“Yeah, baby, it’s me. What’s going on?”
Jessica couldn’t answer if she tried. It was like her body knew she was safe in Riley’s arms, and it began to shut down. She sagged against him, happy that he was safe, and wrapped her arms around him, holding on for dear life. The first sob slipped past her lips by accident, and she tried to contain the rest. After the second one slipped past, there was no way she could stop the others from coming. Burying her face in the crook of Riley’s neck, Jessica cried.
Chapter 11
Riley finally arrived at Jessica’s house and heard her scream as he was getting out of the car. He ran up the porch just as her front door opened and saw her standing there covered in blood. He quickly forgot about the pain in his head when she screamed again and began to fight him. From the vacant look in her eyes, he could tell that she didn’t realize it was him. He had to yell her name a few times to get her attention.
Finally getting her calmed down, Riley wrapped her in his arms as she began to cry. He needed to know what was going on and if she was hurt, but he couldn’t resist holding her tight. He had no idea what happened to her or why she was covered in blood, but none of that mattered at the moment. It was a relief just knowing she was safe in his arms. He lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He walked over to the couch and grabbed the blanket off the back of it. Once he had Jessica wrapped tight, Riley carried her out to his car. He was glad he had left it running and the heat going when he felt her shaking. She clung to him when he sat her in the passenger seat, but he finally got her to let go, and he ran around to the other side to get in.
“Look at me, little rabbit. You need to tell me what’s going on. Are you hurt?” He didn’t like what he saw when Jessica finally looked over at him. She was in shock from whatever had happened.
“I don’t know if I killed him or not.”
That one statement sent Riley into a panic. He didn’t understand what she meant. The thought of her being attacked to the point that she had to defend herself and possibly kill someone didn’t sit well with him. The fact that he wasn’t there to protect her was eating at him. Riley thought about going into the house to check it out, but decided against it. His first priority was making sure Jessica was safe. He pulled out his cell phone as he backed out of the driveway and called his brother.
“Hey, Riley,” Duncan answered. “I’m still looking, but there is still no sign of the guy that hit you.”
Riley had woken up on the side of the road freezing. If it hadn’t been for the heat coming from the running car engine, he would have probably died of hypothermia. As it was, he was more than likely going to suffer some frostbite on his fingers. In his haste to get to Jessica, he hadn’t been wearing gloves.
“Listen, Duncan, I just found Jessica running from her house covered in blood. I don’t know what happened. She would only say that she didn’t know if she killed him.” Riley paused as he heard Duncan repeating what he had just said to someone. The curses in the background came from Logan.
“I’m going to call Angel and Gavin. They’re the closest to you right now. I’ll send them to check out the house.”
“Okay, I’m headed to Dr. Barnes with Jessica. I think she’s in shock.”
“We’ll meet you there.”
Riley disconnected and drove the icy roads as fast as he could. He was worried about Jessica. She had curled up in a tight ball in her seat with her eyes closed. He wasn’t sure if she was just quiet or asleep. “Jessica, can you tell me what happened? You have me really scared right now.” He didn’t think she would answer him at first, but she finally did.
“I’m okay. Can I wait to tell you when everyone else is there? I don’t want to have to repeat it over and over again.”
“I can wait, but at least tell me where you’re hurt.” He couldn’t ignore the blood any longer.
“It’s not my blood. It’s James’s. I just have a cut on my hand, that’s all.”
He wanted to question her more, but he decided to wait. Riley was glad to see that she had stopped crying and her voice sounded a little stronger. Still, he wanted to pull over on the side of the road and drag her into his lap. Instead he drove on with guilt eating away at his gut. He didn’t understand what it was about him that made him walking bad luck. It never failed that the moment he wasn’t around, bad things happened. First it happened with Ali and Cane, then Kerri, and now Jessica. He was the smallest of his brothers and Logan, and he would never be the strongest. He was never a fighter, more of a bookworm. What could he offer Jessica? It was obvious from the state she was in that he couldn’t keep her safe.
By the time he arrived at Dr. Barnes’s office, Riley had worked up one big pity party for himself. He ran around the car and lifted Jessica in his arms. Duncan must have called ahead for him because Dr. Barnes was waiting at the door for him when he carried Jessica inside.
“Put her here, Riley.”
He followed the doctor’s order and placed Jessica on the bed he had pointed out. He tried to move away, but she wouldn’t release her grip on him. “It’s okay. I’m not going anywhere. Let the doctor check you out. I’ll be right here, I promise.” It eased a little of Riley’s guilt to know that Jessica still wanted him around.
Duncan and Logan walked through the door then with Gavin and Angel right behind them. The grim look on Duncan’s face told him the situation wasn’t good. The fear in Jessica’s wide eyes wasn’t a good sign either.
“What did you find?” Riley asked as he pulled them to the side so they wouldn’t disturb Jessica. He didn’t think she would let him go at first, but the doctor began checking her over to distract her.
“We found signs of a struggle and a dead guy on her bedroom floor,” Gavin told him. “No ID on the guy, so we have no idea who he is.”
“Has Jessica said anything?” Duncan asked.
