Chapter Ten #2
“You’re not going to leave this alone, are you?”
“What can I say? I’m stubborn.”
That surprised a laugh from her, but it died as quickly as it began. “My ex-husband hired surveyors. I caught them unloading their equipment out front.”
“And one of them manhandled you?”
She shook her head and sighed. “I’m not explaining this well.”
“Take your time.” Getting impatient with her wouldn’t help. She was sharing. That was what mattered.
“Christopher showed up as I was telling the men to leave. They had no idea we were divorced. They believed the contract was legit. They left and Christopher followed me inside before I could lock the door.”
Alex had a hundred questions but swallowed them.
She rubbed her hands over her legs. “I told you about my divorce, how I finally got him to sign the papers by giving up any claim on his assets?”
“Yes.” It made him angry to think about how much her ex had already put her through. “You said they were filed the same day your grandmother died.”
“Exactly. They were signed in the morning, but the county clerk didn’t officially file them until later that afternoon. Technically we were still married when Grandmother died.”
Alex had seen the best of what humanity had to offer.
He’d also seen the worst. While this was nowhere near the atrocities he’d witnessed, it hit him harder because, like it or not, he had feelings for Cilla.
He focused on controlling his rage. That was the last thing she needed.
Even with the effort, the windowpanes rattled.
She glanced toward the window and frowned before continuing. “When I threatened to call the police, he snatched my phone and tossed it on the floor. When I went to pick it up, he grabbed me by the arm.” She absentmindedly rubbed the area.
The idea of her confronting an angry man without any protection made his blood run cold. He could have easily discovered her lifeless body instead of a weeping woman. It was a sharp reminder how precarious her existence was—how the clock of her life was ticking down.
He longed to take her into his arms and reassure her everything would be okay, but that would be a lie. She was going to die…and soon. Nothing he could do would stop it.
“Unlike Richard, who wants to make a deal, Christopher’s decided a portion of the land should belong to him.
” Her laugh was bitter. “Both of them are working their own angle, but it all comes down to money. Richard wants revenge on our grandmother for not leaving him the property, as our father promised she would. Christopher wants to run for public office. The contacts he’d make through the development company on a project of the size they have planned are equally as valuable, especially now that he’s engaged to a senator’s daughter.
Between them, they know enough of the right people to ensure the project goes ahead with minimal problems. I can’t say for sure about Richard, but I’m fairly certain Christopher will be angling to join the project as a partner.
As they see it, I’m the only thing standing in the way. ”
And one of them would escalate and resort to violence before this was over. Maybe he was completely off base and Cilla’s death would be accidental, but he didn’t think so. Her tragic ending was likely a major reason Cilla had been chosen for his father’s test.
A roaring sound in his ears momentarily blocked all outside noise.
The thunderous howl never passed his lips, but it echoed in the depths of his soul and reverberated in every cell of his being.
The idea that his father wanted him to care about Cilla only to then have him reap her soul splintered something inside him.
Time stopped and everything went silent—both his body and mind shut down.
It was impossible for him to walk away. As much as he’d like to tell his father what he could do with his assignment, it wouldn’t change Cilla’s fate.
There were no negotiations when it came to death.
When your time was up, it was up. No amount of begging or pleading or hoping would change it.
But there was still a chance for him…if he didn’t mess this up.
And as difficult as her death was going to be, he didn’t want to leave Cilla.
Come what may, she deserved someone who cared about her by her side at the end.
Her brother and ex were trying to get her to buckle under their threats and demands.
They didn’t understand her nearly as well as they believed.
Cilla Wainwright might temporarily bend, but she’d never break.
And it would be the death of her.
She pulled him from his dark musings when she traced the tips of her fingers along the edge of his jaw. “Thank you for listening and caring, but this isn’t your fight. You should pack up and leave.”
A simple touch and his defenses dissolved. He cursed himself for being unable to be the man she needed.
He swallowed several times before he could speak.
“I’m stuck here, remember? I leave and my old man takes everything from me.
Not to mention I currently have no transportation.
Even if I could go, I wouldn’t leave you here alone.
” In the end, she would be alone. He’d be by her side, but it wouldn’t matter; he’d be unable to do anything but reap her soul.
Surely the gods were laughing at him being brought low by a human. She had her destiny. Maybe Cilla was his. Reapers were outside the control of the Fates, but he couldn’t shake the notion that he and Cilla were on a collision course that might be the end of them both.
Green eyes softening, she shook her head and sighed. “What am I going to do with you?”
He choked back the dozen or so suggestions that rose to the tip of his tongue. Bringing her to his bedroom wasn’t the smartest move. It was too private, too intimate.
When she leaned forward, he met her partway. When their lips touched, it was as natural and right as if they’d kissed a thousand times.
Walk away! The warning screamed in the back of his brain but it was too late. The spark between them ignited. All he could hope to do was survive the blaze.
…
Pretending her problems didn’t exist wouldn’t make them go away, but Cilla wanted these few minutes for herself, for them.
Alex was the most special man she’d ever known.
Why couldn’t they have met when her life wasn’t in chaos?
It was wrong of her to kiss him, but she craved his touch until it was a physical ache.
