“You aren’t alone anymore. Got that?” he asked.
She glanced up at him. “I appreciate you helping me get things fixed here at the shop, but make no mistake. I’m very much alone.”
He wasn’t going to argue now. There would be plenty of time for that later, when she balked against what he was beginning to plan out for her in his mind.
He might not have wanted someone else to find their way into his emotional cocoon, but this woman had done it. There was no way he was leaving her to fend for herself now that he knew what she was up against. And if that meant fighting her in order to keep her safe, he’d do it in a heartbeat.
Faith watched as Sam Fremont, a tall man with hair pulled back in a ponytail, and the workman he’d brought with him scrubbed the spray paint from her window. He’d called in a glass company, who’d sent a guy to measure her door. He’d then left to cut the glass and would return with the right size to fix her entrance. It was as if Jason Dare had spoken and all her problems were going away.
If only things were that easy.
She already understood he was more complicated than his surface grin led her to believe. A sister who’d conquered childhood leukemia, a college friend who’d died under mysterious circumstances, a nightclub and a life she knew nothing about. She wanted to know everything and that was dangerous.
Still, she owed him, and though she didn’t think he truly felt that tit for tat was necessary, she did. If it was a date he wanted, then she’d go out with him. At this point, it could no longer hurt. Colton had already found her. He was probably watching her shop as all this activity occurred. Did it really matter if she went out with Jason after this? It was obvious the man was a part of her life, as her friend, at the very least.
He’d settled into a chair in the center of the shop, surveying the work going on around him. He’d already left once, returning with sandwiches and sodas for everyone. As the hours passed and he vacillated between returning messages on his phone and talking to the workmen he obviously knew, she grew more confused.
“Don’t you have somewhere else to be?” she asked him.
He raised an eyebrow as if to say, Really? “Nowhere more important. I want to make sure the work here is done correctly and this place looks exactly the way you want it.”
She appreciated his thoughtfulness, but he had to have better things to do than worry about her. “Okay, but I can handle that. I don’t want to take up more of your day than I already have. I can stick around until the guys are finished, lock up, and head home.”
He folded his strong arms over his chest, his olive-green Henley pulling tight over his muscles. “And do you think I’m going to leave you here alone after what you told me about your brother?”
She’d been pushing thoughts of Colton aside all day. “I have pepper spray on my keychain.” The words sounded ridiculous, even to her.
She was no match for her brother, and if he was strung out? He’d have a wiry strength she couldn’t handle. She knew that firsthand, memories of her hands trying to pull his wrists off her neck very clear in her mind.
“Okay, fine. I appreciate you making sure I get home safely.” She’d be a fool to fight Jason’s protective nature.
“You still don’t get it. But you will.” He shook his head, amusement warring with a more serious expression. “You’re coming home with me, sweetness. I’m not leaving you here or in that shitty walk-up with a crappy lock your brother could break with one good kick.”
“Hey! That’s my apartment you’re insulting!” And all she could afford.
“It’s only an insult if I’m wrong.” He studied her, as if daring her to argue.
“I can’t just move in with you!”
He sighed. “Fine. You need someone to vouch for me? We can call my partners. Or my sister. Or… Hey, Sam! Am I trustworthy?” Jason yelled out to the man who was just climbing down a ladder, her clean window staring back at her.
Sam strode up to them and looked from Jason to Faith and back again. “Best man I know. Take a look at this.” Reaching into his pocket, Sam pulled out his phone, then began scrolling through his pictures.
“This is my girl.” He turned the phone so Faith could see a picture of a grinning little pixie with a bright smile and a pom-pom hat on her bald head, no hair hanging down beneath the folded brim.
“She’s beautiful,” Faith said, sliding her finger over her face.
“And if it wasn’t for this guy introducing us to his sister, I don’t think my wife and I would have made it through the roughest parts of her illness.” He shoved his phone back into his pocket.
Looking up at Jason from beneath her lashes, she caught a flush on his cheeks.
“It just so happens I could help you, man. But I’m glad Sienna could do her part. She loves fundraising and doing anything she can for kids who’ve been through what she has.”
Faith would like to help her one day, when there was no danger following her around, she thought sadly. For now, though, she had to fight through her own problems and not bring them into other people’s lives.
“Thanks, Sam.” Jason all but dismissed his friend, who waved and walked back to the other guy helping him.
“So? Still think I’m a serial killer?” Jason asked her.
“I never said–”
“Oh, by the way, my cousin ate one of your marshmallow pops and went crazy for them. She’d like you to contact her about doing the party favors for her son’s birthday party. So now I’m hooking you up with business. I really think you can trust me to keep you safe.” He grinned at his smug proclamation.
She wanted to smack him … and kiss him at the same time. He had her head spinning, and she knew that was his intention. To keep her off-balance and win her over at the same time. So she was too overwhelmed to say no to his proposition about her moving in with him.
But she had to be smart about things. “I’m not questioning your ability to keep me safe, I’m wondering why you’re taking me on as your responsibility?” Her tone along with her emotions sobered.
