“That’s not what’s happening here, Tori, and I’ll do what’s necessary to protect you,” he said firmly. She noticed the slight bit of anxiety in his voice.
Nodding, she rubbed her hand on his chest, not meaning to upset him. She recalled his actions and how he looked in the bathtub the night before. He was still battling his demons over what happened, and she didn’t want to dismiss them. So she changed the subject—for now. “How long do we have the villa for?”
“Ten days. I paid to have the kitchen stocked, so we don’t have to venture out to eat with the crowds. Plus, I know you love to cook. There are two bedrooms, and I made sure Allie packed the baby monitor for us so we can have some privacy but still give you peace of mind. It can be a lot like everyday life, but with a beautiful view. We can look at it as a vacation, yes?” he said with enthusiasm. His nervous rambling was clearly done in an effort to convince her. Like she really needed convincing.
Tori smiled. “Then it’s perfect timing, because I’m in desperate need of a vacation.”
He picked her up and kissed her hard. Since Lexi had fallen asleep on the car ride over and was resting quietly in the living room, Tori took full advantage of having Jason’s lips on her again. The night before he just wanted to hold her. But tonight, she was having none of that holding back crap. When her hands found his hair, she gripped it tightly and was about to tell him just that when a voice interrupted them.
“I’m posing a rule of no sex on the balcony! I have no desire to see Jason’s bare ass, thank you very much,” Allie said from a few feet away. Their balcony apparently butted up against theirs, and the wall separating them only reached waist height and was topped off with a rod iron decoration of some sort. It was clearly not designed for privacy.
Jason huffed. “Then I’d stay off the balcony if I were you, half-pint.”
Tori giggled into Jason’s chest, embarrassed that he basically announced they would be having sex on the balcony. Not that she didn’t want to, but she just didn’t want everyone to know.
Tori laughed when Allie responded. “How about we draw up a schedule? That way I can avoid seeing your ass, and you can avoid seeing me go all rodeo style on Mike.”
“Aahh! For the love of God, Allie, I can’t not hear those words! What the hell is wrong with you?” Jason exclaimed as he covered his ears and walked inside.
Tori laughed even as she blushed. Shaking her head, she asked, “You love to torture him, don’t you?”
Allie winked. “I’ve been very good for the past two days, so I was ready to burst. There was nothing I could do to stop that from coming out.”
Shaking her head, Tori turned to walk inside, but first said, “I’m going to check out the food situation for dinner. Are you eating with us?”
“If you’re cooking, I’m eating,” Allie said enthusiastically.
“Well, if I’m feeding you, then you should minimize the torturing. Yes?” Tori said with humor as she walked inside.
As she did, she heard Allie mumble a curse and say, “Well played, Tori, well played.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
JASON tried not to laugh at the face Lexi was making, but it was too funny. After fending off her attacks, Tori said he should just let her have the lemon wedge on his plate. So he did, and they were all rewarded with the face she continued to make after each attempt to eat it. It was like she thought it wouldn’t be sour the next time. Making a face to mimic hers, he found himself on the receiving end of a mangled lemon wedge. Sitting up straight in mock anger, he scowled at Lexi, hoping to make her laugh. But, instead, she started to cry.
Jason couldn’t get out of his seat fast enough. He was standing and lifting her quickly into his arms before the first wail left her lungs. He turned to face the table, expecting to find shock or anger in everyone’s expressions. What he found was Mike smiling, Tori trying to conceal her laughter behind her hand, and Allie actually pointing and laughing at him. He could only imagine what he looked like, because he felt completely freaked by her reaction.
He scowled at his friends and gave Tori a pleading look as he bounced a crying Lexi, trying to soothe her. Tori put her hands up in surrender. “I got nothing. She has you wrapped so tightly around her little finger you don’t even realize it. Just keep doing what you’re doing, big guy, and I’m sure she’ll stop … eventually.” Then both Tori and Allie laughed louder.
