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CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Healing

I could finally lift my arm above my head without feeling like it was about to fall off. The relief seeped through me, making my knees feel like jelly.

“You’re coming along in leaps and bounds, Mel. I told you that you’d be fine, as long as you did the work.”

Julie smiled at me as she helped me stretch out my shoulders. I’d be sore in the morning, but it meant that my shoulder was getting better. It meant that soon I would be able to compete again. The thought made me impatient.

I’d already missed all of the US tournaments. Tokyo was just around the corner. I really wanted to try my luck, but I was sure that Julie would tell me not to push it. An instruction that Joel would no doubt agree with wholeheartedly.

Thinking about Joel made me smile ridiculously. It had been six weeks since I got out of hospital. Six weeks since he’d told me he loved me.

Julie saw me grinning like a fool and smirked. “You can’t stop thinking about him, can you?” she asked. I batted at her with my left hand, pleased that I could actually use it again.

“I can’t help it,” I sighed.

Julie chuckled. “I know what you mean. I used to be like that when I thought about …” Her voice trailed off. I knew she had been ab out to say Steve. But for more reasons than one she felt it wasn’t appropriate to speak about him.

“How do you feel, Julie, now that Thomas has been found guilty?” I asked, gazing out over Sydney Harbour. Joel’s gym and tennis court were perfect for Julie to help me rehab. The best part was that it was private.

In some sense, my injured shoulder was a blessing – it had kept me out of the public eye for the weeks following the shooting. The weeks where the speculation in the media was going berserk.

“I feel … at peace, I guess. I don’t think that has much to do with that boy pleading guilty or anything. I think it’s more to do with Sandra.”

We’d all been shocked to discover that Sandra had taken the revelation about Julie and her illegitimate child in her stride with no surprise whatsoever.

“I should have known that Steve would have told her. He loved her. He really did – more than anything else. More than me.” I heard Julie’s voice break, and I put a tentative arm around her shoulders.

I actually really liked Julie, now that there was no need for me to be ten different shades of green thinking about her and Joel together.

“I’ll never regret it though. How could I when I got Shaun out of it?”

I smiled. “He’s a cool little kid, I’ll give you that much. And he’s going to be a stunner when he’s older.”

Julie sniffed and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, like you’re not biased! He’s definitely going to take after his brother.”

“My ears are burning!” Joel announced behind us and we both jumped.

“How do you do that?” I asked, feigning annoyance.

Julie smiled and slipped out from under my arm. “I’d better go and see what my wayward son is up to – probably terrorising Sandra.” Julie made her escape.

I looked up at my man. His eyes sparkled, bluer than the harbour. He moved closer and slipped his arms around my waist .

“How’d you go today?” he asked.

I grinned. “Great! I’m definitely getting better. I think I’ll be able to get back into competition soon.”

Joel’s eyes narrowed. “How about you just take it easy, Stinky? There’s no rush.”

I pouted and Joel smirked.

“I want to go to Tokyo,” I muttered without any real conviction. I was pretty sure what his answer would be. I was right.

Joel shook his head. “Okay, here’s the deal. You skip Tokyo, keep working hard, and we’ll aim to have you ready for San Diego.”

I rolled my eyes. “Is that a directive from my coach, or my boyfriend?” I couldn’t help the little smile that lit up my face as I said the word ‘boyfriend’.

Joel noticed it and grinned. “From both.”

I sighed, but I nodded. I could see that what he was saying made sense. There was no point in rushing back into it and ending up injuring myself further.

Joel drew me off the court and into the rumpus room. I broke free of him and went towards the stairs, but he caught my hand and pulled me back. I looked at him curiously.

“The sentencing hearing was this morning,” he reminded me.

I nodded, the smile slipping from my face. We’d been told that we could attend if we wanted. I couldn’t think of anything worse, and Joel and Sandra had agreed with me. I didn’t want to be in the same room as that psychopath ever again. Not after what we’d learned during the hearing.

Thomas Blackthorn, who’d seemed like such a lovely, doting boyfriend to Amanda, had ‘kindly’ offered to feed Connor of an evening while I was away, so Amanda wouldn’t have to rush before her shifts at the hospital.

And while he was there, he’d installed hidden webcams, covering every corner of my apartment.

The police had found footage on Thomas’s computer of me in the shower, sleeping, changing …

and one video of Joel and me on my lounge, and on my living room floor.

