I will not think about her dying. I will think about this fucking apsara and Paris and that’s all I’m thinking about. The end.
She worked all night, barely pausing, and when dawn’s first light crept through the studio windows, Maggie stepped back, amazed at how much she’d actually accomplished. She blinked up at the legs and hips of the dancing goddess, stunned at her grace, her serenity.
Can you loan me some of that, lady? ‘Cause I’m in short supply of both right now.
**
And so the next two weeks passed, with Maggie at the hospital during the day – sometimes alone, more often with at least one of the girls – and then she went to her studio every night and worked. When she felt well and truly dead on her feet, she lay down on the sofa in the studio and closed her eyes. She’d sleep an hour, maybe two, before the stress of the looming deadline and terror for Rita would get her up and working again.
Anything to meet the agreement obligations, and get Joe Carlisle out of her life, once and for all.
Anything to distract her from the fact that Rita was getting worse.
Chapter Nine
Katie held on to Adam’s broad back tightly, loving making love with him. He was moaning her name, his breath hot against her throat. His thrusts were getting faster, deeper, and she closed her eyes.
“Katie, baby. Oh, God… I’m gonna come… fuck.”
He stiffened, stilled, his hips jerking as he released inside her. She smiled, and held him closer. She kissed his eyelids, his cheek, the line of his jaw. He was panting, his face buried in the pillow next to her head.
Adam lifted his face to meet her eyes. “You didn’t have another orgasm.”
She laughed. “I already had two, as you may recall.”
“Yeah.” He forced himself up on his forearms, taking most of his weight off her smaller body. “But you didn’t come with me. I love when you do that… it makes me feel so – close to you.”
“It’s OK.” She kissed him on his lips, lingering as her tongue traced their curves. “I like watching you.”
He sighed. “It’s because I’m not wearing a condom. It changes the whole thing – I just feel everything, you know?” He ran his huge hand down her hip. “You’re so hot, baby. Wet. Tight. It makes me lose it almost right away, I swear.”
“Uh-huh.” Her dark eyes sparkled up at him. “Well, we’ve only been doing this for a few weeks. Maybe with some more practice, you’ll last a bit longer?”
“Doubt it,” Adam growled. “But I don’t mind the practice.”
She felt him swelling and lengthening inside her again and she rolled her hips. “You want to practice right now?”
“You know it,” he said. Adam withdrew a bit, slid back inside her slim body. Katie gasped, loving that they could do this without having to break contact and use a new condom. Making love without one was an entirely different experience, for both of them.
Adam watched her face as he moved inside her again. She was so amazingly beautiful to him, and as her lips parted in ecstasy, he felt his response building. He couldn’t get enough of her, not ever, and he thrust slowly now, wanting to last this time.
Katie gripped his muscled arms, threw her head back, shut her eyes. “Oh, God… Adam. You feel so good.”
He slipped his hand between their bodies and gently rubbed her clit. A bolt of heat burst through her and she gave a cry and lifted her hips to him, taking him deeper. He ran his tongue down the length of her delicate throat, down her breast, took the nipple between his lips and sucked. She shuddered helplessly.
“Open your eyes, Katie.” His voice was hot, deep. “Look at me when you come. I love seeing you give me everything…”
Their eyes met; hers molten and dark, his blue smoke. The connection between them became even more immediate, more intimate, and something inside of her responded, hard. Her climax began to grow now, and she groaned, fighting to keep her eyes trained on his.
He smiled. “You’re so close, sweetheart.”
“You too,” she panted. “You’re so hard… oh, God.”
He found the perfect spot deep inside of her, and he pressed on it, over and over, in short, intense thrusts. She writhed beneath him, her cries becoming rhythmic, her movements becoming frantic. Adam started to lose control now, and he held her hips with both hands, pinning her in place, as he drove in to her hot centre. She sobbed, close to the edge, needing just the tiniest bit of a push to go over. He pushed, and she flew.
Katie’s orgasm rolled through her, over her. It washed her away and she barely heard her own scream. She dimly felt Adam go rigid against her, dimly heard his hoarse grunt as he came deep inside her. All she knew for certain was that she was in his arms, and she was almost dizzy with pleasure. She closed her eyes at last, let her whole body go limp and boneless.
Adam held her as she sagged against him. Her cheeks were flushed, her chest heaving with her release. He smiled again, kissed her forehead. Her eyes flickered open. They were unfocused and hazy, and he felt the need to check in with her.
“OK?” he said softly. “You here with me?”
She nodded. “Yes. Oh, yes.” She kissed him, sweetly. “I love you, Adam.”
“I love you too, sweetheart, so much.”
He fully relaxed now, glad that she hadn’t gone back to that darker time in her life. She still did that sometimes after making love with him, but it happened less and less as time passed. He stroked her long hair and stayed inside her for a while longer, loving her heat and softness. Finally, he pulled out and she gave a low moan at the loss of his closeness.
He lay on his back and gently turned her on to his chest. He held her like she was made of porcelain, cradling her. Katie was the most precious, amazing thing in his whole life, and he never forgot that for one second. She never forgot it, either; he never let her.
