Then Came Absolution (Southern Love #3)

by E. L. Todd

  When they returned to the house, she walked through the living room, mesmerized by the size and beauty of his home.

  “I like it,” she said.

  “My bedroom is even better.”

  She smiled. “I’ll have to see for myself.” She walked down the hallway and Blaise followed behind her. He looked at her ass and tried to get aroused. He was struggling. When they were in his room, he turned off all the lights. He didn’t want to look at her while they screwed.

  Jasmine came to him then rubbed his chest with her hands.

  Blaise forced himself to touch her waist then move his hands under her shirt. The skin wasn’t as soft as Alexandra’s. It was slightly rough and had a different feel to it. The smell of roses came to his nose, but he tried to ignore it. Alexandra always smelled like wild flowers. He tried to stop comparing them but he couldn’t help it.

  Jasmine pressed her mouth against his and kissed him gently.

  After a moment of shock, he reciprocated. He caressed her lips with his own and made her moan. Her hands gripped him tightly then moved to the hem of his shirt. She pulled it off then felt his bare skin.

  He kept kissing her, but Alexandra came into his mind. He thought of her thin lips and their sweet taste. She always made these quiet sounds of pleasure when they kissed. Alexandra was always unable to hide the pleasure she was feeling. He remembered the way she would shake in his arms.

  Jasmine broke their kiss and pulled off her shirt. Her bra pushed her breasts together and made them perky. When Blaise looked at them, he still didn’t feel aroused. Jasmine was a sexy girl. She had a small waist, big breasts, and long legs, just the way he liked. But he felt nothing. And that realization made him even more depressed.

  “I can’t do this,” he whispered.

  “What? Did I do something?”

  “Yeah. You aren’t Alexandra.”

  “Huh?”

  “Put on your clothes.” He grabbed his shirt from the ground and covered himself.

  “Okay…” She covered herself then fixed her hair.

  “I’ll take you home.”

  Blaise was relieved she didn’t talk on the ride back. The anger and hurt emitted from her body and touched his skin. He could sense how pissed she was. But he didn’t care. He thought he could go through with it but he couldn’t. Alexandra’s face came into his mind and burned his heart. Even though they were over forever, he couldn’t be with anyone else. He felt like he was betraying her, even though she betrayed him every night she stayed with Paul. He pushed the thought away before he decided to jerk the steering wheel and crash his truck into a canal.

  After he dropped Jasmine off, he returned home and sat in his living room. The TV was off but he stared at it, watching his reflection in the screen. The silent house became deafening on his ears. He had all the money he would ever need and a beautiful home, but that meant nothing to him. He didn’t have a family and he didn’t have the woman he loved. He lost both of them.

  When he thought about Evan and the last words he said, Blaise felt the paranoia sink in. If Evan wanted to hurt Alexandra, he would have a hard time doing it since she lived in New York. But the knowledge still made him sick to his stomach. Blaise could keep an eye on Evan, but not all the time. And he couldn’t keep an eye on Alexandra at all. He knew what he had to do even though he didn’t want to. After getting Paul’s number from Abby, he called him.

  He answered on the fourth ring. “Hello?”

  “It’s Blaise,” he said simply. “Please don’t hang up and don’t react.”

  “Why?” His voice carried his anger, but it was controlled.

  “I need to tell you something that concerns Alexandra’s safety, but I don’t want her to know about it, and I don’t want her to know I called you.”

  Paul was quiet for a long time. “Yeah, it’s in my briefcase. I’ll go get it.”

  Blaise knew he was with Alexandra. They were probably lying in bed together. The sound of Paul’s muffled movements played over the receiver. When Paul was finally alone, he returned his mouth to the phone.

  “I’m listening.”

  “I’m sure Alexandra told you I was protecting Danielle from her psycho ex-boyfriend, Evan.”

  “She may have mentioned it.”

  “I spoke to him today and he said he doesn’t care about Danielle anymore.”

  Paul sighed. “And why would I care about that?”

  “Because I realized Evan isn’t trying to hurt Danielle—he’s trying to hurt me.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “He wants to hurt Alexandra. I told him I didn’t care about her and had no idea where she moved to, but I’m not sure if he believed me. I doubt he would find her in the city, and I doubt he would keep this up for long, but I had to warn you. I’ll keep an eye on him from here, but please take care of Alexandra.”

  “You never have to worry about that,” Paul said simply. “I’d die before I let anything happen to her.”

  “That’s what I wanted to hear. Thank you so much.”

  “Thank you for telling me.”

  The conversation went dead. Neither one them spoke for a moment.

  “Well, I’m sorry for calling you so late,” Blaise said. “Have a good night.”

  “Blaise?”

  “Yeah?”

  “If anything happens to her, I’ll kill you myself.”

  Blaise knew he deserved that. It was his fault Alexandra may be mixed up in this mess. “You won’t need to. “I’d do it myself.” He hung up then dropped the phone in his lap. The clock ticked on the wall, the sound of the second hand amplified in his ears.

  His phone rang and he glanced down. It was a number he didn’t recognize. His mind was slightly buzzed from the beer he drank, so he decided to answer it. “Yeah?”

