Shuttered Affections (Cornerstone #1)

by Folsom, Rene

  “Watch it, Coda. She’s mine,” Aiden practically growled his assertion.

  I turned quickly on my heel and faced him, making him stop in his tracks, inches from my face. I glared at his words. How could he claim me when he had already claimed a wife?

  “Don’t forget, Mr. Stone, that you have not explained your marital status to me, yet. So, until you give me a damn good reason why I should trust you, then please, don’t act possessive over something that doesn’t belong to you.” With ice in my stare, I turned and continued to lead them along, very aware he was likely going to be pissed at me for calling him out in front of his clone.

  I heard a chuckle behind me and finally Coda said, “Damn, Aiden, she’s got spunk! I like her. It’s about time you found someone to put your ass in its place.” Then Coda clapped Aiden’s shoulder and continued to laugh.

  Aiden didn’t say a word. He just followed me to their new seats in my VIP section, which had emptied a bit as some people left to go dance, but because of the lighting, my fib could not be seen from the other VIP section.

  Just as I was about to walk away and get them another round of drinks, Aiden caught my hand and brought me close to him. I started to struggle, but he held firm.

  “I know I haven’t explained myself, Angel. I will if you give me the chance, I promise,” he said sweetly as he brushed a curl out of my eye. “May I ask you something?”

  Oh, now, what was I supposed to say to that when he was taking my breath away with his sweet, sexy talk? I seriously had to get my brain examined. This man took away all of my mental faculties and replaced them with mush.

  I just nodded at his question.

  “Why did you come over and get us if you’re still mad at me?”

  His question caught me off guard because I didn’t know the answer myself.

  “I don’t know. All I know is I couldn’t stand one more minute of those girls with their hands all over you guys. I may be upset and deprived of validity, but I’m still a finicky female and…” I couldn’t complete my thoughts.

  “…and you have a clone with you!” I said loudly as I pointed in Coda’s direction. “I have a hard time resisting one Aiden, but two?”

  Hearing Coda laugh loudly behind Aiden made me realize I was being rude. I leaned to the side so I could see Coda and said, “Sorry for ruining your fun.” I tried to sound sincere.

  I stepped around Aiden and approached Coda with my hand extended. “My name is Julia, by the way.”

  Coda smiled with the whitest teeth I’d ever seen on a man. Grabbing my hand, he brought it to his mouth and said, “Pleasure, Julia. Although, I thought your name was Angel all this time. I’m Coda, Aiden’s partner in crime. And you are the loveliest thing I have ever seen.” He ended his introduction with a small peck across my knuckles.

  “Nice to meet you, Coda. And thank you for letting me steal you two away. It’s pretty obvious you two are brothers. You look so much alike.”

  “He didn’t tell you?” Coda asked, sounding sincerely shocked at Aiden’s omission.

  “We’re twins,” Aiden admitted, looking bored at the idea of Coda getting my attention.

  I probably looked like a fish out of water as I stood and stared at the two most handsome men I’d ever laid my eyes on.

  Aiden put his hand on my hip and pecked my cheek before saying, “But it makes me incredibly excited that you could tell us apart. Even my mother has trouble sometimes.”

  I turned around and just looked at him curiously. He wasn’t kidding.

  “The way you look at me makes it blatantly obvious, Mr. Stone. Plus, this sexy tattoo peeking out of your sleeve clearly marks you as mine,” I said, touching his bicep, tracing the lines of his tattoo with my fingertip. My eyes never left his.

  “I thought we weren’t being possessive, my Julia,” he purred with a sly grin as he fingered one of my errand curls.

  His comment brought back the memory that I was supposed to be mad at him.

  “You’re so right. My apologies,” I said coldly as I backed away from the gravitational pull that was Aiden Stone.

  A frown crossed his face, but he didn’t say anything else.

  Finally, Aiden let me walk away. After taking care of several other customers, I brought Aiden and Coda a new round of Stellas and asked, “So, I still owe you gentlemen a round of shots. What’s your pleasure?”

