Love Unbroken (Diamond Creek, Alaska Novels Book 3)

by J. H. Croix

  The knot of tension in her belly that Emma had been holding for days softened, if only a little. Though she was beyond relieved and wondering at the fact that Trey hadn’t just walked away when he heard about Greg, the spate of calls jacked up her nerves. Meeting Trey’s sister only piled on the anxiety. Sula leapt up and nestled against her side.

  “I just wish he’d stop calling.” She looked to Risa and blurted out the truth. “I was so worried Trey would tell me to forget it when I told him about Greg. I know it’s not exactly convenient for me to have an ex like this. I don’t know how much Trey has told you about us, but neither of us really expected this or planned this. Things have moved faster than I’m maybe comfortable with…”

  Risa shook her head and smiled softly, a touch of sadness to it. “I hope you’ve figured this out, but Trey isn’t the kind of guy that would have held something like this against you. For starters, it’s not your fault. My brother has a heart of gold. He doesn’t let many people see it, but he’s a total softie. You have no idea how happy I am to see him happy with someone. After Helen died…I worried. It hit him pretty hard and since then, he’s been a single dad trying to hold the world up for Stuart. He really hasn’t let himself consider the idea of dating. So as far as I’m concerned, the way it’s happening with you two is exactly how it needs to. Trey needed to be knocked on his butt, and you seem to have succeeded.”

  Emma couldn’t hold back the laugh that tumbled out. Trey walked into the room right then. “What’s so funny?” he asked.

  Emma only started laughing harder. Trey sat down beside her, immediately sliding his arm across her shoulders. His simple gesture brought immense comfort and an instant current, that ever-present spark between them.

  Risa smiled widely, a hint of mischief in her eyes. “I was just telling Emma how pleased I am she’s knocked you off your feet. You needed that.”

  Trey quirked an eyebrow. “Knocked me off my feet?”

  “To be specific, I said ‘knocked on your butt.’ You’re so into her, you didn’t let yourself overthink it like you usually do,” Risa replied bluntly.

  “Easy for you to say I overthink when I can’t seem to remember the last time you dated anyone,” Trey countered with a grin.

  Risa glared at him and threw a couch pillow in his direction. Trey caught it and tossed it right back. With a roll of her eyes, Risa replied, “Fine. Try to turn the tables. You overthink everything. I was just saying it’s a good thing to see you forget to do that for once.”

  He shrugged. “If that’s what you think, fine with me. I’m just glad you got a chance to meet Emma.”

  He stroked his hand slowly across Emma’s shoulder and down along her arm. Emma’s tension unraveled bit by bit.

  The calls had finally stopped on her phone in the last hour or so. She was tired inside and simply wanted to curl up with Trey. And she had no idea what to do with how natural that felt. While she was with Greg, she learned to isolate her feelings and knew the only person she could count on was herself. In the years since she moved away, she had to call upon every ounce of strength to push through the steps she needed to take to sever her ties to Greg and move to Alaska.

  This—this intense wish to lean on Trey, to accept the comfort her offered was so foreign it shook her to her core. His mere presence slashed through her defenses so fast, it was as if they’d never been there. And tonight, she was so weary that longing washed up against the shores of her heart. Emma didn’t realize her head had fallen against Trey’s shoulder and her eyes had closed until Risa spoke.

  “It’s great to meet her, and she needs to go to bed,” Risa said, her tone amused.

  Emma snapped her head up. “No, no I’m awake,” she protested.

  Risa chuckled. “You might be awake, but barely. You’re exhausted. Don’t worry, I’ll be here a few more days.”

  Trey looked down at her. “Risa’s right, bed for you.” He gave her shoulder a brisk rub and quickly stood, grasping her hand and giving a soft tug.

  Emma didn’t resist, allowing Trey to tug her to her feet. Trey glanced back to Risa. “See you in the morning.”

  “That you will. Emma,” Risa said. Emma turned her heavy eyes toward Risa. “It’s really nice to meet you. Don’t forget what I said—no judgment,” she said with a warm smile.

