Vote Then Read: Volume I

by Carly Phillips

  “You made me think bigger. Made me ask how I could make my business stand out. And the idea came to me. So I have you to thank.” He pressed a kiss to her lips.

  “Well, you’re welcome. Who knew that my niche would end up being party favors?” she mused, but she sounded pleased with the notion.

  “Like I said, you make people happy. You do, Faith.”

  She tipped her head to the side. “And on that note, I’m going to excuse myself and go to the ladies’ room.”

  “I’ll be waiting.”

  She slipped from beneath his arm and walked away. He couldn’t tear his gaze from the dip of material that exposed her back, the sway of those sexy hips, or the way her hair bounced against her back as she moved.

  “Jason! You’re finally alone!” Charlotte came up to him, pulling him into a hug. “Thank you for letting me perform tonight. I love live audiences in small venues.”

  He extricated himself from her grasp. “Well, you and Lola make a dynamic team.”

  She smiled at the compliment. “I’m trying to convince her we should record a song together.”

  “I expect it would be a hit.”

  “So…” She flipped her hair over her shoulder, her gaze steady on his. “You looked quite … domesticated with your girlfriend.”

  “So what?” he asked, knowing both the description of his relationship and the fact that Faith was his girlfriend were true.

  Here he was, celebrating his biggest success, and he’d wanted her by his side. Brought her to live with him. Introduced her to his family. Made her a part of his life, all the while proclaiming he didn’t want anything serious.

  He’d been such a dense asshole, but he had his head on straight now.

  “So I thought you didn’t do serious.” Charlotte set her hands on her hips, clearly wanting an answer.

  Jason wasn’t surprised Charlotte wanted to discuss his relationship with Faith. At a glance, it was obvious what he had with Faith was deeper than anything he’d shared with the beautiful raven-haired beauty in front of him now. She might be gorgeous, but she didn’t do it for him the way Faith did, and what he and Charlotte had shared? It had been fun but superficial, like all his prior relationships.

  He’d always thought she’d been on the same page, as she’d been busy building her career and traveling. Until he’d broken up with her and then she’d cried like they’d been engaged or something. Yet he prided himself on always being honest with the women in his life, Charlotte included.

  “Look, people change. Circumstances change.” He’d met the right woman by chance on the side of the road, and his entire life had spun upside down.

  She stared at him, hurt in her expression, something he’d never ever intended to do to her.

  He shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants. “I’m sorry. But I was honest. I never lied to you.”

  “Except about what you were capable of giving.”

  The truth was he hadn’t known what he was capable of until he met Faith. He rolled his shoulders. “When you meet the right person, you know.” He pulled a deep breath. “Thank you for performing tonight and I wish you the best,” he said, wanting to end this conversation.

  “Right. You, too,” she begrudgingly said.

  Because there was nothing more to say, he turned and came face-to-face with Tanner. “Hey,” Jason said.

  “Hey.” Tanner grinned. “We did it.”

  Jason nodded. “That we did. I–” Before he could get the next word out, the sound of a piercing scream echoed throughout the room, and his stomach plummeted because he recognized the person behind the sound.

  “Faith. She went to the bathroom,” Jason said, his heart pounding hard in his chest. He’d sent Renault home because the only people left were family, friends, and workers who’d been vetted. Because he’d had her back, the way he had for the last couple of months.

  The hallway with the restrooms had an entry on either side of an island-like wall. “I’m going that way.” He pointed to the nearest way to the ladies’ room hall. “You take the back. Call 911,” he yelled out to everyone who was suddenly panicking.

  Tanner nodded and they took off at a run.

  Faith washed her hands in the sink, then fixed her makeup, cleaning the dark smudges from beneath her eyes and freshening her lipstick. Her feet hurt in her shoes. She didn’t know how much longer Jason needed to stay, but she was more than ready to go home.

  With a last look in the mirror, she strode out of the powder room and walked right into a wiry male body she recognized immediately.

