by Opal Carew
She knew he would take this opportunity to open up their past and discuss why he’d left—he’d already tried to before she’d left for Chicago—but she wished he wouldn’t do it right now.
“I’d like to talk to you about something important,” he said.
“Please, not now,” she said, continuing to stare out the window. But the quaver in her voice betrayed her.
“Jess, what’s wrong?”
His gentle hand on her shoulder was her undoing. Tears welled in her eyes and she tried to blink them back, but didn’t quite succeed.
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I know I let you down when I left—”
She waved him away. “It’s not that. It’s…”
He cupped her chin and turned her to face him. When he saw the two small tears that had escaped down her cheek, his face etched with concern.
“Did Dane do something? Did he make a pass at you?”
She shook her head. “No. It’s just been a really exhausting trip, that’s all. Just really exhausting.”
Her throat closed up and she couldn’t manage anything more. And she didn’t know what she’d say if she could. What had Dane done, anyway? Reminded her what their relationship actually was. She was his employee and they shared a purely physical relationship. Exactly what she’d told him she wanted.
But now … what did she want?
“Come here.” Rafe folded her into his arms and held her.
She rested her head against his broad chest and let the comfort of his arms lull her.
She knew she shouldn’t be taking comfort from him. He was her ex-lover. The man who had broken her heart. But despite that, he was a good man, and right now, she needed this.
He stroked her hair and she closed her eyes, letting the warmth and protectiveness of his body, paired with the relaxing motion of the vehicle, calm her.
She felt his lips on her forehead.
“Jess, we’re here.”
She opened her eyes and realized she’d dozed off. Self-consciously, she drew away from him. The driver opened her door, and she stepped out of the limo, and then glanced around at the unfamiliar surroundings.
“This isn’t the office.”
“That’s true.” Rafe pressed his hand to the small of her back again and guided her to the glass doors of the towering building in front of them.
Oh, damn, did he expect her to accompany him to a client meeting? He was her boss, too, and it was still workday hours. A doorman opened the door for them and as soon as she stepped inside, she could tell this was a residence. And a very posh one at that.
The lobby was light and airy, with leather couches and chairs forming sitting areas. Light filled the space, reflecting off cream-colored marble walls and floor. One section of the wall was covered in stacked slate, a nice contrast to the shiny surfaces. The ceilings were off-white, with crossed beams to give architectural detail and tall floral arrangements sat atop low cabinets in insets along the marble wall.
“Where are we?” she asked as Rafe guided her into the elevator.
“This is my place.”
Her chest tightened and if the door hadn’t already closed, she would have lurched forward.
“Do you mean you own the building?”
“I mean, this is where I live.”
She shook her head. “Rafe, I—”
He gently grasped her shoulders. “Jess, I just want to talk to you, and this is not a conversation I want to have in the office.” He tipped her chin up. “Okay?”
She stared at his intense, blue eyes and compressed her lips, then nodded.
The elevator doors opened, then they walked down a short hall and he unlocked an elegant mahogany door. She stepped out to a bright, spacious penthouse. The dark hardwood floors gleamed in the sunlight cascading in from the huge windows. His furniture was beige leather and dark wood. Bright accents of red, orange, and yellow threaded throughout the living area in the form of accent cushions, artwork and flowering plants, adding warmth and flare to the space.
“This is where you live?” It was huge and beautiful and clearly expensive.
She couldn’t imagine the Storm she knew strolling in here in his jeans and worn leather jacket, tossing his backpack onto the entryway floor, then relaxing in one of the easy chairs. Before he’d moved in with her in Bakersfield, he’d been sharing a small apartment with another guy in the band. His room had had only a mattress on the floor, and they’d had a card table and folding chairs in the kitchen, and a secondhand couch and coffee table in the living room.
“I bought it three years ago, but I’ve been away for over a year.” He shrugged. “But, yeah, this is home.”
She nodded. “Why did you leave? To come to Bakersfield, I mean.” She remembered Dane telling her that their relationship had always been strained after a falling out over a woman, but she wanted to hear Storm’s interpretation for herself. “Why would anyone leave all this?”
He shrugged. “The question is, why I didn’t leave sooner. My father was a controlling man. He controlled everyone and everything around him and I hated it. But that’s also the reason I didn’t leave.” He paced across the room. “He programmed me to do as I was told. To live the life I was told to live. To follow someone else’s dream. And if I tried to stand up to him…” His hands clenched into fists, his jaw tight. “When I was a kid, he beat me into submission. When I was older, he threatened me in other ways.”
Shock vaulted through her at his admission. “That’s awful.”
How could a father be so cruel?
He sat down on the leather couch facing a big fireplace and she settled beside him.
“After he died, I realized that I didn’t have to do that anymore. There was no reason I couldn’t be who I wanted to be.”
“So you left and became Storm.”
