Chapter Seven – Mindy

Her lip stung slightly as it pressed against Rex’s, but she didn’t care. Mindy pressed her body as tightly as she could to his, the heat from his muscled body seeping through their clothes and into hers. Every inch of her fired to life. From Meyer’s first blow, she had gone numb. She thought he’d do so much worse than beat her. But he hadn’t. When she walked back to the apartment in her high-heels, she had felt like she was in a daze. Muffled.

Only now, with Rex’s mouth against hers, did everything finally feel real. The terror over Meyer’s actions swept through her even as the desire to wrap herself in Rex’s strength washed over her skin. As he broke from her mouth and delved into her neck, her skin burned and shivered.

“Rex,” she sighed in pleasure, adjusting herself, so she was straddling him.

She pulled back ever so slightly so she could look down into his eyes. The fierce protectiveness in his gaze made her heart clench. He hadn’t even questioned her story. In her head, she had come up with so many lies to cover up what had happened, fearing he wouldn’t believe the truth, but he had. He heard her out and believed her. Even after she had screamed at him on the phone in her terror of finding Ginny gone, he was still here with her, still trusting her.

Rex’s hands ran down her back gently. They passed over her ass, and she pressed back into them, enjoying the sensation through her slacks. Rex grinned, moving all the way to her knees before he started back up again. When he got to her hips, he grasped her and thrust them forward. She felt him beneath his jeans and a gasp of desire caught in her throat.

“What do you want?” he asked her, his voice so low it was almost a growl. “Do you want me inside of you?”

Mindy closed her eyes and let her head fall back as his hands continued to drift over her body. Rex’s mouth focused on her neck, making shivers run up and down her spine, and then he followed the edge of her shirt to flick his tongue over the tops of her breasts.

“Do you want me?” he repeated.

“Yes,” Mindy moaned in response. “I want you inside of me.”

She ground her hips against him, closing her eyes as she let out a breathy groan. Her core tightened as she continued to move, soft, then hard, then soft again. She squeezed his thighs with her knees. As his hands moved under her shirt, lifting it up and out of the way, her hands tightened on his shoulders. The fabric dropped and he unhooked her bra.

“Wait,” she blurted out.

Rex grew still. He gave her a quizzical look.

“I, uh . . . Ginny is three months. I’m still breastfeeding. My period hasn’t started again since giving birth . . . Chances that I’d get pregnant again so soon are really low.” She chewed her lip. “But do you happen to have condoms? Just to make sure?”

Rex flinched. “Uh . . . no. I don’t. I’ve been abstaining. It’s because of a . . . personal reason.”

Mindy frowned and moved back, but he held her tightly. “I don’t want to make you start something you don’t really want.”

“I want it,” Rex growled, his gaze darkening as it moved over her exposed breasts. “I want you. Let me have you, please.”

“Why have you been abstaining?”

Rex’s hold on her released slightly. “Because I thought I needed to get my head screwed on straight. I didn’t want to start obsessing over someone who didn’t want me.”

“Right.” Mindy trailed her fingers down his chest, enjoying the sensation of his hard muscles underneath his clothes. “But you’re good now?”

“Uh-huh.”

Rex pitched her to one side and lay her on the couch. She smothered a shriek, glancing worriedly at the bedroom door. She didn’t have much time to worry about waking up Ginny, because Rex started on her pants at that moment. He tossed her pants and panties to the floor, then pulled off one sock. When he pulled off the other, he glanced at the pea bag that was lying on the floor by now and frowned.

“Are you sure you’re up to this? You’re not hurting, are you?” He peered at her, his gaze raking over her form, but with worry in it rather than lust.

Mindy shivered at the reminder of what had happened earlier, but smiled at him and shook her head. “It’s over. I want this, Rex. I want you.”

And oh, boy! Did she want him! His touch was electrifying, even just the skimming of his fingers over her arms until he grasped her hands. It was like there was a furnace under her skin and he was the one stoking it to life. His hesitancy melted away as his gaze continued to roam over her, seeing that there were no hidden bruises. He clasped one of her hands to his chest while he bent over her, kissing her passionately again. He suckled on her lower lip, the sensation of his tongue moving over the cut soothing the sting. His free hand moved between her legs, bringing her closer with gentle strokes. A shiver ran down her back as she gasped into his mouth.

