A/N Here is the next chapter of this series. Thank you so much for the love for this story. It makes me smile to know people are enjoying it!
I am working on a different thriller action adventure kind of like a Prison Break theme plot with WWE too and should be ready to post chapter one this weekend too. Its called Beauty Within the Darkness and will be Roman and O/C centric with Seth and Becky and Dean and a whole bunch of WWE characters. Super excited about it.
Happy reading! Please let me know what you think :)
Emily's eyes were closed as she lay in the back seat and just curled up in a ball and felt the low rumbling of the street beneath the tires under them. She could not have been more grateful for Roman in that moment. She peeked up between bloody lashes and could see him, his eyes so focused on the road. His hands were steady on the steering wheel. He was truly her hero like she heard that cop say and she could not imagine what he was risking in what he was doing right now.
She groaned and tried to stifle a whimper and even laying wrapped in a blanket and Roman's jacket she felt like nothing was soft enough. Everything inch of her hurt and she could barely breath in without her lungs aching too.
She caught sight of him turn his head toward her and she tried to smile, when even smiling hurt her face. He smiled back and looked so completely perfect in her eyes. Right now she knew she must look like hell. He turned ever so reluctantly away from her eyes to focus back on the road again and she closed her eyes too and tried to sleep more, knowing she was finally safe.
Hunter had raged on her that morning, storming into the bedroom when he woke up. He beat her more so than ever and she didn't even want to remember it, but she doubted she would ever forget. She knew why and she needed to tell Roman everything but right now she was just focused on taking in her next breath without it hurting.
Emily was sleeping all curled up into herself for the last bit of the night. She wasn't shivering but she wasn't warm. She had fallen asleep knowing her husband was still drunk and drugged out on the couch with some girl she didn't even recognize and it was just as well that he not come back and find her.
She was just fine laying here and being in Roman's arms in her dreams. That had been the only way she had fallen asleep after everything that had happened that night and she had laid there curled into her pillow, trying to imagine his arms still around her like they had been on the floor by his door wrapped in the blanket.
Emily would have loved to have fallen asleep right there and she almost had she knew, if it hadn't been for his gentle prodding to let her know that rainstorm had stopped and it was probably a good idea to go back home now. She had nearly been asleep then, so unbelievably soothed in his embrace.
So she had shut her eyes tight and tried to imagine still being there and she had finally felt sleep take her into a fitful time of tossing and turning.
When it was almost morning but no one was up yet, she woke up and used the bathroom and changed then into a more cute sexy type nightie, hoping anything might entice Hunter to just forget his promise to punish her more once they were home.
So she slipped on his favorite red baby doll nightie and red lace panties even with the big thick padding from her still bleeding and crawled back under the covers. Maybe this time he would see her all dressed up for him and just snuggle in and forget being mad. She could hope.
Hope...oh God and there were the tears.
Sucking in the sobs so no one would dare hear her, Emily after saying goodbye to the most amazing man that she had no doubt would have been an amazing daddy was then laying in a cold and empty bed, dressing sexy for a man who she didn't love. Her husband was literally forcing her to stay with him and she was now praying he would just forget to punish her.
Yet all she wanted to do was grieve for her precious baby Hope.
She cried silently, pushing the pillow against her mouth.
"God Roman," she whimpered into the fabric. She didn't dare want Hunter to hear her crying out another man's name. But laying there in the quiet house in the middle of the night she felt such a darkness, a heaviness that wasn't going away. She wanted to run again but knew it was useless. He would always find her and catch her. She cursed herself for hiding her nightmare life from her hero now too, in the name of protecting him. She felt like it was worse now than before, like she might not survive.
But Hunter always said he needed her alive. She didn't get to just get away that easy. And that thought that somehow he needed her, kept her from thinking the worst. So she shut her eyes tight right then and prayed for more sleep.
In her dreams...Roman could hold her. She didn't care if it was stupid or wrong or anything. She just wanted to feel safe and she clung to any way that she could find that, even if it was hiding in her mind.
Because in her head he was still here. In her head she could pull his arm around to her waist, feel him bury his nose against her neck, hear him sigh against her skin. Emily could feel him curl his body around her, kissing her throat and nuzzle his head to hers and then she would finally sleep.