He nodded. “When I was a kid, a friend of mine had a guitar and he taught me a few chords. I asked my father if I could take guitar lessons and when he said no, I made an excuse to stay after school and took lessons anyway. But when my guitar teacher ran into my parents and told them I had talent, my father found where I’d hidden my guitar and nearly smashed my head in with it. Fortunately, I have good reflexes and it smashed against a wall instead. See, he didn’t want me to let anything as trivial as music get in the way of the grand plans he had for me and Dane running Ranier Industries. Even simple guitar lessons set him off because they didn’t have a place in his carefully laid plans.”
“I take it you taught yourself.”
“I figured out a way. I couldn’t let him steal everything that mattered to me.” He sighed. “But I didn’t bring you here to talk about my childhood.”
She nodded. “I know.”
He wanted to tell her why he broke her heart.
“Jess, I’m sorry about what happened. I was living my dream, being free for the first time in my life. Answering to no one but myself.”
“And you thought being with me took away that freedom?” She couldn’t help the catch in her voice.
“No, that’s not it at all.” He turned toward her and took her hand. “When I realized how much you meant to me…” His gaze caught on hers, and held. “When I realized you might be starting to feel the same about me…” He shook his head, and gently squeezed her hand. “I realized I couldn’t keep living a lie. Someone was going to get hurt, and I didn’t want it to be you.”
She drew her hand away. “But I did get hurt. I thought you loved me and when you walked out like that, acting as if what was between us was nothing … It broke my heart.”
He ran his hand through his hair. “Damn it, I know. I just thought it would be worse later.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me who you are?”
“Tell you that I’d been lying to you? That I was someone totally different?” He shook his head. “I could only do that if I was totally ready to embrace our relationship and move forward. But that would mean deciding who I wanted to be: Storm or Rafe. If I wanted to buil
d a future with you, Rafe seemed the better choice.”
“Why?”
“Do you really see yourself wanting to join me on the road? Traveling from town to town. Living the life of a musician’s wife. Or me traveling and you staying at home?”
“But you did leave me while you went on the road.”
“And you didn’t like it.”
“Because I didn’t know if you’d come back.”
“Isn’t that always going to be true? If I went on the road for months on end, wouldn’t you always wonder?” He took her hand again. “The point is, I would want to offer you more stability than that. But, I wasn’t ready to be Rafe again. I didn’t know if I ever wanted to be Rafe.”
“So you ran away from me, too.”
“No. I just knew I had to take the time to go on the road. To see what it was like. And I didn’t think it was fair to keep you on the hook.”
“You say you cared about me, but you were willing to lose me.”
“Because I really thought that was the best for you. I didn’t think you should be saddled with a guy who didn’t know what he wanted, or even who he should be. You deserved better than that and if I couldn’t figure out my shit, then I didn’t deserve you.”
“Since you came back here, I assume that means you’ve decided to be Rafe,” she said.
He sighed. “I hadn’t been away from you for very long before I realized that whatever life I chose, I wanted you in it. That’s why I went back to Bakersfield. I was going to tell you my whole story and convince you we had a future together. When your mother told me you’d moved away, and that you didn’t want to see me again, I realized I’d lost you. At that point, my world came crashing down around me.”
“Mom told me my dad gave you my number, but you didn’t use it.”
“I knew you were in Philly and I decided I’d come home and get my life together again, then I’d come looking for you.” He smiled. “I didn’t realize you’d be here waiting for me.”
“So who do you want to be?”
“I want to be whoever it is that makes you happy.” His thumb stroked the back of her hand and she shivered. “Whether it’s Storm or Rafe, I’ll be happy if you’re by my side.”
Her heart swelled at the warmth and passion in his sky blue eyes.
“That’s why…” He slid from the couch and placed one knee on the floor, then kissed her hand. “I want to ask you something very important.”
She shook her head. This couldn’t be happening. He reached into his pocket and pulled out something. She realized it was a royal blue velvet box, which he opened to reveal a stunning ring with diamonds forming the shape of a butterfly. Or a moth.
“Will you marry me?”
Entangled
Jessica stared at him. Her heart clenched. A part of her wanted to fall into his arms and tell him yes, yes, yes! But the reasonable, sane part of her flared with anger.
“Are you kidding me?” She bolted to her feet, then across the room. “I don’t even know who you are. Do you really expect me to marry a complete stranger?”
He stood up and closed the ring box, looking totally crestfallen. She felt cruel rejecting him like that but … it was crazy of him to put her on the spot like this. He’d dumped her, then waltzed back into her life and two seconds after explaining why he’d left … proposed!
And that ring. It was beautiful and expensive and exactly underscored the difference between Storm and Rafe. Storm could never afford something like that, whereas Rafe wouldn’t even blink at the price tag, no matter how high it was.
Fuming, she turned her back on him and strode to the window, taking solace in the spectacular view of the city below.
Then she felt his hands on her shoulders.
“You do know me, Jess. I’m the same man you fell in love with.”
“I did not fall in love—” she said as she spun around, but as soon as she faced him, he pulled her into his arms and captured her lips. At the gentle pressure of his tongue against her mouth, she opened, almost in a gasp of surprise. The passion of his kiss overwhelmed her and she melted against him. Oh, God, it felt so good to be in his arms. Warm and protected. And loved.
