Page 63 of Saved By My Buyers

“Jack and I both think we’re going to blink and you’ll disappear,” she rasps. I realize then she’s been crying, and she hurries to dash away her tears. “It’s silly. You’re actually here. Anyway, I figured I was a better option to wait outside than the big, growly bear.”

“I’m counting your spankings,” Jack yells from the kitchen, making her stifle a giggle.

Hmm, cute. “Wait, is he serious?” I hiss, letting Bronwyn lead me to the kitchen.

“As in, has he? Not yet, but I haven’t really taken it off the table,” she says with a shrug.

Processing that as I sit at the kitchen island, I survey the array of food that Jack’s made. There’s omelets, bacon, English muffins, and baby potatoes with onions set on plates. Jack slides one in front of me with a steaming mug of coffee. I’m not sure how it’s dressed the way I like, I glance up at him.

“I don’t know if you still like it the way you used to, but I took a stab at it,” he says with a lazy grin, stabbing a potato and popping it into his mouth.

I think that smile could break a lot of hearts, and I hide the blush in my cheeks by taking a sip of my coffee. Moaning, I close my eyes because it’s fucking amazing. I’ve been drinking some really terrible coffee over the years.

“I take it that it’s the way you like it,” Bronwyn teases as she sits next to me.

“I want to have a baby with this cup of coffee,” I tell her happily, taking another sip before beginning to eat.

“I am going to hold that close to my heart then,” Jack muses, eyes sparkling. “I’m not going to hold you hostage because of this auction thing, you know. I do wish you’d stay, talk with us, and see where things go though.”

“Where they’ll go?” I ask. “It seems pretty clear you and Bronwyn are together. I don’t really understand, Jack. It also doesn’t change my plans for the money I get from the auction.”

Jack growls under his breath, and I swear I can hear him counting and grumbling about my spankings. Oh fuck.

Swallowing hard, I force myself not to fidget as I eat.

“Well, let me break this down, then. I will come back to the second part of what you said in a moment. I’m not senile, and I will remember. We have a lot to figure out before then, but this is what I want,” he begins.

Bronwyn looks at him nervously, but doesn’t say anything. “You and Bee have the type of history that doesn’t just go away. I had the privilege of watching you two fall in love. It’s a pure, sweet love. I know that’s never gone away for her.”

“It hasn’t,” she mumbles. “It’s been a really long, hard few years away from you.”

She has no idea.

“I’ve loved you since the day I saw your scrunched up baby face when your dad handed you to me,” he says. “I knew I would always be there for you. And then…I failed. I fucked up and it’s never been the same. It’s become an obsession to find you, and my feelings have changed.”

“You didn’t fail,” I tell him, pushing away my food. Thankfully I managed to eat most of it, because my stomach was beginning to cramp from hunger.

“No, stop.” I lift my hand as I shake my head. “I went into the house. I knew what he was capable of, and I went in because of the consequences that would happen if I didn’t.”

“You knew he was going to hurt you?” Bronwyn asks, confused.

“I didn’t think he’d take it as far as he did,” I admit, desperately hoping I’m not going to puke up this delicious food. I know it’ll hurt, and the last thing I need is to be afraid to eat.

“Gareth was threatening my mother, Jack, and you. While you were gone, he’d pretend to stab her when she wasn’t looking at dinner. He’d allude to doing to you what he’d do to me, and I just… I couldn’t not go back into that house.”

Jack drops his head as he listens, the muscles of his arms bunching as his hands grip the counter tightly.

“Anyway, I wanted you to know that you couldn’t have changed what happened to me,” I whisper. “It was just so much worse than I thought it would be when I went inside that night.”

“You don’t have to tell us, but they said anal was a hard limit and you’re a virgin. I have to admit that I’m drawing a lot of conclusions here,” he rumbles, his gaze tortured as he gazes up at me from his lowered head.

Swallowing hard, I nod.

“I am a virgin,” I say. I know he said that I didn’t need to tell them. However, they need to know some of it before they decide they want me, if that’s where this is going. “He raped my ass repeatedly, and I bled for days afterward. I couldn’t go to the hospital, I was homeless, so it was a very uncomfortable experience.”

“Uncomfortable,” Jack repeats. “I feel like you’re dissociating from what happened.”

“No using my textbooks against her,” Bronwyn barks at him. “Let her talk about it however she fucking needs to. You don’t get to decide what emotions or feelings you think she needs to have to get the words out.”

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