“No. This is all so crazy.” Riley ran his fingers through his hair, wincing when he hit the lump on the back of his head. “First, I get bashed over the head by some crazy tourist and then Jessica gets attacked in her…” Riley froze. What Jessica told him in the car hit him all of a sudden.
“I think they are the same guy.”
“What are you talking about?” Duncan frowned.
“In the car on the way over here, I asked Jessica was she hurt and she told me it was James’s blood on her. The guy that I stopped to help introduced himself as James. I think they were the same guy.”
“It makes since, but we have no way of knowing or what happened until Jessica is willing to talk. I can tell you that based on what Angel and Gavin described, she put up one hell of a fight.”
It didn’t make him feel any better to know that his shy, timid little rabbit had to fight in her own home. Jessica should never have been in that situation to begin with. He should have never let her leave his house. At least, he should have gone with her when she asked.
Dr. Barnes interrupted Riley’s thoughts when he called them over. “Jessica is going to be just fine. She’s probably going to be sore and have a few bruises. Other than the cut on her hand that I will stitch up in a few minutes, everything else seems to be okay.”
Riley sighed in relief as he went over to Jessica. He was glad to see that she had stopped shaking and she wasn’t as pale as she had been before. She also looked more coherent than she had when he first brought her in. “Hey, little rabbit. Feeling better now?”
Jessica nodded and went straight into his arms. “I’m okay now. I just want to take a shower and burn these clothes.”
Up until that point Riley had been trying to block out what Jessica had been wearing when he found her. He knew if he thought about it, it would make him crazy wondering if the lingerie was something she chose to wear or something she was forced to. “All right, let me make sure it’s okay with Dr. Barnes. He may want to stitch up your hand first.”
Before he could go ask, Duncan and Logan walked over to them. “I know you’re tired and want to get cleane
d up, but we need to ask you a few questions and take a few pictures for evidence first.”
“I understand. Is he dead?”
“Yeah, honey, he’s dead,” Duncan said with compassion. “Can you tell me what happened?”
Jessica sighed. “I got home and saw rose petals and candles. I thought they were from Riley so I followed them up the stairs…”
As Riley listened to Jessica, he could feel his anger swelling. When she got to the part about stabbing the guy with an ink pen of all things, his pride in her for being so brave and his guilt for not being there competed for space in his chest. Guilt quickly won out when Duncan asked Jessica had she been sexually assaulted. His relief almost brought him to his knees when she said no. The only thing he could do was be glad that his little rabbit was smart enough to use her head to keep herself safe.
Once Duncan had taken all the pictures he needed, Riley was able to help Jessica get cleaned up. He tossed the lingerie in the trash as fast as he could, causing Jessica to giggle. The sound was music to his ears. He knew then that she would be okay. If she could still laugh after everything she had just been through, then she was going to be just fine.
“I thought it was from you,” she whispered. “It was so pretty. I even packed it to take on the trip.”
“I’m so sorry, Jessica. It wasn’t from me, but I will buy you all the lingerie you want. I will even let you go with me to pick it out. That way you know it’s from me.”
“I don’t need it. I just need you.” Jessica wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
Riley helped Jessica shower while keeping her bandaged hand dry. When they were done, he helped her dress in a pair of sweats and a T-shirt that Logan had gone back to her house for. By the time they were finished, he could tell the pain medicine that Dr. Barnes had given her was starting to work. Jessica sagged in his arms, and he picked her up and carried her to his car. He was taking her home to his bed. If he had his way, she would never leave it again.
Chapter 12
Jessica was going out of her mind. It had been three weeks since her stalker had broken into her house to “confess” his love for her. It had been three long weeks since she had to kill a man, and she was going to scream. Her stalker wasn’t even the problem. It had taken Jessica a week before she worked up the courage to return to the home she grew up in. She thought long and hard about returning and decided she wouldn’t let one crazy man run her out of the only place that she had ever felt accepted and loved. She still had nightmares, but she was working through them.
Getting over the fact that she had killed a person was taking a little longer. It helped to know she hadn’t done anything to provoke the guy. He became obsessed with her all on his own. Crazy wasn’t even the right word to describe her stalker. He was clinically insane. He had the medical records and medication to prove it. Apparently, James had been off his meds for a while. When the police went through his apartment, they found hundreds of copies of her books all with love notes written in the margins. They also found pictures of her tacked all over the walls. The man had been following her for almost a year, and she hadn’t even known it.
If she had to admit it, Jessica still jumped at every noise on the rare occasions when she was alone, but she was trying to be brave. She shivered just thinking about it, but as scary as that was, it still wasn’t her current problem. No, her problem was Riley and his ever-present need to coddle her. Jessica didn’t know what to do about the man. He blamed himself for what happened to her, and she could see the guilt literally eating away at him. He hovered over her constantly. She couldn’t even take a breath without him jumping to ask her if she was okay.
As hard as that was, she could deal with it. What she couldn’t handle was how he treated her like she might break. They had made love several times, but the passion just wasn’t there. He was gentle with her and she enjoyed it, but she wanted the spark back that they had before she was attacked. Where one look or touch set them on fire and they couldn’t get their clothes off fast enough. She was determined to have that kind of passion again. Jessica just had to figure out a way to relieve Riley of the unnecessary guilt he was feeling.