They lay quietly for a few minutes, then he sat up. “You thirsty?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Stay still,” Adam said. “Lie back, see if we can make a baby this time.”
She grinned at him. “OK.”
Katie watched him leave their bedroom and she sighed. She had no idea she could be so happy with a man – and if anyone had told her upon first meeting Adam that he’d be the man to give her so much joy, she’d have scoffed.
Funny how your opinions of people can change so completely.
Adam came back now, saw the look on her face. “Hey. You alright?”
“Yeah.” She sat up and accepted the glass of water he held out to her. “I’m just thinking about Nick.”
Adam shook his head, annoyed and worried. “Nick.”
“Do you think he’s OK?”
“I have no clue. He won’t talk to me.”
“He’s not talking to anybody,” Katie said. “What the hell can be happening?”
“Yeah, I was thinking of forcing the issue soon.”
“You were?”
“Uh-huh.”
“You think that’ll help?” Katie asked.
“I have no idea, but I have to do something, you know?” Adam shrugged. “He’s my best friend, and I have to at least try.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Katie drank a bit of water, then asked the question that had been circling in her mind since that night at Mia’s with the girls. “You think he’s going to break up with Mia?”
Adam was silent. “Honestly? If you’d asked me that a month ago, I’d have said no fucking way. But now? I just don’t know.”
“Yeah. Me either.”
Chapter Ten
The first day of Simon Yates’ trial was blue and sunny and gorgeous. A perfect late-June day. Reena barely saw it, though. She felt physically sick as she and Mitch entered the courthouse and she spotted Charlotte and her friends waiting for her.
“How are you?” Charlotte asked, knowing
damn good and well that the answer was, “Awful”. Reena’s face was drawn and deathly pale; her eyes stunned and almost afraid.
“Fine,” Reena said, clearly lying.
“We’re all going to be sitting right there,” Katie told her. “If things get rough, just look at us, OK?”
Reena nodded.
“Let’s go,” Mia said. “Nick’s saving us seats right in the front.” She hugged Reena, hard. “Deep breaths, sweetie. You can do this.”
“I can,” Reena said, trying to sound convinced.
They all went in to the courtroom and Reena and Mitch sat outside, waiting for her to be called. He was holding her tiny hand in his large one, gazing at her face. He was worried and scared for her, and he was doing a fucking lousy job of hiding it.
“Sugar?” he said quietly.
Reena glanced up at him.
“I love you, and I think what you’re doing is amazing. No matter what happens, how this all shakes out, you’re a strong woman. And you’re doing the right thing.”
She bit her lip. “I hope it’s not too bad.”
Mitch pulled her close, not answering. He knew with every cell of his body that it was going to be terrible, and that there was nothing in the world he could do about it. He closed his eyes, reminded himself to stay calm for her.
Killing Yates and his lawyers – while very satisfying – will not help anything. Take it down a notch, Corrigan.
The door opened and they both looked up at the bailiff. He nodded at them and escorted Reena down the aisle. Mitch squeezed her hand and let her go, then sat down, feeling a sickening combination of rage and pride.
Reena was sworn-in, then Charlotte slowly led her through what had happened the night that Simon Yates had attacked her. Reena explained to the court that she had been living with Mitch for a few months – just as friends – but she’d fallen in love with him. She thought this was unfair to Simon, and she decided to break it off with him. She invited Simon over for a talk.
Yes, they were alone. Yes, there was wine. Yes, she had had some, but not much. She drank maybe half-a-glass before it ended up shattered on the floor when Simon backhanded her in to the coffee table.
In painstaking detail, Charlotte walked her through the attack, step by step. The punches; Simon beating the back of her head on the floor; him strangling her. Then, how Reena fought back and somehow – by some miracle – managed to get him away, off her.
He left, his head bleeding profusely, and Mitch came home to find Reena in bad shape. He took her to the hospital, where the staff took copious notes about her injuries. The police were called, and they took photos, took Reena’s statement.
Charlotte nodded at Reena, astounded at her calm and composure. She had no more questions, and she took a deep breath before telling Yates’ lawyers that Reena was now their witness.
The lawyer got to his feet now, did up his four-thousand-dollar suit jacket. He approached Reena slowly, gave her a smile and wished her a good morning.
And everything immediately went straight to hell.
**
Maggie launched herself off the bus, and almost sprinted to her studio. She was running seriously late for meeting Joe, but she just hadn’t been able to leave Reena after what had happened in court that day.
Reena had been beyond devastated: she’d been left shattered and shocked after more than three hours of cross-examination, and although Mitch had clearly wanted to be there for her, he was still absolutely enraged, and it showed.
She hadn’t even been able to stay to listen to the testimony from the hospital staff who had treated Reena, or the police who’d taken her statement. Her friends and the guys just got her the hell out of there and back home, where she fell apart completely.
Maggie ran around the corner of the building and saw Joe lounging on the bench outside. He glanced up at her as she approached, then stood to greet her.
“I’m sorry,” she panted. “Thanks for waiting.”
“It’s OK. We could have rescheduled.”
“No. I’m busy tomorrow, so this was the last chance this week.” She bent over, clutching her knees. “Just give me a minute.”
