by Force, Marie
“What?”
“I, uh, fuck.” All the air seems to leave him in a long exhale. “Liza texted me,” he says, referring to Quantum’s head publicist. “The press has picked up on the story of Marlowe’s assistant being run off the road in Malibu.”
“Do they have my name?”
“Yeah.”
“I have to call my father.” I rarely talk to him, but I wouldn’t want him to hear about my accident in the media.
“I’ll call him. What’s his number?”
I recite it for him and listen as he tells my dad what happened.
“He wants to talk to you. Do you feel up to it?”
I start to nod but stop myself. I raise my hand to take the phone from Emmett. “Hi, Dad.”
“Hi, honey. Are you all right?”
“I will be. The concussion is no fun and the fractured wrist will be a drag, but it could’ve been worse.”
“I’m so thankful it wasn’t. Is there anything I can do for you?”
“No, I’m fine, and my friends are around.”
“Who was that who called me?”
“My, um, friend Emmett. We work together.”
Emmett’s eyes narrow into that feral look of his when I describe him as my “friend.”
“I can come out if that would help.”
“No need for that, Dad. I’m totally fine, and I’ll have lots of people around when I get out of the hospital.”
“Will you call me tomorrow and let me know how you are?”
“I will, for sure.”
“Okay. I, um… I love you, Leah. I’m so glad you’re all right.”
I always knew he loved me, but I’ve never heard him say it. “Love you, too.” I blink back tears. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Talk to you then.”
Emmett takes the phone from me and ends the call. “You okay?”
“Yeah.”
Using a tissue, he wipes away my tears. His tenderness makes my heart do somersaults.
“He said he loves me.”
“You didn’t already know that?”
“I did, but he’s never actually said it before.”
“You told him I was your friend.”
“What else should I call you?” I ask, enjoying the scowl that I’ve come to love so much.
“Your live-in lover?”
“Ewww. That’s so gross.”
“Nothing gross about it, baby.”
“The word ‘lover’ is disgusting.”
“Okay, how about live-in fuck buddy. Is that better?”
“Much, but I don’t think I should tell my dad that.”
“Probably better if you don’t.” He takes my hand, links our fingers, kisses my hand, and damn if I don’t feel all the usual chaos inside me when his lips brush against my skin.
“You should go home and get some sleep.” I’m concerned about how done in he seems.
“I’m not going anywhere as long as you’re here and that asshole is still out there somewhere.”
“I want you to get some rest. Come lie with me.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t.” It pains me greatly to move to the far left side of the bed, where my injured wrist is propped on a pillow.
“Are you sure?”
“Uh-huh,” I say, breathing through the pain.
He kills the light, kicks off his shoes and moves gingerly to stretch out next to me, turning onto his side and putting his arm around my waist. “Is this okay?”
“This is perfect.”
“Way too much hospital shit in this relationship.”
“Look at you, throwing the R word around.”
“Shut your sassy mouth and get some sleep.”
Smiling, I close my eyes, and even though my head is pounding and my broken wrist is aching, my heart is in better shape than it’s ever been. My dad loves me. Emmett loves me. Overall, this day is a win.
“Emmett,” I whisper after a long silence. I’m not sure if he’s still awake.
“Hmm.”
“You’re not going to freak out and run away, are you?”
“I’m still here, aren’t I?”
“Because they haven’t found Tom.”
“That’s not the only reason.”
“If you start to freak out, you have to tell me.”
“I freaked out earlier when I didn’t know if you were okay.”
“Everything is all right now.”
“Promise?”
I put my good hand over his and squeeze. “I promise.”
Chapter22
I take my lead from Leah, who is amazing. Even with a concussion and a broken wrist, she’s funny and calm and completely herself, which is a huge relief to me. She’s doing so well that they decide to release her late the next day, after I promise to bring her home with me and take care of her. There’s nothing else I want to do.
Flynn and Natalie go to Nebraska without me. Neither of them wanted to leave with Leah still in the hospital, but Natalie has to be there to testify tomorrow, so they had no choice.
Leah and I arrive at my place, and I won’t let her do anything more strenuous than walk from the car to my bed where I set her up on a pile of pillows and prop her injured wrist on another pillow.
“Are you hungry?”
“Not really.”
“What else do you need?”
“Maybe some ice water?”
“Coming right up.”
I’m filling a glass with ice and water when a tidal wave of emotion and relief and love comes over me. When I think about what could have happened, I go weak in the knees.
I’ve never cared about anyone the way I do about her.
“Emmett.”
I take a deep breath and pull myself together because she needs me. It’ll be a very long time before I can think about yesterday without my hands shaking and my blood running cold, but I gather my composure so she won’t know how messed up I am. Taking the glass of ice water with me, I return to the bedroom. She’s still frighteningly pale, but her eyes are open and alert.
“What’s wrong?” she asks after I hand over the water.
