Insatiable (5 page)

Every woman and man deserves to be treated with respect, whether it's at work or at home, behind those closed doors. You should never expect any less, not from your co-workers, not from your boyfriend, lover, or your spouse. If the person you're with doesn’t love, cherish, and respect you, then get out! Things are not going to become any better, they are only going to get worse.

Now who can tell me some of the signs?" Jean asked and looked around at the small group.

"Excessive jealousy?" Rosie blurted out.

"Yes, that's correct. What else?"

"Being suspicious and obsessed with your past."

"Yes Mari you are absolutely right, a man who becomes more than a little interested in your past, especially your past relationships is a clear sign that it's time to get out.

Now I don’t have to tell you ladies that there are things that are far more scary than being alone. And there are circumstances that are lonelier than being by yourself.  

Being here is going to help you all learn to be happy with your own company. Now I'm not saying to spend the rest of your lives alone, all I'm saying is that before you try to become someone's better half, you have to be a whole person on your own.

After they'd said goodbye to Jean, the three sat on the back porch. The night was balmy for October, and they hoped that it wouldn’t end.

"You know," Mari said. "That was the first time that I've ever been able to speak out and say exactly how I feel. And might I just say ladies that being able to speak your mind after feeling like you've been gagged for years is a very liberating feeling!" She hooted and twirled around the porch.

Rosie had to join her, she too felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Neither woman was missing their batterers, neither one was moping around. Aurora knew that they would get through it all, they would get through it because slowly but surely, they would never again allow a man to manipulate them, no matter how sensitive or handsome they appeared to be.

Ronnie went to his favorite place, JR's Pub, which was within walking distance from the house. He made sure to take a seat by the window, just in case the bitch decided to sneak home and get her things. Things that Ronnie had already taken upon himself to throw into garbage bags, and chuck outside.

"Why the long face Carr?" The bartender Jimmy asked.

Ronnie snarled and ordered another shot with a beer to chase it down.

"Trouble with the old lady?"

Ronnie jumped up from his stool and grabbed Jimmy by his tee shirt.

"Shut the fuck up about my old lady, you don’t know anything about her." He slurred his words. He was drunk now and losing control.

"Hey man take it easy." Jimmy shrugged off his hands.

"How about you call it a night buddy huh?"

Ronnie reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. When he did a photograph of he and Mari on their wedding day fell out.

He picked it up and stared at it, they had both been so happy. She was looking at him with such hope in her eyes. That was the happiest day of his life, he loved her so. But then he got sent to Iraq and by the time he came back, everything had changed. Mari had changed and he had changed. She'd learned to be independent; when he came home it was like he was a different person. The things he'd seen were not things he wanted to share with his wife.

And when she suggested that he go to the VA he refused, thought that he could handle whatever it was that was making him feel like he was going crazy on the inside. As the months wore on things had gotten worse. The mere sound of his wife's voice would send him over the edge. It got to the point where he couldn’t stand to be around her, the bottle became his therapist.

He remembered when he'd just got back, he and Mari had gotten into an awful fight, and when the cops arrived, they'd let him bring his beers with him downtown. That time he wasn’t even booked, he just hung out with his two cop buddies for a few hours. They'd brought him home after they made sure that Mari was asleep.

Now he was alone, he stumbled into the apartment stepping over empty beer cans along the way. He missed his step, tripped and fell, and while trying to regain his footing he noticed a dried pool of blood on the kitchen floor. It had run from the side of the stove and came to a stop underneath the leg of the kitchen table.

"Fucking bitch can't even keep a clean house," he mumbled and reached for another beer.

Landon was home too, but he wasn’t alone. He'd brought home a friend, a woman he'd been talking to down at the gym. So what if Rosie was gone, there were plenty of women who would be glad to have him as their boyfriend. Things around the house had gotten better anyway. When she didn’t come home that night he'd started clearing out her things and once her half of the closet was emptied he felt a hell of a lot better.