“Sure.” Joe watched as her long hair fell over her shoulders, exposing the back of her neck. The urge to kiss it overwhelmed him, and he shut his eyes, waiting for the temptation to pass.
Maggie stood up again. “So let’s go.” She tapped in the building code, then found her studio keys in her backpack. She unlocked the door, threw her bag on the floor. She wished hard for a bottle of whiskey, but none magically appeared and she sighed.
Joe walked in behind her, watching her closely. He took in her tension, her exhaustion, and thought that she looked near tears.
“How did it go today?” he said tentatively. “In court?”
Maggie stopped dead. “It was a fucking nightmare.”
Joe was taken aback at the raw anger in her voice. “Why? What happened?”
“Reena was totally humiliated. Grilled and attacked. That asshole’s lawyers took it in turns and they made it sound like she loved being in relationships with abusive guys… the one lawyer even asked her if she liked anything other than rough sex.”
“What?” Joe stared at Maggie in horror.
“Yeah. The implication was that what happened with Simon was just consensual sex that maybe – maybe – got out of hand. Or worse: sex that didn’t get out of hand at all. That she actually loved it at the time and it was totally what she wanted and needed to get off, and she changed her mind later. Pressed charges just to get a pay day.”
“Oh, my God.”
“I know, right? And another implication was that she’s with Mitch because he’s a violent brute who makes his living beating people up, and she really loves that.” Maggie ran her hand over her face, feeling wiped out. “The D.A. objected and the judge agreed, but it’s out there now, you know? The press will have a field day. I’m terrified to see the headlines tomorrow.”
“Oh, Maggie. I’m so sorry.”
“You know the worst part of this whole thing?”
“What?”
“That douchecanoe Simon Yates doesn’t have to do anything. He doesn’t have to testify or even say one goddamned word in his defense. He just sits there and watches his lawyers go after this woman that he beat up and tried to rape.” Maggie took a shuddering breath, struggling to stay calm. “But Reena? She has to get up on the stand and testify. She has to open this terrifying and traumatic experience in her life to scrutiny and questions and it all goes on the public record. And if she doesn’t? No witness, no evidence, no trial. Everything’s on her.”
“I know.”
“It’s so – so fucking unfair. Everything is riding on Reena’s credibility, and on how convincing she is. Like, what she was wearing when Yates tried to rape her is actually up for discussion. She has to defend the wardrobe that was almost ripped right off her body, for fuck sake!”
Joe nodded.
“And if Reena isn’t convincing to anyone because she’s living with a big guy who kickboxes? Then obviously Simon never laid a hand on her. You know? As if one thing has anything to do with the other.”
Maggie looked at Joe, and suddenly realized that she was venting to a guy she disliked and mistrusted. She sighed again.
“Oh, God. I didn’t mean to unload on you… you’re here to see a sculpture and I’m rambling on like an insane woman.” She walked across the room. “Over here.”
“Maggie, it’s OK. I don’t mind…”
“Forget it. It’s not your concern. It’s just that I came straight from Reena’s, and I guess I need some time to shake it off a bit.” She ran her hands through her hair, weary and stressed. “I’ll go wash my face and get myself together. You can check out the apsara, OK? Just let me uncover it for you.”
Gently, she pulled the cle
an white sheet off the base of the sandstone slab.
“Here you go. I’ll be back in a few minutes. I’ll just take a breath.”
“You sure you’re OK?” Joe said.
“Fine.” The fire and flame of a few minutes ago were gone now, and the cold and distant Maggie was back. Those green eyes regarded him without interest or emotion. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Maggie?”
She turned to look at him, said nothing.
“You want to talk some more?” Joe hoped hard that she’d say yes. He was surprised how much he wanted to be there for her right now.
She blinked in shock. “Uh, no, thanks. I have people who actually care about me who can do that.” She nodded at the apsara. “I’ll look forward to your feedback on your commission.”
Joe watched her go in to the bathroom, and heard the water running behind the closed door. He exhaled, disappointed that she’d shut him down and out again. He would have been overjoyed to offer her some comfort, even for a few minutes.
In the bathroom, Maggie rinsed her face and took a few deep breaths, gazing at her tired eyes in the mirror. She’d been taken aback by Joe’s genuinely sweet offer; more so by her genuine desire to take it. Despite her anger at him, she’d never forgotten how supportive he’d always been of her.
Joe had been Maggie’s biggest fan, and his belief in her artistic talent had been unrelenting and real. He’d also listened for hours as she talked about her Mom’s health, and her money worries. Yeah, he may have lied about lots of things in their relationship, but not about his concern for her in those ways. That had all been the real deal.
And if she were being honest, he’d been fully behind the girls, too. He’d offered Katie some great ideas on some of her photos which had improved the aesthetics; he’d found Mia some writing work; he’d asked a friend of his to commission some paintings from Reena. Joe was a chef and a creative soul, and he got that about Maggie and her friends, and he’d really liked the girls. If Reena was hurting now, then Joe hurt for her, too. Maggie knew he’d listen to her talk now, if she asked him to.
Fighting History (Fighting For Love Book 4) Page 6