A Dash of Desire (Spiced Life #2) (19 page)

Riley’s eyes fell closed. Only God truly understood how much she wanted Bella to stop. “He said even if you flinched, you didn’t break. I know he meant to hurt me, but his love for you shone in every word, and all I could think was, thank God.” Riley’s eyes snapped open. Bella’s were swimming with tears. “Thank God you’re strong enough to protect me and my children.” Her voice broke on the final word. She tried again. “Then Sammie came home with a C in English, and Graham was home.” Her voice completely gave out, breaking Riley.

“Please don’t,” Riley begged again. The pain crushing her went beyond description. Graham was staring at her, ignoring Bella. Riley knew the truth. He was absorbing every word the other woman spoke, making a list of her transgressions. Riley could barely breathe underneath the weight of his gaze.

Bella shook her head. “These people have to know,” she said, beginning to sound desperate. “He’s going to crush you, and we both know it. He’ll tell them everything. I can’t live with that, Riley.”

“I can,” Riley said, praying Bella would stop. Every word, even the sound of Bella’s voice, stabbed Riley through the heart. With Tristan at her side, and the eyes of all the people she’d come to care for upon her, Riley was exposed in a way she couldn’t bear.

Denying Riley the peace she begged for, Bella shook her head again. “It was such a stupid little thing, that C, but I’ve never been more scared in my life than I was that day. I’m sorry for what I did. I just couldn’t let him see that report card.” She wept harder. “I’m so sorry.”

Bella’s heartbreak sounded unnaturally loud as everyone hung on her every word. But it was obvious—as the silence stretched on—she was incapable of finishing. Riley could no longer look at her. Instead, she faced the front of the church and stared at the cross hanging on the wall. Her heart hardened against the world, the way it always did when Graham was near.

“Well. What happened?” Emma May said, breaking the silence.

“Yes, Riley. Do tell us what happened then,” Graham said, sounding too calm and setting off alarms in her head. Something about hearing the impatient question from Emma combined with Graham’s calm cruelty caused Riley to snap. With slow, calculated movements, Riley came to her feet. As she turned to meet Graham’s stare, she caught a flash of shock on Tristan’s face making her wonder what he saw on hers. Bracing her hands on the back of the pew, she went nose to nose with Graham. She held his gaze, beyond caring for her safety or if the world knew it all.

“She called me, the way she always does when you’re out of control.” Graham’s features hardened further, but Riley wanted him to hurt. “Just as always, I told her that I would take care of it, and I did.” God help her, she couldn’t stop. Something inside her had given way, allowing her spite free rein. “In a matter of two hours, I had you in my bed and you stayed there for the next six weeks.” She knew Graham would understand exactly which six weeks she referred. He’d told her he loved her and promised her the world. For a moment, in some twisted way, she’d loved him too. That is, until she’d walked by the mirror one day and caught sight of her reflection. A stranger stared back at her. It had scared her to the point that she’d carried the basket of laundry in her hands to the car, and she hadn’t looked back since.

Everyone used Graham. It had been her most alluring asset and his biggest weakness. She’d been different, or so she’d allowed him to think. The moment of satisfaction she gained by making him see that she was just like everyone else—using him for her own means, or in this case for Bella’s, was short lived. For once, she didn’t see it coming. Graham shot to his feet.

“You fucking bitch.”

He flew at her. She let it happen. In the wake of her fury, she was merely deflated. Nothing mattered any longer. There was no way Tristan would look at her the same after this. It was one thing to know she’d been living with a married man. It was another to know she’d lured that man to her, seducing him to stay with her. She didn’t care. Bella’s children were safe. For two whole years, she’d spared them a fate no one had saved her from as a child. Perhaps they’d never know it. She hoped they would not. But she knew.

Riley braced for a blow that never came. The sound of flesh meeting flesh as fists landed made her cringe, but no pain followed. She blinked in confusion. Her feet left the floor as Hunter swept her into his arms. The expression on his face left him almost unrecognizable. He was hard…deadly. His large frame shielded her from the confrontation.

