by Lynda Chance
From the house? That sounded like bullshit—she’d been trying to get away from him. He couldn’t stop his fingers from digging into her upper arms. “You’re not to leave the house again unless you tell me where the hell you’re going, you understand?”
She blinked up at him without answering. Watching her, he was appalled to see her eyes fill with tears. She nodded her head in answer to his question but then began shaking it instead.
Her tears upset him, but her refusal to conform to his wishes was fucking him up beyond comprehension. “No? You’ve scared the shit out of me, worried Marisol and disrupted my men from their work and you dare to say ‘no’ to me?”
Her cheeks bloomed with color as she bit her lip and looked away from him.
The rain came down harder; he could hear it beating down around them. He wanted to strip her naked and make sure every inch of her was really all right. He wanted her safe and at the house when he said the things he needed to say to her, but it wasn’t safe to leave the shelter yet, and above all else, he wouldn’t risk Erin’s safety by taking her out into the weather again. Taking her hand in his, he walked to the back of what was left of the building, pulling her along beside him.
He knew she’d said she was okay, but he needed to make sure she was telling the truth, he needed to see her naked skin for himself, needed to sink inside her warmth so he could calm the fuck down. With his mission in mind, he reached for her shirt and began to strip it over her head.
Her arms came up immediately in a defensive move that stalled him—and it enraged him.
Holding her shirt down, her eyes flashed up at his, even as her arms shook. “I can’t take this anymore.” Her eyes filled with new tears—and determination. “Seriously, Max, I can’t continue living like this.”
At her tone, at the look in her eyes, his anger took second place to the sudden panic that wrapped around his throat. “You don’t have a choice—”
“I have a choice,” she volleyed back. “I’m not stupid. You’re not thinking straight. How can you possibly justify keeping me here because of something my grandfather did?”
How could she not understand? It was so fucking simple. “I’m keeping you here because I want you here.”
She stared at him for a long moment before her face crumpled. “That’s not good enough—and it’s not true,” she muttered. “I could only stay here for only one reason—because I want to stay. Not because I’m being forced into it.”
He felt his muscles cord as his stress levels skyrocketed. “We’ve been over this too many times, Erin. The two issues are separate—”
“That’s crap,” she said on a sigh. “I deserve more—I deserve the fairytale. And I’m not going to settle for anything less.”
At that word—fairytale—Max took notice. The word pissed him off because he knew he was failing her—it also made him determined to find out exactly what she needed. “Explain this to me. What does this ‘fairytale’ contain that you’re not getting from me already?”
She let out a breath of air that sounded like pure misery … and hurt. “I want a love story—not a revenge blackmailing. The two things aren’t the same—can’t you see that?”
How could she be so blind? Did she truly not know? Could she not see through all his flimsy excuses? “You’re kidding me, right?”
“No,” she said with hesitation.
Well, son-of-a-bitch. He was going to actually have to say the words he’d been trying so hard to avoid—even to himself. His feelings were raw, and now, damn it—they’d be exposed. But if he didn’t tell her the truth, would she ever be happy here? She looked devastated, as if she couldn’t handle anything more—and he couldn’t have that, just the thought was causing panic to infiltrate his entire system.
What did it matter if he came across as vulnerable? Who was he kidding? He was vulnerable—but maybe showing his vulnerability would allow her to see how deep-seated his feelings really were. His muscles tensed up, readying himself to put it all on the line for her. “You can’t see that the revenge scenario was just an excuse? That it’s been a damn excuse for a while now—a piss poor excuse that I’ve been using because I’ve been afraid you’ll leave?”
She looked confused as her brows came down into a frown. “No—”
He let out a harsh bark of laughter—surely the entire world could see how he felt about her? “Are you kidding me?”
When she shook her head with a dumbstruck look on her face, he drew in a breath and continued more gently, “Erin—sweetheart—it’s been about you from the first moment I saw you. Looking back, I don’t know who I was trying harder to convince otherwise—you or me.”
She continued shaking her head, but the movement slowed, her eyes narrowing as if perplexed. “No, it hasn’t been,” she argued. “You set out to find me in Las Vegas for revenge. You seduced me for revenge. You married me and brought me to Argentina for revenge. It was all for revenge.”
He expelled a harsh breath and shook his head, his eyes looking away momentarily as he fought for calmness before locking on hers once again. “Wrong.”
She swayed and he steadied her with firm hands. “I’m not wrong. I’m tired and wet and cold—but I’m not wrong.”
“You’re wrong, baby,” he reiterated as he rubbed his hands over her upper arms and shoulders, trying to warm her up.
She took a deep breath and seemed to stiffen her resolve as she broke away from him and took a step back. Tears tracked down her face and the knowledge that he was responsible for them almost annihilated him. “Explain it to me, then,” she said in a low-pitched tone that told him that her feelings were utterly raw.
He looked away, not really wanting to reveal all his family secrets but knowing the truth was the only thing that would convince her. The only thing that might possibly take that sadness from her eyes. She deserved the truth.
