Justin frowned. He was more than concerned about her vulnerability to her family. Never mind the restraining order on her husband. If Ralph really wanted to get at her, he would. “Is that wise though? Shouldn’t they wait until you regain all your strength? At least, while you’re here, no one can get to you.”
Nakia stared at the man who, despite it not being his responsibility, seemed determined to protect her. Her emotions were in turmoil. Yes, she’d had inappropriate feelings toward him for a long time now, but never would she have acted on it. Never would she have approached him. These last weeks, when she’d been lucid and aware of his presence, she’d pretended most times that she wasn’t. She’d learned from the first day when she’d opened her eyes that, as soon as she was awake, he’d ask her a few polite questions and then he’d leave and not return until another mealtime. He would be polite, gentle, make sure that she didn’t need anything, but she couldn’t help hating when he left.
She had gotten in the habit of watching him from slits in her lowered lashes. He’d been watching her too. The stark emotion on his face let her know that he cared. Maybe not how she wanted him to, but it was clear that he cared a great deal about her. It was evident in his expression now. He couldn’t hide his fear for her.
“You’re worried about Ralph?” she asked gently.
“Hell yeah. That bastard will be angry.”
She wanted to grin at the disgust he held for Ralph. Of course, she’d learned the hard way any animated expression came with a price. Pain. “Don’t worry about him. Ralph won’t come near me.”
“How are you going to achieve that? He’s been trying to get in here ever since they found out where you are. Thus, the restraining order.”
Nakia wasn’t aware of that. She’d thought that when they were denied access the week before that Ralph hadn’t dared come up against the power and wealth of the Ragnarson Law Firm. “Ralph caught me unaware. Despite what happened, I’m not afraid of him. I knew he was escalating and didn’t take the necessary precautions. That won’t happen again.”
“Still, you’re not strong enough to fight him. I can’t let you go back to Miami unprotected.”
“Justin, you do realize that I’m not your responsibility, right?” she asked him softly. “What happened to me was not your fault.” The realization that he felt responsible for what happened to her was only now occurring to her. It certainly explained a lot of what he’d done for her.
“I shouldn’t have let you leave with him.”
To hear him confirm her suspicion devastated her. She’d begun to weave a fantasy without realizing that she’d been doing it. She’d convinced herself that he cared about her, even perhaps secretly desired her, as she secretly desired him. The disappointment was crushing.
“How were you supposed to stop me from leaving with my husband? I didn’t think you recognized me. We were never introduced.” She frowned before she remembered that she shouldn’t be using that much facial expression. The pain was a welcomed distraction from the disappointment of her ill-advised desires. “How did you find out who I was?”
“My sister-in-law is an incredibly resourceful woman. If the US government had asked her, she would’ve found Osama Bin Laden within hours. She can find anyone or anything.”
“That’s a handy resource. You’ll have to thank her for me.”
“As you know, I am a divorce attorney, and I have seen more than my fair share of domestic violence. I should have seen what was coming. I should have picked up on his violent tendency from the way he treated you. Even in the presence of strangers he was openly criticizing you. I should have known where that was leading and stopped it.”
“Justin, this was not your fault.”
“I was a soldier for Christ’s sake. I knew better.”
Nakia sighed in exasperation. “I’ll say it again and hope that, this time, you hear me. I’m not your responsibility. If you’d tried to stop Ralph then, many more people may have gotten hurt in that crowded airport. There was no way Ralph would have accepted that quietly.”
Justin gently took her palm in his.
Nakia’s breath hitched in her throat, and thousands of tiny butterflies took flight in her stomach. She couldn’t believe the searing impact of his touch to her senses. Her mind blanked to everything but him.
He seemed to be just as affected as she was. This time she wasn’t going to make any assumptions. He’d have to come right out and tell her how he felt.
“I’ll protect you whether you want me to or not,” he told her quietly. “You may not be my responsibility, but I’m making you my responsibility.”
Despite the quickening of her heart on hearing that, she knew that he didn’t mean it the way that she wanted. She had to make him see that none of what happened to her was his fault. It was Ralph’s, and Ralph’s alone. “How does your wife, your brothers, your family feel about how much time you’re spending with me? You must know that you’re putting yourself in the line of fire. On my own, I could probably get Ralph to back off. However, with you in the picture, Ralph will be stubborn, and out for blood.”
“I want that. I want that bastard to come at me. Nothing would make me happier than flattening his ass.” His jeweled-green gaze was murky with anger. “Don’t worry about my family.”
Nakia sighed in resignation, knowing that a day of reckoning for all of them was coming soon. Hopefully she could hold on to her heart long enough for this to be over. She couldn’t afford to let her emotions for him go any deeper. He was someone else’s husband. Besides, her life was so much of a mess right now that even the thought of getting into another complication was nuts.
“Justin…”
“No. This is not up for debate, Nakia.”
“You realize that you have no authority over me, right?”
Justin smiled.
Nakia knew she should call him out on this now, but he was so damn beautiful it was impossible to deny him anything when he looked at her like that. Smiled at her like that. That shit should be against the law or something.
“Nakia, I like you.”