  “Mr. Cunnings?”

  “In the flesh.”

  “Martha Thompson is in the emergency room and has listed you as her emergency contact.”

  Blaise sat up. “Is she okay? What happened?”

  “She had an accident. Her femur is broken but she’s going to be okay.”

  He felt his heart race. “Was it a car accident?”

  “No,” the nurse said. “It happened when she was walking up the stairs of her porch.”

  Blaise didn’t understand how she suffered a horrific injury from walking up her porch steps, but he didn’t question it. “I’m coming.” He hung up then jumped into his truck. On the ride to the hospital, he debated calling Alexandra. But he didn’t know what to say to her. He had absolutely no information. He decided to wait.

  When he walked inside, he located her room then moved to the bed. “Martha, are you alright?”

  Her eyes fluttered open then closed again.

  The nurses eyed him. “She’s on some serious pain relievers. She hasn’t acclimated to the effects yet.”

  “What’s going on?” he blurted.

  “We’re taking her to surgery.”

  “Is she going to be okay?”

  The nurse gave him a sympathetic look. “There’s always a risk when it comes to surgery. But I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

  “How’s the leg?” he asked.

  “It’s a pretty bad break. She’ll need some time to recover.”

  Blaise nodded. “I’ll take care of her.”

  “You’re a good son,” she said with a smile.

  Martha reached for his hand then patted it lightly. “He is,” she whispered.

  Blaise grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “How are you feeling?”

  “Okay…”

  “What the hell happened?”

  She smiled. “Always angry, aren’t you?”

  He sighed. “I just don’t understand how you injured yourself this badly.”

  “My back started to hurt…” She took a deep breath. “And I fell…”

  Blaise rubbed her hand. “I’ll call Alexandra.”

  “No,” she said quickly.

  Blaise grabbed his p
hone.

  Martha tried to reach for it but she was too weak. “Please don’t.”

  “Why?” he asked. “She needs to know, Martha.”

  She shook her head slowly. “But then she’ll come back. Which is the last thing I want. She’ll feel guilty and will force herself to take care of me.”

  “Martha, you do need someone to take care of you,” he said gently. “But I don’t mind doing it. You’re always welcome at my house.”

  “No…you know her, Blaise.”

  He sighed. “Even so, I can’t hide this from her. This is serious. You could have died.”

  “Don’t be annoying,” she said with a sigh. “I can take care of myself.”

  He eyed her leg. “Clearly…”

  She tried to squeeze his hand. “I’m begging you, Blaise.”

  He gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, Martha. If it were me, I’d want to know.”

  Martha closed her eyes. “She needs to go back to her life and get back on her feet. I’ll only drag her down.”

  “I won’t let that happen,” he said firmly. “You can live with me. I have enough money to hire someone to look after you. Don’t worry about it. I don’t want her here either.”

  “You don’t?”

  Blaise nodded. “I’ve let her go.” He dropped her hand then left the room. He took a deep breath before he made the call.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Alexandra ran her fingers down Paul’s chest then through his hair. He sighed quietly while he felt her touch him. She leaned over and kissed his skin, moving between his pectoral muscles. Paul ran his fingers through her hair while he watched her.

  “Who called you?” she whispered.

  He stared at her. “Someone from work.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah…” He rubbed the back of her neck then her shoulder.

  Alexandra trailed her kisses down his stomach, approaching his groin slowly. Paul took a deep breath while she made the progression. When she kissed his happy trail, he grabbed her arm.

  “Baby, no.”

  She looked at him. “No, what?”

  He pulled her back to his chest. “You don’t owe me anything.”

  “I like doing things to you.”

  Paul rubbed his nose against hers. “I don’t expect anything from you. And I would love to lay here with you.”

  “Paul, can we just forget about what happened the other day?”

  “I would love to. But let’s take it slow from now on.” He kissed her forehead. “I think I gave you the impression that I expect a physical relationship with you, which I don’t.”

  “But if we don’t have a physical relationship, I’ll never move on.”

  “Baby, you will,” he said gently. “Just give it some time. I guarantee you’ll feel differently in a month. And by then, I’ll make your legs shake and your mind explode. Just be patient.”

  “I—this isn’t fair to you, Paul.”

  “No it isn’t,” he said simply. “But I’m okay with that. If you weren’t my dream girl, I wouldn’t bother. But you are. And I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make you feel the same way.”

  “Paul…”

  He cupped her face and kissed her gently. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  “Now let’s get some sleep. I have a long day tomorrow.”

  “Okay.” She lay down and cuddled beside him. Her phone rang on the nightstand and made her flinch. She didn’t know who was calling her or why they were calling so late, but she knew any communication past eleven was always bad communication.

  Paul looked at her. “Answer it. It might be important.”

  She sighed then grabbed it. “It’s Blaise.”

  He nodded. “Answer it.”

  “Really?”

  “You said he gave up on you, right?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Then this might be something unrelated. If it isn’t, I’ll take care of it.”

  Her hand shook before she answered it. “Hello?”

  “Hey,” he said quietly.