Emily's eyes flew open at the sound of a car horn nearby as they must be on the highway by now and saw Roman looking back at her again. His expression looked full of worry for her at every little noise or startling sound and she saw him mouth 'I'm sorry'. But he had nothing to be sorry for. Nothing at all.
And she was going to be as strong as she could for him and all he was risking to protect her.
His brow was knit in such intense concern for her and his smile looked so hesitant. This was a completely different Roman than she had said goodbye too last night. The man last night did not want to dishonor a marriage or get in the way and be the other man. The other anything.
This man today just saved her from her abuser, not a husband. This man looks more like her protector than he ever did in that alley the night before when he didn't even know her. He had a fire in his gray eyes now and a passion to stand between her and anything else that would ever hurt her. Emily wondered if he was somehow blaming himself for not stopping what happened or protecting her sooner. She needed to talk to him more about that.
She was in awe of his softness toward her and as much as she didn't want to involve him in her life, he chose this and chose to take her out of there in front of the cop guarding her. He had kicked the guy in the head right in front of her.
Emily knew he was in and he was in this deep with her now.
Her husbands hate and Roman's...dare she say it...love? Was as different as night and day. It was so clear she could trust him and he was willing to risk a lot more than she thought to protect her. She did not ever think anyone would ever care enough or want to put that much of themselves at risk just for her.
But there they were, she was safely tucked in his SUV and Roman had kidnapped a cop and had him tied down in his trunk. Maybe he thought he had no choice in what he did but this man cared for her. He was different and she needed to trust that.
Her hero kept driving and even from her spot laying in the backseat she could tell they had pulled into a parking garage and brightness of the day disappeared as he pulled to a stop and she heard the drivers door open.
Roman opened the door beside her and she lifted her head toward him. Were they there already? She found herself already smiling as she met his serious gray eyes.
"Em...I...," he sucked in a breath and she saw him grit his teeth. "Damn it I can hardly think seeing you like this. How could he? How could anyone..do this to another person?" His fingers trembled as he stroked down her hair and just like that Emily saw this big strong man with tears in his beautiful eyes again.
He looked so broken, so lost, as his eyes took in her face and all her wounds. She pulled herself to sitting up more and ran her hand down his cheek, catching his tears in her palm.
Roman leaned in, his head lightly resting against her and the stormy gray eyes closed sending more tears down his face. His hair was like a curtain around them both and tumbling the dark locks in waves down his shoulders and hiding them from anyone and anything around them. All she saw was his tears slipping silently down his face as he kept his eyes closed.
God, could anyone ever look more vulnerable and so beautiful?
She had never seen this kind of reaction from any other man in her life before. It felt foreign and yet so soothing to have someone care and be so real with her. Emily could see he ached to trade places with her, to carry her pain, her wounds. It was breaking him to see her like this and she was trying so hard to be strong.
She leaned up and pulled his head to hers and pressing her lips to his face, catching all the tears with her tongue and licking up the saltiness from his cheeks. She started massaging his head, her hands in his hair again, just like she had last night and knew it has soothed him so much then and she hoped it would help now too.
Roman moaned at her touch, his own palms near feather light at her back, on top of the blanket and she could tell he did not know where or if he should touch her. She kept massaging his head and pulled him closer. "Its okay, please don't be scared to hold me or touch me Roman," she whispered in his ear.
At that the blanket fell lower and he ran his hands along her sides, still so carefully and so lightly. She could tell he was very scared to hurt her.
He nuzzled his head to hers, his eyes still closed, lost in her fingers still massaging his head and she was startled by the sudden cry from her own lips that came out without her permission.
He backed up fast, startled, his eyes were wide and she cursed her own body for reacting cause his head rubbed against one of the cuts by her hairline.
"No, no Roman, please. It wasn't you." Emily called back to him as he backed away. He was shaking his head and pulling the blanket back around her.
"I did hurt you" he stated and ran his finger lightly along her forehead and she saw his finger shaking as it came back with blood on it. "God, Emmie I am so sorry." He cursed and slammed his hand on the side of the door of his SUV and Emily saw him clench his teeth.
Emily grabbed his hand in hers and kissed his finger tip that now showed the blood from her head on it and shook her head, lighting sucking the blood off it. "No you didn't hurt me Roman. You could never hurt me. He did." Her dark eyes were focused, steady on his.
Roman swallowed deeply and studied her face and watching her sucking on his finger before releasing it .
