Drake Sisters 07 - Hidden Currents

her face, her weeping heartbreaking. Bomber pushed close to her, trying to comfort her, whining anxiously as he circled, trying to figure out what to do.
    â€œI’m sorry. I’m real y sorry.†The words were muffled, but El e just continued to repeat the apology over and over.
    Jackson sighed and ran both hands through his hair, taking stock of the situation. He sat there, knees drawn up, looking at El e, shaking his head.
    She’d withdrawn from his mind, and when he touched her tentatively, her barriers were strong, strong enough that he figured she’d be able to keep Gratsos out as wel . She didn’t want anyone sharing her thoughts, her recriminations. He knew El e, she’d be hating herself and blaming herself for what had happened.
    â€œEl e. Stop crying and sit up.†He put demand in his voice.
    She moved, flinching a little at his tone.
    â€œI mean it. Sit up and look at me. You wanted to come home with me and now you have to put up with the consequences. Stop crying and look at me.â€
    El e raised her tear-streaked face, shoved back with her heels, her back pressed tight against the wal and sat, drawing her knees up to partial y hide her face, but she was looking at him—and listening and that’s what he wanted.
    â€œI’m not dead.â€
    El e frowned and wiped the tears off her face.
    â€œLook at me.†He held up his hands, turned them over and over. “I’m not dead.â€
    â€œI don’t understand.â€
    â€œYou were afraid if I put my cock in your mouth I’d somehow wind up dead. Wel I didn’t. You gave me pleasure and I’m stil alive.â€
    She winced visibly. “But . . .â€
    â€œCome on, honey. You wanted to see if I was attracted to you and I was. You wanted to see if you could bring me off and you did.†He tilted his head to one side. “Hel , baby, rockets went off. So much so that you knocked me on my ass.†He grinned at her.
    â€œThat’s not funny.â€
    â€œIt’s a little funny. Me exploding al over the room and getting tripped by my own jeans around my ankles and landing on my ass. It was a hel of a ride, El e. You don’t do anything by halves.â€
    She was silent. Brooding. Wanting to see it his way, but feeling a failure. “I don’t even know what happened. One minute I was having the time of my life, loving what I was doing to you, wanting you with every cel in my body and then everything just went wrong. I don’t remember anything but needing to fight.†Tears wel ed up in her eyes again. “I’m sorry. I know I hit you.â€
    â€œBaby, I wasn’t feeling much but the rockets going off. I think you could have used a two-by-four and I wouldn’t have felt it.â€
    She pressed her fingers against her eyes. “I wanted you, Jackson. I did.â€
    â€œI know, honey.†His voice was gentle. “It’s al going to come right. Have patience with yourself.â€
    She shook her head. “I just want to be normal, is that so much to ask?â€
    â€œWhat the hel is normal?†Jackson said. “Kids al over the world are abused, El e. Women are raped and kidnapped and forced into sex trafficking. Not just women. Little kids. Boys, teens. It happens everywhere. Parents die. Children are murdered. Il ness happens, al sorts of bad things.â€
    He stopped. Took a breath. He had been captured and tortured, but he had a far different background from El e. He had seen women beaten. He’d seen men murdered. He had grown up thinking his lifestyle was normal. El e was il prepared for what had happened to her. She had grown up in a loving family where everyone was safe and protected and parents didn’t hit their children. There were no drug deals and no murders. No father coming home drunk and beating her mother.
    â€œEl e, think about it. The scars on your body haven’t even begun to fade yet and the worst ones are where you can’t see them. They aren’t just going to disappear. They’re there, a part of you. Sometimes everything wil be fine, and other times it won’t be. That’s just going to be a part of our lives. I can live with it. And you’l have to live with my scars. Believe me, baby, I have plenty of them.â€
    El e sat on the floor, pressing her back against the wal , looking at the man across from her. He was strong