Misbehave: A Navy SEAL Romance by Tia Siren (33)

“What about you?” I asked a bit cautiously. I didn’t care about people’s pasts, but I’d never once heard Jenna mention a name to me.

Jenna immediately lowered her gaze. “What about me?”

“I know something happened to you,” I said. “I told you about my ex-wife. What happened to you?”

“I wasn’t aware we were sharing stories this morning,” she replied tightly. “Maybe there’s a better time to—”

“There’s never a better time to tell besides now.”

“Why do you want to know?” she asked, looking up at me. Shadows danced across her slender face. “You’ve already figured out what happened. You’re an investigator. You’ve put the pieces together.” She looked away before I could reply. “I can see it in your eyes when you look at me, because you’ve seen these cases too often.”

“More than I’d like to admit,” I said, and a wave of anger crashed over me. “You went to the police about him, right?”

“That’s how I ended up here. They told me that the most dangerous time after escaping an abusive relationship is within the weeks and months after a breakup.” Jenna scuffed a bare foot across the tiled floor, not willing to look up at me, but I could hear that tremor in her voice. “I was in the hospital with a concussion and two broken ribs. The hospital staff brought in the police, and it just spiraled from there. They took me to a shelter in the city for a few days before I was cleared to travel on a plane. I left everything behind me at their recommendation— my friends, social life, all of it. They didn’t want him to—”

“Track you,” I responded coldly. “What’s his name?”

“Leon Mills,” she said. “He hasn’t figured out where I am yet, so obviously, the shelter and police were right about a few things.”

I made a mental note of the name for later. Setting my cup down on the counter, I took a step toward Jenna, who only looked up at me. A variety of emotions were dancing there—pain, confusion, anger, and the faintest trace of nervousness. I reached forward to brush my fingers against the softness of her jawline. I never understood how another human being could do physical damage just for the sake of control. Jenna’s eyes fluttered shut under my touch, and her mouth parted in a wordless invitation that I gladly took.

 

 

We kissed slow and hotly in the kitchen with my hands cupping Jenna’s face to tilt her head back slightly for better access. She was soft and warm underneath me. A shiver went up my spine just thinking about how she would feel everywhere else. A few seconds later, she pulled back with a trembling sigh.

“I guess this means you agree with my earlier statement then?”

“Yes,” I whispered, tangling my fingers through the loose hair at the back of her neck. “I’ve thought about it long and hard. One time can’t hurt us.”

“It won’t.”

She reached up to kiss me again, this time with a little more fervor that instantly left my cock growing thick and hard in my pants. I pulled back before things could progress any further to look down at Jenna, who stared up at me with a flushed face.

“I just want to make sure you’re okay with this,” I said. “I’m not looking for a commitment and all that.”

“I know,” she said seriously. “I’m twenty-three. I get how something like this works. Less talking. More kissing.” Her smile was contagious.

“So you’re okay with this then? I don’t want to confuse Owen even more.”

“We can be discreet about it, but yes, I want this. I want you.” Her arms wound around my neck as she pressed her soft breasts against my chest, molding herself to me perfectly. “Now shut up and kiss me.”

I groaned and ran my hands down her back as she tightened her hold on me. She wasn’t wearing a bra, I realized when I felt the strain of her nipples against the fabric of our shirts. As tempting as it was to bend her over right there and teach her a thing or two about submission, and then some, I didn’t want another repeat of Owen coming in on us.

“Bedroom,” I said. “It has a lock on it at least.”

“That might be a good thing.” She licked her lips and moved back, running her hand down my chest and brushing the backs of her fingers down my rock-hard cock. “I want this.”

“Good. You’re about to get it.” I leaned in for another quick kiss, licking at her perfect lips before forcing myself back. My body was rigid with need for the sexy girl who had been teasing me far too much lately.

Jenna smiled cheekily before reaching around to click the kitchen light off. I gathered her in my arms for another kiss, her tongue battling mine as we stumbled as quietly as possible through the kitchen. We broke apart before I opened the door to peer out into the dark hallway cautiously for any sign of Owen. I reached out for Jenna’s hand to lead her through the dark hallway to the stairs.

Her fingers squeezed mine softly, trusting me to help her up the stairs and through the darkness of the early morning. All I could do was pray that Owen didn’t wake to the sound of us coming up the stairs. I wouldn’t be able to go through another day without this. There was a small part of me that cautioned this could only end in disaster, but lust quickly trampled over those thoughts.

I had to have Jenna, even if it wasn’t a good idea. There was no way I was letting her go without feeling her soft skin pressed to mine, experiencing the hunger of her touch. She was mine for the night. We’d figure out the rest in the morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Thirteen

Jenna

 

 

This is really happening. We’re going to have sex. Holy shit. No more imagining what it would be like. I’d soon know how good it felt to have him pressed on top of me, his hands all over me, his mouth, tongue, and teeth working against me.

My heart pounded so hard that I was afraid Derek could hear it in the stillness of the house. The sun had yet to rise outside. Darkness clouded my vision, but Derek led me through the dark expertly. Self-doubt filled me, but I pushed it back. I wanted this, so damn badly.

The sound of crickets chirping reached my ears when Derek ushered me through a door. He shut it gently before locking it for good reason. Owen had a sneaky ability to walk in at the worst times. Neither one of us wanted to see that devastated and confused face again.

I gazed around the room while I tried to force myself to cool down a bit. Every inch of my skin was on fire, my panties were wet, and my nipples were budded. I felt the heat radiating off me. A hazy lust settled in my brain while I took in the dark shapes of what appeared to be a dresser, a few nightstands, curtains fluttering in the morning breeze, and a large king-sized bed. The smell of Derek, a familiar fresh smell of cut grass and cologne, filled the air. It felt so intimate, almost too intimate, to be standing in his room.

Strong hands slithered around my waist before curving down to grip my hips tightly. Derek’s body brushed up against mine as he leaned down and pressed his lips to my neck before licking up to my ear. There was no resisting him. His teeth nipped at a particularly sensitive spot below my ear, and I bit my lip to stifle a moan in response as he pulled me flush against him. The thick press of his cock against the curve of my ass was delicious, demanding.

Derek trailed hot kisses down my neck before coming back up. My knees wobbled slightly when he breathed into my ear. “You can be quiet, right?”

“That depends,” I said breathlessly. “How hard do you plan on making it to stay quiet?”

He chuckled deeply. I felt the vibrations in his chest against my back. The hair on the back of my neck rose as Derek’s hand slid up from my hip to cup my breast, the other running down my stomach and sliding into my panties to toy with me.

“Very hard,” he whispered, nipping at my earlobe. “I can promise you that. You’re so fucking wet. Delicious.”

I cried out softly as he rocked against me, his fingers feeling so good as they teased my clit.

“More,” I whispered, and I cupped my hand over his, wanting him inside me.

“Anything you want, Jenna.” He ran his finger through my folds and pressed in a little as I arched my back and whimpered softly. “Shhh, baby. Keep it down.”

“I’m trying.” I rolled my hips, wanting to massage his cock as he played along my wetness.

A cord of desire had been tied to the two of us, and the harder we pulled away, the closer it brought us together. Nothing could stop us now. I wouldn’t let it. I needed him too badly.

Derek ran his hand from my breast up to my throat, cupping me just under the chin as he forced me to look back at him. His lips found mine in the dark for another passionate kiss through our panting. He coaxed me into spin around so that we could face each other, the movement leaving me a little dizzy and standing on wobbly knees.

I arched up into him eagerly when his hands slowly made their way down the slope of my back to gather the hemline of my sleeping shirt. “I want this off.”

“Then take it off.” I lifted my hands above my head, and he pulled it off and tossed it into the abyss of darkness surrounding us before cupping my breasts and kneading them softly.

“Beautiful.” He leaned down and brushed his lips over my soft skin, licking at the tight buds he had helped to create.

Wetness coated my legs, and pleasure shot through me as he dragged his lips down the slope of my chest to suckle at me until my knees threatened to give out.

He cupped one of my breasts, taking his time to adore it as he brushed the back of his fingers down my stomach again and played along the side of my panties. I had to bite the inside of my lip in futile effort to keep quiet. I clenched the fabric of Derek’s shirt when I felt those fingers start a sinful rhythm that instantly made my skin pull tight against my body.

“So ready for me,” Derek mumbled against my breast, and then he straightened back up to press a quick kiss to my lips. “Get on the bed and lie back for me, Jenna.”

I didn’t protest. I couldn’t.

I took a few steps back until I felt the edge of his bed hit the back of my legs. Derek guided me into a reclined position with my legs dangling off the side. He shimmied the fabric of my underwear down my thighs. I leaned up on my elbows in confusion when I felt him disappear for a moment.

“Derek?” I called out in whisper. “What are you—oh.”

Nothing could have prepared me for the moment he lowered himself to his knees and ran his strong fingers over my thighs. A liquid rush of hot pleasure raced across my center as he worked his tongue against me, opening me up and lapping at me in slow, methodical motions.

“Fuck,” I moaned and spread my legs farther, finding no shame in my need. He was beautiful, and for the night, he was mine.

I was utterly powerless against him as he sucked my clit into his mouth, his tongue rolling around the swollen bud of nerves before flicking it back and forth. I needed penetration, but I was too timid to ask for it.

“You want more, don’t you?” he whispered across my skin, and I whimpered my answer, feeling almost helpless to the power he had over me. I couldn’t even think straight. He pressed two thick fingers into me and rolled them before pulling out and working them into me again.

I searched desperately for something to grab ahold of to keep myself grounded against the onslaught. Every brush of his tongue and fingers brought me so dangerously close to that edge that I squirmed against him shamelessly for release. The muscles in my lower stomach quivered in anticipation as he picked up the pace and glanced up, locking eyes with me as he licked and sucked at my center.

“So close,” I said, burying my fingers in the soft strands of his hair. I lifted my hips, willing to play whore if I could simply have more of him.

A tingling sensation grabbed me captive, and bright lights danced in front of my eyes. I shoved my fist into my mouth to stifle the scream of release that ripped through my throat. It came barreling down through me hard and fast. I dug my teeth into the skin of my hand while tears stung the back of my eyes against the hot sensation filling every inch of my body. I jerked and rocked my hips against him as he drank me down, using everything he had to force me to ride the high for as long as it might last.

I collapsed and pulled my hand from my mouth as I panted loudly. “I’m sorry. That was so damn good.”

“Yeah, you were, Jenna.” He smiled and reached to run his hand between my breasts. “You are good at keeping quiet,” Derek said, amusement lacing his voice. “I was afraid you might bite your hand off though.”

I blinked away the saltiness of tears in my eyes while I tried to regather myself from the panting mess I was. The metallic taste of blood and the throbbing of my hand alerted me that I had done some damage to it.

“I think I did,” I replied breathlessly. “Damn…you’re good at that. Ridiculously good at it.”

“I pride myself on it. I enjoy it—a lot.”

A shiver raced through me. “I’d be proud of myself too if I was good at that.”

“It’s not over yet, lover,” he said. “Don’t take this offensively, but I knew I had to get you off before we continued. I’m not going to last very long. I’ve been waiting too long to touch you, to taste you, to fuck you.”

“I’m touched,” I said, and I was touched. Leon had never cared about any pleasure besides his own. Derek’s words were naughty, though, just enough so to have me on the edge of desire again as my body pulsed.

I felt him moving about in the dark, followed by the sound of jeans being unzipped. Moments later, his naked, hot body was pressed up against mine. He scooped me up effortlessly in his strong arms, leaving everything right in the world. Goosebumps covered my skin as he pressed me to the bed and rolled his hips, pressing the thick head of his cock against my entrance.

Strong arms braced themselves on either side of my head, and I was utterly pinned and safe at the same time.

“You’re still okay with this, right?” Derek whispered from above me before leaning down and brushing his lips softly over mine.

I wrapped my legs around his waist tightly in response to the question and tried hard not to lift my hips and force more of him inside me. Oral sex was delicious, but I wanted to feel him forcing his way in, opening me up like a flower and working me until he found his own orgasm.

“Don’t stop,” I whispered and pressed my heel against his perfect ass.

He let out a trembling breath as he slid fully inside me, the fit snug, tight, and delicious. I dug my fingernails into his forearms to adjust to the intrusion, not willing to move, though, when the stretching and burning gave out to pleasure.