  Trey led her down the hall to his bedroom. Wordlessly, she slipped out of her clothes. He handed her a soft t-shirt of his to sleep in. His scent clung lightly to it. She shivered at the feel of the cool sheets when she crawled in bed. Trey stepped into the bathroom briefly. She lay in the quiet, the spool of tension coiled inside her unwound slowly. When he slid into bed, he immediately curled against her, spooning behind her. His warmth seeped into her. Nuzzling the back of her neck, he placed a soft kiss there.

  “I’m glad you came over,” he said, his voice husky.

  Emma sighed, relieved to her bones to be here, with Trey, instead of home alone with her mind on its personal hamster wheel of thoughts and fears.

  “Me too,” she shifted in his arms to face him, feeling his arousal against her hips as she turned. Though weary, her need for him arced. Desire stretched and flexed within, liquid heat pooled. In the shadows of his room, the space between them hummed with a soft current. Tired as she was, the buzz of desire between them was constant, the only variation in its intensity.

  He laughed softly when she shifted again, brushing against his arousal.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Ignore it. All you have to do is be here and I want you. But…that’s not why I wanted you to come over tonight. You’re exhausted. Let’s just go to sleep.”

  She reached a hand over, sifting her fingers through his hair, slowly drawing her hand down along his cheek. “What if I don’t want to?”

  He chuckled and then sucked his breath in when she slowly curled her other hand around his cock, its pulsing length heavy and warm in her hand.

  Emma leaned forward, closing the few inches between them to place her lips against his. She pulled away after the soft kiss. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to be here…” her voice stumbled on the depth of her relief. Desire throbbed.

  Trey brought his hand to her cheek, cupping it softly, holding her gaze. “Same goes for me…” he erased the space between their lips, scalding hers with a deep, through and relentless kiss.

  They twined together, legs tangling, hands skating across each other, lips mingling in kisses, pants and gasps.

  Trey paused and pulled away. “I promised myself I wouldn’t do this tonight. You have to know that I wanted you here because I was worried, not because I wanted this. Although,” he paused, another soft laugh escaping, “you do have this effect on me. You’re like a weathervane and I just rotate to find you.”

  Emma giggled. “A weathervane?”

  His smile was wry. “That was a compliment.”

  She sobered. “You don’t have to persuade me you wanted me to come over because you were worried. I know that and we can still…” she paused to place a moist kiss right at the base of his throat “do this…”

  Trey pressed his hips against hers, his hard length nestling between her legs, against her mound. She arched against him, her head tossing against the pillow. His palm slid slowly up her spine, its warmth scattering sparks. His other hand still cupped her cheek. She opened her eyes again when he caressed her cheek with his thumb. In the shadows, his eyes were dark and intense, stripping any pretense. “Just so that we’re clear…I want this...” he shifted his hips subtly but firmly, ratcheting her desire up a notch “…and for you to know that’s not all I want.”

  Emma had to force herself to keep her eyes open, to not shy away. She nodded wordlessly. “I know…” she whispered just before his lips met hers again. This time, she lost herself in the maelstrom that thundered between them.

  Long, slow, scalding kisses. His hands everywhere, eliciting sighs of relief and longing when they moved on. His lips on her nipples, drawing deep, bit
ing softly. His fingers tracing circles on her abdomen, teasing her folds, dipping into the moisture and drawing back out across her clit. Gasping, pleading, thrashing.

  His t-shirt was torn off of her, his boxers pushed down with her feet. He fumbled in the nightstand drawer and rolled a condom on. His weight against her, the feel of his muscled chest, dusted with hair, against her breasts. His cock resting just outside her entrance, dripping with her desire. Resting on his elbows. Look at me. And she did, just as he slid inside, driving deep. Long thrusts—slow, then fast, then slow. She strove higher and higher, release out of reach for feverish moments, yearning built and built. A final stroke and she tumbled over the pinnacle, her legs curled around him as he arched against her, pulsing inside. He captured her cries with a kiss, his weight slowly falling and shifting to her side.

  They fell asleep entwined. All she remembered was feeling cherished, wanted…and safe.

