Fifteen #3
“You’re wrong. It doesn’t matter why he helps, only that he does.
When my grandmother couldn’t pay the taxes he saved them from being put on the street.
I couldn’t help them, Elliot. I can send things here and there, but not to the degree Roland can help.
He gains nothing in return and never will, but they keep a roof over their heads. He can threaten me all he wants—”
“Threaten you?” He was on his feet, uneasiness taking hold of him. “He threatened you? When?”
She waved a hand. “He does it all the time.”
“How did he threaten you?”
Rolling her eyes, she explained, “He says if I don’t move home and be his wife, he’ll buy the house out from under my family the next time the banks come calling. Then they’d have to pay rent to live there or get evicted—unless we are family.”
“Family as in in-laws?”
“Yes, but he’s crazy, Elliot. So long as I let him believe what he wants to believe, he won’t do anything to hurt us.”
Something shifted in her eyes, betraying her bravado. That man scared her to some degree and he didn’t like it.
“Nadia, when I was a kid I excelled in school. I didn’t have a lot of friends, but it didn’t take friends to notice I was a hell of a lot smarter than the rest of my classmates.
Some people asked for help and I helped them, but those who demanded it, threatened me, they never cared about what happened to me.
The minute I didn’t do exactly what they wanted they made my life hell.
Bullies are bullies. There are no nice ones.
There are just bad ones. You have to stand up to them or they never go away. ”
“I do stand up to him.” She waved her fingers. “You’ll notice there’s no ring on my finger. I’m not his wife and he’s not the boss of me. I’d never give into someone like that.”
But she still had to put up with him. He still made her uncomfortable in her own home. “I don’t like the way he treats you.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose. “He can’t hurt me when I’m in another country. You’re all wound up and talking nonsense.”
“It isn’t nonsense,” he snapped, frustrated she trusted that man to guard her family’s interests when he was offering a better solution. “Why won’t you let me help you? This will get that asshole off your back. He won’t barge in or feel entitled anymore. You’d never have to go to him again.”
“I don’t want you to be that to me. Why can’t you just be my boyfriend?”
“I don’t want to be your boyfriend when another man thinks he’s entitled to call you his future wife!”
She blinked at him. “Don’t shout at me.”
Surprised by his outburst, he took a step back.
“I’m sorry. I…” He’d assumed after everything she’d said last night it would be simple to save her from this situation now that he had a solution.
He never expected her opposition. “I don’t understand why you would choose to remain in an unhealthy situation with this other man when I’m offering you an out. ”
“It’s not an out, Elliot. There is no out. I’m broke and when I’m not broke, I’m poor. All you’re doing is transferring the sense of indebtedness from one man to another. I don’t want that sort of relationship with you.”
He dropped into the chair and thought for a minute. “What if I promised not to interfere? If you lose the house because you can’t make the payments, it’ll be your choice. I’m just setting the mortgage up to give you more control over the situation.”
Her dark eyes held skepticism. “That’s all?”
He’d do his best to keep his word and make sure her family kept the house no matter how many financial burdens fell on them, but he’d have to respect her wishes. The woman had a lot of pride and that only added to her appeal. “That’s all. Take the deal, Nadia. It’s a good business decision.”
Shutting her eyes, she blew out a breath. “I can’t do anything without talking to my nagymama. And she won’t like a stranger poking around in her finances. She’s very private.”
“So am I. I know this is a lot, but if you trust anything about me, trust that I’m good with money and not out to harm you or your family.”
“Fine. But for the record, I’d much rather wake up to sex than this sort of stress.”
“Who says we can’t have both?”
She stilled and glanced over her shoulder. “You’ll have to catch me.”
She squealed as he sprung from the chair and tackled her to the bed. His lips found hers, and when he broke the kiss, she laughed.
“Caught you,” he whispered.
“Maybe I let you catch me.” She nipped at his mouth and lifted her hips.
“Well, I’m not letting you go.”
“Is that a promise?” She kissed him. “Once my nagymama lays into you, you might change your mind. You’re going to see where I get my stubbornness from.”
He pulled her arms from his shoulders and pressed them into the pillows above her head. “Then I better make this count.”
She stretched beneath him, her hard nipples poking against the material of her clothes. “Oh, I think you better.”
He growled and pinned her to the bed, kissing her with promise and not stopping until he followed through on his word.