Damaged Hearts, Book 3

by Monica Murphy

  I probably want too much.

  “I planned on telling you about my uncle. It was just—so shocking when you said you saw Greg in my dad’s house, and I realized pretty quick who you were referring to. I just didn’t want to believe it,” Rhett explains. “It hurt me, to think my uncle was capable of something so terrible. And for a while there, I didn’t believe you, because you’ve lied to me before.”

  The last part hurts, but I also understand. I did lie to him. A lot. I deserve him not fully trusting me.

  “Uncle Craig was going to my dad’s for Thanksgiving, but he cancelled at the last minute. Said he made other plans.” Rhett’s gaze meets mine before it flicks away. “I was so relieved, but I knew I would still have to tell you eventually. I planned on mentioning it right before Christmas.”

  “You would’ve strung it out that long?” I ask incredulously.

  He throws his hands up in frustration. “I didn’t know how else to handle it. My plan was to talk to him, find out the truth, and then tell you that Greg was really Craig, my uncle. I realize now my plan made no sense. I should’ve just told you who he really was from the beginning.”

  Yes. He should’ve.

  “Then he had to show up at my house and ruin the everything. And that made me realize I was the one who really ruined it all. I should’ve been open with you from the start.”

  I’m quiet, absorbing everything he said, turning it over in my head. There’s only one thing bothering me about this story. “Did he tell you why he did it? Why he attacked me?”

  “He claimed he was sent there by…Diane. That she kept tabs on me and Park, and she didn’t want me involved with a gold digger who’s only out for my money.” Rhett exhales loudly. “He also said they wanted to protect the family name, and they didn’t want me to ruin it by getting involved with a stripper.”

  “God, I wasn’t even a stripper,” I mutter irritably, making Rhett smile. Probably because that’s the only thing I can focus on. “So Diane sent your uncle here to, what? Threaten me?”

  “He claims he was only supposed to scare you a little bit. And convince you to leave me alone,” Rhett says.

  “Yeah, he scared me all right. If I hadn’t fought him off, he would’ve raped me. I know he would’ve.” The memory still makes me sick to my stomach.

  “And I’m sorry for that. I’m so sorry, Jensen. I wish I could take back what my uncle did to you. I’d do anything to make it so that never happened, and you never had to suffer by his hands.” His earnest tone tells me he’s sincere.

  “My dad came to talk to me today,” he continues. “I told him about Park and Diane.”

  I jerk my head so I’m facing him. “You did?”

  He nods. “Turns out Diane was having an affair with my uncle too.”

  “Are you serious?” Oh my God.

  “Yeah. He hit me with that before I could get Park’s name out and I was in total shock.” He reaches out and grabs my fingers, holding them loosely. His touch feels so good. So right. “She’s been sleeping with my brother and my uncle. My dad just…lets her do this to him, time and again. But he’s no saint either, so they just keep cheating on each other, again and again. It’s—awful.”

  “It’s so awful.” I squeeze his fingers, wishing I could reassure him better. “I don’t understand her.”

  “I don’t understand either of them,” he agrees, then hesitates. “Dad told me some other stuff too.”

  “Like what?” The way he’s looking at me makes me nervous.

  “He mentioned things about…you. How he had a private investigator look into your background.”

  My hands, my entire body immediately goes ice cold. “Really?” My voice is shaky and I brace myself for the bad news.

  “He found out that Diane is—your mom. Your actual mom.” He grips my hands tight, his gaze locked on mine. “Is it true, Jensen? Did you know she was your mother all along? Is that why you tried to get close to me? So you could get back at her somehow? Were you concocting some sort of evil plan to take down the Wicked Witch of the West and in the meantime ended up falling for me?”

  My heart is racing so hard, I can hear the insistent pounding is roaring in my ears. I stare at him, my head spinning, relief flooding me that the truth is finally out there, lying between us like a living, breathing thing. I’m still intact, and so is he, and neither of us seem angry, which is a good thing.

