Sheesh. Bossy.
I make my way begrudgingly up to his house, knowing now there was no way to avoid that whole ‘I’m still married’ snafu. He lets us all in and shuts and locks the door, arming his security system. The kids started to make their way upstairs, but Ford stops them.
“Freeze!” And they do. “Few ground rules,” he barks out, ticking them off his fingers as he goes along. “You aren’t allowed outside, the doors stay locked at all times. Do NOT disarm the security system. And if someone knocks on this door, you do not answer it.” At that comment, he cut his eyes to Aria and she grins.
“Yes, sir,” they both mumbled before taking off upstairs. Ford makes his way down the hallway and to the kitchen where he drops his keys and phone. Leaning his back against the counter, he crosses his arms over his chest and crosses his feet at his ankles and pins me with his eyes. We are separated by a hallway but somehow I'm still drawn to him. In some ways, I think I always will be. This magnetic pull that neither of us could deny. My heart beats for this man.
I close the distance between us and take a seat at one of the bar stools at the island, resting my forehead in my hand and taking a deep breath.
“Talk,” he rumbles.
“Where do you want me to start?” I ask him, shakily. “Should I start at the beginning, when I was seventeen and my mama had just died and I had no one to turn to when I met Jason? Or should I start at the end, where I fled our home with nothing but my purse and three broken ribs, not even a pair of shoes on my feet, because I was sure that night would be the night my husband killed me?” My voice cracks at the end.
Ford sighs real heavy and makes his way over to me at the island.
“I already knew, Lex.” At that, my eyes snap up to his and narrow.
“Excuse me?” I snapped.
He ran his knuckles down my cheek and pressed a kiss to my lips. “I already knew. Jax knows Mrs. Jenkin’s niece and she’s a huge blabbermouth. She heard your story from her aunt who heard it from Ronnie who told Mrs. Jenkins when they set you up with the house. He told me months ago. I just wish you would have told me sooner.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you knew? I’ve been freaking out for like ever, trying to figure out how to tell you I was still married, and that my husband has been sending me death threats!” I screech a little at the end. I’m pretty sure I was cracking up just a bit. Ford's face turns to stone.
“Wait. Back up. Your husband is sending you what now?”
I feel my face pale a little. I clear my throat. “Ah, death threats? Nope, no death threats here."
“And just how long has this been going on?” His hand grip the counter, his knuckles turning white.
“Just a handful of months. Via text and mail.”
He holds his hand out and I hesitate, rolling my eyes and slapping my phone down into it. He hits some buttons, and his eyes begin scanning my phone before they cut back up to me.
“Why would you keep this to yourself?” He growls, smacking his hand on the counter, causing me to flinch. I feel my eyes fill with tears.
“I’m sorry, okay? I’m so sorry. I have been dealing with Jason’s shit for years. More years than you could even comprehend. And I finally had enough so I left. I took what little money I had and I got the fuck out of New Jersey and I never looked back. I couldn’t. Looking back meant slowing down and if I would have slowed down, he would have found me, and I refused to let that happen. I spent the last four years rebuilding my life, taking self-defense classes, and learning how to shoot a gun. And then I take this fantastic job in Alabama, thinking there’s no way he would follow me here. I didn’t expect to meet you, Crawford. I wasn’t looking, but then you came along, and I couldn’t help but fall in love with you. And your kids. And when Jason started threatening me, I didn’t want to drag you into it. If anything ever happened to you or Aria and Zane, I would never forgive myself.” I choke on a sob at the end, tears pouring down my face. “I’m so fucking sorry.” He moves around the corner of the counter and wraps me up in a hug.
“You have nothing to be sorry for. He’s clearly dangerous if he followed you all the way to Alabama. We need to let the police look at your phone and the letters he’s been sending you.” I nod my head while still hugging him.
“Okay,” I sigh and pull back from him, wiping the leftover tears from my face. He tucks my hair behind my ear, pressing a chaste kiss to my lips.
“I’ll call the police station. Why don’t you call and order a pizza for dinner? Just cheese for the kids and whatever you want for us?” He walks away to snag the landline in the hallway while I pull up the number of the pizza place and pull in a shaky breath, suddenly feeling like a hundred-pound weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I feel better than I have in months and I owe it all to Ford. He makes me feel safe and cherished, things I never felt with Jason.
???
"Shit baby, you're soaked." He whispers into my ear, his fingers trailing up my slit, making my legs shake. I can feel my clit throbbing. I whimper in response.
"Shhh.. you have to be quiet. Can you be a good girl and stay quiet?" He asks, nipping at my jaw before soothing the sting with his tongue. I shake my head because I'm not sure I can be quiet. He chuckles and drags his fingers over the swell of my breasts, stopping at my hardened peaks, giving them the attention they're begging for.
Trailing his hand back up my chest he wraps his fingers around my throat and tips my chin up. His eyes darken.
"You'll be quiet or I'll stop, do you understand?" I nod as best as I can. He rewards me by strumming his fingers on my clit. "Good girl," he growls, releasing his hold and settling himself between my thighs. I've never wanted to be dominated before, not after all the abuse Jase doled out, but something about the way Ford does it gets me so fucking hot.
I arch my back off the bed as he runs his tongue up my slit, sucking my clit into his mouth. I moan. His head snaps up.
"What the fuck did I say?" I am so turned on; I whimper again because he stopped. “Tsk, tsk. Can’t be quiet. Can’t follow directions. I guess I’m going to have to give you something to moan about it.”
He climbs back up my body and presses a kiss to my lips and then whispers in my ear, “if at any point you’re too sore for this, say something, okay?” I nod my head and wrap my legs around him. He slides gently into me, bare. “Ford, fuck,” I moan out.