  “Colton.” Her mouth ran dry at the sight of him. He’d never looked worse. His hair was stringy and greasy, hanging limply over his face, his eyes were glazed, and his skin tinged yellow.

  “You are one hard woman to get alone.”

  “How did you find me to begin with?” she asked, eyeing either side of her, hoping someone would come by.

  “My friend’s sister works at the police station. Not that it matters. Just that I found you.” He raised a shaky hand and grabbed her wrist.

  She knew immediately he wasn’t strong enough to hold her, and she yanked her hand away. Instead of being able to run, she teetered on her heels and twisted her foot, her ankle wrenching hard.

  “You bitch.” He swung his hand, slapping her hard across the face. She’d never been hit before, and the move dazed her for a precious second, and in that instant, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pocketknife, releasing the blade.

  Needing to get someone’s attention, Faith screamed, because even if Colton wasn’t strong and able-bodied, he certainly was deranged and determined.

  “Shut up, bitch. You’ve been nothing but a pain in the ass,” he said as he roughly yanked her to him, pulling her up against his thin body, the his body odor overpowering.

  He raised the knife to her neck. “I just want my money. We’re going somewhere for the night, and first thing tomorrow, you’re going to the bank and giving me what’s mine. Understand?”

  Careful not to move and cause him to stab her with the knife, she said, “Yes,” in a deliberately tiny voice.

  Although Colton’s blade was small, it was sharp and she’d already felt it prick her skin. She was more afraid he’d hit an artery than she was of him in general. He was a shaking, pathetic mess of the man he’d been, but his tremors made him dangerous.

  How did he think he was getting her out of here, she wondered, what with the front of the bar bustling with help and Jason’s family milling around? But she didn’t want to freak him out and cause him to react by asking him about that, so she voiced the other question on her mind. “How did you get inside?”

  “I walked in with a huge party that was on the list.” He spoke like he was proud of himself. “Then I hid in the back and hoped I could get you alone.” His hand shook, which made her nervous.

  She wondered when he’d had his last fix. “Colton–”

  “Faith.” Jason called her name as he stepped cautiously into the hallway.

  She was so grateful to see him, her knees almost buckled as she met his gaze.

  “You okay, sweetness?” he asked.

  “Yeah.” She swallowed, careful not to move.

  “If you want her to stay okay, move aside and let us through.” Colton nudged her forward one step. Her ankle buckled and she yelped in pain.

  Jason’s gaze narrowed, his fury at her being hurt obvious. “It’s crowded out front,” he said through clenched teeth. “Why don’t you take her out the back door.”

  Colton shook his head. “That door’s got an emergency alarm. What do you think, I’m stupid? I checked it out earlier,” he said, tightening his grip.

  Jason took a step forward as he spoke. “That’s okay. Tanner’s going to throw you out the back, aren’t you, Tanner?”

  It was obvious they had company, and Colton clearly realized the same thing. “Fuck!” he yelled, and whirled around to check behind him.

  Jason lunged forwa
rd, pulling Faith out of his grasp and into his arms just as Tanner dove for Colton, easily taking him down, Colton’s frail body no match for Tanner’s more muscular frame.

  “Jesus Christ.” Jason lifted her face to his, running his hand gently over her cheek. “Does it hurt?”

  She shook her head. “Not as much as my ankle. I wrenched it when I tried to get away.” She sat back on her butt and stretched out her leg.

  He gently looked at the area, holding her foot, which seemed to be swelling, in his hand. “I’m sure you just sprained it in those damned heels.”

  He glanced at Tanner, who had subdued her brother easily while waiting for the cops. “I was going to remind Tanner not to beat the shit out of him, but if the bastard gives him a hard time, I’m not saying a damn word,” Jason muttered, then turned his gaze back to Faith.

  Acting on impulse, she scrambled forward and threw her arms around his neck, holding on tight. “Thank you.” Trembling, she felt better when he wrapped his strong arms around her and didn’t let go.