  A very good thing.

  Wait a minute. He asked if I ended up falling for him. Does this mean he’s fallen for me? I always thought my truth would be the end of our relationship.

  But maybe it’s the beginning.

  Rhett

  I wait for her answers, my fingers still curled around hers, our gazes still holding like we can’t look away. There are tears in her eyes, making them extra blue, and when one of those tears falls down her cheek, I reach out, stopping it with my thumb.

  “Why are you crying?” I ask.

  She sniffs, closing her eyes like she can stop the flow of tears, but it’s no use. They’re really coming now. “I don’t know. I think I’m just so relieved you know my secret, I can’t help but cry.”

  “So it’s true. You knew all along Diane was your mother.”

  She nods, her dark blonde hair sliding across her shoulders. Her face is pale and her hair isn’t brushed, and she doesn’t have a lick of makeup on. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and that’s because she’s mine. Despite everything that’s happened, all the secrets and the lies and the bullshit, none of it matters.

  All I care about is her. All I want is to hear her say she’s in love with me, and she wants to be with me, damn the consequences.

  “And when you first met me at the bar?”

  “It wasn’t an accident.” She gives me a watery smile. “I planned to run into you there. I planned that night in the library too. And at the diner.”

  “Placing yourself everywhere I went.”

  “I semi-stalked you for months. I was so scared that night in the bar, and when you approached me, I was also mad. Mad that it worked. Mad that you were so charming. Really mad that you were so good looking.” She rolls her eyes and I reach out again to wipe away her tears. “You frustrated me on an almost daily basis when we first started spending time together.”

  “You still frustrate me on a daily basis,” I admit, making her smile. “What were you trying to do?”

  “I don’t know…it was so stupid. I wanted to lure you in, make you believe I was your girlfriend and then get back at Diane somehow, yet never knowing exactly how. I was more curious than anything else, I guess. Curious about her, about you, your entire family. And I did all of this, studied you, researched the family, put all this time and energy into my plan, into my anger.” She hesitates, swallowing hard. “Once I got to know you, my plan just…disappeared. I couldn’t go through with any of it. I can’t even explain to you exactly what I wanted to do.”

  She releases her hold on me and runs her hands over her face. “It was all so stupid, so fake. I can understand how you’d never want to talk to me again.”

  “That’s the last thing I want to do,” I admit, making her drop her hands from her face so she can stare at me. “It never felt fake to me.”

  “It never felt fake to me either,” she confesses in a hushed whisper. “From the start, I wanted—more. I kept resisting it, knowing the deeper I got with you, the worse it would be. I felt so much guilt for keeping my secret, and I didn’t know how to explain it to you. How could I get involved, fall for you, and never tell you the truth? I knew you’d never forgive me.”

  Damn, this girl. Her words are making me sad. I can sense her fear, her regret, her frustration. I understand it, because I’ve felt so many of those same emotions too. “Come here,” I whisper, beckoning her, patting my knees. “Sit on my lap.”

  She frowns but still gets out of her chair, settling her perfect butt on my thighs. “What?” Her face is so close, I wish I could kiss her. But not
yet.

  “This entire situation started out…fucked up. We can be real with each other right now, okay? You lied. And I fell for it.”

  Jensen makes like she’s going to leave and I tighten my grip on her waist, keeping her there. “But then I lied to you too,” I admit, my voice soft. “And I felt terrible. Guilty. I didn’t know how to tell you my uncle was the one who tried to attack you. And the longer I kept the secret, the harder it became for me to tell you the truth. Secrets are like a disease, Jens. The longer you hold on to them, the deeper they rip into your soul and churn your guts.”

  She wrinkles her nose. “That’s sort of gross, Rhett.”

  “You get what I’m saying, though, right?”

  “Yeah, I get it.” She loops her arms around my neck, her hands sliding into the hair at my nape. “No more secrets.”

  “No more secrets,” I agree.

  “I’m sorry.” She blinks up at me. “For everything.”

