Chapter 8
Ifeel as if I’ve stepped into a nightmare. I was painting when Peter arrived. The motorcycle club was roaring past my house. Rather than make a scene, I let him come in. I had to clean my brushes before they were ruined, and by the time I returned to the main living area, Jorge was at my door with dinner. He’s eerily calm.
So many things need to be said, but first I have to make sure that tracking me down with a detective and invading my home will never happen again.
Peter’s smile used to melt my resolve in an instant. Now I want to smack it right off of his face.
When he gets close and looks as if he might touch me, I press my palm to the center of his chest. “Don’t you dare. I’m not your baby or your fiancée.”
Once, I thought his brown eyes were filled with soul. Now all I see is deception when he gives me his puppy-dog look. “Daile, I made a mistake. I’ve been trying for months to apologize and make things right.”
“Why?” I drop my hand.
“What do you mean? I love you.” Peter throws around the word whenever he wants to get his way.
From the edge of my vision, movement alerts me that Jorge is moving toward the door.
Skirting around Peter, I rush to block Jorge’s exit. “Don’t go.”
“This is a private conversation and I’m not either of the parties involved.” His cat’s eyes narrow. “If you need me, I’m always here for you.”
If I wasn’t such a coward, I’d tell him I need him. I tell him, I love him. Instead, I say nothing.
A second later, Jorge steps out of my house.
“Daile, I just told you I love you.” Peter leans on the wall, his best smile in place.
I’ve never felt rage like I do at this moment. The impulse to scratch Peter’s eyes out is very keen. However, it’s not because I care what he thinks or what he says. It’s because he may have ruined the only good thing to happen to me. “Get out.”
His expression sinks as if he’s melting. “What?”
“I don’t want you in my life. I have no idea why you’re here. I only know that I didn’t invite you to Montana for a visit. You came on your own and you can leave the same way.”
“You need me. We were good together. Things were just moving a little too fast, but now I’ve had some time and I can see the errors of my ways. I shouldn’t have sent Barry to tell you the wedding was off. It would have been better if it had come from me. I even told folks at home that I was the one who made the mistake. You don’t have to worry about gossip when you come home.” He tries to take my hands, but I pull away.
All the anger drains away from me. What I feel for Peter is nothing. He’s irrelevant. “I don’t need you, though you did a pretty good job of making me think I did. Since I left Colorado, I’ve come to realize I’m fine on my own. I don’t want you here and you were totally out of line when you sent out a spy to find me. I left the hometown that I grew up in to get away from you. How much more of a sign do you need?”
Anger twists his face and all signs of his good looks disappear. “But you’re not alone, are you, Daile? You’ve been whoring yourself out to that guy who looks as if he just got out of prison.”
“Get out of my house and don’t ever come back here, Peter. You are not welcome.” I open the front door and wait for him to exit.
“You think you can just dismiss me?” He grabs the door and swings it shut so hard the walls shake. “I intend to have my fiancée back, and I expect you to come home and marry me. I’m not leaving until you agree to those things and you’re in tow.”
I retreat so that my back is against the window. This is as aggressive as I’ve ever seen Peter. He’s always gotten his way with smiles and charm. “What’s really going on? Why so insistent on having a woman who doesn’t want you?”
“What do you mean?” His eyes shift away from my face. “I love you.”
What do I have that Peter might want? It’s not love, that much I’m positive about. My parents’ house is still mine since I didn’t have the heart to sell it when I left, though now I think I could. Money. This is about money. “Did you lose your job, Peter?”
“No. I mean, I had to change jobs because of a little misunderstanding.” He stares at the wall to my right but never looks me in the eyes.
“What if I told you that I spent my inheritance and gave Mom and Dad’s house to the city as a charitable donation? Still interested in marrying me?” If he calls my bluff, I don’t know what I’ll do, but at least I’ll know the truth.
“You didn’t.” His eyes go cold, and he meets my gaze. “What an idiot. Do you know what that house is worth?”
“Sure do. I have the receipt for a tax deduction.” Now I’m certain I’m right and it makes this little lie worth it.
He fists his hands and paces from the front of my living room to the back. After crossing twice, he stops and looks at me. His expression turns calm. “I read on the internet that you’ve got a big art show in Los Angeles. They said you’re an up-and-coming star. I always knew you’d make it big with all your talent.”