  “If you are calling to talk about our relationship, you should just hang up.”

  “No, that has nothing to do with this.” Blaise paused for a moment. “You told me to let you go and I have. I had a date tonight. Don’t worry about me.”

  “Oh…”

  Blaise cleared his throat. “I’m calling for something else.”

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “Martha is at the hospital.”

  Her heart dropped. “What? Why?” Her voice came out frantic.

  “She had an accident at home and she broke her thigh. The doctor says she’ll be fine, but she’s in surgery right now. When she’s out, I’ll take her back to my place and take care of her. So, there’s nothing to worry about. But I thought I would keep you informed.”

  Alexandra breathed heavily. “She’s okay?”

  “Yes,” he said gently. “She’ll just need to attend physical therapy for a while. But she’ll be fine. I got her taken care of, Alexandra. You don’t need to come out here.”

  Alexandra tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Of course I’m coming out there. She’s practically my mom.”

  Blaise sighed. “That was the very reason why Martha asked me not to call you.”

  “Well, she knows me pretty well. I’ll leave first thing in the morning.”

  Blaise was quiet for a moment. “Please don’t come out here.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t want to see you.”

  His words stung. “I don’t want to see you either.”

  “She’s staying with me and I’m hiring someone to help me take care of her. You have no purpose here.”

  “I’m a nurse. I can take care of her.”

  “Are you?” he asked.

  Alexandra pulled a pillow to her chest. “Do you know how it happened?”

  “She mentioned something about her back. I think she had a spasm and tripped. That’s my best guess.”

  “She can’t take care of the fields anymore.”

  “I know,” he said. “I’ll talk to her when she’s feeling better.”

  “No, I’ll talk to her.”

  “Alexandra.” His voice was full of venom. “Do not come out here. You don’t belong here.”

  “She’s my family!”

  “And she’s my family too! Stay in New York with Paul. There’s nothing for you here. I’ll have Martha check in with you every day.”

  Alexandra was surprised by how much he didn’t want her around. The anger was transmitted through the phone. “I’m coming. There’s nothing you can do to change my mind. And she doesn’t need to stay there. We can stay at her house.”

  “Absolutely not,” Blaise said. “I won’t change my mind.”

  “Well, Paul definitely wouldn’t approve of that.”

  “I think he would,” he said simply.

  “What?”

  “Ask him.”

  “No,” she said. “I already know his answer.”

  “You obviously don’t.”

  Paul stared at her. He was sitting close to her, able to hear everything Blaise was saying on the line. “Baby, do you really need to go? It sounds like Blaise has it taken care of.”

  “Of course I have to go,” she snapped. “It’s Martha.”

  “I can’t take time off work right now. I’m in the middle of a case.”

  “I know,” she said. “I don’t expect you to leave work.”

  Paul sighed. “Alexandra, please don’t go.”

  She glared at him. “This is not a negotiation.”

  Paul’s eyes flashed with anger. “Fine. But I want you to stay with Blaise.”

  She almost dropped the phone. “What?”

  “I do not want you staying at the house by yourself. I mean it.”

  “Did I miss something…?”

  Blaise’s voice came through the speaker. “You are welcome to
stay with me, Alexandra. I have plenty of extra space.”

  Alexandra looked at Paul. “Are you sure about this?”

  He nodded.

  Blaise sighed. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” He hung up.

  Alexandra placed the phone on the nightstand.

  “Baby, please don’t go.”

  “Why?”

  “Can’t you just do as I ask?” he said.

  “Not when it comes to Martha. Is there something you aren’t telling me?”

  He grabbed her hand. “I don’t want to scare you…”

  Her heart accelerated. “Too late.”

  “Blaise said Evan threatened to hurt you.”

  “Evan?”

  “That guy that was trying to hurt Blaise’s ex-girlfriend,” Paul said. “Apparently he wants to get back at Blaise by hurting you.”

  She felt her hand go cold. “But, I have to see Martha.”

  “And I can’t get out of court. I have to show up, Alex. I can’t just bail.”

  “I know,” she said. “You don’t need to come with me.”

  “Are you fucking kidding? A psycho has it out for you and I’m supposed to let you go?”

  “I can take care of myself,” she said. “And if I can’t, Blaise will look after me.”

  “I know he will,” Paul said. “But it should be me, baby.”

  “Well, I’m going to Martha no matter what. Nothing will stop me, not even a threat.”

  Paul sighed. “I’ll ask Toby if he can cover for me.”

  “No,” she said immediately. “Don’t do that.”

  “I’d be worried about you all the time…”

  “I’ll check in constantly.”

  He shook his head. “But that doesn’t guarantee your safety.”

  “If there really is someone trying to hurt me, Blaise would never let anything happen. I can promise you that.”

  “You have a lot of faith in him,” he said simply.

  “He is a good person, Paul. I know he’d give his life to protect anyone, not just me.”

  Paul sighed then ran his fingers through his hair. The anxiety and stress was prominent on his face.

  “Paul, you don’t have to worry about me and Blaise…”

  He looked at her. “Why would I be worried?”

  “I don’t know…because we are staying at the same house.”