Slow Dancing (The Second Chances Series Book 4)

by Isobelle Cate

  Her father gave another sigh, averting his stare to the spartan ceiling. “I still had a lot of years in me.”

  When Joe became maudlin, only her mother could make him snap out of it but Bethany didn’t want to call her. Her mother needed to get some much needed after staying in the hospital for days on end. Bethany also promised her mother she’d stay until tomorrow.

  She wasn’t so sure if she could now.

  “You know,” she licked at her dry lips, taking a slow but deep breath. “There’s something you can do to help.”

  Eagerness lit her father’s eyes. “Anything.”

  “Get better and then,” she added quickly when she saw the light starting to dim from his eyes. “When you’re okay, you can help out in Expectation Blooms.”

  Her father stared at her for so long, Bethany was afraid he’d continue his justified pity party. The dull throbbing in her head started.

  “I’m listening.”

  Her breath eased off in relief, the throbbing receding also.

  “You know Cinzia and I are preparing to open our flower shop. It’s small but we have started to send feelers out.”

  He nodded.

  “It just so happens we need someone to run it on a part time basis. You have a good head for business, Dad. You made that last company a lot of money. They let you go, fine. But,” she added before her father to could speak. “Don’t you think it’s time to let go too?”

  “Bethany ˗˗˗”

  “Dad, listen.” She squeezed his hand. “I’m not offering charity though God knows I’d want to keep on caring for you and Mum.”

  Her father expelled a huge breath. “Then what are you offering?”

  Bethany smiled and it was worth every pain that crawled across to her eyes.

  “I’m giving you back your dignity.”

  Her father’s eyes were some of the most expressive Bethany had come across so when they watered and he closed them, Bethany knew she’d hit home. It may have taken a while, but she was finally giving her father his self-respect back.

  She let go of his hand, knowing he was the kind of person who took a while for things to sink in. She moved slowly to the window of her father’s second floor room. It overlooked the hospital’s sprawling frontage. At eleven at night, the intersections several metres away were nearly devoid of vehicles. Traffic lights changed from red to amber to green at intervals. Headlights from a lone vehicle pierced the gloom, illuminating the raindrops falling from the ink black night. No vehicle inhabited the other lanes. It was just one solitary car waiting for the light to turn green. Obedient in following the rules. Staying in place, not daring to step out of line.

  She was like that once. Her lips flattened to a cynical line, the irony not lost on her. Cars depreciated the moment they left the showroom. Women lost their dignity, trampled upon by those drunk on power they thought they had. She kept to the straight and narrow, believing the world wasn’t all that bad. That there were pockets of beauty, of kindness, of hope.

  There never were. Others broke the rules, destroyed her trust she had freely given because circumstances made her different. Malice ruled the day because her hearing impairment made her less than perfect.

  And something imperfect didn’t belong in a perfect place.

  Until Drake showed her that imperfection could be a rare and coveted diamond in a superficial world.

  “It’s just that…”

  Bethany blinked the present and her migraine back, shoving the memories that pushed her off the cliff that shattered her innocence.

  “Sorry, what was that?” she asked stepping away from the window. “You know I can’t understand you when I can’t see your mouth.”

  “Sorry.” Her father’s airy laugh descended into a cough. He held his chest wincing in pain. Bethany rushed to get him water, sucking her breath when she felt the twinge pulsing at the base of her neck and pinching her shoulder. She held the straw to her father’s lips waiting until he had his fill.

  “Better?”

  He nodded. “Ta.”

  “You were saying,” she said, sitting on the chair, careful not to make any jarring movement.

  Her father’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “It’s just that it was my responsibility to take care of you and Mum. Not the other way around.”

  “Dad, please,” she pleaded, her voice soft. “If you continued on, they’d still have taken you out in the end because of the merger. Look where the company is now. It’s gone into administration.”

  Joe chuckled wryly heaving a breath. “Well there’s that.”

