by Bella Andre
Well, she knew a hell of a lot better now what she was worth. And who she was.
Using his underestimation of her to her benefit, Chloe bit down on his palm as hard as she could. She tasted his blood in her mouth as he screamed in pain.
Taking her chance, she kicked behind her, hoping she was nailing his family jewels, and dove for the scissors.
Chloe almost had them when her hair was yanked back, hard enough for tears to spring to her eyes. Somehow she bit back her whimper of pain, knowing now that Dean would get off on that.
“I tracked down your car and bribed the tow truck driver to tell me where he picked it up,” he bragged. “But I didn't think you'd be mouth-to-fucking-mouth with some guy when I got here.” He yanked her hair again, hard enough that her vision almost went black with pain. “Answer me. Is he fucking you raw like the slut you are?”
She knew what would happen if she told him the truth. He’d hit her again. She could see how much he wanted to do it.
Oh God, it had hurt so much the first time, but Chloe knew all she needed was to get a few inches closer to the scissors. And then she’d make damn sure the tables were turned.
Permanently.
Moving her mouth up into an insolent smirk, she said, “Yes, he’s fucking me raw with his huge cock.”
Just as she’d expected, his fist came at her. Only this time, she wasn’t afraid, wasn’t simply trying to get away like she had that horrible night when he’d come at her in his apartment. She wasn’t able to move far enough to avoid his punch, but the shock of being hit paled against the victory of grasping the scissors in her fingers a few seconds later.
His fist was halfway to her face again when she ducked, turned, and aimed the sharp tip of the blades at the man she’d once made vows to in front of her family, all because she hadn’t been brave enough to trust her own heart.
She finally trusted it, damn it. And she wasn’t going to let anyone take the love she deserved away from her.
As she nailed him with the tip of the sharp scissors right beside the dark bruise and cut she’d left him with when he’d attacked her in her apartment, Dean’s screech of pain had him stumbling back…straight into Chase’s path.
Chase’s fist landed square in the middle of her ex-husband’s jaw, the crack of bone against bone sounding loud and horrible in the once tranquil vineyard.
Dean’s eyes actually crossed as he stumbled back, but Chase didn’t stop there, just kept slamming his fist into her ex-husband’s face again and again until he looked like a bobble-head doll with his head wobbling around on top of his skinny neck.
A voice in Chloe’s head—a fairly small, quiet voice—told her she should stop Chase before he did permanent damage. But before she could, Dean’s legs fell out from beneath him.
He hit the ground hard and she expected him to be unconscious, given the loud sound his skull made when it landed in the dirt, but he still blinked up at her, groaning as a line of blood trailed from his mouth.
Chase was down on the ground beside him, his hand around Dean's throat, a moment later.
“Apologize to Chloe.”
She’d never seen Chase like this, with his control frayed and torn. Yes, she’d known all along just how strong, how powerful her lover was, but it was still amazing to watch him protect her like this.
When her ex didn’t say sorry fast enough, Chase tightened his hand around his throat to the point where he started coughing.
“I’m going to give you one last chance to apologize to her.”
Dean’s eyes started to roll back in his head, but Chase wouldn’t let him pass out, shaking him until he groaned again.
“Apologize right now. Or else.”
The menace in Chase’s low-pitched voice had Dean’s eyes opening and his gaze locking with hers.
“I’m sorry, Chloe.”
She couldn’t speak, could only nod.
Dean started to pass out again, but Chase shook him. “You’re not done yet, asshole.”
She’d never seen her ex-husband look so miserable. His face was bloody and bruised, he was crying, and he had dirt smeared in with the snot running from his nose.
“Are you ever going to come near her again?”
Chase emphasized his question by banging Dean’s skull into the dirt a few times.
“No.” Dean was sniveling now. “Never. I’ll never bother her again.”
His eyes finally rolled all the way back in his head and he went out. Cold.
Chloe was staring down at her ex-husband, lying on the ground, looking smaller to her than he ever had before, when Chase’s fingers brushed warm and gentle across her smarting cheek.
She turned her gaze to him as he pulled her into his arms. “Chloe, sweetheart. He hit you.
Again.”
But she didn’t care about her own face, not when she could still hear the shockingly loud crunching of bones smashing together each time Chase had nailed Dean with his fist.
“Please tell me you didn’t hurt your hand.”
“I’m made of steel, not marshmallows, remember?” he said with a small smile. “It’s going to take more than a few punches to hurt my knuckles.” She could feel the anger, the fear for her safety, radiating off him. “Bloody hands are well worth the satisfaction of making sure he never comes near you again.”
She knew Chase wanted to do more damage to Dean to make up for what her ex-husband had done to her—not just the bruise on her cheek, but for years of controlling her...and not loving her right.
Chloe pulled both of Chase’s hands into hers and held them over her heart. “You said you would do anything for me.”
“Anything,” he confirmed.
“He isn’t worth it. He isn’t worth any more of your anger. He isn’t worth hurting your hands on his hard head when you need those fingers and knuckles working perfectly so that you can take your beautiful pictures. I want you to let the police take it from here.”
