Flawed Beauty by LR Potter Page B

anything, just call,
okay?”
    “You don’t need to stay, I’m good,”
she protested.
    “Medicine one-o-one, never leave
someone with a head injury. Sorry, I took an oath. You’re stuck with me. I’ll
just be on the couch. Unless, of course, you’d rather I slept here with you,”
he said with a grin.
    She grabbed a pillow and handed it
to him. “Couch, please.”
    Looking at the pillow, he said, “Is
that your final answer?”
    She glanced at the lonely side of
her bed and hated her answer, “Yes.”
     
    §§§
     
     
    “ Tanga ,
come on out, sweetheart. Let me see how you look,” she heard from the other side of the door.
    “No,” came the abrupt answer.
    “Come on, honey. You’re beautiful.
Is it so wrong to want to share your beauty with everyone? Did you apply the
glittery oil like I said?”
    The young blonde tossed her curls
over her shoulder and stared at the oil glittering on her forearms. “Yes,” she
whispered.
    “I bet you look amazing. Come on out
and let Daddy see,” said the man in his kindest voice.
    “I’m embarrassed,” she whispered as
she leaned against the door.
    “Honey, you have absolutely nothing
to be embarrassed about. Come on now, let me see.”
    “I’m scared, Daddy. Please don’t
make me,” she whimpered.
    “ Tanga ,
you better get your little ass out here right now!” he ordered.
    The young girl trembled at his tone.
Daddy had a mean streak. As her face flamed, she slowly turned the knob on the
door and eased it open. Dragging out the ‘reveal’ as long as she could, the
young girl stepped through the door into the bright room and closed her eyes as
shame washed over her. It wasn’t proper for fathers to see their teenage
daughters naked – no matter what he said.
    Grabbing her hand, he led her into
the middle of the bright room. Even with her eyes closed, she felt him as he
moved around her. From behind, he grabbed her shoulders and pressed himself
against her. In her hair, he whispered huskily, “God, you are so beautiful. You
will be worth your weight in gold. Of this I am sure.”
    Her stomach clenched when she felt
his hands slide down her arms over the oil. She kept her eyes clamped shut as
tight as she could when she felt him return to stand in front of her.
    With almost a choked voice, he
whispered, “You missed a couple of spots, sweetheart. That will never do.” She
felt his fingertips begin by her ears and travel down her neck, then still
lower….
     
    Tate gasped awake. No, no, no! She
refused to be sucked back into that nightmare. It’d been such a long
time since she’d had it. Why had it come back now? Then she remembered Blondie
and the attack. Of course, fear. Fear had brought it back, it always did. She
suspected retelling the tale to Dr. Randall hadn’t helped either. She turned
her head and saw the red digits of her clock radio proclaimed it was
four-eighteen. Her head was pounding. Grabbing her housecoat and the ibuprofen,
Tate silently moved through the apartment, ever conscious of Jace sleeping on the couch. Creeping into the kitchen, she
grabbed her glass from earlier, refilled it with water, and swallowed the
tablets.
    Putting the glass in the sink, she
turned and gasped. Jace was standing in the archway,
wearing nothing but his jeans.
    He stood with his arms raised above
his head, holding onto the top of the archway with his fingertips. She
swallowed at the beauty of his body. It was obvious he spent a lot of time at
the gym, as his muscles were well-chiseled and defined. He was just beautiful.
    “Are you okay?” he asked softly.
    “Just a little headache,” she
murmured.
    “What time is it?”
    “Almost four-thirty,” she replied.
    “ Umpph . It’s a little bit early to be
taking more ibuprofen. Don’t take them but every six hours, okay?”
    “Okay.” Feeling awkward and trying
to shove the remnants of her dream from her mind, she exhaled and moved towards
him. “Well, goodnight.”
    “What’s wrong, Tate?” he