by Melody Anne
“I’ve already said this to you numerous times, Jewell. I want you, and I won’t change my mind.”
The steel in his voice told her that he was speaking the truth, and the anxiety in her stomach told her the same thing. He wasn’t going to back down from this — not unless it was his idea.
“You aren’t really giving me a choice and you know it.”
“I’ve told you what I want and expect, Jewell. Anyway, you’re not for sale, because you’ve already been sold — to me. But because I’m such a stand-up guy, I’ll let you think about it.” With those words, he took a step toward her. She stepped back in fear, but then he turned away, leaving the way wide open for her to make a quick exit.
Was this a trap? She wouldn’t put it past him. She was afraid that if she went to the door, he’d strike like a python and swallow her whole.
Moving quickly, she yanked open the door and had taken a step toward freedom when she felt his fingers grip her arm. Yep. She’d been right to think he wouldn’t release her that quickly. She also knew she had no real power left to resist him.
“Something to remind you of what we have together,” he said before his lips descended and he was kissing her breath away again. When she swayed toward him, he released her. “We’re good together, Jewell. That was just a reminder. We both know that in the end you’ll bend to my will, but if you need to fight this to make yourself feel better, take the time to do it. There’s no doubt in my mind that you’re already mine.”
With that, he stepped back once again, indicating with a gesture that she could go or she could stay.
She fled.
Jewell didn’t know if she’d ever stop running, and she didn’t even know who she was running from more — Blake or herself.
Chapter Twelve
Jewell somehow made it back to her apartment building. After stumbling inside and finally getting into her own front hall, she took extra time to fasten all the locks on the door.
Not that the strongest of locks would keep Blake out, especially since the man had the keys to the apartment, but the symbolism of doing it made her feel immeasurably better. She headed to her bedroom and fell onto the bed, where she knew she’d lie for hours without the possibility of sleep claiming her.
Hadn’t she promised Justin that she’d get him back any way she could? Yes. So why in the world was she balking at marriage? It was selfish of her, and she knew it. Her brother was the only one who mattered. He was the reason she had gone to Relinquish Control in the first place. He was the reason she had met Blake.
No, she wasn’t blaming her brother. Not at all. She was an adult and she’d made her choices. She’d had a great life while growing up. It was time for her brother to have that same privilege.
She tossed and turned the entire night, and when she did find a few minutes of peace in slumber, nightmares of her brother being dragged away from her woke her up. At the crack of dawn, when her chances of more sleep had hit nil, Jewell knew she was out of options.
She could continue to fight Blake, but he would always win. He had power, and she had absolutely none. It was why he hadn’t been worried about what her answer would be. That the man had told her he’d give her time to think was almost amusing. It was like giving a starving animal a choice whether to eat or not. No matter how distrustful they were, they’d eventually take the food that was being handed to them.
Yes, she should call Blake and tell him he’d won. She should just get the damned thing over with. But she put it off. Maybe she was holding out hope that he’d change his mind, that he’d get tired of playing this game with her and he would release her from this hell.
But if that were to happen, where would she go? Sure, she had the money Ms. Beaumont had given her already, but it wasn’t enough to save Justin, and give them a new life. She had to face facts — she had nowhere, and no one else was about to help her but Blake.
Jewell climbed out of bed, wandered off to her kitchen and watched the coffee drip into the pot. The morning ritual gave her a measure of comfort.
When the coffee was ready and poured, she added a nice splash of flavored cream, then found herself sitting in the living room gazing at one of the soulless, impersonal art pieces hanging on the stark white walls. So expensive, and yet so utterly lacking in real value…
She was filled with something almost like relief when the doorbell rang. Then she remembered that the only person who knew she lived there — besides Ms. Beaumont, of course — was Blake, and she wasn’t ready to go another round with him. But why put off the inevitable? He was ringing the bell as a courtesy. He would get in whether she answered the bell or not.
When she opened the door, her face went from defeated to surprised as she looked up to find Tyler Knight, Blake’s younger brother, standing there. Before she was able to say a word, he flashed her a big smile and pulled her into his arms.
“Ha. I’ve missed ya, Jewell.” His affection for her was obvious.
She hadn’t realized they were fast friends, and his enthusiasm at seeing her really threw her off balance. Tyler was certainly as good-looking as his brother, with wide shoulders, dark, slightly messy hair, and a dimple in his cheek that gave him a boyish charm neither of his brothers could even try to possess. He also was the first to smile and show his emotions, whereas Blake and the other Knight brother, Byron, did their best to play everything close to the vest.
All three brothers were far more handsome than was good for them or the poor females who happened to stumble into their paths. And what made it even harder to resist them was the command, the raw strength that radiated from them in waves. There was something about a man who knew exactly who he was that made a woman want to give him anything and everything he could ever possibly desire.
“What are you doing here?” she finally asked when her stunned silence lasted a moment too long.