  “I’m sorry too.” I kiss the tip of her nose. “For everything.”

  “There’s more I need to tell you,” she starts, and I almost want to place my hand over her mouth to shut her up. “But it’s nothing major. Just, bits and pieces from my past, you know? All the big stuff has been revealed, though, so don’t worry.”

  I actually laugh. “Okay, good. I don’t think I could take one more big secret.”

  “Me either.” Her expression turns serious. “That’s all you have to tell me, right? Just about your uncle?”

  “Yeah, though they were all working together behind our backs. Diane and Craig, maybe even Park. They had some sort of sick and twisted little relationship going on. One I will never be able to understand,” I say.

  “How’s your dad taking this?”

  “Not well. He knew about everything but Park and Diane.” I pull her closer, my arms wrapped tight around her slender waist. She feels damn good sitting here. Like she belongs. “He’s hurt. But he told me I needed to talk to you. Make sure you were all right.”

  “He didn’t think I was after the Montgomery fortune?” She bites her lip before she continues. “At one point, I was. I can admit it.”

  “I appreciate the honesty.” I brush the hair away from her forehead. “And no, he doesn’t think you’re after the Montgomery fortune. Not anymore.”

  She frowns.

  “Trust me,” I say gently. “He likes you. He was worried about you.”

  “Really?” The hope that lights up her face makes her extra beautiful.

  “Really.” I lean in and brush her mouth with mine, kissing her nice and slow, not too pushy. “I’ve missed you,” I murmur against her lips.

  “We’ve only been apart approximately twenty-four hours.” She smiles.

  “The longest twenty-four hours of my life.” And that is the absolute truth.

  Her smile fades. “Mine too.”

  I kiss her again, longer this time, though I don’t take it deeper. Not yet. I still need to approach her carefully. “Come home with me,” I say once I break the kiss.

  “You want your car back?” she teases.

  “I want you back,” I tell her.

  Her eyes widen and she pulls away from me to look into my eyes. “You’ve got me.”

  That’s all I needed to hear.

  “Are we accepting each other too easily?” Jensen asks once we return to my house. I drove the BMW home with Jensen, and Chad had a friend take him to City Lights to pick up his car. I have a feeling they’re staying there for a while, which means we have the house all to ourselves.

  “What do you mean?” We’re in the kitchen and I’m grabbing us both cold bottles of water. I hand her one and crack mine open, chugging half of it in one swallow.

  “Maybe we’re being too forgiving of each other too soon.” She sets the water bottle on the counter, bracing her hands on the edge of the granite.

  “Are you saying we should suffer more?” I want to laugh, but don’t. “Come on, Jens. Haven’t we done enough of that already?”

  “Maybe you’re right.” She taps the counter with her nails. “It’s just—nothing ever comes easy for me.”

  “I know. Your life has been hard, and I hate that. But maybe sometimes, you’ve also made the wrong choices.”

  She smiles at me. “Are you saying you’re the right choice?”

  “For you.” I approach her, my hand going to her waist, slowly pulling her closer. “And you’re the right choice for me. When you choose right, it’s easy.”

  “I want to believe that so badly,” she whispers, and I can hear the uncertainty in her voice, feel it in her trembling body. “My whole life has been filled with hard choices, most of them wrong. I don’t trust my instincts anymore. That’s why easy feels so foreign to me.”

  “Trust yourself, baby,” I murmur, pulling her fully into my arms. I hold her close, my hand cupping the back of her head, her face against my chest. She fits perfectly like this. As if we were meant to be. I truly believe we are. “Go with your gut.”

  “What’s your gut telling you?” she asks, her voice muffled against my shirt.

  I slip my fingers beneath her chin and tilt her face up so she’s looking at me. “That we belong together. That I’ve fallen completely in love with you.”

  Her eyes go wide and her lips pop open on a gasp. “Wait. Are you serious?”

  I can’t help but laugh now, not holding it back. “Not exactly the response I was hoping for.”