Shaking his head, he faced Lexi. “Hey, baby girl, I’m sorry I upset you. I was only playing around.” Then the funniest thing happened; she stopped crying. Before Jason could even register it had happened, she already had her hands on his beard, playing with the bristles. Astonished at how quickly things had changed, he sat back down and watched as Lexi acted as if nothing was wrong. When he looked back over to Tori he asked, “Did I just get played? Or was she just easily distracted?”
Tori laughed and said, “Let’s go with a little of both.”
“I think it’s a lot of both!” Allie said.
Kissing her on her head, he placed her back in the highchair and went about eating his dinner. Across from him, he caught Tori’s eye, and she gave him a perfect smile, before she winked at him. Damn, how he loved it when she winked at him. One might argue that Tori, too, had Jason wrapped around her little finger. Yeah, he was whipped for sure.
They’d been on the island for a week, and he knew that Tori was feeling bad about both of them missing work. Jason had made sure to offer whatever assistance he could in hopes that she would relax more, but she refused it, saying it wasn’t about the money. Allie and Mike offered to keep Lexi with them in their villa that night, and Jason was quick to accept their generosity. Looking forward to the night ahead of them, he found himself eating faster than necessary.
With only three days left at the villa, he knew they would need to come up with a new game plan for Tori’s safety. Taking her anxiety and concern to work into consideration, he decided they would talk about it and make whatever plans needed—together.
When finished with dinner, the group walked together toward their villas. It was a warm summer evening, but the ocean breeze blowing in made the temperature tolerable. Walking with her hand in his, while pushing the stroller, they were just outside their doors when Jason’s phone rang. Pulling it out, he saw it was Mack calling. Since there was only one reason he’d call him, Jason was concerned. “Hey Mack, what’s going on?”
“Hey Jason, sorry to bother you, but I just came home from work and there’s all kinds of activity going on across the street,” Mack offered.
“Like what kind of activity?”
“It appears as if the house caught fire today. The whole back half of it is gone, and there are people milling about in the wooded area behind the house. I tried to get some information, but they just shut me down and told me to stay behind the tape.” Mack sounded irritated, and Jason understood the notion.
Pulling the phone away from his ear, he looked to everyone. They knew something was going on, and they were anxiously awaiting instructions. He looked at Allie. “Call Sean, and ask him to call Idaho and find out what’s going on. There was a fire at Damien’s house.”
Allie nodded and dialed her phone. Beside him, Tori clutched his arm and waited for him to tell her more. He kissed her before putting the phone back to his ear.
“Thanks for letting me know. I’m going to have my friend call the PD there and see if they know anything,” Jason said.
“Good idea. Let me know what you find out,” Mack requested. Jason agreed, and they said their goodbyes.
Ending the call, he turned his attention to Tori. He rubbed his hands up and down her arms as he said, “All Mack knows is that there was a fire at the house. Let’s go inside and wait to find out what Sean can tell us.”
Tori’s face was tense as she nodded and moved past him into the villa. Allie and Mike followed, obviously not saying goodnight until they, too, knew what was going on. Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait too long. Within minutes, Jas
on’s phone was ringing.
“Hey Sean, were you able to find anything out?” Jason asked. His voice was thick with hope. It had been a long week, and with every passing day, Jason’s own anxiety grew. He found himself intently staring at all the strangers they came in contact with. It was borderline obsessive, so they needed to find Damien soon. Sean sighed into the phone then told Jason what he knew.
TORI watched as Jason listened intently to whatever Sean was saying. Occasionally he would nod, but he didn’t say anything. Allie had perched herself on the arm of the couch next to her and rested her hand on Tori’s back. The support she had from her new friends was humbling. She knew she would never be able to repay them for it, but she would try somehow. As she waited for Jason to finish his call, she noted every expression he made. Even as the anxiety of the situation rose, she took comfort in him.
When Jason finally ended the call, the silence in the room was deafening. It may have only been a few seconds, but it stretched out as they waited for him to tell them. When his shoulders lifted in a deep breath, she prepared herself, keeping the hope at bay.
