Slow Burn: A Colorado High Country Novel (13 page)

Just tell him.

He came up behind her, rested his big hands on her shoulders. “You know I would never let anyone hurt you, right?”

“Yeah.” She turned off the water, set the glass down, not thirsty anyway. “It’s not what you think.”

Eric’s voice was soft, reassuring. “I know someone hurt you. I don’t know what he did, but I can tell it’s still with you.”

How could he tell that? How could he know?

She turned, almost in his arms, then pushed past him, walking to the sofa and sinking into the cushions. “God, I can’t even …”

He came to sit beside her, angling his body so that he faced her, his arm stretching across the back of the sofa behind her. “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to tell me, but if you think telling me will help you, I’m here.”

What did it matter anyway? She was leaving on Sunday.

She steeled herself, drew a breath. “I met Stewart in a night club just before Halloween. I was there celebrating with a coworker who’d just gotten a promotion. Some guy started hitting on me and wouldn’t back off. Stewart came over and dragged the guy to the security desk. They threw the jerk out. I thought Stewart was a hero.

“I saw him again a couple of weeks later at a work mixer. We started talking. I thanked him for standing up to that idiot. He asked me out. He was good-looking and funny, and he’d protected me at the night club. So I said yes.”

She fought to control her emotions, not wanting Eric to see her fall apart, which she did every time she talked about this. She was surprised she wasn’t already in tears. Perhaps telling his mother just a few days ago was making it easier to tell him. “Our first few dates were incredibly romantic. He said all the right things, did all the right things. On our third date, we ended up at his house. The sex was really disappointing, but I figured it was just me. I’ve never had it as easy as Lexi.”

“As easy with what?” He looked confused.

God, was he going to make her spell it out? “You know … climaxing.”

One dark eyebrow arched, disbelief on his face. “Really?”

Heat flooded her cheeks when she realized what he must be remembering. “Well, with one exception, I guess.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to take you off on a tangent. So you had a few dates with this guy, had sex with him, and it wasn’t fireworks.”

Now she’d come to the hard part, the part that still hurt.

“We’d been together for a few weeks when I came home from work to find him in my bed with a tall blond woman. I hadn’t given him a key, but I was so shocked by seeing him having sex with her in
my
bed that it didn’t occur to me he shouldn’t even be there. The two of them didn’t stop. They kept going and laughed when they saw me.”

“How did the bastard get in?”

“The police say he’d duplicated my key while I was sleeping.”

But that wasn’t the worst thing he done—far from it.

* * *

E
ric fought
to keep his temper in check. Victoria didn’t need his anger. What she needed was to be heard and understood. “What a son of a bitch!”

Okay, so he’d lost that battle already.

“He and his
lover
finished and walked out of my bedroom. The woman said, ‘Oh, look at her face! She thought the two of you had something real.’ She called me a stupid bitch and told me I’d never meant anything to Stewart.”

“Stewart turned on my television, and on the screen ...” Her words faded into silence, tears filling her eyes.

“It’s okay.” Eric wanted to hold her, but he wasn’t sure how she’d feel about that. “You’re safe here with me.”

She found her voice again, seeming to fight for every word. “He’d made a video … of the two of us having sex. He’d made it without my knowledge or consent. It showed …
everything
.”

“
Jesus!
” That was not what Eric had been expecting her to say.

Tears spilled down her cheeks. “He told me the video was already online along with some photos and my contact information advertising my services as a call girl. If I wanted him to take it down, I needed to give him fifty thousand dollars. He told me that if I called the police and got him arrested, the tape and all my information would automatically go live on other sites around the world.”

And it all made sense—what that guy had said to her in Buena Vista, the conversation Eric had overheard when she was talking with his mother, how she’d responded when he’d told her she was beautiful.

A lot of good it’s ever done me.

Son of a bitch!

Eric had heard of men doing things like this—putting up revenge porn to get back at women who’d divorced or broken up with them. He was glad he already knew that this story ended with Stewart’s ass sitting in prison. Otherwise, he’d be making plans to hunt the bastard down.

