“What is it?”
Through the peephole, she saw Jones look up and down the hallway. He seemed irritated to her, frustrated. “I’d rather not shout the message down the hall, you know?”
Anna bit her lip. It was on the tip of her tongue to send him away, but another part of her, the part that held out some scrap of hope that Evan would come to his senses, reached for the lock.
“All right, what is—”
The words were barely out of her mouth before Jones pushed the door so hard it knocked her back. She stumbled, and before she could recover, he was in her apartment, pushing her to the ground and closing the door behind him almost in one moment.
Before she could do more than cry out, he placed something soft and wet over her mouth and nose. He was saying something to her in a low and threatening voice, but though she heard the sounds, she couldn’t make out the words, not when the world was going so very soft and strange...
When she awoke, Anna was terrified to realize that she could not move. She started to cry out, but there was something stuck over her mouth, stilling her cries. She could at least open her eyes, however, and when she twisted around, she realized that she was lying in her bed as Jones stalked around her bedroom as if he owned the place.
He glanced over when he heard the stifled noises she was making, and Anna shuddered at the coldness in his pale eyes.
“So you’re awake. It doesn’t matter, I’m almost done.”
She watched as he took a large wad of cash from his pocket, stuffing it in her jewelry drawer. He looked at her with amusement, his arms crossed over his chest.
“You know, it’s ridiculous, really, how easy it was to manipulate Sheffield. The man has always had his blind spots, and the loyalty of others is one of them. I suppose that’s the only reason that I’ve gotten away with things for so very long.”
Anna shifted on the bed, the frame creaking underneath her, and at the same time, she heard a creaking that she was sure belonged to her front door. Hope rose in her chest, and she endeavored to keep her eyes firmly on Jones. He cocked his head to one side as she made some desperate sounds in her throat, trying to block any sound of someone else entering her apartment.
“You want the gag off? I suppose that’s fine. I’m no longer very worried about what you might do. If you shout, I will smash you in the face and break your teeth. Nod to show me you understand.”
She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he meant what he said. She nodded, and he came to remove the duct tape from her mouth. There was something almost freakish about how gently he did it, because she was now certain that he had no interest in her surviving this evening.
“Why did you do it?” she asked. “From what everyone told me, there are lots of reasons to be loyal to Evan...”
Keep him talking, just keep him talking...
He gave her an amused look that didn’t manage to hide the madness in his eyes.
“Why wouldn’t I? Every man who has a fortune wouldn’t mind it being bigger. Though I suppose you wouldn’t know that, tacky little thing like you. Sheffield’s always had a taste for girls from the rougher side of the tracks. You were hardly the first, you know.”
She allowed him to see her wince, and he came to stand close to the edge of the bed, leaning over her.
“Though I can certainly see what he saw in you. Pluck you out of whatever pond he found you in, dress you up, make you speak—you can be quite beautiful.”
She would have preferred it if he kept insulting her. There was a lascivious tone to his voice that made her skin crawl, and she wondered how far she would be willing to go to play for time.
“Don’t,” she said, making sure that the fear she felt was in her voice. Just as she thought it would, it made his eyes light up with interest.
“Do you like rough play, sugar? The two of us could have such fun…”
To her horror, he ran a hand down her cheek, sliding his finger along her lower lip. She didn’t quite have the nerve to bite him, but a creak of the floorboards from the hallway got her attention.
Just keep going, let him think he’s won...
“You can...if you want,” Anna said, her voice faltering. “I’d let you.”
Jones looked interested in that.
“Oh really?”
“Ye-yes. Things you would like. I’ll...I’ll show you what he showed me...”
Jones laughed, and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt he planned to kill her before the night was over. He thought she was just an idiot girl who thought she could save her own life.
“Well, I am curious to see how Sheffield gets it...”
“Just... condoms. Please. They’re in the drawer behind you.”
Shaking his head at her foolishness, Jones stepped back from the bed and started for the dresser.
Anna almost wished she could see his face when he realized that Evan stood in the doorway. Her own eyes went wide as the man she loved strode into the room, bearing down on Jones so swiftly and silently that Jones barely had a chance to realize what was happening. Evan quickly whirled him around, pinned him against the dresser, and began to slam his large fist into Jones’ ugly face over and over again.
Anna had never been a violent person, but there was a brutal satisfaction in hearing the wet gurgle of Jones trying to explain himself, and Evan cursing him angrily.
“Don’t...don’t kill him, Evan,” she finally managed through chattering teeth. “Please! Just call the police.”
“I already did when I realized he was in the apartment with you,” he replied, finally letting Jones slump to the floor, beaten senseless. “I’m only sorry I had to wait so long to act. I didn’t want to try anything until he was actually away from you.”
When he had bound Jones with the same duct tape used on Anna, he turned to Anna with a look of intense remorse and horror on his face. Gently he worked the duct tape off her skin and then gathered her into his arms and held her close until the police arrived. Anna couldn’t have spoken even if her mouth hadn’t still ached. She pressed into Evan and closed her eyes, willing the last brutal hours away.