Rex moved from her mouth to her neck, then to one of her breasts. It was swollen with milk, and he kissed the top of it before moving lower, sliding his big body down the couch until he was between her legs. There, he kissed the inside of her thigh and made his way up. When he reached his target, he let out a soft moan of satisfaction, like he liked the taste of what he found there.

Her core twisted, and Mindy arched her back, her lips parting slightly as she increased the contact. Her eyes fluttered shut, and she was taken back to that night on the island. Her heart beat faster, and her hands tightened into his hair. Rex made little grunting noises as he continued his work, suckling, and lapping at her clit hungrily. Her stomach muscles clenched, her legs moving on their own accord as the pleasure grew to a fuller strength inside of her.

Just when she thought she might burst, Rex moved back. He licked his lips, grinned at her, and pulled his shirt off. Mindy stared up at him, panting with the exertion of the pleasure he had given to her. She enjoyed the view he gave her of those taut muscles and licked her own lips, wanting a taste of them. When he undid his belt, she let out a soft moan.

Rex chuckled as he pulled off his pants. “Eager, are you?”

“So are you.”

He glanced down at himself, already hard, and shrugged. He took himself in his hand, pumping himself a couple of times and everything in Mindy clenched. The sight was just so hot she could hardly handle it. Rex gave her a wicked grin and draped himself over her so that he pressed into her stomach. His mouth captured her again, hard and demanding, while he slid a hand between her legs to test her readiness.

“I want you,” Mindy whispered when he opened his mouth. “I want you, Rex.”

He rested his forehead against hers as he eased himself into her, achingly slow. Mindy bucked her hips, pulling him down, so he was fully seated. Rex let out a grunt and a laugh of surprise before he put a hand on her hip and eased himself out again. He wagged a finger in her face and gently entered again. Once he was comfortable, he began to rock his hips, taking it so slowly that Mindy thought she might lose her mind.

“Faster,” she whined, thrusting her hips upward.

Rex caught her wrist in his hand and kissed the inside of it. “We have all day, Mindy. Let’s take this slow.”

His steady rhythm soon had her forgetting to argue. He built such heat under her skin, a thumb on her clit while he continued to move, that Mindy could do nothing but cry out over and over again. Rex dropped over her, pressing her into the couch, his mouth catching hers again as he increased in speed. Her core twisted into a knot, his panting in her ears. Mindy clung to him, rocking her hips while at the same time wrapping her legs around his.

“Rex!” she cried out as a burst of pleasure filled her.

A wave of darkness washed over her vision as her back bowed, and her head fell back. Her nails dug into his back and Rex rammed into her, the gentle movements gone. He snarled; it was like a beast possessed him as he jackhammered his hips, his mouth half open on hers. She cried out as wave after wave of pleasure burst through her, making every muscle in her body tighten, then relax. She writhed beneath him, yanking him closer with one hand and pushing him away with the other.

Rex’s movements became jerky. His teeth bit into her shoulder. He gave a shuddering groan and was still.

After some time, he rose his head and propped himself up. “Was that good for you?”

The worry in his eyes was so unlike the confidence of their coupling a year ago that it was heartbreaking to see. Mindy wrapped her hands around his neck and brought him down for a sweet, gentle kiss. Her lip was throbbing, and she realized she had been biting on it while they made love.

“It was great for me. And you?”

Rex grinned at her, that cocky, borderline arrogant grin she remembered. “Hell yeah. My balls were up in my throat as soon as I was inside of you.”

“Hey!” Mindy smacked his arm playfully. “Don’t be crass.”

Rex gave her another grin and eased out of her. It stung slightly to have him leave her. He pulled her upright, and they leaned against each other on the couch, arms twined around each other as they gently stroked one another’s arms and sides. Every muscle in her body unwound, and Mindy found herself leaning against him while her eyes drooped. From the adrenaline of Meyer’s attack to the rush of endorphins that Rex had just given her, she struggled to stay awake.

