by Jessi Gage
He had to find her. Had to make this up to her.
He tried calling again. Straight to voicemail. He sent another text. No response.
“Think, Herald,” he said, thunking his head on her front door. “If you were Jade, where would you go?”
She was new to Dover and didn’t know anyone here…except him. If he were her, he would have gone back to Boston. But Boston was a big town. And she probably knew a lot of people there.
She’d worked in a strip club, he remembered. Maybe she had friends there. Maybe one of them had heard from her. What he wouldn’t give to get his hands on her phone right now so he could get a look at her contacts. Or…cupping his hands to look through the glass doorframe, he saw her rolling bag leaning against the railing of the stairs, like she’d dumped it there in a hurry. Unless she’d taken the time to remove it, her laptop ought to be inside.
Desperate times called for desperate measures. Figuring there was no help for it, he slinked around the back of her house to check the sliding glass door in the kitchen. Bingo. Unlocked. He’d have to talk to her about that. No wife of his was going to take risks with her safety. Then again, she’d be living with him, so he’d be able to keep her safe. He would do a better job of it than he had so far.
But first, he had to find her and bring her home.
Chapter 32
“How did you talk me into this, again?” Jade asked Maxi.
The cracked clock on the wall said it was eight thirty-seven. She was standing in platform heels that made her legs look miles long and a rip-away flight-attendant outfit, applying stage makeup in front of a mirror in the Palace’s chaotic dressing room. The beat of the music out in the club pounded in her ears and vibrated under her soles.
“Oh come on,” Maxi said, with an elbow to her arm that made her slip and stick her false lashes to her eyebrow. “You know you miss dancing. This way you get to work out all that frustration from dating a virgin, and earn some great Thursday night tips. Besides, if Jocelyn misses one more shift without getting someone to cover, her ass will be grass. Think of it as your good deed for the week.”
“She’s going to owe me big,” Jade said, fixing the lashes and grabbing her favorite tube of True-Red lipstick.
Besides Jilly, who was still in Peru until September 1st, Maxi was her best friend. They’d been dancing the same shifts for three years and hanging out in their off-time whenever Jade’s school schedule had allowed. They’d even considered rooming together, but had never gotten around to hammering out the details.
Maxi had welcomed her into her studio apartment with a big hug, a sympathetic ear, and an extra-salty margarita. Jade had given her a rundown on her week and a half in Vermont, leaving out the demon possession and the wedding she couldn’t remember. Then they’d lounged around and watched Reese Witherspoon movies all afternoon. After the chick-flick marathon, they’d gotten Chinese take-out and eaten picnic style on the bank of the Charles. Somewhere along the way, she’d turned off her phone to avoid the guilt plowing over her every time she hit “ignore” on a call from Emmett.
“So you going back tonight?” Maxi asked, smacking her lips in front of the mirror and grabbing a glitter stick from the makeup case.
A three-hour drive after a shift didn’t sound like much fun. Nor did facing an angry or hurt Emmett. She didn’t kid herself. He would be waiting for her when she got back. He was probably worried sick about her.
Ugh, enough with the guilt, already. The whole point of coming down to Boston was to get away from Emmett. Thinking about him every second kind of ruined that plan.
“You need a place to stay tonight, hon?” Maxi’s voice was soft.
She met her friend’s eyes in the mirror and felt a rush of gratitude. “Yeah, maybe that would be good.” And maybe she should at least give Emmett a call and let him know she was okay.
Suddenly, the door from the bar area crashed open. Emmett charged in, locked gazes with her, and came at her like a pissed-off freight train. Maxi yelped while he crowded Jade against the costume rack. His shoulders made a wall, blocking her view of the dressing room. All she could see were his stormy blue eyes snapping with rage.
Fear zinged through her, but it fizzled out before it could settle in her chest. Emmett was pissed, but he would never hurt her. She knew it instinctively. She knew him instinctively, like she’d never known anyone else. Plus, she’d kind of earned his anger by avoiding him all day when she knew his sister was hurt and he was hurting for sleep.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he growled.