He’d not only dried her tears, he’d listened. Even more, he cared. For a woman who’d felt alone and adrift most of her life, he was everything she’d always wanted in a partner, what she’d hoped she was getting when she’d married Christopher.
The two men were polar opposites. Christopher was suave and sophisticated. Alex was rough and rugged. She’d take his blunt honesty over her ex’s slippery half-truths any day.
His lips were warm against hers. He smelled like sunshine and the outdoors mixed with clean male sweat. It was intoxicating. She breathed it in, knowing she’d forever associate it with him long after he was gone.
His tongue traced the seam of her lips, slipping inside when she parted them. Winding her arms around his neck, she stroked her tongue against his, teasing and enticing.
It was wrong to use him to escape her problems, but the attraction had existed since the moment they’d met.
The level of anger she’d witnessed from both Christopher and her brother frightened her.
He and Richard were driven to obtain wealth, power, and revenge.
Kissing Alex was an affirmation of life.
Need pulsed through her veins, too potent to ignore. He tenderly cupped her face, turning her head slightly to deepen their kiss. It was pure magic. Eager for more, she dragged her hands down his chest and slid them beneath his shirt. Smooth skin was pulled taut over iron muscles.
“Cilla.” He left a trail of kisses along her jaw. The longing in his voice had butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Her nipples hardened against her bra. Liquid longing flowed through her. Her toes curled in her sneakers.
Heaving a sigh, he pulled back, and her chance to make love with him slipped away. He was too honorable, would view it as taking advantage of her when she was upset. It was probably for the best. And if she told herself that enough times, she might actually believe it.
Even with him on one knee in front of her, she had to look up at him. He wasn’t only tall, he was massively built, though he wasn’t muscle-bound. No, he moved with the grace and beauty of a wild cat, a panther.
His expression serious, he tucked several strands of hair behind her ears. She had to look a hot mess with her hair straggling and her eyes red from crying. “We need to stop. You’ve been through a lot.”
He was right, but she resented how easily he could manage to put aside his emotions. She withdrew her hands from beneath his shirt.
“Is that what you think this is? A reaction to what happened?” It was partially that, but it was much more. “You think I’d be kissing any man who comforted me?” Temper sparked, she tried to push him away, but he didn’t budge.
“No, I don’t think that.” He caught her hands between his. “There’s something between us. I feel it too.” The acknowledgment deflated her burst of outrage. “But I’m not about to take advantage of you when you’re upset.”
Knowing she’d been right about that didn’t make it any easier. “I’m not going to apologize.”
A small smile played on his lips. “Neither am I.”
At a loss for a response to that, she tugged on her hands until he released them. She squared her shoulders, determined to do the right thing. “You need to leave Ivy House.” It would be taking advantage of him to continue to use his presence as a buffer against the harsh reality of her life.
His lips thinned as he shook his head. “I told you, I’m not abandoning you.”
“I could get the police to evict you.” It was an empty threat, and they both knew it.
“You could, but I wouldn’t go far.”
“Why? You have enough trouble with your father without adding to it. Believe me when I tell you if either my brother or Christopher can find a way to make things difficult for you, they will.”
Alex threw back his head and laughed. The rich, booming sound filled the room. His black hair flowed around his shoulders and his expression lightened, making him appear younger and more carefree.
Mesmerized by the sight and sound, she couldn’t look away. He wasn’t polished, nor was he classically handsome. Compelling was the right word. Alex was a force of nature, one that couldn’t be denied.
“You find that funny?”
“If you knew my father, you’d understand.” All signs of levity fled, replaced by his normal austere expression. “He’s not a man you want to antagonize, and it’s unlikely they’d be able to reach him if they tried.”
“That may be, but you’re in town to handle family business, not deal with the fallout of mine.
And if the last two days proved anything, it’s that both men will stoop to almost any level to get what they want.
” A chill raced over her skin, making her shiver.
Things were about to go from bad to worse.
Taking a deep breath, she drew her phone out of her back pocket and made a final plea. “I’m begging you to leave.” In the short amount of time they’d spent together, she’d come to not only like and respect Alex, but as improbable as it should be, she had feelings for him.
“I can’t.” He’d said that before. Something in his tone bothered her.
“You’re not responsible for me.” The last thing she wanted to be was an obligation.
He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “I’m staying, for both of us.”
Those cryptic words shed no more light on his motivation. Short of physically ejecting him or having the police drag him away, there wasn’t anything more she could do to dissuade him.
She touched her hand to his cheek. “If at any time you want to leave, I’ll understand.
If your relationship with your father is salvageable, fix it.
If not, walk away. Life is too short to waste on regrets.
” It was knowledge she’d learned the hard way.
Her marriage had been a disaster, and during those years she’d rarely seen her grandmother, the only person who’d ever truly cared for her.
He turned his head and kissed the center of her palm. “You need to contact the police and report this.” He nodded toward the phone in her other hand. “Then we’ll go downstairs and wait together for them to arrive.”
It shamed her that she was glad he was staying. She’d fought hard for her independence, but having someone on her side was a priceless gift. She could only pray neither of them would live to regret his choice.
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she placed the call.