Broken and Beautiful

by Ryan, Kendall

  I nodded, my heart twisting. “You turned yourself in,” I surmised.

  For a fraction of a second, he looked surprised before his features smoothed. “I did. Donato got me out until the arraignment.” He sucked in a deep breath and released it. “I’ll plead guilty, Vivian. Most of the evidence has disappeared. My confession will stand.”

  “But you didn’t do it,” I protested. “I have to find a way to prove you aren’t guilty,” I said with renewed determination.

  Daniel shook his head. “You can’t do that.”

  “Why not? I won’t let you go to prison for a murder you didn’t commit.”

  “If I get off, Donato will go down.”

  I slumped against him. “And you won’t let that happen.”

  “I can’t, Princess. I owe him my life.”

  “You shouldn’t take the fall for this. I don’t care who he is. He shouldn’t let you.”

  “If he’d known what I was doing, he wouldn’t have.” He cupped my cheek, eyes pleading with me to understand. “V, this is already hard enough. It’s what I have to do.”

  “No. I get Donato means a lot to you, but at what cost? Your freedom? Us? Muriella?”

  He dropped his gaze between us. “I’m doing this. And I’m sorry you have to pay for my past, but I can’t figure out another way. I’ve already asked too much of you, but please try to understand. Trust me.”

  I flung my arms around his neck. “I’m with you, whatever you have to do.”

  He held me tight for a minute, then untangled my arms until we were looking at one another. “You know, I owe you my life too.” I could see how torn he was between the people he loved, and it broke my heart.

  “I understand why you did what you did.” His forehead creased in disbelief. “Not the leaving me part,” I amended, giving him a stern look.

  “I’m so sorry it came to this.” And then his voice dropped to a whisper. “You know, I almost did kill him that day.”

  “What happened?” I had no idea the relationship with his father had gotten to that point.

  “He said awful things about my mother just to provoke me.” His chin dropped to his chest. “She’d had heart problems. I went to the doctor’s appointments with her.” Confusion laced his words as if he still hadn’t come to grips with what he knew. He lifted his eyes, which were glassy. “He killed her.”

  “Oh, Daniel.” I pressed his head against my chest and held him to me. “I’m so sorry.”

  “She’d probably be dead now anyway because of her condition, but…” he trailed off. So much had been taken from him, and now he was losing his freedom too. “I had my hands around his neck, but I stopped because of her. She wouldn’t have wanted me to be a killer.”

  “He deserved it, but you’re right,” I said hoarsely as I fought tears. My God, what else could happen to him?

  “After I ran out of there, I called Donato from the subway station and told him what had happened. I didn’t know what else to do,” he mumbled into my chest. “If I hadn’t, he’d have never gone there.”

  “Why did you think it was a suicide?” I couldn’t let him blame himself for things that weren’t his fault.

  “That’s what the police told me when I got home from Europe. I never looked any further into it. I didn’t care.” His face was red when he sat up, and though his eyes were haunted, they were clear.

  “Back up. Europe?”

  “Yeah. It was my first overseas trip with Donato. I left believing my father was still alive. I know now that on the day of that last confrontation, while I was waiting for Donato to meet me at the passport office, Donato was making sure my dad would never hurt me again.”

  “I know I should be sorry, but I’m not. I’m glad Donato was there for you.”

  “Me too.”

  We couldn’t seem to stop touching. His hand on my thigh. Mine on his chest. I shifted until I had my legs wrapped around his waist. It was an awkward position, but we made it work. Too much time had passed since we’d been like this. Both of us were aware that there might not be much more.

  “Vivian, I didn’t plan this for three months.”

  “But you said—”

  “I know what I said, but when you drew the conclusion, I used it to push you away. The apartment was meant to be an investment. It was a convenient excuse.” He had the decency to look ashamed.

  “I didn’t tell M about prison.”

  “We’ll do it together when she gets back from the date.”

  “How do you know where she is?” I pressed my lips together.