  I winked at them both as I said the word ‘pleasure’ and smiled at my boldness.

  “God, Julia. I hope you don’t ask that question to everyone,” Aiden said with an exasperated sigh in his voice.

  I scowled. Was he intending to stomp all over my confidence tonight?

  “Actually, Aiden. You’re the only one I’ve ever said that to and I thought it would be fun to reenact with the Aiden I had the delight of serving the other night. But, I was wrong in my assumption. So, what would you two like? Lemon drops? Straight-up Jack? Appletini shots? You name it.” I tried to keep the trembling out of my voice at Aiden’s need to deflate me.

  “Pleasure… hmmm… so many possibilities,” Coda interrupted and pondered his options. “I think a shot of Jack sounds perfect for me, but I can think of so many other more pleasurable things. How about you, Aiden?”

  You could tell Coda was trying to diffuse the tension between us.

  Aiden didn’t look at me when he answered, “The same is fine for me.”

  “Coming right up!”

  I quickly retreated before I lost full control of my emotions. He clearly had power over me in a way that frightened me. Just as I attempted to be unaffected, he would say something that would slam me back down to reality. I was likely going to be emotionally black and blue by the end of the night.

  Returning with their shots and struggling to act unaffected, Aiden tugged at my hand, coaxing me to sit beside him.

  “Aiden, I really have to get back to work…”

  He cut me off with a single finger to my lips.

  “Shhh. Hush up and just listen for a moment. I don’t want to leave with us all pissed off at each other. I know we have a lot to talk about, but…” he paused, as if contemplating what to say. “Just let me give you one kiss. That’s all I ask. Then, tomorrow, we’ll spend all the time in the world talking through all the shit that’s happened today.”

  He waited for me to respond, but my voice was completely inoperable. To put him out of his misery, I simply nodded, lowering my eyes to my lap where my hands twisted into nervous knots. Coda watched us curiously, obviously already informed of our rather odd pull toward each other.

  As usual, Aiden hooked my chin with his finger and tilted my gaze to meet his.

  His kiss was simple, sweet. The feeling of his lips on mine still sent shockwaves through me. All the noise and action of the club quickly faded into nothingness as we melted into each other. His lips were so soft and tasted like my favorite beer mixed with the most seductive scent of man.

  As we reluctantly pulled out of our embrace, he cupped my face and brushed his thumb over the blush of my cheek.

  “Thank you. Your lips make everything else seem nonexistent,” he said with a mix of passion and sadness in his eyes.

  I just bit my lip, unsure of what to say or do. I felt embarrassed, like I let the whole club see me naked or something.

  Aiden quickly gave my lip attention, pulling it free from my teeth with his fingers. He let them linger, brushing along the sensitive skin with tenderness as his eyes watched his fingertips trace my mouth. He gently placed a peck on my lower lip before releasing me and letting me walk away—my legs feeling like noodles in the process.

  While I loved the attention, I felt like I gave in to him. If I did that sort of thing, I would end up in the same relationship I had with Rob. I had to stand strong. Stand up for myself.

  The rest of my shift went by quickly. Aiden and Coda didn’t stay much longer and I was grateful for the relief in knowing I wasn’t being watched like a hawk by two gorgeous men.

  Lib let S
id and I go at the same time, which would have been convenient if we drove the same car.

  As we walked out the door together a little after two in the morning, Sid stopped abruptly and grabbed my arm so tight, pain surged down to my fingertips.

  “What the hell, Sid!” I exclaimed, then followed her gaze to see what caused horror to overtake her body.

  “Dex!” Sid screamed so loud, it pierced my ears and caused my brain to swell.

  Chapter 23

  “A girl has to keep some of her dignity. Shit.”

  Dex came running out of the front doors immediately and everything began to slur together.

  I heard Sid telling Dex to take me inside and felt his large arms wrap under my neck and legs as he swiftly carried me. Reality slammed back into me as I realized no one was protecting Sid.

  “Sid! Don’t leave her!” I cried as I scrambled to hold onto Dex’s neck.

