Freed

by Phillips, Carly

His good day ruined by his thoughts, he put his hand on her back as they walked back down the street and wound their way around the buildings where her apartment was located.

  “Oh, wait. I want to get an extra pair of sunglasses out of my car. These have been bothering me,” she said, pointing to where the frame pressed against the back of her head. “I’ll switch them out and get these fixed when I get a chance.”

  They headed to her car and she let out a startled sound. “Look!”

  He glanced at the side of her car, where a long key scratch marred the shiny red exterior. Worse, the window had been shattered, tempered glass scattered everywhere. He glanced around. The parking lot was full but devoid of people, everyone on the main street enjoying the festival and the hot summer day.

  “Shit,” he muttered, pulling her back before she could rush forward to check out the scene.

  “Who would do this?” she asked, her eyes filled with frustrated tears.

  He shook his head. “It’s a low crime area… usually,” he said of Rosewood Bay. “And I’m surprised someone tried it with so many cars and people around for the festival. But all it takes is ten seconds to smash and grab.”

  She clenched and unclenched her hands in exasperation.

  “Come on. Let’s call the police,” he said.

  She shook her head. “You need to go to your dad. I’ll head on up to my apartment and call them from there. You don’t need to worry about me when you have somewhere you need to be.”

  He really didn’t want to leave her to handle this on her own. Of course, she was fully capable but that wasn’t the point. He wanted to be there for her – and he also had to head home and let Lucy go to her family. There was no option. He needed to take care of his father.

  “Do you promise to wait for the police inside?” he asked, walking her up to her apartment.

  “Yes.” She pulled out her keys and opened the door. “I’m fine. Go to your dad.” She pushed at him in an effort to make her point.

  He pulled her into a kiss before closing her in her apartment and heading home, guilt clawing at him the entire way.

  Sure, she said she had no issue with him leaving, but he wouldn’t blame her if she did.

  * * *

  The police chalked the break-in up to a visitor from out of state, thinking he could get lost in the crowds of the festival after a quick break-in. Juliette’s car radio had been stolen along with her expensive sunglasses. She called it a loss and contacted the insurance company. Kane did a cleanup and took the vehicle into his shop, insisting he’d take care of it for her once her coverage kicked in. She’d need the car to get to and from the house where she was working, but she could call an Uber, and besides, she’d have her car back soon.

  In the meantime, she dove into the creative part of her new job. With everything in the house touched and cleaned up, she was able to begin the staging. From changing up the bathroom accessories to white for a spa look, to floral pieces in the family room, to decluttering bookshelves and giving the place the open, airy look it should have had to begin with, she liked the end result, and she hoped Phoebe did as well.

  This weekend, she was relaxing. Her aunt had a charity luncheon and had offered the use of her backyard pool, and Juliette was taking advantage.

  She put on a bikini and lathered up the sunscreen on her fair skin, then stretched out on a chaise lounge in the backyard. The patio was tremendous, with gorgeous inlaid stone and high shrubbery around the fencing. Not that anyone could see in—the estate was so huge privacy was a given.

  She closed her eyes and her muscles relaxed, the feel of the sun on her face warm and delicious. She put everything out of her mind, her father and his phone calls, what she would do after the summer ended, her mother… all of it.

  When her cell rang, she realized she had been dozing off. She picked it up from beneath the towel where she protected it from the heat. “Hello?”

  “Hey there.”

  “Braden! I thought you were spending the day with your father. How’s it going?” she asked, pushing herself to a sitting position and adjusting the back of the chair.

  “He’s having a decent day. A friend of his stopped by and said he’d hang out for the day and Lucy is there. What are you doing?”

  She grinned. “I’m at my aunt’s pool.”

  “Oh, nice. Enjoying your time with her?”

  She toyed with the strap on her bikini top. “Actually, she’s at a luncheon and I’m here all by myself.”

