Independence: #2 Angel

by Karen Nichols

  “And you are?” Thomas stopped trying to move around the man, taking in the too long hair, tee shirt and casual jeans beneath the long leather coat.

  “The one not allowing you to disrupt Angelica’s day,” Colin answered with a deceptive grin. The man was something out of a male high end clothing magazine, he noted. The wool coat alone would cost over twenty-five hundred dollars. Then there was the suit beneath the coat and the perfectly cut short hairstyle. Definitely money somewhere in his life. “I believe she’s asked you and your family to leave her alone.”

  “I believe none of this is your business,” Thomas returned, taking in the stance with one arched eyebrow.

  “There you’re very mistaken,” Colin shrugged lightly, looking deliberately at Angel as she came toward him with his coffee and pastry. It was impossible to miss the fear on her face or the stubborn mixture of emotions in her eyes. Her color was off and he knew she was pale because of this man’s presence. “Thanks, Angel,” he took the coffee in his left hand and tipped her chin up with his right. Before she could do more than tell him with her eyes that this was a really bad idea, he touched his mouth to hers, grazing gently from one end to the other and taking his time doing it.

  “Your father expects you at service tomorrow by eight,” Thomas said between clenched teeth, the red tinting his face darkening when she shook her head. “It was not a request, sister.”

  “No. I’m not part of that church or those people,” Angel started to turn away when he grabbed for her upper arm and squeezed tightly. She cried out, stumbling the next second when Colin did something to Thomas’ wrist.

  His hand fell away with a curse that made several people look in their direction.

  “Touch her again and I’ll not only break it, but you’ll have a lawsuit on your hands that will tie up you and your church until you’re old and grey,” Colin stepped between them, challenge in every part of his body language.

  “You really believe you can keep this whore from us? We are her family. We are her salvation,” he announced righteously.

  Colin clenched his free hand and handed the coffee to Angel. She took it without a question, her mouth opening to comment and snapping shut when Colin stepped forward and took her step-brother’s arm, twisting it behind him and shoving him forward, out the door and onto the concrete.

  “Management reserves the right to refuse service,” Colin said flatly.

  “You are making a serious mistake,” came the furious hiss, his eyes narrowed and cold. “You cannot keep us from our sister.”

  Colin planted his feet firmly. Seriously wishing the man would make a move now that they were outside the shop.

  “Don’t come back. Take this message to your father and any of the other sheep he sends to do his bidding,” Colin’s voice hardened ruthlessly. “There will be a restraining order brought against you and all members of your family. Including the man named Earl Leonard.”

  “This isn’t your business. Her life belongs to her father to guide and control,” Thomas rubbed his wrist, more than anger in the glare he leveled on Colin.

  “Her life belongs to her. Period.” Colin had long ago learned that arguing with this type was not only unpleasant but unproductive. “Have you ever looked at her as a sister in need of your protection? Do you even know her?”

  “I will retrieve her in the morning,” Thomas answered flatly, turning and striding away, his hand pulling an expensive cell phone free before he reached his vehicle.

  “Yeah, big waste of time,” Colin muttered, going back inside to the table he’d left. He was about to go find Angel when the waitress named Daria brought a tray up to stand beside him. He sat and thanked her.

  “No, thank you,” she said quietly, carefully checking to see where Angel was. “They always hurt her and she won’t let us call the police.”

  “He’s been here before?” Colin sipped the coffee and discovered it had been refreshed. He sighed gratefully.

  Daria did the almost twenty-something half shrug. “Him or one of the others. She told us the first time it happened they’re her half-brothers. She’s always so sad after they come to see her.”

  Colin angled his body and pulled his wallet free. He handed her his card.

  “You get this number to the others, Daria,” he said softly. “If you even suspect there’s a problem with these people, you have them call me no matter what day or what time it is. And tell the others I’d like them to write down everything they can remember about the visits. I’m going to file restraining orders to start the process of making them leave her alone. Can you do that for me?”

  “Yes, sir,” she answered instantly, sliding the card into her pocket and smiling at him. “I’ll talk to them when I can and get you the information. I have to get back to work. Thank you.”

  Colin stayed long enough to finish the pastry and come to the conclusion that he’d definitely need to up the length of time on the track if he ate this on a regular basis. He stared down at the empty plate, finished the coffee and left a few dollars on the table before heading out on his shopping trip.

  Chapter Seven

  Angel watched him leave but wasn’t sure when her hands would stop shaking. The fury on Thomas’s face made her insides quake and she knew the story would now be spreading among her brothers and finally to her father and step-mother. The same feelings raced through her and it was only the stability of her shop that stopped her from bolting.

  Here, she felt in charge. Here, she felt alive and creative. Her customers were well-fed and happy; her staff made her laugh and kept her mind occupied with the antics of the young college crowd.

  Did that make her a coward?

  She couldn’t think about it. Her staff knew their jobs very well. They also knew after a visit from one of her relatives, baking increased considerably. No one bothered her when she dragged down her thick binder and thumbed through the pages. Bowls, pans and containers came quickly from the shelves and still she fought the urge to just pack her car and vanish.

