Tammy started. “One hundred, ninety-nine, ninety-eight, ninety-seven,” she said, slowly counting as Tyler had asked.
“Now, keep counting and listen to the sound of my voice, I’m going to take you back to the road that night, I want you to tell me what you remember, the sound, the feel, the smell, anything around or near you.”
Concentrating on the numbers and Tyler’s words, Tammy let her mind drift. Slowly she started. “It was dark, I was cold. I hurt all over. The ground was cold, there was nothing, no one. I could go nowhere. No one could help me. No one was around. I was so cold and my back—my back really hurt.” Tammy felt the tears starting, but couldn’t do anything about it.
Pulling her closer, Tyler gently ran his hand over her bare thigh and encouraged her to go on. “It’s okay, baby, I’m here,.” he said, soothing her.
Tammy took a deep shuddering breath, trying to calm herself. She hadn’t known it would be this hard to tell. “I was sore and tired. I had been running, and I couldn’t run any further.” She started sobbing.
“It’s okay, you’re safe now. I won’t let anyone hurt you. Can you tell me what you were running from?”
“My father, the men, I…” she muttered incoherently. “I had to get away. It hurt so bad, my back. Why did they do that?”
Tyler held her closer and tried to comfort her. He knew what had happened to her was bad, but had no idea her father was involved. He needed to get to Dillon and make sure they didn’t contact the father until he had more details. He had a feeling this was very bad.
Not wanting to press her any further, he held her tighter and let her cry and mumble. She muttered incoherently for several minutes before she seemed to pull herself together and took a deep breath.
“Tyler, I need to make a confession. I’m not what I seem,” she told him quietly and started shaking.
“Why are you shaking, baby? Nothing you could tell me would change the way I feel for you. Whatever it is, we will deal with it together. You are not alone.”
Tammy reached both arms around his neck and pulled his head down to brush his lips with hers. “Thank you. I haven’t had anyone to depend on in a long time.”
Tyler didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to let her know that he had investigated her and what they had found out. He wanted her to tell him because she wanted to, not because he made her. He wanted her to trust him.
He could see a future with her and he wanted that future built on trust, not on fear or anything else. If he didn’t get her to trust him, he could never do the things he wanted to with her.
He knew he was going to have to go slow, since she was young and innocent, but he felt things for her that he had never felt for anyone else. He could see himself spending his life with this woman.
Knowing there was no easy way to start, Tammy just let it out. “My father is a very screwed up man. He’s done a lot of bad things and my childhood was not good after my mom died. We spent lots of time moving around and I never really had a home. My dad gambles, on anything and everything,” she told him, filling in the details of her life.
“Just before you found me, my dad did the most terrible thing he has ever done. His gambling was very bad and he got in deep, so deep that there was no way he could pay off his debts. One day he came home with two men to the sleazy hotel we were staying at. When he walked through the door, he turned to the men and gave me to them to pay off his debt. They must have drugged me with something, because when I woke up I was hanging by my arms from the ceiling in a big empty room and they were beating my back. I think I passed out, because I woke up on the floor. That’s how I got away. There was no one around and the door was open. I
ran. That’s when you found me. I’m sure they are looking for me. If they find me, I’m afraid they will kill me or worse.”
Tyler sat and let her finish her story. When she appeared to be done, he said, “That’s terrible. Why did you say you aren’t what you appear?” She couldn’t think any of this was her fault. He was not going to let her get away with that.
“This is the bad part. I knew who I was and what had happened all along. I was just afraid of being found and didn’t want anyone to know my name. I thought if the hospital had my name, my father or the men could find me.”
As she finished, she started shaking again. “Tyler, I don’t know what will happen if they find me. I want to stay here with you. I think you can keep me safe. Will you keep me safe?” she asked, burying her face in his shoulder and starting to cry again.
Holding her tighter if possible and trying not to hurt her, Tyler did his best to reassure her by placing kisses on her head and face, rubbing his hands over her body. “Baby, I will protect you. You are safe here and those men will never find you. If they do, I will make sure they don’t hurt you again, and I have lots of friends that will help.”
“Don’t let me go,” she started crying, finally letting go of her control. She had been independent for so long, it felt good to have someone else to depend on. Her soul knew she could trust this man and that he would never let her down. She didn’t know how she knew, but she did.
She cried for a long time, letting out all the hurt and disbelief. With all that had happened, she hadn’t had time to react to what her father had done, she had just coped with all that was going on.
Now that she could react, she cried. She cried for her mother, she cried for her childhood, she cried for her teen years. She cried for it all, but most of all, she cried because of what her father had done. Part of her couldn’t believe that he had given her to those men, and part of her wasn’t really surprised. If it wouldn’t have been for her working and bringing him money, he probably would have left her long ago. He had tried to leave her with family or friends a couple times, but no one had been willing to take on the burden of a young girl.
When she started to calm down, Tyler stood with her in his arms and carried her to the bedroom. Laying her on the bed, he crawled in beside her, pulling her to him. He didn’t plan on doing anything but holding her. He wanted her close.
Tammy turned to face him and looked into his eyes. “Tyler, will you make love to me? I need you to hold me and make me feel wanted.”
Tyler wanted nothing more. Turning them so that she was laying on her back and he was crouching over her, he leaned down to kiss her, gently at first then with increasing passion and when she opened for him, he swept her mouth with his tongue, exploring every nook and cranny as if searching for treasure.
Breaking the kiss, he lifted her hands over her head telling her to hold on to the brass headboard. Slowly, he worked his way down her body, licking, nipping, and tasting along her skin until he reached her breasts.
There he lavished her breasts, running his tongue round and round, he brought her nipples to tight peaks, only then to grab them with his thumb and forefinger, pinching and pulling.