Touched (15 page)

“SURPRISE!” Tabbie jumps into the doorway, her arms spread wide with a huge smile on her face.

I look at her, at Jade, back and forth until I’m a little dizzy, then finally landing on Jade again and stopping myself. “What’s going on?” My eyes squint at her as her beautiful face brightens and glows. “What have my two girls been up to behind my back?” Jade looks over at Tabbie, her smile growing even wider and then back at me. My cheek is wet after Tabbie runs over and kisses it, then sits down next to Jade, throwing her arm over Jade’s shoulder, Jade smiles at her and wraps her arm around Tabbie as well. “Ok, you all are scaring me a little here.”

Their laughter fills the room that never really had very much of it when we lived here. Finally, Tabbie releases Jade and settles down. Jade reaches over and takes both of my hands. “Tabbie agreed to live in my apartment so I can move in with you. I think she and Amber will get along great and will become fast friends. It’s perfect!”

My chair crashes to the floor when I stand quickly, picking her up in my arms as her legs sweep around my waist, her ankles locking, and I swing her around the room, her giggles quieted by my mouth over her luscious lips. I stop turning us, removing my mouth from hers hesitantly, but not letting her down as I look into her wide eyes. “My day went from happy to sad, to relief to feeling love and then to exhilarated in overwhelming happiness. I can’t even tell you what this means to me. I’m… I can’t…” She takes a hand from around my neck and presses a finger to my lips shutting up my blabbering.

“I love you. You don’t have to say anything more. I can’t imagine one day or night without you ever again.” Her lips replace her finger and there is so much love in just this one kiss that it fills my heart completely.

“Um! Sister over here?” We turn our heads together, our lips slowly leaving each other’s as we stare at Tabbie waving like a lunatic. “Well, at least being in my own apartment I won’t have to put up seeing you two lovebirds as much.” She rolls her eyes, stands and leaves the kitchen.

We look back at each other and burst out laughing. I kiss her gorgeous lips, savoring a few minutes of alone time and then just look at her. “You’ve made me the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. You’ve ‘touched’ my heart like no other. I love you, my Angel.”

C
HAPTER
E
LEVEN

We spent the rest of that evening making love. The next two days were filled with packing up everything Tabbie wanted to keep and now we’re sitting on the jet getting ready to takeoff. I’m squeezing the hell out of Knox’s hand as he and Tabbie carry on a conversation.

“Great! I’ll call the movers tomorrow and schedule to have Jade’s things picked up and brought to our apartment the same day your things arrive.” My head turns to him, and I watch his lips move as he speaks. Our apartment. My heart starts beating even more wildly than it was from the fear of taking off, but this time it’s because I’m excited, so happy and extremely nervous. I’ve never lived with anyone before. No one. And I’ve only stayed the night with him a few times, yet I’ve become so comfortable so quickly. But what if I need some space, what if I need a place to think, what if…

“Penny for your thoughts, sweetheart.” My eyes snap back into focus when I hear his voice. “You were in such deep thought. Are you ok? Is it your stomach again?”

I cover our clasped hands with my other hand and smile. “I’m good. Just happy.” He leans over and kisses me then looks at me with such love in his eyes that my heart skips a beat.

“Good. I want nothing but happiness for you. I can’t wait to have you all to myself.” He smiles as he winks and then looks back over at Tabbie, who’s giving us her evil eye for kissing in front of her again. When I turn my head to look out the window, I realize we’re in the air, noting that with the distraction, I didn’t even notice the takeoff.

The flight wasn’t as hard on me this time, but the paparazzi was worse when we deplaned than it was in Pennsylvania.

“So who’s the new whore, Knox?”

“Eh, you’ll be gone tomorrow. Get everything you can today!”

“Who’s the new flavor today, Knox?”

“Prettiest one you’ve had yet.”

“Good choice. I think this one’s a keeper!”

“Hey, Jade! Good catch! Try and keep ahold of this one! Wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to him.”