  “I hated seeing him touch you. And that knife.” Jason uttered a curse. “It was small, but if it’d slipped because he was shaking so hard…” He buried his face in her neck, his breath warm against her skin.

  “It’s over,” she said, tears finally coming to her eyes. “It’s all over.” So much more than she was ready for.

  Pulling away, Jason met her gaze. “Faith, I–”

  Before he could say what was on his mind, the police rushed into the hallway, separating Jason from Faith and taking over from where Tanner all but sat on the yelling, shaking Colton.

  Jason paced the kitchen in his apartment, his head pounding, his heart a mess. First the police had questioned them for hours, taking statements about what had transpired in the club. Faith’s history with her brother took forever to explain, but, in addition to tonight’s attempted kidnapping, the incidents she’d documented with the Manhattan police, plus the information she’d told the on-scene cops that her lawyer had on Colton – photographs of her bruised neck, the judge’s willingness to seal her name change to prevent her from being found – meant things looked bad for her pathetic excuse for a sibling.

  After calming all of Jason’s family down, seeing them out, escorting Charlotte and Lola to their limousines safely, Jason left Tanner and Landon to handle closing up the club. Given the swelling of Faith’s ankle, Jason had wanted to stop at the emergency room, but they’d agreed it wasn’t worth the hours they’d sit waiting to be seen.

  He wanted to ice it, but she’d insisted she needed a shower, wanting to rid herself of Colton’s stench, and Jason couldn’t deny her. He’d given her the time alone she’d requested, knowing she needed to come to terms with what had happened with her sibling.

  Hell, he’d give her anything she wanted from now until the end of time. Although he’d already put his past behind him enough to move on, he hadn’t realized just how much he loved her until the second he’d heard her scream. Coming around the corner and seeing Colton holding a knife to her throat had shocked him into complete acceptance.

  He loved her completely and absolutely.

  If anything happened to her, if he lost her, he wouldn’t want to go on. Why in God’s name had he believed what they had was short term and meant to end? She was a part of him and he didn’t want to let her go.

  He picked up the ice he’d put into a zipped bag and headed back into the bedroom only to find her wearing a pair of sweat pants and a shirt, hobbling between his closet and the suitcase she’d opened on the bed. The ice in his hands spread through his veins.

  “What are you doing?” he asked as he placed the bag of ice onto the dresser by the bed.

  She turned her head and met his gaze, her green eyes sad. “We agreed when Colton was caught, our time together would come to an end. I’m not going to stay here and prolong the inevitable.” She ran her tongue over her lips and he wanted nothing more but to kiss her, but they needed to talk first.

  “Faith–”

  “Wait.” She placed a stack of work tee shirts into the luggage. “I need to tell you something first. I want you to know that this isn’t what I want.”

  Thank God for that, he thought, but she continued talking.

  “If it were up to me, we’d stay together and see where things led. But you made it clear we had an expiration date, and because I love you, I’m giving you what you want.”

  Jesus, his head was spinning. Even if he had thought things between them should end – eventually – he’d never have wanted her to leave so quickly. But at this point, he didn’t want her go at all.

  “Let me get this straight. You love me but you’re leaving,” he said, summarizing her words, his heart thumping hard in his chest at the words she’d so casually tossed out. But he’d get to that later.

  She blinked. “Yes. Because it’s what you want.”

  “No.” He strode over, zipped up the suitcase, and threw it onto the floor.

  “Jason!”

  “You’re not going anywhere. First, you’re going to lay that cute ass down and ice that ankle because I can see it swelling more with every minute you stand on it.”

  She narrowed her gaze at his rude command but it worked. She sat on the mattress and stretched out her legs. “Give it to me,” she muttered, opening her hand for the ice pack.

  He handed her the bag and she gingerly placed it on her swollen ankle.

  “My ass isn’t cute,” she said under her breath.

  “You’re right. It isn’t. It’s sexy as hell. Now where were we? Right. You leaving because of what you think I want.”

  She wrinkled her nose at him. “What you said you wanted.”