Then it was a rush of statements and interviews, until finally Jones was taken away, and they were left once more in silence. This time, Evan hesitated before opening his arms to her again, as though he was afraid she would reject him, but the thought never even crossed Anna’s mind as she walked straight into his big, warm embrace.
“You must be tired,” Evan whispered, folding her in tight.
“I don’t think I’m ever going to sleep again,” she whispered.
“Anna,” he whispered back. “Anna, I am so sorry.”
“So, you figured out that I wasn’t the one who went behind your back to sabotage your company?” Even in her own ears, her words were bitter.
Evan winced. “Yes. God, yes. I...there were reasons that I thought that, but none of them were good enough to accuse you, to treat you like this. I sent you home…to this monster...”
She stopped him, drawing back to look into his handsome face. “No. What Jones did here... I’m going to be reeling from it for a good long while, but you didn’t cause this. This wasn’t your fault. What happened before, between us at the penthouse, though. That was.”
Evan flinched, but she didn’t let up. All of the anger that had welled up in her when he had accused her roared up.
“Why didn’t you even let me try to explain? Why would you even think that I would do such a thing?”
“You had the opportunity...” he said lamely, drawing away and stuffing his hands in his pockets like a shamed boy.
“So did a lot of people at your company!” Anna cried. “Everyone talks about how smart you are, how your company is one that operates on a code of loyalty. It depends on that loyalty, and a man who took advantage of it nearly brought you down. Why was it so hard to extend that loyalty, that trust, to me?”
Evan hung his head, ashamed, and when he spoke again, there was something tearing in his voice, as
if the words came from some deep well within him.
“Anna...I cannot tell you how sorry I am that this happened, that I didn’t trust you, that I jumped to conclusions so quickly. I know where I stand with my business and the people who work for me, or at least, I thought I did. I was wrong about that. I was wrong about so many things.”
“But you didn’t know where you stood with me?” she asked incredulously. “Evan, do you realize how much I had to trust you? I let you take me away from my job. I trusted you so much that I was willing to start my entire life over in a new place, to see if things went anywhere between us. Do you think that was easy for me?”
He shook his head. “I know it wasn’t. And I will say that today I know that I betrayed that trust. I might have broken it beyond repair. And I know I do not deserve forgiveness, and if you tell me to leave right now, I will. You can keep everything, Anna. You earned it.”
Those words might have hurt even more than his earlier ones. “I don’t want any of this!” she yelled, waving her arm around at the lavish apartment. “I didn’t move to New York expecting any of this. I’m good at my work. I can find another job and pay my bills without your help, Evan. You said you thought I was talented. Was that also a lie?”
“No.” His face was ashen; his bright green eyes pained. “None of it was, Anna. I am begging you—give me another chance.”
Anna felt as if her heart was being torn in two. She knew what the smart answer was after such a betrayal. “Evan...”
“If you give me a second chance, I swear to you, you will never need to give me a third,” he said huskily. “Let me be with you again. Let me show you that I have learned from this whole sorry mess. Anna, I love you.”
She could feel all the shields that had ever protected her heart falling down in a moment. The words, the ones she had always secretly dreamed of hearing, the ones she had never truly expected to hear from Evan, shook her to her core. He looked shocked that he had said it himself. He took her hands in his, and she felt warm for the first time that night.
“I love you. I love you,” he repeated. “It is the truth, and I never thought I would be able to say that to someone, but I want to say it to you now. I love you with all my heart.”
He swallowed hard.
“And if you cannot say it yet, I can wait. I will wait. I will prove myself to you in as many ways and as many times as you ask. All I’m asking for, Anna—”
“I love you.”
She whispered the words, but they might as well have been a shout. They had been hovering on the back of her throat for so long that she thought she might weep at finally speaking them. Instead, she smiled, and she allowed Evan to take her into his arms.
“Thank you,” he whispered, burying his face in her hair. “Thank you. I will prove every day that I am worthy of hearing those words...”
In Evan’s embrace, Anna felt a deep sense of peace fall over her. This man was different from the one who had earlier betrayed her. She could feel it in her bones.
“I love you,” she whispered again, and she felt the truth of it roar through her—an affirmation, a celebration, and a blessing all rolled into one.
EPILOGUE
Anna took a deep breath, and the site organizer smiled at her encouragingly.
“Almost...”
The music started, and as the organizer waved her forward, Anna took her first step onto the long carpet. The hall was full of people who craned their necks to see her, but she had eyes only for one person. Evan waited for her at the end of the aisle, and with her bouquet in hand, she felt a flutter of mingled excitement and happiness.
He had been stunned that she wanted to design both his suit and her own dress.
“Let someone else do the work,” he said. “It’s your wedding. You should get to enjoy it.”
She had tried to explain it to him, but she wasn’t sure he understood. Clothes were Anna’s art, her way of expressing her will into the world. With every stitch that she put into the pure white silk of her gown, with every adjustment she made to the dark wool of his suit, she was putting her hopes and her love for her marriage into the world.