He set a deep and slow rhythm until I lifted my hips to parry his thrusts, craving something deeper and more powerful. Derek leaned down to kiss me again before letting out a harsh growl against my lips. He increased the rhythm and depth as pleasure quickly built between us.

Pants and moans escaped my lips despite my best efforts to keep quiet. I couldn’t help myself against the feeling of Derek’s body sliding against mine, his hips thrusting, his thick cock burrowing into me roughly. The tingling sensation started in between my legs again. I looked up at Derek moving above me in the dark, shadows dancing across his face. His jaw was clenched shut while his eyes were closed as well against the pleasure contorting his face.

He thrust two more times before bright lights consumed me. Derek stiffened against me with a low, throaty groan before collapsing against me.

I traced errant patterns with my fingertips on the sweaty skin of his strong back while I tried to calm the pounding in my heart, relishing the feeling of our sated bodies against each other. Our pants eventually slowed to normal breathing. Daylight was beginning to slip through the bedroom window.

Derek stirred first against me. “We better get up before Owen does,” he said, and he slipped away from me a second later, his demeanor changing completely.

The mattress dipped as he sat down on the edge, rubbing a hand through his hair. I resisted the urge to reach out and touch him again. Something about his shift in persona warned me that touching was out of the question now. His spine was stiff as he turned to look at me with conflicted eyes.

“We probably shouldn’t have done that,” he said quietly.

My throat clenched. I didn’t expect Derek to be the romantic type of guy who liked to snuggle after sex, but the abrupt change in his attitude stung more than I cared to admit. This was the worst time to start regretting what had happened.

I sat up, completely naked and still sweaty. The warm summer air washed over me in a welcoming breeze.

“Please don’t start regretting it,” I said. “It’s done and over with. There’s no—”

“I never said it was because I regretted it,” Derek interjected smoothly. “I meant that I know I’m not going to be able to stop now that I’ve had you. That’s what I meant.”

He turned to give me a pointed look. My cheeks flushed when I realized he didn’t regret it. He just wanted me even more. The thought felt thrilling and a bit dangerous at the same time. The last time—

I shut that thought down before it could bloom. Leon isn’t here. Leon isn’t a part of this.

“Oh,” I murmured softly, and I reached forward to touch his shoulder gently. “That’s not a bad thing. I won’t complain.”

I felt the tension in Derek’s shoulders lessen under my fingers. He reached up to touch them lightly before letting his hand drop.

“I have my son to think about,” he said.

My heart jerked just thinking about Owen’s crestfallen face when he had stumbled upon us kissing. He truly had no idea why things were the way they were, but he felt it more than his parents. I only could imagine how traumatized he was over being split between his parents.

“We’ll think of something,” I said. “I’m not looking for a huge commitment either, you know. I just got out of a shitty relationship, and I need some time to figure things out too.”

“What do you suggest then?”

I chewed on my bottom lip in contemplation for a bit. “Maybe we could keep it quiet until we figure things out?”

Derek was quiet while he thought over the suggestion. He eventually turned around to face me in the pale morning light. It gave me another full-frontal view of how sinfully built he was, from his flat stomach and toned muscles to those tattoos in various places.

“That’s not a bad idea if you’re fine with it,” he said.

“No problems with it,” I said, shrugging absently. “So, we have a deal then? Keep it on the down low basically?”

Derek’s lips curved up in amusement. He reached forward to cup my cheek tenderly in the palm of his hand. One of his thumbs brushed against my cheekbone.

“I don’t know how well this will work, but I already know that I won’t ever want it to stop. That’s why I resisted for so long.”

I leaned into the palm of his hand, savoring his calloused skin against mine.

“Me too,” I whispered. “Me too.”

Chapter Fourteen

Derek

 

 

Someone knocking on my front door woke me from another series of pleasant dreams that involved Jenna. I lifted my head from the pillow to gaze at the alarm clock next to the bed stand. 2:17 p.m. A few hours of sleep wasn’t too bad considering I’d had a hell of a time trying to get to sleep with Jenna’s sweet scent clinging to my sheets, my pillows, and even my own skin.

The knocking resumed. Irritation swept through me.

Kicking back the light cotton blanket, I made my way down to the front door to find Martha standing on the front porch with a packet of flyers in her arm. I gritted my teeth to keep my irritation in check when she shot me a cheerful smile.

“Our annual neighborhood barbecue is this Saturday evening,” Martha said, extending a flyer to me. “Please bring Owen. I bet he’d like to play with all the neighborhood kids for a little bit.”

“We probably won’t—”

Martha stomped her foot. “Don’t be the Grinch on the block, Derek.” She glared at me, flourishing the flyer. “Just come to the damn thing. Everyone is always nice to you, so it’d be nice to see you there.”

“Fine,” I said, sighing as I took the flyer. “We’ll be there then.”

“Great!” she exclaimed in that cheerful voice. “This flyer has two admissions as well. You can bring a date.”

I sensed the hook for information even though it was subtle. There was no doubt in my mind that Martha wanted to know what was going on between Jenna and me. I folded up the flyer to shove it into my pocket.

“Just Owen and I will be there,” I replied, and I started to shut the door. “Excuse me. I have to take a shower before picking up my son.”

“Hold on.” Martha slammed her palm into the door to keep it from closing. “How is everything going between you and Jenna?”

“Everything is fine.”

“Just fine? There is something going on between you two. I see it.”

Martha was the gossip queen among the other women in the neighborhood. I was sure there were rumors flying around, but I didn’t care to indulge in them. I had nothing personal against Martha besides that the woman was just too damn nosey sometimes.

“Nothing is going on,” I said as calmly as possible. “She babysits Owen for me. I help her out around the house. That’s all that is happening.”

“Before you wouldn’t let anyone besides Hayley and myself watch Owen,” Martha said, narrowing her eyes at me. “There are a few single women on this street who tried for a long time to get your attention. All of a sudden, you’re comfortable with Jenna. You can’t blame me for being curious.”

I stared at Martha as she looked at me without batting an eyelash. There was something else that Martha wasn’t saying. I picked up on the protective tones in her voice when she spoke of Jenna.

“You know about Jenna’s past,” I said. “Don’t you?”

Martha gave a sharp nod.

“I’ve been where she’s at,” she said, all cheeriness gone. “She’s vulnerable to getting involved with men who aren’t good for her. She’s so young, and she has her whole life ahead of her.”

“I agree with what you're saying. That’s why I’m telling you that nothing is going on.”

“If you’re sure,” Martha said slowly. “Not that I’m implying you aren’t a good man. I just don’t think you two would be a good fit.”

“You’re the one who set this whole thing up,” I said wryly. “You suggested that she come over and babysit.”

Martha dropped her gaze guiltily. “I was thinking about Owen at the time. I didn’t think anything else of it.”

“Right,” I said, rolling my eyes. “You weren’t trying to play matchmaker then?”

“Of course not.” Martha looked mildly offended at that. “I wouldn’t do something like that, because I know how you feel about that sort of thing from past experiences.”

A headache pounded in my head. I wanted nothing more than to shut the door, retreat to the shower, and spend some time with Owen to keep myself distracted from the recent turn of events with Jenna.

“I need a shower, Martha,” I said, not containing my annoyance any longer. “She’s an adult. I’m an adult. If something were going on, it’s none of your business to ask about it.”

“I’m just looking out for her is all,” Martha said defensively. “I wasn’t trying to pry. I just don’t want to see that girl get hurt more. She’s beautiful and young. Her mother is concerned that she won’t complete college.”

“And that has to do with me?” I questioned, arching an eyebrow at her. “Jenna is capable of making decision on her own good will. I don’t even understand why you’re here besides to pester me.”

“I’m not pestering.” She sniffed indelicately. “I’m inviting you to the barbecue. That’s all I’m doing.”

I rolled my eyes in exasperation. “Thanks for the invitation then. I’ll see you Saturday evening.”

“I better see you there.”

A threat dripped off those words, but coming from a petite housewife like Martha made it comical. The only thing she could do was annoy the hell out of me every time we crossed paths. I shut the front door before anything else could be said and headed upstairs for a quick shower. It turned into a steamy one when my mind wandered back to what had happened earlier that morning.

This was what I had feared. I looked down through the steam at the hardness between my legs. I couldn’t figure out what it was about Jenna that brought me in, but now I couldn’t resist it. I had to have her again.

I stepped under the cold water to cool my heated body down. It only dulled the desire to an almost painful ache that I couldn’t stand no matter how much I tried to ignore it. It persisted even after I got Owen home, and when I got up from the couch once again, Owen turned to look at me strangely.

“What is wrong with you, Dad?” he asked. “You keep pausing the game and getting up.”

 

“I know,” I said, shrugging the tension out of my shoulders. “I’m sorry, buddy. Why don’t you play alone while I wait for Jenna? She should be here any minute now.”

“Fine,” Owen said, visibly relieved at that. “I can beat these levels faster without you anyway.”

He stuck his tongue out before turning around to resume the game. I watched his little fingers work the controller expertly until the front door opened. Jenna stepped inside with a small and bashful smile. My breath caught in my throat at the sight of her in a loose navy romper, her long hair braided loosely. She set her backpack on the ground next to the door.

“Hi,” she said, tucking an errant piece of hair behind her ear. “Is Owen already sucked into his game?”

“I got him started early after he came home with an A+ on his test,” I said. “You shouldn’t have a problem with him tonight.”

Jenna took a step toward me. “I never do,” she murmured. She popped up on her tiptoes to kiss me.

She tasted of iced tea and sugar when I kissed her back. I didn’t care about anything at that moment besides the softness of Jenna’s lips against mine and how warm her waist felt through the cotton fabric of her romper. We pulled back quickly before things escalated. I still needed to have a talk with Owen.

“There’s money on the table to order whatever you two want to eat,” I said, reluctantly letting go of her. “I have to get going to work. I’ll try to be back early if I can…”

Jenna’s lips curved up into a smile when I gave her a heated look.

“I’ll wait up for you,” she said.

I kissed Owen on the head good-bye before leaving. What hope I had to get home early, though, faded away the moment I walked into the precinct to find SWAT dressed and ready to go.

“We got a hit on the BigBoy193 you’ve been tracking,” Marcus informed me, adjusting the strap of his bulletproof vest. “He’s in the general area tonight. We’re going to stake him out until we get a positive hit.”

I nodded. “I’m coming with all of you.”

Five hours later, I returned to my cubicle with a relieved sigh. BigBoy193 was a 42-year-old man from Utah with a wife and kids. It never ceased to amaze me how people worked sometimes, how they used trafficking as a way of paying for their family’s needs. I rubbed at the back of my neck while I scrolled through my emails before glancing at the time. By the time I finished the reports, it’d be nearly 5:30 a.m. The prospect of having some alone time with Jenna before I got Owen off to school seemed dim.

And my body ached horribly thinking of it.

I paused halfway through filling out the police reports. Leon Mills. My conversation with Martha replayed in my mind. I typed the name into the system to pull up his picture. Pretty boy. That was all I could think about his perfectly styled blond hair, clean-shaven jaw, and sharp blue eyes. He was smirking in the mugshot, as though he thought everything were a joke.

My blood boiled. I clicked out before I was tempted to read the police report attached to him. They still had an ongoing case, which meant Leon still had court to argue against the domestic violence charges. The court date was in two weeks.

Rubbing at my face in exhaustion, I realized with a sinking gut that what Martha had said was true. Jenna was vulnerable and in danger at this time. Seeing Leon Mills’s picture had solidified it all in my mind.

I had also taken advantage of the situation, whether or not Jenna was aware of it. There was no doubt she was acting out of defiance, and I had caved into the temptation of it all.

I took the long way back home after clocking out for the morning. I pulled up the driveway right as dawn light spilled into the sky. Owen opened the front door as I walked up the pathway.

“Morning, Dad!” he said cheerfully. “Jenna made me waffles for breakfast this morning.”

I forced a smile at that. “Great.” I scanned his combed hair and fresh clothes. “I see you are ready to go to school too.”

“Yes.” He leaned in to hug me around the legs quickly before peering up at me. “I really like Jenna, Dad. I’ve decided that I like her.”

“I’m glad that you do, Son,” I said tightly. “Go grab your backpack. We have to get going.”

