Frey (12 page)

Abbi began to move, slowly at first, as
though she was getting reacquainted with the shoes. Frey was
mesmerized as this magnificent creature stood on one foot, leaning
forward with her right arm extended as she raised her left leg
behind her. Abbi held the pose before stretching her leg higher.
She lowered her leg then performed the same move with the right
one.

Abbi was finding her rhythm. Frey knew from
his experience with martial arts, part of the warm up was finding
yourself, seeking that place where you are one with your craft. He
knew the exact moment Abbi found hers, because she let go. She
floated across the room, jumping, turning, spinning, bowing, and
stretching. Frey’s soul felt as if it had left his body and was
moving across the room in hers. He had never seen anything more
beautiful in his life. He wasn’t an expert in ballet, but he knew
what he was observing should have been shared with the world, not
stuffed in a closet in a community center to be forgotten. This
creature before him wasn’t Abbi Quinn. This exquisite woman was
Abigail Swanson.

When the song was over, Abbi stopped dancing
and hugged her arms around her middle, her body shaking. Geoffrey
Hartley… Gargoyle, soldier, boxer, martial artist… didn’t try to
stop the tears creeping down his face. What he did want to stop
were the tears rolling down Abbi’s. Without a thought to the
consequences, he closed the distance between them. When she
realized she wasn’t alone, she gasped, crossing her arms over her
chest as if she were naked. Maybe without the large shirt covering
her she felt exposed. He stopped inches from his mate, willing her
soundlessly to look at him, see the pain in his eyes. The pain for
her. He gently lifted her chin and cupped her face in his large
hands. Her tears fell faster than his thumbs could erase them. Not
knowing what else to do, he kissed her.

Frey expected Abbi to keep her mouth closed
tight, to back away and look up at him with disgust. Instead, she
opened to him, her tongue seeking his. Her arms snaked around his
waist, pulling their bodies closer. Frey put one hand on Abbi’s
back where the leotard dipped down. Feeling her skin underneath his
fingers had his cock coming to life. A moan escaped her mouth into
his causing a growl to rise up from somewhere deep in his chest.
When she needed to come up for air, only then did Abbi back away.
She placed her fingers on her lips. Tentatively, she reached her
other hand up and touched the corner of his eye where a lone tear
had refused to fall. She studied her wet finger as if the tear was
something she’d never seen before. Turning away, she retrieved the
too big shirt and slid it on, grasping the two sides together.

“
I… what are you doing
here?” she asked as she sat down in a chair and began untying the
ribbons.

“
I wanted to talk to you,
and then I saw you dancing... I’m no expert, but Abbi, that was the
most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. You are so
talented.”

“
What do you want from
me?” she sternly asked as she removed her shoes and returned them
to their place in the closet.

“
I told you, I want to
talk.” Frey stuck his hands in his pockets, willing his claws to
stay put.

“
I’m married, but you
already know that.” Abbi closed the closet door and gave her back
to him. She buttoned up the large shirt before turning back around.
Digging inside a tote bag on the desk, she pulled out a pair of
sweatpants. Of course, they too, were baggy.

“
Why?” That was the
million dollar question. She could give him every excuse, but none
would be good enough.

“
Why what?” Her brow was
etched with shallow wrinkles. His mate had frowned far too many
times.

“
Why are you
married?”

“
That’s what people do.
Get married, settle down…” Abbi paused. Was she going to say
have kids
?

“
Yes, they do. But they
usually get married to someone who loves them, takes care of them,
has their best interest at heart. Not someone who abuses them,
beats up their kid brother, and takes advantage of every bad
situation that comes along.” Abbi’s face paled, but Frey didn’t let
up. “Let me rephrase the question. Why are you
still
married?”

“
It’s not that simple. I…
He’s…”

“
You what, love him? He’s
what? Sorry when it happens? Promises to never hurt you again?”
Frey was getting madder with each word he spoke.

“
No,” she
whispered.

“
No, what? No you don’t
love him, or no, he isn’t sorry?”

“
Both.” Abbi walked to the
other side of the room. Even when she wasn’t dancing, her moves
were smooth and graceful. Frey would give anything to see her dance
again.

“
Then I will ask you
again, why are you married to the bastard?” Frey asked, his voice
raising.

“
It’s not that simple!”
her voice cracked as she yelled in response. Again, she turned her
back on him. And again, she wrapped her arms around
herself.

“
What if it was?” Frey
moved closer to her. Even though she was just on the other side of
the room, the distance was too great. Taking care with her bruised
arms, he gently turned her body so she was facing him.

Her blue eyes shined brighter because of the
tears. “Now it’s my turn to ask you why. Why are you doing this? I
know Matty is a great kid, and he’s told me all about how you’re
trying to help him. But why me? What do you want from me?”

Forever.
“Why? Because I see a beautiful woman whose light
doesn’t shine. I want to give her the sun. I see a talented dancer
whose song doesn’t play. I want to give her the music. I see a
loving sister whose brother is fighting for both of them. I want to
give him the lessons. I see someone who deserves the best life has
to offer, and I want to give that to her. I can’t explain it, Abbi.
I was drawn to you the minute I saw you walk into the gym. Yes,
you’re married, and normally I wouldn’t cross that line. I’m not a
homewrecker. But from where I stand, your home is already wrecked,
and it’s your husband who’s to blame. What I want from you is a
chance. A chance to show you how a woman should be treated. So,
I’ll ask you again, what if it was that simple?”