Now he was able to keep everything just the way he wanted, neat and tidy. With Rosie gone, he wouldn’t have to do anymore reminding. He wouldn’t have to go through the exhaustive efforts just to keep tabs on her. No, her leaving was a good thing. 
Let her be someone else's problem,
 he thought to himself. 
But who am I kidding?
 He chuckled softly. 
No one will ever want her
.

Chapter Four

Liam couldn't get Aurora Collins out of his mind. He'd known her first name but thought better of announcing it when she didn’t offer it. For now he'd keep things formal, for now. He'd never met anyone so…feisty. He wondered if she liked always being in control or if she liked to let go every now and then. She was wound up tight, and he wanted to be the one she would turn to when she needed unwinding. He was sure that his demeanor had hinted nothing, and he liked that. He wanted to keep her guessing, that is of course if she even was guessing. For all he knew she could have forgotten about him the moment he'd gotten into his car. But something told him that she did not.

It was going to be up to him to get her to remember him, and he'd start by doing exactly what she'd asked, he start by calling.

Aurora was now on the porch alone, it was well after midnight and she needed to take a breather. The therapy session had gone well and she, Rosie and Mari had spent hours after just talking and getting to know one another. 
Those two women are definitely going to make it
, she told herself.

Just then her cell rang. Thinking that it was someone else who needed her help, she answered quickly.

"Hello?"

Just the sound of her voice made him hard. "Hello, may I please speak with Miss Aurora Collins?"

"This is she."

"Miss Collins, it's me Liam Hunt. I'm sorry to call you so late, but I was wondering if I could stop by again tomorrow. I would really like to volunteer my time."

"Mr. Hunt, why are you so interested in coming back out here? You wouldn’t have some hidden agenda now would you?"

He was glad that she couldn’t see the smirk spreading across his face. "Such as?"

"Such as… trying to get to my guests perhaps? Look, I don’t know if you were hired by their significant others or what but know this, it's not going to work. Now I suggest that if you truly, really want to volunteer then you go elsewhere. Do I make…"

He cut her off. "What I want Aurora is to volunteer at your place. Listen, I have nothing up my sleeve, I just strongly support what you do and I want to help. Now I'd be more than happy to give you the name of one of your board members, he happens to be a good friend of mine. If I give you his name will you call him and let him tell you that I'm not a bad guy?" He pleaded.

She could picture him sitting on a chair perhaps in his home office or worse, he was in bed and shirtless.

"Give me the name," she said. There could be no taking chances when it came to having a volunteer at the house, especially a male one. The two that she had always made sure to do their part but she could always use more help. And if Liam checked out, she was sure that she could find something for him to do. But he had to check out, if he didn’t all bets were off.

"I hope you don’t expect me to make any calls at this late hour Mr. Hunt."

"Absolutely not. I will however, expect your call in the morning. Thank you for your time Miss Collins, goodnight."

Liam hung up the phone before she had a chance to respond. 
I'll see you in the morning,
 he thought to himself. 
Bright and early in the morning.

She hadn't realized it until after she hung up the phone, but Aurora held the slightest hint of a smile on her face. She began to make mental notes; if Liam Hunt wanted to volunteer she would have plenty for him to do.

It was going to be another warm day and Aurora could smell fresh baked cinnamon rolls and coffee brewing. "You are a godsend," she said to Rosie.

"Where'd you learn to cook like this?"

Rosie wiped some flour from her cheek. "Oh I've been cooking since I was nine years old. It's just something that I enjoy doing, it makes me happy." She smiled.

"Well you just keep on being happy," Mari chimed in. Aurora said good morning to her friends. She took notice that they were healing quite nicely considering it had only been a few days since they were beaten. The swelling had gone down in Mari's eyes, and she was no longer walking with a limp. Rosie's hands were almost healed, but she still needed to wear bandages. She told them that she was in no pain and that cooking was very therapeutic for her.