Jenna appeared in the hallway with a smile when I closed the front door. She smoothed Owen’s hair fondly when he darted by her to go back upstairs. A frown tugged at her lips when she caught sight of my expression.

“Are you okay?” she asked timidly. “Was it a bad night, or—”

“Martha came to talk to me today,” I said, and Jenna’s face immediately tightened into a suspicious scowl. “She mentioned something that I think she’s right about, and I’ve thought about it too.”

Jenna crossed her arms over her chest. The smell of her shampoo and fresh soap filled the hallway. She gazed at me intently, waiting for me to continue.

“You’re vulnerable right now with everything that happened to you,” I said. “I thought about it after looking at his court date, which is coming up in two weeks. We—”

“You looked up Leon?”

Her sharp question echoed in the hallway. Anger glittered in Jenna’s eyes as she stared at me with an indescribable expression.

“Yes, I did,” I said. I refused to look away from her. “What happened the other morning shouldn’t have happened.” Tears filled Jenna’s eyes, but I continued. “I’m sorry that I took advantage of the situation. I’m older than you, and I shouldn’t have done it.”

“I’m not a child,” Jenna said, her voice trembling with emotions. “Not everything is about Leon. I don’t know why people keep making it about him. I refuse to regret anything that I do right now.”

“That’s my point. You’re being defiant.”

“Damn straight I am!” she suddenly shouted, wincing when her voice echoed in the hallway. “I am trying to move on with my life. I thought you were moving on with yours, but you’re just being a coward.”

Indignant anger shot through me. “How am I being a coward?”

“Because you think you’re being noble about it, but you’re just afraid to get hurt again because of your past too.” She tilted her chin to look me directly in the eye. “Admit it.”

“That’s not what it is,” I said sharply. “You’re young, Jenna. I’ve already been through a lot in my life. You need to finish college. You need to do fun things again. You can’t be complete coming over here every single night to babysit Owen.”

“Dad!” Owen yelled from his room. “I can’t find my hat. Can you help me?”

I started in the direction of the stairs. Jenna stood rooted in the middle of the hallway as I passed by her, clenching my fists to keep myself from reaching out to touch her.

“I don’t believe you,” she said. “I don’t think you even believe yourself.”

“You’re probably right about that,” I said, and I turned to look at her. “It still doesn’t change my mind though. What happened yesterday can’t happen again. That’s it.”

Jenna’s lips thinned into a determined line. “We’ll see about that.”

She turned on her heel before I could say anything else. The door slammed shut a second later, leaving me alone in the dim light of the morning. I sighed inwardly in dread. I had to give it to Jenna. Despite everything she had been through, she was still determined to prove me wrong, and she probably would.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Fifteen

Jenna

 

 

“You slept with him?!”

I grimaced at my mother’s exclamation through the phone. “Just one time. I just thought—”

“Jenna Rose Collins. I raised you better than to run into some strange man’s bed. What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t,” I said. “It just happened. Neither one of us planned it out.”

The smell of mayonnaise hit me hard as I scooped one cup of it into the cooked macaroni salad I planned to take for the barbecue.

“I didn’t call to talk about this,” I said, stirring the mayonnaise in. “I just wanted a recipe from you is all.”

“Then why did you tell me about what happened?”

“I have no idea,” I groaned out. It had clearly been a mistake to confide in my mother about things like this. “I just needed someone to talk to about it.”

“Well, he does have a point about all of this,” Anna said. “You should be concentrating on finishing your degree rather than babysitting for him. There needs to be a balance in your life.”

“My life is balanced though. What does everyone want from me?”

“It’s not what people want from you. It’s what you want from your life. That’s all I’m saying. That’s what everyone is saying to you. You just don’t want to listen.”

“I am listening though,” I said, running a hand through my hair in aggravation. “No one is listening to me. That’s the problem.”

“You’re so much like your father, honey, stubborn and proud.”

I glanced up at the clock above the kitchen door. “One of our many happy qualities I guess. I have to go, Mom. The barbecue starts in a few minutes.”

“Whatever you do—”

I hit the end button before she could finish her sentence: don’t sleep with him again. I wrapped the salad with a piece of cellophane. A part of me readily agreed with that. It wouldn’t be healthy to have it happen again. While I knew Derek would never physically hurt me, I could sense the emotional scars in him. He was warm one second and cold the next. He didn’t know what he wanted, and I didn’t blame him. There was also Owen to think about, who was already confused enough about what had happened. It was too damn complicated to even think about, but I couldn’t help it.

That morning played teasingly in the back of my mind more than I wanted. I craved Derek’s touch again, but he was right. I needed to do something to balance out my life besides watching Owen every night.

After slipping my feet into a pair of flip-flops, I slipped out of the house to head out through the hot evening to Martha’s house. Cars were parked in front of the sidewalk, and the sound of laughter reached my ears as I ventured up the driveway. I went to the fence gate that Martha had told me to come through earlier when she’d handed me the flyer.

Laughter and the sizzle of hamburgers reached my ears when I came around to the backyard. My eyes immediately landed on Owen as he played happily on a swing set with Julie and a few other kids from the neighborhood. I swept my gaze along the back patio, which had hundreds of flowerpots covering it, to where Derek stood talking with a group of men, a beer in one hand. He looked extremely uncomfortable.

My heart raced when his gaze caught mine briefly before he looked away.

“There you are!” Martha called out from the kitchen window. She motioned for me to come inside. “Bring that delicious-looking salad. We’ll put it in the fridge while the men finish up with the burgers and hot dogs.”

Martha’s kitchen was spacious but filled to the brim with various trinkets, jars, and plants. She took ahold of the salad with a smile before managing to make space in the fridge.

“I’m so glad you came,” she said. She turned to look at the group of women standing in her kitchen with wine glasses in hand. “Ladies, this is Jenna Collins. She lives right next to Derek Summers.”

Their eyes swept up me critically. I tensed under their stares, but Martha kept an assuring hand on my shoulder.

“You look so young,” one of them said. “I’m Clarissa. I live right next to Martha and her husband.”

“She’s not that young,” Martha said. “Although she is compared to us older ladies. This is Vanessa and Margaret. They live a little farther down the street.”

“I’m surprised that Derek is even here,” Vanessa said, sipping daintily at her wine. “How did you manage that, Martha?”

Martha picked up a wine glass from the kitchen island and, ignoring my protests, poured a hearty glass of sweet wine. “A little persuasion is all.” She winked at them mischievously. “There is a gentleman underneath all that hostility of his.”

“I haven’t seen it yet,” Margaret said.

“Neither have I,” Vanessa added, and she gave me a long look. “The only person he lets into that house is you, Jenna.”

I gathered from the tinge of jealousy in Vanessa’s eyes that she was one of the women in the neighborhood who craved Derek’s affections. Sipping at the sweet wine, I briefly contemplated what their reactions would be if I told them I had ended up in Derek’s bed, and he was good at it too. It wasn’t just our hopeful imaginations that he was good in bed. He actually was.

Too good at it. I took another sip of wine while trying to keep my expression as clear as possible.

“He’s a jerk to me too,” I said. “So, there really isn’t anything different about it.”

Vanessa’s eyes narrowed slightly. She really was a pretty woman in her mid-thirties, more around Derek’s age, and she had brunette curls and tanned skin.

“I wouldn’t say that,” she replied, suspicion lacing her voice. “I saw you playing a game with him and Owen a few weeks ago.”

Did you hear us in bed too? My fingers curled around the rim of my wine glass. I shrugged my shoulders, because I didn’t know what else to say to that. They wanted information, and I wasn’t going to give it to them no matter how hard they pried.

“It’s too bad though,” Vanessa said. “I heard him telling Mr. Cooper that he’s going to find a new babysitter.” Those words washed over me coldly. “He said something about you having a commitment to going back to school.”

“Excuse me,” I said sharply. “I have to—I have to get some air. This wine is hitting me a bit strong.”

I set the glass down on the kitchen island. Before any of them could say anything, I slipped out of the kitchen door to the back patio. My head felt warm and fuzzy from the few sips of wine. I wobbled over to where Derek stood next to the barbecue with a few other husbands. He looked at me with an indifferent expression when I came to a stop in front of him.

“It’s nice to hear that I’m fired from the neighbors,” I said, not bothering to hide the anger radiating from inside me. “Couldn’t face me?’

Derek’s lips thinned into a displeased and uncomfortable line. He glanced over at the kitchen window, where Martha, Vanessa, Clarissa, and Margaret were looking out at us in avid curiosity.

“Don’t do this here,” he said tightly.

“I agree with Derek,” one of the husbands said, turning to look at the women in the window. They all immediately backed off when he waved the barbecue tongs at them. “My wife, Martha, can be so nosey sometimes. Go talk out of earshot and eyesight. I have enough gossip to deal with without you two causing more.”

“I’m sorry, Bob,” Derek said, setting his beer down on the table. “We’ll go somewhere to talk.”

He grabbed ahold of my elbow with tight fingers. I stumbled slightly down the porch steps as Derek guided me out of Martha’s backyard in the direction of my house. The second we were on the front porch step, Derek turned on me with a glare.

“What is wrong with you?” he hissed. “We agreed to—”

“I agreed to keep quiet,” I said hotly. “That was what we agreed to. You changed your damn mind about it.”

“Because I’m trying to keep you from getting hurt.” He grabbed for my keys, but I danced away from him. The wine was giving me a shot of bravery. “I was going to tell you Monday about finding a new babysitter. Who told you about that?”

“Vanessa,” I said flatly, “the woman who is stalking you from across the street.”

Derek rolled his eyes in exasperation. “That doesn’t surprise me that she told you. I told you those women can’t mind their own damn business.”

“It doesn’t matter.” I waved a dismissive hand. “I just want to know why you’re pulling back from me after what we agreed to.”

“Shit, Jenna,” he said, sighing in aggravation. “I was just trying to do the right thing. None of this is easy for me.”

“So you don’t want me to go then?”

“Of course not. I don’t want you to, but I’m trying to do the right thing here.”

That answer satisfied me to a degree. The wine in my veins felt good, and Derek looked equally good in the pair of loose gym shorts he wore along with a simple white shirt. His hair was styled messily as usual. My fingers itched to run through the soft strands.

A devious thought washed over me. There was no doubt in my mind that Martha and her gabble of women were watching intently from the living room windows. I knew Martha had set this up for a reason, and I planned on taking advantage of it.

I brushed by Derek to unlock the front door. Pushing the door open, I turned to look at him. He was watching me with a heated look.

“Come prove that to me,” I said as sultrily as possible. “Let’s give those women across the street something to really talk about.”

I stepped inside and held the door open while I waited patiently for Derek to weigh his options. He stepped inside a few moments later. The second I let the front door close on its own, our lips were against each other’s, hot and needy.

Nothing could ever replace the feel of Derek’s strong and hot body pressing up against mine, or the way his hands cupped and gripped me in all the right places. We stumbled up the stairs without breaking contact. Shivers shot up my spine in anticipation as Derek’s hands ripped my tank top up, followed by my bra a second later. He pinned me up against the upstairs hallway wall before dipping down to kiss and suck at my breasts until I could barely see straight.

Hardness pressed against me through the fabric of my jeans. I reached between us to rub at the hotness there. That earned a throaty groan of approval from Derek against my right breast. His fingers smoothed down my back before slipping around to work at the button of my shorts. I reached around blindly for his shirt while Derek’s mouth came up to attack me again in a brutal and dominant kiss.

We barely made it into my room before we were both dripping with sweat from the lust searing between us. Derek’s fingers brushed between my legs to set a rough rhythm there. A cry of pleasure escaped my mouth from the friction. I moved against his hand shamelessly for a release, but he pulled away to push me back onto the bed.

A shiver went up my spine at the feeling of Derek slipping between my legs as though he belonged there permanently. I didn’t think of anything else when he thrust into me with a relieved sigh. All I could do was cling to his strong shoulders, feeling the muscles there work as he set a hard and deep pace that had us both dangling sweetly near a much-needed release. Tears pricked my eyes when my release came barreling down violently. I dimly heard Derek let out a deep groan before collapsing against me.

His heart slammed into his ribcage against my own frantically beating heart. I stared up at the sunlight dancing across the ceiling of my room while I tried to calm my breathing. Nothing could replace the feeling of Derek cradling me in his strong arms. I felt protected. His nose nuzzled against the crook of my neck. I felt even a bit loved in a way, something I hadn’t felt in a very long time.

