Love's Edge (A Dark Erotic Romance Novel) (16 page)

“This went on for about a year, with him touching me and telling me to keep it a secret between us and God. When I was twelve, I finally was able to convince you guys to let me stop working there and the abuse stopped. He never said anything about it, so neither did I. I was afraid you wouldn’t believe me.” My voice trailed off as I looked up into the three faces staring back at me with shocked expressions.

“Gracie…” Daniel put his hand under my chin and tilted my face up to his. He looked down at me with a gentle, loving expression that flooded me with relief. I had been so stupid to keep this secret from him all these years. “Honey, you’ve been through a lot recently. I know you must have experienced some horrible things out there. It is no wonder your head is all messed up. You’ll get better though, with our help.”

“What?” I yelled, pulling my chin back from his grip. “You don’t believe me?!” I turned to look at my parents with a pleading expression.

“Jesus will help you find your way again,” my mother said in a matter-of-fact tone that held no hint of sympathy.

“It is the devil that causes you to make such evil accusations, Grace. We can all pray for you and keep you away from the horrid place that put such ideas in your head. We’ll pray for you to find the goodness of God once again.” My father nodded and looked to Daniel, having made his decision that the conversation was finished.

Anger danced with despair in my heart as I saw the three faces looking at me with disdainful pity. Pity. Scornful pity, not for the abuse I had suffered, but for what they believed was the evil that would cause me to manufacture such a story. I wanted to scream and rage at them, call out all their hypocrisies and self-righteousness and let them know just how low they were. But I didn’t. I silently turned on my heels and walked right back out the front door to where Blake Harrison’s driver was still parked.

“Take me home, please,” I told him, climbing back into the back seat.

“Yes ma’am,” he replied, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips.

Chapter 12.

Even though I had just spent most of the day sleeping in the car on the way to Mercy River, I felt exhausted as we pulled back onto the highway. I realized that the driver had not slept the entire time either and was probably exhausted as well.

“We can stop for the night if you’re tired,” I said, trying unsuccessfully to stifle my own yawn.

He laughed. “No ma’am. I was in the military. I can go for up to three days without sleep. I should be able to get us back no problem.”

I sat back and looked out the darkening window, contemplating the rollercoaster of emotions and decisions that I had just experienced. All those years I had guarded my secret, afraid that no one would believe me. It turned out that I had been right. Would it have made any difference if I had told my parents the truth when I was eleven instead of waiting until now?

I shook my head, realizing that my heart already knew the answer. My parents would always trust the church and Pastor Rick over their own daughter. They could not comprehend a man of God being capable of such evil. The most painful part was finding out that Daniel was just like them. I had always held some hope in my heart that Daniel was different than the other folks in Mercy River. I thought he could be capable of seeing into my soul and loving me for all my faults. I could have forgiven his other failings, but not this. No, there was only one man who could understand my pain and could love me for all of me. I needed to get back to him.

Somewhere along the way, I fell asleep curled up on the long leather seat. The driver must have covered me with his coat when we stopped for gas, because I woke up with the first rays of the morning sun, curled up under his thick wool coat. I yawned, stretching out my sore limbs and looked out the window as the first rays of light bathed the scenery. The houses we passed were large and fancy, and the lawns were perfectly manicured. I realized we were almost there.

“How close?” I called up to the driver, who still appeared remarkably alert for having driven through the night.

“Only about twenty more minutes,” he replied. “I thought about stopping for breakfast but figured you would rather make it back as soon as possible.”

“Thanks.” I wanted to ask how he could read me so easily, but instead I looked out the window, watching as we drew closer and closer to the Harrison Estate.

It didn’t take long for us to reach the private road and drive down the familiar driveway that lead to Blake Harrison’s secluded mansion. I stepped out onto the familiar turf, allowing the fresh, chilly morning air to run over me, making me awake and alert for the conversation to come.

