Chapter Twenty Nine
The team cleaned up the kitchen as the last few guests said goodbyes.
Riley vacuumed the floor while Rachel wiped down the tables.
Rebecca and Julio took down the outdoor set-up.
Garrett and Jameson removed the garbage.
In under an hour, the place sparkled as if no one entered.
Feeling the growing tension between Jameson and Caroline, the team departed.
“Why don’t we sit in the living room and talk?” Jameson suggested, handing her a glass of water.
Nodding, Caroline followed him inside and took a seat in the armchair. Jameson sat on the corner of the couch.
“I have a few things to discuss,” he announced.
“You’re right. I haven’t told you things, and it’s not fair to you.
I had your best interests in mind,” he explained.
“As you know, I rented this home for your dad. I must confess the car you’re driving doesn’t belong to the company.
I purchased it for you. As soon as I saw it, it matched your personality, and it’s the same color as your eyes. You deserved something good.”
Caroline sat stiffly, listening to him, but made no effort to acknowledge his efforts.
“I’ve waited to see how long you’d hold on to the secret about the car,” she replied. “Rachel let it slip.”
Jameson took her hand and played with her fingers. “There’s more. Cain gave the Feds the slip the day you planned the funeral. It’s why we increased security. There’s no reason to believe he found you. We don’t even know if he’s aware your parents lived. It’s a precaution.”
Caroline’s breath hitched. Cain would never stop searching for her, even if it meant postponing an auction. He considered her his property, and Cain vowed she’d stay his until her last dying breath.
“You’ve known all this time?” she accused.
“The man repeatedly beat and raped me, and you felt it necessary to ‘take precautions’ without telling me?” she exclaimed.
The fury she felt low in her stomach churned and rose, bubbling over the surface.
It caught in her throat, making it hard for her to breathe.
Caroline rose and headed for the door. “I want you to leave,” she demanded. “I’m tired of all the damn secrets and lies. I can’t trust anyone.” Stalking across the patio to the pool house, she ignored Jameson’s plea for her to stop. She locked the door behind her.
Hearing Jameson curse as he punched in the security code, sent her running for the bedroom. Before she managed to close the door and lock it, he pushed it open easily.
“Go away,” she spat.
“No. I’m not leaving you. We’ll sit down and talk this out.”
Blind rage filled her as she beat her fists on his chest.
“I’m done. Once Dad’s legal matters get handled, I’m leaving. How do I go about releasing the team from their responsibility? Do I need to sign something?”
Jameson stepped forward. Hurt mirrored in his eyes, but she felt pain, too.
“Take some time to consider your next move,” he advised. “You’ve made solid friendships here. I’m working to gain your trust. Will you give it all up for a life of uncertainty and fear?”
“I may be free of the cage, but it doesn’t mean I don’t wake up, wondering if this will be the day my life falls apart,” she yelled at him.
The tension released from her body as she let go of the jumbled emotions.
“Your father stole my life. Then, he took my dignity, self-confidence, and he sold me like a piece of furniture.”
“Yes, he did,” Jameson said, stepping forward. “But you’re free. You can decide your next course in life.”
“How can I when you’ll always be there to remind me?
You have his jaw and eyes. I wait every day to see if you will narrow them like he did when he calculated my next punishment,” she purged.
“I want to leave and start over where no one knows what happened to me. Where seniors stop asking me why I didn’t visit my dad sooner and start telling me about his life I didn’t know existed.
I want to rage at them and tell them about how James Stanton did this to me.
I want to grieve in silence, where you’re not lurking around every corner, reminding me of what I lost at his hands. ”
Jameson sucked in his breath as if she knocked the wind out of him.
“You’re grieving,” he said softly.
“Hell yeah,” she screeched. “Do you know the worst part? I sit and worry if you’re secretly mocking me. Your dad sold me, and I’m now your property because you stole me from Cain.”
“You know that’s not true,” he said firmly. “I fell in love with you the first time I set eyes on you. It killed me to watch Cain touch you and drag you to his bed.”
“It must really burn your ass to know I’m used goods,” she threw at him. “You coveted something you knew you could never have.”
“Caroline, I know you’re hurting,” he said softly, yet his voice carried a warning. “I’ve loved you from the beginning.”
Caroline kissed him hard. He placed his hands on her waist, pulling her away to find she bit his lip.
“No. No, she said, shaking her head. “I don’t want you to love me.”
She batted her angry eyes at him in a mocking gesture.
“Do you want me to bend over the bed or suck you off?”
“Caroline,” he gritted out.
She ran her hand down his chest and landed on his jeans. Fumbling with the button, she stopped short when his hand covered hers.
“Stop,” he warned.
