“Is everything okay, Leah?”
Daniel’s whisper snapped Leah out of her thoughts. He was watching her with a look of concern on his face, and she also saw the stress and pain in his eyes that he was trying to hide. Leah nodded. “I’m okay, just a little nervous to meet your family. Do they know why we’re here? Are we putting them in danger by being here?”
“I had intentions of bringing you here from the start. Our plans just got moved up a little faster than I expected. As for my family, this isn’t the first time they’ve had to face danger. It’s why I brought you here. This place has state-of-the-art security which was upgraded after the last breach. No one is getting on this land without our permission.” Daniel pulled Leah into a tight hug. “Trust me, you’re safe here, and I feel safe leaving you here.”
Leah wanted to question Daniel’s last comment, but before she could say anything, another large man with beautiful green eyes and dark curly hair approached and pulled Daniel to the side. Leah eyed the empty seat the man had just left at the table and couldn’t resist. She eased herself down, feeling the ache of every cut and bruise she had. She placed a hand on her screaming ribs and closed her eyes and moaned.
“Rough day?”
Leah snorted. “It’s been a rough month.” She opened her eyes and found a pair of mismatched ones staring back at her. The woman smiled and placed a warm hand on Leah’s arm.
“Trust me when I say I know exactly how you feel, and I’m not just trying to make you feel better. I’m speaking from experience. I’m Cane, by the way.”
Leah was tempted to ask Cane what she meant by experience, but she didn’t want to be rude. Some questions weren’t okay to ask, but there was one that she couldn’t resist. “I’m Leah,” she introduced herself before continuing. “Do you know why I’m here?”
“I don’t know the specific details, but I know that you’re running from someone, and Daniel brought you here to protect you.”
Leah eyed the small girl Cane held in her arms. “And you’re okay with that? You have kids here and I could be leading trouble right to your door.”
Cane giggled and Leah frowned, wondering what was so funny, when a redheaded woman sat down next to her and held out her hand.
“I’m Jessica, and don’t mind my friend here. I think the lack of sleep from the twins is making her a little crazy.”
Cane laughed. “Don’t blame the twins. Mikey and Maddy are pretty much sleeping through the night now. Blame my husbands over there since they’re the ones keeping me up.”
The twinkle in Cane’s mismatched eyes and the small smirk at the corner of her lips gave the woman away. She wasn’t the least bit upset about her husbands—if Leah had heard correctly—keeping her up at night. In fact, Leah would bet that from the dreamy look the woman was sending to the dark-haired man she had seen earlier and the tall blond next to him, Cane loved every bit of it.
“Anyway,” Jessica continued. “To answer your question, the Matthews family is no stranger to taking in women in danger.” She smiled. “It seems to be a pattern.”
Cane nodded. “I was running from an abusive ex-husband when Duncan and Logan took me in. He tracked me down here and kidnapped me and Ali, and I had to shoot him when he tried to kill us.”
“I had a stalker that broke into my house and decided that if he couldn’t have me, no one could. I ended up stabbing him in the neck with an ink pen to get away. I wasn’t trying to at the time, but I killed him.” Jessica pointed in the direction of the hallway. “If Kerri was here, she would tell you how she was kidnapped by a man who wanted to use her to get revenge on her father. She managed to escape, but the man tracked her down here and tried to take her again. She ended up killing the man to keep him from taking her.”
Leah sat back, stunned. There was definitely a pattern there as Jessica had stated. These women here seemed to be strong and willing to do whatever it took to survive the situations they were in, but Leah wondered if she could do that. She wondered if she could kill someone if her life depended on it. Leah didn’t know the answer to that question and prayed she never had to find out.
“I’m running because I heard something at work that I shouldn’t have and now some very bad men are after me to shut me up,” she confessed. It was only fair since Cane and Jessica told her their stories. Plus, she felt they needed to know what they were up against. “I’ve had my house broken into, been shot at, mugged, and almost run over twice.”
“Well, this place is like Fort Knox.” Cane reached over and patted her arm again. “You can relax here knowing you’re safe. You have two ex-military, a sheriff, and a deputy, not to mention Riley who makes a very good bodyguard, all here to keep you safe. No one will get to you here.”
The sincerity in Cane’s eyes had Leah’s body instantly relaxing. She could see the belief shining in the woman’s eyes that she was truly safe there and these women were not the least bit worried that she was a threat to their safety.
Daniel came over to her then and introductions were made while food was placed on the table. Leah knew it would take her a little while to get all the names straight, but she was already in love with the large family that had taken her in. She wondered what her life would have been like growing up surrounded by so many people laughing and joking together.
Leah’s eyes started to drift shut and Daniel noticed. “Come on, honey. Let’s get you to bed.”
Leah nodded and smiled. “I feel like I could sleep for a week.” She sucked in a breath and hissed at the pain when Daniel helped her stand. “I need a hot bath and some pain killers as well, but I’m too tired.”
“The pain killers I can get while you at least take a long, hot shower,” Daniel said as he led her down a hallway and to a bedroom. “Once you shower, I want to have a look at all your cuts and rewrap your ribs.”