She didn’t think it was possible for him to look any more exhausted than he had that morning, but he managed with a full-on beard of stubble and hair standing on end, like he’d been dragging his hands through it all day. The circles under his eyes tugged at her heart.
She was tempted to feel sorry for him, but then his words registered. He was judging her. He thought he cared about her, but he couldn’t stand being confronted with the real her, the girl who knew she was sexy and capitalized on it and had fun while doing it.
“It’s none of your goddamned business what I’m doing,” she told him.
His nostrils flared.
“Sorry. None of your—” She rolled her eyes. “Gosh-darned business.”
Somewhere behind Emmett, Maxi said, “This must be your virgin.”
“What are you doing here?” Jade asked. “How did you get back stage?”
The pinched skin around his eyes crinkled as he smiled that charming smile of his. It had a feral edge to it, no doubt brought on by a day of having his calls ignored. Her tummy fluttered at the thought of an enraged Emmett tracking her down, especially since she never told him what club she used to work at. He must have spent the afternoon calling every titty bar in the Boston area looking for her.
“You left your laptop in your grandma’s house and the back door unlocked. I found this address in your contacts.”
Oh, crap. She felt like an idiot for leaving her grandmother’s house unlocked. She puffed out her chest, about to tell him off for going inside uninvited, but he cut her off.
“Drove down and had a nice talk with Emilio out front,” he said, referring to the bouncer who worked the door when Trey wasn’t on the schedule. “Told him you and I got married this morning. He let me back and told me to tell my wife he said ‘hi.’ Nice guy, that Emilio. I think we should invite him up for a barbeque.”
She was going to strangle Emilio. “I’m going to have to talk to Casey about hiring help that actually keeps the weirdos out.”
“You don’t work here anymore,” Emmett said. “You don’t need to talk to Casey about anything.” His fists were wrapped around the horizontal bar of the costume rack so his arms caged her in. “You’re coming home with me. Now.”
Her hormones tried to sit up and take notice of the caveman act. She had to admit it was damn sexy to have Emmett this worked up over her. But he was worked up because he thought he had some kind of claim on her, and he didn’t approve of where she chose to spend her time. That was not sexy.
“You wish. I’m not going anywhere. I’m filling in, tonight.” She tried to duck under his arm, but he stopped her by stabbing his boot into the shoe rack. His raised knee cradled her thigh. Jeez, the guy smelled good, like pine and sunshine and coffee.
That warm thread of connection she’d felt in his room came back with a vengeance. Despite how judgmental he was being, she liked being near him. He felt like he belonged to her.
Ridiculous. They could not be married. She would remember, damn it. And if she dared believe it could be true, she would just set herself up for a broken heart. Emmett didn’t love her. How could he when he was Mr. Good Christian and she was Ms. Take It Off?
She redirected her insecurity into anger at herself. How dare she give him enough power to make her feel judged and vulnerable? When she’d moved into Grandma Nina’s house, she’d sworn she was done letting men make her feel vulnerable. It reinforced her dec
ision to get away from him. If she ran from what he made her feel, she wouldn’t be vulnerable anymore.
“Get out of my way,” she told him, determined to go on at nine and dance away the pain that came along with turning her back on the one decent guy who had ever given her the time of day.
“Not until I have my say,” he said.
Here it came. He was going to forbid her to go on stage. Like he had any right. She started to tell him to put a sock in it, but he brought up a fist, and she flinched, realizing too late he was only counting off fingers.
“One,” he said, “I’m not going to stop you from doing anything you want to do. You want to go out there and dance, fine. But here’s number two.” He raised his second finger. “I’m not going to watch. What I will do is go out that door—” He gestured with his two fingers to the fire door with the exit sign. “Kneel in whatever filth is in that alley, and pray for patience, because knowing other men are looking at what’s mine is going to make me batshit crazy. Three. The second you’re done, you’re in my truck and I’m taking you home, because—” He had four fingers up now. “Here’s number four. Are you listening, Jade, because this one’s important. I love you, and we belong together. I’ve known it from the second I laid eyes on you, and all I did this morning was make it official.”