“I found out you were here,” he said. “My brother slipped up. I think he was planning on keeping you all to himself, but I’ve always been pretty damn good at getting information that people have no intention of giving out. And since I haven’t seen you in months, I decided to pop in for a little unannounced visit. That way you couldn’t possibly turn me away. Hey! Is that fresh coffee I smell?” Without waiting for an invitation or an answer, he walked inside and made his way to her kitchen.
Jewell followed and found him rummaging through her cupboards for a mug. Then he grabbed her empty mug from her and poured them each fresh coffee. Smiling, she added cream to hers and led Tyler over to the kitchen table.
“Don’t you have work or something much more important to do than sitting around and chatting with me, Tyler?”
“We can trade small talk all day long, Jewell, but why don’t we just cut to the chase and you tell me why you were gone for three months, why my brother was a bear during those months, and why now you have crater-sized dark circles under your eyes?” He softened the interrogation with a wink and a grin.
Jewell’s own smile vanished while he spoke. She feared this man because she knew he had a way about him that would make the floodgates come flying open. And because he was Blake’s brother, she shouldn’t think for a minute that she could rely on him, no matter how nice he was to her.
“I think your brother can answer all of those questions,” she told him with a brittle laugh.
Tyler reached across the table and took her hand. “I’m not asking Blake. I’m asking you.”
She was so close to tears that she had to turn her head away. If only she had a single friend she could talk to, maybe she wouldn’t feel this incessant urge to spill her guts to Blake’s brother. But it was so difficult to hold everything in when he was looking at her with those openly friendly eyes.
“It’s complicated,” she finally said, and he let out a sigh.
“I’m not going to pretend that I can possibly understand everything, Jewell, but I have been able to tell from the first moment I met you that you’re a good person. And though I love my brothe
r very much, I know he can sometimes give people the wrong impression of who he is. There’s a long story here, but it isn’t my place to tell it.”
“Why aren’t you bitter?” she asked, wondering how two brothers could be so very different.
“I was too young to be affected as badly as Blake and Byron were by the disasters of our past. Then as I got older and saw the hell they were going through, I decided that I had a choice of being happy or angry. I much prefer happiness. Sometimes it really helps to get things off your chest, to talk to someone. The shrinks might call it cathartic.”
The man was practically begging her to open up to him, and she was tempted, so tempted, to do just that. But what if it backfired on her and made her situation worse? Oh, wait. How much worse could it get?
Before she was able to stop herself, Jewell found herself opening her mouth and letting the entire story spill from her lips. To his credit, Tyler didn’t interrupt a single time. His eyes narrowed, and he gripped his coffee cup tightly a few times, but he didn’t release her hand, and he didn’t ask any questions.
“…so last night, he demanded marriage, and really, I don’t ever have any prospects of getting married, so what difference should it make? But at the same time, I still believe in the institution, of two becoming one in the eyes of God and all that, and…I don’t know. I’m just confused right now.” Her long, sad story now finished, she was trying desperately not to give in to tears.
Jewell had been around Tyler only a couple of times now, but she couldn’t have imagined seeing such fury on his normally happy face. With his eyes now slits and his mouth pressed firmly into a frown, the man was just as frightening as his two brothers. She wondered if he realized it.
A shudder passed through her. Maybe she should have just kept quiet. Heck, there was no maybe about it. She shouldn’t have spilled her guts to Blake’s brother.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Oh, Jewell, I’m the one who’s sorry. You’ve been shouldering far too much for far too long. I know that Blake must have honorable intentions toward you now, but he is certainly not going about it in the right way. You have done nothing wrong by talking to me. Let me handle my brother.”
The way he said the last sentence sent a serious chill down her spine. “I don’t want to come between your brother and you,” she gasped, gripping his hand tightly with hers, panic in her eyes.
“My brothers and I may not always see eye to eye on things, but nothing will rip us apart, I assure you.” Tyler’s lips finally turned up just the slightest, but his eyes remained grim.
“Tyler, I’m so sorry. Really I am. Can’t you just forget that I told you any of this?”
“It can’t be undone, Jewell, and it shouldn’t be. You need someone in your corner. I will speak with my brother — I guarantee you that.” He stood up purposefully.
“Right now?” she squealed. She’d screwed up terribly, and she had to stop him before things got worse.
“The sooner, the better,” he told her, and he started off toward her front door.
“Tyler, I really don’t think this is a good idea.” This would only infuriate Blake, make him even more exasperated with her than he already was.
“I guarantee there won’t be any backlash, Jewell,” Tyler said, and then he was gone, her front door closing behind him with a loud click.
Jewell walked into her sitting room and slumped down on the sofa, praying she hadn’t just lost her only way to get Justin back. She had no idea what was going to happen next. What if Blake just gave up completely on her and she lost Justin forever because of it?
She’d have only herself to blame.
But there was nothing she could do now. Once one of the Knight men had his mind set on something, there was no turning back the clock. All she could do now was wait and see what Blake’s next move would be. The waiting might well kill her…
Chapter Thirteen
Tyler sure is a strange one, Blake told himself for the umpteenth time as he neared the office building he shared with his brothers. Tyler had called an hour earlier, cursing him out like wildfire, calling him all sorts of names, and that wasn’t at all like the guy. Blake was amazed not to feel more irritated about it.
