Breaking the Silence (21 page)

Wiping her hand across her cheeks, Jenny sat back a little with an exasperated huff. “
Killing
was a better option than just telling someone?”

“Better?” Will shrugged again, just a small rise and drop of his shoulders. “Probably not. More like the only option. There was no one to tell.”

To Jenny, that was almost the saddest part of the whole wretched story. Fresh tears rose in her already burning eyes but she blinked them away determinedly as she wiggled her way onto his lap until her legs straddled his hips.

“I’m glad you told
me
,” she said fiercely, holding his face still with both hands and pressing a hard kiss on his mouth. Jenny felt his cock harden against her, pressing against her pussy, spread open and vulnerable even through the layers of clothing. A snap of panic rushed through her but she refused to acknowledge it, shoving it to the back of her mind.

She held his eyes, those haunted eyes the color of shattered icicles. “I’m sorry you had to go through that alone,” she told him, cupping the hard edge of his jaw with her palms and stroking his cheeks with her fingers. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t been around these past couple weeks.”

“I wish I knew what to do—how to help you,” he rumbled, the words moving his jaw against her hands.

“You
are
helping.” Jenny kissed him again, a butterfly touch against his chin. “A lot. Letting me stay here, talking me down after a nightmare—even letting me scream at you and break your mug was helpful.”

Her hands traced his face, caressed his ears and slipped into his hair. She looked at the short blond spikes clinging to her fingers and massaged his scalp. Will’s eyes slid closed halfway, his lids heavy. A rumble so low that it was almost inaudible emerged from his chest.

He’s purring
, Jenny thought in delight. As her fingers moved to the back of his skull, he lowered his head to the curve where her shoulder met her neck. Jenny kneaded the nape of his neck and lower, marveling at how hard he was—it was like massaging iron.

Will’s arms snaked around to her back and he hugged her, hard. Jenny started at the sudden squeeze.

“I love you,” he said against her collarbone, so softly that Jenny thought that she had misheard. Her heart began slamming against her ribs and her stomach flipped over. A tense stillness rippled through Will’s back to where her hands rested against his shoulders.

“Oh baby,” she almost whispered, her voice trapped by the adrenaline coursing through her. “I think—I think I love you back. I’m not really sure, since I’ve never done this before—the love thing, I mean, but if it’s supposed to make you feel nervous and excited but safe at the same time and really freaked out and happy but with a constant stomachache, then I’m definitely feeling that.” Jenny felt his breath puff against her neck in a silent laugh.

“Sounds about right,” he said, tightening his arms again until she squeaked. Will raised his head to kiss her, a gentle meeting of lips and breath that quickly deepened into a licking, sucking, devouring embrace. Will’s arms loosened enough to slip under the back of her shirt. Pushing the fabric up, he traced each bump of her lower spine and the curving muscle on either side.

Jenny strained to get closer, feeling as if she would climb into him if she could, her hands locked on the back of his head, pressing his mouth deeper into hers. His hands moved down, lower and lower, until they slipped beneath the waistband of her yoga pants and his fingers pressed into the flesh of her ass, kneading the cheeks firmly.

“Hello?” The voice filtering through the open basement door made them both freeze, their only motion the heave of their chests as they worked to get air into their starved lungs.

“Oops.” Jenny turned guilty eyes to Will. “I forgot that Christian was coming over.”

“Christian?” Will shook his head to clear it, trying to think past his pounding heart and demanding cock.

She slid off his lap, tugging down her shirt, and his hands reluctantly slid out of her pants. He sighed as the luscious feel of her ass slipped away and then tried to focus.

“Why is Christian here? How’d he get in?”

“Down here,” Jenny yelled up the stairs and then turned a sheepish face back to Will. “I knew he was coming over, so I left the door unlocked. And he’s here because…umm, because you guys are…” The rest of the sentence trailed off in a mumble, which he already knew was
not
a good sign.

“We’re what?” he asked suspiciously.

“Going shopping,” she said quickly and then whirled to greet Christian, who was clattering down the stairs.

“Hey, Jen. Hi, Will. This is amazing,” he chattered, checking out the gym and not noticing Will’s dumbstruck expression.

“Hey, Chris!” Jenny chirped, far too cheerily.

“Shopping?” Will growled.

“Yep.” Christian gave him a hearty slap on the shoulder. “Jenny mentioned that you need a little
Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
action.”

“What?”

“You know, the TV makeover show?” Chris peered at Will, who just looked back blankly. “No? Not ringing any bells? Well, the short story is that Jenny here thinks you are in desperate need of wardrobe augmentation.”

“I like my clothes,” Will muttered, scowling.

“I know,” Jenny said soothingly. “But Will, you only have, like, four shirts.” She grinned at him, ignoring his stormy expression. “That’s what you get for bringing me here. Of
course
I checked out your closet.”

