from Pain to Pleasure (Gainesville Book 1) (24 page)

Corey and Mary both watched from the family room. They knew something was not right. Danielle cried, and Alex looked helpless. Mary started to feel like they had intruded and encouraged her husband to sit.

Alex wished he could hear Brian more clearly. He cringed as Danielle dug her nails into his hand. Then she broke the skin. “Ow!” He put his head on her shoulder and whispered, as soft as possible, “Sorry.”

Brian’s eyes widened. Then he flipped out. “You’re with Alex! Aren’t you? I told you, you couldn’t talk to him!”

“No, it’s not him,” she replied, terrified.

“You stupid whore! When I get home, you’re going to pay big time. You don’t cheat on me and get away with it! You’re not going to be able to walk for a week after I punish you. I wish I could come home right now and smack some sense into you. You better be waiting for me when I get there. If I find out you slept with him, I’ll kill you!” Then the line went dead.

Danielle dropped the phone on the tile floor and grabbed Alex with both hands. “He’s gonna kill me. He will.” She had never seen or heard him that angry.

“He can’t get past me,” he assured her and held her tightly. He hoped the phone was broken, so he couldn’t find her again.

“Alex, who was on the phone?” Corey asked when Alex loosened his grip. “Did something bad happen?”

Alex quickly concocted a partial lie. “Her ex-boyfriend. He’s an asshole.”

His mom was confused. “Why is he still calling her?”

“Brian won’t let her go,” Alex explained. “He feels he owns her in a way. Her dad gave him permission to abuse her.”

His dad jumped up. “What the hell kind of father is that?”

“Dad, please.”

His dad took a deep breath. “Sorry, Danielle. Men like that just make me so angry.”

Danielle trembled from head to toe, sure that Brian had snapped, and her life was in danger.

“Her life really sucked.” Alex lifted Danielle and carried her back to the loveseat. “I’ll make him understand she’s no longer his. Soon.”

“Why not right now?” his mom cried out. “How can you take the risk he’ll hurt her, and she loses the baby?”

Alex sighed. “I
will
stop him. I promise. It’s more complicated than I can explain right now. He won’t be back for a while. There’s nothing to worry about.”

* * *

Just as the family finished dinner that evening, a voice called out, “Hey, Alex, gimme a hand.”

Alex smiled and jumped up. “Nathan’s here.” He rushed to the front door and grabbed the bags his closest brother struggled with.

“Thanks, man.” Nathan glanced at a happier than usual Alex. “Why you smiling like that?”

Alex nodded toward the dining room. “She’s here.”

“That chick you been after? You finally nailed her again?” Nathan had seen pictures of her and heard about the weekend up in Knoxville, but Alex hadn’t told him anything that month.

Nervous, Alex bit his lip and exhaled loudly. “I guess I should’ve told you. I knocked her up, so we’re dating.”

“What the fuck?” Nathan was confused. “You’re only dating because she’s pregnant?”

“No. Wait.” Alex had known it would sound odd, but it was hard to explain. “It’s complicated, but she was too afraid to go out with me until she found out she was pregnant.”

Nathan gave him a knowing look. “Oh, right.” He knew some of Danielle’s history. He and Alex talked about practically everything. “Does he know she’s pregnant?”

Carol came in. She carried Lily, one of their daughters. “Who’s pregnant?”

“His girlfriend.” Nathan frowned while he lifted Liala, who held Carol’s hand. “You’re in for a long hard road, bro.”

Carol smiled. “Don’t listen to him. He wouldn’t give his life up for anything.”

After Nathan and Alex had put the bags away, they made their way into the family room where the family had gathered. Alex found Danielle with her head on the side of the couch. She had barely eaten dinner. That worried him. His father was right. He was a lot like his mother.

“You OK, babe?” He caressed her cheek.

She closed her eyes, grateful for the soothing touch. “I just feel weird.” She put her arms out.

He leaned over her and gave her a hug. “If you want to go to bed early, just let me know.”

By the time Danielle was able to function the next morning, the house bustled with people. Alex led her downstairs by the arm, slowly. He was afraid she would get dizzy. She was slightly unsteady, so she didn’t protest. At least he didn’t carry her like he did at school.

Once in the kitchen, Danielle smiled at Mary. “Thank you so much for the ginger tea. It helped.”

