No One to Trust (3 page)

From what he could tell, time and sleep were
the only things that would heal him and until he decided to go to a
doctor, there wasn’t much anyone else could do. At least the
makeshift ice pack would help with the swelling on Benny’s eye.
Once Porter cleaned and bandaged Benny’s face and arms, he tucked
the covers around him and went in search of Elizabeth.

Whether she liked it or not, he wasn’t
leaving her side.

* * * * *

Lizzy smoothed her hands down the front of
her dress. Why couldn’t Porter just leave? While she really
appreciated what he’d done for her—probably more than she’d ever be
able to put into words—he was the last person in the world she
wanted to witness her family drama. It was too embarrassing.
Especially when his family was so normal.

After their break up she’d been able to deal
with him ignoring her. At least then it was easier to keep things
professional. Of course it hadn’t done anything to quell her
fantasies of him. Maybe if they’d actually had sex she’d be over
him. It was just the unknown physical aspect she was drawn to
because their personalities were way too different for anything
long term to ever work out. That’s what she kept trying to tell
herself anyway.

Now she felt lost. She couldn’t wrap her mind
around the fact that he’d put a tracker in her car. It made no
sense. It’s not as if she was a bad employee. Even though things
had never taken off between them she’d always thought he still
respected her.

When he entered the kitchen, she wrapped her
arms around herself and took a step back, bumping into the counter.
His pale blue eyes always seemed to see right inside her, as if he
knew what she was thinking. That every time she saw him all she
wondered was what he’d look like completely naked. But that wasn’t
important now especially since it was never going to happen. “Why
do you have a tracker in my car?”

“Your mother called not long ago worried
about Benny. She said he had a tendency to bring you down with
him…” He paused and she cringed at the judgment in his voice. “She
wanted to know if I could keep an eye on you.”

Her face flamed at his words. She was
twenty-five, had a PhD in computer science and a really good job
despite what her parents thought of her chosen profession.
And
her mother was calling people she worked with like she was an
irresponsible teenager?
Lizzy knew that even with her slightly
darker coloring her face had to be bright red at the moment. “So
that’s the only reason?”

He cleared his throat and for the first time
since she’d met him, he looked angry. At her. “She told me that a
few years ago you picked your brother up from one of the southwest
barrios
and almost got
assaulted
. Why didn’t you tell
me about that when we were together?”

Now the color drained from her face and
instead of heat, cold snaked through her body. Everything she’d
ever wanted to keep private—especially from Porter, someone she was
insanely attracted to—was now apparently common knowledge.
Assaulted was a civilized way of putting what had happened. She’d
almost been gang raped by a vicious bunch of meth addicts coming
down from their high. The police avoided most of the southwest
barrios
but there had been a big enough disturbance the day
they’d been there. If it hadn’t been for the overwhelming police
presence, she’d be dead. “It wasn’t my brother’s fault.”

“Whose fault was it then? Do you frequent
crack dens and meth houses on a regular basis?” His voice was soft
but there was an underlying edge to it. Something told her it
wasn’t directed at her though, but her brother.

Everyone in her family judged Benny. She
couldn’t take it from Porter too. Not when Benny had always been
there for her. Her family might want to brush their history under
the rug but she wouldn’t when it came to her brother. When she’d
been twelve and he’d been barely fourteen, he’d stood up for her
and had saved her from the worst possible thing any child should
ever have to go through. “You don’t know anything about my brother
or my family,” she snapped.

His blue eyes flashed angrily. “You’re right,
I don’t. The only thing I know is that I would
never
knowingly put one of my family members in danger. I’d rather die
first. I also know that when we were together, anytime he called,
you jumped, night or day, ready to run into the worst situation to
save him. Or loan him money. Your brother needs help but
you
can’t give it to him. He needs to
want
to get help and all
you’re doing is enabling him. The sooner you realize that, the
better.”

“You need to leave.” Her throat was tight and
her voice unsteady. If she was in his presence any longer she was
going to break down. She’d been getting Benny out of trouble for
longer than she cared to admit. Having Porter see her at her worst
was the last thing she could handle right now.

