Zack laughs and straightens the brace on his arm, distracting me.
“If you think Chloe’s gifts are too much, you’re in going to lose your mind over what we got you, Aves. It wasn’t hard to check your online browsing history.”
I tilt my head at him and go back to being stern, letting the whole gift thing go…for now.
“What are you doing in here? You were just in an accident, Zack! You should be resting!”
Ryker grunts and moves to pull me away from Cass. Picking me up against his chest so my feet dangle. “Leg day, for him.” And then he hits me with a scorching kiss that makes me want to wrap my legs around his waist and hump against him. When he finally lets me back down on my feet I sway dangerously, causing him to smile. “Don’t worry, this will be the best Christmas…ever.”
As I stare up into his icy blue eyes filled with love for me, I believe it could be. I believe until I rememberhe’sstill out there andhecould hit again at any point.
Ryker lets out a low growl. “Not going to happen. Stop thinking about him, baby.”
I give Ryker a smile but I can feel how flat it is. It’s not that I don’t trust them to try and protect us. It’s years of conditioning thathealways gets whathewants and I’m the one who pays ifhedoesn’t.
I turn away with a small nod and leave them there to get back to prepping the chicken for dinner. There’s nothing I can do but wait for the momenthecomes for me again and I know deep in my soul that it will happen but I also know that I’ll fight back just as hard as the last time.He’snot taking this from me, from us.Hethoughthebroke me buthedoesn’t understand that love can unbreak someone and make them stronger.
Easton
Ishut down my office for the night and swing past the kitchen to grab one of the Christmas cookies Chloe and Avery made this afternoon together. I love how happy the house sounds now with them filling it. There are a lot of dark memories haunting this house but every laugh and every shriek of girlish joy has slowly been chipping them away. I feel like I was barely breathing, knocking off day after day with work and more work until they came. Now I’m grateful for every deep breath that fills my lungs with baby soft shampoo, wildflowers, and sugar cookies.
I snag a cookie from the plate but freeze with it halfway to my mouth when I spot Avery standing in the dark with her back to me, looking out at the snow-covered yard through the big windows of the living room. I’m surprised to see her there so late at night.
Ryker and Zack have been trading off nights with her after Chloe goes to sleep. I ache for her to be in my bed as well but I don’t think she’s ready for me…yet. She needs softness, sweetness, and care. Something I can’t offer her in my bed. My father burned all the softness from me years ago with his harsh ways and occasion hits.
No, if I take her to my bed, I will dominate her body and scare her. She’s been through too much of the wrong kind of domination and I would never do anything to hurt her. One day, she will be healed and ready for the pleasures I can offer her but for now I can only show her how much I care about her out of the bedroom.
I drop the cookie back on the plate and move silently to her until I’m pressing up against her back and cradling her with gentle arms. I don’t speak, I just rest my chin on top of her head and stand with her watching the bright moonlight shining off the snow. Avery sighs and melts back against me, her small hands coming up to rest on my arms.
“Will you tell me why you don’t have good memories from your childhood Christmases?” She asks softly.
My jaw clenches as images from my childhood fill my mind. When I take too long to answer her, she turns in my arms and brushes soft fingers over my jaw in fluttering strokes.
“Cass, I hardly know anything about you. Won’t you share with me?”
I look down into her violet eyes. She’s wide open to me right now and I can’t help but be the same to her so I lead her away from the windows and pull her down onto my lap on the couch. I press her head against my chest and share.
“I do have a few good ones. My mother was a lot like you. Soft, sweet, and loving to me. She tried so hard to deflect my father’s brutality from affecting me. She took the brunt of his anger and expectations and bore the bruises because of it. He was a hard and ruthless man. Money, image, and power were the altars he worshipped and he expected his family to obey him in all things. Like you, my mother tried to run, to escape with me when I was eight but he was too powerful. He found us and had her committed to a mental hospital. I never saw her again. She died there before I was old enough to find her and free her.”
Avery makes a sad noise and tilts her head up to kiss my neck but doesn’t offer a comment so I go on.
“After…this house became extremely cold and was always filled with tension. There was no love left between these walls only expectations and punishments when those expectations weren’t met to his satisfaction.
Somehow, I survived and when I turned eighteen, I went against everything he demanded of me and enlisted in the army. When he told me he was disowning me, it was the most freeing day of my life. We cut all contact and it wasn’t until four years ago when his lawyers contacted me that I found out he hadn’t disowned me. He died of a massive heart attack and left his entire fortune to me.”
I sigh and run a hand up her slim back causing her to snuggle closer.
“I didn’t want any of it so I just signed all the paperwork and then ignored it all. I was content with my team and what we were doing to make the world a little bit safer. I didn’t need his money or the power that came with it. When Zack, Ryker, and I started to talk about leaving the military and what we would do after, we came up with the idea to start our own security company. It was a natural fit for us so I finally started to make use of the money. I had this house gutted and renovated to erase all traces of my father. We didn’t plan on retiring from the service as soon as we did but we were discharged when…our team was ambushed. Only the three of us made it out. So here we are.”
Avery leans back and cups my face, her eyes filled with compassion.
“Thank you for telling me. Is what happened to your mother why you helped me?”
I run a thumb across her bottom lip and nod.
“Probably. At least partially. I was too young to help her. When I saw you in that car with Chloe, I couldn’t not help you and it was the best decision of my life. I’m so thankful you came home with me that day, Avery.”
She pushes up until her mouth is a breath away from mine.
