by Lila Kane
Which meant no one could know what happened today.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Two days later, I paced across the kitchen, wringing my hands. When I talked to Joseph just after lunch, he said he’d try to be home by six. It was six-thirty and we hadn’t heard anything.
I hadn’t said a word about Don, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t thought about him. Or his threat.
He was going to hurt people I cared about.
The more I thought about it, the more worried I got. I knew Don and even if I kept my mouth shut, that didn’t mean he’d keep his side of things.
In fact, the more I thought about, the more convinced I was that I was making a big mistake.
“Miss?” Davies said.
I gasped, and then pressed a hand to my chest. “Davies, you scared me.”
His eyes searched my face for a long moment, and suddenly I was worried about him, too. Who knew what lengths Don would go through to get me back. Everyone I knew was in danger.
“Tea, miss?” Davies asked.
My mouth opened soundlessly. Davis watched me with kind eyes. All I wanted to do was spill my guts to him. To tell him all my worries and have him listen. Davies was good at that.
But I couldn’t put him in danger either.
“Tea would be good,” I finally answered. “You haven’t heard from Joseph, have you?”
“No, miss.” He gave a gentle smile. “He’s probably just catching up on extra work.”
I nodded, forcing a smile as he pulled down a cup and saucer from the cupboard. Extra work.
Of course Joseph had extra work. Because of me.
I knew he’d gotten behind because he’d been spending so much time here instead of working. Just another thing that was affecting everyone’s lives. My problems with Don had gotten in everyone’s way.
And now I was putting them in danger.
When my cell phone rang, I answered it immediately. “Hello?”
“Hey,” Tom said, his voice concerned. “Are you okay?”
“Tom?”
“It’s me. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I mean, I thought you were someone else.”
“Who?”
At the seriousness in his tone, I released a breath, knowing I needed to reassure him. Not only did I know want him worried, but I didn’t want him suspicious either. I had to pretend everything was fine.
“Joseph,” I told him. “He was running late and I thought maybe he was calling to check in.” I gave a forced laugh. “It’s nothing.”
“Doesn’t sound like nothing. I’ve been busy since I saw you at the courthouse. I want to stop by this week so we can talk. Catch up.”
“Good.” I swallowed and wandered to the window, keeping my voice low so Davies couldn’t overhear. “I’d like to catch up. Maybe I could…come visit for a bit, or…”
Or what? No matter what I said, it was going to sound suspicious. But I needed to find a solution. I couldn’t keep putting people I loved in danger.
Maybe it’d be better if I disappeared altogether.
“Allie,” Tom said. “You’re worrying me.”
Another laugh. “Worried? You shouldn’t be. Everything is fine. It’s…fine,” I said again, though I could hear the hollowness in my voice. I was a terrible liar.
But I completely forgot about pretending when I heard the sound of the front door. “Joseph’s here,” I said. “I need to go.”
I ended the call before he responded and ran for the hallway. When I saw Joseph, I threw myself into his arms, breathing him in and squeezing him tight.
“You’re here,” I whispered, my lips brushing his cheek, then his jaw, and then nuzzling in his neck.
“Allie?” He gripped my arms and eased back to see my face. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Nothing now that you’re here. You’re late.”
“There was an accident. I pulled over to see if we could help.” He twined his hand in my hair. “I missed you.”
Those words almost broke me in two. I missed him, too. But the closer I got to him, the harder it was going to be if I had to say goodbye. No, when I had to say goodbye.
Joseph brushed his thumb on my cheekbone. “You look tired.”
I was. So tired. I wasn’t sleeping well and I was worrying a lot. Too much.
“Come with me,” he said, taking my hand and turning me in the other direction. Toward the stairs.
“But Davies was fixing tea.”
Joseph glanced over his shoulder with a smile. “We’ll get some later.”
He was being so tender. So gentle with me. Nothing like the person he’d been when I’d first gotten here.
I rubbed my hand over my heart. It was going to kill me to do what I had to do.
I needed to walk away.
“Joseph,” I whispered as we topped the stairs. I already knew where he was taking me, and I wanted to go. To his bedroom. To lose myself in his kisses and get swept away by the feel of his hands on my naked body. But going there felt like giving in. “Wait.”
He didn’t stop pulling me. “No waiting.”
“But—”
The rest of my argument was cut off when he scooped me into his arms. His suit smelled like him. Dark, mysterious. Heady and sensual.
“No buts,” Joseph murmured as we reached his room. “I’ve been thinking about you all day, and I don’t like coming home late like this. Seeing you worried like you are. So I’m going to fix it.”
I swallowed hard, fighting the tears that wanted to spring to my eyes. Fix it. If only he could.
“Joseph.”
He lowered me to the bed, and his eyes locked on mine. “Let me do this for you,” he said, pulling off his tie. “Take care of you.”
A sob lodged in my throat. Take care of me. That’s all I wanted. For him and I to be here for each other. To take care of each other.
But part of taking care of him meant making sure he was safe.
