Chapter 10 Comfort and Unbelievable Revelations

"Hey, sweetie," Sheri said, shaking my shoulder, gently. "We're about to land. I texted Emmett and he'll be here to pick us up."

I opened my eyes and smiled wanly at her.

I just wish we were here for a different reason," I said softly. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be with Emmett anytime, for whatever reason. But, I'm still so scared, Sher, and will be until this person is caught."

"I know, honey," she said, rubbing my arm soothingly. "Em will take care of you. Nothing, or no one, can hurt you while you're with him."

I smiled at her again, a little brighter this time.

"Thanks for comin' with me," I said, taking her hand. "I'm sorry to take you away from James."

"Don't be silly,' she said with a grin, "It's only two days and, besides, a little time apart will make the reunion even sweeter."

I chuckled and felt the plane's descent into Toronto begin.

Thirty minutes later, having cleared customs, I was running into the warmest embrace in the world.

"Oh, sweetness," he whispered, taking my face in his hands.

He kissed me over and over, through all the snot and tears flowing down my face. Then I was clinging to him, on the brink of hysteria. The past two days had come crashing down on me and I could finally let go and let him take care of me,

We were drawing a bit of attention and, wrapping his arm around my shoulders, he led Sheri and me out to the waiting limousine. It had darkly tinted windows and I didn't see that it was already occupied.

I climbed in and, glancing up, gasped. Jake and Rosalie were sitting in the back corner. Emmett slid in from the other side and grasped my hand, squeezing gently. Sheri climbed in and sat on my other side.

Hello, Mara," Jake said quietly, "We're sorry about what has happened…and very sorry for any hurt we caused you last week."

I glanced up at him and gave him a slight smile as my gaze drifted to Rosalie, who was sitting staring down at her hands.

"Yeah, well," Sheri snarked, her eyes flashing. "It doesn't make her hurt any less."

I thought I saw Rose flinch and Jake put his arm around her. I was stunned as I saw a tear fall onto her tightly clasped hands.

Emmett pulled me close to him, his arms wrapped tightly around me, as Sheri stared out the window. It was a very quiet ride to the hotel.

Arriving at the beautiful hotel, Emmett led us up to his twenty third floor, three bedroom suite. The living room was huge, with sofas and easy chairs, a large fireplace, over which hung a 72 inch flat screen TV. A long, wide coffee table sat between two facing couches with occasional tables strategically placed around the room. All were done in warm oak. There was a dining room and fully equipped kitchen to the right of the living room and huge maser bedroom off to the left, with a full bath, containing a huge Jacuzzi tub and a large separate multi-headed shower. To the right of the entry was a narrow wooden staircase leading up to two more bedrooms, each with their own bath.

"This is what the studio provided for you?" I asked. "Why do you need such a large a suite?"

"I often have family or friends visit while I'm on location, sweetness," he replied, tucking my hair behind my ear, and turning to Jake, Rose and Sheri. "You guys look wiped out. There are two bedrooms upstairs, go get some sleep."

Sheri stepped over to me and gave me a hug.

"I'll see you later, sweetie," she whispered. "You're safe now; go spend time with your man."

I smiled at her and kissed her cheek as she picked up her bag and headed up the stairs.

"Goodnight," Jake said softly, leading a still silent Rose up behind him.

After turning out the lights, Em took my hand and led me into the bedroom. Closing the door behind him, he turned me and took me into his arms, gazing deeply into my eyes.

"Are you all right, babe?" he asked softly, raising his hand to my cheek and rubbing his thumb across my cheekbone. "You look so tired and scared."

Tears filled my eyes and I closed them, allowing the drops to fall. Emmet's arms tightened around me as he kissed them away.

"I'm okay now, baby," I replied, taking a shuddering breath. "Just knowin' that I'm with you gives me ease and comfort. I've missed you so much."

I rose up on my tiptoes and captured his lips with mine. With a groan, he picked me up and carried me to the huge king-sized bed. Slowly we undressed each other, taking time to explore with hands and lips and tongues. I pulled the covers back and climbed into the bed, scooting to the middle. I held my arms out to him and he slid in beside me, wrapping his arms tightly around me.

"Sweetness, I will never let anything like this happen to you again," he murmured against my temple, kissing me sweetly. "I want you to move into my house with me. The security there is state of the art, and I wouldn't worry as much knowing you were there."

I looked up into his face and saw all the concern and love there, along with a stubborn determination. Cupping his cheek, I let my finger trail through his dimple and then kissed his mouth with love.

