Once Upon A Half-Time: A Secret Baby Romance (54 page)

I said nothing, but that was fine. Nolan didn’t like me for my conversational skills. He glanced over me as though I were a thousand dollar contribution to his campaign and smiled.

“Did you sleep with him?”

My breath caught. I stared at him.

“
Excuse me
?”

Nolan was direct. I was sure he imagined every moment I spent beneath Maddox.

“I asked if you slept with him.”

I licked my lips. “I don’t think that’s any business of yours.”

“Did you, or didn’t you?”

“I’m not telling you.”

“We had an agreement, Josie.”

My stomach twisted. “No. You told me what you wanted. I never agreed to anything.”

He sighed, blowing on the coffee to cool it down. “I’m only doing this for your own good.”

That wasn’t true. He wanted to control me.

And he could.

I lowered my voice, hissing just like the disgusting snake pretending to be a prince. “You threatened Maddox’s life. You said you’d kill him if I stayed with him.”

Nolan didn’t flinch. “I said no such thing, Josie.”

“You meant it.”

“It’s hard to prove intent.” He stared me down, the blue in his eyes deceptively sweet. “Maddox is the wrong man for you. If you stay with him, you’ll get hurt.” He sipped his coffee. “And so will he.”

No doubt. And Nolan would be the one pulling the trigger. No—he’d hire someone else to do it, the same sort of low-life and hardened man that Maddox nearly became.

I hated this. These horrible threats shouldn’t have existed in a small town like Saint Christie. We weren’t a big city. We didn’t have
crime.
We had…Maddox. His family was bad news, and he looked kinda scary in a leather jacket with his tattoos, but the town wasn’t
unsafe
. Our biggest threat came from a raccoon appearing in the afternoon and the occasional firework that exploded too near a cranky neighbor’s house.

But Maddox always said darkness lurked anywhere a shadow was cast—big city, small town, campaign fundraiser, or candy shop.

Nolan’s family was supposedly
legit
, and their favorite son a man of principal and ethics. The town trusted him, but I knew the truth. Nolan hated Maddox, and Maddox had enough skeletons in his closet and crimes in his past that no one would think twice if one day he stopped coming around.

I had to do whatever I could to prevent Nolan from hurting the man I loved.

And I was running out of ways to keep Maddox alive.

“Maddox went to jail, Josie. Rightfully.” Nolan’s eyebrows rose. He almost looked handsome, but I didn’t trust his twisted smile. “I’m trying to save you from making a bad mistake. You’re involved with a man who has a record. A bad one. Vandalism, assault, theft.
Arson
.”

“Maddox didn’t burn down my shop,” I said.

“You don’t need to protect him.”

Like hell. “I know who the real arsonist is, Nolan. He can’t hide forever. Soon, everyone else will know too.”

“Josie, are you threatening
me
?”

I knew better than that. “It’s so hard to prove intent, isn’t it?”

“You’re snappy today. Little too much Matthias in you.”

“I just think it’s time for the world to know the man you really are.”

He sighed. “And I think you might be a bit lovesick and naïve. Do not trust Maddox. Don’t endanger yourself by letting him in your life.”

“It’s my life.”

“Don’t waste your heart on men who don’t deserve it.”

“Don’t tell me who to love.”

“Love is a dangerous game, Josie. People get hurt far too easily. Do you understand?”

Damn it.

How was this happening again? I had already broken up with Maddox once to appease Nolan. I lost him to Nolan, to the fire, to the justice system that failed us all.

Nolan wanted me, and I had no idea the lengths he’d go to coerce me into bed. I wasn’t about to be tied to the train tracks, but I couldn’t risk Maddox’s life until I proved it was Nolan who destroyed mine.

He sipped his coffee, offered me a smile, and then challenged me with another devil’s game.

“I’d like to buy your property, Josie.”

My heart stuttered to a stop. I didn’t answer. I didn’t have the words or the caffeine to imagine all the perverted scenarios that he would concoct. Didn’t that bastard do enough? I denied him once, and he set fire to my property. He burned it to the ground and left me with nothing.

What would he take if I refused him again?