  She grimaced. The pain encompassed the slope of her shoulder now and a vice squeezed her head. The vein on her right temple pulsed and the glare of the room’s fluorescent light wasn’t helping.

  “Dad, I think I need to go home. I don’t think I can stay as I promised Mum I would.”

  Her vision was starting to blur but she still saw her father’s face clear at seeing what she was going through.

  “Migraine,” he whispered that sounded like a crack of thunder. The word triggered a shot of pain hitting her right temple once more. Bethany clamped her teeth on her bottom lip to stop her groan.

  “Go on,” her father said, squeezing her hand. “You know I’ll be fine here. Did you bring your car?”

  “No,” she said. No way was she going to shake her head. “Drake took me here.”

  Joe grunted. “Hhmph.”

  “Dad, please not now.” She stood with as much finesse she could muster. “Do you want me to call Mum?”

  “No, don’t do that.” Joe pressed the call button. “I swear sometimes your Mum treats me like I’m bloody fragile. She’ll only worry if you do. When she comes back in the morning, I’ll tell her what happened.”

  Bethany’s chuckle was followed by a moan.

  The nurse entered. Joseph asked if she could call a taxi for Bethany.

  “It’s fine,” Bethany interrupted. Her movements were slow, deliberate. “I can call one when I get to the lobby. Rest easy, Dad. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

  “Take care, sweetheart. You rest too. Love you.”

  She kissed her father on his forehead, waiting for her pulse to recede from her temple when she straightened. “Love you too, Dad.”

  The ride to the ground floor eased part of the pressure on her head but the minute she stepped out another flash of pain blinded her. Her arms flailed to stop her fall, migraine forgotten.

  “Whoa, Bee!”

  Strong arms broke her fall.

  “What’s wrong?” Drake asked, concerned.

  “Migraine.” She blinked. She wanted to throw up. She swallowed the bile rising up her gut. “What are you doing here?”

  “I wanted to talk to you.” His arm circled her waist. Bethany gratefully leaned against him. Pleasurable heat penetrated her pain. “Have you eaten?”

  The thought of food made it more difficult to keep her bile down.

  “I did earlier.” She swallowed through her constricting throat. “Look Drake, I don’t want to be rude. I need to go home.”

  “I’ll take you.”

  “Thank you.” She exhaled in relief.

  “Promise you won’t jump?”

  She looked up to retort but saw Drake’s teasing gaze. She huffed a soft laugh that came out as a sound of pain.

  “Only you, Drake Rosen, have the guts to make a mockery of someone’s pain and make it funny.”

  “Bloody hell, Bee. I don’t know whether I should take that as a compliment or not.”

  “Think of it any way you like. Just get me out of here.”

  Drake’s soft laugh permeated the chill encroaching on her and the kiss on her temple eased the angry throb. Whoever said that a kiss could take away physical pain had been on to something.

  The farther they went into the empty lobby, the more she leaned on him. Another shot of pain lanced her eyes this time and she grunted as the blood drained away from her face to settle in her ankles.

  �
��Bethany…” Drake’s voice was harsh in her ear.

  Her knees buckled.

  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” she looked up at him, the remembered fear leeching out of her eyes and pores. Her body betrayed her when she shook. “Please don’t hurt me.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Shock and confusion rendered Drake immobile.

  What the fuck?

  “Please don’t.” Bethany pushed against him. If Drake let go, Bethany would surely crumple to the ground.

  “Bethany…Bee, it’s me. Drake.” He shook her gently. Bethany winced. Fuck the migraine, he needed to get through to her. “I would never hurt you, baby.”

  The moment he found out who did this to her, he was not even going to let the bastard get a chance to defend himself.

  Even under the lobby’s soft and almost elegant lighting, Bethany’s pallor was unmistakable. A thin sheen of sweat covered her face and her pulse throbbed angrily at her temple. Drake had seen this once, a long time ago.

  “Taxi,” she gasped.

  “Not needed. I told you I was going to take you, remember? For once Bethany, quit being stubborn,” he growled softly. “You were never like this before.”