My eyes snapped over to the man who made the last remark. However, I can’t make him out clearly with all the flashes going off and the crowd of people, but I keep trying to look as I’m ushered into the limo. As we begin to pull away the man steps out in front of everyone. My hand clasps over my mouth, so I don’t expel everything that’s in my stomach. Knox looks over at me then out the back window, returning his eyes to mine as his arm tightens around me and his show of concern is understandable.

“Angel? Who is that? Do you recognize him? A name?”

My eyes close as flashbacks run through my eyes. Newspaper, death threats, yelling, crying, despair… Rape. When I open them, my head is in Knox’s lap, my breathing erratic and muffled sounds of talking.

“Breathe slow, Jade. RAPLH PULL OVER! It’s ok, Angel. Just take slow, deep breaths. I’ve got you, you’re safe.” The sound of Knox’s voice becomes clearer as I start to take slower breaths, but my stomach is still queasy. My body jerks as the car stops abruptly. I look up at the Knox, whose face is full of worry, and his hand is stroking my head as he looks into my eyes. My chin won’t stop quivering as tears leak from the corners of my eyes.

“Home,” I choke out.

“Are you sure? Maybe we should wait a few more minutes. You were starting to hyperventilate,” he asks as he presses his fingers against my wet cheek. All I can do is nod. “Ralph, get us home quickly.” My eyes look over at Ralph, who nods and then turns. My body jerks again from the sudden movement of the car. I close my eyes and pray that my past nightmare isn’t resurfacing, not now, not ever. “We’re on our way home, love. Just hang on for me.” I close my eyes again and just try to concentrate on his fingers running through my hair, his warm body pressing against me, the movement of the car and the sound of his loving voice.

“What?” I jump as I’m lifted into Knox’s arms.

“Shhh. Go back to sleep, sweetheart. I’ve got you.”

Laying my head back down onto his chest my eyes close as I listen to the soothing sound of his heartbeat.

“I don’t give a shit! Just do it!” There’s a pause and I hear him pacing the floor. “Fuck!”

My eyes open slowly and see him walking back and forth in front of the coffee table. I notice I’m lying on the couch, so I move to a sitting position and rub the sleep from my eyes. “Knox?” He stops abruptly turns, then walks quickly over to me, kneeling down in front of me, his hand gently stroking my cheek and such concern in his eyes. “What’s going on? Who was that?”

“Hey, everything’s fine. Nothing for you to worry your pretty head about. I’m taking care of it. How are you feeling? Better?” I take a deep breath, swallowing hard and he turns a bit, reaches for a bottled water and untwists the cap, handing the drink to me. I chug almost half the bottle before I remove it from my lips.

“Knox, be honest with me. Please, don’t keep anything from me. I… I couldn’t take that. I have to know.” My eyes search his, and I can tell he’s struggling whether to confess to me or not what’s going on. Finally, he lets out a sigh, shaking his head slightly. “You found out his name, that newspaper reporter. Didn’t you? You know.”

He lowers his head, his eyes closing as he takes some deep breaths, but when he opens them again all I see is love, no pity. “Yes. Peter Newman. I know.”

His hand falls from my face as I stand. He doesn’t move as I walk over to the front window and peek through the blinds. “He covered everything when I was raped. He’s a cruel and heartless son of a bitch. A friend of my parents. They couldn’t continue to have their names soiled so they hired him to help drag my name in the mud for them. I asked for sex. There was no rape. The miscarriage. It was a welcome relief for my family, he wrote.” I turn around to face him and see the wetness in his eyes and a look of shock. “I ran, fast. My family had already disowned me. I couldn’t show my face anywhere without being ridiculed. My life was over there. I only had one friend my entire life and I hadn’t seen him since he moved away when I was very young, so I had no one to help me.” I look back out through the blinds again as my past catches up to me. “I lived in the streets. Found food in restaurant garbage cans and slept in alleys. I swore no man would ever have me again, ever. Finally, after several weeks I found the strip club, they took pity on me and hired me.”