  “It’s just that—no. I’m sorry.” She huffs out a laugh, her gaze dropping down. “I’m messing this up.” She clears her throat and returns her gaze to mine once more. “No one has ever told me they loved me before, beyond my father, and he only told me a handful of times.”

  “I’ll tell you it again, every day, every hour if that’s what you need to hear.” I cup her face in my hands and kiss her, my mouth lingering on hers. “I love you, Jens.”

  She’s crying again. I can taste the salt of her tears on my lips before I see them. “I love you too, Rhett.”

  Her words make my skin catch fire. I didn’t know how much I needed to hear that until she finally said it. “Thank God,” I mutter just before I kiss her again.

  We stand in my darkened kitchen kissing for what feels like hours, but it’s only a few minutes. I haul her up so she’s sitting on the edge of the counter, her legs spreading wide so I can step in between them. She buries her hands in my hair, clutching me close while I let my hands wander all over her. Along her hips and waist, across her stomach, around her breasts.

  She thrusts her chest into my hands and I cradle her there, my hands kneading, wishing the bra was already gone so I can really feel her. Our mouths are fused together, tongues tangled, lips capturing sighs and moans, sliding my hand down, down, down, until it’s curving around her butt so I can haul her in close, our lower bodies touching as best they can, considering our positions.

  “Take me to your bed, Rhett,” she whispers against my lips, just before she starts to giggle.

  I sweep her into my arms and carry her through the house, headed straight for my bedroom. She’s slapping my chest, telling me to put her down, but I can tell she loves it. I’m trying to make all of her romantic fantasies come true tonight.

  I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make them come true, as long as she lets me.

  I kick my bedroom door open and barge inside, heading straight for the bed, where I deposit Jensen, dropping her right onto the middle of the mattress. She lands with a little bounce, glaring up at me for the briefest moment.

  And then she starts to undress.

  I stop and stare, enjoying the view. Savoring it. She removes her sweater and her jeans, making me smile when I watch her struggle to get them off. She rises up on her knees, wearing a plain black bra and matching panties, a coy smile curling her lips. Hot as fuck and driving me right out of my mind.

  She continues driving me even crazier when she starts touching herself. Drifting her fingers across her chest, dip
ping into her cleavage. “Like what you see?”

  “I always like seeing you,” I tell her.

  “You certainly have a way with words, Rhett Montgomery.” She bats her eyelashes, her fingers going to the front clasp of her bra and undoing it. The fabric springs apart but not completely, offering me a teasing glimpse of her perfect tits.

  “You think so?”

  Jensen nods, toying with the open clasp of her bra. “Maybe you should start undressing too.”

  Without hesitation I whip my shirt off, then start working on my jeans. I’m standing at the foot of the bed in just my gray boxer briefs in a matter of seconds, my cock already straining against the cotton. Her gaze drops there, lingering, and her eyes go wide.

  “Eager to see me?” she asks.

  “Eager to feel your hands on me,” I correct.

  Her smile is knowing, her hand slipping beneath her bra cup to toy with her nipple. “I know what you mean. I can’t wait for you to have your hands on me.”

  “What exactly are we waiting for again?” I’m starting to sweat. I can feel it form on my forehead, and I know it’s from watching her touch herself.

  “Aren’t you having fun?” She sheds the bra completely, exposing her upper body, and my gaze locks on her breasts, my mouth watering at the sight of her hard, rosy nipples. “Watching me?”

  “I’d have more fun actually touching you. So would you,” I add.

  She laughs, her hands dropping to her waist, fingers curling around the waistband of her panties. “I’m really enjoying this.”

  “I bet you are.”

  Her expression turns serious. “A few hours ago, I believed I wouldn’t be able to touch you ever again.”

  Her words sober me up, make me realize just how perilous close to ending our relationship was not even twenty-four hours ago. “You’ve got me now. For as long as you want me.”

  She reaches out a hand, beckoning me to come closer. “Let’s make that forever and you’ve got a deal.”

  Jensen