“You’re welcome.” Mary was glad Alex found someone as sweet as Danielle. Earlier, she had heard Danielle crying and thought she should help. “I have some extra you can take home with you.”

Danielle sat on a stool at the breakfast nook. “Thanks, I appreciate that.” She had been welcomed as if she belonged. It was hard to accept. “What can I do to help?”

Sara, one of Alex’s older sisters, came in the room. She couldn’t believe her brother brought a girl home. However, her face was pale and her eyes held fear. She touched her cheek. “Do you feel all right, Danielle?”

Alex hugged her from behind. “Sara, we’re having a baby.”

Sara smiled. “Congratulations!” she told them both. “How far along are you?”

“Ten weeks,” Danielle softly replied.

“No wonder.” Sara sighed. “Make sure my baby brother takes good care of you.”

Alex’s oldest brother, Michael and his family were there as well as Sara’s and Nathan’s. He went to greet them while he left Danielle with the other girls.

“So, how did you catch Alex?” Diane, Michael’s wife, asked. She was very curious to hear the answer.

Danielle looked up at the three faces that stared at her. “Um, well, uh, the first day of college we met in the hallway, and he helped me find my room.”

“I bet,” Sara let slip. Then she covered her mouth. “I didn’t mean you were easy. I’m sorry.”

Eyes downcast, Danielle shrugged her shoulders. “It’s OK. I know about how he used to be. I’m not like him. It took a while for us to do that.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Alex’s mom chimed in as she put a hand on Danielle’s shoulder. “She’s family now, and that’s all there is to it.”

Carol put an arm around Danielle’s shoulders. “We stick together, too.” She had heard Alex and Nathan talking online once. She knew she was scared of someone, just not why.

Alex laughed at Michael’s lame joke. He always thought he was funnier than he was. “Don’t you start telling Danielle any incriminating stories.”

Nathan smirked. “I got more on you than he does. Like the time we snuck into the girl’s locker room and nailed the Stabler twins. They were hot.” They had been at the same high school for two years and had screwed almost every decent looking girl in it.

Alex rolled his eyes. They had been incredible, but he didn’t want to throw his antics in Danielle’s face. He glared at Nathan for a few seconds. “She doesn’t need to know more than she already does.”

“What? Like when I caught you fucking mom’s best friend in the laundry room?” Michael grinned. “Or Jeremy’s mom or my ex-girlfriend—”

“Shut it!” Alex commanded.

It was Michael’s turn to laugh. He had caught Alex more times than he could count. The guy was like the battery bunny. He couldn’t imagine him being faithful to Danielle. He felt bad about that since his idiot baby brother knocked her up.

“Hey, I fixed it,” John, Sara’s husband, said as he returned from the garage. He waved Danielle’s phone in the air. He was a laptop technician by trade. It had been an easy fix.

Alex sighed as he put it in his back pocket. He had hoped it was dead. “Thanks.”

“Danielle, you wanna see Alex fight?” Michael shouted as he nudged Nathan. “Think he told her?”

Nathan smiled and waited for her to yell at Alex. “Yeah, we got most of his matches on DVD. We should put one on.”

Alex glared at them alternatively and growled, “Stop trying to fuck things up for me.”

Danielle grabbed the counter in front of her when her chest tightened. “Not really.” She looked up at their mother, who wore a frown.

If he had been under 18, she would have never allowed him to join a fight team. “We’re not watching that ever again!” Mary started to breath rapidly, as she recalled his last fight. She had been there, but she wished she hadn’t.

Nathan replied, “Mom, he didn’t kill him on pur—” He closed his mouth as the house went silent. Everyone stared at him. An innocent joke had turned into flashbacks for everyone in the room it seemed.

Danielle was confused. “Alex, what’s he talking about?”

Alex punched Nathan, hard enough to knock him off balance. Then he walked back to the kitchen. “Forget it. Please.” He put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her neck. “It was two years ago. I don’t wanna think about it. Please.”

She leaned her head on his chest. “You promised no secrets.”

Reluctantly, he whispered, “I killed another fighter. I broke his neck. I didn’t know I was that strong. If my mom didn’t defend me, I’d be in jail right now. I got banned after that.” He felt her shake. It was why he didn’t tell her about competing in MMA at all. He worried she would fear him, too. “Please tell me you’re OK with it.” When she didn’t answer, he swallowed hard and asked, “Are you afraid of
me
now?”