“The reason for your rules.”

My head swings around at his voice and I smiled sadly. “Yes. No sex, never again.” I started to walk towards him as he starts to rise, but he quickly embraced me before I could get very far.

“I love you, Jade. You remind me so much of… Never mind. Just know that you have me now. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

My arms move around his neck, my head on his shoulder, and I intend never to let go.

“Knox, this is silly. What are you up to?” Without saying a word, he leads me blindfolded, and I follow as quietly as I can and a little nervous with not being able to see, but I trust him. We finally stop, and he removes the blindfold. I blink a few times and gaze upon an empty room. I turn my head to him in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

He leads me into the middle of the giant room. “This is your room to do whatever you want to do.” He turns to me, taking my other hand, and we stand there gazing into each other’s eyes and holding hands. “I want you to have a place that’s yours, somewhere you can be alone when needed, a place to spend time doing whatever your heart desires.” Leaning closer he kisses my nose then leans back. “I want you to feel like this apartment is your home.” I don’t think I could love this man any more than I do right at this moment.

“This is so sweet and so special. Thank you.” I lean into him and we turn as I look around.

“What do you see for this room?” He releases the hand he’s still holding, walks to the window next to a set of French doors and opens the blinds. Since this is the penthouse, we’re really high up but when I walk closer to him, look out the window and then look down I gasp. “Your own garden that you can nurture, add to or rip it all out and start over if you want. It’s yours.”

Two steps out the doors is a beautiful garden with cement seats that surround a cement table, an umbrella in the middle and a couple of other chairs placed around the beautiful paths of flowers. I throw my arms around his neck as I turn into him, my mouth crushing his so hard that I feel as if I bruised them. “Damn. If I knew I was going to get this kind of reaction I would have done it right after I first got you to my apartment.” We both laugh as he leads me outside. There’s a warm breeze and from here no one can take our pictures without our consent. It’s perfect.

“Ok, so what do you see for your new special place?” I turn around, his arms are around my waist, my hands covering them as I lean back against his chest.

I sigh. “Out here? I wouldn’t change a thing but I would love taking care of it.” Turning my head, I kiss him quickly, then look back out at the garden. “In the room? I want to paint the walls, get a big rug for the floor, get bookcases to line the walls and my big comfy chairs with my small table into between them and a tall reading lamp that I have, so I can read and relax.”

I look up at him, and he’s smiling at me. “Done.” His mouth finds mine, and I’m lost in him. I don’t know what I ever did to deserve this amazing and wonderful man, but I thank God for him.

Once he measured the walls in my room, we spent the next hour on his computer looking at shops that are close for the perfect bookcases. We found the perfect ones, and he called to order them demanding they be delivered by this evening. After paying an extreme amount of money they agreed. My things arrived a few hours later, and I spent most of the rest of the day going through boxes while Knox worked in his home office. I literally had to threaten him to let me do it myself, so he finally relented to give me a little bit of alone time. A few of the boxes I hadn’t gone through since I moved into my apartment. I sat on the floor and pulled out my old high school yearbook, several pictures of when I was younger and my baby album. I set those aside to look through at another time. I’m exhausted and want to get cleaned up before dinner.

When I finally arrived in the kitchen, I’m stunned when I see the lights are dimmed. The table is set for two and almost looks like a picture out of a posh magazine. There are lit candles on the table next to a bottle of chilled wine. The warm feeling of his body moves in behind me as he encases me in his arms, and his teeth are nibbling on my upper ear, careful of my diamond earrings. One of his hands makes its way to my breast, cupping it over my shirt and bra but enhances the feelings stirring within me. “Mmmm,” I moan, his fingers tweaking my nipple as his other hand rubs over my stomach.

“Are you hungry?” he whispers in my ear. I turn around, my fingers immediately threading through his hair as my mouth crushes against his. “Mmmm,” his moan is quiet as his tongue roams into my open mouth, gliding with mine.