A loud frustrated breath whooshed out of Chase’s beautiful mouth. “It’s going to kill me to let him walk away, Chloe. To know that he’s hurt you and hasn’t paid for it.”
“But you will, won’t you? You’ll walk away. For me.”
She watched him battle within himself, loving him even more for the way he wanted to take care of her.
Finally, he said what she’d known he would: “Anything, sweetheart. I’d do anything for you.”
She went on her toes so that her mouth was a breath from his. “I know. And I’ll do anything for you.” She pressed her lips to his, then whispered, “Everything.”
A few seconds later, she took the cell phone he handed her and called the police, telling them to come right away. And although she wouldn’t let Chase tear Dean apart the way he clearly wanted to, she had no issues whatsoever with letting him tie her ex up with some heavy-duty rope. Tight enough that Dean came to.
Ignoring his groans, Chloe and Chase moved to the porch, where they kept an eye on him while they waited for the cops to arrive. She knew he didn’t want to leave her for more than a few seconds and he zipped into the kitchen for ice faster than should have been humanly possible.
Pulling her onto his lap, he held the ice to her cheek just as he had that first night she’d met him, and softly said, “I’m so sorry, Chloe. I should have been out there with you.”
“It’s not your fault that he came after me here. Just like you said earlier, neither of us could have known what he was going to do next. But I’m pretty sure he won’t hurt me again.”
“No,” Chase said in a low voice, “he won’t. Do you know why?”
“Because he'd like to keep the teeth you left him with. And once he finds out there are five more sets of fists like yours...”
“You’re right. He’s scared senseless. But not because of what I did, not because of what I said.”
“What do you mean?”
He smiled at her, a smile so filled with love—and respect—that it took her breath away. “The reason he
won’t hurt you again, sweetheart, is because you had him. You didn’t need me to hit him to make sure he didn’t come at you again. You had already won the battle. The scissors were genius. And perfectly aimed.” He looked a little sheepish. “You didn’t need me to get in the middle of it all—I just couldn’t help myself. Not when I’ve been wanting to get at him all week.”
Chloe didn’t care that grinning hurt her newly bruised jaw. She couldn’t have held her smile back for anything. Chase believed in her.
He wasn’t the only one. She finally believed in herself, too.
“You know what I’ve realized this week?”
“That I’m a sex god.”
The laughter that rippled through her felt like it was washing all the hurt, all the pain away.
“Yes, Hotstuff, you are definitely a sex god. But also, I’ve realized that I like being a team. With you.”
She’d wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Chase look happier, not even when she’d told him she’d fallen in love with him.
And she was just as happy. Because she hadn’t just been looking for warmth her whole life…
she’d been looking to be part of something bigger than just herself, too.
A family. She wanted to know she was part of a family that loved her, no matter what.
Always.
Forever.
Just then the sirens blared through the Sullivan Winery gates. Chloe spoke with the police officers and watched them put her ex-husband into the backseat of one of their vehicles.
“How are you feeling, sweetheart?”
Chase hadn’t let go of her hand for one single second and as the police cars drove away, she turned into his arms and rested her head against his broad chest.
“I’m a little sad,” she admitted. “All those years...I keep trying to tell myself none of them were wasted.” She lifted her face to look into his beautiful eyes. “They led me to you, Chase.”
Before she realized what he was doing, Chase was down on one knee in the middle of the garden. Reaching out for the lavender bush, he pulled off a flowering stem.
“Chloe Peterson, I love you.”
She loved hearing those three words that filled her soul with such warmth—and endless happiness. But even if he never said them again, she would know what he felt for her simply by looking into his eyes.
“Will you marry me?”
Chloe no longer doubted that she was a strong woman. She also knew she didn’t need to be strong with Chase.
Which was a very good thing, because her legs suddenly felt weak, her eyes were wet, and it was all she could do just to nod and whisper, “Yes,” as Chase gently wound the lavender around her ring finger.
And as he stood up and kissed her, Chloe was amazed to realize that her fairytale wasn’t coming to an end, after all.
It was only just beginning.
Epilogue
Marcus Sullivan watched the waitstaff circulate through Chase and Chloe’s San Francisco loft with trays loaded with some of his best vintages. They’d announced their engagement a month ago, and tonight they were sharing their joy with the entire Sullivan clan.
Everyone had cleared or changed their schedules to be here tonight. Even Smith had flown in for the weekend from Italy, where he was shooting a big-budget thriller. Chloe’s parents were clearly overwhelmed, not just from meeting a big movie star, but by the entire Sullivan clan, minus Lori, who had gotten caught late at a video shoot for some hot new pop star. His mother, Mary, had been by the side of Chloe’s folks nearly the entire evening, working overtime to make sure they were comfortable.
Standing off to the side of the group, Marcus was happy for his brother. Chase had picked a good woman. A perfect woman, really.