He took his now open hand and cupped her cheek. The rawness in his voice and the gentleness in his touch stunned her. She couldn’t have moved if her life depended on it.
“As many times as you run, sweetheart, I’ll run after you and bring you home. Your house, my house, it doesn’t matter. Long as we’re together. And one day, you’ll learn you don’t need to run from me. One day, you’ll understand I’m the one you can run to. I’ll always be the one you can run to.”
Run from…run to… She did a slow blink, and in the span of that single second, her memory unfurled.
When you are frightened or upset, where do you run?
…away from whatever hurts me. I run away.
But that wasn’t really true. Joshua had known. She’d met Mr. Shadow, and he’d turned out to be an angel. Not only had he saved her life, but he’d made her see it was worth saving.
Run to him, Joshua had said. To Emmett. And she had.
She remembered everything. Draonius and Mercy, the abyss, Emmett’s bumbling proposal followed by the best words she’d ever heard in a proposal so heartfelt, she’d melted for him and rushed to repeat the vows that would marry them in body and spirit. She didn’t do it to save her skin, but because Joshua had helped her see how tired she was of running, so tired she’d welcomed death. Marriage had seemed like just another thing to run from, but Joshua had helped her realize Emmett was the one she could run to. He was the one she longed to run to. He always would be. Because she loved him.
She’d worried Emmett was judging her and that he’d only married her out of pity, but she remembered when Mercy had been in control and Emmett had told her he loved her. He wasn’t judging her. He’d never judged her. Neither had Nick or Chiboza. All that was in her head. She let it all go and felt a million times lighter. All that mattered was that she loved Emmett, and he loved her, and they were going to spend the rest of their lives together for all the right reasons.
He stepped back, his eyes fixed on hers. Since he’d burst through the dressing room door, he’d never once looked lower than her eyes. He was giving her more respect than any other man she’d ever known.
“Decision’s yours,” he said. “Either way, I love you, and I always will.”
She threw herself at him. “I remember,” she said, kissing all over his face, streaking him with True-Red and laughing because his eyes flew wide, and he almost lost his balance under her onslaught.
After a second, he was kissing her back, hungrily. She wrapped her legs around his hips, and he cupped her bottom to hold her there. Then they were going at it like horny teenagers, pulling each other closer, breathing each other in. It felt so right she wondered how she could have ever doubted they were bonded.
“Get a room, you two,” Maxi said, and her palm connected sharply with Emmett’s ass.
He broke the kiss, gasping. His pupils were dilated, and she wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anyone or anything.
“I love you,” she said as he let her feet to the floor. “Take me home.”
His shirt was off before she finished taking her next breath. He slipped it over her head and started crowding her toward the fire exit.
She smacked his arm. “Hey, I need my clothes and purse.” Plus, she didn’t want Casey calling her to ream her out for stealing a costume.
“Hurry,” he said.
She did, but took time to give Maxi a big hug. “Sorry to bail. But there’s somewhere else I need to be.”
“If I had somewhere hot as that to be, I’d be there, too,” Maxi said. “You take care of that hunk of sunshine.”
Jade promised she would.
Five minutes later, she had on the jeans and tank top she’d worn to the Palace. She tossed Emmett his long-sleeved tee and nodded at his bare and very impressive tan chest. “Walk around this part of town like that, and we’ll never make it out of here. Every club owner in Boston will be offering you dancing gigs.”
Smirking, he shoved his arms into the sleeves and poked his head through. “Maybe I should do it. I’ve definitely got the moves.” He pulled her into a close, grinding dance that perfectly matched the thumping base out on the floor.
