Ruthless (11 page)

Luc sat down beside her, drawing her into his arms. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

She dropped her head against his chest and cried until the only noise in the room was the sound of her shuddering breaths. “How could I have been so wrong about him? I’ve known him all my life. I really thought he was one of the good guys.” She started to cry again and he drew her against him, kissing the top of her head.

“I know, baby. He just snapped.”

She looked up at him. “Do you think this is my fault? Maybe if I hadn’t...”

He dried her tears with the back of his hand. “Don’t even think that, honey. There’s no excuse for the way he acted tonight.”

She knew Luc was right. Tim had a right to be angry, but he had no right to put his hands on her. “If you hadn’t come in when you did, he would have r...” She started crying again when she thought about what he’d almost done to her.

“I know, baby.” Luc held her in his arms as he stroked her hair. His cell phone rang. He continued to hold her as he reached for the phone in his pocket. He checked the call display. “It’s Trey.”

Marisa shook her head. She didn’t want her brother or anyone else to know what a fool she’d been to trust that man. “Don’t answer it,” she pleaded, trying to reach for the phone.

“Honey, he’s worried about you. He’s gonna keep calling until we answer the phone. Either that, or he’s gonna come over here and...”

“Okay, okay, fine. Answer the phone.” She raked her hands through her hair, resting her head on her raised knees. ”Tell him what happened. He’s gonna find out sooner or later anyways.”

Luc hit the connect button and stood up. “Hello.” Luc paused. “No, she’s not okay, man. Mitchell lost it.” He stalked the room as he rubbed his temples with his thumb and forefinger. “Don’t worry, I’m gonna stay with her tonight.” He paused and looked at Marisa. “He tried to, but I kicked him outta here before he had the chance to hurt her.” Holding the phone away from his ear, he grimaced.

Marisa could hear her brother’s bellowing from where she sat, across the room.

“Trey, don’t do that,” Luc warned. He sighed. “That’s not gonna do any good.” He rolled his eyes. “I know how you feel, but if you go after him, it’s gonna be in all the tabloids by morning. You’ve got a wife and baby girl to think about, Turner.”

Marisa stood up and reached for the phone.

Luc reluctantly handed it to her.

“Trey, promise me you won’t do anything stupid. I’d feel terrible if you...”

“Marisa, honey, do you need me to come over? Are you all right?”

She started crying in earnest when she heard the concern in her brother’s voice. Luc gently took the phone out of her hand when she was crying too hard to speak.

“Trey, do me a favor. Just stay put, okay? I’ll either stay here with her or take her back her to my place.

Either way, I promise she’ll be safe, okay? Yeah, I’ll call you in the morning. Okay, you got it. No thanks necessary, buddy.” He disconnected the call and slipped the phone back in his pocket. “The next time your brother sees that guy, it’s gonna be ugly.”

She leaned into him, needing to feel his arms around her. “Hold me, please, just hold me, Luc.”

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. “It’s gonna be okay, baby. I promise.”

She looked up at him. “You still had a key?”

He smiled. “You didn’t ask for it back, so I didn’t offer.”

“Thank God.” She shuddered in his arms. “If you hadn’t come in when you did...”

He touched her lips with his. “Sssh, I don’t even want you to think about that anymore.”

“Why were you here?”

Luc shrugged. “I guess I just had a feeling you might need me.”

She laid her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Luc slid into bed behind Marisa and pulled her into his arms. He needed to feel her skin against his, the brush of her soft hair tickling his bare shoulder. He needed her reassurance as much as she needed his tonight. She may be relying on him to keep her safe, but he was relying on her to keep him sane.

When he stepped off the elevator and heard her scream, his blood ran cold. He feared Mitchell may be wielding a weapon he planned to use on her should anyone get in his way. He winced when he thought about what could have happened, how far that monster was willing to go to punish Marisa for her perceived betrayal.

She turned into him, tucking her head under his chin as she wrapped her arms around him. “You okay?”

“No.”

She tipped her head back to look into his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

He closed his eyes. “I’m the reason that bastard went ballistic tonight, Marisa. If it weren’t for me...”