Anna had nearly cried the first time she saw Evan in his suit, perfectly fitted to his body. He looked like a dream, like someone she could barely believe was real. Now he was waiting for her at the end of the aisle, and she knew when he finally saw her. His eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, and despite the solemnity of the occasion, he grinned.
She knew that the dress—elegant, blindingly gorgeous, and perfectly fitted to her—showed him what she had tried to say all along. She loved him, and the proof was in every stitch she made.
“You’re amazing,” he whispered, and then they both turned to the officiant, ready to begin their lives together.
Dancing at a Distance (A Daddy Next Door Romance)
By Michelle Love
Gabriella
Wherever I’d been planning to go, whatever I’d intended to do, I never expected it to lead me here…
How could I have known that a post-graduation existential crisis would lead me to the darkness that enshrouded him?
Everything about him warned me to stay away—the ominous mansion by the lake, the little boy in the window, but most of all, him and his cruel words.
They were hiding something next door behind those dark, stone walls—and he was hiding something beneath his gruff exterior.
But I kept getting drawn back. I couldn’t let it go, as if the steel in his eyes was a magnet pulling me to him at every opportunity.
I couldn’t leave well enough alone, and now I might have to pay the ultimate price.
Mason
I warned her to stay away, but she would not leave us alone…
And suddenly I wasn’t only running from danger unseen. A new threat appeared here in the haven that was supposed to be just for us—in the form of the sensual blonde who moved next door for the summer.
Her eyes were what drew me in—blazing emeralds filled with innocent promise. No matter how much I pushed her away, she kept coming back, relentless, demanding, yearning.
I had my hands full trying to protect my son, but now I had to protect myself from making a mistake that could hurt us all.
Can I be strong enough for us all? Or will temptation get the better of me...
Chapter One
Gabriella
“You look like you haven’t slept in four years,” my ever-tactful sister commented, staring at me as if I had grown a baseball-sized pimple on my forehead.
I swirled the straw around in my milkshake, wondering why I had bothered to order it.
Milk wreaked havoc on my stomach even when disguised as melting ice cream.
Especially when disguised as melting ice cream.
What am I? A masochist?
I thought about the supply of Skittles and sour key candy waiting for me back at Mom and Dad’s and realized I might just be one.
“Four years? That’s all? I was sure the bags under my eyes screamed ‘ten years of insomnia,’” I replied tartly, pushing the frosted glass away from my face. “Thank you so much for pointing that out. There is nothing a woman wants to hear more than how shitty she looks.”
As much as I wanted to suck back the chocolate milkshake despite my gastrointestinal issues, it just wasn’t happening, not at that moment.
“Don’t get defensive, Gabby,” Krista laughed. “I’m just saying you look like you could use a break from your psychotic ‘go, go, go’ life.”
I didn’t want to tell my sister that I might not have much of a choice in the matter. Somehow saying it out loud would just make it that much truer.
Having just graduated at the top of my class, I was alarmingly out of sorts. After being so focused for so many years, I suddenly felt like I was wading about in a sea of uncertainty.
Up until that second the diploma had hit my perfectly manicured hand, I had always assumed that I would be set up with a job in social work, living in the village,
and waiting on an acceptance letter for my master’s at Columbia.
Instead, here I was sitting in Sarasota Springs in the same diner Krista and I had visited since childhood, questioning my very existence.
Maybe I’d always been destined to come full circle back here to live out a crappy life as a telemarketer or something.
The time for sending out resumes and bombarding the world with my stellar grades, my extracurricular activities, and my internship at Morgan-Lyster Memorial Hospital would have been before graduation.
I should have been e-mailing every clinic, hospital, school district, and rehab facility in the greater tri-state area a year ago, warning them that they best act quickly before someone snatched up the coveted mind that was Gabriella Delancey.
My applications to Ivy League schools should have been signed, sealed, and delivered, with the added flourish of a vlog and a dozen references.
Instead, I had quietly finished my degree and graduated, opting out of every time-consuming, soul-crushing, exhausting activity that had been consuming my life for what seemed like an eternity.
Was it burn out? Disillusion? Or maybe this was just all a part of ‘growing up,’ as anyone over the age of forty seemed to be so fond of saying.
Did I even want to be a social worker anymore?
Whatever this indecision was about, I didn’t want any part of it. I just wanted to have a plan—a direction—so I could stop with the self-loathing.
“Gabby, look at me.”
I lifted my blonde waves, a strand of hair falling across my forehead and into my bright green eyes as our gazes met.
My older sister, Krista, looked a lot like me. Same honey hair and pert nose. Same high cheekbones and sparkle of intelligence in her eyes.
But her life had gone in a totally direction than the one that I had envisioned for myself. Her path was one that had never occurred to me in a million years: she’d gotten married young and was already the proud mother of a set of mischievous twins whom I loved dearly.
The Virgin’s Dance_Older Man Younger Woman Romance Page 30