Nine

As advertised, Charmaine doesn’t ask any questions when I call her the next morning to say I’ve changed my mind.

“If you’re sure, honey,” she says in a way that is designed to make me second guess myself.

“I’m sure.”

It’s the only way to avoid exposing the Torvians trying to blend in here on Earth. They totally should have vetted me better as a human wife candidate since I’m clearly too dumb to do it myself. Everyone knew about my past, but clearly not how vindictive Malcolm could be. I end the call and catch Ajax watching me as he gathers his few belongings together.

Ajax has transformed from an open, sometimes funny and always engaged lover into a zombie. He hasn’t smiled since yesterday when I tore our marriage apart. That’s fine. I don’t deserve his smiles anyway.

“Charmaine will be here to pick you up in a couple of hours,” I tell him. “I’m sorry it has to be this way.”

He nods and looks away. I deserve that too.

The tension mounts until I can barely stand the way it crawls across my skin. I have to get out of here. There’s a good chance I won’t be able to watch Ajax leave anyway and the last thing I can afford to do is break down once Charmaine gets here. If that happens, I might do something crazy like call off ending the marriage I only realized I wanted to keep after it was too late.

“I’ve got an errand to run,” I say and leap for the door. “Have a nice life.”

It occurs to me after I’ve fled that I’m walking right back into the lion’s den. Malcolm even told me he’d be lurking around until he could get me alone. Fine. Let him come. This is my life now. I am not going to have my bodyguard around, so might as well get used to handling my own problems. I should call my lawyer and find out how to document that Malcolm’s violated his restraining order.

That’s really the rub of it. I should have done that from the beginning and then I wouldn’t have compromised Ajax’s happiness along with my own. But I have to acknowledge that I didn’t know how to be that brave before Ajax. It took an alien husband to jolt me out of my safe little bubble.

We figured out how to make love without him breaking me. Bravery in that case looks a lot like getting inventive with solving the problem. I need to get inventive with Malcolm. I kind of hope he does track me down this morning so I can be done with him once and for all.

With no plan other than to get the ball rolling, I wander down by the water, drawn by the pretty scenery. Mount Olympus is to the west, towering over the city and the gray skies fit my mood. I lean on the railing overlooking a section of West Bay where there is an actual rocky beach. There aren’t very many people nearby, which is a blessing. I really don’t want to interact with humans.

“Nice to see you again, Brooklyn.”

Since Malcolm doesn’t count as human, I turn to face him even as my pulse skyrockets. “I wondered if you’d crawl out from under your rock if I came down here by myself. Thanks for being true to form.”

This is clearly not what he expected me to say and it takes him aback for a second. But then he regains his slick, sickening smile. “You were that eager to see me again?”

Yeah, sure, that’s the reason. The worst part is that he does truly believe in his madness. “I wouldn’t call it eager. But I did want to tell you that you don’t have to worry about my husband any longer. He’s going back where he came from and we’re getting a divorce. So forget about him.”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” he says with a cocky head shake. “He touched you and therefore, he’s a problem. You’re mine.”

My throat closes. “Leave him alone.”

“If you’re getting a divorce, what do you care?” Malcolm shrugs. “You should be the one not worrying about him. Is there more here that you’re not telling me?”

I curse. How could I have forgotten how good Malcolm is at reading me, at figuring out how to push my buttons in order to further his end goal? God, I just want this nightmare to end. I sent Ajax away for his own protection and that’s slowly sliding away. “I mean it, Malcolm. You’re getting what you want. I’m not with him anymore. Focus on me.”

That’s when I get the first wave of unease slithering down my spine. He slides a once-over down the length of my body and sidles closer.

“Oh, I am.”

He’s so close I can smell his invasive cologne. We’re pretty isolated and a little hidden by the trees growing up near the water. He wouldn’t really try to hurt me in what’s essentially a public place, would he?

He reaches out and fingers a lock of my hair.

My hand flies up automatically to knock him away. “Back off. We’re just talking.”

That was a mistake. His mouth twists up and he rears back, then cuffs me hard across the cheek.

My vision blurs in pain, but I still register a flurry of movement and Malcolm flies off of the ground.

Ajax.

My darling’s face is twisted into an enraged mask as he carries Malcolm over his head toward the water. Malcolm struggles, spewing half sentences of disbelief and making empty threats. Holy crap.