“Do you not like it when a woman takes control? Your dad didn’t either. He preferred us on our knees begging him. James claimed he gave us what we needed. Don’t you want to do the same?”
“I’ll give you what you need when I have your full permission,” he said, grinding out the words. His jaw ticked in anger as she hurled her insults at him. “I’m nothing like my father.”
“Ha,” she said, mocking him. “Poor Jameson. He never loved you. Then, you went to Serenity and found they didn’t love you either. Maybe the sins of the father got paid through his son.”
Jameson stepped back as if she slapped him.
“Stop having a pity party, Caroline,” his voice came out hard. “I’ve shown up for you and have never given you a reason to doubt my intentions.”
“What intentions? Do you think I can honestly forget who you are? You’re like all the others, Jameson. You only want one thing.”
A low rumble came from his chest as he growled at her words.
“If you can’t handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen,” he warned. “You’re pushing me.”
She shoved him hard in the chest.
“And what will you do about it?” she challenged, her eyes turning darker blue.
“I’ll give you what you need, but it won’t be exactly what you want,” he told her.
“Then give it to me,” she insisted.
He slowly shook his head. “Say it, Caroline. Give me full permission to give you what you need.”
She huffed and let out a strangled laugh at his absurdity.
“You have my full permission. You have no idea what I need.”
Jameson pulled her close and sat on the bed. Her body grew frigid as she imagined he planned to have sex with her. He reached under her skirt, pulling her panties down to her feet. He yanked her down across his lap, pulled the skirt up, and smacked her behind.
“Wait,” she begged, trying to turn over.
“I’m giving you what you need, Caroline,” he reminded as he delivered another blow to her bottom. Jameson took a breath, controlling his anger. Three more quick slaps, pinked her bottom as he rubbed the sting away.
“I’m sorry,” she said, as her breath hitched and she tried to pull away.
He ignored it, tapping her butt cheek again. Then, he heard it. A soft cry escaped her lips.
Jameson added two more in succession as she started to weep. He rubbed the sting away and gave her two more. Caroline cried uncontrollably as he lifted her onto his lap.
Her mascara ran, and her cheeks turned red as she blubbered on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” she cried. “I didn’t mean it,” she confessed. “I’m angry. He died without warning. It hurts so bad, Jameson,” she wailed. “I can’t take any more.”
Jameson let her cry, stroking her hair and her back.
“I never got to say goodbye to Mom,” she continued. “I’m a failure. I have no job, don’t know anything about my father, and I don’t know what to do.”
Jameson kissed her head and then her forehead. Caroline sought his comfort, lifting her face to his. She pressed her lips to his, but he didn’t return her offering.
“Make love to me, Jameson. I need you,” she begged.
“No. It’s the last thing you need,” he told her.
“I love you, Caroline. But I love you enough to let you go. I can wish James Stanton never fathered me, but it’s useless.
I tried to show you I’m not the man you believe me to be.
Yes, I lied because I wanted to protect you.
Nonetheless, I still did it, hoping you’d know you can trust me.
Obviously, I made a mistake. You’ll be guarded until we catch Cain.
Regardless of where you go. Rest assured, I won’t bother you with my presence again. ”
Jameson lifted her from his lap, rose, and walked out, leaving her alone. He entered Thomas’ house and called Julio.
“Hey, brother,” Julio answered. “Things seemed intense. Everything all right?”
“I need Rebecca to stay with Caroline, and we need to rearrange the guard duty. She’ll never believe I’m anything more than James Stanton’s son,” he said, trying to hold the hurt he felt from lingering in his voice. “Caroline’s made her stance clear, but I can’t leave her unguarded.”
“Understood,” Julio replied. “Give Rebecca thirty minutes, and she’ll return. I’ll get the schedule adjusted tonight and put you on ranch duties. We have a meeting tomorrow concerning where we go from here.”
“I appreciate it,” Jameson said before hanging up the call.
His gut twisted in knots, and he wanted to put his fist through the wall at the unfairness of it all. He found the woman he wanted to have a future with, and his dad stole his happiness away from him from the grave. Would he ever escape James Stanton’s clutches?
Walking outside, Jameson sat in the dark area of the pool staring in the direction of Caroline’s bedroom, waiting for Rebecca to relieve him. Maybe his actions seemed extreme, but he felt her growing more distant by the day.
It didn’t take much for the dam to burst when he spanked her.
He felt the tension and stress leave her body as he rubbed the sting away.
Jameson yearned to make love to her and soothe all the pain away, but Caroline seemed determined to lay the blame for the events of her life on him.
Part of him knew she did it from grief, but the other side of him felt this rejection before from others.
James screwed up his chances of becoming part of the Serenity Mountain family.
Now, his ghost seemed hell-bent on taking every bit of happiness he found with Caroline.