That was how Joel had managed to get into his crosshairs.

Thomas had also been responsible for leaking the Pete Levine video – the anonymous tennisfanboi Twitter account that had always posted about me belonged to Thomas.

“I just checked,” Joel muttered, “life in prison.”

A huge sighed gusted out of me and I collapsed onto the lounge.

“Well,” I managed after I took a few deep breaths. “That’s … good.” It seemed totally inadequate, to say it was good that the person who had ended two people’s lives was stuck in prison for the rest of his. But what else was I supposed to say?

Joel inhaled deeply and let the air hiss slowly out of his lungs. “It’s over.”

He pushed me down on the lounge, covering my body with his, kissing me with wild abandon. If there hadn’t been a preschooler upstairs playing in the living room with his trucks I would have let nature take its course.

I broke away from him. “I’m glad you feel relieved, but maybe we should find a more appropriate venue for this,” I murmured. He sat up, pulling me against his side. I snuggled as close as I could.

“You’re right, Stink. You should probably go take a shower, anyway.” He leaned over and distractedly kissed the bullet scar on my back. It was healing very well; shiny pink skin having replaced raw redness. Joel always kissed me there.

I got off the lounge and trotted up the stairs. Julie and Sandra were sitting on the rug in the living room while Shaun zoomed cars under the coffee table. The two women got on surprisingly well. It was pretty clear that Sandra liked having a child in the house.

Inside Joel’s room I stripped off my exercise clothes and stepped into the monster shower in his en suite. The warm water felt great on my skin, and I closed my eyes and put my face into the spray, before grabbing some shampoo and lathering it through my hair.

How he moved so quietly I’d never know.

“Is this a more appropriate venue?”

His words were my only warning that Joel had joined me in the shower. I managed not to jump – I was getting used to him sneaking up on me.

“I suppose this will do,” I replied coyly, turning towards him and tilting my head back under the spray to rinse the shampoo from my hair.

I opened my eyes to see Joel staring hungrily at my breasts, thrust in his direction, shampoo bubbles slowly sliding over them.

I smirked up at him as I ran my fingers down my chest and across my rapidly puckering nipples.

“I’m a lucky man,” Joel murmured, reaching out to cup and fondle my breasts, and I glanced down to see his dick hard against his belly, sending a shock wave of aching heat between my legs. I looked back up into his eyes as I slowly went to my knees in front of him.

A choking gasp erupted from him as I took that throbbing length into my mouth, laving my tongue around the head before sucking it deep into my throat.

“Fuck, Mel, you’re going to be the death of me,” he cursed, but I watched him brace himself against the wall, his hips thrusting slightly. I reached around and gripped his muscular butt, letting him know it was okay for him to fuck my mouth.

“Ungh!” he groaned as I felt him hit the back of my throat. I moaned around his beautiful cock, sucking harder.

“Do you want me to come in your mouth?” he rasped.

With a pop, I let his cock go. “Well, you have a choice to make,” I began, taking his cock in my hand and caressing it. His eyes were locked on my hand on him. “Either I can keep going and finish you off with my mouth …”

“Or?” He demanded between gritted teeth.

I grinned, standing up. “Or you can bend me over and get us both off.”

“Bend over,” he demanded darkly, and with a shiver of raw anticipation, I complied.

Quite some time later, I was dried and dressing in the clothes that Joel had picked out for me – I’d moved most of my wardrobe over from my apartment.

My apartment was being leased out; after learning about what Thomas had done in there, I had decided I’d rather be a temporary house guest of Sandra than live there again .

Joel watched me from the bed, dressed in jeans and a button up shirt in a colour that matched mine. He thought it was cute when we were coordinated, since we’d always unintentionally dressed that way before we were together.

I eyed him suspiciously. “Why are we getting so dressed up?” I asked. “Do we have plans tonight?

Joel shrugged. “Nope.” He sounded suspiciously innocent. I glared at him and made for the door. He grabbed my wrist and dragged me down on top of him on the bed.

“What’s the hurry?” he asked as he trailed his fingers up and down my sides. “Isn’t it nice just to be alone?”

I struggled. “Your mother already thinks I’m a sex addict without us fuelling that suspicion any further.”

Joel chuckled. “No, she thinks I’m the sex addict, not you. And she’s wrong, anyway.”

I snorted. “Yeah right, pull the other one, pal!”

Joel turned the full force of his blue eyes on me and I stopped talking.