“Absolutely not.” I said.

“The shop is gone, and you have no plans to rebuild. The lot is on Main Street, and the vacancy does nothing for the town. Let me take it off your hands.”

“It’s my family’s property.”

“And your family is running out of money.”

My insides turned into a slushie. “You don’t know anything about my family or our finances.”

“How’s your grandfather?”

His question was slimy, and he dared to ask it with a smile.

“He’s fine.”

Nolan nodded. “One of my campaign managers works at Willowbend. She knows your grandfather. Said his lungs were pretty badly damaged after the fire. He can’t work, and he can’t sell his business. You can’t rebuild the shop if all the money goes to his treatments. Or…” Nolan stared at me. “His gambling debts?”

Like Nolan didn’t have any vices. I didn’t speak, didn’t even acknowledge him.

“It’s time to sell, Josie. Time for a change. A new direction in your life. Find someone who can help, who
wants
to support you.” He reached for me, taking my hand. “You know I could take care of you.”

Repulsion and rage battled in my stomach. I had no idea which would win out, but it wouldn’t be pretty. I was taught to be polite, to be gentle, to be independent.

So why could I only imagine smacking him with a saucepan and kicking him between his legs?

“I will only say this once, Nolan. I’m not interested.” I forced him to hold my gaze and read my lips. He stared at them, but not to hear the words—he imagined what I’d do with them. “I don’t want your money. I don’t want your name. I’m keeping the property.”

His grip tightened over my wrist. My heart pounded as his voice lowered, a deliberate growl.

“You will not talk to me like this.”

Likewise. “I have a few more choice words I could say.”

“That’s Maddox talking.”

“He always could turn a phrase.”

Nolan’s grip turned painful. “Josie, I am only asking once.”

“But I will say
no
a million times.”

“Isn’t it enough that I would offer you this, even knowing I am lusting after another man’s scraps?”

I’d flip the table if he didn’t let go of me, but I didn’t know what happened after that. Who he would target next. What he would do.

Nolan strong-armed the town, but he had yet to raise his hand to me. Testing his patience wouldn’t save any of us.

“Let me go.” My voice was low, my own threat. “You’ve insulted me. If you respected me at all you’d apologize and release my hand.”

“And if I don’t?”

Hell if I knew.

But I didn’t have to find out.

The bell over the door rattled, but the chime choked off as the door was nearly ripped off the hinges. I didn’t have time to stop it. A blur of dark leather crashed over the table. Nolan’s chair was tossed back. The mayor slammed onto the floor.

Maddox prepared to strike.

“
Stop
!” I dove forward to grab him.

Nolan didn’t move, he waited for Maddox to make the first mistake. A dozen outcomes terrorized my mind—a fight, the police, charges, Maddox sent to jail for protecting me.

Or, Maddox ending it right then and killing Nolan on the floor of a coffee shop.

“Maddox,
no
!”

My cry probably echoed over the town. A dozen onlookers rushed inside the shop, and most of Nolan’s campaign hurried to his aid, rushing to help him from the ground. The rest separated Maddox from Nolan.

One man or a dozen, it wouldn’t matter. Maddox seethed, jaw clenched and eyes narrowed for the hunt.

“You don’t touch her.”

He didn’t care who watched. The threat resonated, and the news of the fight between town hero and villain would race through the streets. Nolan would never forgive him for upstaging his campaign rally.

God, this wasn’t the welcome home I hoped he’d get, but it was the one I knew he’d have.

“Maddox,” I whispered. “I’m fine. Please leave.”

He didn’t listen to me. He seized my hand where Nolan’s grip had nearly bruised. Difference was, Maddox’s grasp would. He pulled me from the store and tugged me into the street.

This was a disaster. I didn’t need the rescue. It was Maddox who needed the most help, the most protection. And now that he’d humiliated Nolan, I’d never save him from his own impulsive destruction.

I was out of time. I had no choice. I had to prove it was Nolan who targeted me, who set fire to my shop. The sooner he was behind bars, the easier I could protect the man I loved.

If I wasn’t already too late.

Someone was going to get hurt, but I’d do everything in my power to ensure it wasn’t Maddox.