  He kissed my forehead. “I know everything.”

  39

  Daniel

  Present

  “On the bed. Hands on your thighs.”

  She shivered when I spoke to her back. The look she tossed at me over her shoulder had my dick pressing against my zipper. I kicked the bedroom door closed, and her steps faltered before she moved toward our mattress. She was here. The outside world had no place, so I shut it out.

  Vivian vaulted onto the mattress. Before she could do as I asked, I flipped her over and tugged her hips until her ass was on the edge of the bed and her feet dangled toward the floor. Wide-eyed, she watched as I dropped to my knees.

  “Are you asking me to marry you again?”

  I smirked. “I’ll ask as many times as I damn well please.”

  “And I’ll say yes every time.”

  I knew this was true. She amazed me. I’d fucked us all to hell, and yet she was still with me. I palmed her jean-clad calf and ran my hand up to her thigh. Touching her was like a new experience every single time. She had on too many clothes, but I’d been deprived; I refused to rush this.

  I pressed my hands into the tops of her legs to steady the slight tremble I couldn’t seem to control. My whole world was right here. Knowing what it felt like to lose her made me appreciate the gift she was all the more.

  “I can’t put my hands on my thighs if yours are there,” she whispered, completely affected along with me.

  “You don’t really want to do what I say anyway.” A husky tease laced my voice.

  She threaded her fingers through my hair. My lids shuttered, a tremor running through me at the feel of her hands on me.

  “Daniel.”

  I blinked open and looked up at her. She was seduction and strength. The reason for every breath I took.

  “We’re home, Princess.” Her eyes glassed over, and I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “I’m sorry I hurt you, Vivian.”

  “We’re here now. That’s all that matters.” She massaged my scalp with her fingernails, and I rested my head in her lap. I clung to her like a child instead of a full-grown man.

  I couldn’t inhale enough of her scent. Her smell was sweet, so familiar. She eased all the parts of me that were in knots. “I know you touched yourself on my pillow.” Her fingers stilled. “I hid it from Muriella so I could sleep on it.”

  She resumed, and I tightened my hold on her.

  “I couldn’t let you forget me.”

  I smiled at the steel in her tone and looked up at her. “Not a chance. I can’t erase my soul.”

  I cradled her foot and traced around the edge of her slipper. Those slippers transported me back to the beginning, but Vivian captivated me even more now, which seemed impossible.

  I slipped them off of her feet, reverently placing them near the foot of the bed.

  Her lips curved up. “Will those be going back on?”

  “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

  She leaned back on her palms as if in no hurry to find out. Her puckered nipples stabbing at her shirt and throbbing pulse at the base of her neck betrayed that she was as eager as I was.

  “I like this look. You on your knees before me,” she said saucily.

  “That’s nothing new.” I trailed my fingers up her slender legs until they reached the button of her jeans. She lifted off the mattress as I unfastened them. I easily took her jeans and panties to
her ankles in one swift movement.

  The sight of her bare and the scent of her arousal made me lose control. My motions were jerky as I stripped her pants and flung them behind me. I shoved her knees apart and buried my face between her thighs.

  “There is no substitute for this.”

  “I should think not.” Her voice was breathy as she fisted the comforter.

  I cupped her ass and dragged her to the edge of the mattress. Unable to wait a moment longer, I pressed kisses along her lower lips. Her stomach contracted. She fought to stay still, failing miserably when I licked up the swollen seam of her cunt.

  “So pretty,” I praised, and her skin flushed.

  I slipped my tongue inside of her as my fingers dug into her ass. She thrust her hips toward my face with every stroke. Her hands found my head once again and held me exactly where she wanted me.

  “I’m not letting you come like this,” I warned her. She moaned, her fingers screwing more tightly into my hair. Our eyes met. “You’ll wait until I’m inside of you.” I nipped her clit, and her hips bucked. “Your pussy needs my cock to squeeze.” The thought had me close to exploding in my pants.