"I'm still sorry," he mumbled and again dropped his head to hers again but she was aware that this time he was careful not to nuzzle her forehead. And just the lack of intimacy because of her injuries made her so mad at Hunter and what he was stealing from her right this minute.
She saw more tears slip silently down his cheeks as he spoke and she fought her own pain and she nuzzled his head with her own. "It's okay Roman. I'm here with you. I know I am safe now. You have no idea how amazing just that feels. "
Emily saw him swallow and smile and she nuzzled him again. "See, I can fight through the pain and you don't have to be scared of hurting me. You are helping...every single...touch from you is helping..." she breathed as she kissed the skin of his cheek and licked up more tears as they fell. "Please know that."
Roman's eyes fell closed again at the feeling of her tongue on his cheek again and Emily loved that such simple touches from her could affect him .
When he opened his eyes next he smiled and seemed much more relaxed. "I do, I can see that. I'm still so sorry. I don't know what to do...I don't want to do anything else that could hurt you baby girl."
Emily stroked her palms down his face. "I know, so we will need to be careful. But I trust you so trust me too that I know you would never want to hurt me." He nodded and she smiled back at him.
His hands fell to her lap and their fingers twined together, squeezing tight and she just treasured laying in the peace of his presence. Emily felt more calm and safer than she had been in years. They trusted each other and that was what they needed right now.
The silence between them was so soothing and peaceful. She curled her head just under his hair by the side of his head and sighed and saw his eyes close again. Emily could feel his breathes on her face, his hands rubbing up and down on hers in their lap and again she braved the pain from the cuts on her face and rubbed against him. The pleasure she got from it far outweighed the pain from the cuts she could feel throbbing.
"Mmm Em, " Roman groaned, his lips right against her cheek and she turned just the slightest bit further and let his lips cover hers. His kiss was so soft, so gentle and careful, like he was scared any touch to her could hurt her. She tasted the slightest bit of blood in their kiss from a cut on her lip, but fought through the sting and sunk deep into the kiss.
She wanted more. More peace, more pleasure. She could barely feel any pain at all as they kissed. Emily felt Roman's hands come up and cradle her head, tilting it just slightly and she closed her eyes and let herself lean back against him and drown in the feelings.
Roman pulled her back, cradled in his arms, leaned against the seat and the door, his one leg was up folded up under him on the seat as he faced her and with the slightest gentle tug Emily was pulled into his lap sideways, blanket and all.
She wound her arms around his neck and gripped tight on the hair at the back of his neck as she let him lead the kiss this time.
Roman fully took control, his hands around her face, his finger stroking lightly down her throat and her bare arm as he delved his tongue between her lips. His one leg moved up behind her back, letting her lean more on it as he cradled her sideways on his lap.
"Mmm, Roman, " Emily moaned against his lips, and her one arm slid down his to scrape her nails down his bicep before slipping back up under the t shirt to grip his shoulder underneath. Any skin, anything she was exploring felt incredible.
Slowly she felt him pulling back, his breath a slight pant against her face and she opened her eyes to be met with his as he held her against his chest. Carefully sitting back up more Roman helped her pull the blanket more up over her and lean her back in it but still cradled in his arms.
"You okay?" he asked softly, rubbing noses with her affectionately and smoothed her hair back from her face.
She nodded and smiled. "Mmm hmm, " I barely felt any pain then. Kissing you, disappearing into us helped baby."
Emily watched him process her words and saw the look of relief and pride it seemed like spread over his face at that.
She stroked her fingers in his hair. "See, I told you you were helping,"
Roman looked like he was starting to believe it more and smiled back. "You have no idea how good that makes me feel. So you will be okay then, for a few minutes? I need to go for and grab some supplies. You will be safe here. I'm going to check on our prisoner and make sure he's all tied up nice and tight and then I will be as quick as I can, okay?"
She nodded, without a word and trusted him like she said she did. If he said they were safe then they were safe. Emily carefully slid off his lap already missing his arms around her once he stood up at the door and tried to get comfortable laying down on the seat, She watched him offer her one more soothing smile before closing the door quietly and heading to the back of the SUV.
Emily heard the trunk open and the sound of some struggling and grunting and then it was quiet. She could almost not believe how much Roman was risking in all he was doing for her. She had known Hunter was going to have someone come over to watch her or feed her or make sure she was looked after till he got back. He usually barely gave a damn but needed her alive and still in his possession once he would return from wherever he went the last time.