Leah was too tired and hurting too much to protest so she allowed Daniel to lead her to the bathroom and slowly removed her clothes while he got the shower running and left the room. When all she had left was the bandage binding her ribs, Leah stared at herself in the mirror and was shocked to see the woman standing before her. Her reflection looked of a woman that had been through hell. Her hair was a tangled mass. Her face looked drawn and haggard with black circles under her eyes and the pale color of her skin. From the neck down, Leah’s body looked as if she had been tortured from all the bruises and cuts she could see covering her.
Turning away from the mirror before the tears welling in her eyes could fall, Leah removed the wrapping around her ribs and moved to the shower. She refused to cry or have a pity party for herself when there were women down the hallway who had been in worse situations than her and they came out strong. Leah was unable to keep herself from shrieking when the hot water hit her skin and stung all the tiny cuts there. She jumped when the bathroom door flew open and Daniel stormed in with a gun in hand and a fierce look on his face. Leah watched as he scanned the room before his eyes finally settled on her and darkened.
“I’m sorry,” she said, breathless at the sight of Daniel standing there looking like a warrior with no shirt on and the top button of his jeans undone. “I didn’t mean to alarm you. The water just burned a little.”
Leah watched as Daniel turned to nod to someone before he laid his gun on the bathroom counter and closed the bathroom door, sealing them inside.
* * * *
Daniel nodded to Chase that everything was okay and ignored the man’s grin as he closed the bathroom door. He swallowed around his dry mouth as he laid his gun on the bathroom counter and tried to calm his breathing. Leah’s scream had set him instantly on alert and sent him running to the bathroom, but that wasn’t what had his pulse racing. The sight of Leah standing there naked in the shower with drops of water streaming down her body instantly had his cock straining to be free of his jeans. Daniel clenched his fists to keep himself from stripping and slamming Leah against the bathroom wall. She was in pain and it was the last thing she needed.
/> He cleared his throat. “Did I make the water too hot?”
“No, it’s the cuts.”
“How are your ribs?” Daniel was trying his best to not notice Leah’s naked body, but his question only caused his eyes to stray to her bare breast. Either Leah didn’t realize the effect she was having on him, or she didn’t care. He would put his money on the former.
“Sore, but I’ll live.”
“Do you need any help?” Like me climbing in there and washing your back. Daniel ignored his thoughts and waited for Leah to reply. He wanted nothing more than to climb in the shower with her, but he didn’t think that would lead to him just washing her back.
Daniel saw the hesitation in Leah’s eyes seconds before the realization hit her that she was standing there naked. Her eyes widened before she wrapped an arm across her breast and used her hand to cover her sex. Daniel watched the blood fill her cheeks as she blushed and his restraint broke. Before he could even talk himself out of it, Daniel marched over and pulled Leah into his arms. He caught her gasp just as his mouth descended on hers. Careful of Leah’s injuries, Daniel gently lifted her and moved her further into the shower to make room for him until they were both under the water. Leah moaned and circled her arms around his neck and Daniel deepened the kiss, using his tongue to caress the inside of her mouth. He couldn’t get enough of Leah’s sweet taste. It was something he could see himself becoming addicted to the longer he was around the woman.
Ignoring the fact that his jeans were soaking wet and the unforgiving fabric was becoming increasingly uncomfortable the more his cock hardened, Daniel took his time kissing Leah. He wanted to savor the fact that he had her in his arms and she was just as willing to be there.
“God,” Daniel said, panting when breathing became crucial. “You have no idea how much I wanted to do that.” Leah rested her forehead against his and Daniel could feel her breath panting against his lips.
“You have no idea how much I wanted you to do that,” Leah said as she lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist.
Daniel took advantage of the fact that she was naked and open to him and trailed one hand down Leah’s chest. He took the time to circle one of her nipples with the tip of his finger and watched the nub harden from his caress as Leah arched her back and moaned. Daniel loved how responsive she was and made a vow to take his time in the future to see if he could make her come from just him playing with her nipples. In the meantime, Daniel had another destination in mind as he continued down Leah’s stomach. He grinned at Leah’s gasp when she sucked her stomach in as he circled her belly button. The woman had her head thrown back and her mouth open as she anticipated his next touch, and it was the most beautiful thing Daniel had ever seen. Daniel already knew he was in love with her but, at that moment, it really sunk in that he wanted Leah in his bed and in his life forever.
“I’m in love with you. I’m going to make love to you tonight, Leah,” he told her and watched as her eyes widened when what he finally said sunk in. “I want to take you hard and fast right here against the wall in this shower just to take the edge off,” he said, not giving her time to respond. Daniel didn’t expect her to love him back so soon, but he had every intention of making her fall just as deeply in love with him as he was with her. “Then I want to take you to bed and slowly make love to you all night long.”