“Sean said they think Damien is dead,” Jason said. The look on his face was devoid of emotion as he gazed at Tori. Dead?
Tori asked the first thing that came to mind, “How? Are they sure?”
Jason scooted across the couch to her, Allie moved over to another seat, and Mike stood behind the couch holding Lexi. “According to the police, the house caught fire mid-morning. Since there was a patrol out front watching the house, firefighters were on scene quickly. But it was fast moving, and it took them a few hours to put it out. When investigators went in, they found a body.”
Tori sat still as a rock, waiting for Jason to finish. The emotions that rolled around her insides ranged from sorrow to fear, then to relief and excitement. Could it be over?
When Jason continued, she hung on every word. “He said they still need to confirm it with DNA since the body was burned badly, but the height and size is consistent with Damien’s.”
Damien was dead? Relief was heavy and overwhelming as it washed over her. Her eyes filled with tears and spilled over at the thought of her nightmare being over. Thoughts of what that meant passed through her mind on fast forward. They could go home now. She could really move on. Lexi was safe now.
Jason pulled her against him, mumbling, “I’m sorry.”
She wondered if he mistook her tears as anything other than just emotions coming out. They weren’t because she was sad. Pulling back, she looked at him and said sternly, “I’m not sorry.”
He gave her a questioning look. She cupped his face in her hands and repeated herself, “I’m not sorry at all … I’m relieved.” Her body sagged with the admission. “Does that make me a bad person to feel almost giddy knowing he probably suffered pain when he died?”
Jason’s face relaxed and a small smile formed, “No baby, it doesn’t make you a bad person at all. It makes you human.”
Tori threw her arms around Jason’s neck and held on tightly as she let the information sink in further. Damien couldn’t hurt her anymore. Jason’s hand rubbed up and down her back as he held her. Only a noise from Lexi brought Tori’s attention away from the thoughts in her head. Turning, she found Mike and Allie standing nearby with Lexi. Allie motioned over her shoulder with her thumb. “We’re gonna head out then; you two enjoy your night. Let us know what the plans are for going home in the morning, yeah?”
Tori stood from the couch and moved to hug Lexi, relishing in the fact that Damien would never hurt her. She kissed her goodnight before hugging Allie, as well. “Thank you for everything.”
Allie only winked before looking at Jason. “No balcony sex tonight. If we’re going home tomorrow, I want to enjoy the view of the ocean. So I call dibs, got it?”
Jason came up behind Tori and wrapped his arms around her before answering, “Fine, no balcony tonight.” Tori sagged against Jason, feeling exhaustion set into her limbs as the anxiety she’d been wearing all week finally left her body.
They watched as Mike and Allie left with Lexi, and they just stood there silently. Tori closed her eyes and turned in Jason’s arms, needing to hold him, too. Once she was settled snuggly against his chest, she sighed and absorbed the warmth of his embrace. His arms were her safe haven and she never wanted to leave them, and now she wouldn’t have to.
Looking up at Jason, she asked, “Are we going home tomorrow?”
He swept her hair off her forehead and furrowed his brow. “Only if you want to. But we can stay another day or two if you’d like.”
She shook her head. “No, I’m ready to go home. Let things get back to normal and move on.”
“I sure hope that moving on includes me?” he asked with sarcasm, but she detected his insecurity there.
Rising up on her tiptoes, she kissed him softly before whispering, “All my plans include you.”
To her surprise, he lifted her quickly, pulling a laugh from her while she rushed to wrap her legs around his waist. Now above him, she smiled as he said, “Good, because you’re in all of my plans, too.”
She laughed as her hands roamed through his hair. Playfully, she asked, “Oh yeah? And what plans do you have for the immediate future?”
His chest rumbled against hers, and his arms tightened his hold. Pressing his lips against hers, he nipped her bottom one as he started moving toward the bedroom. Before entering the room, he declared, “My current plans for the evening involve making you scream my name over and over until nobody on this island doubts who owns your pleasure.”