This wasn't her first time through this mess. This was just the first time someone actually found her and rescued her and got her the hell out of there.
Sure she had tried to escape other times. But he always seemed to be one step ahead of her and nothing she ever did made any bit of difference. He knew too many people in powerful places and always seemed to have ways to explain away anything he ever did to her or anyone else.
So she had resisted telling Roman too much and scared that it could put a target on his back. He had already pulled away when he found out she was married so why should she have expected more? She still had no idea how he had found her even or how he managed to overpower the cop guarding her. She had so many questions.
Emily closed her eyes and tried to sleep. She was safe here. The doors were locked, the windows even looked quite dark so no one would just be able to look in and see her there. She pulled the blanket more over her head anyway and just lay there quietly. He would be back soon and he was going to take care of her. He promised.
She peeked out of the blanket once more and double checked that they trunk was sealed off. It didn't look like it connected to the back seats at all. She moved her hand around along the edge of the seats, just to make sure that cop could not find any way to get to her from where he was.
Breathing another sigh of relief she coughed and that hurt even more and her stomach started spinning. Coughing hurt, breathing hurt. Every damn thing hurt. Her stomach was feeling dizzy like she could throw up too and that wasn't a good idea now either. She curled back up in a ball and wrapped her arms tight around her belly and tried of ignore the spinning.
Emily cringed at the pressure her arms were causing pulling tight on her stomach, knowing how many times Hunter had kicked her there and the bruises she was squeezing. Tears sprung to her eyes and she just couldn't get comfortable.
"Roman." she whimpered painfully into the empty vehicle. "Please, hurry."
Dr. Reigns, his white coat said. That should be enough to get him into the areas he needed to and back out as quick as possible. Walking quickly though another long hallway Roman had his hair pulled back in a tight bun again and had tucked it up under a larger green scrub cap.
He had only realized once in was already in the elevator that he was only wearing the gray v neck and jeans and he had streaks of her blood all over him from him carrying her out of her house. So he snuck into the first staff room he saw and saw it was the doctors lounge and sure enough his locker was there with his bag of ID in the top cupboard and a fresh hand stitched coat there too.
Roman nodded politely to a few ladies at the nurses station and walked back to the door behind it and used his key card to open the supply room door.
Yes. They had gotten all his clearances working already. He walked in and closed the door silently behind him and turned back to the rows of shelves with bandages and medicines.
He unpacked a defibulator from its carrying bag and filled it with as many bandages and gauzes and needles and sewing kits and medicines that he thought he might need. He grabbed a couple IV bags too and tossed them in there too. She would need to get her strength back and he had no idea if she was well enough to chew or swallow anything.
Roman looked around the room for anything else. He didn't want to have to come back later but he hadn't really examined any of her wounds yet either. He wanted to be prepared for anything and yet not take too much that it would be noticed. He grabbed a couple more adult type pads, knowing she had been bleeding after the still birth delivery too.
Oh God, Hope.
Had anyone even thought more about her precious baby for her? Her ass of a husband had not even acknowledged it as a baby and blamed her for killing her. Roman could not even imagine the grief she must have been feeling. Would she want a funeral? He needed to remember to ask her about that.
That precious bundle had been the most perfect human he had ever seen and it had broken his heart to see her so still and already gone before she had even had a chance to live. He wasn't a preemie or neonatal doctor but he had assisted on heart surgeries for babies that tiny before and it was an extremely delicate process. But babies had survived and thrived at 20 weeks before and it wasn't unheard of. So it had been so hard to watch Emily not even given the chance to let her baby daughter fight.
Roman swung his head at the sound of the door opening and he quickly zipped the bag closed he was holding before turning around.
Dean stood there looking back at him, a puzzled look on his face. He looked tired and his scrubs were stained with blood. Roman, pulled the white coat more closed over his t shirt to hide the blood he knew was on him. He hadn't turned on the light to look around so it was still quite dim all around them and he held his breath praying that he hadn't seen anything.
Roman nodded to him and tried to just simply step past him like it was normal to see him in here but Dean put his hand out, stopping him and pushing back on his chest.
He figured he would head off any questions by giving a quick explanation first.