It wasn’t smart to get involved, but I was beyond caring. This felt entirely too good to let it go.

Chapter Sixteen

Derek

The next two weeks passed by in a hot blur, with Jenna wrapped around me in the early morning hours. Whatever conflict I had fought against was long gone. I couldn’t resist Jenna even if I wanted to now. Both our defenses had come crumbling down in a lustful crash that had left us breathless and wanting more.

“I think we’ve given the neighbors plenty to talk about,” Jenna said.

She smiled mischievously at me while running a towel through the wet strands of her hair. I returned the smile as I rubbed my face dry with my own towel.

“What makes you think that?” I asked, my voice muffled from the towel.

“Because they see me over here with you and Owen more than at my own house. I don’t even leave here after Owen goes to school.”

“I’m sure Martha is foaming at the mouth trying to get information from everyone.”

Jenna laughed. “She is, actually. She tried to catch me yesterday on my way out to the grocery store.”

That didn’t surprise me. I avoided her as much as possible by dropping Owen off at school quickly and pretending I was on an important phone call whenever she did get close. Why Martha had to get involved was beyond me. None of it was her business, but, as usual, she made it her business.

“Vanessa has been giving me the death glare too,” Jenna said, breezing by me to gather her clothes, which were sprawled out in my bedroom. “I think she’s under the assumption that I stole her prospective man from her.”

I grimaced at the thought. Vanessa could’ve been Sidney’s twin with their matching personalities and taste for expensive things. She walked by every day dressed in designer dresses that showed off her legs, sometimes pausing to pick at the rose bushes in my front yard.

“That’s why she picks my roses then,” I said. “She’s trying to lure me out of the house to come talk to her more.”

I entered the room right as Jenna slipped into a pair of leggings. The first taste of fall had greeted us last night. A notable chill had clung to the air when I’d gone to work. The tips of trees were a dull yellow, a sign of a change in weather.

“I’m sure she is,” Jenna said, slipping into a oversized T-shirt next. “I better let you go so you can get some sleep. I have to meet with my mother in Lone Tree.”

“Important business?” I asked, sitting down on the edge of my bed.

I stifled a yawn with my hand when Jenna paused in front of me. She smoothed a hand over my damp hair with a smile.

“Very,” she said. “Martha apparently is in touch with my mother, so I’m sure this lunch has everything to do with you. Oh, and I told her that we slept together too.”

I arched an eyebrow.

“I’m sure she loved that,” I said wryly. “You told your mother?”

“I was upset at the time,” Jenna said, shrugging her shoulders. “Get some sleep. I’ll be over later tonight.”

She pecked a kiss to my lips before exiting my room. I settled back against my unmade bed that now smelled like Jenna all the time. My parents would be doing the same thing too if they heard about Jenna. They had been adamant about Sidney not being a good woman to marry.

A yawn escaped my lips. Fully sated from spending the past hour in the shower with Jenna, I fell asleep quickly. I didn’t wake once until my phone alarm trilled off a few hours later. My room felt pleasantly warm from the sunlight peeking in through the curtains.

I dressed for the day before heading outside to check the mailbox. I was rifling through bills when the sound of bushes scratching against a window caught my attention. Turning around, I flicked a gaze over Jenna’s motionless house. Her car was still gone despite it being nearly three o’clock.

The bushes vibrated before a tall man stepped out of them. Blood roared in my ears when he turned to look at me, having realized I was standing on the other side of the fence, clutching the mail tightly.

“Hey, man. Is this Jenna Collins’s house?” he asked.

Shoving the mail into my back pocket, I crossed over the fence to look at him fully. He wasn’t that tall in person. He was smug, cocky, and I was tempted to punch him straight in the face just for being here. I resisted though. I had Jenna to think about along with Owen. I wouldn’t do either one of them any good if I was in jail.

“That depends on who’s asking,” I said coldly. “Who are you?”

“Leon,” he said, and he looked me up and down in distaste. “I’m her boyfriend. I’ve been trying to find her all day.”

He still thinks she’s his. A possessive surge shot through me at that observation. I kept my face blank when Leon gave me a strange look.

“She’s not here,” I said.

Leon gazed at me with visible distrust. If only he knew… I kept my curled fists at my sides. If he knew, he’d hurt Jenna. There was no doubt in my mind. Things like that had a tendency to set guys like Leon off.

“When will she back?”

“I’m not her keeper,” I said flatly. “She’s a woman who can handle her own business around here. She doesn’t need you.”

“Right,” Leon said in a tone that suggested he didn’t believe me. “Just tell her that I’m staying at a hotel across the city.” He flicked his sunglasses down. “She knows my number, so she can call me when she gets back.”

He didn’t wait for my response. Crossing by me, he exited through the gate and walked down the street to a black Honda. I watched him speed away before letting out a harsh breath. Fumbling through my pocket, I pulled out my phone to call Marcus.

“I have a situation,” I said. Hot anger filled every inch of me. “I won’t be into work tonight besides to have someone come talk to you and a judge if needed.”

“A judge?” Marcus repeated, alarm evident in his voice. “What the hell did you do, Summers? I won’t bail you out if you did something—”

“It’s for my neighbor,” I said, tapping a finger anxiously against the fence post. “She escaped an abusive ex by moving into the house next to mine. I don’t know how he found her, but I found him snooping around her house.”

“Is there a restraining order?”

“There has to be,” I said. “It may have run out, though, depending on what the judge said in California. There’s only one incident on file from what I looked at.”

“That might explain why he’s there if you’re telling me the truth,” Marcus said grimly. “Bring her into the station. These situations can end tragically.”

“I’ll bring her in when she comes home. Thanks, boss.”

I paced the fence line until I caught sight of Martha exiting her house ten minutes later. She saw me motion for her to come over.

“You’ve been avoiding me for two weeks,” she said warily, “and now you want me to come over?” Her face paled at the expression on my face. “What is it? Is something wrong with Jenna or Owen?”

“Jenna’s ex is here in the city,” I said. “I don’t want to leave this house until I can get Jenna to come with me to the police station to file a restraining order.”

Martha’s mouth formed an “O” before looking down the street in the direction Leon had driven off.

“That was him? I had no idea. I would’ve called the cops if I’d known.”

“He came in the middle of the day for a reason,” I said darkly. “He was hoping to catch Jenna off guard. I don’t have to tell you that.”

“No,” Martha said, “you don’t. I’ll pick up Owen from school. Don’t you worry about that. I’ll have Bob keep an eye out too.”

I nodded.

“Thanks, Martha.”

I waited to call Jenna until after Martha drove off to pick up our children from school. I had no idea where she was, but I needed to find her fast. She answered on the second ring.

“Hello?”

“Where are you?” I barked out. “Don’t come back to your house. Just tell me where you are.”

“What’s going on?” Jenna asked, alarm filling her voice. “You never call me on my phone. I’m just about to drop my mom off back at her retirement community in Lone Tree.”

“Leon is here,” I said, and a heavy silence followed. “I found him outside your house while you were gone. He was trying to find you.”

“Oh my god,” she said. “The restraining order. It must’ve—”

“That’s why he was here,” I said. “Drive straight to the police station. Bring your mother if you have too. I’ll meet you there.”

“What are you going to do? There’s nothing we can do, is there?”

“You can file a stalking complaint. You’ll get a temporary restraining order from the police before seeing a judge. Just meet me there.”

“Okay. I will.”

Jenna pulled into the parking lot a few minutes after I arrived. I half expected her mother to be tagging along, but the passenger seat was empty.

“I haven’t told her what’s going on yet,” she said when I looked at her in confusion. “Leon won’t mess with her, because he knows she’ll call the cops the second she sees him. He’s afraid of her.” Her lips curved up into a bitter smile. “Which is ironic because my mother is frail compared to me.”

I took ahold of Jenna’s hand. “Everything will be fine,” I assured her. I pulled her in the direction we needed to go. “We’ll talk to my boss about this. He’ll give you the direction you need.”

“What about Owen?” Jenna asked, clutching my hand tightly. “Where is he?”

“Martha will watch him until I get back,” I said.

An hour later, Jenna stepped out of the station to call her mother. Her face was pulled tight and visibly pale from the ordeal. Gone was her cheerful spark. A cold fear had taken its place.

“She means a lot to you,” Marcus said, coming to stand next to me by the window, from which I was watching her in the parking lot. “I’ve never seen you worked up over someone before besides Owen. Not even your ex-wife.”

I shifted uncomfortably at the observation. “It’s different this time is all.”

“Either way, I hope she gets some peace out of this situation. She lives next to you, so she should rest easy.”

He clapped me on the shoulder briefly before returning to his office. I gathered my wallet and keys from where I had tossed them on the desk. I chatted briefly with a few coworkers before going out to the parking lot.

“So, they’ll hand him the restraining order, right?” Jenna asked, chewing on the pad of her thumb nervously.

“When they find him, yes,” I said, noting the frantic look in her eyes. “Come in my truck. Your car will be fine here for a few days. I’ll make sure of it.”

Jenna didn’t argue. She sat rigidly in utter silence as we drove back to my house. I let Jenna inside before checking around her house for any signs of Leon. Nothing. Bob came across the street when I locked Jenna’s front door.

“He drove by once an hour ago,” Bob said. “He’s a bit agitated too from what I saw. You got her over to the police station, right?”

I rubbed at my face in exhaustion. “Yes, and he’ll be even more agitated after that. Thanks for watching Owen, too. Is he okay?”

“Perfectly fine,” he replied. “Outside playing with Julie. We’ll keep him over too until things settle down.”

“Thank you. I’ll call later to wish him a good night.”

I found Jenna sitting on the edge of my bed, playing with her fingertips absently. I sat down next to her, wrapped an arm around her petite shoulders, and tugged her into me. She fell against me without a fight.

“Everything will be fine,” I said. “I can promise you that.”

“I hope so,” she said glumly. “I can’t ever seem to escape him.”

“You will,” I said, rubbing her shoulders. “Even if I have to do something about it, you will get away from him.”

Chapter Seventeen

Jenna

 

 

I dreamed of Leon. Not the Leon I had come to known over the past year, the Leon who turned red with rage and raised his fists to make a point. No, this was the Leon I had fallen in love with when I’d met him the year before, the sweet and charming Leon who had even won my parents over until the bruises started to appear, until he took control of my social media accounts and phone.

I woke in a cold sweat sometime in the middle of the night. Moonlight and shadows danced across the walls. Something wasn’t right. I could feel it in the balmy air. I sat up to push away the blankets that were tangled around my legs. Derek’s bedroom window was open. I could see the flutter of his curtains in the late-night breeze. All the lights were off.

Disappointment swelled in me. Of course the lights are off. He works at night. Still, I couldn’t shake off the unease growing inside me. Wiping away the sweat that gathered on my forehead, I walked barefoot across the freshly polished floorboards and into the dark hallway. Parched from the heat, I made my way down the groaning staircase to the kitchen. The hum of the fridge greeted me. My hand trailed across the cool kitchen counter as I reached for a glass in the cupboard next to the sink.

“Jenna.”

I whirled around at the sound of Leon’s voice cutting through the darkness. Moonlight danced over the sharp features of his clean-shaven face. A grin tugged at his lips as he moved gracefully through the dark shadows of the kitchen.

Fear rooted me to the kitchen floor. My heart lodged itself in my throat, thudding there frantically. I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t do anything. No matter how much I told my legs to run, to get away, they remained motionless.

He approached me as silently as a shadow. He was dressed in his usual attire of a nice button-up shirt that he needed to be dry cleaned and ironed. His blond-colored locks were styled perfectly. Everything about him demanded authority, and I was utterly powerless against it.

“Did you honestly think you could hide from me?” he asked a bit coyly. The thought seemed to amuse him given the chuckle in his chest, but I knew better. It was a warning of things to come.

I tried to swallow the bulge in my throat. Scream, Jenna. Do something. I opened my mouth, but long fingers pinched my lips shut painfully. Leon towered above me with a dark scowl now crossing his face.

“Don’t scream,” he warned, tracing my lips with a fingertip. I couldn’t stop trembling. “Who’s going to hear you? The guy next door isn’t even here. No one is going to hear you scream.”

