Love and Betrayal

Chapter eight

Dani wrapped her arms around herself and sank to the floor of the shower as she sobbed. She had lost so much in the last few years. Her brother, her reason for fighting and nearly her life. For months while in rehabilitation, Dani had screamed for the doctors to just end it. She demanded to know why they hadn’t just let her die. They had answered with a simple, “ You’re the best ”.  Once again her scars ached. She was lost, confused but she would never turn her back on Kajika, she would fight for him until she was dead. Aaron walked into Dani’s room. She’d been avoiding him lately. He thought back to their sparring session and his body hardened. For some reason he was drawn to her. Wanted to touch her, kiss her. He was about to walk back out when he saw her huddled on the floor of the shower. She always showed so much strength so it was a shock to see her so vulnerable. He watched Dani as she sobbed, her arms wrapped around herself. He’d ordered Parnell to pull up her files and he read over them after the fight in the cafeteria. She was so young and yet had been through so much. When Parnell had given him Dani’s file, the man’s face had been pale. He’d told Aaron that Dani’s files had been nearly completely redacted. Now looking at her huddled form, he found it amazing that she was even still sane. The Division had turned her into a living weapon and wouldn’t even let her die when she’d begged for it. She was trained to have no feelings, to ignore pain and to kill without question or conscience. It filled Keener with rage. Aaron suspected that Kajika was Dani’s anchor and she was determined to protect Kajika to her last breath. Keener backed away when he saw Dani wipe her tears and stand, her stoic mask falling back into place.

Dani finished washing herself and wrapped her body in a towel. She walked out of the bathroom and over to the bed that was now hers. With her towel still on, She pulled on a pair of underwear and a bra to match, then dropped the towel. Aaron tried to hide his gasp as she let her towel fall to the floor. Her body was riddled with scars, old and new. The newest one was long and jagged, wrapping around the side of her body. It started in the front, wrapped around her left side and ended in the middle of her back. He was truly amazed that she had survived her injuries. He could only imagine the amount of willpower it took to live with and through such an ordeal. Then to come back as though nothing had happened. Dani heard a noise behind her and spun around. Her eyes widened when she found Keener there staring at her. She blushed as his eyes moved over her body and stopped on her latest scar. Even after 3 years it was still red. Ashamed at how her body now looked, Dani spun around, her long red hair whirling around as she did to grab her shirt to cover the scars. She suddenly felt warm, strong arms wrap around her. “ No don’t!” Keener said sharply at her ear. “ Don’t ever hide your scars, not from the world and not from me. Everyone needs to know what you went through, what you survived in order for them to be safe.” he said. Dani shivered in his arms and it wasn’t from the cold. Her breath hitched in her throat when she felt his nose running down her neck and goosebumps broke out all over her body. It had gotten harder for her to fight her attraction to Keener. She was tired of avoiding him and apparently so was he. It was like he’d forgotten that she’d nearly killed him in the street. “ It must bother you when people only see a tool or a killer when they look at you, instead of a survivor, a woman.” Aaron said. He turned Dani around in his arms and looked down at her. Her blue green eyes shone with years worth of pain. “I'm used to it. I was 14 the first time I killed someone. I’m tired, Keener. Tired of being a weapon, tired of fighting, tired of being a survivor. But I don’t know how to be or feel anything else.” She said softly, some tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. Keener lowered his head and kissed her. He couldn’t stop himself, he’d been drawn to Dani ever since he’d seen her picture.

Aaron groaned when Dani moaned into his mouth. He took that opening and twined his tongue with hers, tasting her. She was a magnificent combination of muscle and curves. He lifted Dani with ease and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Aaron broke off the kiss and gazed down into Dani’s flushed face. “ I see a woman when I look at you Dani, I see my woman and I need to claim what’s mine!” he said and kissed her again. Dani moaned and kissed Aaron back. As an afterthought, Aaron kicked Dani’s door closed and lowered them onto her bed. He was done letting her hide from him.  Aaron took Dani’s bra off and molded her breasts with his hands, kneading them gently. Dani yanked Aaron’s shirt open, his buttons flying everywhere. She then went to the button on his pants while he shucked off the rest of his shirt and ripped the laced underwear off of her. “ I knew as soon as I saw you're picture that I didn’t want to kill you.” She said softly. Aaron chuckled and shook his head. “ And yet you nearly did.” he said, teasing her. Dani shrugged her shoulders, “ I’m glad I didn’t get the chance.” She said. Dani pulled his head down and kissed him just as he thrust inside of her already soaked core. They both groaned. When Dani was used to his size, she lifted her hips and moved. That was all Keener needed to let him know he could move again. They made love for hours, crying out each other’s names when they climaxed. Dani fell asleep in Aaron’s arms.