Daniel didn’t know if Leah’s moan was from his statement or from his hand finally reaching her cunt that was already warm and slick. He traced her folds with the tip of his finger and pressed Leah further into the wall to hold her still as her hips arched. He was serious about taking her against the wall, but he was mindful of her injuries.
The pain of his cock straining against his jeans was becoming too unbearable, so Daniel used his good arm to hold Leah in place while he used the other to work the zipper on his jeans. He held back a groan as pain shot through his injured shoulder, but he ignored it. All his focus was on burying himself inside Leah’s hot pussy as soon as possible. Daniel let out a sigh of relief once the cold air finally hit his cock. Not bothering to pull his jeans down any further, Daniel lined his cock up until the head rested just at the entrance of Leah’s cunt and paused. He looked up to see Leah staring down at the place where they met. “Keep watching. See how well we fit together,” he managed to grunt before thrusting inside. They both moaned at the invasion, but Leah never took her eyes off his cock and he never took his eyes off her beautiful responsive face as he surged into her over and over again.
Daniel knew he wasn’t going to last long, and from the way Leah was clenching around his cock, he hoped she was just as close. Wanting them to come together, he used his finger to circle her clit. Leah’s pussy clamped down on his cock at the move and he saw Leah bite her bottom lip as she whimpered. Knowing she was barely hanging on to her control, Daniel decided to give her one final push. “You like that, don’t you. You like watching my cock as it surges inside of you, filling you, making you feel so good,” he whispered in her ear before nipping the lobe with his teeth. It was all the push Leah needed to go over the edge as she came. Her scream was music to Daniel’s ears as her pussy milked his cock. It was all Daniel needed as he threw his head back and yelled as he came.
He was pretty sure the whole house heard what they were doing, but Daniel couldn’t bring himself to care as he leaned his forehead against Leah’s. They both panted as they came down from their high and Daniel couldn’t resist leaning down and running his tongue across Leah’s swollen bottom lip, drawing a moan from her. He could feel the stress of the last few days catching up to his body. Now that he finally had Leah safe in his arms, Daniel knew it wasn’t going to be much longer before he was fast asleep. His legs already felt like jelly and judging from the way Leah rested limply against him, she was feeling the same.
“Come on,” he said as he turned the water off and carried her out of the shower. “Let’s get to bed before we both pass out.” Not bothering with a towel, Daniel headed straight to bed. He still had every intention of making good on his promise to make love to the woman before they passed out.
Chapter 11
Leah cracked her eyes and closed them again. She wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, but the bright sun shining directly into her eyes was preventing that. Moaning, she rolled over to her other side only to quickly move to her back when she landed on her extremely sore ribs. Leah waited for the pain to pass before she finally decided she wasn’t getting back to sleep and opened her eyes. The unfamiliar room brought all of the memories of the high-speed chase her life had become crashing back, and Leah sighed. Now that she was safe and surrounded by Daniel’s family, all the adrenaline that she had been going on the past few days had faded, leaving her a sore mess.
Smiling at the fact that Daniel had made good on his promise and not all the soreness she felt was a bad thing, Leah looked over to the other side of the bed only to see that it was empty. She frowned, wondering where Daniel was, but she was grateful that she had a moment alone. She had a lot to think about. The main thing was the fact that Daniel had told her he loved her and instead of saying it back, she froze.
Leah knew she had fallen in love with Daniel as well, but she had held back. She was scared it was too soon. Was she only in love with him because he was her protector? What would his family think? Leah didn’t care about the age difference between her and Daniel, but would his family? What would his daughter say? Would Kerri think her dad was trying to replace her mother with Leah? All those questions and tons more swirled through her head, giving Leah a headache. She knew she was probably making a bigger deal out of the situation than she should, but she couldn’t help it. Leah was not a risk taker. She had never been one and now that a risk was staring her directly in the face, she had to decide if it was worth taking or if going back to her boring, comfortable life was the better option.
Leah snorted as she forced herself to get out of bed. Boring and comfortable were two words she would never consider saf
e again. Boring and comfortable, she would even throw in complacent, were what had gotten her into this situation in the first place. Ignoring the craziness coming from her head, Leah made her way to the bathroom and smiled at the pile of clothes on the counter and the unopened toothbrush on top. From what she had learned in the short amount of time she had known Daniel, he was a sweet man that took care of the ones he loved. Being included on that list wasn’t a bad thing in her opinion.
Leah ignored the cuts and bruises that littered her body and dressed in the jeans and T-shirt. Once her teeth and hair were brushed, she left the room and made her way down the hall toward the noise she heard coming from the kitchen. The laughter and conversation of so many people made her smile. Leah wondered what it would be like to wake up to that every morning and she quickened her pace. She wanted to see Daniel and to make sure the night before wasn’t a dream.
When Leah rounded the corner, she saw Daniel’s family surrounding the table eating breakfast. Cane and Jessica both looked up and smiled at her when they saw her. They waved her over and she took the seat next to them.
“From the look on your face, I’d say my dad didn’t tell you he was leaving this morning,” Kerri said as she leaned around Jessica.
Second Chances [Pine Valley 4] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 9