Cue the deer in the headlights. How did I think I could hide anything from this person who sees me the way no one else ever has? “Nothing.”
“Come here.” She pats the bed next to her.
I’m careful not to jostle her when I stretch out next to her. “I’m here.”
“I can feel you spinning.”
“How can you feel that?” I ask, irritated by her insight.
“I speak Emmett. I know the signs. Talk to me.”
“What do you want me to say?”
“Tell me how you feel.”
“Do I have to?”
She rolls her eyes. “We’re in a relationship now. You said so yourself. So yes, you do.”
“Me and my big mouth.”
She pokes my chest. “Talk.”
I want to run and hide. I want to avoid her and those eyes that see the very heart of me. How does she do that? “You scared the living fuck out of me.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t you dare apologize for what that monster did.”
“I’m not apologizing for him. I’m sorry I put you through such an ordeal. If it’d been you, I wouldn’t have been able to hold it together.”
“Yes, you would. You’re way stronger than I am.”
She squeezes my bicep. “We both know that’s not true.”
“You’re stronger on the inside. I’m a fucking disaster.”
“No, you’re not.”
“I really am.”
“It’s because you care too much.”
“I know! I hate that!”
She laughs and then winces, bringing her hands to her head as if to hold it in place. “Don’t make me laugh.”
“I wasn’t trying to.”
“You’re going to survive feeling this way about me, you know.”
“I don’t know if I am.”
“You are. I promise.”
“Don’t make promises and then almost get yourself killed. That’s not fair.”
“You’re being very silly.”
“No, I’m not! I’m dead serious.”
Linking her fingers with mine, she gazes into my eyes. “A bad thing happened, and it scared us both, but I’m fine, we’re fine, everything is fine.”
“Keep saying it. Maybe I’ll eventually believe it.”
“You know what I want to do when I feel better?”
“Learn to surf?”
“Definitely. But I also want to meet Elena. Will you take me to see her?”
For a moment, I’m too stunned to formulate a reply.
“Emmett? Is it okay that I want to meet her?”
“Ah, yeah, of course.”
“So you’ll take me to see her?”
“As soon as you feel up to it.”
She smiles and closes her eyes, keeping her tight grip on my hand. “Good.”
* * *
We’re asleep later that afternoon when my phone rings. I can’t believe I’m sleeping in the middle of the day, but I’m drained after the ordeal of yesterday. The call goes to voicemail before I can get to it.
The phone rings again, and I grab it, getting up to take it out of the bedroom so Leah will sleep for a while longer.
Still shaking off sleep, I take the call without looking at the caller ID. “Emmett Burke.”
“It’s Liza.”
“What’s up?”
“There’s, ah, some photos that were posted online.”
I’m still trying to shake off the stupor from the deep sleep. “What kind of photos?”
“Leah with guys. She’s um…”
My brain immediately awakens to what she’s telling me. No way. No fucking way. This can’t be happening. “How many?”
“Three. They’re capitalizing on the fact that she’s Marlowe’s assistant.”
I cringe at the thought of Leah and Marlowe being dragged through the mud.
“I reported the photos as abuse to the sites where they’re posted, and I’m trying to get them taken down. Can you have one of your people file an injunction? Quickly?”
“Yeah.” I need to think like an attorney, but as the man in love with the woman being publicly humiliated, all I can think of is her and how this will devastate her. “Ask Jonah to handle it, will you?” I say, referring to one of the lawyers who works for me. “Tell him to call me if he needs me.”
“We’ll take care of it.”
They’ll do what they could, but the damage will be done nonetheless. She’ll be devastated to hear about this, and as I return to the bedroom, I think about the many ways I can legally stick it to the bitches who continue to torture her. I can make their lives the same living hell they made hers with civil litigation that’ll bankrupt them. I’ll definitely do that, and I’ll fucking enjoy every second of it. I’ll make those bitches sorry they ever messed with my Leah.
My Leah…
Christ, I’m truly sunk, and as I return to bed and curl up next to her, I can’t bring myself to care that she’s got her hooks so deep into me that I’ll never get free of her.
The last place I want to be is free of her.
“Why are you fuming?” she asks, her voice scratchy, sleepy and sexy.
I start to deny it, but then I remember who I’m talking to. “Just some shit from work.”
“What kind of shit?”
“The legal kind.” I decide not to tell her. Not right now anyway, not while she’s still recovering from a concussion and the trauma of her accident. “Go back to sleep for a while. We’ve got nothing to do and nowhere to be.”
“You must be bored hanging out here with me.”
I grunt out a laugh. “Bored is one thing I never am when my sexy little pit bull is around.”
Her eyes are closed, but a wicked smile stretches across her face. That smile lights up my world. I’d kill to protect her, and once I know she’s dozed off, I get busy on my phone, directing my team to wage war on her behalf. I have no doubt that my employers would wholeheartedly approve of my strategy.