She rolled her eyes. “I like you too, but that still doesn’t mean I’m going to let you rule my life.”
“I like you,” he continued as though she hadn’t spoken. “So, let me tell you what’s going to happen.” When she was about to speak, he sat on the edge her bed and moved her palm to his hard thigh, resting his hand on top of hers.
Is he trying to drive me crazy? Nakia didn’t know where to look. Awareness of him, of his hard body against her thigh and under her palm, had her senses buzzing. No way should she be feeling any of this for any man after Ralph’s brutality.
“You’re going to relocate to Austin, work in our office there, and live in one of the firm’s apartments.”
“Jay, that’s too much.”
“Jay?”
Oh shit. That slipped. “Sorry, I mean Justin.”
“No, I’ve never had a nickname before. I like it.”
“I can’t accept your generosity. You’ve done too much already.”
He gave her a hard stare. “This is not up for debate. Until I know that bastard is out of your life, you’re not going back to Miami or anywhere near him.”
“I know I should be thanking you for caring about me, but I can’t help thinking that I shouldn’t let you control my life like this.” The thought to call her best friend, Mario Guzman, prodded her mind. She knew that Mario would do everything in his power to help, but then she wasn’t sure Mario wouldn’t try to kill Ralph. Their friendship had already been somewhat strained after she told him about Ralph’s verbal abuse, and she remained in the marriage. If he found out about this, Mario would kill him. No, she couldn’t go to him with this, and certainly not in her present state. Mario’s proficiency with guns wasn’t something she should ignore.
Justin laughed. “Don’t look at it like that. I promise that you won’t regret it. The apartment is in a
very secure complex, so I won’t have to worry about you being alone there. And your husband will, for sure, not be able to get to you once you’re in our office building.”
“If I do this, I have to ask you a favor.”
“Anything.” Again, he gave her that devastating smile that sent her heart rate racing again.
“I need you to not touch me.”
Justin gazed down at her hand on his thigh and didn’t remove his hand holding her in place.
“I mean it. You have no idea what your touch does to me. I’m married, and so are you. I can’t take this.” She held his gaze, and she was shocked to see the molten heat in the depths of his eyes.
“We’re not doing anything wrong,” he told her softly. “I’m not going to pretend that I don’t like touching you or having your hand on me. You like it, and despite your protest, you don’t want me to stop either. In fact, if this is all we’re allowed, I’m taking it.”
“We’re playing with fire.”
“Yeah, and if either of us get too close to the flames, we both have to agree to stop and not get burned.”
“Right, and that’s working so well right now. I just asked you to stop, and you’re ignoring me.”
Justin grinned. “That’s because neither of us can do anything about the embers, no matter how much we fan them. When you’re healthy and whole, we can have this conversation again.”
Despite his cavalier response to their now acknowledged desire, Nakia couldn’t fault his manners or care of her feelings over the next few weeks.
Chapter Four
On the day Nakia was released from the hospital, it was Justin’s sister-in-law Imani who came to the hospital with him to help with her relocation to Austin. With Justin piloting the sleek, but tiny jet from Dallas to Austin, Nakia was grateful to have the other woman on board to help her. She was shocked at what effort it took for her to navigate climbing on and off the jet. The doctors had given her painkillers, but she’d thought to tough it out and not take them. Big mistake. By the time they arrived in the penthouse apartment Justin had secured for her use, she was a quivering mass of exhaustion and pain.
Imani helped her in and out of the shower and into one of the sexiest pair of silk pajamas she’d ever seen. It made her blush to see the look on Imani’s face when Nakia pulled them on. They were almost transparent, with a deep V-neck, which was almost to her navel and barely covered her nipples. The pants were short and hugged her ass.
“I gatta get me a pair of these,” Imani teased. “Better yet, I’m going to tell Justin to get me some from wherever he found them.” She laughed at Nakia’s stunned look.
“Don’t worry. That boy needs a little happiness in his life because he’s set himself up for years of misery.”
Nakia was dying to ask Imani what she meant. It was terrifying how much she wanted to know every bit of information about him.
“Are y’all decent in there?” Justin yelled from outside the bedroom door.
Imani rolled her eyes. “As if this thing you bought could be called decent,” she mumbled for Nakia’s ears only. “Yes, sure. We’re all good.”
Nakia shook her head at Imani’s teasing grin as she pulled the covers over the generous display of her breasts.
Justin walked in moments later with his arms filled with fresh baskets of flowers.
“Jay, we talked about this!” Nakia scolded. She had been telling him for days to stop sending her flowers. Her room at the hospital had begun to look like a florist shop. She had to get the nurses to distribute most of her flowers to the other patients on her floor, and still he hadn’t stopped despite her pleas.
He grinned sheepishly. “This is the last of it. I promise.”
“You’re impossible.”
“Yeah, I know. But you love me anyway.”
“Jay!” Nakia hissed.
“What?” He looked at her as though he didn’t understand what he did wrong this time.
From the intent gleam in his gaze, Nakia knew that he understood perfectly what he’d just said. His choice of words wasn’t an accident.