Abbi couldn’t breathe. She’d been so lost in
her dancing she hadn’t heard him come in the room. He watched her,
saw her. He cried for her. Geoffrey Hartley, the big, badass boxer,
cried for her. She couldn’t wrap her head around that. Matty had
told her all about how nice he was. What if he could help her get
away from Troy, what then? She couldn’t jump out of one
relationship into another. Could she? Was it possible he really
wanted to be with her? She so desperately wanted a relationship
like the one her parents had, full of love and happiness. Would he
really give that to her? He didn’t know her, and she definitely
didn’t know anything about him. Except…

The words, those beautiful words he spoke
with tears in his eyes, had her heart humming. There was something
inexplicably different about Frey. Some type of tether drawing her
to him. If Abbi closed her eyes, she could see the line between
them. It didn’t stretch from her heart to his. No, this went
deeper- soul deep. How could that be? When he kissed her, there was
an energy that started in her lips, traveling down through her
stomach, ending between her legs. If she wasn’t married, she would
have been tempted to do more than kiss. If she was honest with
herself, she was already tempted, married or not.

Abbi spoke truthfully, “I’m scared,
Geoffrey. Honest to god scared. I left Troy once before. I ended up
in the hospital for a week. So, you have to understand if I’m a
little hesitant. It isn’t that I don’t want to leave him; I do. I
never really wanted to be married to him in the first place. After
my parents died, I was lost. My aunt gained control of my parents’
money. Mine and Matt’s money. If it hadn’t been for Matt, I would
have rather been dead, too. He was the only thing keeping me going.
He still is. Him and all the kids I teach.

“
My aunt spent our money
on drugs and gambling, before I even knew it was gone. Luckily, I
got a scholarship to college and was still able to get my teaching
degree. Long story short, I married Troy, my aunt died, and Matt
came to live with us. If it hadn’t been for one investment my
father made that my aunt didn’t know about, we’d have been
penniless.”

She paused to study this man standing before
her. His dark brown hair was shorn in a military style. Even though
it was late November, he was wearing a short sleeved t-shirt that
hugged his chest and stretched over his massive biceps. Black
fatigues were tucked into black military looking boots. “Were you
in the military?” she asked.

“
I was. I did a couple of
tours as a helicopter pilot. I retired several years ago and opened
the dojo. I’ve been thinking about opening another one on the west
coast.”

Her heart sank. Was he moving? Leaving New
Atlanta? How could he talk about being with her if he was moving?
“So, you’re moving?” She sounded like a whiny teen.

“
No, of course not. I
would travel out there and oversee the building of the structure
and the opening, but I would hire one of my cousins to run it. I
like New Atlanta and plan on being here for a while. I’d like to
think I now have another reason to stay put.”

Abbi liked that. She shouldn’t, but she did.
She needed to guard her heart instead of putting it in the hands of
this stranger. His wanting to be with her this quickly didn’t make
sense. She had heard of love at first sight, but there’s no way he
could love her. This was all way too sudden.

“
How would you like to
visit California?” he asked, stepping closer.

“
I don’t know. I’ve never
been anywhere except Florida when I was younger. Our parents took
us to the beach the summer before my senior year. We were supposed
to go back when I graduated but…” Ten years later and Abbi still
had a hard time talking about it. “I would like to see another part
of the country, but I have school. Besides, I can’t leave
Matt.”

“
We could wait until
school is out for the summer. Then both you and Matt could go with
me,” Frey said as he closed the distance between them. He reached
for her hands, holding them gently in his big ones. “You don’t have
to decide now, but at least think about it. Abbi, I was serious
when I said I want you in my life. I want to show you the world.
Hell, I want to give you the world.” He raised her hands to his
mouth and placed soft kisses on her knuckles. The stubble around
his mouth scraped at her skin. The two different textures, soft
lips and rough whiskers, together ignited a fire somewhere south of
her stomach.

“
Can you really help me
get away from Troy?” Abbi whispered, afraid if she said it too
loudly, someone would hear.

“
I can. I have a lot of
contacts in this city. You say the word, and I’ll help you start
the process. I’ll set up round the clock protection for both you
and Matthew. I’m not saying it won’t get messy, because I have a
feeling Quinn won’t go away quietly. But I will make it as easy on
you as possible. You’ll have to leave your house for the time
being. We’ll go get your clothes and anything else you want while
he’s at work. I’ll get you and Matt set up in a secure location
where you’ll be safe.”

There was that feeling again: hope. Then
another feeling overrode it: fear. Abbi placed her hand on her
stomach, the nausea rolling through. “Oh, god. Oh, crap.” What if
he’d already knocked her up? What if this was the one time her body
decided it wanted to cooperate and she carried a baby to term?

“
Abbi, what is it? Look at
me, tell me what just went through your head.”

“
What if I’m pregnant?
He’s trying to get me pregnant. He’ll never let me go. He said so.”
Abbi tried to pull her hands away, but Frey gripped them
tighter.

“
Then you will be a
wonderful mother, and he’ll never see the child if that’s what you
wish. Abbi, no judge is going to grant that abusive motherfucker
parental rights, including visitation. You need to document the
abuse, starting now. That means you need to go see a doctor, show
him or her the bruises and tell them how you got them.”

“
I’ve been to the hospital
plenty. Troy’s a cop. Everyone believes his lies when he tells them
how I got the injuries.” Abbi had seen the knowing looks from the
doctors and nurses every time she visited the emergency room. If
she didn’t corroborate Troy’s story, she’d be in for even more pain
once she was back home.