“I found the space heater, and I brought a warm blanket fresh out of the dryer.” They were headed to her swing on the back patio. The snow and ice from the storm had melted, but it was still cold outside. Jessica plugged the heater in and turned it on high. She settled next to Riley and wrapped the blanket around them. She snuggled into his chest as he draped his arm over her shoulder. Jessica could feel his ribs because of the weight he had lost, and she was fed up. It wasn’t how she imagined their relationship going, and she was determined to change that.
“Riley,” she sighed. “You have to talk to me so we can fix this. You can’t keep doing this to yourself.”
“I’m fine.”
“That’s bullshit,” Jessica snapped, shocking herself. She had never once raised her voice or swore in front of Riley, but she was angry. From the look on his face, she could tell that he was shocked as well.
“Don’t sit there and tell me that you’re fine. I can look at you and tell that you aren’t. Your whole family can see it and they’re worried about you. I am, too.”
Jessica climbed onto Riley’s lap with her knees straddling his hips. She wanted him to see how sincere she was. “I love you, Riley Matthews, and I want you to listen to me. None of this is your fault, so you have to stop blaming yourself. No one else blames you for anything that’s happened. Cane has moved on and is happy with two husbands and newborn babies that she never thought she could have. Kerri had decided to stay with Chase because they are in love and I’m in love with you, my very own Prince Charming. All of this is possible because of how loving and caring you and the rest of the Matthews family is. If we can move on from such tragic incidents, then why can’t you?”
She kissed Riley then, trying to put everything she was feeling into the kiss. She wanted the old Riley back, and she was determined to get him. Jessica traced every inch of his mouth with her tongue before sucking his bottom lip into hers. She let it go with a soft pop then trailed kisses along his jaw and down his neck. When she got to his collar bone, she nipped it with her teeth then soothed the bite with her tongue. She wiggled her hips against his crotch, hiding her smile when he groaned.
“Are you trying to seduce me, little rabbit?” Riley asked, clearing his raspy voice.
“Is it working?”
He didn’t answer with his mouth. Instead he grabbed her hips and pulled her down against him. It was Jessica’s turn to gasp as he ground her mound against his hard cock. Even through all the layers of clothes, he still felt good against her.
“I’m sorry, Jessica.”
She cut him off before he could finish, not about to lose him to his misery again. “Don’t. Don’t you dare apologize again for something you had no control over. You aren’t hurting me so just shut up and kiss me.”
Riley stared at her for a long time, and she stared right back with determined eyes. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he did exactly as ordered and kissed her. It was hard and brutal. Jessica was sure her lip would split, but she didn’t care. The uncontrolled passion was what she had been craving. Riley fisted her hair with both hands and tilted her head to the side so he could slant his mouth over hers, controlling the kiss. She whimpered as she tried to get closer and cursed the layers of clothes keeping him from sinking into her.
Jessica ran her hands across Riley’s shoulders and down his chest. She lifted the edge of his T-shirt and traced her fingers across the smooth ridges of his stomach. His skin was warm, making her fingertips tingle. She moaned and threw her head back when Riley bit the same spot on her neck that she had bitten him on a few minutes before. The bite of pain traveled all the way to her clit. She knew she would come without being touched if he did that again.
“Riley,” she moaned. “That feels so good.”
Releasing her hair, Riley grabbed her hips
and pressed her against him once more. His hard cock bumped her clit and had Jessica gasping for breath. As if Riley knew how close to coming she was, he gave her a wicked grin before leaning down and biting her shoulder once again. Jessica was pretty sure they could hear her scream all over town. She shuddered against Riley, gripping his shoulders as she rode out her orgasm on his lap.
“Damn, I needed that.”
“You’ve developed quit the potty mouth, Jessica. We’re going to have to work on that.”
Jessica laughed. “I can’t be held responsible for the things a certain stubborn man drives me to say. If you had gotten your head out of your butt a long time ago, this wouldn’t have happened.”
She held her breath hoping she hadn’t just ruined the moment, but when Riley laughed, Jessica sighed in relief. It felt good to hear him laugh again. The twinkle in his eyes was back. She knew he wasn’t a hundred percent better, but she was willing to be there to snap him out of his funk whenever he needed.
“Your Prince Charming, huh?” Riley teased.
“Don’t let it go to your head.”
* * * *
Riley felt the guilt that had been weighing his chest down finally begin to ease for the first time since the whole ordeal started. To know that Jessica still wanted him and didn’t blame him even though he screwed up meant a lot to him. Everything she said made sense. If Cane, Kerri, and Ali were all happy and not letting what happened to them stand in the way of their happiness, then why should he? He hadn’t realized how much his emotions were bringing Jessica down until she climbed into his lap and forced him to listen. At that moment, he vowed to do his best to no longer worry over things he had no way of changing. Sitting there with the woman he loved cradled in his lap, he knew it was time.
“I need to tell you why I wouldn’t come over that day.”
Jessica cut him off. “We don’t have to talk about it.”
Innocent Secrets [Pine Valley 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 12