It takes three days for me to feel human again and another two for me to get somewhat back to normal. On the fifth day, we get word from the LAPD that Tom was arrested in Yuma, Arizona, and we breathe a deep sigh of relief to know that he’s been taken into custody and can’t hurt me or anyone else. He’ll be charged with attempted vehicular manslaughter, and Emmett is confident that because he tried to run once, he won’t be granted bail.
During those five days, Emmett never leaves me for even a minute. He works from home the entire time I’m laid up. I hear him on the phone first thing in the morning and late into the night. Whatever “legal shit” he’s dealing with must be significant, because he’s given it a lot of time.
I’ve asked him what’s going on, but he just says it’s nothing for me to worry about. The more he says that, the more I begin to worry. Also, no one will tell me what went on in Nebraska. Natalie checks on me daily and will only say that we’ll talk about Nebraska later. All I know is they’re back in LA. She’s worried about me, but I’m worried about her.
I step out of the shower and remove the plastic bag I’ve been using to keep my wrist brace dry. I also have to wash my hair around the bandage that covers the stitches at my hairline, which is harder than it sounds. The wrist brace and the limited use of my left hand have been almost worse than the concussion. You never know how much you use your hands until one of them is unavailable.
Emmett comes into the bedroom carrying a steaming mug of coffee fixed just the way I like it.
“Thank you.”
“You’ve got some pink back in your cheeks.” He strokes a finger over my cheek, and that slight touch is enough to remind me of where we left off before my accident.
I put the coffee on a bedside table, step closer to him, slide my arms around his waist and kiss his bare chest. “Hi.”
“Hi there.”
I can hear the amusement in his voice. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve been right here the whole time.”
“Yes, you have, but I’ve missed you.” I cup his cock to let him know what I mean.
The sound that comes from him is barely human. He grasps my hand and moves it away.
“What?” I ask, hurt and slightly perplexed.
“You’re not ready for that yet.”
“Yes, I am.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Why do you get to decide that?”
“Because I know what’s best.”
“You’re my live-in fuck buddy, not my mother, and as my fuck buddy, your job is to fuck me on demand. I am demanding.”
“I am declining.” He turns and walks away.
Stunned by the rejection, I work around the brace on my wrist to tie the belt on the robe of his that I’ve borrowed and follow him out of the bedroom to the kitchen where he’s set up shop at the bar. I walk right up to the countertop to see what’s kept him so engaged in his work. The first thing I see has me stopping in my tracks.
“Wh-where did you get that?” I ask of a photo I never expected to see again. I’m so shocked to see it that I go cold all over, as if I’ve been dropped into a tank of freezing water.
He spins around. “Leah…”
“Tell me where you got that!” I’m screaming, but I can’t help it. That photo takes me right back to the living nightmare of my high school years, and I can’t for the life of me imagine what the hell he’s doing with it.
“Helene Gaspar posted it and others after the accident.”
That name is like an ice pick to my heart. She was the worst of the bitches who made my life hell in high school. “Sh-she, she…”
“She posted it and intimated she had others she’d be willing to sell. She wanted to profit from the fact that Marlowe’s assistant was in the news after the accident.”
“
When did this happen?”
“Four days ago. We’ve been all over it with an injunction and a civil defamation suit.”
“Four days? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You were in so much pain and recovering from your accident. I didn’t want to worry you with this. I took care of it. Your old pal Helene has been served with a massive lawsuit that should have her shitting her pants with fear. We’re asking for five million in damages. And I made sure we publicized the lawsuit so anyone else who has pictures of you will think twice before they release them.”
He’s waged war on my behalf, and I had no idea it was even happening.
“Are you pissed?” he asks, looking so vulnerable that all the starch goes out of me. What does it matter that he kept it from me when he was busy making it go away?
“With you? No. I’m thankful. I can’t believe you did this.”
“Of course I did. I wasn’t going to let her drag you through the mud. She’s already caused you enough heartache for one lifetime.”
I thought I loved him before, but this is a whole other level.
He takes a step back from me. “Wait… What’re you doing? You know how I feel about girl tears.”
“These are happy tears.” I step toward him, curl my good arm around his neck and bring him down for a kiss. “The last time she came at me, I had no one to defend me.”
“Now you do.” He is as fierce as ever, but it’s different now. There’s tenderness and love, too, and the love is the most overpowering thing I’ve ever experienced. “I’ll always defend and protect you.”
“This is starting to feel an awful lot like a real relationship.”
Smiling, he says, “Shut up.”
“Make me.”
“Happy to.” He wraps his arms around me and kisses me with almost a week’s worth of pent-up desire pouring forth in one momentous kiss, quite possibly the best kiss I’ve ever received because I know he loves me, even if he can’t say so. I know it with the same certainty that I know the sun will come up tomorrow. His love is like the sun. It lights up my life and warms me through and through. It’s everything I want and need.