"I think that I'd like that very much, sweet cheeks," I whispered against his mouth. "I'll start packing as soon as we get back…oh; I can't until the police give the okay. But as soon as I can, I will."

"You'll still stay with me while waiting?" he asked.

"Of course," I replied, with a smile. "I won't have any clothes, though, until I can get into either the house or club."

"I don't have a problem with that," he said, grinning. "But Alice called earlier and she has some clothes arriving for you in the morning."

"She doesn't have to do that," I said. "She has her own self to take care of."

"Oh, sweetness," he said chuckling. "You have inadvertently made her the happiest of women right now. She's in her element when it comes to shopping. Now, hush up and come here, I want to make love to my woman."

"I need you, baby," I whispered, winding my arms around his neck.

His mouth covered mine, hungrily, and then he began a slow sensual journey down my body with kisses and licks and nips. I wound my fingers into his curls, pressing him to my breast as he sucked and laved my nipples with his lips and tongue. Groaning, I arched my back, giving him better access. My stomach quivered as he continued to lick his way down, stopping to delve into my navel with the tip of his tongue. When he reached his goal, he rose up onto his knees and gazed down at me with his eyes almost midnight blue. He reached down and, running his hands gently up the inside of my thighs, spread my legs wide to his view. He ran his fingers through my folds and gently opened me. My glistening wetness drew him to me. Trembling, he ran the tip of his talented tongue from my opening to my swollen, beckoning clit. I screamed as he took it between his lips and sucked hard. Suddenly I was experiencing a shuddering climax, flooding his seeking tongue. He groaned as he drank and swallowed, continuing until my spasms began to wane. He licked me clean before looking up at me.

He slowly crawled back up to me, pulling me to him and devouring my mouth, his tongue dueling with mine. Tasting myself on him, I again felt the moisture flooding my core. With a whimper, I pressed tightly to him and started to run my hand down between us to grasp him. He stopped my hand.

"No, babe," he whispered against my lips. "I'm close, and I want to be inside you when I come, please."

He moved and placed himself between my legs, continuing to kiss me hungrily. I felt his throbbing erection press against my center. He raised my leg over his hip as he rose up to place the tip at my opening and slowly entered me, filling me, sliding tightly against my walls. It felt as if there was no place that he wasn't touching, rubbing and producing the friction we needed. I wrapped my other leg around him, locking my feet just above his ass.

He lifted me, never losing contact and sat back on his heels, pressing me to his chest, positioning me for deeper penetration. With no little difficulty, he raised me up again and straightened his legs out in front of him. I was then seated perfectly on his lap, his shaft filling me fuller than I had ever been. Wrapping my arms tightly around his neck, I used his massive shoulders for leverage and began to ride him. He undulated beneath me and soon we were clinging and panting.

"Oh God, sweetness…Mara…now, babe!" he growled into my ear.

I felt him stiffen and begin to twitch rapidly within me. I latched onto his mouth and rocked hard against him. My own climax built until I was leaning back arching tightly toward him, my walls squeezing tightly around him, milking him to completion.

We sat in that position, arms wrapped tightly around each other, foreheads resting together, as our breathing quieted and our hearts slowed. He raised his head and gently pushed the hair from my face.

"I love you, Mara," he said, cupping the back of my head and pulling my mouth back to his. "I will always love you."

"Oh, Em, I love you, too," I murmured, bringing my hand up to his cheek. "I don't think I could handle all of this without you. You are my life, now, and I don't ever want to be away from you."

"I promise that I won't ever leave you, sweetness," he said, placing gentle kisses over my face and the column of my throat. "You are more important to me than my own life."

I wrapped my arms tightly around him and began to weep.

"Babe, what is it?" he asked, worriedly. "Did I say someth…"

I pulled back and looked up into his worried face, placing trembling fingers to his lips.

"Oh no, baby, "I said with a watery smile. "No one has ever said anything so beautiful to me. No one has ever loved me so completely. Thank you."

He hugged me to him and took a trembling breath.

"I thought that I loved before, with Rose," he whispered. "But I know now that that was nothing. My heart is so full of my love for you that I feel that if you were to leave me, for any reason and or any way, it would disintegrate and I would cease to exist. I can't and wouldn't want to live without you. You are my life, without you I am nothing."

We slowly disentangled and lay back down, wrapping up in each other, pulling the covers over us.

"Sleep, sweetness," he whispered, rubbing his hand up and down my back soothingly. "I'll be right here."

With a deep satisfied sigh, I closed my eyes and snuggled against his side, resting my head on his broad chest, listening to the comforting sounds of his strong heartbeat. In minutes, I was asleep.

