Page 26 of The Raven

Raven

Aside from the Grandfather clock ticking in the hallway, the house was in complete silence. Not unusual for this time of day. I made my way to the kitchen, carrying the bouquet of roses I’d brought home with me from my shop, and found a vase, smiling as I gazed out the window.

Summer was almost over, but we were all making the most of the last few days of warmth by spending every possible minute on the beach our house overlooked.

When Mason and I viewed the house, we knew instantly that it would be our forever home due to its location.

From the porch that wrapped around the place, it was approximately fifty steps until our toes sank into the soft sand on the beach, and every morning, we woke to the gentle waves crashing against the shore.

It was our version of Heaven.

Filling the vase with water, I arranged the roses into a perfect display and carried them into the living room, placing the vase on the shelf, and taking a step back to allow my eyes to roam over the picture frames surrounding the fresh bouquet.

Each frame was filled with pictures of happy memories.

Mine and Mason’s wedding day. The picture capturing the moment he held his son, Eric, for the first time.

Another frame containing a photo of a two-year-old Eric holding his newborn sister, Robin.

A photo of the four of us with my mom and Nathan when we holidayed in Orlando.

It took my mom a long time to forgive Mason for lying to her about my ‘death,’ but when Eric was born, she finally began to move on, accepting that the reason he hadn’t told her was in my best interests.

My gaze landed on one of my favorite photos, a picture taken years ago of Eric before he was murdered. He was on stage, playing with his band, a guitar in his hands, and his head thrown back as he belted the lyrics to the song he’d written.

Ten years later, I still missed him. Mason and I kept his memory alive by telling the kids all about him. How he was in a rock band. How he had been Mommy and Daddy’s friend. How he was part of the family, even if they couldn’t see him.

Since waking from my coma, neither Mason nor I had returned to Hadleigh Peak, and so, we never visited Eric’s grave. But having his photo was our way of commemorating him.

The other photos were constant reminders of how lucky we were.

How the struggle to get through the few years after waking from the coma was worth it.

There were days when I wanted to give up.

Days when frustration at my body not working properly took over, and I’d fall into a depressive slump.

Days when the traumatic memories would win, and I’d spend my therapy sessions either in floods of tears or screaming in rage at my therapist.

But I was determined to get through it. Grim and the others had taken enough from me, and I wasn’t going to let them win and take my future like they’d tried so hard to do.

Mason was by my side every step of the way. He was my constant support. My rock. My everything. Not once did his love waver.

Life took a turn for the better when, six years ago, I fell pregnant.

We weren’t trying for children, and truthfully, we didn’t think I’d be able to have them.

The doctors warned that parts of my body may never recover from the damage caused on the night the Vipers attacked me and the subsequent coma.

But here we were, with not just one, but two miracle children.

A high-pitched giggle sounded from outside, and the lure of my family pulled me away from the photos. I headed out the back door, walking the fifty steps through our garden and opening the gate to step onto the beach.

In the distance, Eric chased Robin, my four-year-old daughter giggling at her brother’s attempt to catch her, the two of them watched carefully by their father.

Mason wasn’t in the police anymore; he’d grown tired of fighting against a broken justice system.

After the endless support he gave me, he retrained to be a counsellor, working with children and teenagers from deprived backgrounds, helping them to improve their lives.

He was damn good at his job, too. He’d transformed countless lives over the years.

My feet sank into the sand as I made my way to them, grinning when Mason joined in the chase and grabbed the two kids, wrapping them up in his arms.

“Daddy!” Robin squealed as he spun them around before her blue eyes found me. “Mommy’s home!”

She wriggled out of his arms and started running as fast as her little legs could carry her over to me. I lowered myself to my knees and opened my arms.

“Hey, baby bird,” I said, calling her the nickname both Mason and I had called her from the minute we agreed on her name.

Her little body plowed into me, and she wrapped her arms around my neck. I kissed her on the cheek as Eric reached us, joining in with the hug. As I embraced my children, my eyes met Mason’s as he strolled toward us, a loving grin on his face.

My heart thumped against my ribs like it always did when I saw him. There would never be a time when I wasn’t swamped with the feeling of immense love whenever I was with him.

When he stopped in front of the three of us hugging, I released the kids and stood. Immediately, his arms were around me, needing to touch me as much as I needed to touch him.

“Welcome home, Blackbird.” He pressed his lips against mine, softly at first, but deepening the kiss.

“Ewww,” Eric said, making a gagging noise. He was at that age where any form of affection between his parents grossed him out.

Mason and I broke apart, the two of us chuckling as Mason rubbed his son’s head. “Don’t knock it, buddy. One day, you’ll find the person who is your soulmate.”

Eric scowled while Robin beamed, her inquisitive eyes darting between Mason and me.

“Who wants popcorn while we watch a film?” I asked.