I can only watch in abject fascination as Ajax doesn’t even pause at the shore line. He wades in and tosses Malcolm at least fifteen yards into the West Bay. The cretin sinks like a stone, flailing around as he tries to tread water and fails. Ajax crosses his arms and stands like a conquering warlord in the shallows of the West Bay, daring anyone to come between him and me.

I might be swooning.

But not so much that I can’t get my legs to move. I come up behind Ajax, more than happy to let him act as a shield against the drenched man struggling to stay above the surface while he swims to shore.

“Um, what are you doing here?” I murmur at my husband’s broad shoulders and finger my cheek. It’s stinging a lot but not as much as my eyes.

Ajax is here. My heart swells and tumbles over as my husband’s clean scent filters through my senses.

“Follow Brooklyn. Keep you safe.”

Oh, man. Even after I dumped him. He’s the worst/best white knight I’ve ever heard of. “You’re supposed to be on your way back to Switzerland.”

From this vantage point, I can see half of his face as it quirks up. “Not go. Cancel Charmaine.”

“You…what? How did you cancel Charmaine?” The better question is why. But I think I already know the answer. He’s smarter than I gave him credit for and realized that something was going on besides a change of heart on the part of his wife.

At that, he grins. “Push buttons phone.”

Apparently he’s learned to use my phone, which either means I left it unlocked or he’s memorized my code. Either way, I can’t be sorry he followed me, or that he didn’t go back to Switzerland like he was supposed to, especially given that Malcolm wouldn’t have let Ajax fade into the background of this situation after all.

I almost ruined the best thing that ever happened to me because I was too messed up to think clearly. Thank God one of us is.

“What’s your plan now?” I ask, my own lips curving up into a relieved smile. “Are we just going to stand here and wait for him to drag himself from the water?”

“Yes,” Ajax says matter of fact. “Break all bones.”

My heart flutters despite the underlying violence in the statement. He would stand here until sunset if need be in order to make his point with Malcolm. I’m not sure it’s necessary. But I’m willing to find out. I cross my own arms.

Eventually, Malcolm rolls onto the shore, breathing heavily. He’s missing his custom made sports coat and his shoes, and I sense those are not the only things he’s lost in the bay. Most of his bravado and all of his swagger is also glaringly absent.

“You’ve screwed with the wrong person,” Malcolm says with a sneer that loses a good bit of effectiveness due to the amount of water from the West Bay streaming down his face. He yelps as Ajax strides toward him.

Without a word, my husband’s hand closes around Malcolm’s upper arm and drags the man to his feet. Snap! Ajax has cracked something beneath my ex’s skin. I flinch as Malcolm cries out.

“What the—” Malcolm wisely closes his mouth as he catches sight of Ajax’s furious expression. Pain etches deep lines around his mouth and I manage to feel a little sorry for him. When that happened to me, I had a magic fixer-upper alien in the vicinity and Malcolm does not.

“Leave Brooklyn alone,” Ajax rumbles and tosses Malcolm to the ground. “No more.”

Thank God those were completely coherent statements. Easy to follow. No explanation needed. Malcolm scowls.

“Do you know who I am?” Malcolm shouts.

“Yes.” Ajax doesn’t blink, staring down the filth that stands almost a head shorter than him. “Hurt Brooklyn, hurt you. Leave now.”

Malcolm gapes like a fish out of water, which technically he is. No one threatens him and gets away with it. Except my gorgeous husband, apparently, because Malcolm suddenly slithers away, holding his arm. I’m guessing he thought better of what else Ajax might be capable of.

We both watch him leave and when I’m sure he’s gone, I lever Ajax’s jaw between my palms and kiss him thoroughly.

He doesn’t sweep me into his embrace like I wish he would, but the kiss heats up none the less. But then he pulls back, a line between his brows as he stares down at me.

“Cancel Charmaine. No divorce.”

I nod. “I will. I’m sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing. I was trying to protect you.”

I expect him to laugh but he doesn’t. Instead he leans down and picks up the kiss where it left off—gathering steam. This time he lays his fingertips against my neck as gently as possible. My skin absorbs his touch, craving more. I don’t get it but that’s okay. One step at a time.

I slowly begin to forget the name Malcolm Roberts as Wednesday flows into Thursday. Ajax and I are still a little tense around each other. My fault. I keep hearing the snap of bone each time he touches me and I can’t make it go away. It didn’t bother me in the moment, but it does now and that’s no one’s fault but mine.

I’m damaged and probably unbalanced besides.