At seven o'clock, I was wide awake again and slipped out of Em's arms. Finding a black silk robe on the back of the bathroom door, I wrapped it around me and quietly padded to the door and walked out into the living room. The smell of fresh brewed coffee drew me to the kitchen; I stepped through the doorway to look into the clear blue eyes of Rosalie. For a moment we stared at each other.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, turning to walk back to the bedroom.

"No, wait, Mara, please,' she said softly. "I'd like to talk to you for a few minutes."

I turned to look back at her questioningly, and then walked back. I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down across the breakfast bar from her, looking down into my cup, waiting for her to begin.

We sat in silence for a few moments. I was beginning to think that this was a waste of time, when she began to speak.

"I'm sorry for behaving like a psycho bitch last weekend, Mara," she said quietly. "I was way out of line. Em's life is no longer my concern, and hasn't been for quite a while. I can see that he really loves you."

She looked up at me and, with a sigh, closed her eyes.

"And… a part of me is jealous as hell," she whispered. "I know it's not right, and I love and am married to my Jake, but there is a piece of my heart that will always belong to Emmett."

"I continued to listen to her, my heart racing, as I let out a shuddering sigh.

"Please, don't get me wrong," she said, opening he eyes again. "I love Emmett but I'm not in love with him. Jake has helped me to realize that. In fact, that was part of the reason I got into the cocaine. Oh, I'd been using for years: weed, uppers, downers, anything like that. It wasn't until I started to feel the guilt that I started on cocaine. I was trying to escape the guilt over not being able to feel for Em what I thought he felt for me.

"When we first met, it was all excitement; parties, premieres, clubbing and sex, wild, hot, incredible sex, anywhere, everywhere, and often! It was enough for us. He treated me like the princess I thought I was.

"Then he began to do more and bigger projects, taking him away for longer periods of time. I became bored and sought out my old friends. It started out as social use only. One night one of those "friends" brought out a small vial of white powder. He poured some out on the glass coffee table top, formed a couple of lines with a razor blade and showed me how to snort my first hit of escape.

When Em was home, he still treated me like a princess. I was able to keep my indiscretions hidden from him for a while, but as with all things hidden, it began to come to light; little things at first, until he finally began to ask me what was wrong. I couldn't…or wouldn't…tell him anything. That's when the fights began, loud screaming matches. He would become so enraged that he shook uncontrollably. Even through those fights, and as angry as he got, I knew he wouldn't hurt me. Sometimes I wished he would. I knew I deserved it.

I looked forward to his absences, because when he was gone, I didn't have to pretend to have feelings I didn't have. Why I didn't just tell him that I didn't love him anymore, I'm not sure. Maybe it was the pretty things and financial security, I was that selfish. I took advantage of his goodness.

It got to the point that I thought I hated him. Looking back now, with Jakes help, I realize that it was myself that I hated, and didn't feel worthy or good enough for him. Know, Mara, that Em was never anything but good to me. He's just that kind of man."

There were a couple of moments of silence before I raised my head and looked steadily into her eyes.

"I know he is," I sad quietly. "But I need to know something from you, Rose."

She stared steadily back at me before giving me a nod.

"Did you have anything to do with the break-ins, anything at all?"

"No," she replied. "I may have behaved badly, but I would never do something like that to anyone; at least not now that I'm sober."

"But you did intentionally hurt Em," I said, looking down into my now cold coffee, looking back up quickly as I heard her gasping sob.

She sat there, wringing her hands, a look of sheer grief and agony in her tear filled eyes.

"My baby," she mewled, wrapping her arms around her stomach.

Her sobs wracked her body and I ached for her…and myself. I reached across and covered her fisted hand with my own. She looked up at me, startled.

"You didn't abort the baby, like you told Em, did you?" I asked softly.

"No," she whispered. "I let Em think I did so that he would let me go. He didn't need to be saddled with my problems, and I didn't want to be with him anymore. So when I miscarried, I decided to let him believe that I'd gotten rid of his baby, that I didn't want his child. The baby was gone, so it didn't matter if he hated me, it would make him walk away. I hated myself as I watched the light go out of his eyes, but I figured that a clean break was needed. Better that, than to watch it die a little more each day."

"What caused the miscarriage Rose?"

"The drugs," she replied, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her Robe.

I got up and went to get the box of tissues I'd seen on an end table in the living room. When I returned, she had composed herself somewhat. I set the box in front of her and sat back down.

