“Maybe, but keep in mind that if a no-contact order is violated, the perpetrator could spend up to six months in jail. It’s not the same with a restraining order. He could be arrested, sure, but probably not locked up for it.”
Jami sighs loudly, pinching the bridge of her nose between her index finger and thumb. “Sometimes I hate the judicial system.”
“I do, too, and I work it.”
“I need to help find Tara a job,” Jami continues. She reaches for the glass of wine sitting on the coffee table and, takes a sip, then sets it back down. “Up until yesterday, she’s been a homemaker, essentially, and Kasper made all the money.”
“Probably for control,” I say. “If he’s the breadwinner, she couldn’t possibly leave and find safety with his money. I’ve seen it before.”
“Yeah, well, fuck that asshole.” Jami crosses her arms over her chest, fuming, and I squeeze her hand. “I know a friend who runs a childcare center downtown. They’re always hiring. Maybe they’ll hire Tara, at least temporarily. That way, she could take Maddy to work with her when she’s not at school.”
“Did she go to school today?” I ask, and Jami shakes her head.
“Doubtful. Not while Kasper might be trying to find them. But she’ll have to go back eventually, right?”
“Tara might have to transfer her between schools.”
Jami sighs again, all the energy, all the passion for this case, slowly leaving her body. She’s tired. Overwhelmed, and for a moment, I think she might just cry.
“Do you think we’re even helping them?” she asks, playing with the fingers on my left hand. “Or do you think we’re merely making it worse for those poor girls?”
“In my opinion, there’s nothing more important than being safe, even if it means having to start a new life.” I reach up and take Jami’s chin between my fingers, then kiss her. She closes her eyes. “I saw a case once just like this one. The wife stayed and stayed and stayed with her husband until finally, one day, he killed her. Right in front of their children. It was horrifying, but not uncommon.”
Jami shakes her head, squeezing my fingers between her own. “Life is hard,” she whispers, and I’m pleasantly surprised when she tilts her head up to kiss me again, hazel eyes flashing. Her body scoots closer to my own, the warmth of her seeping deep down into my skin. She slips her tongue between my lips, teasing me, and I kiss her back, kiss her hard until we’re breathless and frazzled and ready.
Without another word, I stand up and scoop Jami into my arms, then carry her into the master bedroom, laying her gently down on the king-sized comforter. Jami pulls her lip between her teeth with a sly grin, taunting me, and then slips the skirt she’s wearing up around her midsection, flashing nothing but sexy black lace panties. As I watch from the edge of the bed, she slides one hand below the hem of her undies, fingers working towards her folds, and her hips rise as one of her fingers slides in.
“Woman, you make me crazy,” I whisper and kick my own pants off before settling down next to her on the bed. Jami makes a move to reach for me, but I stop her and instead, trail kisses down her stomach, and even further until the pair of panties is securely between my teeth. I pull them completely off of her tan legs, then settle my mouth over her mound, flicking my tongue in.
A lascivious moan escapes Jami’s lips, and her body surges beneath mine. She reaches to tangle her fingers in my hair as I feast on her, driven by the breathless squeals and moans from her beautiful lips. Two of my fingers rub her clit as I explore her insides, intensifying the pleasure, and after only a moment more, she releases, panting, flushed in the face, but smiling.
“Oh my God,” she groans, slapping the back of her hand against her forehead. “I have never been with anyone like you before, Ely.”
Grinning, I snuggle into her neck, and Jami reaches into the drawer where I keep the condoms. She shimmies my pants and boxers down until they’re out of the way and then seductively slides them onto my pulsating erection. Then, in one swift movement, she’s straddling me, gently lowering herself onto my cock, our bodies morphing together as one.
A low groan escapes me as Jami’s hips rotate on top of me. She presses her lips against my ear, and a shiver of anticipation crawls up my spine. “My turn,” she whispers.
15
JAMI
Kasper and Tara’s court appearance is the following Friday, so I pick Tara up from the shelter and drive her over there the day of. Ely couldn’t get the time off work to escort us, but at least Maddy is being watched by a shelter friend of Tara’s. I can’t even imagine what the young girl must be thinking about all of this.
“How are you feeling?” I ask Tara as we drive. She looks good. Better than good, actually, like those few days away from her abusive husband did her a whole lot of good. The bruise above her eye is almost completely gone, and she’s dabbed on a bit of creamy peach lip gloss and dark mascara.
“I’m okay,” she says as I drive, but her hands are in her lap, twisting anxiously to the point that I worry she might just break open skin. She looks over at me, and fear traces the light wrinkles in her skin. “I’m afraid to see him again. What if I can’t do it? What if I can’t face him?”
“You have to,” I tell her. “If not for you, then for Maddy. She deserves to be safe, and you know that.”
“What if he gets off?” demands Tara. “What if after everything I say, he still gets off completely and then has the full motive to go after us? What then? Who will protect Maddy and me then?”
“I will,” I promise her, pulling the car into the courthouse parking lot. I turn off the engine and turn to face Tara, who looks like she’s about to vomit all over my already pathetic-looking decor. “And Ely will, too,” I continue, taking her hand in mine. “Just keep in mind that even if Kasper doesn’t get arrested, there will still be orders against him not to come around you.”
“That’s it?” Tara asks, wiping her eyes with the back of her free hand. “A piece of paper to shove in his face when he decides to come around? And what about Maddy? She’s still his daughter. Does he get to keep seeing her?”
“It’s dependent on how today goes,” I say softly. “He could still get visitation rights, even partial custody if things don’t go our way.”
Tara closes her eyes with a sigh, and I see a tear slide down her cheek.