She patted him and kissed his sulky mouth. “It’ll be
fun
, you’ll see.”

Will highly doubted that but he let her pull him to his feet. He did need more clothes now that his solitary life had been overrun by these two. And he could have Christian’s help with the other shopping dilemma that Will had been worrying about as well.

Resigned to his fate, Will grunted, “Fine. I’ll go shower. Give me ten minutes.”

Giving his waist a hug, Jenny smiled up at him. Another thought occurred to Will.

“I don’t want you here alone,” he told her.

“I’ll be fine,” Jenny insisted. “Rosie’s here with me and I’ll lock all the doors and not let anyone in until you guys get back. I’ll keep my cell phone with me and you can call every five minutes if you want.”

Will nodded grudgingly. He knew his fear for her safety was unreasonable but he couldn’t help it. Just the thought of leaving her here by herself made his stomach knot up.

“Now go get ready,” Jenny teased, slipping away from him with a final smack on his ass. Will jumped and then headed up the stairs, trying to hide his blush—and his pleased smile.

Jenny turned to Christian after Will disappeared into the kitchen.

“Thanks, Chris.”

“No problem,” he assured her. “Although most people would kill to have a hottie like that pandering to their every whim. You, my contrary Jen, just want him out of the house.”

“Just for a few hours,” Jenny protested. “I love having him around but I need some alone time to get my head straight—I’m already throwing the crockery. It’ll be knives next.”

“Remind me to stay out of throwing range, which, for you, is about three feet.” Christian ignored Jenny’s offended sputter and started up the stairs. “Any special clothing requests? French maid uniform, perhaps?”

She laughed, following. “Can you imagine me in a French maid’s uniform? I don’t think so.”

“Sweetie,” Christian said, looking over his shoulder at her. “I wasn’t talking about you.”

Jenny didn’t know whether to laugh or be horrified by the mental image of Will in a frilly apron holding a feather duster. She was starting to think that Christian taking Will shopping was a bad idea.

“Just be careful with him, okay?” she said to Chris’ back. “He’s a shopping novice. You have to let him dip his toe in the water before you throw him in with the sharks.”

“Don’t worry,” Christian threw back casually. “He’ll be as safe as can be with his kindly Uncle Christian.”

“Huh,” Jenny grunted disbelievingly. Poor Will.

Shopping with Christian was by turns terrifying and exhilarating. Chris and the store salesman—Justin, according to his nametag—eyed him up and down with assessing gazes as Will shifted his weight awkwardly. He felt like a bumbling giant next to the other two men, who were just the right amount of casually elegant. Christian and Justin cut a confident path through the store, plucking items off racks and tables until their arms were piled in fabric, while Will trailed behind.

Will was bundled into the changing room with strict instructions about what went with what ensemble.

Jesus
, Will thought.
Ensemble.
It had been so easy before—pants and shirt. Suit if he had to. Coat if it was cold. Now he had ensembles. He shook his head and reached for the bottom of his shirt to yank it over his head. Christian stuck his head in.

“Do you need help?” Chris asked, eyeing the piles of clothes anxiously. Will put his hand on Christian’s head and gave him a push.

“Okay, okay,” Chris laughed on the other side of the door. Will pulled off his shirt and reached to unbutton his jeans but paused. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and pushed the speed dial button.

Jenny answered, “I’m fine.” Then she hung up.

Will closed the phone. He had expected that response. It was the same as the last eight times he had called. The first three times she had actually chatted with him, probably still feeling a tinge of guilt for sending him out at the mercy of Christian, but her patience had worn thin by the fourth call.

“Are you calling Jenny again?” Christian’s disembodied voice floated through the door.

“No,” Will lied, shoving the phone back in his pocket.

They exited the store an hour later with three shopping bags, leaving behind an extraordinarily large amount of money and a jubilant Justin. Will was shell-shocked and couldn’t even remember what he had bought—it was just a blur of trying on one thing after another, being critiqued by Christian and Justin before being sent back into the dressing room with even more clothes. Why anyone liked to shop was beyond him but a lot of people seemed to enjoy it, judging from the hordes crowding the mall.

Christian seemed happy too. “Good job, Will. You held strong when most men would have cracked.”

Will just rolled his eyes at him and dodged a toddler pushing an empty stroller. He moved aside again as the little girl’s harried mother chased after her. A couple holding hands passed them and Will was reminded of the other shopping he had to do.

“Valentine’s Day,” he stated.

Christian looked amused. “Is next week? Is the day for lovers? Was invented by florists and whoever makes those disgusting little candy hearts with words on them? Am I close on any of these?”

“I need to get Jenny something,” Will elaborated.

