First Touch: She captivated him-A NOVELLA

Chapter 3:Contact 3

James slowly stripped, the sun glowing down on his body as he made his way into the lake. The cool water hit his skin and he felt a rush of relief. He couldn’t stand another moment of his body’s sexual need. As he lounged in the water his father’s suggestion came to play in his mind. For the first time since he had returned home the brothel had popped into his mind. Maybe, he thought, he should take up his father’s advice and head to town. He needed relief, he yearned for it. As he lounged lazily in the water he shook off his worries and stood. Water descended down his body and shined in the constant sunshine. He quickly donned his clothing and proceeded to head back inside.

 

Venus staggered backwards clutching her cheek. Her hair framed her face as blood slowly trickled down her lip. Her hand cupped her swollen cheek as she realized that she wouldn’t be able to escape Mr. Williams’s rath. He raised his hand again as he neared her, ready to cause her a second bout of pain. A tear rolled down her cheek as she watched him draw nearer. She watched in silent horror, her voice seemingly lost as he struck her again. She hit the wall, her back colliding with the hard wood behind her. She sank to the floor, refusing to cry over her current pains. She sucked in a breath of much needed air. When her back had hit the wall she had been winded. “I’ll…I’ll…I’ll have you in my bed, girl.” He slurred drunkenly, staggering in her direction. As she watched him draw nearer, her body in a state of constant aching, she stayed silent.

 

James entered the foyer and was greeted with silence. He swallowed the lump in his throat. There was something about the eeriness in the air that had him on edge. He searched his father’s study for a trance of him and came out lacking. He sighed, the one time he actually needed to have a word with his father he was nowhere to be found. He shook off his disappointment and headed for the den, a spot of brandy sound pleasant at that moment. As he neared the parlor the stench of liquor invaded his nose. He stepped through the parlor doors and froze, the sight before him causing him pause. Anger unlike anything he had felt before filled him as his eyes adjusted to what he saw before him. His eyes roamed over Venus’s wounded frame and suddenly his anger exploded. He neared his father, the urge to actually strike him traveling to the forefront of his mind. James grabbed his father by the collar and yanked him away from Venus. He yelped as he fell onto the carpeted floor. His drunken hazy eyes struggled to zero in on James’s tall figure. “James…My Boy…” he slurred once again. James merely glanced down at him and had to refrain from using vulgarity. He turned his attention to Venus and reached for her. His hands grazed her warm skin as he pulled her frail body up from the floor. She limped as she stood and suddenly a surge of protectiveness hit him square in the chest. He pulled her into his arms and frowned at how light was. She stayed stiff as he carried her from the room. He quietly walked into his study and sat her on top of his desk. Upon releasing her he took in her appearance with much more clarity. His eyes widened as he realized the damage his father had done.

The image of his mother suddenly popped into his mind’s eye. He remembered the constant blue and black coloring of her pale skin. For the second time in his life hatred for his father resurfaced. He had been the reason for James’s haste to leave the warm country side of Mississippi. James gingerly framed her face with his hands. She flinched at the contact and the blank gaze in her eyes was quickly replaced with a wary one. He silently ran his thumb across her bruised lip, past her swollen cheek and onto her temples. He bit back a wave of emotion as thoughts of his childhood washed over him. As a child he would hear his mother’s cries as his father took his drunken anger out on her. After he would beat her he would fall to his knees and blame her for his rage. Time after time James would witness his father’s drunkenness. But he knew never to interfere, for he would be sent off to boarding school, then who would be there to comfort his mother? Even now as he gazed down on the beautiful slave in his arms he felt enraged. He felt as if she were someone he should protect. His thoughts were boarding on insanity as he thought of protecting a common slave. But he knew what he was feeling couldn’t be stopped. He had inherited his father’s and that thought, that truth scared him.

Venus continued to eye him with wariness. Her mind seemed to be working a mile a minute as he continued to caress her bruised face. She could feel the silent aching of her wounds but tried to ignore it. His blue eyed gaze met hers and she held her breathe. Once again he traced his thumb across her lip and she felt  an unfamiliar tugging in the pit of her stomach, giddiness and anticipation hit her in waves. She felt his fingers as they tangled in her hair. Then he was leaning toward her, his lips but mere inches from her own.