  Her mouth lifted only a fraction before she groaned.

  “Is she alright?” A night nurse came out of the 24/7 café holding a steaming cup of tea with the labelled string hanging by the outside.

  “Yeah, she’ll be fine,” Drake said. “Her migraines do this to her all the time. I’m taking her home.”

  “I need to go home,” Bethany murmured at the same time.

  The nurse nodded in sympathy. “Sorry to see you in pain. I get those too. I’ve got some ibuprofen.” She took something out of her pocket. “Will this help.”

  “Oh yes please.”

  The nurse returned to the café to bring out a cup of water. Bethany drank it gratefully.

  “Hope you feel better soon,” the nurse said smiling before go to the bank of lifts.

  “Thank you,” Drake murmured.

  “What for?” Bethany’s forehead crunched with the effort of talking.

  “Nowadays, you always have to give a long explanation. People might think I’m abducting you.”

  “I’d like that,” she said on a breath. “Then maybe… shit, I’m going to be sick.”

  Bethany pulled away from Drake, running in a haphazard manner out of the hospital. He followed her down the stairs just in time to hold her hair away from her face while she retched by the hedge. Nothing came out except a strangled gurgle and dry heaving while the wind blew droplets of rain at them.

  “Better?”

  “I think so. The mist is helping.” She lifted her face to the darkness, her profile haloed by light coming from the hospital’s lobby.

  Drake forced himself to look away. Bethany’s exposed throat was tempting him to lick and gently graze his teeth on it. Her voice was sultry and sweet with VIP access to his mouth, his body. All of him. His hand was itching to grab her wrist and drag her to the AMG and take his fill. Fuck, it might even cure her migraine.

  “Ready to go?” he asked softly, not wanting to shake her with the sound of his voice.

  She nodded.

  They walked the short distance to his car. Bethany allowed him to wrap his arm around her waist, helping her into the seat. When he secured her belt, Bethany leaned forward giving him a kiss that landed on the side of his mouth.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, her dark blue eyes searching his, caressing his face. His body took notice. Drake saw the flare of desire amidst the pain before she lowered them, banking the fire that warmed him.

  He closed her door gently, inhaling and appreciating the sharp cold invading his lungs. It wasn’t enough to turn his thoughts completely away from what he wanted to do to the woman sitting in his car but it was a start. Besides, the reason why he returned to the hospital was to be with Bethany in any way he could. He doubted if he’d get into her good graces if he just fucked her brains out.

  And what the fuck did she mean about not hurting her?

  He entered the driver’s seat and closed the door and looked at her sleeping form. Her mascara made her lashes longer than they were. Her pale berry coloured lips made dusky by the shadows slightly pouted in slumber, her body curled, her forehead smoothing out the deeper she slept.

  Bethany’s street was dark and deserted when Drake turned into the off street parking behind her car. He shut the engine. The front lights on the houses pierced the gloom and illuminated the cars partially parked up the curb.

  “Bethany, we’re here.”

  She mumbled and settled even more into the cradle of the seat.

  Drake’s lips twitched before he got out, locking the door behind him. No one was going to hurt Bethany, not even if he was gone only to open her house door. He took the key once more from under the vase, his forehead pulling into a scowl. He shook his head when it opened and there was no beep of an alarm. Bethany had no fucking security system at all. Irritation and anxiety burned low in his gut and spread to stranglehold his chest. It was so easy to kick Bethany’s door down but it wouldn’t have made him any different from the lowlifes he had to tangle with from Manchester’s underbelly after being thrown out on his arse.

  Drake’s hands balled into fists, his breathing laboured, and his jaw hard as he willed himself to release his pent up tension. His breath seesawed and he concentrated on the sound of the air coming out of his nasal passages. Miles had forced him to take those meditation classes and some yoga shit for flexibility and calm when all Drake wanted to do was go inside the cage and fight because fate had dealt him an unfair hand. It took a long time for him to accept that holding grudges was not doing him any favours.