"Oh hey Dean, I was just coming by for a few things and I was in the lounge and some guy was freaking out about a janitor having a heart attack and needing a defib and they told me where you guys keep them so I just ran to grab one. Look. Gotta go. But I'll see you in a few days, k?"
Roman ducked past Dean and was out the door and broke into a run toward the elevator and grabbed the first open one he saw and pushed the close door as fast as he could till he was alone as the doors shut and they rumbled down to the parking garage.
His head fell back to the wall and he shut his eyes a minute as he waited for it to stop, hoping that he could make it all the way to the parking floor without anyone else getting on. Almost home free.
The doors opened and Roman opened his eyes and blinked at the signs. He breathed a sigh of relief and saw the solid cement poles and long darker walkway and knew right away where he had parked.
The bag was clutched tight in his fist as he made his way back to her and was already jingling the keys in his pocket to open the door. He opened the drivers side door of the SUV and tossed the bag across the seats to the passenger side, along with the scrub cap to the center console and was just leaning back up between the seats to check on her.
"Em, I'm back. Are you okay? I went as quick as I could."
He saw her move around and groan slightly and he pulled himself back off his seat and moved, closed his and opened the back door.
"Roman? What's going on?"
Shit, that wasn't her voice.
Roman froze, not having opened the back door all the way yet and just barely held it partially closed with his hand between the frame and the door as he cursed silently. Damn it!
He turned back away from the vehicle not wanting to click it closed loud enough for him to hear so he just leaned it closed and stood in front of it.
"Dean, um, why are you following me?" Roman was scrambling to think of something that made sense to offer as an explanation to being clearly caught in a lie here now. Shit.
Dean stood there staring and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I knew the story about the janitor was crap man. What the hell are you doing? Where is your girl? Are you stealing meds from the hospital? Are you an addict? I mean human resources vets people pretty damn well but even a few idiots get through and get hired and just steal for their habit and get locked up fast. Do I need to call the cops here?"
Cops...oh no no no...
Roman could have jumped forward in protest but he was still trying to figure out what the hell to say here that would make Dean go away. He couldn't just kidnap him too. It was insane already that he had a freaking cop in his trunk. He couldn't just tell him all about Emily either and everything with the police.
"No, no man. No I'm not a drug addict I promise you that. Please don't call the police," Roman begged, his hands up at his sides as he saw Dean hold out his phone. Dean was already dialing and speaking to hospital security and Roman's heart was racing to figure out what to do before he told them where they were and what was going on.
But suddenly the door for the SUV was pushed open and Emily nearly fell out, dropping the blanket and his jacket and leaned over and she puked hard on the floor outside the side of the tire and she gagged before coughing and throwing up more.
Roman bent to her side in an instant and was rubbing her back and holding her hair back from her face as more liquid came up and he pulled her to lean on him as he held her and she had her stomach heave more till she had nothing left.
Dean watched all this with shock all over his face and slowly dropped the phone from his ear, saying he didn't need back up and to cancel the lockdown of the parking garage. The person on the phone sounded like she understood and then he turned back to Roman.
"Okay, so this IS about your girl. You could have just told me man. You have my attention now Roman. What the hell is going on?" Dean demanded and slid the phone back into his pocket.
Roman looked hard into the other man's blue eyes, kneeling now on the floor so she could cling to him in whatever way she needed. "I don't think you want to know what is going on."
Dean moved closer to them and Roman was still rubbing her back on top of her thin tank top and the sheer like red lingerie still underneath. She was shivering in the cold of the damp parking garage but had tossed everything off that he had wrapped her when they drove.
But instead of more blankets when she looked done throwing up, she climbed into his arms on the floor as he cradled her close. Roman rocked her this time, his arms all the way around her as she curled up tight in his lap on the cold cement.
Roman looked up at Dean who was slowly walking around them and studying her as he moved.
Dean bent to his knees and Roman saw him look her up and down. Roman was trying not to beg but he didn't know what else to say or do. "Please man. Don't make this worse for her. Please," he pleaded.
"Jesus who did that? What the hell happened to her?" He looked back at Roman then. "This... is what you didn't want me to see? You were stealing meds for her?"
Roman nodded and felt his jaw tick again at just the thought of who did this. "Cops, man. Her fucking cop husband did this. So you can see why you cant call them and they can't help us worth a damn. I don't know who the fuck to trust at all. Or who won't just get info back to her damn husband."