Tyler was their peacemaker, the one who never lost his cool. From a few of the things his brother had growled at him, Blake had no doubt that Tyler had been to see Jewell and that she had told him everything. Instead of being pissed off about it, Blake was happy to see, or at least suspect, she hadn’t lost all her fight. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Tyler’s being so protective of Jewell, but Blake also knew Tyler would never try to overstep his bounds with Jewell. The brothers never poached on each other’s territory, though they weren’t beyond pretending to do so.
As he neared the executive offices, he wondered what Tyler would say. The funny thing was that if Blake would listen to anyone other than Max, it would be one of his brothers, and especially Tyler, since Tyler was always the voice of reason when anger seemed to consume Blake to the depths of his soul — if he even had a soul. But Tyler sure as hell hadn’t been the voice of reason an hour ago. He’d been too busy yelling.
Blake walked to his own office and decided to wait there for a while before buzzing his brother. It was such a rarity to find Tyler in a bad mood that Blake couldn’t help but fuel the fire. Granted, that move might come back to bite him in the ass, but he couldn’t help himself. A man had to do what a man had to do!
After about ten minutes his intercom sounded and he had no doubt it was Tyler. Tyler had most likely told the security staff to notify him the minute Blake entered the building.
“Yes, Tyler?” Blake said in a chipper tone.
Tyler replied gruffly. “We’re supposed to be meeting, Blake.”
Blake leaned back. “I’m sitting here waiting for you, bro.”
The line disconnected and Blake could practically hear Tyler’s chair hit the wall as his brother stood up and stomped from the office he had down at the end of the hall.
Blake schooled his expression and watched as his door was thrust open and Tyler came storming into the room.
“I’ve known you to do some pretty dumb-ass things in your lifetime, Blake, but this has got to be a new low for you.”
No word of greeting.
“It’s been a few days, brother,” Blake told him with a smile. “It’s good to see you, too.”
“Don’t try to play games with me, Blake. I’m not one of the idiots who bow and scrape to you, and fall at your feet.” Tyler looked ready to throw a punch as he leaned across Blake’s desk and glared at him.
Blake just laughed. His brother would get to the point eventually.
“Do you like being feared?” Tyler asked.
This question actually took Blake by surprise, and he lost just a trace of his grin. “Yes,” he said, but was that still as true today as it had been a year ago — heck, even a few months ago? He honestly didn’t know. Didn’t inspiring fear equal power? That’s what he’d always thought, anyway.
“And do you like scaring women and little children?”
“I’m not trying to scare Jewell.” Blake was quickly growing weary of this line of conversation.
“Whether you’re trying or not, you have her scared, alone, and desperate,” Tyler said. Some of the fight drained from him now, and he moved back and sat, not looking away, just looking slightly sad that his brother would do this.
It shamed Blake more than he would ever admit. “I’m good to Jewell,” he said in his own defense.
“If she’s only with you out of fear, that’s not being good to her, Blake. You have to earn someone’s love and trust, not demand it of them.”
“I don’t need her love or her trust. I just need her.” Blake wasn’t willing to delve into his emotions with his brother. This wasn’t going to turn into a bonding moment for the two of them where they could hug, say I love you, man, and sing campfire songs.
�
�Let her go if you can’t possibly love her,” Tyler told him. “Give her back her brother — you know you have the power to do it — and let her go.”
“I can’t let her go.”
“Then I’ll step in and help her,” Tyler threatened
That came as another shock. Blake stared at his brother, wondering whether he’d been wrong to think Tyler would never step in and mess with his brother’s woman. But the look on Tyler’s face wasn’t love; it was loyalty. He’d come across a woman who needed protection, and he felt compelled to give it to her. It was just who Tyler was.
“This isn’t your business, Tyler.”
Tyler was about to say something, but his mouth closed and he leaned back, his brows wrinkled, and his eyes flew up as if in shock. The way he was giving Blake the eye made Blake want to turn away. He absolutely didn’t want to be analyzed.
“You’re not saying… Do you love her, Blake?”
“No!” Blake practically shouted that word before he calmed himself down. “No, I don’t love her. I just don’t want to let her go yet.”
“And you’ll use a child to bribe her to stay with you, even when she can’t stand the sight of you?” Tyler said.
That hit Blake below the belt.
“I can promise you that she wants me just as much as I want her.”
“That isn’t the impression that I got from her today. She seemed depressed, defeated, and out of options. Do you really want her to be with you because you’re her last resort?”
Blake sat back and thought about his time with Jewell, and the months of agony without her. Yes, their time together had been short, but in their time apart he’d thought of no one but her. Yes, he’d had the opportunity to replace her immediately, but he hadn’t felt even a twinge of desire to do so. After a week, he’d been stunned that he still felt the same way.