It was a lot to take in.
He killed someone
. She looked into his gray eyes. All she could see was love. Her voice soft, she replied, “I’m not.” Then she pursed her lips, which had started to tremble. “Do you regret it?” Her question was barely audible.

Alex hugged her, sure she needed time to process what she learned. “Yes, and I think about it a lot. He was only 18. If I could take it back, I would.” He sighed. “I could never hurt you. I swear.”

“I know.”

He held her until she started to cut vegetables again. “You should be resting.”

She leaned back on him. “I’m OK. I need to help. I always used to do this with my grandma.”

“Not for long, please.” He moved his hands to her belly. “I don’t mean to tell you what to do, but you have to take care of yourself.”

Alex wanted to insist, but instead he washed his hands and helped. His mom handed him some potatoes to peel and cut. He kept quiet and just worked until he heard a soft groan from Danielle.

“Time to stop.” Alex laid his hands over hers. “We’ll sit together. OK?” He felt her phone vibrate several times as he helped her to the loveseat. “I gotta pee. Be right back.”

Alex ran up to his room and read the text messages from Brian.

This is all your fault!

You fucking bitch. Wait till I get home!

Answer me you whore!

You’ll be sorry

Alex snarled, furious, “I’ll be waiting when you get home, asshole.” He deleted all the messages without reading the rest of them. “This is gonna be your worst Christmas ever!”

* * *

After dinner, almost everyone sat in the family room to watch football. “You look so much better in your uniform than those guys do.” Danielle leered at Alex, next to her. He looked incredible in those tight pants. “I always want to just rip them off you.”

He smiled and put his arm around her. “And you look more beautiful than any cheerleader in the whole country. I love you.” He kissed her forehead.

“What time is the game Saturday?” Corey asked when a commercial came on.

Alex looked up. “3:30. We’re playing in Tallahassee, so it’s gonna be crazy.” They were a rival team.

Danielle yawned. “The party afterward will be insane.”

“True.” Alex lifted her chin. “You OK?”

She gave him a half smile. “Yeah, just tired.”

Alex pulled her to lie on his chest. He sighed, content. Her body relaxed within minutes, and her breathing changed. He looked up at Nathan, who was about to say something. “Shh, she’s sleeping.”

“Was just gonna ask when you guys are leaving.” Nathan sat next to his brother. “Is there a rally Friday night?”

Alex whispered, “Yeah, I gotta be up there at like, five tomorrow. So, we’ll leave after breakfast.”

Danielle woke up on her side in Alex’s bed. From the small slits in the curtains on the balcony doors, she could see it was dark out. His arms were around her from behind. Carefully, she pulled away from him to use the bathroom.

“Hey,” Alex quietly called to her when she came out of the in-suite bathroom. “You fell asleep before I could show you around… again.”

She stuck out her bottom lip. “Sorry. I’m awake now. You can give me the grand tour.”

“Well, some of it at least.” Alex didn’t want to wake his family. He climbed out of bed and stretched. “Let me show you the view first.” He opened the balcony doors. “You can see almost everything.”

Danielle followed him outside. Her mouth dropped, and eyes opened wide. “Wow!” She could see the pool, the yard and the beach. It was beautiful. The moonlight shone on almost everything. She smiled as Alex hugged her from behind.

“Cool, huh?”

“Yeah.” She leaned back on him.

He bent down and kissed her temple. “Let’s go take a walk.”

They walked around the semi-lit property. Alex gave her a tour of the gardens and the playground for the grandkids. Then he tugged her past the grounds and down a few slopes to their private beach. With their shoes off, they walked hand in hand and enjoyed the warm night air. The sand was like powder. Alex had always loved that about it. Once back at the house, they circled the pool and leaned on the wrought-iron fence that surrounded the deck. The view was almost as nice as from his balcony.

Danielle was amazed. It was odd that Alex grew up in that house, yet he acted like everyone else. He never made it obvious that he had it all. His room was so simple. Except for constant money in his pocket, she never suspected. She couldn’t imagine living that way. Brian brought in quite a high salary, and they had lived in a spacious house. He didn’t allow her to work, though. Then she realized he would cut her off. One look around her eased the sudden worry.
His family would never turn their backs on us
.