He snorted and took a few more steps into the
room. “You just pissed off
Orlando Salas
and now you’re on
his radar. If I thought you’d listen, I’d pack you a bag and get
you the hell out of here. Since I know that isn’t going to happen,
I’m staying.”

“What do you mean,
staying
?” She felt
stupid after asking since it was pretty obvious what he meant, but
she was a little more than shaky. Since things had never progressed
to a sexual level between them he’d never stayed at her house. The
thought of him doing so now frightened her on too many levels.

One of his dark eyebrows arched. “I’m
sleeping on your couch tonight darlin’ so get used to it.”

Darlin’.
The word sounded far too
intimate for the kind of relationship they had. Which was
essentially nothing. An unexpected vision of him stretched out
naked in her bed flashed before her eyes and she nearly gasped
aloud.
Where had that come from?
Okay, it wasn’t much of a
surprise. She’d been fantasizing about him since before that first
toe-numbing kiss they’d shared. Right now she couldn’t help but
wonder what he’d look like stripped out of the stuffy suit he wore.
He was a good six inches taller than her and considering she was
five foot eight, that was saying something. His broad shoulders
simply begged for her to run her fingers over them. To clutch on
to.

Sighing, she nodded instead of attempting to
argue. By the firm set of his jaw she knew that no matter what she
said, he’d stay. Even if she managed to kick him out, he’d sleep in
his vehicle. If she was being honest with herself, she was glad he
wanted to stick around. After the way Orlando had manhandled her,
she was shaken up and Porter’s presence was reassuring. On a
personal level he might put her on edge but that was just a
physical reaction. “I’ll grab an extra pillow and blankets. Just
don’t expect me to cook dinner for you.” Completely offending her
mother’s Cuban sensibilities, Lizzy had never picked up the knack
for cooking.

“How about I cook for you instead?” The low
baritone of his voice sent a shiver curling through her until it
settled low in her belly.

Her eyes widened in surprise.
He could
cook?
Something she hadn’t known about him. She definitely
needed to get away from this man. “Uh, sure, but I’m going to take
a shower first,” she muttered and skirted past him. She was careful
not to touch him though. Touching him sent her senses haywire and
turned her brain to mush. He was only going to be here one night
anyway. She could manage to avoid him for a few hours and tomorrow
her life would return to normal. She’d make sure of it.

Chapter 2

Lizzy opened her eyes and sat straight up in
bed as she heard a low creak from somewhere in her house. Her heart
pounded wildly against her chest as she eased out of bed. Something
felt…off. She didn’t know what it was, but could feel it straight
to her bones.

Her house had been built in the fifties so it
was always making settling sounds. The noise she’d just heard could
be nothing but she wasn’t taking the chance.

Porter was sleeping on her couch and Benny
was still in her guest room. She’d checked on her brother an hour
ago and he’d looked a lot better than he had when they’d brought
him home. A lot of the swelling on his face had gone down.

She tiptoed across her room and cringed when
the floorboards groaned beneath her. Easing the door open, she
peeked out to find the hallway empty. Good. Porter must still be
asleep. She nudged the half-open door to the guest room all the way
open. Her throat clenched at the empty bed. The sheets were rumpled
but Benny wasn’t there. He always did this. Just left without
saying goodbye. She should be used to it, but it hurt more than
she’d admit. When she felt wetness on her cheek, she brushed away a
few stray tears that managed to leak out.

“He left fifteen minutes ago.”

She swiveled at Porter’s voice and barely
refrained from screaming. Her hand instinctively flew to her
throat. “You almost gave me a heart attack… You saw him leave?”

Porter nodded, his face an unreadable mask.
“He must have called someone to pick him up because he snuck out
the front door. I watched him get into a car and drive off.”

Anger punched through her, swift and hard
even though it had nothing to do with the man standing in front of
her. This wasn’t his fault. “Why didn’t you try to stop him? Or
wake me up?”