T
hat bastard put
his hands on her. He was lucky I didn’t put him through the window.

Josie struggled until she realized how bad it looked for her. How bad it looked for me.

I had no idea why Nolan wanted her this time or why she would even meet with that son of a bitch. Then again, it wasn’t like she had been very forthcoming the last time I saw her.

Any other woman was better off opening her legs than her mouth. But it’d never been that way with Josie. I wanted in her heart. In her head. I had to know why she’d endanger herself in Nolan’s presence, or if she even realized how dangerous that man was.

How the fuck did she survive without me for a year?

How did I survive without knowing she was safe?

Her apartment was close enough, but everybody watched me drag her away. Where the hell did they all come from? One raised voice, and the damn church bells rang to alert the village that Andrew Maddox had returned, and he’d claimed the virtuous again, ready to steal innocence and draw blood.

Josie was generally optimistic, but even she questioned me as we reached her apartment. I locked the door while she squealed some bullshit chastisement. I wasn’t listening. As long as I had her safe, as long as I had her in my arms, she could call me every name in the book and I’d still teach her more and dirtier profanity.

“Are you out of your mind?” Josie collapsed against the wall. “Maddox, you can’t act like this! If Nolan decides to press charges—”

I didn’t let her finish. She was already pinned to the wall. Something inside me snapped.

When I was in jail I counted the hours until I saw her, and when I was with her I memorized every blessed second I held her in my arms. She had kicked me out the other night, and part of my mind shredded itself. It was forged together now, glued with testosterone and stitched with adrenaline.

I kissed her, silenced her every protest of my lips and captured her within my arms. That didn’t mean she quieted. Her mew of indignation treaded a thin line between anger and submission.

I missed her submission.

Josie was always beautiful, but she destroyed me when she turned feisty. That’s when her almond eyes turned vibrant, a dancing darkness. Her lips, pouty and full, begged to be kissed.

I needed her, and I wouldn’t rest until I knew she was mine. I’d give my life to know she wasn’t hurt, scared, or trapped with that fucking bastard who wanted her as a prize, not because she was the most amazing woman in the world.

And so I kissed her until she softened in my hands.

Then I took control.

She fit with me. Or I crowded around her. I never knew the answer to that.

Josie was tiny. I was big.

She surrendered. I took.

My girl wanted. I delivered.

Her lips trembled. Why was she so afraid? I planned to give her body more pleasure than she could handle. I broke the kiss, but my nip to her neck silenced her next argument. I bit exactly where I knew she was vulnerable. Her groan was music, her hushed breath just a prelude to what I’d awaken in her desire.

“You can’t…” Josie shuddered as my attention trailed down. Her eyes closed. I knelt before her. “Maddox, we have to talk.”

“Later.” My fingers worked quickly, unbuttoning her jeans. They trembled too. I ignored it. The only thing that mattered was how goddamned much I ached to see her, taste her, feel her. “We can talk later. Let me have you now.”

“But we can’t do this.”

What stopped us? I was done denying myself.

But she hid from me. Still. The fire and trial and prison were damning enough, but even now, even when I was free…she pushed me away.

No more. I planned to prove exactly what she was missing. I’d win her back with the flick of my tongue, nibble of my lips, and thrust of my cock.

I unzipped her jeans. White panties peeked from beneath. The denim was easy to shed, but that flimsy cotton barrier stilled my hands.

In that moment, I hated panties. I hated them on her, hated that she had them, hated that they hid her sexy little slit from my eyes. The material shredded between my fingers, and Josie gasped as I immediately seized those petals for my own.

I knelt between her legs, forcing her thighs apart with greedy fingers and savoring the sweet slickness betraying her true desire. The swell of her legs crested into the most beautiful pussy I had the privilege of tasting, nibbling, touching. And she knew it too. Or should have known it. I hated authority, disavowed myself of most laws, and surrendered to no man. But for Josie?

I would’ve stayed on my knees, pleasured her for hours, showed her exactly how much I loved her and what I’d do to please her.

And I started right then.