  “That’s too bad. And what are you wearing while you’re sitting out all alone?”

  “A bikini, but I was thinking that because it’s so isolated here, I could really fulfill that skinny-dipping fantasy,” she said in a deliberately coy voice.

  He choked for a minute. “I’ll be right over.”

  She hung up laughing.

  He must have broken speed limits given how quickly he showed up, walking around the back of the house and knocking on the locked gate.

  She let him inside, taking in his swim trunks, tank top, and muscles tempting her with their obvious strength. “You made good time,” she said, biting the inside of her cheek.

  “Tempt a man with you skinny-dipping and it can be done.” He followed her back to the pool, sitting in a lounge chair beside hers.

  He pulled off his tank top and her mouth went dry. Biceps flexed as he moved, tanned skin, a golden color that brought out the green in his hazeleyes. “You’re pretty tempting yourself.”

  “I’m glad you think so.” He started to kick back and put his legs out on the chaise.

  “Don’t get too comfortable,” she said as she reached behind her and unhooked her bathing suit top, letting it fall to the ground. It took a lot of courage gathering, but she managed it, determined to see it through.

  He rose to his feet and extended his hand.

  “Nope. I’m not finished yet.” She drew a deep breath and slid her fingers into the sides of her bikini, pulling them down and off her legs.

  And now she was naked. A warm breeze flowed over her as potent as Braden’s visual caress. Under his steady gaze, her nipples puckered, giving her a dose of bravery.

  “Ready for a swim?” she asked, turned, walked to the water, and dove in. The cool water engulfed her and she rose to the surface, popping up to find Braden in the pool with her.

  She made her way through the water toward him, gliding her arms around his neck, wrapping her legs around his waist… and finding him naked as well.

  He half swam, half walked her back to the nearest wall. His cock hard and erect, he nudged at her entrance and then he was inside her, gliding deep.

  His lips found hers as she clasped tight around him, swirls of desire racing inside her. His tongue thrust in time to his hips, their bodies in unison as they came together, time after time. It was perfect, the way he fit, thick enough that she felt a delicious burn, her body wet enough that the glide was smooth and easy. And when his pubic bone hit her clit with every grind, she saw stars, losing herself to him over and over with each pull back and push deep.

  In the back of her mind, she heard a cell phone, recognized his ring tone, but neither of them moved or stopped what they were doing.

  He stilled, building the tension, his lips trailing down her cheek, along her collarbone, until she shivered at his nips and licks. One big hand cupped her breast, squeezing, palming her flesh, her nipple digging into his palm. She leaned her head back and moaned, wriggling her hips, urging him to start thrusting again.

  “Braden, please. Please.” She squeezed her inner walls around him.

  “Jesus. Fuck.” The words came out on a groan. “You make it impossible to go slow.”

  She nuzzled his cheek, her lips feeling the warmth of his skin. “Because I don’t want you to.”

  Giving her what she asked for, he began to move, taking her harder, faster, her body responding to the friction and pressure. The quickening began slowly, a delicious swirl of need that built into a frenzied t
ornado of desire. Her orgasm rushed over her at record speed, a climax of her body, heart, and soul because of the man thrusting into her over and over.

  She peaked, crashed, fell headlong into bliss. Bright flashes of light, exquisite sensations of all her nerve endings colliding at once, topped off by the harsh groan followed by the rumble of her name in her ear as Braden came hard, his orgasm colliding with hers.

  Chapter Nine

  Braden held the bulk of their weight and his legs nearly gave out from under him, but he grabbed on to Juliette, her body soft and warm around his as she collapsed against his chest. He carried them out of the pool and laid her down onto a lounge, grabbing a towel from a nearby chair and covering her with it so she could dry off. He found another towel for himself and wrapped it around his waist, looking down at this woman he knew he could fall hard for if he wasn’t so tied up in knots about the things that could tear them apart.

  His father and the times he’d have to put him first and ultimately lose her like he had Emily.