He did his best to keep the anger out of his voice. “Did you call the police?”

She shook her head, regret written on every feature of her face. “I panicked. I wasn’t thinking straight. My phone started ringing almost right away. I got text messages and emails from men who said repulsive things. I was terrified that one of them would show up at the office or my front door. I was afraid my father or my boss would find out. So I promised Stewart I’d get him the money the next day.”

She cast him a furtive glance, as if afraid to look into his eyes. “You probably think I’m an idiot, don’t you?”

The self-doubt in her eyes put an ache in his chest.

“That wasn’t your best move, but you’re not an idiot. Nothing prepares a person for a situation like that.”

“I felt so …
violated
. He lied to me. Every minute I was with him was a lie. Every kiss, every word he said—all lies. He used me—for sex, for money—and I fell for it. How could I have been so stupid?”

“Hey, now.” Eric gave her hand another squeeze, wanting so badly to hold her. “You didn’t
let
him do any of that. He’s a predator. He played into your hopes and expectations. That’s what criminals like him do. You couldn’t have known that.”

She sniffed, shrugged. “There were little signs. His attitude toward me went from hot to cold for no reason. He was vague about his job. The way he positioned himself during sex—he had to stay out of the way of the camera, didn’t he?”

The image that flashed into Eric’s head sickened him.

Christ.

Victoria reached for a tissue, wiped her eyes. “The next day, I called in sick, then changed my email address, my phone numbers, and the locks on my doors. I went to the bank and took the money out of my trust fund. Stewart told me to meet him at the Wicker Park fountain and reminded me that if I had him arrested, more stuff would go up online. He said a friend of his would be there to take the money from me. When I asked him how I’d recognize his friend, he just laughed and said the guy would recognize me. I knew then that he’d shown the tape and the images to his friends. But it was worse than that.

“When I got there, the man waiting for me was the same man who’d hit on me at the nightclub.”

E
ric didn’t
like where this was going.

Tears filled her eyes again. “He walked up to me with a mean grin on his face, took the money, then looked me up and down and said he wished he’d had Stewart’s job in this little caper because he would’ve loved to fuck me. I threw up in the bushes.”

Eric felt his teeth grind.

The entire thing had been a setup from the beginning.

“A month or so later, I got an email from Stewart again. It turns out he knew my brother from rugby and had gotten my new email address from him. I clicked on the email, and there was the video again. He said it would go live unless I gave him two million six hundred dollars by the next afternoon.”

“Where did he expect you to get that kind of money?” If someone tried to blackmail Eric, they’d be so screwed.

“That was the exact amount in my trust fund—information he’d gotten from my brother, who has never apologized, by the way.”

What the hell was wrong with her brother?

“Did you pay that asshole again?”

“No. I got angry.”

“Good.”

“I realized it would never end as long as he thought he could get more money from me. I called my father and told him what had happened. He went crazy and shouted at me over the phone.”

Now Eric understood why she wasn’t close with her family—a brother who gave away her private information, a father whose first reaction to a predator committing a crime against her was to yell
at her
, and a mother who had apparently abandoned her for Italian men. “Didn’t he do anything to help you?”

“Oh, yes, he did—when he finished yelling. He called a friend of his in the district attorney’s office. They called the Chicago police, who worked with me to set up a sting. I took the money to a deli on the Riverwalk like Stewart told me to. This time, the woman showed up, the one I’d caught him having sex with at my condo. I was wearing a wire and got her on tape telling me that Stewart’s having sex with me had just been a business transaction. I told her to tell him that I wouldn’t pay them another dime. She said I would do whatever they told me to do. She said I should think of it as a tax on stupid.”

Eric opened his mouth to say something supportive, but his temper got the better of him—again. “What a fucking bitch!”

“Police arrested her when she walked out of the deli. She fell apart and ratted out Stewart and the other guy. They had what they needed to arrest Stewart on a bunch of felonies—extortion, breaking into my apartment, nonconsensual dissemination of sexual images and some other stuff. They confiscated a bunch of flash drives, his cameras, and his computer and took the websites down. He got four years in prison, but he’ll probably be out in two.”

