Now, just a few weeks later, Dreyven’s church was shut down, sued by several of the businesses, including Twin Peeks, that had been targeted at the convention. Tobi’s parents were under arrest and had been charged with child abuse. Jeri had been helping him document his abuse, even though he couldn’t go to the hospital. Mama K and Mama D had decided they needed a new addition to the Devereaux clan and were currently fostering him, but the plan was that eventually he would live with his aunt. He had moved into the Den where he helped the moms take care of the twins as they recovered.
Both Sonny and Hicks were improving, but it was going to be a long road to recovery. Hicks was struggling to deal with his continuing memory problems and Sonny was in intensive physical therapy to help him recover the use of his leg.
I’d essentially moved in with Lee from the night of the convention. We no longer talked about me moving back to Seattle, and Lizzie and Everett were considering a move to the East coast.
Jarreau and his team had put me in contact with Zem at the safe house where she’d been moved. She hadn’t known anything about myrelationship with Lee, or that I’d even gone to Ohio, so the events all came as a surprise to her. She was still giving me plenty of grief over not telling her about the new man in my life. She was surprised that I'd agreed to even talk to the police, much less testify.
My newfound faith in the justice system was briefly put to the test when it came time for Conyers and his two buddies to have their bail hearing. I’d stood watching the proceedings from a private conference room, too wired to sit in one of the plastic chairs provided by the District Attorney’s office.
I literally couldn’t believe my ears when I heard the defense team try to argue that the events of that night were consensual. I had to turn to Lee for confirmation that they were really trying to say I'd asked for it.
The defense argument was that that the rape had been staged, a fantasy, a sexy role play that I'd asked—no,begged—for. According to Conyers, it was all just an act.
They had come close to convincing the judge to release him on bail, until I remembered the clothes I’d stuffed under the sink in Lee’s bathroom. The variety of bodily fluids on the clothes, along with my blood, was enough proof to convince the judge that the events hadn’t been consensual and he withheld bail.
We would still have to go to trial, but between the physical evidence, on top of the video, the prosecutor’s office was certain Conyers and his friends would be going to jail for a long, long time, if not for life.
I relaxed into the feel of Lee’s arms around me, enjoying a comfort that was more than physical. Lee had been a rock throughout everything. He had stood by my side the entire way. He supported me when my resolve wavered and my fear became too much to handle. He comforted me when the tears came. He truly was my angel.
“You tired?” he asked, looking down at me.
I leaned my head back and looked up at him, the firelight playing across his face.
“Not really. Take me to bed anyway?” I asked, looking up at him flirtatiously. I licked my lips slowly and let him see the desire that wasbuilding inside me. I saw the heat kindle in his gaze as he understood the direction of my thoughts.
The world suddenly turned topsy-turvy as he quickly, shifted my weight up and over his shoulder.
“What—Hey!” I yelped, trying to brace myself against his body as he charged toward the bedroom.
“What, what?” He asked, turning in circles around the room. Each time he turned the room whirled around me and I had to close my eyes.
“You better knock that off, or I’m going to barf all over you,” I warned.
Laughing, I felt him upend me and flop me on my back onto the bed. I bounced once on the mattress, arms spread out to either side to absorb the impact, then felt him land on top of me.
I opened my eyes and glared at him.
“You aresolosing points for that maneuver, bucko,” I complained. Lee didn’t seem worried as he leaned forward and brushed his lips across mine.
“You sure?” he purred, his hot breath teasing my ear. “I thought I was doing a good job of distracting you.”
“You’renotdistracting me…” I reiterated, then felt his lips slide across my neck, down to my clavicle. “…so, sooo many points are going to be lost…” I continued, rapidly losing IQ points as all the blood in my body began rushing to my cock. “…uh…”
“What was that, sir?” Lee whispered in my ear.“Bonuspoints, you say?” he teased, grinding our hips together, sending delicious bolts of pleasure up and down my spine.
“…points…” I tried again, but Lee slipped his hands under my t-shirt and tugged it up and over my head. I took a breath to try and reorient myself, only to feel all the air in my lungs escape in a gasp as his lips centered around a nipple and sucked. “Gah!”
“Mmmm…” he hummed, alternating biting and sucking one nipple, then the other.
I groaned, feeling my balls draw up tight against my body. God, I wasn’t even naked yet. That thought reminded me of what I'd plannedfor this evening and the cold wash of nerves brought me back to myself.
“Hold up, cowboy,” I muttered, but Lee paused, then deliberately took another lick of my nipple, a weighted challenge clear in his eyes.He wants to be like that about it, does he?
Curling my arms around his shoulders, I took a moment to just enjoy the feel of the man pressed up against my chest. I’d had fewer and fewer panic episodes during sex, and my counselor in Seattle had agreed to continue our sessions via Skype for the time being. I was nervous about what I’d planned for this evening, but she and I had talked through all the potential outcomes and I think I was as prepared as I was ever going to be.
In a move that would have made Mama K proud, I wrapped my legs around Lee’s waist and heaved, rolling our combined weight up and off the bed, only to twist and come back down with our positions reversed. The hours I was spending in the dojo with the moms was paying off. I wasn’t a superhero, but Iwaslearning some cool moves.
I perched on top of Lee and grinned down at his surprised face. He looked utterly dumbfounded for a moment, then laughed in delight.