  “Shh, sweetheart. Pete is with Sid. I don’t know what the hell spooked you girls, but you’re not going home alone tonight, got it?” he said with a stern, yet loving tone.

  I just nodded my head and fought the tears that were beginning to swell in my eyes.

  As we entered the employee lounge, I heard Sid explaining the situation to someone and I reached for her in an attempt to shut her up. I didn’t want everyone knowing about my morbid past.

  “Sid, please stop,” I begged as Dex sat me down on the couch.

  “Jules. They need to know who the creep is. If they’re going to protect you, they need to know,” she said sternly as she pointed toward the outside door.

  Both Dex and Pete weren’t in the room now. Fear bubbled up in my throat.

  “Where’d the guys go?” I was worried about them.

  “Don’t worry, Julia. Pete got a good look at him, but Dex didn’t. They’re just going to see if he’s still out there. They don’t know anything yet, only that he scared us. So, they’re not going to approach him. They just want to know what he looks like.”

  “Damn it, Sid. He knows where I work, where I live, next thing I know, he’s going to show up at my school.” I buried my face in my hands. “I can’t believe he found me.”

  I felt the couch move as Libby sat beside me. She didn’t touch me as she said, “Julia, we’ll keep you safe.”

  Lib and Sid were the only two in town that knew my past. And I wanted to keep it that way. But it seemed now that was no longer possible. I loved these people and I loved this town. I didn’t want to move again.

  No, I refuse to run.

  “Lib, I don’t want them out there with him. I have a photo of him I can show the guys so they can keep him out. I know it’s a lot to ask of you to turn business away, but…”

  “Julia, I don’t want that monster in here or anywhere near here for that matter. He is not welcome in my establishment and I think it is a very wise idea to let Dex and Pete know this. However, you know Becky is going to sing like a canary when she gets wind. So, I think it would be best for you to pull Dex and Pete aside and inform them of the situation. You don’t have to give them the full details, only that he is not welcome anywhere near you or this club and they should try to keep it under wraps. Period.” She had a fierce anger in her eyes. Not at me, but at this man who made me crumble and sob like a baby.

  “Let me get his photo out of my purse,” I said as I began to stand up.

  “No need, sweets. I have his mug shot locked up in your employee file. I’ll… actually, he may look much worse in his mug shot than he does every day. Maybe you should give it to me. I’ll show the guys both photos.” She smiled with a look of sorrow and pity.

  I hated when people looked at me with pity. Feeling sorry for me did not make anything better.

  I slowly got up and went over to the hook where my purse and jacket hung. In a small, secret pocket within my purse, I pulled out the photo I never, ever looked at. Keeping the front of the photo down so I didn’t have to see it, I slid it across the small table toward Lib. She picked it up without asking why I had it and slid it into her back pocket.

  Dex and Pete entered and Dex’s gravelly voice boomed through the room, “I will be driving you both home.” It wasn’t a request.

  “Julia, you should tell them about the notes,” Sid prodded. I didn’t want to stomach this now. I was tired and wanted to just crawl into bed.

  “Dex, Pete, please. I’ll tell you as much as I can, but I really just want to get home. Can we discuss this at my apartment? I need to get out of here.” I looked up at both of them with pleading in my eyes.

  “Of course, Jules,” Pete said with a kind smile, clearly laced with concern.

  We all gathered our things and left.

  Dex was a smart man and kept quiet the entire way. He only spoke to tell us he would see to it that our cars were brought to our apartment by morning. Pete followed us in his car; I assumed so he could help Dex get our cars back to our apartment.

  Dex and Pete came in and settled down on our couch. Sid got us all bottles of water as we made ourselves comfortable in the living room.

  Dread coursed through my veins as I sought the courage to tell these two friends my secret.