She pressed her fingertips against his lips. “Ssh, don’t even think that. He’s obviously deranged, Luc. How could I have been stupid enough to trust him?” She shook her head as a tear slid down her cheek. “If anyone’s at fault, it’s me.”

He brushed at the tears slipping down her cheeks. “You had no way of knowing he would snap like that, honey. Hell, neither did I. I didn’t trust the guy, but I didn’t think he would resort to taking you by force.”

She reached up to stroke his cheek. “If you hadn’t come in when you did...”

He closed his eyes. “Ssh, I can’t even let myself go there. You’re okay; that’s all that matters.”

She burrowed into his arms, tucking the duvet under her chin. “I am now, thanks to you.” She looked up at him. “Sorry I ruined our plans for the evening.”

He chuckled. “This is exactly where I planned to end up, in bed with you. It doesn’t matter how I got here or what happens while we’re here. I just need to hold you tonight, baby.” He closed his eyes, saying a silent prayer of thanks that she was safe, that she still wanted him to be the man who kept her safe.

She kissed his chest. “Good night, Luc.”

He smiled. “I love you, Marisa.” He waited for her to respond in kind, but his declaration was met with an uncomfortable silence. He felt that cold grip of fear making his pulse pound. He realized that he may be back in her bed, but he had a long way to go before she trusted him with her heart again.

Chapter Nine

Marisa woke to a leg coiled possessively around hers and a strong arm wrapped around her mid-section. She tried to slip out of his grip, but he held her closer, burrowing his face in her neck. “I’m just gonna make us some breakfast,” she whispered.

He groaned. “Not yet, stay in bed a while longer, baby.” His hand slid up to cup her breast as he nipped her earlobe with his teeth. “Bet I could entice you.”

She knew he could. But she had no intention of giving in to him, not today. “I don’t know about you, but I need a strong cup of coffee this morning.”  

He brushed her hair back and licked the sensitive skin at the base of her collarbone. “I know what I need, and it’s not coffee.”

The phone on her bedside table rang and she suppressed a sigh of relief. “I have to get that.”

He rolled on his back and threw his forearm over his eyes. “Let it go to voicemail.”

She checked the call display. It was Trey’s number. “It’s Sierra or Trey, checking in on me. I have to get it.” She pulled the sheet up to cover her breasts as she sat up and reached for the phone. “Hello.”

“Marisa, Trey told me what happened last night. Are you okay?” Sierra asked.

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me.”

“Trey said if you need to cancel the meeting today...”

Marisa turned to Luc. She’d forgotten all about the meeting they’d scheduled to discuss the launch party for the release of Trey’s new album and twenty-six city tour. “We have a meeting at your house later today, remember?”

He groaned and reached across her to grab his Blackberry on the nightstand. “Let me call my housekeeper. I’ll have her set it up. What time were we supposed to meet again?”

“One o’clock.”

He checked his gold Rolex watch. “That should give us enough time. Okay, tell Trey we’re still on.”

“Did you hear that?” Marisa asked Sierra.

“Yeah, I’ll tell Trey. Hey, did I catch you at a bad time?”

Marisa looked at the wide expanse of Luc’s bare back as he sat on the edge of the bed, his cell phone pressed to his ear. “No, your timing was perfect.”

“Okay, if you say so. Listen, I just got off the phone with Lexi. We wanna take you to Jimmy’s tonight. After what happened last night, we thought you might need to talk.”

Marisa was so grateful to have friends who cared so much, and they were right; a little girl time might help her to put things into perspective. “Sounds great, what time?”

“Does nine work for you?”

“Perfect.”

“We’ll come by and pick you up in the limo.” She laughed. “That way we can enjoy a few cocktails without having to worry about driving home.”

Marisa sighed. “After the week I’ve had, I may need more than a few cocktails to take the edge off.” She tried to ignore Luc’s obvious curiosity as he set his phone down on the bedside table. “I’ll see you at nine, and thanks, Sierra. This is exactly what I need tonight.” She waited for her friend to disconnect the call before carefully returning the cordless phone to its cradle. She reached for the short white robe at the foot of her bed, but Luc’s hand grabbed her arm to halt her movement.

“What was that about?”