  Chapter 12

  The wind whipped the kite wild in the sky. Trey reached over to steady the line Stuart gamely held. The gust passed, and Trey released the line while staying close to Stuart. The sun was high, the sky bright, and the wind coming in unpredictable gusts. This was Stuart’s absolute favorite kind of day to fly a kite because he loved when the kite danced in the wind. But it made for some work trying to make sure Stuart didn’t lose hold of the kite.

  It was Saturday, and Emma was in Anchorage. She wouldn’t be back until tomorrow night. Risa had decided to stay through the weekend, but she left Trey and Stuart to their own devices for the day while she met a friend for lunch. Emma stayed with them for two nights before insisting she had to go back to her place before she went away for the weekend. Stuart had begged to babysit Sula while Emma was gone for the weekend, so Emma dropped her off in the morning.

  He thought back to the two years since Helen died and how he’d eventually adjusted to being alone. Being a single father meant he was never really alone in the literal sense of the word, but he’d chosen to be alone when it came to any consideration of a relationship. He’d been comfortable with that. At first, he’d been grieving his loss and the larger reverberations of what it meant for Stuart. But then, he’d simply let go of the idea of being with anyone romantically.

  Enter Emma. In a few short weeks, he’d gone from not even considering the idea of sharing his and Stuart’s lives with anyone to not being able to imagine life without her. The depth of his feelings for her shook him. The catch in her voice the other night when she’d called, her worry and fear echoing through the line made him want to do whatever he could to never hear that in her voice again.

  “Dad!” Stuart exclaimed.

  He turned just as Stuart stumbled and fell on the sand. Trey moved quickly, grabbing hold of the handle for the kite. Another lashing gust of wind and the kite yanked against his grip. He glanced down at Stuart. Stuart was already clambering up from the sand, reaching to take the kite back from Trey.

  “Hey Stu, I know this is your favorite kind of day, but it’s pretty rough right now. How about we bring the kite down and see if we can find Aunt Risa?”

  Stuart’s face fell. “But Dad, it’s the best kind of day.” He extended his arms out gesturing broadly and pointing to the kite, which danced wildly in the sky, a ribbon of orange against the bright blue.

  Trey held Stuart’s gaze. “Yup, it’s a great day. But you’ve had plenty of time and it’s getting windier,” he said calmly as he began to methodically roll the line around the handle, the kite slowly lowering in the sky. Stuart frowned, but didn’t argue.

  After stowing the kite in the back of the car, they set off to rendezvous with Risa at Misty Mountain Café where she was meeting her friend for lunch. Trey texted her, asking if he could drop Stuart with her after Jared left him a message that he’d talked to Darren and he could call or swing by if he wanted to chat about it. He didn’t want Stuart to hear a whiff of his concerns about Emma’s ex, so leaving Stuart with Risa would give him the time to stop by Jared’s place.

  In short order, he left Stuart with Risa who planned to take Stuart to a local playground and was headed to meet Jared. His phone buzzed, and he tugged it out of his pocket. “Trey here,” he answered.

  “Hey man, can you meet me at Susie’s office? You know where that is, right?” Jared asked.

  Trey recalled that it was the same office where he dropped Emma off the day she had a flat tire. He was curious to see Susie and find out her thoughts on the situation with Emma’s ex.

  Trey pulled up a few minutes later at Susie’s office. Stepping inside, he saw Jared step back quickly. Susie was standing in front of a desk, her face flushed. Jared looked rattled, which was so unusual for him, Trey had to curb his reflex to ask him if everything was okay. He strove for a casual tone, but the room was taut.

  “How’s it going?” Trey asked.

  “Fine,” Jared replied tersely.

  Trey noticed Jared’s breathing was quick and shallow. Glancing to Susie, she was still flushed. At this point, he was wondering why the hell Jared asked him to come by right about now.

  Susie smiled tightly at him, her cheeks bright. “How are you?”

  Trey nodded. “Just fine. Stopped by to talk to Jared. Not sure if it’s a good time…” his words trailed off when Jared interrupted.

  “Perfect timing. I, uh, just talked to Darren a bit ago,” Jared began only to have Susie interject.