Tears filled my eyes. “Leon, please,” I mumbled. I tried to pry his fingers away from my lips. “You’re hurting me. Stop.”

His fingers only pinched harder. Something flashed in his eyes.

“You aren’t going to hurt like you hurt me,” he said calmly before pressing his lips hard against mine in a bruising kiss.

My stomach churned violently. I thrashed desperately in the circle of his arms to get away, but nothing I did phased him. He only grew stronger each time I struggled to get away, and eventually he had me pinned me down to the floor. I screamed when Leon leaned forward to press his lips against the side of my neck.

“You’re mine, and only mine!” he growled into my ear, his hips digging into my pelvis painfully. “No one will ever have you like I will. Trust me on that.”

“Jenna!”

Strong hands gripped my shoulders. The dream folded away instantly, along with the pressure of Leon’s body pressed against mine. I was tangled up in a blanket with warm sunshine playing on my skin.

“Jenna.”

Relief surged through me at the sound of Derek’s concerned voice. I opened my eyes to find him kneeling beside me on the bed, a concerned frown spread across his face. It was just a dream. Just a horrible dream. I let out a trembling breath while Derek helped me sit up.

“What happened?” I asked shakily.

“I don’t know,” Derek said, helping me tug the sheets away from my legs. “I went downstairs while you were sleeping to start coffee. That’s when I heard you screaming.”

I took in the white walls of Derek’s bedroom while I willed my heart to slow down. A cold sweat dripped down the sides of my cheeks.

“I-I had a bad dream,” I said, wiping the sweat away with the back of my hand. “That’s the first one I’ve had in a long time.”

“It sounded like you were being attacked.”

Derek rose from the bed, his hand resting at his right hip. That was when I caught sight of the hilt of the gun he had drawn on me the day I’d fallen off the roof. My stomach knotted uneasily as he placed it back on the bed stand.

“I called a few coworkers this morning,” Derek said. “They found him staying at a hotel on the other side of the city.”

My throat tightened. “So he knows about the restraining order now?”

“Yes. If he comes anywhere near here again, he’ll find his place in jail. I can guarantee that.”

I played with the sheets anxiously. Even if Leon obeyed this restraining order, that still meant I had to find somewhere else to go. I couldn’t stay in the house knowing Leon had been trying to find a way in. If Derek wouldn’t have caught him… A shiver went up my spine just thinking about it.

“What is it?” Derek asked. The mattress shifted as he crawled back onto the bed to sit next to me. “You appear to be in deep thought over there.”

“I have to move,” I said. “I can’t stay in this neighborhood now.”

Derek stiffened. I turned to look at him, but his gaze was fixated on the bedroom window that faced mine.

“You can’t keep running away from him,” he said eventually. “You have to deal with this in a way that will make it clear you aren’t backing down, or else he’ll just keep coming after you.”

Those words chilled me to the core, because I knew they were true. Leon didn’t give up easily on anything. Once he got an idea in his head, that was it. Nothing could persuade his mind.

“That’s my point,” I said. “He’ll keep coming after me because he thinks I’m his. That’s how Leon works.”

“That’s how all abusers work,” Derek said sharply. “I’ve dealt with guys like Leon for a long time, and believe it or not, there are people who are worse than Leon.” He trailed a hand through his hair with an agitated sigh. “There comes a day in their lives where they find something else to be fixated on. You just have to keep away from him until then, unfortunately. There really is only so much the courts can do besides tell him to stay away for certain amounts of time.”

“It’s just a piece of paper,” I said, thinking of the restraining order folded neatly in my wallet downstairs. It was just an inanimate object telling a person what to do. “He probably threw it in the trash the second those cops walked out of his hotel room. He did it with the other one.”

The only reason Leon didn’t get a chance to see me after what had happened that night at the bar was because I had packed a bag in a hurry before his parents had bailed him out. I’d been on a plane before he could even figure out what had happened. I reached up to comb my fingers through my hair anxiously. How did he even find me? I had done everything the shelter and police had told me to do back in California. No one knew where I was besides my mother.

“I don’t even know how he found me,” I said. “He figured it out somehow.”

“Hey.” I glanced over my shoulder when Derek touched my bare shoulder with his hand. My eyes slipped closed briefly at the gentle touch. “Everything will be fine. I promise.”

I shook my head at him. “You don’t want this drama, Derek. You have enough of it with your ex-wife already, and we aren’t even together.”

“Let me be the judge of what I can handle,” he said, cupping my chin firmly in the palm of his hand. “For now, just trust me while I figure some things out. Okay?”

“Okay.”

He leaned in to kiss me. Just the briefest touch of Derek’s lips against mine melted away the fear that coated every inch of me. I reached up to trace my fingers across the bristles of his cheeks while our tongues danced lazily. A hazy warmth filled me as Derek’s arms surrounded me in a strong embrace a second later to lay me back against the pillows.

Nothing could ever taint the feeling of Derek’s body hovering over mine, his soft skin and strong muscles pressed to mine.

“I want something different this time. You okay with that?” He licked at my mouth, his eyes filled with dark desire.

I couldn’t refuse him anything. “Of course. Just don’t hurt me.”

He chuckled and moved to his knees, pulling is shirt over his head before he got back up. “Take off your clothes, Jenna. Get on your hands and knees for me. I want to feel you come from behind.” He pulled down his pants and gave me a smile that left me fully assured that things were different this time.

I undressed quickly as he watched me patiently. “So beautiful. Don’t be shy. We’ve done this before.” He smiled and climbed back on the bed.

I turned and pressed my hands to the bed, arching my back as he reached for me and ran his hands over my sides, squeezing the top of my ass in the process of touching everywhere.

I groaned and pressed back against him as he nudged my entrance with the thick head of his cock. “Yes, please,” I mumbled and closed my eyes, imagining him still standing there, his body everything I wanted pressed deep inside mine.

He chuckled and ran his strong hands up to my shoulders, gripping them tightly as he pressed into me. We shared a long groan, and I gripped the sheets tightly as he pulled out of me and pressed back in.

“You’re still so tight,” he whispered against the back of my shoulder as he leaned over me, diving in deeper that time.

I cried out, and he paused. “No. I’m good. It’s just a lot.” I panted softly and pressed back, offering myself to him as he reached up and caressed my breasts with one hand.

His lips were soft against the side of my neck, and he rolled his hips forward, fucking me so much deeper than I thought possible. My stomach tightened as electricity shot from my center, racing through my upper body and leaving me locked in depravity.

“That’s it, Jenna. Take everything you need from me, baby.”

I rocked against him, massaging his thick shaft with my body and giving myself over to the intensity of our position. He moved back and gripped my ass hard as he lifted up and pressed fully inside me.

The deep pulsing of his cock between my legs had the world spinning. “Fuck. I’m so close, and we just started. It’s the position.”

“We can change it if you want.” I pressed my forehead to the bed as he worked me a little more, his hands shaking, his grunts low and beautifully erotic.

“I need to. I want to see you when I come.” He moved back, and I turned, lying down on my back and welcoming him into my arms as he pressed himself flush against me and drove his cock to the hilt inside me.

I groaned and gripped his strong shoulders as he brushed my hair back and leaned down for a long, demanding kiss. I kept my legs wrapped around his taut waist as the headboard beat against the wall.

“Look at me.” He pulled back and rocked against me as pleasure budded in my stomach again. Was it possible to come twice during sex? Fuck. I was going to find out if it was.

Derek’s eyes burned into me. I looked up at him. His jaw was clenched, and face was contorted in sheer pleasure as he locked eyes with me.

This wasn’t like other times. This was a marking. I recognized that possessive look lingering in Derek’s eyes before they slipped closed against the pleasure wracking his body. My hands wandered down to grip at the firmness of his ass as I urged him to give me more, to fuck me harder. Each pounding thrust brought me closer and closer to the edge.

“Derek.” I moaned loudly and pulled him down for a long kiss, letting my moans get lost in his mouth as he pumped in and out of me, leaving me riding high.

He went rigid as a board and let out a mangled gasp before collapsing on the bed next to me. I closed my eyes and let out a long sigh, fully sated by him. The fear that he would walk away without a word raced through me, but I forced it out. This time would be different. It had to be.

One of his hands reached out to gently massage my inner thigh. I forced down that uneasy feeling and glanced over at him, his beautiful body stretched out and flush, his cock wet and still twitching. We can’t keep doing this. The realization hit me hard. The line between casual sex was now blurred, and I had no idea if Derek realized that yet.

“I have to go into the station today,” Derek said once he caught his breath. “Check emails and things like that.” He turned to look at me. “Will you be okay here alone?”

“I have to go back to my house,” I said. “I need to shower, get clothes, and take care of things over there.”

Derek’s face tightened into an uneasy frown. “I don’t know if that—”

“I know Leon’s patterns better than anyone,” I said, sitting up to rub at the chill on my skin. “He won’t be back today. I promise. He doesn’t want me to figure things out.”

“I’ll have a car drive by every hour,” Derek said a bit warily. “Keep the doors locked, though, until I get back.”

I waited on the front porch until Derek had cleared every room. He kissed me on the forehead briefly before I stepped inside to lock the front door. I sank against it the second I heard Derek’s truck roar down the street.

I was falling for him in middle of a shitty situation. I rubbed at my eyes tiredly. Derek didn’t need all this drama. He had made it clear from the start that he didn’t want a committed relationship, but things had shifted. I’d felt that shift when Derek had reached out wordlessly to hold me in the middle of the night.

The warmth of the sunlight filtered through the small glass window above the door. It warmed a patch of my cold skin.

My phone buzzed from inside my purse. I reached forward to fish it out, glancing down at the caller ID before I answered.

“You okay, Mom?”

“Of course I am,” Anna said impatiently. “Why wouldn’t I be okay? It’s you that I worry about being in that house all alone.”

“I’m fine,” I replied, sinking against the front door again. “Derek is having a cop drive by every hour until he figures something out.”

“I’m relieved to hear that, but, honey, I think I figured out how Leon found you.”

I straightened up at that. The warm patch of sunlight lifted when I drew my knees up to my chest to hug them tightly.

“How?” I asked thickly. “You’re all the way in Lone Tree. He couldn’t have put the pieces together that easily.”

“My passwords for my banking information have changed, Jenna. All of it has been changed, including my emails.”

I went cold again, colder than before. If Leon had managed to hack into my mother’s information, it wouldn’t surprise me. He worked for a software coding company back in California. He could easily hack into someone’s accounts, and knowing my mother, most of her passwords contained names Leon knew.

My fingers tightened around the phone. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” she said solemnly. “I hadn’t checked in a while, but I tried a few times this morning to check on a few things. You don’t sound surprised.”

“If that’s what he did, I’m not at all.” I chewed on my bottom lip anxiously. “We need to tell the police if that’s the case. I don’t know if it’s a crime to hack into someone’s personal accounts, but there has to be something there that they can do.”

“Derek would be able to tell us, right?”

I hesitated in answering. I didn’t want to get into the details of how I felt about Derek, because my mother had a knack for inserting herself into things. My love life happened to be a place she liked to frequent given what had happened with Leon.

“Maybe,” I said. “I’ll see when he gets back.”

“You sound hesitant,” Anna said. “What is going on?”

“Nothing is going on,” I replied quickly. “I’m just tired is all, Mom. I don’t want to talk about it. I’ll call you when Derek gets back.”

I hung up before she could reply. My head thudded back against the front door. How much more complicated could things get?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Eighteen

Derek

 

 

“All the passwords have been changed. Every single one of them is changed.” Anna handed the computer over to me. “Is there a way we can see if he changed it?”

“It’s possible,” I said, but I had my doubts that Leon had left trails. He built computer software for a living from what Jenna had told me on the drive up to Lone Tree. He was computer savvy, and that made him that much harder to track. It would be hard to prove it had been him, but I kept that information to myself.

The stone patio area was warm from the high sun. I gazed up at the mountains, where the faintest color of yellow could be seen. That was always a sign of a change in weather— the mountains. The smell of French fries filled the afternoon air.

Jenna sat quietly next to me with her gaze fixated on something in the distance that I couldn’t see. There were dark circles under her eyes. She had barely slept last night. I had felt her tossing and turning all night while mumbling under her breath. The nightmare this morning had been so vivid that I had firmly believed Leon had gotten into my house somehow without alerting me.