Dean put his hand on Roman's back in a supportive way just like he had back in the exam room the previous night. Maybe this was someone they actually could trust.
The blonde doctor looked shocked and Roman saw him look sadly to Emily before focusing back on him. "Oh wow, that is terrible. Did you um... get everything you needed? Do you have any idea what you are up against?"
Roman nodded slowly. No, he had no idea what he was up against. Did it pay to care now? He had already dug himself a deep hole and he had no idea how he would get out of it.
Dean was leaned over them and Roman watched him gently moving her hair back from her cheek. "She's going to need stitches. Are you prepared for that?"
He nodded back at his new friend. Sure he knew how to repair minor cuts and scrapes. He wasn't a Plastics surgeon or anything but he didn't see needing that.
Dean shook his head back at him. "No man I mean. It will hurt, depending on what meds you could get to numb the pain or whatever. She will need someone to support her and not just stitch her up. I can come by and help you out if you want. It makes me sick to think that a cop did this after she was already mugged and lost her baby last night."
Roman thought about that. Might not be a bad idea to have help. Emily looked up at him while still curled up in his arms and nodded to him too that she might welcome the extra help and he then nodded back at Dean in agreement.
"Okay, okay sure. That would be great. I'm at the motel by the highway and you could just knock when you get there. I'm the only one with a U haul parked beside it. We will be parked in front of the room too. Her husband is out of town now on business hopefully for a damn week or more but who knows."
Roman looked deadly serious at him. "Please though I'm trusting you. Please. Don't tell anyone else. I don't know who would report anything back to more cops in town at all."
Dean nodded back at him and grasped his shoulder. "You can trust me man. You can. I hate dirty cops and anyone who beats on someone smaller than them. That's just sick man."
Roman cupped his hand around her head and kissed her hair as she was still curled up in his arms on the cold ground and he gave Dean a weak smile. He was right it was just sick and he was so glad she was safe now. He would do anything to prevent her from ever having to go back to that monster again.
Dean left and promised to meet him back at the motel after his shift later and Roman helped Emily back into the SUV again as carefully as he could. He could tell everything was hurting her more and he could see more bruises, cuts and blood on her legs too as he was trying to move her and he fought with himself not to break down more again.
The drive back was quiet and she had just stayed curled up on the seats and he had seen her looking like she was trying to sleep so he had just stayed quiet the whole way and let her rest.
Pulling up to the motel he put the vehicle in park and just sat back in the seat and watched her from the rear view mirror. Despite how she looked, she seemed peaceful and he was so grateful. Just seeing her sleeping like that without fear in that moment made all the shit he knew he was in for worth it in his eyes.
Roman sighed and couldn't take his eyes off her as she lay curled up on his back seat. He had no idea where they would go from here. He needed to do whatever he could to protect this precious woman that he knew he was falling for far too fast.
Shaking his head and trying to jar his thoughts away from anything like that. Falling in love was not the plan now. He knew that was not what he should be focusing on now. She needed to feel safe, like she had begged him. This for sure was not the time for him to show her any other feelings he was having, no matter how strong they were.
He saw her start to moan and roll around and she looked like she was waking up now and in pain. It was time to get her off that hard seat and into a soft bed. He needed to check her wounds too and see if anything was broken or more damaged than it looked like from the outside.
Reluctant to move to quickly and startle her Roman quietly turned off the car and opened the door and closed it before opening hers and leaning in to see how he could help her into the room. She sat up and reached for him, still mostly wrapped up in the blanket and his jacket and he pulled her up and into his arms and carried her to the door.
Carefully he put her down on her feet to unlock it and swung the door open before bending down and scooping her back up and bringing her right to the edge of the bed. He sat her down and untangled her arms from his neck with a gentle reminder he would be right back.
Roman quickly crossed the floor and was back out the door to check on the prisoner, grabbed the bag of supplies from the front seat and lock his SUV doors. He double checked the cops phone for any messages from Hunter and so far there was none and slipped it back in his jean pocket.
He would leave the guy in the trunk a bit longer and then if needed keep him tied up in the room but for now at least till Hunter called or texted it would leave him and focus on Emily.
She was curled up in the fetal position on the bed and had tossed the blanket on the floor and he saw her head lift when the door opened again her head tilting his way. Her one eye opened when he came back in the door and locked it behind him, still keeping the lights off thinking she might prefer it dark with all she had been through. Roman kicked off his shoes and slid his arms out of the white doctors coat and laid it over the chair and moved back to sit on the bed beside her.
