Slater pulled up to their house, and she got out of the car. She could hear Slater talking to her, but she needed to be somewhere safe.
“Sammy, beautiful, talk to me.” He opened the front door, and she pushed by him and went to their bedroom.
Sammy could feel herself holding on by a thread. She was about to slip into her safe place, and the only person who seemed to be able to talk her out of it was the one who had caused her to start to slip into it.
She got on the bed and curled up. Sammy wanted to be as tiny as possible. It was safer when she became small and invisible. She could feel her body shaking, and her brain went through everything that had just happened. She knew the men who had whispered that she should have been killed. That they thought Greg had killed her the last time he beat her.
The tears ran down her cheek, and Sammy didn’t do anything to wipe them away. Did she deserve to have the slut, as Greg called it, beaten out of her? Were her clothes inviting men to attack her? Was she too friendly? She hadn’t spilled their secrets to anyone. Things that Greg had said to her as his fist and feet hit into her rebounded around her brain.
“Fuck. I swear I’m going to kill him.”
Sammy could vaguely hear Slater, and she didn’t know which “him” Slater was referring to, Brock or Greg. She felt herself be placed on his lap as he sat on the bed.
“Sammy Gardner, you have to stop. Don’t worry. I will make sure you don’t see any of them again.” Slater stroked her back. “Come back now.”
Slater’s hands ran up and down her back in a soothing motion.
“Samantha, you are at home and away from anyone who would hurt you. Come back.”
The use of her full name and knowing she was in Slater’s safe arms brought Sammy back from her hiding place. The door opened, and she let go with big gut wrenching sobs into Slater’s chest.
“Did I do something wrong? Why would Brock put me through that?” Sammy gripped Slater’s shirt. “They wanted me dead. I didn’t tell anyone. I haven’t told anyone anything. I haven’t told you and Brock anything. Well, besides how they treated me and that I was scared of them. It’s been months and months. Did they think Greg had killed me and that’s why I hadn’t reported anything?”
Her heart felt like it was breaking. She’d opened herself up again to people and a relationship, and Brock had crushed her. “Did you know what he was up to?” Sammy stared up at Slater with blurry eyes.
Slater brushed hair that had fallen over her face off. “I promise I had no idea that was what he’d been planning. I knew something was up with him, but I swear I didn’t think it would be something this big and wrong.” Slater leaned down and brushed his lips over hers. “Please don’t hold what Brock did against me. I would never hurt you like that. I love you.”
Wiping the tears from her face she reached up and caressed Slater’s face as he gazed down at her. “I love you, too. I’ve loved you for a while now. I love you both, and it hurts so bad that Brock would betray me like this.” Sammy wanted to feel better. She hated how she felt right now. “Make me forget. Make love to me.”
Slater groaned. “Beautiful, I don’t think that’s such a good idea while you’re in this state and feeling vulnerable.”
Wrapping her arms around Slater’s neck she pulled him closer to her and plastered her mouth to his. Sammy wanted to forget. She wanted to feel good. She let her tongue trace his lips before slipping in and tangling with his own.
Sammy ground her body against Slater. Her usual response to being close to him and touching him made itself known. Tingles flowed through her body from the tip of her toes to the top of her head. She used the tips of her fingers to trail down his neck and under his shirt running her hands up and down his solid chest.
Slater growled and stopped her hands as they came to the button on his pants. “Sammy, I don’t want you to regret this. You’re not in the right state of mind to be doing this. I don’t want you to wake up in the morning or late tonight and realize that what we did was wrong. I don’t want you to think I took advantage of you.”
He had a point, and she loved Slater all the more for thinking of her, and caring about her. “I want you bad. I want to feel better.”
Slater let out a long-suffering sound. “How about we lie snuggling for a while? If you still want to make love after you’ve had time to relax and know you’re safe at home, then I will ravish you. I promise.”
Slater lay back on the bed, and she got comfortable on top of him. He rubbed her back, and she snuggled closer into him. She loved his smell and the way he held her. She realized as she lay there on him, that she was a lot calmer and she felt safe.