“Funny. I remember you telling me that it was a waste of time and money to pursue an art career that would never amount to anything.” It’s insane how good this feels.
“I…”
Someone knocks on the door.
My pulse races knowing my panther is behind that door. I pull it open and Jorge gives me a long look before stepping inside. “I shouldn’t have left.”
“No,” I agree. “But you came back. Peter was just leaving. He’s never going to bother me again or I’ll file harassment charges and ruin what’s left of his career in financial advising. Isn’t that right, Peter?”
Opening his mouth to argue, Peter gazes wide-eyed at Jorge, who has let loose a low growl. Peter closes his stupid mouth and walks out of my house.
The growling stops and Jorge closes the door before turning toward me. “I’m sorry. I let my jealousy get the better of me, and I left you in a situation that might have been dangerous. I hope you can forgive me.”
The man who just left only wanted what he thought he could get from me. He declared his love but it was all lies for his personal gain. He assumed I would forgive him for the pain he inflicted on me. No, the pain I allowed.
Jorge is everything. “You never had anything to be jealous over.”
“When he said he loved you, I feared if I didn’t leave, I might do something I’d regret.” He takes a step closer but stops.
Closing the gap, I cup his cheek. “Jorge, it was a lie and even if it hadn’t been, I don’t love Peter. Maybe I did once, but those feelings are long gone. I only let him in because the club was riding past, and I didn’t want to make a public scene.”
Wrapping his hand around mine, he kisses my palm. “You can’t know how relieved I am to hear you say that.”
“Because your panther has claimed me.” I like the idea of the beast being drawn to me. I like all the ideas that have to do with this man.
“All of me needs you, Daile. Because of you, I’ve learned to feel again. I thought that part of me was lost forever.” He settles his hands on my hips.
His touch is light, but I’m on fire, just as I am every time he touches me. “You should take me to bed now. I need you.”
“What about the meatloaf?” He tips his head to the forgotten bag on the counter.
“I’ll put it in the fridge and we can heat it later. I’m sure we’ll be hungry after.” I love the idea that he brings food and makes sure I eat. He also encourages me to stop working and sleep. I’m easily lured into bed these days when my sexy lover is doing the coaxing.
“Don’t move.” He rushes to the kitchen and puts the food away, then locks the front door. He comes back, sweeps me into his arms, and carries me toward the bedroom.
“I could walk,” I say with a laugh as joy fills me until it bubbles over.
“I don’t mind carrying you.” As he lowers me to the mattress, he kisses me slowly. It’s sensual as he makes love to my lips, then touches my tongue with his. There’s a sexy rhythm to the way he does everything and even after more than a month of knowing him, I’m struck by it every time.
He breaks the kiss and hovers over me with his weight on his forearms and his fingers combing through my hair. “I have things I want to say, but perhaps they are better left unsaid.”
“You can tell me anything.” I hate the idea that he feels he can’t talk to me. On the other hand, I’m nervous about whatever he might say and how it might affect our relationship. I don’t want to give him up, not now, maybe not ever. My pledge to never let another man into a position where he could hurt me the way Peter did was flushed away the first night I made love with Jorge.
Brushing a stray lock of hair from my eyes, he’s so tender. He kisses my forehead. “I’m in love with you, Daile. I think my heart has been yours for my entire life. I know you have plans and they will take you away from me, but nothing will change how I feel. Not today, or any day. I love you.”
I heard every word, but it was all in a fog after he said he was in love with me. My heart has grown so big and is pounding so hard, I’m sure it will either leap from my chest or I’ll black out at any moment. “You love me?” I want to take that back the second it escapes my stupid mouth, but it’s too late.
His mouth tips up in the sweetest smile. “This love is so strong that sometimes I have to shake myself to prove I’m not dreaming.”
It’s possible he’s the most perfect man or beast on the planet. I mean, he always says the right thing. “I love you too. I have since the moment I first saw you.”
It has not gone unnoticed that his cock is hard and growing harder with every moment it’s pressed between us. “You’ve made me happier than I have any right to be.”
I wrap my leg around his, opening myself and wishing we were naked. “I think everyone deserves happiness, Jorge Panteras.”