Marcus downed his full glass without tasting it and took another from the young waiter before he could walk away. He never drank to excess. Drunk had never been his style, and given that he was in the wine business, a predilection to over-imbibing would have been more than a health issue, it could prove to be bad for business, too.
Tonight, however, Marcus, didn’t give a crap about business. Or remaining sober.
How could Jill have let him walk in and find her with—
Fuck.
His second glass went down just as fast as the first and he was reaching for his third when he realized his mother was coming toward him.
Just a handful of minutes ago, she’d told the entire crowd how very thrilled she was to finally see one of her brood take the plunge. What she hadn’t said was that she’d always thought her oldest would have been first to the altar.
Marcus had thought that, too. Now he knew better.
Now he knew that the past two years of waiting for Jill to be “ready” for the next step had been nothing but a lie.
Working to head his mother off at the pass, Marcus said, “They’re great together, aren’t they?”
His mother looked at the happy couple with a smile. “She’s perfect for him. Strong, creative, lovely.”
Too soon, her eyes were back on him, just in time to watch him down his third glass. His tolerance was higher than most, but he didn’t usually drink that kind of volume that quickly.
“What’s wrong, honey?”
“Nothing.”
But they both knew he was lying.
Marcus needed to get out of there before he ruined the party. “I’ll be back in the city next weekend. I’ll come by to see you then.”
His mother put her hand on his arm. “Will Jill be with—”
Lori flew in through the front door just then, still wearing her dance clothes, before his mother could finish her sentence.
“Oh my freaking God, I never thought I’d get out of that studio!” In an instant, she zeroed in on the happy couple, exclaiming, “My new sister-to-be!” as she threw her arms around Chloe. “We need to do a big group shot!”
His mother happily went to give her camera to one of the staff to take pictures of the Sullivans and Petersons. Marcus stood stiffly on the edge of the group, and as soon as the picture-taking was done, he left before anyone could stop him.
He hadn't had a one night stand in two years, hadn't taken a beautiful, willing stranger to bed for twenty-four wasted months. Like an idiot, he'd given up hot sex for the false promise of love.
Well, Marcus was a hell of a lot smarter now.
And, tonight, he was going to make up for lost time.
~ THE END ~
Watch for FROM THIS MOMENT ON, Marcus & Nicola’s story, coming September 2011!
* * *
More books from Bella Andre....
GAME FOR LOVE
© 2011 Bella Andre
In a relationship built on lies...the only truth is their feelings for each other.
To fulfill his grandmother's dying wish, linebacker Cole Taylor must find – and marry – a good girl. First grade teacher Anna Davis fits the bill perfectly. Their deal is simple: If she'll be his temporary wife, he'll give her more pleasure than she ever imagined was possible.
Only, love is the ultimate game-changer.
Enjoy the following excerpt for GAME FOR LOVE...
His eyes, still dark with desire, were fixed on her and she felt as if he saw all the way into her soul. It was too much, too soon. Anna tried to walk inside the hotel room, but he grabbed her before she could take more than a step, and pulled her against him.
“You don’t need to run from me, Anna.”
Her breath was rising and falling too fast. “I don’t want to run, but I don’t know how to do anything else.”
His mouth found hers and she tried to lose herself in his kiss the way she’d been lost in all the others, but panic was riding her too hard now to be able to let go. His hands moved down her back, rubbing, massaging from shoulder to hips, but instead of relaxing, she only tensed up more. He lifted his head and she immediately said, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“No apologies.”
Grateful that he wasn’t p
ressuring her into anything—even though she was now his lawfully wedded wife—she said, “I want—”
Oh God, she was such a novice at all of this that she didn’t even know how to get the words out.
“You want to sleep with me.”
Thankful that he clearly didn’t have the same problem, she nodded.
“But something is holding you back?”
Again, she nodded.
“How many lovers have you had, Anna?”
She flushed at his question. “Two,” she said in a voice that was barely more than a whisper.
“But being with them wasn’t like being with you.”
The words were out before she realized they were coming and her flush flamed even brighter.
“You’re special to me, too,” he said softly against her lips and this time when he kissed her, she was able to sink into it a little more. “I want to give you pleasure, Anna, more pleasure than you’ve ever known. Will you let me do that for you?”
His heated words shot through her veins like a drug. “I want to, Cole.” And she did. God, how she did. “But what if I freak out again?”
“Will you trust me to make sure that doesn’t happen?”
She had no reason to trust him, not when she didn’t know any more about him than his name and profession. And yet, there was something in his eyes, in the way he’d touched her so far tonight, in the way he’d kissed her, that had her feeling cherished.
Adored.
No one had ever made her feel that way before. Not just the sexual part, which was way off any chart she’d ever had, but the safety part.
Cole made her feel protected.
“What we’ve had so far tonight is only the beginning. There’s so much more, sweet Anna. Let me show you how good I can make you feel.”
She couldn’t hold back a shiver at his words. His arms were still around her, light enough that she could walk away at any moment, but she didn’t want to go. His erection throbbed hard and thick against her belly even through his pants, and she wanted what he promised.
