vitals and Dr. Hutchins will be here in a few minutes to talk to you, okay?”

Her voice is so calm and soothing that I simply nod.

“Sir, I do need to ask you to leave the room for a little bit.”

She turns to Adam and now that I see him in the light, he looks troubled. His hair is a mess, as if he has been running his hands through it and he looks like he has been crying. His eyes are bloodshot. His clothes are all wrinkled. Even through all of that he is still the most handsome man I have ever seen.

“No way. I am staying right here and there isn’t a damn thing you or anyone else is going to do about it,” he says with determination as he walks over and stands next to my bed.

“Look, sir. You can’t be in here when we examine her. Now I know how you must feel, but...”

“No, you don’t know how I feel. I am not leaving her and I mean it.”

His statement is firm and unwavering.

“I want him here, please,” I whisper.

“Okay, Erin. He can stay, but I want you to go sit back in that chair and let me do my job.” She points over to the chair.

“Thank you,” Adam says.

“First of all, Erin, I need you to tell me if you’re in a lot of pain?” Julie asks empathetically.

“I have a terrible headache and the right side of my face hurts, but other than that just aches and pains,” I whisper.

“And your neck? How does that feel?” she asks as she starts to listen to my pulse.

“That hurts too, and so does my throat.”

“You’re a brave woman, Erin. Let me finish up here and I will get you something for your pain, okay?”

“Thank you.”

After the nurse does her thorough examination and all my vitals seem to be to her satisfaction, she excuses herself and Adam is quickly back by my side. I go to speak but he silences me with a finger to my lips.

“I know you have many questions, but you need to rest right now. We can talk about all of this tomorrow. You’re going to be fine, Erin.”

I need to get this out, it is killing me not knowing anything.

“Joel. Did they...?”

He silences me once again. “No. He ran off the minute he saw your sister. The police have been here and they have talked with Shelby. She didn’t hear anything when she was in the shower. But she did identify him and they are out looking for him.”

Adam rubs his hands down his face in frustration. “That’s all I know right now. I got here as soon as Shelby called me and I haven’t left.”

Tears start to stream down my face and I turn my face away from Adam. I can’t even conceive what I must look like right now. I hate for him to see me this way.

“Don’t look away from me, Erin. I need to look into your stunning blue eyes.”

His fingers graze across my face ever so lightly and when I turn and look at him, I don’t see pity, I see nothing but pure raw and emotional love looking back at me.

“I love you so much, Erin. Please stay with me. You don’t have to be strong anymore, baby. If you need to cry and let it all out or if you feel like you need space to think, I will give you anything you want. But please don’t shut me out. Together you and I can tough anything out because that is how strong I believe our love is.”

I feel as if my world is crashing down right now, but this man sitting next to me has a way of making me believe in myself and in our love. So I cry. Even though I feel like a part of me is dying inside, I cry and he lets me.

Not much later, the doctor knocks and walks into the room. He is an older man with a thick head of gray hair and he is wearing an old pair of wire-rimmed glasses. On any other given day I would probably laugh at those glasses because they remind me so much of the ones that my grandpa used to wear.

“Hi, Erin. I’m Dr. Hutchins,” he says gravely.

He grabs my chart from the end of the bed then pulls up a chair alongside me and takes a seat.

“Your vitals all look great. Julie says that you’re in some pain?” 

“I am,” I answer simply.

“First of all, let me tell you that you do not have any internal injuries or any broken bones. May I check out some of these external injuries you have here?” he asks as he stands up and puts the chart down on the chair. I nod.

“I know this is going to hurt a little Erin, but I need to do this,” he says politely as he softly feels around on the left side of my face where all the bruising seems to be. “Let me take a look at your neck too and then we can talk a little more, okay?”

As he feels all along my neck I hear Adam’s breathing pick up and when I look up at him he is staring at my neck. Oh, God. What do I look like?