“Did you have to face him in court?” Eric could only imagine what a nightmare that must have been.

“No, thank God. He made a plea deal. I was afraid it was going to blow up in the newspapers, and then everyone would know. In Illinois, taping someone without their consent is considered a form of sexual assault, so the newspapers respected my privacy. I had to tell my boss just in case. She was more understanding than my father.”

Well, that gave Eric one reason not to hate the woman.

“Stewart had always worn condoms, but I got tested for STDs anyway—twice. Thank God I was okay. But I had nightmares for months. I still do once in a while. I didn’t feel safe at home, so I sold my condo and rented a place on the other side of town. I don’t like being in public because I’m afraid someone will recognize me.”

And now that had finally happened.

Shit.

“Every time my phone buzzes, I get a sick feeling. Even all these months later, some part of me thinks it’s him.”

So that’s why she jumped every time her phone made a sound. It wasn’t her boss. It was a post-traumatic response. “Ah, honey. God, I’m so sorry.”

“I haven’t been with anyone since then—no dates, not even a kiss …” Her gaze shot to his, a blush rising in her cheeks. “Well, until you.”

He could only imagine how hard it must be for her to trust men—or to trust herself—after that nightmare. “Kissing me brought it all back for you, didn’t it?”

She shook her head. “It was the lens on your computer. I opened my eyes, and it was staring straight at me. My mind knew it wasn’t recording, but I just…”

He understood now. “Your body reacted.”

“Now you know. Do you think I’m an idiot?”

“Come here.” He reached for her.

She slipped easily into his arms, rested her head on his chest.

And for a time, all he did was hold her.

* * *

T
elling Eric
the whole story had left Vic feeling drained, but also strangely free. Until tonight, the only person who’d known outside her own family was Lexi. Well, and his mother and Abigail. Given the way her father and brother had reacted, she’d been afraid to tell anyone else. She didn’t want to be branded as the woman in the sex tape.

But Eric hadn’t blamed her or berated her. There’d been no judgment in his eyes or in anything he’d said. He’d seemed genuinely sorry that this terrible thing had happened to her. He’d even gotten angry on her behalf.

God, that had felt good.

Now his cheek rested against the top of her head, both arms around her as if she were precious to him, as if he truly cared. Lexi had warned her he didn’t play for keeps, but this felt real to her.

That’s what you thought about Stewart.

Yes, but Stewart had deceived her, lied to her, deliberately misled her. Eric didn’t have a deceptive bone in his body.

How she wished she could go back to that moment Sunday night when he’d been kissing her right here on this sofa. He’d made her come so fast, and they hadn’t really been having sex. She would keep her eyes closed this time, and they wouldn’t stop.

Then again, what was keeping her from picking up where they’d left off?

He’s Austin’s best friend.

Every time she came back to Scarlet, she’d see him. If he
did
meet someone and settle down, she’d see that, too. How would that make her feel?

She wouldn’t like it, but she would hate it if she went back to Chicago without seeing where this attraction could carry them.

You made yourself a promise.

Yes, and, God in Heaven, it was time she broke it.

She turned her face to his, slid her fingers into his hair, and kissed him.

He did a quick little intake of breath, his body tensing, his lips answering hers, the contact sending a jolt of heat through her. All too soon, he broke the kiss. “You need to get some sleep. You’ve got a date with a pizza tomorrow morning.”

She’d almost forgotten that. “Please stay.”

He looked straight into her eyes, those blue irises dark. “I don’t want to push you into anything you’re not ready for.”

She had only one answer to that. “I want you.”

His body tensed again, but still, he kept his distance. He tugged on the front of his T-shirt. “I got pretty sweaty at the rock gym and haven’t had a shower since.”

“I like the way you smell—but if you want to shower, the walk-in shower in my bathroom is big enough for two.” Then she remembered he’d taken a shower here once before. “Oh. You already know that.”

Pulse skipping at the thought of what she was about to do, she stood and began to undress, taking off her tank top, then her bra, and then her shorts until she stood in front of him almost naked.