“Oh ho,” Christian caught on. “You need a little more shopping assistance?”

“Yeah. I mean, if you don’t mind.”

“Mind finding pretty things and putting them on your nifty little platinum card?” Christian grabbed Will’s arm and towed him toward an intimidating-looking jewelry store. Will hesitated at the entrance but Christian hauled him toward the counter. Three salespeople subtly jostled each other for position and a tall blonde woman with a toothy smile won out, due, Will felt, to her extremely pointy elbows.

“How can I help you gentlemen?” she asked smoothly, flashing a terrifyingly white smile. The other two salespeople withdrew, shooting a few discreetly irritated glances at the triumphant blonde.

“He,” Christian nodded toward Will, “is looking for a Valentine’s Day gift. A very
special
gift.”

The saleswoman’s smile widened even farther and Will wanted to back up a step but Christian gave his arm a warning squeeze.

“What did you have in mind?” she asked, moving toward the glass cases. “Is this special as in engagement-ring special?”

Will gave Christian a panicked glance. If he had been out of his depth in the clothing store, Will was positively
drowning
now.

“No, it’s a little early for that,” Christian stepped in. “He was thinking maybe a pendant…”

With a mental sigh of relief, Will watched as Christian and the saleswoman conferred about stones and settings. The woman showed them piece after piece, most of which Christian waved away, and one ugly set of earrings that Will shook his head at. They finally found a necklace that Christian approved and Will liked—it was delicate and sweet and he could see it on Jenny. The blonde woman wrapped it up and Will paid. Shopping with Christian was turning out to be expensive but the relief Will felt at having Jenny’s Valentine’s Day gift taken care of made it worth every cent.

They made their way back out into the mall and headed in the direction of the parking garage. Christian was positively bouncing—shopping sure made him happy. Will, on the other hand, was exhausted.

His flagging energy received a boost when he stopped at the overwhelmingly pink display window of a lingerie store. Christian, who had continued for a few steps before realizing that he’d lost Will, glanced over his shoulder.

“Ooh—bad idea.” Christian retraced his steps and tugged on Will’s arm. “Women don’t really like getting lingerie as gifts—
men
like women getting lingerie as gifts.”

Will didn’t move. “I promised her I—” He broke off. There was really no way to explain without sharing way too many details of his and Jenny’s sex life with Christian.

Actually, explanation wasn’t necessary. Christian’s mouth quirked and his eyes lit in comprehension. “Bodice ripper, are you?”

Blushing, Will shook his head. “Actually…” He made an awkward gesture toward his groin.

Christian grinned. “Panty ripper.” He gestured for Will to proceed into the store. “’Nough said.”

“Too much said,” Will muttered and walked into a sea of pink. And black and other colors that were just colors but somehow seemed intensely girly. His face flushed red and he stopped so abruptly that Christian crashed into his back.

“Oh for Pete’s sake,” Christian grumbled, rubbing his nose that had been squashed against Will’s shoulder. He detoured around a frozen Will and took the lead, plunging between frilly displays and scantily dressed mannequins. “You should know more about this than I do, being the hetero of our dynamic duo. When would I ever need to buy lingerie? Because I’m not really into trannies, you know.”

Will slowly followed, carefully averting his eyes from…well, almost everything. He caught up with Christian, who was picking through a dizzying array of panties. Will watched for a moment and then reached out a tentative hand to touch a silky, light pink pair.

“Those are nice,” Christian approved, grabbing them up. “And let’s get this black bikini-cut pair, a red thong—everybody needs at least one red thong—and then these blue ones with the little stars. They’re fun. Do you like the sequins? No? Oh well, they look uncomfortable anyway—and these green boy shorts. Should that be good? How many pairs have you wrecked?”

Will managed to turn an even darker red. “Just two, I think.”

“We’re set then.” Christian headed for the register, panties in hand. Will stopped on the way, caught by a mannequin wearing a delicate, silky…something. He didn’t know the name, but he was getting hot just thinking about Jenny wearing it. Christian popped back over to his side.

“Very pretty,” Chris told him approvingly. “You have good taste. We’ll get one of those too.” As he talked, he flipped through the rack until he found one in Jenny’s size. Will pulled out his card again and followed Christian to the register. He fingered his cell phone in his pocket as he waited for the cashier to ring him up. It had been—he checked his watch—almost eighteen minutes since he’d called her last. Will pulled out the phone and pushed her speed dial button before he could reconsider. Christian sighed deeply and rolled his eyes.

“I’m fine.”
Click.

They headed back out into the mall. Will rolled the tightness from his shoulders and glanced at Christian and then away.

“Thanks,” he said gruffly.

Christian looked at him in surprise. “Are you kidding? This was fun. Hey, anytime you need help spending your money, just give me a call. Oh shit-balls!”