His shoulders lifted in a casual shrug. “He’s
a grown man. If he wants to leave, it’s not my business.”

She started to respond when she realized how
little clothing Porter had on. No shirt and pinstriped blue and
white boxers that did little to cover the bulge between his legs.
Oh my
… She forced her gaze upward but his entire body was
drool worthy and she couldn’t stop her gaze from roaming
everywhere.

His broad chest was male perfection. With a
ripped eight pack and just a smattering of dark hair covering his
pecs, he was all sharp lines and taut muscles. She’d never thought
much about male legs before, but his were something she’d
definitely remember. Muscular and lean but not bulky. Runner’s
legs. Why had they never gotten naked together again? Right now she
was having a hard time remembering her own name, let alone why
she’d ended things with him. She nervously licked her lips as she
imagined what it would be like to wrap her own legs around—

“Don’t look at me like that.” His voice was a
low growl.

As her eyes snapped up to meet his, she
fought the heat creeping into her cheeks. Thankfully the only
source of illumination was the moonlight streaming in from the
blinds. She wondered how long she’d been staring at him like he was
a slab of meat. “Like what?” she whispered. Immediately she wanted
to take the question back. It was lame and she knew exactly what
she’d been doing. She’d been undressing him with her eyes and she
was only sorry he’d stopped her.

He reached out and tucked a wayward curl
behind her ear. Instead of withdrawing his hand, he cupped her
cheek.

“Lizzy,” he softly breathed out her name.

Her lips parted when his pale gaze zeroed in
on her mouth. Porter was always so careful about not touching her
since they’d ended things, but now he wasn’t showing that normal
restraint. When he didn’t pull away, it was like a switch flipped
inside her. She wanted his touch so bad she ached for it. For
months they’d been dancing around their still burning attraction
for one another and he’d just lit the pilot light on her desire. If
he didn’t kiss her, she was going to scream in frustration.

He muttered something unintelligible and
covered her mouth with his lightning fast as if he was afraid she’d
change her mind. His kiss was soft, yet somehow still demanding. He
coaxed her mouth open until their tongues were hungrily clashing
against each other. She’d missed his taste so much. When he pulled
her bottom lip between his teeth, she didn’t bother to hide her
moan. She’d never stopped wanting him. Wanting what he always made
her feel.

He threaded his fingers through her hair and
held the back of her head in a dominating grip. The pressure was
just enough to drive her wild. She clutched his shoulders and held
on tight, savoring the feel of all that strength and power under
her fingertips.

When he pulled back she felt the loss
immediately but he wasn’t going anywhere. He dipped his head and
feathered light, sensuous kisses along her jaw until he reached her
earlobe. Just like he knew was guaranteed to drive her crazy. “I
want you so bad, Lizzy.”

There he went with her nickname again. His
voice softened and his eyes darkened every time he said it. And
like magic, heat pooled deep in her belly each time. She couldn’t
see his eyes at the moment but the man’s voice was the strongest
aphrodisiac. Potent and intoxicating. If she could bottle it up she
would.

She opened her mouth to tell him she felt the
same way when loud staccato pops somewhere outside made her jerk
back. In a haze, she stared at him. “What—”

His expression was tense. “Stay here!”

Porter turned and sprinted back down the
hallway. Instead of doing as he said, she hurried after him. When
he grabbed his gun from the coffee table in her living room, she
realized what he was doing.

“Stay down,” he threw over his shoulder as he
neared the window.

Crouching low, she peered around the corner
of the couch and watched as he slowly lifted one of the wooden slat
blinds covering the window in her living room. Fear for whatever
was going on outside exploded inside her like fireworks. But more
than anything, she wanted to pull Porter down to where she was. She
had no doubt he could take care of himself but that didn’t ease her
panic any. The back of her neck tingled as he stood off to the side
of her window. It sounded like gunfire outside though she couldn’t
wrap her mind around something like that happening in her quiet
neighborhood. Maybe it was just some kids lighting fireworks.