  I let out a really loud sigh and began spilling the beans, “Before you two say anything, please just let me get the whole story out. I will not tell you everything and I don’t want you to push me for more information than I’m willing to share. With that in mind, I don’t want or need your pity. What I need is your help and support. The only reason I’m even revealing this information is because I cannot stand the fact that this man has ruined my life once. I cannot run again and I refuse to live in fear every day. Since you two are some of my dearest friends, I know I can count on you to help me through this and make sure this man never steps foot on H20 property again.”

  Filling my lungs with a ragged breath, I pushed my emotion aside and plowed on with my story.

  “His name is Robert Meads, but most of the time he goes by Rob. He is an ex of mine who, let’s just say, became abusive and controlling. My parents didn’t believe me when I attempted to seek help from them. They loved Rob. And I hope to God they are not the reason he knows where I am now. When I finally got the guts, and the help of my best friend, to leave the situation I was in, I told my parents I did not want to see him anymore and did not want him to know where I was moving. They were not happy with my flight attempt, and although reluctant, they agreed to my requests. While I was with him, he had some very severe… tastes… and stalking tendencies. He even went as far as harassing Sid to get to me. He didn’t allow me to go to school, wouldn’t allow me to work… Let’s just say, I was not allowed to have a life. He kept me away from Sid for over six months once, before she finally dragged me away. These are not all the details, but with his photo and this little bit of history, I would hope you could help me in making sure he stays away? Please?”

  They just stared at me with big eyes and open mouths.

  “Also, he knows where I live.”

  With that little bit of information, both men looked at each other in astonishment and grumbled curses under their breath.

  “Shit, Julia. We can’t leave you here,” Pete said, making it sound like a question with the light lift in the last word. I knew better though. It wasn’t a request.

  “Wait,” Dex said, holding his hand in the air and finally coming out of his trance. “How do you know? Has he been here?”

  “Um, well, Monday night when I came home from work, I found a note that must’ve been shoved under the door. I also had a note left on my car when I left work Tuesday night. They were both in his handwriting. And they were… creepy… just like the notes he used to leave for me whenever I was bad,” I explained, sudden embarrassment flushing my face.

  Pete had an angry look as he cringed and said, “Bad? What the hell?”

  Dex interrupted him with stealthy composure, “What did the notes say, Jules?”

  I ducked my head down as I slowly rose to get the notes from my des
k drawer in my room.

  I sat back down with the box full of notes in my lap. Plucking the note from Monday night out, I slid it across the coffee table toward the two men. Their brows furrowed as they read it.

  Thought I couldn’t find you? Think again.

  I did the same thing with the second note… this time, my hands were shaking so bad, you could visibly see the paper tremble in my hands.

  I saw you with him tonight. Does he know what a slut you are? Does he know you belong to me?

  Sid piped up and admitted, “I also got a note from him that was left on my car yesterday as I was leaving for work.”

  She quickly opened the small, remote-control drawer within the coffee table and handed it over. Dex mumbled a few curses before he opened it and began to read.

  You won’t interfere again. You can’t take her from me this time.

  “That asshole!” Pete spit out with pure rage in his voice.

  Dex stabbed his finger into the second note. “Who did he see you with, Julia? Were you with a guy any time Tuesday?” Dex asked in a calm manor, like he was interrogating someone who might spook at any moment. And, in reality, he probably was.

  I’m surprised Dex didn’t remember. It wasn’t like him to not put two and two together.

  I sat with my arms curled around my abdomen, attempting to hold myself together.

  Damn it. All my secrets were coming out.

  “Um, the guy who I am interested in stopped by the club Tuesday night. He’s the one you asked me about to make sure I was okay with him touching me. I can only imagine Rob was referring to him,” I mumbled.

  “You mean the photography professor who also showed up with a stunt double tonight to check you out?” Pete asked.

  “Wow. How did you know…?” I was too shocked to complete my sentence. “Please, don’t tell anyone. I don’t want him to get in trouble for…”

  Pete held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “It’s okay, Jules. I couldn’t care less if the professor has a thing for you. He looks like a genuinely nice guy, although you both seemed a bit pissed at each other tonight. I won’t pry… I was just curious if that is who you were referring to.”