Even through Riley’s panic attack, she understood one thing—Tristan had kept her safe. The night air brushed her skin as Hunter rushed her outside.

“Are you okay? Did he touch you?” Hunter’s hands ran down her body as he physically checked her for injuries.

“I’m fine,” she lied. She’d never be fine again. While Graham’s hands hadn’t touched her, his words had hit home. Her own action sank deep. He’d destroy her. Blue lights flashed in the distance, drawing Hunter’s focus.

“I need to help Tristan. Are you going to be okay out here by yourself?”

“Yeah.” She cleared her throat, hoping to sound stronger than she felt. “Yes,” she repeated. “Please go help Tristan. He needs you more right now than I do.”

His gaze swept over her once more before he shot back inside. The moment she was alone, Riley headed for Tristan’s truck. She had to get the hell out of Tristan’s life before any more damage was done.

***

Cold steel snapped tightly around Tristan’s wrists. His gaze swept the room, searching out Riley.

“Where is she?” Even though it was so loud inside the church he couldn’t hear his thoughts, Hunter heard him.

“She’s fine. I got her outside before the cops showed up.”

Tristan focused on the other man’s face, hoping he understood how much it meant to him that Hunter had taken care of the most important person in his life.

“Thank you. Seriously.”

“None needed. Anything you need is yours. You know that.”

The tug on his arms had him moving toward the door as the officer led him outside. Another cop, who was wearing gloves to protect himself from the blood, was already shoving Graham into the back of his cruiser. A feral smile pulled at Tristan’s lips. He wanted more. That son-of-a-bitch had tried putting his hands on Tristan’s wife. He was dead if they saw one another again. Hunter stopped the officer hauling Graham away. A quiet exchange passed between the two. The cop looked around as if checking to ensure no one watched as he passed his keys to Hunter and walked away. Hunter glanced in Tristan’s direction. Their gazes met and held. Tristan was staring at a stranger. With a nod, Hunter got behind the wheel of the cruiser, pulling away with Graham in the back.

He absently climbed into the back seat with the help of his arresting officer, completely blown away by what he’d seen. Shock kept him locked in a haze until the car came to a stop in front of his house. The door opened.

“I don’t understand.”

“Your wife took the truck. Figured I better bring you home.”

The man helped him from the car. Not that he was ungrateful. “In handcuffs?”

He flushed. “Oh, yeah.” The man unlocked the restraints, freeing Tristan’s hands. His red hair and pale coloration looked vaguely familiar, but too much had happened in one night for Tristan to recall where they’d met before. “That was for show. I can’t lose face, you know?”

“Sure,” Tristan said, even though he wasn’t sure at all about anything. “What about Graham?”

That was all Tristan had, but the cop understood. “He’s on his way to the airport, being strongly advised not to return.”

Tristan didn’t know what to say. “Thank you.”

He gave Tristan a pat on the back. “Think nothing of it, Brother Daniels. You sat with my dad for three days before he died, praying with him and keeping him from being afraid. I’m not likely to forget something like that anytime soon. Plus, the way I see it, any man who puts their hands on a woman had a good beating coming his way. You’re like that guy in that movie
Kickass Preacher
.”

A snort escaped Tristan before he could call it back. He could only hope that name didn’t stick. He bit back a groan. Who was he kidding? In this town, it was totally going to stick. No one around here ever forgot anything.

***

Riley shoved her clothes in the bag, incapable of stopping. Tears ran unchecked. Everyone would look at her differently now. Graham would never forget her betrayal. Tristan, oh God, she couldn’t even think about him. Goddamn her fucking temper, and her stupid, needy heart. When she’d gotten her car back after that dead battery, she should’ve kept driving. Better yet, she should’ve sent Tristan on his way that first night. Now she’d taken a good, respectable man and turned him and his church into carnival side show.

“Fuck!”

“I haven’t seen one of these fits in a while. It’s oddly sexy.” Riley spun at Tristan’s calm speech. She clutched her chest, wondering if her heart could literally beat out of her. When she didn’t say anything, he nodded toward the bag. “Are you going somewhere?”

