Bent not Broken (76 page)

He grinned down at me, red-faced. “Yeah, like on a date.”

He was too adorable. And truly, there was something really appealing about pretending we were just a normal couple for a few hours.

“Well, in that case, I’d love to.”

He finally tore himself from me when our chaste kiss goodbye evolved into five minutes of much, much more. His voice was low and rough against my ear. “I love you.”

In the middle of the living room, I stood gasping, trying to bring myself down from the high I was riding as I watched him walk out the door.

I scrambled to my phone and fumbled through the numbers with trembling fingers. “Katie, I need your help.”

****

I stood in front of Katie’s full-length mirror, appreciating the way the simple black jersey dress hung on my body. The scoop neck revealed just a modest amount of cleavage, and the three-quarter length flared sleeves brushed against my forearms. The only problem was the skirt; it was a bit too tight and a bit too short—really short. Of course, Katie paired it with four-inch heels.

“I don’t know, Katie. It might be a little much.” I turned and peeked over my shoulder at the back.

“Are you kidding me? You look amazing.” The doorbell rang, declaring that the time to worry about my appearance was over. Katie pushed me toward the door. “Go. Have fun.” Her smile was warm, encouraging. I hugged her, thanked her for taking care of me, and moved to follow her from the bedroom. I stopped short when I reached the threshold, reaching for her arm.

She looked at me over her shoulder, confused.

I mouthed, “Wait.”

Something didn’t feel right.

We both stood silently, straining to listen as Shane unlocked the door. A very familiar voice cut through the air. My fingers curled into the tense muscles of Katie’s arm when we both realized Nicholas was here.

“Yeah.” Shane sounded irritated. “No, that’s fine…Yeah, she’s here, that
is
her car...I don’t know, they rented movies or some shit...Why don’t you just cut her a break for once?” Shane was arguing with Nicholas—over me. I desperately fought to hear the other side of the conversation, but couldn’t with Nicholas’s hushed tone. I’m sure my expression verged on terrified, because Katie squeezed my arm, reassuring me it would be okay.

Tonight was the first time I’d ever simply left Nicholas a note saying I was going out for the evening. In my mind, this was just one of the painful steps I’d have to take in order to extract myself from his control. Little by little, I would free myself.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the door slammed, and Katie rushed down the hallway.

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

Shane exhaled, 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 and strode into the kitchen, Katie and I close behind. He pulled a beer from the fridge and downed half of it. “No, I don’t think so. He just knows something’s changed.”

When bell rang again, I knew who it was, but Shane told us to stay in the kitchen. Seconds later, Daniel trailed Shane to where we waited. He was visibly shaken and full 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 the kiss, though I could feel the despondency in his touch. He rested his forehead on mine, his eyes strained as he looked down at me. “I don’t know how long I can take this.”

“All right you guys, get out of here,” Katie urged, trying to pull everyone from the heaviness threatening to suck us under. Daniel nudged me, breaking our embrace.

I shrugged into my jacket and reached for Daniel’s hand.

We thanked Shane and Katie and bid them goodbye. This night would never have happened without them.

Tension rolled off of Daniel as he scanned the yard and road. I hated that the choices I’d made had left us with Nicholas haunting our every move. Desperate to ease his nerves, I touched his arm. His face was gentle when he smiled down at me, colored with his own regret.

“We’re going to be okay,” I said.

“I know.”

The mutual reassurance was all we needed for the mood to lighten. A cool breeze rustled through the trees, blowing through the sparse yellow and orange leaves that still clung to the branches as winter approached. Daniel wrapped his arm over my shoulder and led me down the steps to the walkway. I sighed, relishing in his warmth against 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, 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 pulled away.

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

He traveled farther out of town than I normally would have ventured, I’m sure out of fear of running into somebody who would recognize us. Twenty-five minutes later, he pulled into a half-full 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 swelled 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 perfect. There was no awkwardness, only complete calm as we talked for what seemed like hours. We teased and loved. His lips were never far, and we shared gentle caresses beneath the table, whispered tender 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 still flowing as he casually ran his finger over the face of the phone. The shift in his demeanor was instant, his jaw clenching 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 noticed 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 tell me anything. We have a lot of stuff to deal with, but we have to do it together.”

Shaking his head, he looked away before cutting his eyes back to me. “She just...she’s constantly calling...sending these little messages...anything to get my attention.”

I swallowed hard, trying to rid myself of the insecurity I felt. That little voice had piped up again, telling me he should be with her. “How...how do you feel about her?”

His immediate, malignant response took me by surprise. “I despise her.”

I blinked, failing to understand. “Why?” Maybe he didn’t want to have a child with her, but it didn’t make him any less responsible for their situation than 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 got pregnant on purpose, Melanie. 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.

I was horror-struck. Did people really do stuff like that?

Suddenly, any trace of envy I had for her was gone.

The only way I knew to give him comfort was to draw him closer, to murmur that I was sorry. In our separation, we had both made such destructive choices.

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 placed a small kiss below my ear. “Forever.”

With our confidence restored, the stress dissipated, and we settled back into our easy conversation as we shared a bowl of vanilla ice cream and a pile of fortune cookies.

Daniel smiled at the weathered Asian woman who dropped off our check, wishing her a good night, before he slid from his chair, watching me intently as I followed 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 filled with a hunger that set me off kilter. I suddenly wished 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?”

Chapter Twenty

That dress.

I sped down the street, failing to keep my eyes on the road. Instead, they continually 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 kill me. I’d nearly had a heart attack when I’d seen what she was wearing.

Thankfully I’d parked two houses down from the Preston’s when I’d arrived to pick her up for our date. When I’d stepped from my car, I’d almost not seen the car speeding down the street. But as soon as I had, I’d recognized Nicholas immediately and retreated to my car, ducking down in the seat. I’d felt so helpless. I’d wanted to confront him, to protect Melanie from him, to jump from my car and tell 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 concern 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 rolling from him. I had no idea what he intended, what Melanie had told him, or what he knew. All I could do was wait, helpless, while someone else protected my girl. It sucked.

I’d 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 finally 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 rolling boil. I’d managed to keep myself restrained until Melanie slid from the booth, and then it was all 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 tried to inconspicuously rub her thighs together. Her fingers kneaded the leather, her breath still heavy as she unabashedly stared at me from her seat. I glared at the hem of her dress, silently cursing it for taunting me all night.

She pulled the hem down. “Don’t look at me like that. I had to borrow something from Katie.”

I couldn’t help but grin at her, a small 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...really good.”
Too good.
She relaxed when I reached out and gently tugged a fistful of the material to show her just how much I liked it.

Pulling 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. I nuzzled my nose in her hair as we slowly swayed to the rhythm of our pounding hearts in an impromptu dance.

The elevator chimed and we stepped forward. The resounding energy bounding 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 neck. Soft fingers played, pulling, 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?”

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, running her fingertips along the throw pillows on the couch, inspecting the art on the walls. Whenever she recognized the few things from our house, a faint smile would grace her lips. She pulled one of the photo albums from the bookshelf, gasping when she saw most of the pictures were of her.

In a blink, a tear rushed down her cheek. I cautiously came up behind her. “I told you I never let you go.”