“There’s an email from my relator on there,” Anna said, tapping the computer with a manicured finger. “It has the address and everything on there. If he hacked into my email account, that’s how he found out where Jenna was. Can I charge him with something?”

I smiled grimly.

“It’s not that easy,” I said. “It’s virtually impossible to prove Leon’s hand in this. He could’ve guessed your passwords if he knows your family well enough.”

“He does,” Anna said. Determination filled her eyes. “He knows our family, but he got into my banking information. Isn’t that some sort of crime?”

“It is, but a hard one to prove. If he took money without your permission, that’s a different story.” I fixed Anna with a hard stare. “From what Jenna told me, all your passwords are the same except for a few numbers. Anyone can figure that out. No money is missing, correct?”

“Correct,” Anna said reluctantly. “I guess you’re right. There is no way to prove his involvement, is there?”

“Not unless he took money out of your account,” I said.

“He wouldn’t take my mother’s money,” Jenna said quietly. “He’s too smart to know that would tip the police off. He changed the passwords just to aggravate my mother.”

“He succeeded,” Anna said. She fanned herself moodily with her large sun hat while a waitress stopped by to refill our water. “Perhaps the restraining order will scare him off again? He didn’t like jail the first time around.”

“He won’t stop,” Jenna said. She traced the rim of her water glass before scooting her chair back suddenly. “Excuse me. I have to go to the bathroom.”

I reached out to touch her hot forearm, but Jenna tugged her arm back. The gesture stung more than I wanted to think about. She never pulled back from me. It was me always pulling away from her. I watched her petite frame in her simple white dress navigate through the tables on the patio to the restaurant doors.

“Forgive my daughter,” Anna said, also watching her with a sad smile. “She has a tendency to get into these moods that take her down. It’s better to give her some space to think.”

“She has a lot to deal with,” I said a bit coolly. I had no problem with Anna. She was involved in Jenna’s life in all the right ways, but I got the impression she wanted to treat the situation with a magic wand. “Mrs. Collins, I have to be honest with you. This isn’t a situation you can fix by using every legal weapon you know. Things like that don’t stop men like Leon.”

“I’m aware of that.” Her face squinted up into a pained expression. “What can you do when your child is in danger? You’re a parent.” She looked at me intently. “What would you do if your child called you in the middle of the night from the hospital with a concussion and two broken ribs?”

I closed Anna’s laptop with a resigned sigh. “I’d do everything I could to protect my son,” I said, and scooted the computer toward her. “I understand where you are coming from as a parent, but I am coming from a law-enforcement prospective. I’ve dealt with cases like this. Jenna is doing everything she can do to get away. That’s all you can do.”

“And what exactly is your relationship with my daughter, Mr. Summers?”

“Excuse me?”

The question threw me off. I knew Anna was well aware that Jenna and I had a more-than-friendly relationship, but I didn’t expect the question to be asked.

Anna smiled at me knowingly.

“I can see that there is something going on,” she said, folding her hands in front of her. “I didn’t approve at first because Jenna has a habit of picking men who are not the greatest for her. She’s always had these fantasies in her head. I tried to discourage her from being around you, but here we are.”

I eyed her warily. “I mean this respectfully, but what is your point behind all of that?”

“I can see that you care more than what you’re probably aware of, and it’s messing with my daughter’s already troubled head. That is my point.”

“I respect Jenna,” I said, torn between defending myself and accepting that observation. “I have tried telling her to go to school, to get a different job, but she—”

“Won’t do it,” Anna finished for me in a resolute tone. “I imagine she won’t do anything without a fight, but you have to agree with me: She’s too young to be settling down to just watch your son at night.”

I had a feeling where this conversation was going to lead. I sipped at my water while Anna watched me from underneath the rim of her sun hat.

“I don’t mean to be overbearing,” she said. “I just worry that my daughter will find herself stuck in another situation she can’t get out of. She’s a smart girl. She is capable of whatever she decides to do with her life.”

“She is very smart,” I agreed. “However, Jenna’s an adult. She’ll do what she wants to do despite what I say, or what you say. Obviously.”

To my surprise, Anna burst into amused laughter.

“You’re right about that,” she said. “She’s proven me wrong at every turn of her life since day one.” She patted me on the back of the hand with damp fingers. “Just promise me that you will convince her to think about her options.”

Even if it means leaving me. I read that last unspoken sentiment in Anna’s gaze. I nodded wordlessly before getting up from the table to go search for Jenna.

“Excuse me,” I said. “I have to use the restroom as well.”

I stepped past several tables of older couples who were lunching together. Their warm laughter sounded harsh compared to the conversation still replaying in the back of my head. I spotted Jenna’s slender figure at the bar, nursing a glass of red wine.

“I’m sorry I left you with her,” she said, a pained look crossing her face. “My mother… God, I love her, but she’s overbearing sometimes.”

“That’s an understatement,” I said. I ordered a whiskey when the bartender breezed by us.

Jenna arched a knowing eyebrow. “Did she corner you about being a man and letting me go?”

The first sip of whiskey burned my throat, but I let out a relieved sigh. I sat down on the barstool next to Jenna with a grimace.

“Somewhat,” I said. “I do agree with her on a few things though.”

“Like what?” Jenna sipped her wine.

“About you going to college,” I said, leveling a stern look at her when she glanced away from me. “What is holding you back from that?”

Tracing the rim of her wine glass, Jenna stared down at the contents of her glass for a long time. A soft breeze fluttered the long strands of her hair whenever someone opened the patio doors. I waited patiently for her to answer.

“I just never felt smart enough to go to college,” she said, refusing to look up at me. “I like to paint and draw. Does that really require a college degree?”

I didn’t buy it. There was something else that turned her away from the idea of going back, and I had no intention of being the reason why she didn’t go back.

“Did Leon ruin that for you?” I asked quietly.

Jenna didn’t answer, and nor did she get the chance too. The patio door opened, followed by the sound of Anna calling out our names.

“Don’t drink so much wine,” she scolded Jenna, eyeing the glass in her hand. “Alcohol makes you do irrational things.”

As soon as Anna turned her back to head back outside, Jenna downed the rest of her wine in one gulp. I couldn’t help it. Laughter escaped my lips at the sight of Jenna shooting her mother a dirty look.

Two hours later, we drove back to the city to pick up Owen from school. He chatted happily with Jenna about what he had learned at school, and it gave me plenty of time to admire the woman sitting in the seat next to me. The long strands of her hair were curly and flying about her face freely. She smiled whenever she turned around to talk to Owen. She truly was a beautiful woman inside and out. Something in my chest clenched at that observation.

While I got ready for work, I heard Owen start up his Xbox despite having told him to start on his homework. My bedroom door opened a minute later.

“I told him only ten minutes,” Jenna said, closing the door behind her. “I just wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done over the past couple of days.” She looked down at her feet then. “You didn’t have to help me.”

“I’m here to help,” I said. “It’s going against my nature if I don’t help people.”

The corner of her lips quirked up. “And yet people think you’re an asshole.”

I chuckled at that as she rounded the bed to wrap her arms around me. I relished the feeling of Jenna’s tight body pressing up against mine in all the right ways. Desire skittered through me when she stood on her tiptoes to kiss me. In just a few minutes, I was hard and ready to bury myself in the sweet warmth between Jenna’s legs.

I pulled away briefly. “You said that Owen just started that game downstairs?”

“Yes.” She blinked up at me. “Why?”

Hooking my fingers in the fabric of her dress, I tugged it up over her hips. Her eyes widened in surprise before desire filled them. I used one hand to tug her panties down to her knees before twisting her around to grip the edge of the bed. This position was quickly becoming my favorite because of the depth I could get to inside her and the beautiful view it gave me of her ass.

I opened my fly and pulled out my cock, reaching for her and not thinking twice about making her mine again for the moment. I was falling for her. Sex was an outflow of that emotion. I pressed deep into her tight wetness and gripped her shoulder with one hand while caressing her back and ass with the other.

We both let out stifled moans of pleasure. I set a hard and quick pace, well aware that Owen could pop up at any point. The heat, the tightness…it was hard to concentrate on reaching around to rub at the bundle of wet nerves between Jenna’s legs, but I forced myself to think about her first. She’d come with me fucking her hard and fast from behind, my cock head slamming into her G-spot, but I wanted it to be explosive. She stiffened as I tapped her clit, her back going rigid

“Derek,” she whispered roughly before giving herself over to me. Her fingers buried themselves in the sea of blankets while she dropped her head into them to keep quiet.

The sweet muscles of her pussy clenched tightly around me as she bounced backward, her ass jiggling beautifully. She pressed her face to the bed and let out a long scream as she tucked her hips and massaged me with her body. The spasm that wracked Jenna’s frame was intense, breathtaking. She let out a muffled groan into the bedsheets before I let myself find release as well. It was over just as it began, but a sated feeling washed over me. I savored the feeling of Jenna for a moment longer before pulling back. Brushing the hair from her neck tenderly, I leaned down to press a kiss against the salty and flushed skin there.

“You’re so sexy, Jenna. I love the way you open up for me. I fit perfectly inside you, baby.” I kissed her skin again and squeezed her perfect ass before standing up. Realization rolled over me in thick waves.

I couldn’t give Jenna up no matter how hard I tried. It was just damn impossible, and for that brief second, I understood exactly why Leon didn’t want to let go of her. I didn’t want to let go of her either.

Chapter Nineteen

Jenna

 

 

The heat of summer gave way too much cooler temperatures throughout the following week. “It’s the change of seasons,” Derek had told me one evening when I’d complained of the abrupt change. “It happens usually over a matter of days. You’ll see the trees change too. When you see snow on the mountains, you know fall and winter are close.”

I stared up at the yellow-and-orange-tinged trees that lined the street. A few of them had fallen already to the cracked sidewalks. The sunlight still felt warm, but a noticeable crispness clung to the air when I stepped out of Derek’s house to let him get some sleep for the day.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

I started at the sound of Martha’s voice right behind me. Her cheeks were flushed a pretty pink, and she wore a light track suit and sneakers. Her dark hair was pushed back by a hairband.

“It is,” I said.

Martha adjusted the zipper of her jacket. “The colors will get more vibrant over the next month or so. Some Halloweens we walk around in a sweater. Other times we are bundled up in our costumes. You’ll see.”

She smiled, but I couldn’t find it in me to return the smile. I hadn’t even thought of staying long enough to be around for Halloween. I dimly remembered Owen telling Derek the other day that he wanted to be a ninja for Halloween.

“How are you holding up?” Martha asked. She smiled empathetically when I looked back at her. “I know it’s been a week since anyone has seen him around. That has to be eating at you.”

I swallowed the unpleasant feeling in the back of my throat. I didn’t want to think about it. No one, not even Derek, seemed to know where Leon had gone after being served those papers. The only sense of comfort I took was that people knew who to look for if I went missing. It was a cold and horrible sense of comfort, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that Leon was lurking somewhere close despite Derek’s efforts to keep me protected.

“A little,” I admitted, sighing. “It’s the not knowing where he is that is really bothering me. If I knew he was in California, I’d be okay.”

“Do you think the restraining order coupled with the police car spooked him?”

“No.” I considered it for a moment. “Maybe it did. He isn’t the type who’d do good in prison, so he’ll keep his distance until I can get a permanent restraining order.”

“My ex was the same way,” Martha said. Her gazed focused on something down the street that I couldn’t see. “I tried everything I could think off to get away. I changed my number. I moved. I went to court several times. Nothing ever seemed to work. He always came back angrier than the previous times.”

“What finally made him go away?” I asked.

She looked back at me with a haunted gaze. “A car accident of all things. A drunk driver hit him one night when he was driving home from work. That’s what I read at least.” Martha smiled thinly. “His family was devastated by it. They never believed their son was capable of bruises and broken bones.”

“Leon’s family doesn’t either,” I said, and bitterness toward the situation tore through me. “I was always the liar. They stood in court to tell the judge I just wanted my things that Leon had bought, so I was making up the entire story. Even after I was in the hospital with a concussion and two broken ribs, they still defended him.”

“It makes them feel invincible when they have people, even their own family members, to believe them. That’s part of it.” Martha reached over to grasp my hand in her cold one. “Just keep trying to live your life as much as you can. That’s all you can really do is rebuild and keep going.”