A shudder ran through her body at his words, and she responded by taking his lips in a hungry kiss. She already knew the answer, but if he wanted to make sure the whole island knew, as well, there was no way she was going to stop him.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
JASON was happy he’d managed to convince Tori to stay one more day on the island. After spending all night getting lost in each other, they were able to spend all day enjoying the sites. It was the first day Jason wasn’t looking over his shoulder at every turn, so all his attention was on his girls. They’d spent some time on the beach, played in the sand. Then, even though Tori advised against it, he bought Lexi her first soft-serve cone. Which promptly melted all over him before they made it to the villa. He still didn’t understand how it was all over him and none was on her. He shook his head at the memory, but smiled as he recalled Tori helping him clean it all off in the shower afterward.
Now that they were home and unloading their stuff from Mike’s truck, he was looking forward to some more alone time with Tori. In his house and in his bed. He wanted to call it their bed, because in his head it already was, but he figured he’d let them settle back into their lives before tackling that. Placing all the luggage inside the garage, they said their goodbyes as he lifted a sleeping Lexi from her seat. Carrying her inside, he laid her down in the playpen upstairs before returning to help Tori with the bags.
When he entered the garage, she handed him the bag of food they’d brought back from Catalina. “I’m starving; you want to light the grill and we can cook those steaks? I put the rest of that marinade on them before we left so they should be perfect now.”
He kissed her and took the bag. “You feed me so good, baby.”
Tori snorted. “I’m told I give good meat.”
Jason laughed. “Yeah you do! I’ll throw these on the grill, and I’m gonna take a quick shower. I can feel the salt from the air on my skin.”
“But you taste good salty,” she said with a pout as she opened the suitcases on the garage floor. “But go ahead, I’m gonna throw in a load of laundry, and then I’ll meet you up there.”
He laughed and headed inside. After turning on the grill just outside the patio doors, he went about putting the food away before throwing the steaks on low. He took the stairs two at a time and rushed about getting in the shower, looking forward to running his hands all over Tori’s wet skin. His body responded to the imag
e and willed it to calm down; she’d be there soon.
TORI separated their clothes directly from their suitcases. She didn’t see a need to take them inside and empty them, only to bring them back out there. Throwing a load in the washing machine, she turned it on before closing the garage door and heading inside. Stepping into the kitchen she could see the grill on outside the doors and hear the shower on upstairs. Knowing they had a short window of time to enjoy their shower, she pulled the salad out to make sure it survived the trip. Pleased with it, she placed it back in the fridge and moved to the sink to wash her hands.
When she felt a body press up against hers from behind, she smiled and turned off the water. It was at the same time she turned off the water that she felt a hand stroke down the length of her hair. She stiffened at the similarity of the movement and was about to tell Jason just that when she picked up on the sound of the shower still running upstairs. Panic, confusion, and fear all welled up inside her at the possibility of what was happening.
She closed her eyes and willed the nightmare away. That’s what it was—a nightmare. She had let her imagination get the best of her. When she opened her eyes, it would be gone, and she’d be standing in Jason’s kitchen alone. But then the hand began to slowly wrap itself around Tori’s hair, and she knew it was very much a reality. Tears began to spill from the corners of her eyes, completely unbidden. There was no reason to control herself; he knew what she was feeling.
Gasping in pain at the tight grip on her hair and subsequent yank, her eyes shot open and met the evil gaze of her own personal devil. Apparently back from the dead. She chastised herself for letting them believe he was dead. She should’ve know he wouldn’t be gone. True evil didn’t die easily. His breath was hot as he washed over her face, making her skin crawl. It felt like an eternity as she stared into those evil eyes before he spoke, “It’s about time you came back, Victoria. Did you have a good time on the island?”
He said her name with disgust, which was fine with her because it wasn’t her name anymore. She shivered at his reference to her being on Catalina because that meant he knew where she was the whole time. She closed her eyes at that thought, not wanting to look at him any longer. Damien responded with another yank and a sneer, “Open your fucking eyes! You don’t get to hide from me any longer.”
Love Required (The Real Love Series) Page 24