  It made no sense, she thought two hours later. Why couldn’t they all just leave her alone? She didn’t need saving, she told herself, slamming things around the kitchen as she cleaned up shortly before three. The girls had closed down and cleaned the front and the patio before leaving until Monday.

  The tremor ran through her as she made the rounds of the shop, checking windows and doors, scanning for anything out of place. She knew she was stalling but wasn’t sure if it was her half-brother or Colin that affected her most.

  Habits had her carefully looking around the parking lot; taking in all the shoppers on the Saturday afternoon streets as she walked to her car. Her fingers shook as she snapped the lock doors button before buckling herself in. Only then did she relax just a little.

  Thump-thump-thump. Suddenly the sound of her own heart seemed to echo louder than a marching band.

  Only it was much, much faster as she pulled into the slot to the side of her apartment. Colin was there. She watched him step out of the elegant looking black town car, her gaze slipping to the plastic and paper bags dangling from his hands. They looked so out of place in the hands of such a large man. Her head tipped to the side and then shook as they drew closer together.

  “What have you done?” Disbelief and incredulity filled each word.

  “Had a damn good time,” Colin admitted cheerfully. He shifted things around and took her palm before moving toward the entrance. “And it’s damn cold out here.”

  “Oh, sorry,” she used her keys to open the first door, unable to take her gaze from the rugged features. “You shouldn’t be doing this. My relatives…”

  “Are idiots and the last thing you’re allowed to do is tell your Dom what he can and can’t do,” he told her in reminder. “Did he come back after I left?”

  “No. I…I tend to bake a lot after one of their visits.” She confessed with a sigh. “So the freezers are full for Monday. Which is a good thing since Christmas shopping season is about to
fall on me like an avalanche.”

  “And tomorrow? Would you go to them because he summoned you?”

  “Oh, god, no,” she actually laughed and shook her head, pushing the door to her apartment in and dropping the keys on the counter when she crossed to the dining area. “Usually I find a place to stay and don’t come home until at least noon. It makes them angry, but they don’t come back for a few weeks.”

  “You thought about running.” It was a statement, simple and compassionate.

  “I always think of running,” Angel moved to stand before the large window in the main room. “I love this area. I think I could have made it so much easier on myself if I’d taken what my grand-parents left me and disappeared. I could have changed my name and opened a bakery in Vegas and they’d never have found me. I doubt they would have looked. I honestly don’t know why he keeps bothering with me. I’m not worth anything to him and…and it’s never very pleasant…”

  “He doesn’t tell you?”

  “He lectures and preaches and tells me…” she shook her head. “I should be someone’s wife and leading an example with my life by bringing other sinners fighting demons to the fold. I tend to zone out when I’m taken there. It’s easy with him. With my step-brothers…they aren’t like him. He’s never struck me. He…he uses Elizabeth or one of my brothers to…cleanse the demons from me. As long as I can avoid them, it’s not so bad.”

  “You’re a lousy liar, Angelica,” Colin dropped the bags he’d brought with him on to the sofa. “Don’t try it with me. I’ll give you this one warning and it’s that I cannot stand being lied to. We can work through anything else, I promise you.”

  “I don’t believe in secrets but I believe in keeping my friends safe. I don’t know you…and I don’t know if we can be friends or not. What I do know is that you probably brought their attention down on you,” she turned away from the glass.

  “It’s rather like the cat playing with the sparrow,” Colin said with a laugh. “And believe me when I say I’m not the one with the feathers, Angel. Have you eaten today?”

  “I have a tendency to graze when I cook,” she admitted, continuing quickly.

  “They have an excellent restaurant in the club,” he lifted the bags and glanced around the large open area. “Bedroom?” He tipped his head to the open door, taking the bags into the room and ignoring the slight sputter from behind him. “Dig through them, Angel. Pick out something for tonight and get changed. Then we’ll go and share a meal and talk.”

  Colin slipped past her at the door, pulling it closed behind him.

  “Fifteen minutes, Angel, or I’ll dress you,” he said loudly.

  Damp palms rubbed over the back of her jeans before she reached for bags and upended them all on the surface of her bed. She lifted one particularly sheer and lacy black bra, checked the size tag and frowned.

  Angel threw the door open, searching the open space and found him perched half on and off one of the breakfast stools. She held the bra in her fist.

  “How did you know my size?” She demanded with a very un-sub like glower.

  “I checked the tags on things in your dresser,” he answered without hesitation or remorse.

  Stark disbelief made her eyes narrow. “You broke into my apartment?”

  “I met a nice lady on the first floor who let me in on the ground level and said she was very happy you finally had a boyfriend. And she gave me cookies,” he said with a grin, lifting one of the chocolate chip cookies from the plate on the counter near his elbow.

  “Mrs. Langdon…”

  “I showed her my driver’s license to let her know exactly who I was and she used her spare key and let me in when I told her I wanted to buy you some things but wasn’t sure of your sizes,” he winked at her, his grin going a little broader when she spun and slammed the bedroom door behind her. “Love that independence,” he murmured with another bite.