“Me!” Robin squealed. “Can I pick?”

“It’s my turn to pick,” Eric countered.

Mason and I grinned at each other. Eric and Robin were the best of friends. Except when it came to picking films, they could never agree, and it usually resulted in us having to watch two films, one straight after the other, to stop them from bickering.

We wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“Maybe your mom and I get to choose this time,” Mason said, wrapping one arm around Eric’s shoulders.

With his free hand, he grabbed my hand while I clasped Robin’s little hand in my other. The four of us started up the beach, back to the house.

Our home.

Mason

Over the years, Raven’s nightmares had eased, but on rare occasions, they made an appearance.

A soft gasp woke me from my sleep, and I reached over to flick the bedside lamp on, finding my wife sitting up and breathing heavily, a light sheen of sweat coating her body.

“Hey, you’re okay. You’re safe,” I said, sitting up and scooting closer so I could wrap an arm around her shoulder.

She nuzzled against me, giving herself a minute to catch her breath and go through the coping mechanisms her therapist had taught her. When her breathing returned to its normal pace, she pulled away.

“I’m okay. It was just a nightmare,” she said, reminding herself that whatever she’d seen wasn’t real.

“What happened?”

For the first few years of her nightmares, Raven refused to talk about them, but after several joint therapy sessions, she learned that by keeping them in, she was making it worse for herself. Whenever she had nightmares, I always asked what happened so she could share her burden.

“The usual. Grim standing over the bed, telling me he is waiting for me.”

I hated seeing the sadness in her eyes. Hated that after all these years, Grim still had a way of haunting her.

I cupped her face, leaning forward to lightly kiss her mouth. “Grim is rotting in hell, Blackbird. He’ll never be able to hurt you again,” I whispered against her lips. “Besides, he’d have to get past me first.”

“My hero,” she laughed, gazing at me with adoration shining in her eyes.

“You know it.” I kissed her again, the heavy tension that had engulfed us beginning to lift.

I pulled away, resting my forehead against hers. For several long beats, we stayed like that, the two of us staring into the eyes of the other, peering deep into our souls, strengthening a connection that would never break.

Her fingers gently stroked over the faded scar at my side. “I need you, Mase,” Raven whispered, a hint of desperation in her tone, and her words traveling straight to my cock.

I could never deny her when she said she needed me.

Sometimes, she needed me to just listen as she purged herself of evil memories.

Sometimes, she needed us to sit in complete silence so she could process her thoughts in her head.

Other times, like now, she needed to feel something other than the pain Grim had caused her.

My mouth found hers again, her lips parting to allow my tongue to twirl with hers. A delicate moan left her when I trailed kisses from her mouth to her jawline, and down her throat before slipping the strap of her nightdress off her shoulder and kissing her bare skin.

Blood rushed to my cock as I lowered her onto her back, hovering over her to kiss my way down her body. Finding the hem of her nightdress, she wiggled her body as I lifted it over her head, leaving her completely naked.

Her legs parted as I moved between them and yanked my boxers down, kicking them off before lowering myself over her, my throbbing cock resting at her entrance.

When Raven woke from her coma, it took her months before she let me touch her, and it was almost a year later before we had sex again.

I couldn’t be anything but patient with her; she needed time to process what Grim and the others had done, and she needed to find a way to know that it was me inside her, and no one else.

It took time. It took courage for her to let me explore her body, to taste her, and discover ways to keep her trauma away, but we got there. Now, sex was a way for Raven to continue to heal. A way for her to reclaim her consent. A way she could take what she needed, not have it taken away from her.

The two of us groaned as I pushed inside her soaking core, Raven’s arms circling the back of my neck as she wrapped her legs around my waist. Keeping my gaze trained on hers, I slowly thrusted in and out of her several times, watching in awe as her eyes brightened.

Sex with Raven wasn’t just about the physical act. Whenever I was inside her, our hearts beat in rhythm, our souls entwined a little tighter. We became one.

After several thrusts, the overwhelming need to be even deeper inside her consumed me. I rolled us over so she was straddling me before sitting up, and driving my cock in deeper.

Raven adjusted her position so her legs were behind me, and I wrapped my arms around her lower back, pulling her in tight against my chest. Together we rocked our hips in time, our heated pants combining as we refused to tear our gazes away from each other.

Our movements grew quicker, more desperate, as we chased our climaxes. When her core clamped down around me and she found her release with her head thrown back, I kissed the hollow of her throat before following her over the edge and spilling my release inside her.

Breathless, the two of us collapsed onto our backs. I pulled her into my arms, and she snuggled into my side, a contented sigh leaving her.

“I love you, Blackbird,” I whispered.

I felt her mouth tug into a smile against my ribs. “Forever?”

I kissed the top of her head, my own smile forming. “Forever.”

The end.