"When we got together, Em didn't know I used," she began again. "At first I did well, staying away from them and the "friends" that supplied them for me. When I realized that my feelings for Em had changed, I would start arguments and use them as an excuse to go see my "friends. I was pretty strung out. It had gotten to the point that I wanted a line, or a fix, or a pill more than anything else. I was ecstatic when Em left for that last shoot. I didn't have to be careful.

"I was pretty messed up after Emmett left and two days later; I was so high on coke and booze, that I fell down a flight of stairs. One of the men I was doing with rushed me to the hospital. I swear to you, Mara, I didn't know I was pregnant until the doctor told me that the baby was gone.

"I was released from the hospital the next afternoon and went back to the house, locking myself away from everyone. My self-hatred was at an all time high, and that's when I planned the elaborate lie I was going to tell Emmett. When or how, I didn't know. But the closer it got for him to come home, the more afraid I became. Three days before he was due, I began drinking shots of tequila and snorting lines.

"The next thing I knew, I was waking up in the hospital, a disheveled and worried Emmett sitting next to my bed. I hadn't known when I would spill my elaborate lie to him, but the circumstances leant themselves and I put on an Oscar winning performance. I died inside as I watched what my revelation did to him. The disbelief, anger and despair still haunt me. When he got up and walked away, my heart actually stuttered, I wanted to call him back and tell him the truth, but I couldn't, so I laughed out loud, sealing the coffin on our relationship.

"My life, and his, spiraled out of control for the next little while. Then he got himself together and with the help of his family, and my brother Jasper, they took me…fighting them all the way…to Jake, and my salvation. Another thing for me to thank Em for.

"So you see, I do love him, Mara," she whispered. "But I'm not in love with him. I owe him my life. When I lashed out about that night at the club, I was afraid that I would lose him—as a good part of my life. I consider him a friend, and Jake made me realize that that wouldn't happen.

"Jake is my life now and I love him desperately. He has brought me back from the brink, seen the worst of me, and loves me anyway. I am happier with him than I have any right to be. I'm not perfect, by a long shot, but he helps keep me in line, most of the time.

He told me that I needed to come here, in person, to apologize for what I had done; not only for you and Em, but for me, too. We had been getting ready to head to the airport when Em realized that his phone was off and, turning it on, found your hysterical message. He was losing it and Jake decided that we should stay until he found out what had happened.

When he told us that you were coming here, I asked to stay so that I could apologize to you sooner rather than later. Jake also wanted to stay in case you needed to talk to him. I'm really glad we did."

Slowly her fist relaxed and she turned her hand over to grasp mine. I squeezed lightly.

"Thank you for tellin' me, Rose," I said quietly. "I accept your apology and it's forgotten. If anything good came from it, it's that I really believe in Emmett's love for me."

"Yes," she said, smiling slightly. "He really does love you, and I'm very glad for both of you."

I smiled back.

She and I both knew that we would never be best friends, but at least now we could be civil to each other. She had her own past to deal with and I could empathize and sympathize with her, and she with me.

I heard a noise and looked up to see Emmett standing in the doorway, an enigmatic smile on his face. I smiled back at him.

"How long have you been standing there, baby?" I asked.

"Long enough," he replied, squeezing Rose's shoulder gently as he passed her. "Just a couple of minutes, really."

He bent and kissed me.

"I'm going to go get Jake up," Rose said, standing. "I really meant what I said, y'know, I'm very happy for both of you."

He sat down on her vacated stool and taking both of my hands in his, smiled at me, staring into my eyes for a long moment.

"You're an amazing woman, Mara Brannigan," he said, raising my hands to his lips and kissing each one gently. "That was a very generous thing you just did, and I love you all the more for it."

"Just how much did you hear? I asked, smirking playfully.

"Enough to know that she wasn't lying, but was sincere," he replied. "It was a tough time, but it's past and we've both grown and turned our lives around. Thank you for being so caring about it all."

"Baby, I don't have the right to judge anyone," I replied. "I'm just happy that she's got Jake and is making a life with him.

He started to speak when his phone rang. He glanced at the ID and quickly answered.

"Detective, Kramer," he said anxiously. "Have you got anything? What?... No, I don't believe it!... Are you sure?... Yes, I'm shocked… I'll tell her, thank you, detective."

I was standing, my fingers pressing my lips, trembling. The reason for my being in Toronto came flooding back. Closing his phone, Emmett walked over and wrapped his arms around me. I looked up at him, my heart racing.

"Who?" I whispered.

He cupped my face in his hands and looked apologetically into my eyes. He took a deep breath.

"Jane," he said

I gasped.