Her gasp startled us both. I thought I hurt her, but immediately her knees buckled and her fingers tangled in my hair. She pulled me closer to that hot, honeyed slit, and I obeyed every arch of her hips to savor her more of her pussy. My tongue slipped within and massaged the sensitive nub.

I drove her wild. I had countless times before. I knew where to touch, how to kiss, what to do to straddle her on the edge of pain and pleasure until she begged for release I may or may not have given.

“
Maddox
…” That breathy warning nearly burst the seam in my jeans. Her orgasm always seemed to surprise her, as if she couldn’t believe I made her feel such delirious intensity. “Wait…maybe…”

Wait
? Like hell. Why wait when she was this close?

She bucked over my mouth, wetted my tongue, and tightened arouund the finger I slipped within that tight fucking slit. She was going to come for me, and I’d take every beautiful shudder that wracked her body.

I curled my lips over her clit and gave it a quick and fierce suckle—less romance and more strict demand. She nearly collapsed, and I drove her into the wall. She wasn’t giving in, and I wasn’t losing my spot between the legs of a goddamned goddess.

“Oh…
God
…”

I would have encouraged her, but that would've meant pulling my lips from her pulsing clit. It wasn’t going to happen. I withdrew my finger from her pussy if only to use both hands to support her hips, to pin her between the wall and my lapping tongue. She’d be embarrassed later, remembering the sounds and slapping and obscene grunts I made while eating her whole.

She’d touch herself then too. Hell, tonight? I’d stay in that bed and she could finish herself off on my thick, hungry cock.

Her orgasm chased the air from her lungs in a wavering groan. She bucked, but her clit wasn’t getting away from my mouth, even if I had to nip to keep her where I could savor and swallow every drop of cream. Josie didn’t have a candy shop anymore, but all that reserved sweetness tucked inside her womb. I gobbled her, licked her, suckled everything I could taste.

And I still wanted more.

Josie didn’t protest until I laid her on the ground. Then her eyes widened. I kicked her legs apart and aimed for my belt. The jingle slammed her back to reality, and she stared as my zipper drove down and cock popped out.

Hard.

Desperate.

I stared at her tight, tasty, soaking wet slit. She was soon to get a lot messier.

Her hand rose as I fisted my cock. It might have stilled my motions if it weren’t trembling. Josie could hardly hold herself upright, but she gasped as if she had no idea what I planned with a throbbing dick aimed for her spread legs.

“
Wait
.”

Now her voice shifted. She pulled herself up, edging her body away from me.

What the hell?

“You want this too,” I rasped. “Don’t pretend.”

“I do.” She nodded, too quick, almost panicking. “But Maddox…we…you can’t…”

Goddamn
it.

Fucking Nolan must have scared the piss out of her.

I didn’t need my woman to tell me no. I was a better man than that. I didn’t want to cause her distress. I meant to be the one who comforted her. Fixed her.

Kept her safe.

I’d jerk it in the shower and have plenty of time to lose myself in her later. I tucked back in my jeans, ignoring the discomfort of a rock hard cock and unyielding denim.

I helped Josie to her feet, handing her a shred of cotton that had been her panties. She took them, but backed out of the room, aiming for the first pair of yoga pants she could find. The bright pink clashed with a blouse, but she never looked so goddamned beautiful.

“Why?” I asked. “What’s wrong? It’s
me
, Sweets.”

Josie still sweated. She rubbed her forehead, tucking the bouncing curls behind her ears with a thick headband. She took a deep breath with closed eyes that only puffed her lips for a kiss.

Did she have any idea what she did to me?

“I can’t do this with you,” she said. “Not now. Things are complicated.”

“No, they aren’t.”

She wasn’t getting away. She tried to hide in the kitchen, but I refused to get bumped for fucking
cookies
again.

“This is you and me, Sweets. We gotta talk.”

“Not now.”

“Yes, now.” I held my arms out. “Why are you fighting me on this? Christ, I just want to feel you. I gotta know you’re okay.”

“I’m fine, Maddox. Everything is fine.”

“It’s
not
, or you wouldn’t be pushing me away.”

She didn’t meet my gaze. “I shouldn’t have to push you away. You should respect my wishes.”