He grasped her hand and pulled her into the back kitchen area, where they could be alone. Backing her against the prep counter, his big body hovered over hers.
“From the second we met, there was a connection between us. I felt it and so did you. Then I ignored your tire and my gut screaming it was more than vandalism, and this happened. Now I know I should have paid attention.” He drew a deep breath.
So did she and his delicious cologne swept over her. She steeled herself against his appeal because what they were discussing now was deadly serious.
“There’s a lot about me I don’t talk about,” he went on. “I’m not saying never, I’m just saying for now. All you need to understand is that I’ve been in this situation before, being able to possibly prevent something bad from happening and ignoring my gut. I won’t do that again. So when I say you’re coming home with me? I mean it.”
This was the second time he’d mentioned the connection between them, and despite her wariness, she agreed that there was one. But if she went to his home, it had to be about necessity, not desire.
“Thank you.” She appreciated his honesty and felt he deserved hers in return. “I’ll come with you, but connection or not, we’re not sleeping together.”
An amused smirk pulled at that sexy mouth. “I was planning on giving you your own room.”
“Oh.” Now she felt stupid and her cheeks burned with embarrassment.
He brushed his hand down her cheek and her body trembled with awareness. “But if you get scared in the middle of the night, feel free to come sleep with me.”
Jason gritted his teeth as they walked up the dark stairs to Faith’s apartment so she could pack up her clothing and stay with him. The building was small and narrow, with plenty of dark corners for someone to hide in, and he was glad he was getting her out of here before something worse than building damage happened. Her brother would have to go through Jason in order to get to her.
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While she disappeared into the bedroom to gather her things, he dialed Gabe, a man who had a private investigator on retainer. At this point, Jason was going to owe his cousin more than just money for the favors he was accruing, but it couldn’t be helped.
“Gabe? I need a favor. Your private investigator? I have someone I need him to dig into. Colton Holland,” he said, giving Gabe Faith’s former last name. “Start in Cedar Pointe, Iowa, but I think he’s here now. Drug addict, so he isn’t hanging out with the best people in town. Whatever he can find on him, I need.”
He went on to explain what had been happening with Faith so Gabe could give the PI the rundown. At best, Jason wanted her brother behind bars. At the very least, he intended to make sure he was out of Faith’s life for good.
“I’m on it,” Gabe said. “I’ll have Jack Renault contact you personally so you can deal directly with him.”
“Thanks, cousin.”
“So much for not seeing her again,” Gabe said, chuckling as he disconnected the call.
At that moment, Faith walked out of the bedroom, rolling a suitcase behind her. Jason shoved his phone into his back pocket. “Ready?” he asked her.
She nodded, letting him take the suitcase from her hand.
“Don’t you have a club to run?” she asked.
“Yes. And two partners to help in case of emergencies. Getting you out of here and settled at my place is an emergency.”
Her lower lip jutted out in a pout, and it was all he could do not to kiss her and taste that plump flesh for the first time. He understood she was frustrated with the situation, that doing as he said bumped up against her independent streak, but she was also smart and knew that he was right about her apartment and its location.
“Come on.” He followed her out the door, waited as she locked up, and together they headed for his car.
She settled into the plush seat, the sweet scent he’d come to associate with her filling the air around him. Little by little, in the smallest ways, she was making herself a part of his life. He broke into a sweat because despite how hard he was pushing her to move in and be safe, he was breaching his own defenses in the process.
She’d be living in his house, a room apart from him. And though he wanted her in his bed, he had a gut feeling once he tasted her, touched her, had her, she’d burrow so deep inside him, he’d never get her out. He’d never felt this way about any of the women he slept with before. There was something different about Faith and it shook him to his core. The core he was determined to protect from more pain and loss.
He cleared his throat. “So I have a doorman who won’t let anyone up who isn’t cleared on a list,” he said into the silence that had overtaken them as he drove.
“That’s good.”
“I’ll drive you to the store in the morning, and I can work from there during the day.”
She froze, turning slowly in her seat. “You don’t need to be by my side twenty-four hours a day.”
One hand on the wheel, he glanced at her. “Do you want to be alone in the shop when your brother shows up?”
She sighed and shook her head. “No.”
“Then me working from your store it is.”
Before she could say another word, he turned into the parking garage beneath his apartment building. In silence, he guided her up the elevator, taking her silence as nerves.
They walked down the bright hallway, a stark contrast from where she lived. He unlocked the door and unset the alarm before letting her step inside.
“So here we are. I’ll give you the code and a set of keys, but you’re not going out alone. Not until your brother is behind bars. Speaking of, did you tell the police about him?”
He rolled her luggage inside, closed and locked the door.
“No. I didn’t. If it wasn’t Colton, I didn’t want to send them after him and anger him even more. Besides, we have no proof it was him. If the police find fingerprints on the brick, they’ll have evidence then. Can we stop talking about this?” She turned away and he stepped closer, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“Hey. It’s going to be okay. Let me show you around the place,” he said to distract her from her problems.
She perked up at the subject change. “Show me the palace,” she said.
