AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I could, on the other hand, give whatever this is a chance. I can allow him to show me who he truly is when he isn’t chasing me through the forest and fucking me raw. And I can finally discover who I am without my father hanging over me and judging everything I do and say.
Neither plan offers me much comfort but what it comes down to in the end is whether my husband will keep his promise or not. The rest, I can live with. Or at least learn to accept.
Chapter Ten
Jonah
It kills me to leave her alone in our room, to stand in the kitchen listening to her move around and run the tub. What really breaks me is what she is feeling. Now that I have bonded with her, left my mark on her skin, I can feel some of her emotions. Because our bond is still fresh, it will take time to settle completely. At some point, our bond will allow me to hear her thoughts and if I’m lucky maybe even more.
Right now, she is going through emotions like flipping the page in a magazine. Anger, fear, revulsion, self-hate, lust, and eventually acceptance. It tears at my heart that she is going through all of this alone, but it is one of the few things I can’t do for her. She will have to work through this stuff in her own time. If I pressure her or push, she could shut down completely, and then the life I dream of having with her—of giving her—will be long gone.
She appears from the hallway, wearing one of my old Navy t-shirts, the faded blue material engulfing her form and hanging all the way down to her knees. She is such a tiny thing that all her curves are hidden but I know they are there.
“Hey,” she says, staring at me.
“Hey,” I reply, feeling stupid. “I made dinner.”
I gesture to a seat before making her a plate. “It’s the only thing I can make besides pancakes, so I hope you like spaghetti Bolognese.”
“I’ll let you know after I taste it.”
She doesn’t look at me, but she does eat the food. It fills me with pride when a little moan leaves her. Being able to take care of her after what happened in the woods makes me feel a little better.
“What now?” she asks after taking a sip of water.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, what happens next? Are you going to keep your promise or was that only a means to an end?”
I stare at her in disbelief.
“Come here,” I demand.
Autumn stares at me for a moment before leaving her seat and walking around the table. I push my chair back to make space for her, allowing her to stand between my spread thighs. She stares at the floor using her hair as a curtain to shield her eyes from me.
“Look at me,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper. I wait for long moments until she complies before continuing. “You and I need to clear the air. Yes, I’m an asshole. Yes, I took what I wanted. But I also promised to be honest with you and if you can tell me one time I lied, I will take you down to Town Hall tomorrow to end this union.”
Her jaw drops but she remains silent.
“Now, I would like to spend more time with you before you go off to college. I know the semester is halfway through so I was hoping we could register you for next semester. You’ll have to work hard to catch up on what you missed but I know you can do it.”
Her eyes brim with tears. “Really?”
“Baby girl…” I pull her down on my lap so that she straddles me. It’s not a sexual thing, I just want to hold her. “I made you a promise. And if I can’t keep the first promise I make my wife, what does that say about the future?”
I pull her against my chest and hold her while she cries. I have no idea why this is such a big deal to her, but I will find out, eventually. For now, all she needs from me is support while she finds herself in this new landscape.
****
Autumn
I cried for long minutes. But they aren’t tears of sadness. I’m happy. To finally have someone in my life who will keep a promise is more than I could have ever asked for. It was like a dam broke inside me and I quite simply couldn’t hold back the tears.
“Feel better?” Jonah asks, stroking my hair away from my face when I look at him.
“Yes. I’m sorry about all the tears and dramatics. I’m not usually this emotional,” I explain.
“You can be whatever you want. If you want to cry, cry. If you want to laugh, laugh. Just don’t hide from me. I want to know what’s going on so I can fix any problems before it’s too late. The past twenty-four hours have been a lot to process.”
