Pulled (35 page)

Stil , I hated for Shane and Katie to suffer because of me, but they’d accepted me as family and that’s just what families did for each other.

Final y, after what felt like hours, the door slammed, and Katie rushed down the hal way.

“What the hel was that about?” she demanded.

Shane exhaled loudly, his body tense. “He knows something’s up.”

I wrung my hands to calm my flaring nerves. “What do you mean? Is he suspicious about Daniel.” He shook his head before striding into the kitchen.

Katie and I fol owed close behind. He pul ed a beer from the fridge and downed half of it. “No, I don’t think so. He just knows something’s changed.”

The bel rang again. This time I knew who it was, but Shane told us to stay in the kitchen. Seconds later, Daniel trailed Shane to where we waited. He took me in his arms, visibly shaken and ful of apologies. “Baby, this is so messed up. I’m so sorry.”

I cut him off by pressing my lips to his. We couldn’t let it ruin our night. He returned my kiss, though I could feel the despondency in his touch. He rested his forehead on mine, his eyes strained as he gazed down at me. “I don’t know how long I can take this.”

“Al right you guys, get out of here,” Katie urged, trying to pul everyone from the heaviness threatening to suck us under. Daniel nudged me, breaking our embrace. I gathered my purse and jacket from the kitchen counter, once again, feeling self-conscious that the dress was too much.

I shrugged into my jacket, tying the belt around my waist, and reached for Daniel’s extended hand.

We thanked Shane and Katie and bid them

goodbye, knowing this night would never have happened without them.

Daniel held himself rigid as he walked out the door, scanning the yard and road. I caressed his arm, desperate to ease his nerves. He smiled down at me, and I grinned in return. Immediately, the mood between us lightened. The breeze was cool as it rustled through the trees, the last of the yel ow leaves stil clinging to the branches as winter approached. Daniel wrapped his arm over my shoulder, and led me down the steps to the walkway. I sighed, breathing in his scent mixed with the crisp, night air. A feeling of contentment settled into the depths of my bones.

I giggled when he opened the passenger door and helped me inside, careful to keep my dress from riding up as I sank down into the low seat. I whispered a breathy,

“Thank you,” against his lips when he ducked inside for a kiss.

He rushed around to the opposite side, jumped in, and leaned over the console to kiss me again. I was not going to get tired of that.

“Chinese okay?” He started his car and pul ed away, heading north.

“Yeah, that sounds great.” It was my favorite.

He traveled farther out of town than I normal y would have ventured, I’m sure out of fear of seeing somebody who would recognize us. Final y, he pul ed into a half-ful parking lot. “I ate here a few weeks ago. It’s quiet and has the best Mongolian beef I’ve ever eaten.” He smiled at me, touching my cheek. My chest swel ed with the love I felt as he showed me that he remembered
me
, not just taking me for my favorite type of food, but for the exact dish we’d shared many times before.

“Thank you.”

Dinner was magical. There was no awkwardness, only complete calm as we talked for what seemed like hours. We teased and loved. I giggled as he fed me with chopsticks, an art I had never mastered. His lips were never far from mine, and we shared gentle touches under the table and uttered sweet words that had been silent for too long.

Laughing, we reminisced about our high school days. When Daniel’s phone chimed, he was making fun of Erin, his words stil flowing as he casual y ran his finger over the face of the phone. His demeanor suddenly shifted and his jaw tensed when he read the message.

I watched as he tried to play it off as if nothing had happened. He turned back to me and continued with the story though his words were forced.

I sat back, feeling unsure of myself. Where did we stand here? Before, I wouldn’t have hesitated to ask him who it was and what was wrong. We had told each other everything, shared everything. That was the way it should be.

He trailed off mid-sentence when he took in my pained expression. He grimaced and ran a frustrated hand through his hair before answering the question I’d never voiced.

“It was Vanessa.”

Tentative, I asked, “What did she want?”

He stared down at the table, struggling with what to say.

“Daniel, look at me,” I prodded, making him look up. “Please, don’t hide from me. You can tel me anything.

We have a lot of stuff to deal with, but we have to do it together.”

He nodded before he spoke cautiously. “She wants me.”

I swal owed hard, trying to rid myself of the insecurity I felt. Tripping over my words, I had to ask as that little voice piped up once again, tel ing me he should be with her. “How...how do you feel about her?” He answered with venom, taking me by surprise.

“I despise her.”

“Why?” I mean, yeah, he didn’t want to have a child with her, but he was just as responsible for their situation as she was.

Lines set deep in his forehead as he took a deep breath, and I felt the undercurrent of hatred as he spoke of her. “She tried to trap me.”

Frowning, I worked to decipher what he meant.

He groaned. “She got pregnant on purpose, Melanie, and she thought I would marry her because of it.” I was horror-struck. Did people real y do stuff like that?

“I made it clear I have no interest in her, but she won’t leave me alone. She wants money, and she’s using this baby as a pawn.” He grimaced, his eyes pained as they searched mine for understanding.

Suddenly, any trace of envy I had for her was gone. I threw myself into his arms, the only way I knew to give him comfort. He held me, his voice urgent as he whispered against my ear, “She’s going to try to tear us apart. Don’t let her.”

I shook my head buried in the crook of his neck, reminding him of the promise I’d made to him two days ago when I’d pledged him my life. “Forever.”

His breath washed across my face as he relaxed into me, and he placed a smal kiss below my ear.

“Forever.”

With our confidence restored, the stress

dissipated, and we settled back into our easy banter as we shared a bowl of vanil a ice cream and a pile of fortune cookies.