His eye was already black. She’d done that to him. A fresh wave of tears washed over her. She covered her face. A sob tore through her. When Tristan’s arms surrounded her, Riley let it happen. She hadn’t truly cried in years. A tear or two had slipped through, but she’d always pushed them aside. All the built-up pain and frustration spilled out. The harder she cried, the tighter Tristan held on.

“You’re the strongest woman I know. I’m so proud of you.” Riley somehow managed to cry harder at his praise. She’d thought she understood how much she would hurt when he looked at her with hatred until he handed her his understanding. Years of a barren existence poured from her eyes, leaving her spent. The tips of his fingers skimmed her back, comforting her. The sound of his heartbeat soothed away her tears. He was so strong and steady—a calm island in the center of her storm. He was too perfect, and she was beyond broken. They were a perfect fit.

She used his shirt to wipe her face. It made her realize the dress shirt he’d been wearing when they left the house was gone.

“Did you really just wipe your nose on my shirt?”

Tristan’s deadpan question pulled a watery chuckle from Riley. “It’s okay. There’s blood on it, so it’s already ruined. Wait.” She backed away an inch, eyeing the white t-shirt. “Why is there blood on you?” Her vision blurred. She pushed Tristan aside. “I’ll kill that motherfucker.” Tristan snatched her off her feet before she made it to the bedroom door, and kept her locked against his chest.

“It’s not my blood. It’s fine.” Riley went limp in his arms.
Thank God
. “Plus, it won’t do you any good to go after him. He was escorted to the airport and politely asked to never return.” His grip tightened on her. “Were you really planning on leaving?”

A fresh wave of tears overcame her. Having Tristan say the words aloud hit home for Riley. She felt sick. He was everything to her. She was ruining him. “Look what I’m doing to your life.” Her grip tightened on his shirt as she tried to make him see. “You saw him and heard him, but you don’t
know
him. Do you think forcing him onto a plane will stop him? Graham will never stop, Tristan.” She shook her head. “You make the world beautiful. He’ll poison that until every dream you have turns to dust. Trust me, I know. When that day comes, you will hate me, and I cannot survive it.”

Tristan tugged his shirt over his head and wiped away her tears. His solemn expression was the only indication he gave that he was listening. “I saw him,” he agreed. “And I heard him.” He tossed the shirt aside before grabbing ahold of her upper arms, and forcing her to hold his gaze. “What I witnessed was desperation, because he knows that he will never touch you again. All he has left to him is words. Even as we sat there, listening to his spite. All I could think about is how damn lucky I am.”

Riley held her breath, incapable of breaking his stare. Each word leaving his lips captivated her.

“Half the people in that church never come to service. They were there for you. While you’ve been busy worrying that you’ll destroy me in the eyes of this town, you’ve done more to bring the people together than I ever have. You’re amazing.”

She was speechless. The pews had been fuller than the last time she’d been there, but she hadn’t exactly taken count. When she merely stared at him, mute. Tristan shook his head and stepped away. He opened drawers, pulling out items before tossing them onto the bed.

“Tell me what you see.”

Riley stared at the pink top and white shorts, wondering what point Tristan was trying to make. “Um. My clothes.”

A flash of white teeth and sexy dimple took her by surprise. “You don’t recognize them?”

“Well, yeah. They’re my…wait.” A memory pricked at the back of her mind. “That’s what I was wearing the night Hunter stole my clothes. How did you get them back?”

“I found them on my porch when I got home that night. You see, they’ve all been plotting against us—or for us depending upon how you look at it, since the very beginning.”

“I don’t understand.” She really didn’t.

“They want you for me as me as I want you for me. Damn it, Riley. Why can’t you see that you make me better?”

“Because I make you curse,” she answered feeling lost.

“Sorry to disabuse you. My language wasn’t all that great before you came along. I’m not an angel. I’m just a guy who wants to help people, no better or worse than anyone else. You haven’t dragged me down. You’ve given me a reason to get up.” Riley’s heart squeezed, and he added. “Please don’t take that away from me. I will keep you safe. I have to. Without you, everything is empty.”