  “You did? Please tell me he said he can do something about that asshole,” she demanded and then glanced to Trey. “By the way, I know we’ve met before, but you should know I’ll personally kick your ass if you hurt Emma.”

  Trey started at that. Before he could reply, Jared cut in. “For god’s sake, Susie, lay off. I told you he’s a stand up guy. Not to mention that he knows I think of Emma as family. He’ll have me to answer to as well, but how about we lay off the threats for now?”

  Susie flushed again. The brief exchange seemed to steady Jared. He turned to Trey again. “Back to my point, talked to Darren. Long story short, not a whole lot he can do unless we can put a trace on her phone for calls. Darren’s happy to do it, but Emma will need to file a formal police report and give permission for them to do that. Once they trace the calls, they can issue a warning to whoever is calling. Beyond that, not much to do unless something else happens.”

  Trey nodded. “I think Emma will be willing to file a report, don’t you?” he asked, directing his question to Susie. He and Susie hadn’t discussed any of this and he didn’t know her well, but he knew from Emma that Susie had encouraged her to contact the police. Though he appreciated Jared telling Susie to back off, he also appreciated Susie’s protectiveness toward Emma.

  Susie nodded, her brown curls bouncing. “I think so. I wish she was here, so we could have her talk to Darren today. She’s in Anchorage with Hannah and Tess. I was supposed to go, but I’m up to my neck in monthly reports. Are you going to talk to her today?” she asked, catching Trey’s eyes. Though he wouldn’t dare comment on it, Trey was starting to find it amusing that Jared and Susie would only look at him. Even when addressing each other, they avoided making eye contact.

  “Planning to call her in a bit. I’ll ask her about it,” Trey replied.

  Susie gave a satisfied nod and then looked at Trey. “So seems like you’re pretty into Emma?” she asked bluntly.

  Trey glanced sideways at Jared, but Jared was staring at the wall. Meeting Susie’s eyes again, they held a curious and sly gleam. “Yup, I’m pretty into her. And I’m damn worried about this ex of hers. I’d like to close the door on him.”

  Susie nodded approvingly. “You and me both. Sorry to be so direct, it’s just how I am. Emma’s a good friend. Jared swears you’re solid. As long as you know she deserves nothing but the best, we’re good.”

  Trey nodded cautiously, glancing to Jared again who finally stopped staring at the wall.

  “Darren said to have Emma stop by when he’s on duty. He’ll take care of i
t. Then we wait,” Jared said.

  “I’ll let her know when I talk to her. If I need to, I’ll take her to the police station myself. Thanks for talking to Darren,” Trey said.

  Jared nodded. “You got it. All of us want this guy out of her life. Even if it’s just phone calls, it’s not cool that it’s been going on this long. Wish she’d said something sooner.”

  Trey thought of Emma’s eyes when she first arrived at his house the other night. Shuttered and battened down, shards of fear glimmering in the blue despite her efforts to keep it hidden.

  “You and me both,” he said succinctly.

  Susie busied herself shuffling papers on her desk. The tautness in the room had eased, but Trey didn’t think he should stay. Whatever was going on between Jared and Susie didn’t need his interference. He thanked them both again and said his goodbyes. As soon as the door shut behind him, he heard Susie’s voice. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  Trey walked briskly to his car, which faced the office windows. When he glanced up as he put the truck in gear, he saw Susie step in front of Jared, her finger pointed at him. Jared took a step back. Trey chuckled and turned away to back up. He had his suspicions about the tension between Susie and Jared, but first Jared was going to have to face Susie’s fire. Emma had described Susie as forceful, which he was thinking might have been a bit of an understatement.

  ***

  Risa left the following morning with Trey’s assurances that he’d bring Emma to visit soon. Trey dropped Stuart off at a school friend’s house for a few hours while he ran errands. Returning to his car after he got groceries, an unfamiliar man was leaning against the car beside his. Trey’s gut blasted a warning. He ignored the man and loaded his groceries in the back of his car. When he closed the hatch, the man pushed away from the car, a nondescript gray rental sedan with a sticker from the rental car company from the Homer airport on the window.