Daniel smiled warmly at the elderly Asian woman who dropped off our check, wishing her a good night before he slid from his chair, watching me intently as I fol owed suit. The moment I stood, he stepped to me and placed a hand on each of my hips, drawing me to him. His kiss was no longer sweet and playful but fil ed with a hunger that set me off kilter. I stared into his piercing eyes, suddenly wishing we were somewhere a little less public. His hands traveled farther down my sides until they found the heated, bare skin of my legs, and he hooked his thumbs under the hem of my skirt. His voice came low and pleading as he asked, “My place?”

That dress.

I sped down the street, failing to keep my eyes trained on the road. Instead, they continual y traveled back to the place where Melanie’s creamy, white flesh flowed from
that
dress and met my black leather seats. She was trying to kil me. I’d nearly had a heart attack when I’d seen what she was wearing.

I’d parked my car two houses away from the Preston’s home when I’d arrived to pick up her for our date.

As I’d stepped from my car, I almost hadn’t seen the car speeding down the street. But as soon as I had, I’d recognized Nicholas immediately and quickly retreated to my car, ducking down into the seat. I’d felt so helpless. I’d wanted to confront him, to protect Melanie from him, to jump from my car and tel him she was mine, but I could do nothing. So I’d hidden like a coward.

He probably wouldn’t have noticed me anyway.

His only focus was Melanie’s car parked in the Preston’s driveway. I couldn’t see his face, but even from a distance I could see the anger rol ing from him. I had no idea what he intended, what Melanie had told him, or what he knew. Al I could do was wait, helpless while someone else protected my girl. It sucked.

I watched while he stood on the porch and talked to someone for a few minutes before leaving, angrier than when he had arrived.

When I’d final y made it inside their house, I was shaken. The only thing on my mind was Melanie’s safety, and it wasn’t until she’d stepped away from me to get her coat and purse that I’d noticed what she wore. It was single-handedly the most arousing thing I’d ever seen.

Melanie had always been breathtakingly beautiful, but she’d grown into the most stunning woman I’d ever seen. I’d spent the evening dueling with my self-control. My body was hyperaware of her every move, the way she’d cross and uncross her legs under the table, her leg brushing up against mine as she did. My blood slowly simmered, building to a rol ing boil. I’d managed to keep myself restrained until Melanie slid from the booth, and then it was al over. I had to touch, to feel where light met dark.

Her skin was like fire against my fingertips. I’d never left a restaurant so fast in my life.

Now I found myself trying to focus on the road in front of me. It was nearly impossible as Melanie inconspicuously tried to rub her thighs together. Her fingers kneaded the leather, her breath stil heavy as she unabashedly stared at me from her seat. I glared at the hem of her dress, silently cursing it for taunting me al night. She must have noticed my expression as she tugged on it.

“Don’t look at me like that. I had to borrow something from Katie.”

I couldn’t help but grin at her, a smal laugh escaping as I shook my head. She couldn’t be more off base.

“No, baby, I like the dress.” I was just going to like it much, much more in a pile on my bedroom floor. “You look...real y good.”
Too good.
She relaxed when I reached out and gently tugged a fistful of the material, showing her just how much I liked it.

Pul ing into the parking garage, I swung the car into my spot. I jumped out and rushed around, nearly dragging Melanie from the car in my excitement to get her upstairs. A shiver ran up my spine with the sound of her pealing laughter as she raced to keep up with me. Her face was radiant. She giggled, and her brown curls bounced against her shoulders as she struggled to keep up.

Absolutely exquisite.

In one fluid movement, I spun her into a little half twirl, guiding our arms over her head before I drew her back to my chest. My nose nuzzled her hair, and we slowly swayed to the rhythm of our pounding hearts in an impromptu dance.

The elevator chimed, and we stepped forward.

The energy between us was nearly insufferable in the tight quarters. My hands were firm on her stomach as I drew her to me. Reaching up behind her, she wrapped her arm around the nape of my neck. Soft fingers were in my hair, pul ing, tugging, massaging. My sudden lightheadedness had nothing to do with the elevator ride to the twenty-first floor. The door opened, and I took her hand to lead her out.

“Ready?”

She smiled timidly, sidling to my side. My nerves flared as I prepared to show her where I lived. Would this be our home? I unlocked the door, and she stepped in. Her face was thoughtful as she assessed the large, open space. Her words from long ago rang out,
“It would never
be home unless you’re here in it with me,”
and I knew it didn’t matter. Wherever we lived, it would be home simply because we were together.

I watched as she explored my apartment, her fingers reaching out to touch the throw pil ows Erin and Mom had picked out to match the couches, inspecting the art on the wal s. Whenever she recognized the few things from our house, a faint smile would grace her lips. She pul ed one of the photo albums from the bookshelf, gasping when she saw most of the pictures were of her.

A tear slid down her cheek, and I cautiously came up behind her. “I told you I never let you go, Melanie.”

“I know. This was just unexpected.” She flipped through the pages smiling through her tears, every few seconds glancing at me when she’d come across one that seemed to provoke a particularly fond memory. “This is amazing, Daniel. I can’t believe you have these.” Her hands trembled when she came to the last. The tips of her fingers lovingly traced the outline. “You have this, too?” She looked up at me; her eyes fil ed with wonder as she asked me about the one picture I had of Eva, the one Mom had snapped the first time I’d held her. I nodded before realizing snapped the first time I’d held her. I nodded before realizing what Melanie had said.

“Wait, you have this picture? How?”

She ran her fingers through her hair, grimacing.

“There was this box from the hospital; it was fil ed with a bunch of get wel cards and stuff. I found it under my bed in Dal as. I have no idea how it even got there.” She shook her head. “Anyway, this was in there. I found it the day...” She closed her eyes, her voice tapering off.

“What day?” I reached out to stroke her cheek, encouraging her to open up to me.

“The day I went back for you. I saw it and knew I had to go.”