His gaze moved over her, his expression unreadable, a muscle tensing in his jaw. “Just so you know…I can see your panties.”

“It’s different if they’re
on
me.” What didn’t he understand?

Then it struck her that maybe he didn’t want to be with her. Maybe hearing about Stewart and the sex tape had turned him off. “If you’re not interested, I—”

“Not interested?” In a heartbeat, he was on his feet. “Is that what you think?”

He didn’t wait for her answer, his hand sliding into her hair, his lips coming down hard on hers. He kissed her slow and deep, his heat enfolding her, the things he was doing with his lips and tongue making her knees go weak.

God, no man on earth kissed like this.

He slowed the kiss, drew back from her, looked into her eyes. “Once we cross this bridge, there’s no going back.”

She finished the speech for him. “It’s just sex. I know. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Oh, but it does, Victoria.” He touched his forehead to hers, his lips wet from kissing her. “This won’t be a business transaction. It won’t be casual. There won’t be any cell phones or cameras or computers. It’s going to be personal and real—just you and me. We’re both going to remember it for the rest of our lives. Is that what you want?”

“
God, yes.
”

One corner of his mouth quirked in a grin. “Show me that shower.”

She led him to the bathroom. “Voilà.”

He yanked his T-shirt over his head, took his wallet out of his pocket, and pulled out a small aluminum case. “Condoms.”

Then he reached for his fly.

“Let me.” She reached out, unbuttoned his jeans and …

Oh. God!

He wasn’t wearing underwear.

His erection sprang free of the denim, jutting upward from a nest of dark curls, the sight of it making her belly clench.

She grew wet just looking at him.

He shucked the jeans, a grin on his face. “You’re staring.”

She took him into her hand, making the muscles of his belly jerk. She stroked him from base to tip, aroused and intrigued by the velvet-hard feel of him. “That’s only because you’re so …
small
.”

He wasn’t small at all, and he knew it.

He grinned, the heat in his eyes sending a shiver through her. “You know what they say. The best things come in small packages.”

He reached past her into the shower and turned on the hot water.

* * *

E
ric used
the few seconds it took to set the water temperature to slow himself down, taking deep belly breaths. He remembered what she’d said—that it wasn’t easy for her to come. Well, he was going to do his part to change that for her. “Let me know if this is too hot.”

He turned around just in time to see her tuck her panties behind a stack of clean towels and might have teased her about it if his gaze hadn’t landed on the perfection that was her ass. Then she turned to face him, and he stood there for a moment, dumbstruck by the sight of her—those full breasts with their dark nipples, her narrow waist and gently rounded belly, her full hips, the triangle of dark curls between her thighs.

“God, Victoria, you’re …
beautiful
.” He held out both hands for her, drew her under the spray with him.

She reached for the soap. “Now I don’t have to be jealous.”

“Jealous?” What reason could she possibly have to feel jealous?

She smiled at him from beneath those long lashes. “I had a fantasy where I was your soap.”

He laughed, spread his arms wide, offering himself to her. “I’m yours to lather.”

She started with his chest, soapy hands sliding slowly over his wet skin, her fingers teasing his nipples until they were hard. Next, she moved down his belly, exploring his abs, lavishing special attention on his obliques, pure female desire on her face. Then she dropped to her knees before him, her soapy fingers cupping his balls and tickling his inner thighs before closing at last around his cock.

She stroked him from base to aching tip, soap making her hand glide easily over him. He fought to hold his hips still, willed his body to relax. But, God, she was good at this. Unless she wanted to end things before they really got going...

He caught her wrists, drew her to her feet, trading places with her, water rinsing his body clean. He pried the soap from her hand, set it in its porcelain dish. “My turn.”

She stood with her back to the spray, her breathing rapid, her skin flushed with arousal, her dark hair hanging in wet tendrils over her nipples.

He lifted the wet mass of her hair out of the way and wrapped an arm around her to steady her, then lowered his mouth to an already puckered nipple and indulged himself, sucking, nipping it with his teeth, tasting it with his tongue.