But none of it was true.
She stiffened and pressed against his shoulders. Reluctantly, he eased back.
“Jess, please. I love you.”
“But I don’t love you.”
He stared deep into her eyes, reading all her secrets.
“I don’t believe that.”
She dodged around him, unable to bear his closeness any longer.
“Is this really about me,” he asked, “or are you involved with someone else?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Why do you think I’m involved with someone else?”
His lips compressed. “You keep calling Dane by his first name.”
“I’ve already told you—”
“And I get a certain vibe from the two of you. Is there something going on between you?”
She sucked in a breath, then walked across the room, needing to release some of her pent-up energy. Could she really tell him about Dane? It wasn’t any of his business, but she didn’t want to lie.
Even though telling him would surely cause problems between the brothers.
“There is something between us, but it’s not romantic.”
Anger flared in his sky blue eyes. “What is it then?”
She raised her head and met his harsh gaze. She had no reason to be embarrassed. What she shared with Dane was quite reasonable. They were just two consenting adults in a purely sexual relationship.
“It’s just physical. Nothing more.”
Maybe it would have been better to let him think there was a deeper relationship between her and Dane. Then it would be easier to keep him at a distance.
The problem was, now that he’d opened up to her, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to keep him at a distance forever.
“So the two of you are having sex.” His hands clenched into fists.
“Look, I know you and Dane have had problems over women before, and I don’t want to be the cause of more friction between you.”
The muscle in his jaw ticked, and he said, “Well, it seems you don’t have any control over that.”
She stepped toward him. “Please, don’t let this come between the two of you.”
But his closed expression told her that this had opened a can of worms between the brothers. Damn it, why hadn’t she kept her mouth shut? She didn’t have to lie, but she could have held her silence.
“Rafe, your brother—”
“I don’t want to hear about my brother right now, especially from the woman I just proposed to who is turning me down because of him.”
Anger flared in her again.
“That’s not fair. It’s not because of Dane. I only met him because you left me and broke my heart.”
His eyes narrowed. “If I broke your heart, that means you were in love with me.”
Her chest compressed. She sighed, gazing at this practical stranger in his expensive, tailored suit and designer silk tie. “I was in love with Storm. But he doesn’t exist.”
“Fuck that. I am who I have always been.” He pulled off his suit jacket and tossed it across the room. “Don’t let this suit confuse you.”
Her eyes widened as he loosened his tie, then tugged open the buttons of his shirt, revealing his broad muscular chest. With a rapid jerk, he pulled the shirt over his head, tie and all, and tossed them aside. She couldn’t help but gaze with longing at his perfect pecs and six-pack abs. Tattoos adorned his arms and shoulders. He’d gotten a few new ones on the road.
Then her gaze fell to the leopard moth on his left shoulder, near his heart.
He saw where she was looking and pointed at it. “I meant this, Jess. I got this to tell you I would always be there for you, and it’s true.”
He stepped toward her and she gazed at the warmth and sincerity in his sky blue eyes. In those eyes, she could see the glow of
love. Her heart pounded and she felt light headed.
This man walking toward her, his muscular chest bare, covered with tattoos … this was Storm. This was the man she loved. He had walked out on her and broken her heart, but now he was back. And he still loved her.
Oh, God, all the love she’d felt for him … that she’d kept locked up inside her … came flooding back.
He must have sensed her surrender because he strode to her and pulled her into his arms. His lips meshed with hers and she knew she was lost.
The overwhelming passion of his kiss broke down the last of her defenses. Tears welled in her eyes as she clung to him.
“I was devastated when you left.”
He gazed down at her. “I’m so sorry, baby.” He wiped away her tears with a soft stroke of his thumb. “When I was out on the road, doing what I’d wanted to do all my life, all I could think of was you,”—he brushed her eyelids softly with his lips—“and what an idiot I’d been to leave you. I knew I had to make it up to you. To find you and explain everything. To convince you that we have a future together.”
His lips found hers again for a sweet, tender kiss.
“When I left my life behind a year ago, I knew I was searching for something.” He cupped her face and tipped it up. “I just didn’t realize it was you.”
The glow of warmth in his eyes, paired with intense longing, filled her with joy. Storm was back, and she was in his arms, being loved by him. She stroked his cheek, loving the slightly raspy feel under her fingertips. So masculine. So Storm.
“Oh, God, I’ve missed you,” she murmured.
The world tipped sideways as he swept her into his arms and carried her across the room and into his bedroom. He set her on her feet, stepped back, and unfastened his pants, then pulled down the zipper. She watched, holding her breath, as he dropped his pants to the floor, then his boxers, revealing his long, hard, and oh-so-familiar cock.
He walked toward her, magnificent in his unabashed nakedness, and she reached for his thick shaft, longing to feel it again. To taste it. But he captured her hand and pressed it to his mouth. The delicate brush of his lips against her palm made her insides flutter.