“Tonight.” Joseph took off his jacket and leaned over me, dropping kisses on my cheeks and my jaw, and then traveling lower. “Forget about it all and let me take care of you.”
It was like he knew the torment I was going through. The pain in my heart. He wanted to take it all away.
So I’d let him. Just for tonight.
I rose up and let him take off my shirt. Underneath, I wore a lacy bra. His favorite. Joseph exhaled, his lips parting as his gaze skimmed the tops of my breasts before he leaned in.
His breath touched my skin. I shivered and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him for a kiss.
His tongue touched mine, and the kiss was just as gentle as his hands. While I expected lightning and heat, for our bodies to come together in a clash of passion, he took his time to savor the moment.
“Allison,” he breathed, his tongue tracing the shell of my ear. “Relax.”
I let the tension drain from my body. My limbs went limp, resting on the bed like noodles as he took off the rest of my clothes, and then his.
In the dim light of the room, I stared at the dips and shadows on his body. The muscles of his arms and his sculpted shoulders. The vee of his abdomen and the strength in his thighs. The swell of his cock as it strained toward me.
I wanted him to be buried inside of me as much as he seemed to want it.
I spread for him, welcoming his body between my thighs. The weight of it. The power.
Joseph’s mouth traced a path down my chest to close over one puckered nipple as his dick skimmed my slick entrance.
I lifted my hips, urging him to drive inside of me.
But he still stayed gentle, his hands making a circuit all over my body. Caressing my breasts, tracing my hips, thumbing my clit until I cried out with my first orgasm. And while my body was still humming with that explosion, he slid inside of me, filling me full.
We were joined heart, body, and soul in that moment.
Nothing could touch me. Not even Don.
I knew even as we crashed toget
her again for another powerful orgasm that I’d remember this for the rest of my life.
Then Joseph met my eyes and said three words that broke my heart. “I love you.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I waited until he was asleep, his breath a whisper against my ear before I moved. His arm was tucked around me, and I had to make each move slowly, pausing to see if he’d woken up.
When I was completely free of his grasp, I grabbed my clothes from the ground and padded out of the room and down the hallway. In the room I’d stayed in when I first got here, I finished dressing.
My luggage sat in the closet, but I ignored it. I didn’t need to waste time getting clothes or anything else right now. I just needed to make sure I left without any sort of trace of where I was going. If I convinced Don I was done with this life, he’d leave the people I loved alone.
My heart twisted, and I fought back a sob. Love.
I loved Joseph and he loved me. God, I’d loved him for nearly as long as I knew him and now I knew he felt the same way.
That almost made me pause. Almost made me turned back, return to his bed and climb back into his arms.
But Don would know. He already knew about Joseph somehow and I knew how ruthless and cold he was. He’d do something to hurt Joseph. Or something to hurt Tom.
The only way to stop this was to convince him I wasn’t with anyone else.
That I was his again.
A soft noise, something that sounded like the chime of a phone made me pause at the entrance to the closet. I held a pair of shoes in my hand, ready to put them on. The chime vanished, but I couldn’t move.
What was that? A phone? Joseph’s phone?
My heart thudded in my chest. I hoped he hadn’t woken up. That he’d just turned over and gone back to sleep.
After listening for another moment and not hearing anything, I released a pent-up breath and slid on my shoes.
I tried to forget the things I was leaving behind and the place I was leaving behind.
That was easy.
But the people I was leaving behind. The was no way I could forget them.
Still, I reached for the door handle and pulled it open. Then gasped.
Joseph stood there, shirtless, his hair rumpled and feet bare. “What are you doing?”
“I…”
Lie, my brain whispered to me. Lie so you can save him.
But I couldn’t find the words.
Joseph rubbed one hand over his eyes. “Your brother called.”
My heart lurched. “Is he okay? Did something—”
“No. He said he was worried about you and that someone has been watching his house.”
My mouth dropped open. No. Don said he wouldn’t hurt anyone if I kept my mouth shut. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t checking up on people. Maybe looking for me.
“He said he talked to you earlier and you sounded upset—mentioned something about coming to stay with him for a bit.” Joseph’s eyes glittered in the dim lighting. I couldn’t tell if there was accusation or hurt in them. “He said he saw someone outside his apartment again tonight and he was worried about you.” Joseph’s chest rose and fell with a quiet breath. “You’re leaving.”
I didn’t miss the accusation in his tone that time. He was right. And he knew it without me having to acknowledge it.
“Joseph,” I whispered, heartbreak dripping from the word. “I have to.”
“What?” He stepped forward, so I backed up.
I couldn’t let him touch me or I’d break down and tell him everything.
“It’s best this way,” I said.
“Fuck that. You’re scared.”
“Joseph, I—”
“Don’t you dare fucking lie to me. I told you I love you, and I saw it in your eyes that you feel the same way.” He took another step toward me, his voice softening. “Tell me you feel the same way.”
This was it. The time I had to let him down to save him. Say it.
I don’t love you.
Just four words.
But I couldn’t say them.
My mouth opened, but all that came out was a sob. “I’m so sorry.”