Grinning, he mock bowed and walked her through the overly large apartment he’d rented. When the nightclub was starting up, he and the guys shared an apartment for the first six months until they realized they might kill each other. They’d spread out to their own places, and since the club started earning right away, with the addition of Jason’s trust fund from his errant father, he’d moved into this gorgeous spread.
“The kitchen is fairly new and large for a Manhattan apartment,” he said as they passed the entryway.
“Wow,” she said, peeking inside. “This is amazing. Do you use it much?”
He shook his head. “Not my thing. I’m not home for meals very often. But while you’re here, consider my kitchen your kitchen.”
“You know I will. This is a great apartment. Big for Manhattan.”
He nodded. “I rented this place because there were two extra-large bedrooms and my family is from Florida. This way my mom can come visit, and up until a few months ago, my sister would come by, too. Now she lives in New York City, as well.”
“You mentioned your mother. What about your father?” Faith asked, as he walked through the living area with his large-screen television and ultra-comfortable oversized sofa.
“That is a long story for another time.” One he wouldn’t be getting into now. “But my mom insisted on flying up and helping me match colors so I could impress any women I brought home,” he said with a grin. “Typical mom, she wants her kids married and settled.” Savannah Dare might have gone the nontraditional mistress route herself, but for her children? She wanted the best.
“And will she get that?” Faith turned to him, looking up at him with those curious, gorgeous green eyes.
“Well, let’s see. My sister went the untraditional route, getting pregnant first, but there’s no question she and her husband, Ethan, are head-over-heels in love. Alex is married to a great woman and they had a baby girl recently.” No point getting into the half-sibling thing now. He hoped she’d end the conversation there.
“And you’re the eternal bachelor?” she asked, dispelling that optimistic thought.
“Something like that.” Winking at her, he grasped her elbow and led her to the far side of the apartment, where the two bedrooms were located. “Come. You can check out your room.”
He led her to the bedroom beside his, one his mother had decorated to her taste, with a – cough – bright floral comforter and matching valence above the window.
“Oooh, it’s so pretty!” she said, grasping her suitcase from his hand and pulling it inside.
“I’ll be sure to let my mother know you like it,” he muttered. He’d never forgiven her for the flowered room, but he loved her anyway.
“Wouldn’t that be admitting you brought a woman to your apartment?” she teased him before sitting down on the bed, her shoulders hunching over as she finally let herself relax.
“I was going to ask if you’re hungry but you look beat.”
She lifted her head. “I’m both. Would you mind if I shut my eyes for half an hour before we eat?”
“Of course not. I’ll order us something. Do you want anything in particular?”
She shook her head as she kicked off her shoes. “You choose.” She swung her feet up onto the bed, closed her eyes, and if he wasn’t mistaken, she was out before she her head hit the pillow.
Jason headed to his bedroom, completely aware of the woman sleeping in the next room. He changed into a pair of sweats and a tee shirt, ordered a large pizza, and settled onto his couch, watching Sports Center on television.
He wasn’t surprised to see a clip of his brother, Alex, on the screen. Once an NFL football player, he had been forced, on doctor’s orders, to re
tire due to a severe concussion. He couldn’t take the chance of another head injury without risking permanent damage. Seeing an opportunity, their half brother Ian, president of the Miami Thunder, ironically the opposing team to the one Alex had played for in Tampa, had offered him a job teaching players about preparing for the future beyond football. The program had been adopted by the NFL, and Alex did a lot of promotion and training around the country, including television interviews like the one Jason had just seen.
He lifted his glass of soda to his brother. “Go, you,” he said to his sibling on TV.
A few minutes later, dinner arrived. He placed it on the table and walked back to where Faith slept. Cute little snores sounded in the room and he grinned.
Although she’d said to wake her, he didn’t have the heart. She must have been so wiped out to fall asleep so fast, the stress of handling her brother alone for so long catching up with her.
He walked in, picked up an afghan blanket and covered her, standing like a creeper and watching her sleep. What was it about this woman that got to him?
Obviously she was beautiful, but Jason had been with his share of gorgeous women over the years, and he’d let them go when their time together came to an end. But Faith was more than pretty. Clearly she was strong. She’d picked up and left her home, coming to a big city and making her own way without help. She also hadn’t lost her sense of humor during a difficult time, nor was she willing to give up her independence easily. All of which he admired. But there was so much more to Faith than any of that, and now he’d have the chance to see exactly what made her tick.
He’d wanted a date, and instead he had her under his roof, in the room next to his. He didn’t like the reasons for their forced togetherness, but he sure as hell couldn’t say he minded it. And that was a first for Jason Dare.
Chapter Four
Faith made candy in the back of her shop alone since Kelsey had looked dead on her feet and Faith had sent her home early. She finished up and rushed to the counter, where she could be the face of Sweet Treats, selling her candy. She needed to hire another employee, but she had to make sure she could afford the expense. As long as things continued as they were, no more incidents like the vandalism, and she’d be okay.
Vote Then Read: Volume I Page 24