Okay, I know Ajax will never hurt me, not on purpose anyway. But seeing my abusive ex brought back a lot of painful memories, not the least of which is the fact that I’m half the equation. No, I do not take responsibility for Malcolm’s actions. But I did excuse a lot of early signs. I did give in to fear over and over again before I finally found the courage to leave him.

I do not want to fall back into the same vulnerabilities. Neither do I know how to move forward with Ajax when it would be smart to contact Charmaine and end this whole thing. Then I never have to worry about whether I’m making a poor judgement call again. Besides, I probably don’t need a bodyguard anymore. This is a great time to part ways and be done with this madness.

Except…I’m in love with him, and if that means the same thing in his culture as it does in mine, he feels the same. How fair is it—to either of us—to give that up?

On the one month anniversary of our green card marriage, Ajax insists on cooking me dinner. It takes him two hours but he’s so cute doing it that I don’t complain. The steak is burned to a crisp on the outside and raw on the inside and the mashed potatoes have lumps. He’s so proud as he serves that I smile and eat every bite.

“Brooklyn happy?” he asks as he clears the plates.

“I am,” I say and mean it.

Yeah, I wish we could have more normal interaction, like the way Ares and Clementine are. I long to sit on the couch and just hold hands. Sometimes we can for very brief periods, but he always pulls away before he loses the ability to control the amount of pressure. Which I appreciate even as I curse the necessity.

After dinner, Ajax leads me to the bedroom and I sense he’s in a randy mood well before he turns to me, lust heavy in his gaze. “Surprise Brooklyn.”

“Oh?” This piques my interest because he rarely surprises me. “Did you get me something?”

He nods. “Learn pleasure.”

I have to laugh at that. “Everything you do is pleasurable.”

But he’s not satisfied with resting on his laurels and grabs two great handfuls of my dress, baring me instantly as the fabric rends in two, then falls to the floor. Shameless must be my middle name because it gets me wet in a flash of dense heat.

“Well that was definitely a surprise,” I say, my voice low and breathless.

He’s not done. He situates me on the bed and kneels between my legs to draw off my panties without even popping a seam. Sometimes I think he can control his strength better than he lets on and uses the potential of losing control as an excuse to do whatever he pleases.

Right now, it pleases him to lay me back and drag his tongue up my thigh. I gasp because he’s never done anything like this before. Sure we’ve had a lot of sex but he’s almost always tied up. This is new. A little dangerous. And one hundred percent exciting.

When he hits my center, he takes a long slow lick right in the heart where I’m slick and achy. Oh, God that feels amazing. His tongue is hard and stiff and so very talented. He has enough power behind it to get me good and revved up instantly.

That’s when he dives in with gusto and I learn what he means by “pleasure.” It spirals through me relentlessly the harder he licks and yes, his tongue is the strongest muscle in his body. It feels like he’s not holding back in the slightest and in seconds, I’m climbing the ceiling as I seek release. He pushes his tongue deeper, rumbling my name simultaneously and that’s when I shatter with a cry.

Ajax kisses my thigh and climbs up by body, kissing as he goes until he claims my mouth, treating me to a taste of myself as he plunders my lips thoroughly. Finally he rolls to the side, his torso heaving and I have just enough wits about me to note that his hands are clenched by his side so tightly that his knuckles are white.

He’s nearly crushing his own bones with the effort to hold back. My heart skips about forty-seven beats as I reach out to sooth the white places. “You can let go now. Let me do the rest.”

“No.” He punctuates that with a head shake. “Too much. Wait.”

I nod because of course I can wait. The surprise orgasm courtesy of his tongue cost him. I can see the pain etched in his gaze and that’s pretty much my undoing. “I love you. I’m sorry I messed up by calling Charmaine. I won’t do that again.”

And that’s as good as a sworn promise in my mind. I’m in this for the long haul. For better or worse.

His eyelids shutter a fraction. “Love also.”

Okay, I lied. I can’t wait. I snuggle into his body and spread my hand over his heart. He doesn’t embrace me in kind, but it’s okay. He’s doing what makes sense to him in order to keep me safe.

The thing is that I have learned that safety is an illusion. You can never insulate yourself 100%. All you can do is face your fear. Ajax has enabled me to practice being brave and that’s better than keeping me safe.

There’s no man on Earth I’d rather be with. As long as he’s on board with spending a lot of time learning new ways to be together without hurting each other—emotionally or physically—that’s the best recipe for marriage I can think of.