He cleared his throat and looked back to her. “Okay—here it is. When my father died, his last words to me were of venganza for what had happened to his younger sister. I never thought it was right, but I felt a strong sense of responsibility to honor my father’s memory, and to fight the battle that might help his soul finally find peace.” As he spoke, he couldn’t keep his hands to himself—he ran his finger up and down the silky length of Erin’s cheekbone as he continued, “And the situation did piss me off. Maybe if my aunt’s child—Nora—hadn’t been ripped away from us it would have been easier for me to see that my father had been wrong to pursue retaliation. Maybe if it hadn’t devastated me as well, but having Nora close by was always a reminder of what had happened. It was a double loss for us—my aunt dying far too young and then Nora being taken away from us as well and handed off to another family as if she wasn’t ours—thank God she was too young to remember any of it. My father worried about Nora until the day he died and then—I don’t know—it seemed as if it were my duty to assume his worry. I know it doesn’t make sense, even I see that now. But right or wrong, that’s the way it was. Worrying about Nora became an obligation for me—and as you know, I didn’t handle it so well.”
He stopped and waited for her to speak. Her eyes were locked with his—he could almost feel the increased beat of her heart and it gave him a measure of hope. “Go on,” she whispered.
“Although I knew that revenge against your family was wrong and unjustified, I couldn’t get over the guilt of not fulfilling my father’s dying wish. So, to make myself feel less guilty, I hired an employee to monitor the Rule Corporation—and hoped that maybe I would be able to forget about the whole thing. And I came pretty damn close to achieving that. But then a land deal came up in the Florida Keys—close to Miami, where the youngest of your brothers had situated himself. The deal seemed to be the way to legally screw your brothers out of a lot of money, but as you probably know, Garrett didn’t go for my bait. That attempt to get back at them seemed to be the last straw for me. I was beyond frustrated and tired of everything—I decided I had my own businesses to run and I did
n’t need to be hampered by any more bullshit. I’d just about given up the entire idea of revenge when, by a fluke, I found out about you—that you existed.”
Her eyes clung to his, her nostrils flaring. “And—” she prompted.
“And after I found out about you, I investigated—saw your picture and that was it.”
“That was it?” she questioned softly.
He let out a terse laugh. “Yeah, baby. That was it. Your social media accounts were easy for my man to find—and hell—shortly after that, I became obsessed.”
“Obsessed?”
“Obsessed, sweetheart. I began stalking you online—continuously. Do you have any fucking idea how gorgeous you are?”
Pink highlighted her cheekbones as she shook her head, just once.
“Yeah, well, you are. It was easy to keep track of you—too easy, really. I watched your Facebook and Instagram accounts obsessively, just to see you living your life. I wanted to be part of it, even if I wouldn’t admit it to myself at the time. You became my guilty pleasure, baby. But the thing that really let me inside your head? Your blog.”
She sucked in a breath as realization and something akin to hope dawned in her eyes. Covering her mouth with her fingertips, she whispered, “The closet—my dressing room. The Oriental rug—the chaise—the chandelier—Oh, my God! The atrium!”
“Yes, the entire house, actually. I learned about all the things you loved from the Internet. I don’t usually concern myself with social media, and certainly not individual blogs. But I changed my mind when I realized social media was how I could get to know you. Your interests and the things you loved—your favorite color, favorite foods, favorite books, movies, magazines, decorating style. The only thing I had to do was pay attention and it was all there—laid out in organized categories for me to see.”
As if she couldn’t take it all in, she said, “But that’s all just—”
“Just what?” he asked.
“Stuff.”
“Yeah, just stuff? Well, it was stuff that I began to crave. Eventually I found myself wanting to be part of it. So I found a way to get close to you. In Vegas. You have to know—” he stalled, trying to say what he was thinking without sounding as if he were nothing but a crazed stalker.
“What?” she asked.
He took a sustaining breath. “You have to know that because of the past, because of the thoughts of revenge that were floating around in my head—I know it’s not right, but by that time, I came to believe that I deserved to have you. You became mine in my head. I justified that idea because of the past, even though I knew it wasn’t entirely sane.”
“And?”
“And then Las Vegas happened. I followed you into that restaurant and as I sat and watched you from my seat at the bar—”
He stopped and with an air of frustration, she said, “What?”
“I knew you were mine. I wanted you for real. Not images on my computer—but you. Flesh and blood. And after seeing you, well, sweetness, I was on a mission. I used the excuse given—revenge—and I took you for myself.”
A shadow seemed to disappear from her features as she asked, “And?”
“There’s no more ‘and’. My sane mind knows the past is dead and needs to be buried—but not if it’s the only way to keep you here. Understand me, Erin—nobody can take you away from me. I’m not letting you go. Not now and not ever.”
****
Erin sucked in a breath as her eyes continued to cling to Max’s. The things he was admitting were flooring her, in a good way, a wonderful way. She forced herself to be brave and asked, “Why?”
“Why?” he questioned severely. “What are you asking me exactly? Why are you mine? Why am I going to continue to keep you here with me? Why am I so fucking crazy about wanting you here—wanting you to sleep by my side every night?”