He smoothed a lock of her hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ear. "Hey beautiful," he whispered.
She choked on her breath and shook her head. "I'm...I'm so far from beautiful Roman...he scarred me," she whispered as he saw tears fall on her bruised and bloody cheeks.
Roman shushed her. "Don't you worry about that. Any of that. I mean it. We will get you cleaned up and stitched up and wash off all that dried blood..." He tilted her chin up so her dark eyes met his stormy gray ones. "You are so beautiful baby girl. Even if you can't see it now...we will find it again. I promise you that."
He saw the torn strap of the red lingerie again just hanging of her one shoulder. Torn, meaning it had been ripped, likely by her husband. Roman swallowed the lump in his throat not even sure he wanted to know what all happened but the thoughts racing through his head just from seeing the damage all over her beautiful body was not good.
He debated waiting for her to be ready to tell him or to ask her what happened. Maybe she would share only in her own time. Emily was still curled up in a ball on the bed with him sitting beside her. Roman stayed still not knowing what to do or what she needed most.
Taking a deep breath he risked asking her about the night. Praying somehow he could help. Roman moved to kneel down at the side of the bed so his eyes were more level with hers. "Em, do you want to talk about it? Tell me why you are wearing lingerie for a man that beat you?"
He whispered a silent prayer hoping she would at least open her eye and look at him. "I'm here beautiful and I am not ever letting him hurt you again. Please talk to me," Roman pleaded gently and stroked the pad of his thumb along her cheek.
Emily opened her eye and instantly he saw more tears. "Get it off me...please Roman...please," she gasped out and was already fighting with the strap that wasn't broken.
The red lingerie, she wanted it gone. That was what she was fighting to get off.
Emily sat up fast and cried out now that moving quickly must have hurt something and Roman moved to sit right beside her. She was already fighting to pull her tank top over her head and whimpering.
"It hurts, Roman. Everything hurts!"
He nodded and cupped her face. "Okay, okay Emmie, I can help. You want me to help then just calm down and I will get it okay. Just relax. You don't need to move your arms or make anything hurt more okay?"
Roman saw her nod slowly through her tears and he nodded back. She lifted her arms slower this time and didn't cry out and he gingerly lifted the lacey fabric of her tank top up and off her chest and over her head.
Emily's dark hair went in all directions from that and he smoothed it down with his palms at the sides of her face and she smiled sadly at him and cupped his hands with hers.
He kept his eyes on her face and didn't even look down at the lingerie at all. He could not imagine why she would be wearing something, anything like that at all after the night she had losing her baby and being mugged and then hearing the horrible things her husband said to her about her killing the baby. And she had walked back in that house after begging him to not leave her. No nothing made any sense why she would dressed like this at all.
She saw him keeping his eyes on her face and smiled at him, clearly aware that he was trying to be the gentleman here. "Its okay Roman, just please help me get out of it please," she whispered and slowly he dropped his eyes just barely to her chest and saw how incredibly revealing just the bodice was. It had a deep push up bra and sheer pieces across in like velvet fabric and he averted his eyes almost instantly again, tears already pooling at his lashes.
"No, nothing is okay baby," his breathed out and kept his eyes up focused back on hers and wanted to pull the blanket back over her and hide her from even him. No one felt like deserved to see her this vulnerable. This was too much. She was too raw and too weak and this wasn't right at all. Nothing felt fair to her and he couldn't save her from everything.
He saw more tears in her eyes too before she started to choke on sobs. He cradled her face and leaned his head to hers. "I am so sorry for everything you have been through, so sorry."
Emily sucked in a breath, nuzzling his face, "Its his favorite and I hate it. He bought me a bunch of the same damn one in case he wrecks more than one too. It hides any blood on me.. and I only wore it last night thinking that he might just forget being mad at me and just snuggle in and sleep and not..." she choked on more sobs. "not hurt me for running away from him."
Roman felt his heart breaking and he shook his head and carefully wrapped his arms around her back. "Oh Emmie, I am so sorry. God and all you wanted was for me to take you home last night...to be safe in my bed...Baby I am so sorry. I should have taken you back here. I should have not given a damn about what I thought about what my ex did to me or thinking that this was in any way the same thing. I should have held you last night! Then he wouldn't have hurt you...God baby I am so sorry..." He just held her and rocked her praying he wasn't hurting her more.