“I never asked how your interview went,” Rex whispered, like he, too, was on the verge of falling asleep.

“Hmm . . . It was okay. I didn’t get it, though.”

“Why not?”

Mindy giggled at his outraged tone. “It turns out I don’t have the experience they wanted—which is ridiculous, considering that they called me for an interview in the first place. But it was still a learning experience, right?”

“Right . . .” Rex didn’t sound convinced.

“Hey, it was only one interview.” Mindy pulled back slightly and grinned at him. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to be freeloading on you forever.”

It was the wrong thing to say. Mindy winced as anger flashed in his eyes. She drew back, wondering what she had done to upset him, but his next words clarified that he wasn’t angry at her.

“This Calvin Meyer. If he comes anywhere near you again, I’ll kill him.”

Mindy’s eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. He wasn’t serious, was he? “I don’t want you to do that!”

“But he hurt you.” Rex’s gaze moved over the bruise on her cheek while he touched the cut on her lip. “Just for that, I should track him down and—”

“No!” Mindy pulled herself out of his embrace. Had she accidentally gotten herself involved with a violent man? He was so sweet and gentle with her and Ginny, but she didn’t want to be with a man whose first instinct was that he needed to go around killing people who hurt her! “I don’t want him dead, I just want to be free of him! I shouldn’t have said anything if that’s how you’re going to react.”

Rex stared at her blankly for a long moment before he sucked in a deep breath. “But I want to protect you.”

“I don’t want to be responsible for a man’s death and you in jail.” Mindy narrowed her eyes at him. “There are ways to protect a person without immediately jumping to murder!”

Rex’s brow furrowed. He opened his mouth, as though ready to argue, but swallowed it down. “I suppose . . . I don’t like the idea of a man like that out there, though, taking advantage of more women. Fuck!”

“Whoa!” Mindy said. “Please, don’t use that sort of language around my daughter.”

“But she’s not even in the room.”

“Doesn’t matter. She can still hear.”

Rex narrowed his eyes at her, but a grin tugged his lips up. “I guess I’ll just have to do it then, rather than say it.”

Heat rushed to her face and swirled in her core. Her clit throbbed, even as the rest of her still ached. “Oh ho, so funny,” she said dryly, trying not to show how his words turned her on.

Rex continued to grin, but it slipped away. “I could just intimidate him a bit.”

Mindy imagined him trying and Meyer responding by simply putting a bullet into Rex’s brain. She shuddered and shook her head hard. “No.”

“Fine.” Rex sank back onto the couch. “I guess that means I’ll just have to take you home, where you’ll be safe, and pay him off.”

Mindy stared at him, uncertain whether she actually heard this properly. He couldn’t mean it, right? He couldn’t be willing to shield her, pay off her debts, protect her, just like that. Could he? She felt a lump rising in her throat, and she forced herself to choke it back down. She wasn’t going to end up a sniveling mess, not here and not today.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “And I’m sorry for yelling at you earlier . . .”

“Don’t worry about it. You were scared.”

Mindy snorted. “Because I’m a mess.”

“Me, too.” Rex’s arms tightened around her, pulling her back to his side. “But you know what? We’re trying. We’re both fighting to clean ourselves up. Some days are going to be better than others, but it doesn’t matter that we have bad days because we’re going to get there. Ginny is our reason, and we aren’t going to let her down.”

Mindy felt herself relaxing into him, the drowsiness from before returning. He was right, of course. She wasn’t going to give up just because she had setbacks. And now, she didn’t have to do it on her own, either. She had him.

“I’ll pay you back when I can,” she started, but Rex cut her off with a gentle kiss.

“We can talk about that later. Right now, just rest.”

She lay her head on his shoulder. Her body felt so heavy. His arms were so strong, strong enough to hold her. Some of the worry and tension she always carried in the pit of her stomach eased, and she found herself smiling. For the first time in her life, she felt utterly safe in a man’s embrace. This was like a fairy tale . . .

She knew it wouldn’t last. Fairy tales never did. But it was nice to pretend, just for right now.