Her tongue darted out to lick her lips. The look that was in his eyes gave free rein to her hope. Maybe it had been there before, but he’d been keeping so much hidden from her. But not now. Now she could see the truth in his eyes—and it was sending a spiral of joy rushing through her bloodstream. Needing to know, hoping beyond hope that he’d say what she wanted to hear, she breathed in deeply and asked, “Yes. Why?”
Another expression chased across his countenance. Was it frustration because she still needed to hear the absolute truth? For him to bare his soul? His tone dropped and his eyes grew a little wild, as he said in a rush, “Because I’m obsessed with you. Because I love you. I love everything about you. I love the way you feel in my arms when you’re asleep. I love the sounds you make when you’re climaxing around me.” His voice turned rigid on his next words. “I’m not giving you up—it’s not happening, understand? I don’t give a fuck who your brothers are. I don’t give a fuck how badly they want you back—it’s not happening.”
The truth in his fervent declaration hit her with an impact that gave her an immediate sense of completion. She felt her eyes glass over with new tears—tears of happiness this time. She smiled tremulously and Max’s anger seemed to swiftly fade as he studied her. “You love me?” she asked.
His tension seemed to melt as he admitted, “I’ve loved you since I learned all about the little facets that make you you, and the minute I saw you—it was all over for me.”
Erin stared up into his eyes, reading the utter sincerity in them and in the raw expression on his face. She took a shuddering breath, gathered up all her courage and said simply, “I love you, too.”
At her words, his expression transformed. Relief was there—but so was possession in the glint of his eyes. It sent a wild trickle of elation down her spine; she knew that look was all for her—just for her. His hold on her was unyielding as he wrapped his arms completely around her and lowered his mouth to her ear. “Will you stay with me? Stay married to me, even without threats keeping you here?”
Her heart beat loudly in her ears as she realized her fairytale was coming true. “Yes. Oh, yes.”
His hand went to the length of her hair, caressing downward to land on the curve of her lower back. “I want you so damn bad, Erin. I want to spend every day with you, I want to have a family with you—and I swear, I’m going to figure out what this damn ‘fairytale’ means—and then I’m going to make sure you have it.”
She was suddenly so happy she knew it must be visible on her face. She was so happy that her heart flipped over. Lifting a trembling hand to his cheek, her eyes clung to his. “I have it. The fairytale? It’s complete. You made it happen, by opening up to me. By loving me. I don’t need anything else. Only you and our life together.”
****
When Max heard those words, a rush of relief and all-consuming pleasure settled in his heart. Finally, shit, finally—he could have Erin and know that she truly wanted to be here with him. He wasn’t going to have to worry anymore, he could to go to sleep holding her in his arms at night, knowing that she’d still be there the next morning.
Now all he wanted was to get her back to the house, get her warmed up and dried off, get her to a safer position than the one they were in now. With the life-changing words they had spoken still fresh in his mind and heart, his protective instincts went into overdrive. Holding her close, he pressed his lips to her temple as he considered the task at hand—getting them both home safe. With her tucked firmly to his side, he walked with her to the entrance. He took a long, assessing look at the treacherous, rain soaked terrain that awaited them. He decided that in the time that had passed since he found her there in the ruins, the rain had let up just enough for them to make the drive back. And the threat of flooding meant there was no time to spare. He leaned down, letting his lips graze the shell of her ear, and said, “Let’s go home, okay?”
She shot him a seductive grin and began nodding her head.
He didn’t wait any longer. He pulled his rain jacket off and bundled her into it and then led her through the rain to the ATV. The drive back seemed to take forever as he maintained a white-knuc
kled grip on the steering wheel and negotiated the slick, rain saturated roads. He had to be careful, but he could hardly wait until he had her naked on their bed again. His heart pumped blood ferociously as he visualized exactly how quickly he’d get her into their suite once they were out of the weather.
But his plans were not to be.
As they pulled into the front of the house, what he saw there made his gut clench into knots of impatience, tension, and he had to admit, pure, unadulterated fear. Her brothers—all three of them—stood on the front porch of his house, five of his men surrounding them. His men wore angry expressions on their faces, but he was relieved to see that their weapons were still holstered.
His throat closed up as his mouth flattened into a grim line. He took three steady breaths as he put the ATV into park and cut the engine. He had to calm the fuck down, and he needed to do it now. Erin wouldn’t leave him—he prayed like hell that she wouldn’t leave him—ever.
Erin gripped the edge of her seat and mumbled, “Shit. Not now.”
Max pulled her chin around until her eyes met his. “It’s all good, sweetness.” He ran his thumb across her jaw, unable to stop himself. “That is—as long as you’re staying here with me?”
Her eyes softened as she took in every detail of his face. Her hand came up and clutched his shoulder. “They’d have to drag me away, kicking and screaming.”
Her words sent a rush of heated relief down his spine—and a wave of blood to his groin. “It won’t come to that,” he said as he smiled into her eyes. “Your brothers are good men. Believe it or not, I respect them, and that’s made this entire ordeal even more messed up.”
She nodded her head. “They’re good men, but they’re hot-headed.”
He smiled, his fingers trailing over her cheek. “But we can handle them, right?” There was no question that he could handle them, but he didn’t want Erin upset.
She rolled her eyes as if she’d been handling her brothers her entire life. “Right.”