I thanked the driver hastily, but my guilt got the best of me and I quickly ran back to give him a big, warm hug before rushing to the door. I was freezing, but more importantly, I needed to find Blake Harrison and bear my heart to him.

Not stopping to say hello to any of the staff, I rushed up the stairs and down the hall towards Blake Harrison’s office. I knocked loudly three times, but there was no response. Gingerly, I tried the doorknob. It didn’t budge. I took off down the halls again and followed the long stairwell up to the next floor. I saw the gleam of light under the door leading to his suite.

“Blake?” I called out, rapping my knuckles against the solid wood door. “Are you in there? It’s Grace. I need to talk to you.”

There was a long silence, and I started to worry that he planned to ignore me until I went away. Just as I was about to knock again, the door opened and Blake Harrison stood there shirtless, with only a pair of jeans to cover him.

I found myself staring at his golden, sculpted chest, his perfect abs that were hairless except for a tiny trail leading down from his belly button into the fly of his fitted jeans. The man was really a perfect, masculine Adonis and it was incredibly difficult to concentrate on what I wanted to say when he was standing in front of me without a shirt.

“Hi,” I finally managed to squeak out. “You look good.”

I saw a small smirk play at his mouth before the serious mask of concern replaced it. “What are you doing here, Grace?” he asked, his voice low and smooth. “You are supposed to be home in Mercy River with your boyfriend Daniel.”

“No!” I stamped my foot childishly. I was tired of being told what to do. “Mercy River is not my home, and Daniel is not my boyfriend. Blake, I don’t need to be protected or coddled. I belong here with you.”

Blake pursed his lips and then started to say something, but I interrupted him, the words tumbling faster and faster from my lips.

“I love you Blake. I know you have your demons, I know you will have to deal with them and so will I, for as long as I’m with you. And I want to, because I love you and want to help you. I believe that you will love me despite my demons as well. Daniel couldn’t.”

I stopped and looked up at Blake through the dark fringe of my eyelashes. I could see the struggle playing out on the contours of his face as he thought through everything I had just said.

“What exactly are you talking about, Grace?” he finally asked in a soft voice, reaching his strong hand under my chin and tilting my face up towards his. He looked deep into my eyes and I could feel his love and his concern for me.

So I told him. I told him how my pastor had molested me for a year when I was still a child, and how he had justified it by saying it was what God wanted. I told him how I had kept that secret for so long and how Daniel and my parents had refused to believe me.

“That bastard! Those assholes!” He finally spat out when I finished my story. He was seething with rage, his face contorted. He took my hand in his and pressed his warm lips against my cool skin. “I want to kill that man. You never deserved such a horrible thing, Grace. I am so sorry.”

“Thank you,” I replied quietly as tears sprang to my eyes. This time, they were happy tears. “Thank you for believing me.”

“Of course I believe you!” he exclaimed, wrapping his strong arms around me. “Why would you make something like that up? I’m sorry your family can’t see how messed up they are, but I promise that I am here to protect you now. I understand that I can’t shut you out, just like I never want you to shut me out.”

I smiled up into his gorgeous, angular face, finally feeling that I was home. Blake pressed his warm soft lips to mine in a kiss that was chaste, and sweet, and comforting. I kissed him back harder, letting my tongue wander to the space between his lips.

“You know, Grace,” he said softly and dangerously in my ear. “I bought you some new lingerie that’s arrived from Paris. Would you like to try it on for me?”

I blushed, feeling the warm flush in my cheeks move down my body and settle into my core, burning white hot. I nodded shyly, trying to hide my desire to jump right on him without delay. I knew that waiting, teasing, would only make it hotter.

“I would love that,” I replied, batting my eyelashes innocently as Blake stared at me with those dangerous emerald eyes.

THE END

Thank you for reading! Writing this book has been a really fun process and I hope to have more books out soon. Thanks to all my fellow writers and readers who have helped me along the way. I’m blessed to belong to such a wonderful community of indie writers. Keep on fighting the good fight!