"Well this food is delicious," Aurora said and took a sip of coffee. "Hmmm." She closed her eyes. "Oh and just so you ladies know, a volunteer is coming by today," she said with a smirk.

Rosie and Mari exchanged glances. "Oh?" They both said. "Now this volunteer wouldn’t happen to be Mr. Hottie now would it?" Mari giggled.

Aurora averted her eyes away from them and took another sip of coffee. "Yes that would be the one but don’t worry, I made a few phone calls and he checks out okay."

"Worried? Who's worried?" Rosie said.

"I hope you're not going to greet him looking like that?" Mari teased.

"You better go put something sexy on."

Aurora stifled back a laugh. "Hey, he's here to volunteer not to see me and I have no interest in him other than what he can do with his hands."

She shut her eyes and cursed. "Shit! You ladies know what I mean," she said and rushed out of the room embarrassed.

"It's okay," Mari shouted after her. "Let us know just how good he is with his hands when you find out will ya?" Rosie couldn’t stop laughing.

An hour later Liam pulled up in the driveway. The house looked as beautiful as it did the day before, and he wasn’t sure that there was anything that needed to done but he was determined to find out. Aurora came from behind the house. She looked fresh and delicious, the jeans she had on had a tear in the knee and the fitted tee shirt caressed her breasts and curves. She looked more than delicious, she looked delectable.

"Do you want something to do?" She asked.

"Not if it involves getting shot," he motioned to her hands. They were now empty. "I see you're not packin'."

"I wouldn’t say that," she said and started walking towards the tool shed.

Rosie and Mari stood in front of the living room windows following Aurora's every move.

"Oh I can tell just by the body language that he's into her," Mari grinned.

"Yes but is she interested in him?" Rosie questioned.

As they made their way to the shed Aurora turned, he noticed that she kept glancing back towards the house. It was as if she was gauging the distance, just in case she had to run.

"You don’t have to be afraid of me," he said.

And Aurora believed him. That was the thing she was afraid of…for some strange reason it was so easy to believe him. But how many times had she believed Randy when he told her that everything was going to be alright?

That was done, she reminded herself. It was all over, Randy was gone and so was the child she'd been carrying. 
Your life can begin again, if you’d let it
, her conscience told her.

"I need to go to the lumber yard, would you mind going with? There's a fence that needs repairing, and I need to get it fixed."

"I am at your disposal," he said and turned to leave the shed.

"Thank you and by the way, I'm not afraid of anything or anyone. And we'll be taking my car," she said and led the way.

For Liam, the ride to the lumber yard wasn’t long enough. He had only managed to get bits and pieces out of her and by the time they pulled into the parking lot, she shied again. "Do you know what you need?" He asked.

Aurora turned and rolled her eyes. "Excuse me?" She said and abruptly got out of the car.

"That's not what I meant," he said when he caught up to her. "I meant, do you know what you need in reference to supplies."

"Oh. Yes I know what I need."

Feeling foolish she grabbed a hand cart and made her way down the aisle. Several men looked at her and some even started grumbling.

"What's with the welcoming committee?" He asked.

"Oh that? I just ignore that. Some of the men in this town don’t like me because of what I do. I provide a safe haven for the women they like to use as punching bags. Most of their women have left them because I helped them get away and the men here… well they don’t take to kindly to that but ask me if I care," she said and continued walking along the aisles.

Liam shook his head. "Well I gotta hand it to you, what you do is amazing and I know that the women you help are very grateful."

"I'm the one who is grateful. I am honored to know these women and what they've been through… So let's just say that they are the amazing ones, not me."

"Look at that bitch, sniveling little whore walking around here like she owns the fucking place." Ken Holmes had just pulled in when he saw Aurora getting out of her Jeep. She was with some guy, but he didn’t care. The bitch had forced his wife to leave him, he'd only hit his wife a couple of times but she'd gone to the cops and then the cops called in Aurora Collins. Ken walked over to his contracting friends. "Because of that bitch right there, my Gloria up and divorced me," he growled and spat on the ground.