  I licked once more before I stood, taking her with me. I had to keep my hands on her. She tangled her limbs around me, but I loosened her arms and tore her shirt over her head. I fumbled with her bra clasp. She ripped my shirt open. Her nails tracked down my chest. I hissed. Vivian set every nerve in my body on fire.

  Giving up on the clasp, I tore the delicate lace between the cups and snapped the straps so that she wouldn’t have to stop touching me. The garment fell to the floor. I sucked in a breath at the sight of her.

  Dusky nipples begged me to put my mouth on them. I latched on, kneading her ass as I sucked on the already stiff peaks. She writhed against my straining cock, those sharp nails now digging into the back of my neck.

  “I need you.” The desperation in her voice gave me pause. I looked up at her beneath heavy lids as I grazed her taught nipple. Her need poured from every part of her body. Mine matched hers pound for pound.

  My lips found hers. “I need you more.”

  Her breath hitched. I wasn’t just talking about physically. This woman understood me better than I did myself. Because she was me.

  “Daniel. Too many clothes.” She shoved my shirt off of my shoulders, but it hung at my elbows.

  “Wall or bed?”

  A flicker of surprise flashed across her face that I’d given her an option. “Both.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  I laid her down on the bed, marveling at her naked body spread out before me. All mine. I shed my shirt, toed off my shoes and socks, but when my hands went for my belt buckle, she shot to her knees and batted me away.

  “I want the honors.” She licked her lips as her eyes swept across my chest and down my abdomen. How could just a look make me feel like a man? That’s what she did to me.

  I threaded my fingers through her silky dark locks, mesmerized as she unfastened my slacks and shoved them to the floor. I stepped out of them. Her hands rested on my chest as mine tangled in her hair. We stared at one another, so much spoken without a word.

  Vivian jumped into my arms, wrapped her legs around my body once more. “Wall. God, I want the wall.” I stalked until her back was against the bedroom door. “I love how powerful you are when you fuck me standing up,” she rasped.

  I pressed against her, fueled by her words. “Feel what you do to me.”

  She touched my chest. “We’re one heart, D. I can’t not feel what you do.”

  With one swift thrust, I impaled her against the door.

  Her walls were like velvet, snug around my shaft. I stayed buried to the hilt and relished the feeling of being home. She shattered every barrier I’d ever put up. I felt so much, alive and lighter…things I couldn’t put into words. Vivian gave me that.

  I withdrew and pushed inside once more. She clung to me, her head back in ecstasy. I pumped at a frantic pace as she stripped the last of my control. I put that look on her face. I brought her pleasure. She wanted me. Only me.

  The door rattled in its frame from the force with which I took her. I was possessed, fucking her until sweat slicked our skin and fused us together. The high I experienced as she screamed my name was unparalleled. Her walls clamped around me, intent to keep me inside. But she was soaked. I easily stroked in and out of her. All of my blood pooled in my cock. My body was taught, coiling toward release. I fought it. This had to last.

  I gritted my teeth. She nipped at my bottom lip, refusing to make this easy on me. Tremors pulsed where we were connected. I thought they were the beginnings of Vivian’s orgasm, but realized it was me.

  “I’ve-missed-you-D,” she said between breaths.

  “Show me,” I grated, holding my tip at her entrance. I had to slow down. Couldn’t come before she did.

  “Let go.”

  I slammed home. Vivian screamed my name again. Her wet heat convulsed around my shaft. She clawed at my neck. The sharp sting sent me over. I held her as deep as I could go. Fire raced up my spine. I roared my release, her name on my lips as I buried my face in her neck. Her legs tightened around my waist even as she sagged against me. Sharp, heaving pants escaped me. She was holding me up as much as I was her.

  When I finally lifted my head, her eyes sparkled, and I vowed that no matter what happened, somehow I’d keep that look on her face for the rest of our lives.

  “Bed now?” she smirked.