She remembered dirty dancing with him at Billy Bob’s and felt a rush of heat swirl in her belly. “You definitely have the moves. You’d be a fave for sure. But I’m not ready to share you. I catch anyone looking at you with lust in their eyes, my claws’ll come out.”
“Know that feeling, babe. Know it well,” he said as they walked out The Palace’s back door. He spun his keys around his finger. “Come on. Let’s go home.”
She liked the sound of that. Liked it a lot.
Chapter 33
Night-dark pines and reflective freeway signs flew past as Emmett sped home on I-91. Jade was curled up in the passenger seat of his truck, fast asleep with her head resting on a sweatshirt balled up against the window. One of her fake lashes had fallen off and was stuck to her cheek. She was the most adorable thing he’d ever seen.
She’d tried to talk him into letting her follow him home with her car, but he’d nixed that. He wasn’t letting her out of his sight for a good long while. The car could wait. He couldn’t. He needed his girl. His wife. With him. Forever.
It was midnight when they made it back to his place. Calculating how many hours he’d been up had helped keep him alert on the road. Forty-three, he concluded. He should be ready to crash, but when he cut the engine and saw Jade stir and smile at him, every part of his body jumped to attention, one part in particular.
He got out of the car and came around to help her out. When he lifted her in his arms and carried her inside, she didn’t protest, just traced delicate patterns over the shell of his ear with her finger while she grinned at him.
Hot damn. He was going to make love to his wife. Every cell in his body wanted to worship her the way she deserved. He needed to love her with his hands and mouth and his virgin dick that was throbbing in his jeans and more than excited about the current plan.
But when he carried her up the stairs and laid her on the bed, she said, “We’re not having sex tonight.”
He heard his blood rushing in his ears in the ensuing silence. “We’re not?”
She rocked her head on his pillow and bit her lower lip. She looked incredibly fuckable. “Not until we get our marriage license. I want everything to be completely legal so there’s no doubt you kept your vow.”
Guilt clouded his lust. Last night, he’d been on this bed with her—no, not her, Mercy—making a mockery of his vow.
Jade touched his face. “Hey, don’t do that.”
“How did I not know?” he asked, hating himself for what she’d been through because of h
im. Pain ripped at his heart as he thought back to how lost he’d been to temptation. “It was you, wasn’t it, when you said to stop and remember my vow?” He swallowed a sickening lump. “You were in there that whole time, weren’t you?”
She looked away and nodded once.
He wanted to kick his own ass.
She deserved so much better than a horn dog like him. She deserved so much better than a fly-by-night marriage. He didn’t even have a ring for her.
He sat up, pulling her into his arms. “I’m going to make this right,” he promised.
“Emmett, don’t do this. Please. It’s over. Let’s just move on.” She attempted a smile. “We’re married. I can’t believe it. I always thought Jilly would be my bridesmaid when I got married.” She sniffed. “But I’m happy. So happy to be with you. Thank you for fighting for me. You saved me, Emmett.”
Suddenly he knew how to make it better. He was going to give Jade what she wanted, what she deserved, a wedding. And God help him, he was going to keep it in his pants until their honeymoon.
* * * *
“You do know I’m not ordained yet,” Nick said as his fiancée, Ali, straightened his tie.
Jade had met Ali half an hour ago when they’d all arrived at the church, a little stone building in Quechee with a babbling brook carving a shining ribbon through its grounds. One of Vermont’s quaint covered bridges spanned the brook. That’s where they were now, in the shade of a purple oak by the bridge.
“We know. We’re already married,” Emmett said for the third time. “We don’t need you to be legit. Just do the ceremony. Think of it as practice for when you’re the real deal.” He patted Nick’s cheek and turned to Jade.
He grinned at her in his nicely-cut suit, and her heart went pitter patter. When he held out his hand and said, “It’s time, hon,” she practically melted in her off-the-rack Vera Wang. Maxi had found the gown in a thrift store last weekend. The floor-length hem had been dingy with water stains, but Maxi had transformed it into a knee-length masterpiece perfect for an outdoor wedding.