  Angel spread the items out on the bed. Three bras and the man certainly had an interesting taste. A black lacy garter belt and several colors of stockings. And four pairs of panties. Okay, mostly bits of satin and lace with strings attached. Now there’s a surprise, she grimaced. Two corsets, one in black and the other a deep gold shade. One long skirt with slits. Four slits, she realized, holding the skirt up and looking at the almost sheer panels. And one shirt that looked like nothing more than an eighteen inch piece of vinyl that would cling and ride just under her ass.

  “Alright,” Angel pushed a low breath between her lips and stripped. She selected the long paneled skirt that stopped just past her knees and the gold corset. “It’s a debate whether he’s insane or you’ve lost your mind,” she told the reflection.

  “I’m pretty sure neither one is accurate,” Colin had quietly opened the door and now leaned into the side, his arms up and over his chest. He sighed in pure male appreciation before striding forward, his eyes holding hers in the tall oval mirror. His hands went to her waist, the elastic band of her skirt repositioned to the edge of her hips, something along the lines that a belly dancer would wear. “Perfect.”

  Colin looked at the bed and made a selection, handing her the gold thong.

  Angel looked at the almost indecent piece of fabric in her hand for a long few seconds before striding into the bathroom and closing the door. She didn’t know why she did it. He’d already seen her without most of her clothing. He’d already had his hands over most of her body, she thought as she shimmied the thing beneath the panels of skirt. She’d already mostly undressed in front of him and a lot of strangers at the club.

  So modesty? Seriously over-rated.

  Shedding the modesty at the club was going to be an interesting bit of training, Colin thought as he waited by the bedroom door.

  “A pair of plain flats,” he said when she came from the bathroom. “You’ll leave the shoes at the coat room for the night.” He held his palm out to her and felt an amazing surge of power when her hand was placed in his without pausing.

  She stopped at the closet and stepped into a pair of black shoes. Even while her stomach churned, she felt like she was in another world, another body when he held her jacket up for her, reaching around her from the back and latching the center buttons.

  Colin kept himself on alert around her. Each time he came close, each time he touched her, and both were going to happen as often as he could fit into the situations, she stopped breathing even as her heart raced. When she did, he stopped moving, held his pose and waited. Slowly her body relaxed and the pounding flutter inside her chest returned more or less to normal.

  “Alright?” Colin didn’t loosen his arms around her until she nodded.

  “Why do you do that?” She asked before she could change her mind, backing up a step and bumping into the door when he turned and moved forward on her. Before she could form a protest, his hands were around her wrists, lifting them above her head and stretching her to her toes with both her wrists in one of his hands. “Colin?”

  “Being in the moment is part of where I want you, Angel. Touching is not bad. It’s vital to you as a human,” he murmured, repeating a phrase he knew he’d be stating over and over until she convinced herself it was alright. He leaned closer and positioned his thigh between her legs. “And I want to touch every single inch of you, Angel. Repeatedly. Until I leave fingerprints, I’ve touched so often…and I want to see enjoyment and pleasure in your eyes because of my touch.”

  She could feel his heat. It radiated from every part of him that touched her and from the parts just inches away from her body.

  She didn’t struggle, just stared into his eyes in fascination and only a little fear.

  She had eyes he was more than willing to sink into for a very long time. That thought alone should have sent him running.

  Instead, he brushed his mouth over hers, soft and teasing. A little sup of air was pulled inside her when he nipped at her lower lip before settling more firmly over her mouth, his tongue taking the opportunity to slip between her lips
and stroke over hers. Softly, very slowly he kissed her, letting the heat build between them. Nothing rushed. He could never rush her or she’d forget she was safe with him; forget she was where she wanted to be, needed to be.

  The panic was there. She could feel it boiling inside her. She could hear her father and brothers calling her names, sneering and looking at her like she was less than worthy of their time, their attention.

  But the gentle insistence in his kiss was like a heat wave over a block of ice. Images of them, the sounds of their voices were slowly being shoved down. Down and far, far away. If only for a few minutes.

  Warmth and cola and mint, she thought, letting her tongue slip inside his mouth, stroking along his and seeking the freedom he was showing her.

  “Do you want me to leave, Angel?” Colin spoke the words, even as part of him said it was a really stupid idea. He raised his head, trailing his mouth along her jaw. He straightened slowly, pressing more of himself against her. More firmly. More possessively. Showing her just what being around her did to him, the hard length of his cock pressed into her hip.

  He waited quietly, watching the long dark lashes opening. His gaze fell on the line of white enamel that pulled her lower lip between them. She hadn’t spoken a word but he could easily see the raging conflict in her eyes.

  “Once you accepted me as your dom, I won’t leave you,” he spoke the words clearly, precisely. “I won’t let you run me off or Bailey or Patsy.” He grinned at the startled look on her face. “We’re not afraid of your relatives. Hadn’t you heard of strength in numbers?”

  Colin didn’t mention that he’d sent a message to his research assistant. That he wanted every bit of paperwork about the assault and he wanted anything past regarding her father and brothers. Anything that would be fuel to begin a restraining order. They weren’t perfect, but it was the starting point. He was gambling the media coverage alone would make the reverend back away and rethink his strategy.

  And he knew just the right reporter for the job.