  I kissed the tip of her nose. “I promised both, didn’t I?”

  40

  Vivian

  Present

  I couldn’t sleep, even in Daniel’s arms. There was so little I knew about the circumstances surrounding the murder of his father, yet my brain refused to shut down. I mourned the loss of what the shredded autopsy had contained that might have been of use. Something to exonerate Daniel, and maybe in the process, Donato too. Although, from what I gathered, clearing the truly guilty party might prove difficult.

  There had to be something else. Some way to end this nightmare so we could get back to our life…together.

  I wouldn’t even entertain the notion of Daniel going to prison for any length of time. We didn’t have long to come up with evidence to clear him. He had the best lawyer money could buy. But none of that mattered if his defense implicated Donato.

  I inched toward the edge of the mattress, and Daniel scooped me back against him. His breathing was even. Not even in his sleep would he let me go.

  Gently, I lifted his hand to my lips and pressed a soft kiss to his skin. It was surreal to be home. I nuzzled his hand, just to be sure he was real. He was warm to the touch. His pulse point throbbed a steady beat in his wrist.

  “I love you,” I whispered, kissing two of my fingers and touching his hair.

  My second attempt to escape the bed was successful. I felt around on the floor with my foot until my toe caught on his shirt. I picked it up and slipped it on my shoulders once I was in the hallway. On soft steps, I padded to his study, though I wasn’t certain what I was looking for or where to start.

  I flipped the switch on the wall just inside the door, and dim light glowed from the tray ceiling. Hands on my hips, I surveyed the room. Daniel’s organizational system was all his own. The extent of my knowledge was that it was ordered. Immaculate was probably a better term.

  “You’re in here. I know it,” I mused. The key to getting him out of this was somewhere in this room. All I had to do was figure out what and where the hell it might be.

  At a loss, I moved to the closet where I’d found the rogue file in the first place. Maybe I’d luck out again. I snorted. I didn’t need luck. I needed a miracle.

  I stood in the center of the space and looked up the shelves to the ceiling. Twenty feet up provided a lot of room for boxes of files. Each one had a series of numbers that might as well have been a foreign language. I couldn’t decipher a date from the sets of digits. So many combinations co
uld have been months or years or hell, combinations to a padlock.

  There was one thing I was certain of, though. “This requires music.”

  I knew where the tape player was. I stooped down to grab it from the shelf where it was neatly stored.

  “What are you doing, Princess?”

  I fumbled the tape player, catching it just before it hit the floor. Spinning, I clutched it to my chest. Daniel leaned against the door frame, laughing to himself.

  “You could’ve cleared your throat. Or bumped into a table. Flicked the lights,” I huffed, and he grinned. “Don’t give me that look. You scared the shit out of me.”

  I pressed my lips together, and Daniel ran his thumb along the seam. I shivered. His eyes darkened.

  “You’re not distracting me.” I poked my finger into his bare chest. Damn, he was solid. “Have you been working out more?” I covered his mouth with my hand. “Never mind. Don’t answer that.”

  He nipped my palm with his teeth. I dropped my hand to my hip.

  “At least put a shirt on.” He didn’t move, but I grabbed his hand. “Forget that too. That was a stupid thing to say. Don’t ever let me repeat that.”

  Daniel’s lips twitched. “I could just take mine back.” He looked pointedly at the shirt I was wearing.

  “Can’t have it.” I held the tape player out to him. “Mind plugging this in? Please.”

  His gaze was heavy-lidded. “That could be arranged.” He pushed his index finger against his lips.

  “I said please.” I picked up his free hand and wrapped his fingers around the old device. “I’m looking for something.”

  “What?”

  I shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know.”

  My shoulders sagged, and Daniel pulled me against him, kissing the top of my head. “Let’s go back to bed.”

  “I can’t sleep.”

  He kissed me again. “Then I guess we’re on a mission,” he said, resigned. He took the tape player and moved toward a plug in his office. I turned back around, looking at the boxes again.