“Sierra and Lexi are taking me to Jimmy’s tonight.”

He frowned. “Are you telling me you’re going to a bar to get drunk? Why?”

She slipped her wrist out of his grasp and folded her arms over her chest. “I didn’t say anything about getting drunk. I’m just going out to have a few drinks with my friends, not that I have to explain myself to you. You’re not my husband or my boyfriend; you’re not even my lover.”

He clenched his jaw. “We just spent the night together, Marisa. I think that gives me the right to...”

“No!” she shouted. “You don’t have any rights where I’m concerned, Luc. You wanted it that way, remember?”

He reached for her, but she shot off the bed. “Marisa, get back here. We need to talk about this.”

She stalked across the room, adjusting the straps on her short silk night gown. “I don’t want to talk about this now. I’m going to Jimmy’s tonight, and if I wanna get drunk, I will.” She set her hands on her hips and turned to face him. “In fact, I’ll do whatever the hell I want, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”

He glared at her. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? What exactly do you plan to do there tonight?”

She crossed the threshold to the adjoining bathroom and turned to face him. “Anything I damn well please.” She slammed the door.

He cursed as he launched a cushion at the closed door.

Luc paced the travertine floor waiting for the rest of Trey’s team to arrive for the meeting. “I don’t get it, Trey. She’s runnin’ hot and cold. One minute she’s acting like she needs me, the next she’s telling me that what she does is none of my business.”

Trey shrugged. “I hate to say this, but it isn’t, man.”

Luc glared at him. “What?”

“You two aren’t together, Luc. You need to just chill for a while. Let her figure things out.”

Luc stalked to the bar and poured himself a glass of red wine. “You want a water or anything?”

“Nah, I’m good. But you need to go easy on that stuff. I need you to be on your game today.”

Luc savored the taste of the expensive wine on his tongue before swallowing it. “I don’t get it. What does she have to figure out? She’s wanted me forever, right? What’s changed?”

Trey shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe she’s changed. Maybe she’s tired of always being the one to pursue a relationship with you. Could be that she wants you to be the one to chase her for a change.”

Luc rolled his eyes. “I’m too old for these goddamn games, man.”

Trey scanned the messages on his phone. “I guess it just depends on how badly you want her, Spencer.”

Luc enjoyed another mouthful of wine. “Come on, you know how much I want her, Trey.”

“Don’t tell me; you’ve gotta show her.”

Luc considered his friend’s advice. He was right. After everything he’d put Marisa through, all the times he’d made her question him and his commitment to her, she had every right to demand he grovel. He could only hope she would take him back once he’d erased her doubts.

“When are you gonna tell her about Nikki?”

Luc sighed. Getting her to take him back may be the easy part. Making her understand how he could abandon his own child was going to be the hard part. “I don’t know.”

“I wouldn’t wait too long, Luc.”

He downed the rest of the glass of wine and poured another. “I can’t think about that right now, Trey. I need to tackle one problem at a time.”

Trey chuckled. “Shit, I wouldn’t wanna be in your shoes when my sister finds out you’ve got a kid you didn’t tell her about. She’s gonna lose it, man.”

Luc turned to face him, raising the wine glass to his lips. “You didn’t say anything to Sierra about this, did you?”

“No, not yet. But I’m not into keeping secrets from my wife, Luc. Not even for you.”

Luc closed his eyes, weighing his options. “Just give me a little more time, okay?” The doorbell rang and Luc crossed the foyer to answer it.

“Luc.”

He turned around to face Trey before opening the door.

Trey tapped the face of his watch. “Tick-tock, tick-tock.”

Marisa tried to focus on the business at hand, but it wasn’t easy with Luc shooting daggers through the top of her head. She’d decided to play it cool, treat him like any other business associate, but evidently he didn’t appreciate being lumped into that category. Too bad. She spent too many years treating him as though he were the center of her universe. It was time for her to claim center stage in her own life. If she chose to have a man in her life from now on, he would have to be satisfied with a supporting role.

“What do you think about that, Luc?” Avery asked, tapping her gold pen against her notepad.

He tore his gaze away from Marisa. “I’m sorry, what was that, Avery?”