I broke down, tears streaming down my face. I collapsed into Joseph’s arms, letting him guide me to the bed, where he pulled me into his lap.
“I’m so sorry,” I sobbed. “I didn’t know what else to do. He—he was at the courthouse and—”
“Wait, what?” Joseph took my face between his hands, trying to get me to focus. “Allie, tell me what happened.”
“Don was at the courthouse when we went. And he—he came into the bathroom—”
“Motherfucker,” Joseph bit out, already moving to stand. “I’ll kill him. I’ll—”
“No, wait. No.” I straddled him, this time taking his face between my hands. “You can’t. Joseph, you can’t do anything.”
He pulled my hands away from his face. “The fuck I can’t. He has no right to be near you. What did he say? Did he threaten you?”
My lip wobbled. “Joseph…”
“Tell me, Allie. I need to know what he did.”
“He said I’d better keep my mouth shut.” A muscle worked in Joseph’s jaw, his face all anger.
“What else?”
“It’s not—”
“What else? Tell me.”
“He said you’d better watch your back and—and if I didn’t keep my mouth shut about seeing him he’d hurt someone.”
Joseph’s face darkened even further. “That’s why you were so worried when I came home late today. Damn it, Allie. Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because I can’t let anything happen to you. That’s why I have to go, to leave—”
“Hell no. You’re not going anywhere.”
This time I moved to stand, but he caught me around the waist and straddled me on the bed.
“You’re not leaving, Allie. You hear me? That fucker isn’t going to ruin your life anymore.”
“But—but he’ll hurt you or Tom.”
Joseph shook his head. “That’s not your problem. I’ll deal with it.”
“It is my problem,” I spit out, anger fueling my temper. “Get off of me!”
“Allie,” he said, surprise in his voice. “I’m not—”
“Don’t. Please. You can’t do anything. Please, please don’t do anything.”
If he wouldn’t listen to anger, he’d listen to my pleas. He had to.
His grip loosened and his voice softened. “Allie, don’t cry. Please—”
“Don’t do anything. I can’t lose you. Please, Joseph. I love you.”
His grip loosened entirely, and then he hauled me into his arms. “Allie.” He kissed my temple and then my cheeks, his breath mingling with my tears. “God, I love you. Don’t cry. Please, Allie.”
Still, I sobbed in his arms. I was terrified of losing him. Terrified that I’d finally found true love and I wasn’t going to get to experience it with him because something might happen.
“I c-can’t lose you,” I said, my breath hitching.
“You won’t. Shh, Allie. Look at me.” He lifted my chin. “You’re not going to lose me. I promise.”
“You don’t know Don like I do. He’ll do anything to get me. He—”
“We’re going to stop him. We’re going to make this right. Look at me,” he said again. His eyes locked on mine. “We’re going to fix this.”
“How?”
“First, we’re going to talk to Tom. We’re going to tell him about us.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” He kissed me on the mouth. “We’re going to tell him about us. And we’re going to tell him about Don and what happened at the courthouse. We’re going to take care of this for good, Allie.”
I buried my face against his chest, feeling drained.
“Tell me you believe me,” Joseph said.
“I believe you,” I whispered against his chest.
“Tell me we’re okay.”
“We�
��re okay. I promise. I love you so much.”
He squeezed his arms tight around me, keeping me safe and warm. “I love you, too. Forever.”
Forever, I echoed in my head, and then closed my eyes and let him hold me.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“I feel bad,” I said, stopping at the edge of the pool and staring at the water. The sun was setting over the horizon and lights illuminated the water and the area around the pool.
It was romantic, and I wished I could enjoy it. But instead, my stomach was twisted in knots.
Joseph came up behind me. “Why do you feel bad?”
“Because you missed work again today. I’m really—”
“Do not apologize. Allie,” he growled when I continued to look at the water. “You’re testing my patience.”
I turned around. Even though there was frustration in his voice, there was nothing but love and concern on his face. I swallowed. “I’m sorry.”
His eyes flashed. “I said not to apologize. They don’t need me at work. Everything would run smoothly if I never worked another day in my life. I set it up that was for a reason. I needed to be here with you. Tom will be here soon, and we’ll talk and you’ll feel better. You’ll see.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but he captured it in a kiss.
“No more arguments,” he said. “Nothing is as important as you. You know if I were dealing with something, you’d be by my side.”
I dropped my chin. “I would.”
“Then this guilt you’re feeling is pointless.” He skimmed his hands down my arms and then back up, stopping at the straps of my summer dress. He dipped his fingers under the straps. “Forget about worry.”
“What if Tom isn’t happy about this?”
“Why wouldn’t he?” Joseph asked with confidence I didn’t feel. “I love you. I want a life with you. For me, there’s nothing else but making you happy.”
My heart swelled with love. “If you say that, maybe he will understand.”
“He’ll understand because I’ll make him see how important you are to me. And then…” His breath touched my cheek. “We’ll go for a swim. Naked.”
I shivered when his mouth brushed my ear. “Promise?”