  He pulled in a lungful of air and let it out slowly. Miles was right, though. This medication shit calmed him the fuck down.

  Scooping Bethany in his arms, his lips curved to the side at the sexy noise she made against his chest. He closed the front door softly with his back and took a step up the flight of stairs he’d previously vowed he wouldn’t until he felt worthy.

  With only the foyer’s light helping him see, Drake stood on the landing. Three doors greeted him. Two were closed and one was left opened where the lights from a passing vehicle illuminated it.

  Bethany’s room.

  Drake’s shoes sank into the thick carpet as he lay Bethany on the bed and carefully removed her boots. She made another sexy noise before turning away, her sweet ass pushing back in sleep and crowding Drake’s mind with thoughts of what he wanted to do with it. He straightened and watched her sleeping form and a wave of protectiveness soaked him.

  Something had happened to her that changed her from the sweet girl of his youth to the woman he wanted in his bed. Her fear gnawed at his gut. Asking her point blank could shut him out. He needed to tread carefully. He also couldn’t leave her, not like this. Not when she’d be alone without any alarm in place. He was going to fix that whether she liked it or not.

  In the meantime, he was going to lock up and make sure Bethany’s house was as much a fortress from burglars as it could be. Much as Drake wanted to spoon Bethany, he was going to sit his ass on the sofa downstairs and nurse his aching balls while he guarded her. He may not be beside her but this was as close as he could get to the gates of heaven since crawling his way out of hell.

  “Drake…” Bethany’s sleepy and sensual voice reached him.

  He tensed before his mouth kicked to one side. Was she dreaming of him?

  Had she been doing this the whole time they were apart?

  She rolled to face him, her eyes still closed.

  The tightness around his chest eased as pleasure in the knowledge that he had never been far from her mind nestled inside him taking some of the guilt from his soul. That was enough to keep him content downstairs. For the moment.

  He moved to the door.

  “Stay with me…”

  He froze, his hand on the doorknob.

  “Pl
ease.”

  He didn’t move, still unsure.

  “I’m barely awake, Drake, and my head bloody hurts.” Bethany’s croaking voice reached him. A painful pucker decorated her forehead. “I’m not going to ask again.”

  A small, humorous huff escaped his throat.

  He sat on the side of the bed, toeing his shoes off. Bethany groaned. The moment he lay down, she was over him like a sexy kitten, not even waiting for his arm to curl her to his side. He clenched his jaw so hard he might need to go to the dentist to have his molars brought back down.

  The purring sounds of pleasure coming from Bethany zinged straight down to his cock, thickening it, lengthening it, waking it. Those same sounds spread heat across his belly and his thighs. Bethany had her arm draped over his chest and her thigh over his right leg. But that was more than enough for him to want to tear off her clothes and explore the body of the woman whose memory had kept him sane and alive.

  Bethany stopped moving, her hums turning to sighs as she sank deeper into sleep.

  Drake placed his other hand beneath his head trying not to mind his raging hard on. It was going to be a long night.

  He smiled at the ceiling.

  Fuck blue balls. He’d take sleeping with Bethany anyway he could.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Bethany rubbed her nose with her fist, brushing her hair from her face before burying her cheek in that sexy smell of musk and spice that reminded her of Drake.

  Her eyes fluttered open.

  She was inside her bedroom, the blinds still closed against the cloudy day’s light.

  She groaned. The migraine was still kicking her ass but it wasn’t as bad as the night before. It lay in wait between her shoulder and her right eye like a prankster on April Fool’s Day. She needed her medication. That would ease the migraine until it surrendered and burrowed in her subconscious. But at the moment she didn’t want to leave the bed. She just wanted to burrow in this comfortable balminess. Sure, she sometimes lolled in bed while it was still early and she’d get up eventually. This time…

  Her arm curled around something hard yet soft. It went up and down and she felt a few strands of her hair on her crown blowing in the non-existent breeze, unless…