  Her father, the money that had exchanged hands and dirtied his.

  And the financial differences between them. Her father would never approve of him, and someday that would matter to her, as would living on a shoestring budget.

  The thoughts jolted through him, but he had her for now and he intended to make the most of it. Before he could even push the painful truths aside, his cell phone rang, making him realize it had gone off while they were in the pool.

  He picked it up and saw it was Lucy.

  “Is it important?” Juliette asked, pushing herself into a sitting position, holding the towel against her chest.

  He rolled his shoulders. “Maybe. It’s Lucy.” He answered quickly. “Hello?”

  “Braden? Oh my God. Your father’s gone!” she said in a panic, her voice rising, fear obvious.

  He stiffened at her words. “What do you mean, gone?”

  “I went to the bathroom. He’d been napping on the couch after his friend left. I came back, the front door was open, and he was gone. I ran outside, looked up and down the street. He’s nowhere to be found. I called our nearest neighbors. Nobody’s seen him.”

  He pulled in a deep breath, grabbing for his shorts. “Well, he couldn’t have gotten far, right? Mobilize the neighbors and get everyone looking. If we don’t find him within the hour, I’ll call the police.” He hung up and ran a shaking hand through his hair.

  “Braden?”

  “My dad wandered off,” he said, pulling on his shorts and then his top.

  She grabbed her bikini and pulled on the bottoms. “I’m coming with you,” she said, reaching for her top next.

  He nodded as she hooked herself up and threw on a coverup she had on the chair. “Ready.”

  They rushed to his car, Juliette leaving her convertible at her aunt’s house. The drive to his house was quiet, panic filling Braden at the thought of his father confused, wandering the streets alone. He wouldn’t know how to get back home.

  But he was aware of Juliette, quiet and stoic by his side, her hand on his thigh as he drove. They arrived to find Lucy waiting at the house in case his father did manage to make his way home. She said the neighbors were searching, while Braden had driven the streets on the way home, his window open, looking on everyone’s front porch in case his dad had the wrong house. Juliette had taken the view of the opposite side of the street.

  “I’m so sorry, Braden,” Lucy said, wringing her hands in dismay.

  “Hey.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” Braden could have been home, gone to the bathroom, and come out to find his father gone.

  “I’m going to go out and start yelling for him. Maybe if he hears my voice, he’ll pop out of somewhere. In the meantime, if I don’t let you know that I’ve found him in the next fifteen minutes, call the police. There are photos of him on the mantel. They can issue a Missing Vulnerable Adult Alert and help us search.”

  He left Juliette in the house with Lucy, attempting to calm the guilt-ridden woman down, and he ran out the door. He started down the street, yelling his father’s name, and Dad, until he was hoarse. Then he started back in the other direction. By then, the police cars were in the driveway and local cops were out on foot, also searching.

  Sweat dripped down his back as he wound his way in and around the nearby homes, in the back, by the swing sets, anywhere he could think of, but he didn’t find him.

  He dragged himself home to find a cop in the house, waiting to talk to him. Apparently, he’d already questioned Lucy and even Juliette before moving on to Braden.

  Braden knew most of the local PD but this guy was new. He sat through a barrage of what felt like insulting questions. Where was he and what was he doing when his father disappeared and then the usual, what was he wearing? Braden didn’t know because he’d been making love to Juliette when his father walked out.

  Rationally, he knew that what he’d told Lucy was true. It could have been Braden who’d been home when Jonathan had left… but it hadn’t been, and Braden felt just as guilty as Lucy, if not more, because it was his father and he felt like he should have been present.

  He paced the floor of the family room, now letting the police do their job because he’d come up empty and he wanted to be here if… no, when, his dad returned. Juliette remained quiet. She made Lucy a cup of tea, which Braden declined when she offered some to him, and she sat by his side when he finally collapsed onto the sofa.