Startled, Will’s eyes flew to Chris but he was looking at someone else. Will followed his gaze to a dark-haired man who had spotted Christian and was heading their way.

“Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck,” Christian was muttering. He plastered on a fake smile as the other man approached. “Tom. Imagine seeing you here.”

“Christian,” Tom greeted him but his eyes were on Will. “Doing some shopping?”

“No, we’re mountain climbing,” Christian responded, deadpan. “What do you think we’re doing at the mall, short bus?

Tom flushed a little and his eyes narrowed but he managed to hold onto his tight smile.

“Who’s your friend?” Tom asked. He made the hair prickle on the back of Will’s neck. Will didn’t know this man but he already knew he didn’t like him.

“Oh right—you weren’t at the big boss’s birthday bash. This is Will. Will, this is Tom, my current coworker and former fuck buddy.” Will nodded shortly at Tom, who had narrowed his eyes even more until they were just glittering slits.

“Yes,” Tom said, the word oily and smooth. “You always do bring that up. Time you got over me, don’t you think?”

Will’s fists had clenched at his sides and he had to force them to relax. He really did
not
like this man or the condescending way he was looking at Christian. An idea flickered in Will’s mind and he acted on it without giving himself time to reconsider.

Throwing a possessive arm around Christian’s shoulders and ignoring his friend’s startled glance, Will gave Tom a cold stare. “Don’t worry. He’s over you.”

With that, Will stalked off, pulling Christian along and forcing Tom to move out of the way.

Christian couldn’t help it—he glanced back to see Tom gaping after them, his face furious. Once they passed through the doors into the parking garage, Christian yanked Will around a corner out of Tom’s view and exploded with laughter. He gave Will a hard hug.

“You. Are. Fabulous!” Christian hugged him again. “I will love you forever.”

Feeling a little sheepish, Will stammered, “I didn’t mean…”

“Oh don’t worry. Tom has that effect on a lot of people. You know, the inexplicable desire to crush him like a bug. He’s a slimy bastard, that one.” Christian headed for the car, still chortling. “The look on his face—it was a beautiful, beautiful thing.”

“Are you sure it was okay?” Will asked. “I mean, if you and he…”

“No.” Christian shook his head emphatically. “There is no more me and him. He’s married. And a sorry rat bastard.”

“Married? I didn’t know you guys could do that.”

“No, married-to-a-woman married. As in, back-in-the-closet-like-a-good-little-son-and-heir married,” Christian explained. “Actually, it was the best thing in the end. It showed me what a sorry, cheating, clap-ridden slut of a man he really was.”

“Oh.” Will beeped open the car doors and climbed into the driver’s seat.

“The best thing,” Christian repeated as he buckled his seatbelt, looking sad and vulnerable for a moment, which unsettled Will. He was used to the confident and breezy Chris, not this lost and lonely person. Will wondered uncomfortably if he should offer some kind of comfort, pat the other man’s shoulder or something, but before he could do anything, Christian blinked and the look was gone.

“Wait ’til I tell Jenny how you punked Tom,” Christian grinned, all happy eyes and mouth now.

That reminded Will that it had been a while since he last called her—ten minutes at least. He reached for the phone and Christian groaned.

Will was annoyed. He glanced at his watch again. It was creeping toward four and he had to leave soon if he was going to get home before Jenny did. It had been her first day back to work and he hadn’t even wanted to come to this meeting but he had already shaken off three requests by his boss to come in to the office during the past two weeks. Will figured he’d better show his face, especially since he had definitely been slacking in the work department since meeting Jenny.

He tossed his pen down onto the nearly blank pad of paper. A two-hour meeting and he hadn’t taken a single note. He had doodled some geometric shapes and started writing a “J” before he caught himself in that junior high maneuver.

He sighed and sat back. Josh glanced at him. “Did you have something to contribute, ah, William?”

The room was silent. Except for Charlie, who looked amused, the other six people sitting around the conference room table stared at him apprehensively, as if Will was going to jump up and tear their heads off with his teeth. Hey, if it would end this interminable meeting, he was willing to try it.

Will shook his head, grabbing the paper and pen and shoving them into the side pocket of his laptop bag. He stood up, and Josh looked startled.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m leaving,” Will said, turning around and walking toward the door. The meeting had been a waste of time, as most of Josh’s meetings were. The same issues had been discussed over and over again, circling around on themselves like a dog chasing its tail, only with less resolution. Usually Will could tune out the others and occupy himself with his own thoughts until the meeting was over, but not today. His mind was filled with Jenny—worry that she’d had a hard time at work, that she would get home before he did and have to walk into an empty house, that she would decide to take Rosie out by herself. Worried that there would be someone on the path, someone as crazy and dangerous as Evan, waiting to prey on her…