MiaThe next time I came fully conscious, it was to a rattling noise near me. I groaned and slowly fluttered my eyes open. The moment bright lights greeted me, I squeezed my eyes shut again.“How are you doing, love?” A female voice came my way. I felt a warm hand about my shoulder as the woman continued. “Is there anything I can get you? Water? Tea? Coffee?”I nodded with my eyes still shut. “Wa-water,” I managed to articulate, my throat dry and scratchy. It hurt.“Sure,” the woman said. “Just hold on a second.”As I heard her footsteps moving away, I tried opening my eyes once again, and this time, I got used to the bright light that shone into the room.With my vision still a little blurry, I searched about the place, wondering how long I had been asleep.When the woman returned with a glass of water, I asked, “How long?”She helped me sit up and then guided the glass of water toward my lips.She must have understood my question because she said, “You’ve been in and out of consciou

JamesWhen James came in through the door after a long day at the office and headed toward Mia’s bed in the hospital that night, he found her deep in slumber. Standing by her side, he gazed at her long and hard, noting the bruises on her beautiful face. Fuck! He wanted those unsightly marks gone as soon as possible. The sight of them reminded him of Herbert Weston and what the bastard had done to Mia, and once again, he felt rage erupting in his being.For perhaps the hundredth time, he swore nothing like that would ever happen to Mia again. He’d protect her. He’d cherish her.For now, she looked peaceful in her sleep, but he knew it wouldn’t last long. Soon, it would start, the nightmare, as it had the past three nights. She’d start crying and screaming and begging in her sleep as that terrifying episode of her kidnapping returned to haunt her. She’d scream for Herbert Weston to let her go. She’d beg for him to stop hurting her, and fuck, but the sheer fear and panic in her voice bro

MiaWhen I woke again, I felt a lot better. The headache was gone, as was the exhaustion.After cleaning myself up for the second time that day, I returned to my bed with renewed determination. I will no longer allow the thought of Herbert Weston to affect me. I will not cry remembering the trauma he inflicted on me nor the distress he caused me—physically, mentally, and emotionally. I will be free from that bastard!With that, I settled myself to read some magazines Brenda had left for me, and it wasn’t long before lunch arrived. It was also around then that Andy appeared at the door again. With my mouth still full of food, I stared at him wide-eyed as he walked toward me.“Hey,” he said. “Feeling better?”I quickly swallowed my food and reached my arms out for him, begging for a great big hug again.Andy came over and took me into his arms as I wrapped mine around his torso.I chuckled as I raised my eyes to look at him. “I hope you’re not driving Matt crazy because you’re so worrie

MiaThe next day, I was finally discharged from the hospital, and James, with Andy tagging along, came to pick me up that afternoon. Of course, both men watched over me like mother hens as I slipped out of bed and began to get myself ready.I was just reaching out for the luggage to start packing when Andy said, “I’ll do that for you. You go and get changed.”I nodded and headed into the bathroom, a dress in my hand.While Andy packed my stuff into the bag Savannah had brought for me, James was in the bathroom, aiding me with getting dressed since my movement was slow. Of course, I didn’t mind the fact that I was half naked in front of him, in just undies and bra and my bare skin marked with dark bruises everywhere. After all, he had seen me naked last night when he was making love to me, albeit under the dimness of the wall light.“Raise your arms,” he instructed as if I were his daughter. I thought he was being very parental toward me.I smiled as I obeyed him, raising my arms high

JamesThe moment their father appeared at the door, James knew for a fact that Eric wasn’t happy. He knew also that, soon, the youngest brother would bring up the subject of their father’s future young bride and demand details. Of course, James had no idea why Eric was so riled up about something this trivial. After all, their father was very popular with the opposite sex, regardless of age, and for him to tie the knot again, with a twenty-five-year-old woman at that, wasn’t all that surprising.Currently, they were drinking, nibbling, and chatting about various topics—social and business. They even talked about Herbert Weston and the Mexican mafia, which didn’t much interest James. To him, what was done was done. Of course, what really interested James was Mia.Fuck! He wanted to kiss her and make passionate love to her, but alas, he obviously couldn’t do that until everyone left.It was around midnight when Eric finally brought up the much-anticipated subject. Of course, James was q