Page 49 of Embattled Ever After

Chad was a master at making her forget the bad things. Slowly and patiently, he’d been replacing all the bad memories with good ones.

This morning he’d woken her up with a foot rub. She’d woken with endorphins singing in her blood from the stroking. Then he’d started to massage up her legs until he’d reached her thighs. When he’d paused to delicately lick at her hidden wetness, she’d had to bite her fist to keep from crying out. But then he’d taken that fist in his hand and kissed away the hurt, before returning to her pleasure.

Lora had never known euphoria like Chad gave her. It made her want to grow and be the strongest woman she could be for him.

This, though,thiswould knock his socks off.

When she’d been with Derek, she’d hidden her body beneath layers of clothes and sweaters. It hadn’t stopped the abuse though. If anything, it had made him more abusive to her. But it had been Lora’s armor. She couldn’t protect herself any other way.

Even with Derek gone, the armor had stayed in place, even though she understood that she needed it less and less. Actually, Chad had never given her reason to need it.

That fact had occurred to her a few week ago, and she vowed to change.

Granted, they were in the middle of winter and sweaters were de rigueur for the season but maybe she could break it up on special occasions.

Lora had scheduled a babysitter to come in and sit with Mercy. Heather was a woman she had known for a couple of years now from the women’s shelter she’d first gone to when she’d left Derek. She knew that Mercy would be fine with her.

When Lora walked down the stairs from their bedroom, Heather and Mercy both gasped, totally stroking her ego.

The black, halter-neck dress was form-fitting, way more so than anything else she’d ever worn in public. Lora had agonized for hours, until she realized it didn’t matter what she wore because Chad would strip her out of it as soon as he could. Tonight though, she’d made plans.

The gold necklace Chad had given her for Christmas matched the dress perfectly and she wore it now, as well as a pair of pretty, glimmery earrings. Her feet were wedged into low heels. Anything higher and she wouldn’t be able to walk. Thankfully, most of the snow from the last storm had melted.

“Mom, you look…” Mercy’s sweet voice trailed off as she tried to find a word, but she shook her head. “Chad is going to kiss all over you.”

The innocent words meant something completely different to Lora, and she blushed, looking down the length of herself.

“You look incredible, Lora. You really and truly do.”

She moved to the mirror hanging in the hallway off the vestibule. Yes, she looked striking tonight. She’d curled her hair with big rollers, and now it curled around her face nicely. She’d only used a little eye makeup to make her green eyes look even more vibrant, and a light gloss on her lips. Actually, she wouldn’t be comfortable wearing much more than she already was.

For the first time in a long time, she felt secure in herself. She had a good body she didn’t show off enough, as her significant other had gently pointed out.

She snorted as she remembered Chad’s words from last fall. “Maybe it’s better you don’t wear tank tops and shorts. I would be hard all the time, and that’s hard to hide. No pun.”

Glancing at the clock on the kitchen wall, she frowned and turned to Heather. “I’d better go. You have my cell phone number and Chad’s, as well as half a dozen others. There’s money on the counter for takeout and rented movies on the table for you to watch.”

She bent over to kiss Mercy on the cheek. “You need to be in bed by nine. Otherwise you will be a bear in the morning. Okay?”

Mercy nodded, wrapping her arms around Lora’s neck. “I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too, sweetie. Have fun with Heather tonight and I’ll see you tomorrow when we get home.”

Lora retrieved her coat from the hall closet and slipped it on, wishing she had something a little more elegant to go with the dress, but it would have to do. Then, with a final wave and overnight bag in hand, she headed to the car.

Yesterday she’d sent Chad a text message that she wanted to meet him downtown for dinner the next night, and then go see a play. He’d called her almost immediately.

“A play? Really?”

“Yes,” Lora told him firmly. “It will be late when we get done, so I reserved us a hotel room. You need to pack an overnight bag with essentials and nice clothes for when we go out.”

“You planned us a date?” he asked her incredulously.

She’d laughed, loving that she had surprised him again. “Yes, I did. So tonight when you come home, you’re going to pack an overnight bag, and I’ll just meet you downtown after work tomorrow.”

When he’d gotten home, he’d asked her questions that she refused to answer, even under extreme sensual torture. Eventually he’d packed his bag and grabbed a suit jacket on a hanger. When he left for work this morning, his eyes had glinted with excitement. “Anything else I need to know?”

She shook her head. “Nope. I love you. I’ll see you tonight.”

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