“Jeez, y’all two got it bad.” Imani had a worried frown now. It seemed that she was no longer finding their situation amusing. She, too, had picked up on Justin’s serious intent.
“Are you going to be okay here by yourself?” Justin didn’t acknowledge Imani’s statement, and quite frankly, Nakia didn’t know what to say either.
Nakia knew how she felt, but she wasn’t sure what Justin was feeling. “I’m not here by myself. You have a twenty-four-hour nurse and a housekeeper here with me.”
“Yeah, but they won’t be here until tomorrow.” Justin stared down at her.
Despite most of the bandages being removed from her face, and the bruising and swelling all but gone, Nakia was still self-conscious of the few cuts still visible on her skin. “I ate before we left the hospital, and I’m really exhausted now. I’m going to sleep, so I doubt I’ll even notice being here on my own.”
His frown deepened.
“I’ll stay with her if you want,” Imani offered.
“No, I don’t need anyone to stay with me. Imani, please don’t let this pigheaded man rule your life too. I’m perfectly fine.”
“Not a good idea for you to stay, sis. Colt would have my head if his wife isn’t beside him in bed tonight.”
Imani grinned dreamily in acknowledgement. She had the smile of a woman who knew that she was completely loved. Nakia wondered what it was like to be so confident of someone’s love. She wasn’t afforded the most basic unconditional love, the love of her parents.
“Both of you, please go home to your spouses.” She had to get rid of them before she really got depressed. “Thank you for helping me, but now I’m going to sleep. No need for any of you to be further inconvenienced. In fact, if you give me some water, I’ll take those painkillers the doctor gave me. I’ll be out in no time,” she joked.
It was clear that Justin didn’t find anything amusing about her little speech. However, he went to her new kitchen, which was almost on the other side of the very elegant apartment, and brought her a tall glass of water. He and Imani waited until she took the painkillers before leaving her safely tucked into bed and her eyes already drooping with sleep.
Nakia woke a few hours later with her mouth feeling dry and desperate for water. Unfortunately, the water Justin had given her before leaving was completely gone. Despite the moonlight coming through her curtains, it still wasn’t enough light to prevent her stumbling into the footstool beside her bed and falling to the carpeted floor. The immediate sharp pain to her body when she went crashing to the floor had her cursing up a blue streak. Tears stung her eyes.
“What the hell?”
The sudden sound of the masculine voice had her shrieking out in fear.
“Are you okay?” His large palms slid under her knees and at her back to lift her high against his bare chest.
Nakia shrieked again as her breasts spilled out of the pajama top and the naked globes encountered the light carpet of hair on his muscular pecs. “Sweet Jesus,” she moaned in shock.
Justin grunted at the impact. His heartbeat hammered against hers as though he had run the hundred-yard dash. He held her for what seemed like forever, neither of them letting the other go and neither of them acknowledging her beaded tips or their choppy breathing. Desire sizzled from the tips of her breasts to the dewy center of her core, scalding hot with intensity. She turned in his arms, wrapped her arms around his neck, and just savored his heat and hardness against her sensitive flesh.
His big body shuddered as his grip tightened around her.
“Jay,” she whimpered. Her senses reeled from the clean masculine scent of his skin, so uniquely Justin and now a familiar addictive threat to her control. Her heart rate accelerated as she waited for his next move, but he simply held her in his muscular arms. She was dying to feel the rest of his hardness against her. Did he feel her repe
ated attempts to inch closer to him, to abrade her nipples subtly into the hair on his chest? Did he know that she wished those fingers that gripped her legs with such easy strength would move up the back of her thighs, slide under her silk pajama bottoms, and sink just there, into her moist heat? Could he feel how her skin quivered at the feel of his skin against hers? Did he have any idea how much she wanted to ignore all her injuries right now and invite him in? Did he know how much she wanted him? She ached, and it was unlike anything she’d ever felt before.
He briefly buried his face in her hair. “Nakia,” he breathed, his frustration and need evident in the deep baritone of his voice and the trembling of his body against her.
She whimpered in response, her clit pulsing insistently with anticipation.
He inhaled her scent deeply before finally placing her gently back onto the bed.
Nakia watched him intently, trying to see his expression in the muted lighting, but it was impossible to see his face.
He stood away from the bed as soon as he pulled the covers over her and tucked her in.
Nakia wanted to cry out in disappointment. She was no longer feeling any pain from her fall, only throbbing, aching desire for him. They were playing a very dangerous game. She knew deep in her bones that if he ever indicated that he wanted to have an affair, she’d find it almost impossible to deny him. But resist she must because having an affair with a married man went against everything she believed in, and she was sure he didn’t believe in it either.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she whispered finally.
“I couldn’t leave you here alone.” His voice was almost sad in the quiet night. “Look what you almost did to yourself.”
It was hard to tell if he was upset with her uselessness or at their situation. “I would’ve been fine. I was only thirsty and was going to the kitchen.”
He was still as he stood in brooding silence over her. And then, without saying a word, he turned abruptly and left the room.
Nakia didn’t know what to make of his behavior. She was glad for the reprieve. Without his overwhelming masculinity clouding her judgment, she was glad they hadn’t acted on their desires.
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