Page 61 of Lilacs and Leather
“And not going isn’t an option?”
I shake my head. “Because of the stupid archaic omega laws, since I’m unbonded and my father is an alpha, he could technically pull rank and force me back now that he knows where I am. It’s not a bluff I’m willing to call.”
“Then I’m going with you.”
Twenty-Four
Rhett
As I hold Lydia in my arms and listen to the story of her abuse, it is a minor miracle that I can stay still.Every instinct I have is on high alert. Her tears fuel to my desire to rip that piece of shit who hurt her limb from fucking limb. And her family, the one group of people who are supposed to love and protect you above everyone else in the world, threw her away because she didn’t follow the party line. Jason, the only one of them who did anything to help her, had my unending gratitude for getting Lydia out before it was too late. The rest of them could burn in Hell for all I care. If she had to face them again, over my dead body would she be doing it alone.
“Then I’m going with you.”
Lydia sits up, twisting to face me more fully. By her expression, she wasn’t expecting the heat in my growl, but I couldn’t contain my wrath any further than that. I’d work out my aggression later when I can substitute my punching bag for that sack of festering ooze, but for now, I try to take deep, calming breaths.
“You don’t—”
“Oh, but I really do. Do you think I’m going to let you face him alone, after everything you just told me?” I ask incredulously.
“Let me?” Lydia throws back, shifting out of my hold and turning to face me fully.
I let out an irritated huff, running a rough hand through my hair. “I couldn’t, in good conscience, sit back and do nothing when I know that you’re going to be facing theman,” I spit the word contemptuously, loath to give that scum-sucking rapist even that much credit, “who put you through a living nightmare. I promised I would do as much as I can to make up for how terribly your family and your ex have treated you. And if that means standing at your side so you don’t get hurt again, then it would be my fucking honor.”
Lydia gives me a long, searching look, and I sit as still as I can. Her face is stained with tear tracks, and I want to close the distance and wipe them away. I want to do everything I possibly can, so she never has to hurt like that again. I’d thought I knew what she might say, what sort of past shaped her. But my worst nightmares didn’t come close to reality. It blows me away to think that someone could go through all of that abuse and still come out as kind and gentle as Lydia is. She’s so strong, to endure and not let her heart be hardened.
“I can handle myself. I’ve done it before, and I can do it again,” she says, voice dark and low.
“I never once thought you couldn’t,” I reply without hesitation. “But I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I stood by and did nothing while you walked into a nest of vipers.”
“I don’t want...my family isn’t great, and I’d rather not subject you to their brand of crazy,” she admits, looking down at where she’s twisting her hands in her lap.
“Please let me accompany you. If something happened to you…” I trail off with a shudder, not even letting my mind imagine what sort of mental and verbal abuse she could be subjected to.
Lydia sits for another long moment, and I let the silence stretch. I want to press, to continue to tell her how much the thought of her in pain makes my heart twist in my chest. But she needs me to back off more than I need to express those feelings. She’s one wrong move away from shutting down, if the tension in her shoulders and the conflict in her eyes are anything to go by. After an eternity, she finally nods.
“Okay. But don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she says with a resigned sigh.
“I’ll have you know I am an expert event attendee. You don’t get anywhere in the world of philanthropy without having to rub elbows with some Grade-A, certified crazy rich people,” I say with a laugh, trying to break the tension.
Lydia looks up at me as she returns my laugh with an adorable twinkling giggle of her own. “Aren’t you also a crazy rich person?”
I shrug. “I’d say I’m only a B+, on a good day.”
Lydia throws her head back and laughs, and my heart finally untwists itself at the sight of her happiness again. As her laughter dies, her eyes connect with mine, and I sit straighter from the heat blazing in their emerald depths. I go still as she moves, hands going to her hips as she straddles my lap. The first brush of her fingers in my beard has my cock waking up, and my eyes slide closed when she runs her nails through the coarse hair, a purr rumbling in my chest.
“I want you, Rhett,” she whispers, her fingers moving to run through my hair.
I open my eyes, hands digging into her soft thighs with almost bruising pressure. Her little moan makes my cock twitch. But my desire cools slightly as I see the tear tracks still on her face.
“Are you sure?” I ask, my voice a little breathless as her hands slide along my scalp.
She pulls back, her eyes clouded with confusion. “Why wouldn’t I be?” she asks, words clipped.
I bite my lower lip as I consider how I want to approach this. We’ve been dancing around each other for weeks, and I want our first time to be perfect, for her to be ready for what I’m going to ask for. Her scent is heavy with petrichor and vanilla, and the heat in her eyes burns hot enough to melt steel. But I don’t want to rush things because she’s emotionally vulnerable.
“You just finished telling me about your abuser, and I’m not sure if you want this because you are ready, or if you’re just trying to forget your past,” I say, settling on honesty.
Lydia blinks at me, clearly not expecting that answer. I expect her to fire back, but she just sits up and moves back to the other side of the couch, turning to face the TV as she curls up against the arm. Her gaze is distant, looking but seeing nothing.