Emily was clinging to him too and then lifted her head. "Please get it off me, Roman please!"
He sat up more and looked around on the lingerie for zipper or something.
"No, it has to go over my head, but everything hurts so much and its so damn tight., especially from the baby, " Emily looked hard in his eyes. "Just rip it please, get it off!"
Roman was nodding numbly and thinking this could hurt her too. Any tugging on the velvet pieces against her skin. But he gathered up the blanket from the motel bed around them to put around her and grabbed for both sides of the front and felt the fabric start to rip right away.
Emily cried out and he stopped, looking back at her. "Are you okay?" he asked already worried she had changed her mind. She nodded and closed her eyes, bracing her hands on the fabric on her chest as he started to tear more down the middle.
One more big rip and it was apart and Roman pulled hard at both pieces and they came apart and he unwound them from around her body. She was gasping now, her palms over her naked breasts and he pulled the blanket up over her shoulders fast, his eyes still locked on her face.
Her gasps turned to heavier sobs. "Emily, hey? Baby are you okay? It's off. He isn't anywhere near you. Its just me. You are safe. It's okay." Roman soothed her.
She was nodding and crawled into his lap, her arms winding tight around his neck and her legs straddling him, clinging as close as she could be. He froze, trying to almost pull away and wrap the blanket fully around her. He was too close this wasn't right. No, she needed to feel safe. Not have another man this close.
"I know," she gasped out against his throat. "Part of me knows...other parts of me still doesn't believe that it is safe. That I can actually sleep and not be scared."
Roman was shushing her and rubbing his palms on her back on top of the blanket. He wasn't even sure she knew how intimate things were right now but he was determined to give her nothing but safety and peace in his arms, in his bed.
Nothing more.
He should let her sleep and find out if they could get a room with another bed. This was not good to mess with her emotions so vulnerable like this. She needed to feel safe and not be taken advantage of. Maybe he could sleep in the chair?
Emily sniffled. "Could you just hold me? For awhile please?"
She looked up at him with teary eyes and her looking like that was like his kryptonite. He was her Superman well she clearly found her Superman's weakness...and even though his first instinct was to get her properly dressed, cleaned up and examined he had hardly slept too so maybe a little rest would help them both.
He was already shifting them around in the bed with her still laying mostly on top of him and moved the pillows so he was comfortable half laying down with her.
Roman sunk his head down in the pillows, untangling the elastic that was in his hair to let it tumble down across his shoulder in soft waves and let it fall down across her back like a blanket for her as well. He would let his hair comfort her, blanket her, and the rest of him would not touch her skin. He breathed her in and curled closer himself, close enough to nuzzle his nose in her hair and felt his eyes already closing.
He heard her little breaths and smiled silently that in minutes she was already asleep. He reveled in the fact that she finally felt safe. And he was going to do everything in his power to keep it that way. He wrapped his own arms around her and let his palm lazily run up and down her back on top of the blanket and pulled her in closer against him. She didn't seem uncomfortable with the closeness at all and seemed to welcome it.
Roman at first had thought as emotional and vulnerable as she had been was seconds away from insisting he find her tank top or even offering her any of his clothes. Anything to cover her more. A winter parka would make him feel more comfortable between them after what she had been through.
However instead of pulling away, Emily had sighed peacefully and literally smiled in her sleep.
He rubbed her back more, up and down on the blanket, much like he remembered his mom doing to him as a child after a nightmare, slowly and calmly, feeling the sense of calmness wash over him as much as she must be feeling it sooth her too. His arms around her were safe and soothing and she trusted him, just like she said.
He drew in a deep breath, feeling his eye lids heavy, and despite the utterly tragic way he found her, he could sleep now knowing she was safe and wrapped in his arms and no one could hurt her.
They would have to get through him first.
They could face more later, but for now she was asleep, her arms still wrapped around his neck, legs around his waist, chest rising and falling from her breathing deeply, making little cute noises and nuzzling her face against his throat. She was snuggled all around him, his silky hair blanketing her body as far as it could reach. And he was holding her tight in the blanket and trying to hide her from any memories or triggers from her life there the best he could too.
Everything felt so soothing and so safe. So he let sleep come and take him away faster that it had in years...