“It’s easier said than done.” I sighed out and spotted the realtor coming down the street in her minivan. “I have to meet with the realtor, so if—”

“Realtor?”

I stopped at the sound of Martha’s sharp voice. She gave me a long, hard look that instantly reminded me of my mother’s whenever I did something she didn’t approve of.

“You can’t keep running away,” she said. Then she added knowingly, “Or are you running away for a different reason?”

I looked away to hide the turmoil of emotions in me.

“I know that you and Derek are”—Martha paused for a moment to search for the right word— “more than friends. There is something there that is real. I’ve seen it in the way Derek has looked after you even before you realized it.”

“It doesn’t matter though,” I said, tears stinging my eyes. “I have to go. Leon will keep coming by here now that he knows I’m here. I can’t risk putting Owen in the line of danger either.”

“That is Derek’s job to protect his son, and he will if he feels Owen is threatened.”

The realtor pulled up the driveway. She stepped out from behind the wheel to give me a cheerful wave.

“Just think about what you're doing,” Martha said sagely. “I know Derek has a hard exterior, but no one is blind to the fact that he feels something for you. I wouldn’t run away from that.”

She gave my hand one last squeeze before heading down the sidewalk. I wiped at the tears in my eyes out of aggravation, because Martha was right. I didn’t know what to think of Derek, or the terms of our relationship, and I hated the feeling of depending on him for protection, but I couldn’t pick my life up and run wherever the wind blew.

Owen would be devastated. My heart clenched just thinking of that sweet, blond-hair boy who loved to talk about his rock collections and shoot Nerf guns with Derek when he was done with homework.

I walked up the driveway to where the realtor was busy fumbling with a camera. She looked up at me through the thick curls of her hair.

“The house looks wonderful, Jenna,” she said excitedly. “The maintained yard, flowers, and you fixed things that needed to be fixed.”

“My neighbor fixed them,” I said, twisting my hands in front of me nervously. “Look, Pam, I know my mom sent you out here to put the house on the market, but I’m going to stay here.”

Pam stiffened visibly. “You are?”

“Yes,” I said, nodding. “I thought leaving would be the best thing, but one of my neighbors pointed out that I had to stay and rebuild my life. I realized that she’s right. I can’t keep running whenever things go wrong.”

“Your mother is going to be upset,” Pam said, lowering her camera to the ground. “She was very firm on this house being sold within a week.”

“I know, but she’ll get used to the idea.” I held out a hand for Pam to shake. “Thank you for everything you have done. I appreciate the help.”

Pam took ahold of my hand slowly and gave it a brief squeeze. She hesitated in the driveway, waiting for me to change my mind, but when I didn’t call her back, she climbed into her van. I caught a glimpse of her on the phone before the van disappeared down the street.

I set my phone inside on the hallway table, because I knew my mother would be calling to demand an explanation. Closing the front door, I crossed over my yard to Derek’s front door to clean up the kitchen from the chaos of the morning. I washed a few cereal bowls before making my way up the stairs as quietly as possible check on Derek’s sleeping figure sprawled out on the unmade bed.

He slept on, oblivious to me standing alongside him. The morning light fluttered through the tree leaves outside, leaving patterns on Derek’s face. A sign of complete trust. My heart leapt at the thought. He didn’t even wake when I came in and out of the house. For an ex-Navy SEAL, that said a lot.

I pressed a kiss against his temple, savoring the feeling of his warm skin before leaving him to sleep on.

My phone was vibrating madly on the hallway table, as I’d expected it would be. I debated on letting it go to voice mail again, but I didn’t want to waste the rest of my afternoon on avoiding a confrontation with my mother.

“I know I sent the realtor away,” I said with futile hope that my mother would let me explain. “Just let me—”

“We agreed that it’d be a good idea if you found a new house,” she said, her voice tight with frustration. “I told the relator to bring a list of potential houses for you to look at, not email them. You can’t stay there, Jenna. You know that.”

“I want to stay here though,” I said, closing the front door when a chilly breeze fluttered through. “I can’t keep running away from everything. He’s only going to find me again. That’s who Leon is. It’s a game.”

“You want to stay because of Derek. I may be old, but I’m not blind. I can see what is going on between you two.”

“I don’t even know what is going on between us,” I said, exasperated. “And if there was anything, what’s wrong with that? He’s not a bad man.”

“The situation isn’t right, Jenna. He’s paying you to babysit his son, and yet the two of you are sleeping together.”

“He’s helping me,” I replied defensively. The buzzer in the laundry room went off. “Does that count for something?”

I started down the hallway in the direction of the laundry room.

“Yes, it does. I’m thankful he has been so helpful to you, but—”

Something yanked hard on the back of my head, pain erupting in my skull. My phone slipped from hand to thump against the hardwood floor.

A hard body pressed up against my backside, effectively pinning me to the wall. An icy wave of fear came down on me when I felt a nose nuzzle the back of my neck. That familiar smell of rich cologne filled my nose. My heart slammed itself repeatedly in the caverns of my chest.

No. No. No!

“Do you honestly think a piece of paper scares me?” Leon said into my ear, rubbing against me with a relieved groan. “God, I have missed you. You feel wonderful.”

Tears filled my eyes. I choked back a cry when his fingers slid around my body before he pulled back to grab ahold of my wrist. I couldn’t even struggle. Just seeing him standing there dressed like he had been dressed in my dream, a fancy shirt and nice jeans with his hair slicked back, rendered my legs useless.

I heard my mother’s voice still chattering through the phone, unaware that I had dropped it. Leon crouched down with one hand on my wrist before he hit the end button. He tossed the phone onto the hallway table carelessly.

“You’re pale,” he said, raking his eyes up and down me. “You need the sunshine again. You look ugly without tanned skin.”

The insult stung, as he’d intended it to. I tried to remove his fingers from my wrist, but he tightened them painfully.

“Leon,” I said thickly through tears, “please. Just leave me alone. I just want to—”

“I can’t leave you alone,” he said matter-of-factly. “You know that, Jenna. I’m yours, and you are mine. Remember? We made that vow a long time ago.”

My phone buzzed on the hallway table. I stared at it helplessly. Call the police, Mom. Tell them to come back. Derek still had a cop driving by every hour, but it had just passed by ten minutes ago. That told me Leon had been around for over a week, watching them and memorizing the patterns. He was just that damn smart. The one time he knew I would lower my guard a bit… I just could never fully escape. The realization felt sharp in my chest.

Just thinking of Derek sleeping upstairs alone brought on a wave of hysterics. I wanted to crawl back up there into the safety of his strong arms. I should’ve just lain there with him.

Leon reached out to touch my cheek. I flinched away from the touch, but he continued to trail his thumb across my cheekbone. His eyes flashed angrily when I tried to push his hand away.

“What’s wrong?” he hissed. He leaned forward to push me up against the wall again. “Don’t want me to touch you, hm? Just want that guy who lives next to you?”

I bit down on my lip to keep from crying.

Fingers circled my throat. My eyes widened in horror when I felt Leon’s fingertips slowly press down to cut off my air supply. He leaned in to press his lips against mine briefly. My stomach convulsed violently at the taste of him— cinnamon and rich.

“Too bad he’ll never see you again,” Leon said. “I’m sure he’ll find some other woman to occupy his time. You can be replaced easily, believe it or not. Have a good sleep, Jenna. When you wake up, we’ll be back in California. Everyone is really excited to see you again.” He smirked darkly at me. “You did abandon all your friends, you know.”

“I didn’t abandon them,” I gasped out, clawing at his fingers. “You forced me to run away. I didn’t want to leave. Please, don’t. Let me go, Leon. I’ll come with you if you let me go.”

“You’re a horrible liar,” Leon remarked, shaking his head at me in disgust. “You always were a horrible liar. Just relax and this will go a lot faster.”

His fingers tightened even more. My lungs burned for air. I tried to scream, but nothing came out. My fists thumped uselessly against his chest. A blackness crept along the back of mind before a warm sensation overcame me. I slipped into the darkness as a crash echoed in the hallway, right before my body hit the cold, hardwood floor.

I didn’t even feel Leon’s fingers lift from my neck. I was gone, gladly slipping into that unconscious blanket of nothingness.

 

 

Chapter Twenty

Derek

 

 

There were blood stains on my knuckles. I stared down at them with a hint of smugness despite the holding bars around me. It’d been too easy to overcome that prick. He couldn’t even throw a decent punch that landed right. It had been sheer will power to pull back in time for the patrol units to arrive at Jenna’s house. By the time they arrived, Leon was a bloody mess, crying on the floor, and I had Jenna cradled in my arms.

“Summers.”

I looked up to see Marcus waving me to him on the other side. The buzz of the holding doors echoed, and I gladly stood from the metal bench. They’d had no other choice but to arrest me in the process. I didn’t have a scratch on me. Leon had a crushed nose and sinus cavity. I could still hear him howling in the ambulance about pressing charges.

“Thanks for bailing me out,” I said. “I owe you.”

“I didn’t bail you out,” Marcus said, opening the doors. “A woman named Anna Collins is waiting for you outside the police station.”

I arched my eyebrows in surprise. “You’re shitting me. She bailed me out?”

“What did you expect?” Marcus asked wryly. “You arrived in time to save her daughter after she called you. I think any parent would bail someone out if they rescued their child.”

“I saved Jenna because—” I love her.

Marcus looked at me knowingly. “You don’t have to say it to me,” he said, and he chuckled when I gave him a pained look. “You aren’t in love with me. I don’t want to hear you say that to me. Say it to her.”

“How is she doing?” I asked as we walked down the hallway. “The last update I got, she was coming out of being unconscious.”

“She’s coherent and awake,” Marcus said. “She gave one of our officers a full statement about what happened, clearing you of any wrongdoing.”

I didn’t even care about the assault charges Leon had filed. That was the only reason I had ended up in a holding cell until Jenna came to give her statement. All I’d done for the past two hours was pace and bother the booking officers for information.

We stopped briefly for me to gather my things from the booking station. I shoved my wallet, keys, and phone back into my pocket.

“What are they charging Leon with?” I asked coldly. “Tell me it’s something he’ll be behind bars for a long time for.”

“Attempted murder,” Marcus replied, following me out into the lobby. I let out a relieved sigh at that.

An orange glow filled the sky, the evening quickly approaching. I had to call Martha’s house to check on Owen. She had promised through all the chaos earlier that morning to take care of him, but I knew he was upset. He knew something was wrong.

“That’ll keep him away for a while,” I said.

“Unfortunately it had to get to this point for something to be done,” Marcus said sadly. “There is only so much we can do to protect women like Jenna.” He clapped my shoulder. “I’m glad you were there to help her. She’s got a good man watching her back.”

“Thanks, boss.”

I spotted Anna’s trim figure on the bottom steps of the police station. She paced impatiently while she waited for me.

“I have to call Owen before I go the hospital,” I said.

Marcus gave me a warning glance. “Leon is at the hospital with a few officers watching his every move. Don’t think about going up to his room, Summers. I can’t help you if you do.”

“I won’t.” Even if is tempting to finish the prick off.

Anna looked up at me when I started down the stone steps in her direction. Her face was drawn tightly into a pinched expression.

“I owe you,” I said. “I’m sure the bail money was costly.”

“A small price compared to my daughter’s life,” Anna replied, waving her hand airily. “To be exact, though, it was five thousand dollars for crushing Leon’s face in.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “A small price for Jenna’s life.”

Anna’s lips curved into a ghost of a smile. “Thank you,” she said then sincerely. Tears filled her eyes. “I can’t thank you enough for protecting her.”

“You’re welcome,” I said. “She’s going to be fine. Leon will be behind bars for a while.”

Anna sniffed back tears. “He can’t be bailed out?”

“The judge denied it,” I said, pulling out my phone to call Martha’s house. “He’s considered a flight risk and a danger to Jenna. His family won’t be able to bail him out.”

“Thank God for that judge then.” She jingled Jenna’s car keys in front of me. “I’d drive to the hospital myself, but you’d be scared to death.”

I took ahold of Jenna’s keys. “I have to call my son first,” I said, and Anna nodded in understanding. She sat in the passenger seat of Jenna’s car while I dialed Martha’s house number.

“Thank God,” Martha said after I spent ten minutes telling her everything. “At least she can be at peace now knowing he won’t be able to get out of this one so easily.”