  Sitting didn’t last long, and soon he wanted to go out searching again, but there were now three officers looking and they seemed insistent that Braden wait at home to be there when they found his father, knowing he’d be confused by strangers and the fuss.

  Juliette squeezed his hand as he looked out the window onto the street. “They’ll find him, Braden.”

  He nodded. “I ran away once, when I was a kid.”

  She met his gaze. “You did? Why?”

  “Would you believe I can’t remember why but I do remember where I thought I was going. To my grandparents’, not realizing they lived out of state and I never could have gotten there on foot.” He shook his head, smiling despite how serious things were at the moment. “I packed up my backpack and headed out while my mom was in the kitchen making dinner.”

  “What happened?” she asked.

  He laughed. “I made it as far as my friend’s house down the block. I got hungry – or at least that was my excuse to go back home. Mrs. Perry called my mom and she came and picked me up. She’d realized I was gone by then and had just started to panic.”

  “I’ll bet.”

  He hung his head and sighed. “I know now what I would have put her through had I been gone longer.”

  “You were a kid. And your dad’s a confused older man. In his case, the police will find him. I have faith.”

  He squeezed her hand and held on to her faith because his was tied up in pure fear and panic at the moment.

  The afternoon passed and soon it was dinnertime. Braden thanked God that it was summer and daylight lasted late, helping them in their search.

  Suddenly he heard a siren and a police car came into view. He ran outside as the vehicle pulled into the driveway and the officer who’d been questioning Braden earlier stepped out the driver’s side.

  “We found him,” the uniformed man said, walking to the back and opening the door.

  Braden ran down the walkway and met his father just as he was being helped out of the vehicle.

  Juliette followed close behind.

  Lucy ran up beside her.

  “Dad, thank God.” Braden hugged his father tight, careful not to squeeze too hard and hurt him, aware of how fragile his dad felt in his arms. “Where was he?” he asked the officer, adding a quick, “Thank you,” at the end. He was so shaken up he could barely remember his own name.

  “A block and a half away in a hammock in the back of someone’s house,” the dark-haired man said.

  Braden closed his eyes a
nd shook his head. “Jesus. We had a hammock in the backyard growing up. Dad used to nap there in the afternoons.”

  The officer shot him an understanding, partially pitying look.

  “Dad, are you feeling okay?” Braden wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

  He frowned. “I fell asleep. This man woke me up from my nap,” Jonathan said, sounding annoyed.

  “I’m just glad we found him, safe and sound,” the officer said. “I notified the other searching unit and the alert has been called off.”

  “I can’t thank you enough,” Braden said again.

  The cop nodded. “My pleasure.”

  “Come on, Dad. Let’s get inside. You gave Lucy quite a scare,” he said, his own insides still quivering.

  “You did, Jonathan. I turned around and you were gone. Are you hungry?” she asked. “I have a casserole for dinner and I can heat you up a serving.” She took his father’s arm and led him back into the house.

  Braden stayed outside for a few minutes with Juliette, catching his breath – hell, really breathing for the first time in hours.

  She pulled him into a hug and he came willingly, taking the comfort she had to offer. “God, that could have ended so much differently. If he’d gone another direction, made it to the highway…”

  “But he didn’t,” she said, her arms tight around him. “He’s home and he’s safe. That’s what matters right now.”

  He closed his eyes and nodded, but deep down he knew other things mattered, too. Like their current situation. Deep down, Braden knew things couldn’t stay as they were, Lucy alternating with Braden to watch his father. Big, expensive decisions were looming ahead of him and they weren’t good ones, either.

  * * *

  Juliette’s sister Halley picked her up and drove her to her aunt’s to get her car. Afterwards, she told Braden she would be going home to shower and change, and she insisted on returning to help with dinner. Given how wiped out he was feeling, he hadn’t been about to argue. His father had lain down and was still sleeping off his adventure while Braden was still trying to get over the trauma of the hours his dad went missing.