“If I understood them, I would! You’re not making any goddamned sense. I’m
back
. I’m here. I’m offering to give
everything
to you. I want the life, the family, you, a
baby
. Didn’t you…miss me at all?” My voice hardened. “Didn’t you love me?”

“Don’t you dare.” Josie’s whisper punctuated with a pointed finger. “Don’t accuse me of being anything less than faithful or devoted. You have no idea the problems you’ve caused—”

“Because you won’t tell me. Let me be a part of this.”

Her arms crossed, but it only perked her chest up. “A part of what? This town? This nightmare?”

I tensed. “What nightmare?”

“
All
of this. Granddad is sick. We lost
all
the money from the insurance because of him.”

“His medical bills?”

“His
gambling,
Maddox.” She covered her mouth with a hitched breath. “Don’t tell anyone. Please. They know, but everyone is pretending it’s the medical bills. I didn’t even know he took the money until most of it was gone—”

“Hey.” I shrugged. “I know Matthias. He taught me everything I knew about electrical work…and enough about the horses at the track. I’d never say a damn thing.”

“We have
nothing
to rebuild. I lost everything. My shop. My future.” Her lip trembled. “You.”

“You didn’t lose me.”

“I lost you
first
.”

“Bullshit. I was always there for you. I loved you. Still do, Sweets. Why the hell did you push me away? Why didn’t you come to visit me? Give me a single fucking word while I was in prison?”

She didn’t answer.

And then I knew.

Sure as hell, like someone punched me in the gut and kicked me in the balls just to be sure I was down for the count.

“You think I did it.”

Josie’s eyes widened. She didn’t have to say shit. The shock stole my erection, shriveled my pride.

“You think
I
burned your fucking store down?”

She panicked, unable to speak, rushing for me when I turned for the door.

“Son of a bitch.” I nearly kicked the kitchen table. Figured that’d scare her more. I settled for slamming a palm against the wall. She jumped.

And a cascade of papers fell from her table.

The way she flinched, I’d have thought they were images of her as a centerfold. I batted her hand away, bending down to grab the oversize sheets of paper, an arm span wide.

“Maddox—”

“What are these?” I knew electrical plans, but these were general building construction blueprints. “Are these…for a rebuild?”

“It’s a long story…”

No, it wasn’t. It was a very
short
story, and I got it as soon as I saw the dates stamped on the fucking plans.

“These were created before the fire,” I said.

“I know, it’s—”

“
Nolan Rhys
.” I spat the name on the corner of the documents. “He had an engineer draw up plans for your store a
week
before the fire?”

Josie stilled. She tried to avoid my gaze. “The night of the fire he offered to buy the property from me. I don’t remember much after the dinner.”

“Why?”

“It was…I don’t know. Fuzzy. I must have hit my head in the shop.”

“What do you remember?”

“Maddox—”

My voice hardened. “What do you remember?”

She sighed, shrugging her shoulders. “Nolan wanted to take me to dinner to offer on the property. We ate, I told him unequivocally
no
, he ordered a drink just to show we had no bad feelings, and then…I got the call. I think. I know I went to the shop, and I know you pulled me out, but I can’t remember anything clearly after the drink or before the hospital.”

That fucking bastard.

It wasn’t the fire that stole her memory—it was
Nolan
and whatever the hell he put in her wine.

She had no idea, and no one at the hospital thought to check…

Fuck!

Had it not been for the fire, Josie would have spent the night passed out on his mattress.

And then I would have been put in jail for murder.

“What?” She bit her lip. She pulled the plans from my hand before I tore them to shreds. “Maddox, of
course
I knew you were innocent. You’d never hurt me, no matter what the town says. I know you. I trust you. I—”

She silenced, but those unspoken words weren’t enough to ease the churning, gut-aching rage that threatened to rend through my sanity.

Nolan
.

This confirmed it. No more hunches. No more suspicions.

He wanted her. He nearly stole her. And, when she refused him, he destroyed her store, her life, her future. And he framed me for it.

She knew it too. Hell, only one reason she would have those plans. She stepped away from me, her eyes wide with hesitance.