“Not this time.”

“It’s sad it has to get to that point for someone to feel peace.” Martha sighed into the phone. “I’ve never felt so relived and torn as the day my ex was killed by a drunk driver of all things. Here’s Owen.”

“Dad,” Owen said, his voice quivering on the other end. My heart ached hearing that. “Is everything okay? You didn’t get hurt at work, did you?”

“No. I promise I’m fine,” I said, trying to reassure him. “I will come get you tonight, okay, buddy? Make sure you do your homework too.”

“I will,” Owen said, but I had my doubts. He hated doing homework. “Is Jenna okay too? Martha said she went to the hospital.”

“She’ll be fine too. Maybe she’ll come over tonight. Would that be okay with you?”

Owen was silent for a long time on the other end. I could hear Julie chatting happily in the background with Martha.

“She isn’t Mommy,” he said quietly.

I rubbed a hand through my hair in frustration. This wasn’t the time to talk about what had happened between Sidney and me, but I had to tell him. I’d put it off for too long, and Jenna was safe in her hospital room.

“No one will ever replace your mother,” I said. “Your mom and I don’t ever want you to feel that we are trying to replace each other.”

“I don’t understand what happened though.”

“You don’t need to understand it now, Owen. All you need to know is that your mother and I love you despite everything. Okay, bud? Jenna isn’t going to replace your mom. I can promise you that.”

“I like Jenna,” Owen said slowly. “Get her flowers, Dad. All girls like flowers.”

I chuckled at the advice. “I will, Son. I will be over to pick you up soon.”

“Everything all right?” Anna asked when I got behind the steering wheel of Jenna’s car. She closed the passenger door when I started the engine.

“Yes,” I said. I turned to look at Anna. “I know why you don’t want me around your daughter, but—”

Anna held up a hand, interrupting me. “My opinions of you were wrong. I apologize for judging you so harshly. You saved my daughter’s life. That’s something I don’t overlook. Just promise me one thing.”

I backed out of the parking spot. “Anything.”

“Just make sure she goes back to college,” she said, sighing. “She’s smart. She can do it even if she doesn’t think she can.”

I met Anna’s gaze briefly before pulling out onto the interstate to get to the hospital quicker.

“I promise,” I said. “I will make sure she goes.”

We pulled up to the hospital twenty minutes later. Anna led me up to the fourth floor of the hospital where Jenna’s room was located. I nodded at one of the officers seated outside her room before stepping inside. I turned to look at Anna, but she waved for me to go in without her.

To my relief, Jenna was sitting up cross-legged with her long strands of her hair pulled up in a messy bun. Her eyes were riveted up at the television mounted on the wall. She looked over at the sound of me drawing the curtains back to give us more privacy from the hospital staff.

My eyes went straight to the dark marks around her neck. My blood boiled at the sight of them, but I forced myself to look away. I’d done enough damage to him to get my point across, but not enough to get rid of all my anger.

She looked beautiful though. Nothing could ever take that away.

“Hey,” she said, her voice a bit raspy. “I didn’t expect you to be here so soon.”

I sat down next to her on the hospital bed. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, I savored the feeling of Jenna leaning up against me with a steady exhale of breath. Her skin felt warm and soft through the hospital gown she wore.

“Your mother bailed me out,” I said, pressing a kiss against her hair, which still smelled fresh from her shampoo. “I owe her about five thousand dollars though.”

“Five thousand?” Jenna pulled back to look up at me in alarm. “Why was it so high?”

“I crushed his face,” I said calmly. “That’s why.”

Jenna shook her head in dismay. “I still don’t understand why they arrested you. You saved me.”

“They didn’t know what to think when they pulled up,” I replied, shrugging. “The charges will be dropped given your statement, so don’t worry about it. They were doing their job.”

“And Leon?” Jenna asked hesitantly. “Where is he?”

“Jail,” I said, and I didn’t feel an ounce of guilt for the lie when Jenna sagged against me in relief. “He won’t be able to bail out either. The judge denied bond for him.”

“I bet that made his family happy,” she said, snorting. “The doctors said I can go home in an hour.”

I picked up her hand that rested between us. Pressing a kiss to the back of her knuckles, I rubbed them with the pad of my thumb.

“I talked to Owen,” I said.

“About us?” Jenna asked.

“Yes, about us,” I said, twining my fingers through hers. “He understands that you aren’t going to replace his mother. I’ll explain the rest later when he’s old enough to understand it.”

Jenna was quiet for a long time as we both watched the television for a few moments, leaning up against one another. She eventually looked down at our twined hands. Taking a deep breath, Jenna looked back up at me. “I wanted to move away earlier today because I was afraid of how I felt about you.”

The soft confession didn’t surprise me. I had felt that same overwhelming urge several times to put distance between us before either one of us could get hurt.

“I don’t think either one of us expected this to happen,” I said.

“No,” she murmured in agreement. “I didn’t expect it at all. What do we do?”

“For starters,” I said, smoothing a few stray hairs back from Jenna’s slender face, “we can talk about you permanently staying at my house.” I caught her wide-eyed stare and added, “If you are comfortable with that. I won’t force you into anything.”

“I want to,” Jenna said. “I’m just amazed that you are offering to let me to stay there with you, as you’re…”

She trailed off uncertainly, looking at me for help.

“I’m not one for titles,” I said. “Dating isn’t even something I want to consider. You’re with me, and I’m with you. Is that a good enough explanation for you?”

Jenna smiled brightly at me before her face crumpled in pain. I rubbed her shoulders soothingly as she regained her composure.

“I was going to kiss you,” she said. “I can’t smile without hurting.”

I grinned at her. “You have plenty of time to kiss me all you want starting when we leave this hospital room.”

Jenna sighed loudly.

“My mother is going to be exasperated when I tell her that I’m selling the house after all,” she said.

“We’ll deal with it together,” I said. “You won’t have far to move this time.”

She pressed a soft kiss to the center of my cheek. “Thank God for that.”

 

 

 

Chapter Twenty-One

Jenna

 

 

One year later

 

The trees were splashed with fiery oranges and yellows when I stepped out into the chilly afternoon air. A wetness coated the ground from the recent bout of rain. Everything felt crisp and ready for fall. Soon the leaves would fall and even Lone Tree would be bare for the upcoming winter.

The passenger door opened. I turned to see Owen slipping out of the car while trying to fumble with the zipper of his sweater. Crouching down, I helped him work the zipper up with a smile.

“Keep your sweater on,” I said. “It’s going to be cold all day. The summer days are gone.”

Owen pouted unhappily at that. “I want to go back to the ocean then where it’s warm, and where my mommy lives.”

I opened my mouth to reply, but it was Derek who beat me to it. He came around the front of the car to place a hand on my shoulder as I rose from my crouching position. He gave Owen a stern glance.

“We talked about that, bud. You can visit your mommy for Thanksgiving this year.”

“Fine,” he puffed out dramatically. “I guess that’ll do. I don’t like the cold here.”

“Me either,” I said, shivering against the crisp air. “Let’s go inside to eat. My mom is waiting from what I can see.”

Owen darted up the stretch of stone steps that led to the small restaurant in Lone Tree that all the retirees visited daily. It did have good food despite the “old people” smell, as Owen had put it one time. He had bonded, though, with my mother, who enjoyed having him around. “He reminds me of you as a child,” she’d tell me, beaming happily.

Derek guided me along the stone steps with his hand resting on the curve of my lower back. It felt nice to be guided and protected as we followed Owen up into the restaurant. The second I walked through the patio doors, I reared back in surprise to see the entire dining area decorated with balloons and flowers.

My mother stood in the center of it all, dressed in loose trousers and a coffee-colored cashmere sweater.

“There you two are!” she exclaimed, resting her hands on Owen’s shoulders. “You’re late, Derek. What took you so long?”

“We hit traffic,” Derek said, pushing me through the doors so he could shut them behind us.

I caught sight of the word “Congratulations” on a balloon floating in the back. It made perfect sense then why Derek had insisted on seeing my mother this weekend. I turned to look at him, and he smiled innocently.

“You know about this?” I asked, scowling. “You know I hate surprise parties like this.”

He didn’t reply. Instead, he pushed me forward into the center of the room where everyone shook my hand. My mother tugged me into a tight embrace.

“I’m so proud of you, Jenna,” she said, beaming at me through tears in her eyes. “You must feel proud for finally finishing your bachelor’s degree.”

Embarrassed from all the attention, I patted my mom on the shoulder awkwardly as she guided us into the room to sit down at a table. I did feel proud, but a surprise congratulations party was a bit over the top in my opinion. I kept that to myself though, because I knew Derek and Owen had also planned everything.

My stomach churned queasily at the faint smell of garlic and butter. I looked over at Derek as he took a seat next to me, placing a reassuring hand on my knee underneath the table.

“Breathe,” he said, squeezing a lemon into my water. “Try drinking some water to fight the nausea.”

“Nausea?” Anna turned to look at Derek. She immediately placed a fretting hand on my forehead, much to my annoyance. “She doesn’t feel warm. You didn’t tell me she felt sick.”

“I’m fine,” I grumbled, swatting her hand away. “Don’t worry about it, Mom. This is really nice. Thank you.”

“I like all the balloons,” Owen said, happily tugging at the string of one. “I helped pick out all the balloons for you, Jenna.”

“Thank you,” I said sincerely. “I really like all of them. We can see how many we can pile into the car afterward.”

Once Owen was occupied with talking with my mother, I leaned into Derek’s side to whisper in his ear. “You could’ve warned me about this. You know I don’t feel good right now.”

His fingers squeezed my knee. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t find a way to tell your mother no. If I said anything, she would’ve figured it out. Speaking of that”—he paused, leaning forward to press a kiss to my lips that instantly soothed my already bad mood from trying to find something to wear that fit— “when do you want to tell everyone?”

“Well, I—”

“Tell everyone what?” Anna asked. She was far too perceptive sometimes.

I turned to glare at her as she hovered above me again. “I’m going to turn that hearing aid off. It makes you prone to eavesdropping.”

“You sure are moody for a joyous occasion,” she replied, frowning down at me.

I didn’t know what to say to that. The wheels in my mother’s brain were already turning rapidly. Then realization filled her eyes.

“Oh my!” she said, one hand clutching at her chest. “Please me tell that what I’m thinking is right.”

I looked over Derek, who didn’t even bother hiding that charming and knee-trembling grin of his. Pride flashed in his eyes. He reached up to cover the small bump I had strategically hidden underneath a loose and oversized sweater.

“You’re thinking right,” he said. “There’s a baby bump that is making Jenna a horrible grump today.”

I rolled my eyes in exasperation at that before I was embraced again by my mother, who was practically bouncing in her heels from excitement. It was a right damn miracle that Owen hadn’t told her yet. He was excited to have a sibling to play with.

“I didn’t tell,” Owen said proudly. “I kept the promise like you and Dad asked.”

Derek reached over to ruffle his hair fondly. “You did good, Son. I’m proud of you for keeping quiet.”

My mother sidled down into the chair next to me as a waiter arrived with a platter of various fruits and cheeses. She placed a hand on my stomach with a happy grin.

“When is the due date?” she asked.

“May 24th,” I said. “I’m nearly out of my first trimester.”

“After everything that has happened,” Anna started whimsically. She smiled over at Derek, who returned it. “I’m so happy for you both. A baby and a future wedding to plan.”

“You only like Derek because he got me to complete college,” I said, but a grin tugged at my lips as well.

Even if I felt sick to my stomach, and unable to fit into my clothes, it was hard to contain the joy and happiness I felt. I stared down at my left hand, where the overhead lights sparkled off the ring there. It still felt bizarre and good at the same time to have a ring there.

“At least he got you to,” she replied, sniffing back tears again. “I’m just happy that everything worked the way it has for you. The both of you are blessed with Derek taking on that job as a lead investigator for a private firm, and finishing school after so long…” Anna sighed in relief and sat back to fan herself. “I’m just so relieved too. A baby. A baby. So many changes that I hope you both are ready for.”

I reached over to grasp Derek’s hand. He smiled at me in faint amusement as he gave my fingers a tender squeeze.

“Ready for those changes, Mr. Summers?” I asked teasingly.

He winked at me playfully. “More than you know, Mrs. Summers.”

 

THE END

 

***