  He settled beside her on the bed, easing his ass next to her thigh, forcing her to move over and make room for him to sit. “I was wrong.”

  Her eyes opened wide.

  “You’d better savor those words, because I can’t promise you’ll ever hear them again.”

  She coughed, clearly covering a laugh. “Wrong about what, exactly?”

  He leaned close, cupping her face in his hand. “Wrong to think that if I ended things with you, it would be easier. Tonight, even before Colton grabbed you, I realized that I love you.”

  She gasped. “You do?”

  He placed his fingers over her lips. “My turn, remember?”

  She nodded and leaned into him. “Go on.”

  “I discovered that what we shared, living together, spending hours together and not getting on each other’s nerves, counting on each other, was special. It was the very thing I’d been running away from most of my life. And the only reason I was able to accept that Levi would want me to live my life, that I could open myself up to love, was because I found you.”

  “You love me?” she asked, her shock so real it hurt him to hear.

  “Yeah. And I’m seeing that I’ve done a pretty shitty job of showing you.”

  She shook her head. “No. You’ve shown me every day. It’s just that you were so sure you didn’t want the same things that I do, and I need to know we’re on the same page.”

  He narrowed his gaze. “How so?”

  “I want it all, Jason. A house, babies, a dog, my job, your job, us coming home to each other at the end of the day. But you said you don’t want kids. And…”

  “Shit,” he said more to himself than to her.

  “What?”

  He drew a deep breath. “I was wrong. Again.” To his surprise, he could look down the road and see all those things his family had, and he desired them for himself. “I want it all, too. I want kids, sweetness. And a house. I’ll even take a white picket fence, as long as it’s with you.”

  A tear fell from her eye and he wiped it away with his finger. “I never want you to cry because of me.”

  “It’s relief. When I pulled out that suitcase, I really thought I was leaving. I promised myself I wasn’t going to tell you how I felt, that I would make it easy for you, but I couldn’t go without you kn
owing how much I love you.”

  “You’re brave and strong … and you’re mine.” He picked up the ice pack and placed it onto the nightstand. “Now I’m going to make love to you and show you how I seal the deal.”

  He slowly and carefully stripped her of her clothes until she lay naked on the bed, her damp hair a golden halo around her head. She watched him with wide eyes as he undressed himself, her gaze coming to rest on his thick, straining cock.

  Coming over her, he didn’t waste any time. He slid a finger through her slick sex, and finding her wet for him, he positioned himself at her entrance.

  “I just need to be inside you.” Foreplay could wait for another time. “I just want to make you mine.”

  She chuckled beneath him. “Silly man. I’ve always been yours,” she said as he began to slide himself into her.

  Her tight walls spasmed around him and he groaned, thrusting all the way home, until he was as deep as he could get, until they were as close as they could possibly be.

  And when he began to move, rocking into her, taking her slowly, he felt every slick glide and every flutter of her sweet pussy. He wasn’t going to last. It was going to be the quickest yet most intense orgasm of his life. And he was taking her along for the ride.

  He came at the same time she cried out his name, and the emotions that swept through him were potent. Because he was with the woman he loved and he’d finally opened himself to believe in forever.

  Epilogue

  The Dares knew how to throw a party, Tanner Grayson thought, as he loosened the bow tie now that the wedding of his best friend and partner Jason Dare was over.

  He’d never seen so many siblings in one place before. Being close with Jason since college, Tanner had been introduced to the many factions of the family. The New York Dares mingled with the Florida Dares; the Florida Dares no longer separated themselves by who their mother was. Glancing around, he had to admit that despite the designation of half brother or half sister or cousin, they’d become a tight-knit unit.

  The only unit Tanner had was with his best friends and partners, Jason and Landon Bennett. Ever since Landon’s twin, Levi, died in a hazing incident they’d been unable to prevent, Tanner had lost his ability, what little he’d had, to trust others. And despite his years-long relationship with Jason and Landon, Tanner always felt like the outsider.