Elijah: The Boss's Gift (12 page)

He gripped the back of her head, holding her in place
as he took over the kiss, deepening his touch.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said.

Closing her eyes, she gave herself up to the pleasure
of his touch. She forgot everything else and held him tightly.

She didn’t know how much time had passed before he
released her. “That’s how I want you to kiss me from now on.”

Her lips tingled from his touch. She nodded her head,
unable to argue with him.

“Go. I’ll be down in a moment.”

Cherry got to her feet, heading downstairs into the
kitchen. Her heart was pounding. Where Elijah said he only cared about her,
Cherry knew she was in love with him.

****

Later that morning Elijah stared at the house the
twins shared. They were both mechanics and didn’t have a record to their name.
Henry sat beside him, and Caleb was in the back.

“You didn’t have to come,” Elijah said, looking into
the back. The whole journey Caleb had tried to talk him out of coming here
today. These were the final men he needed to see. He had a deal to stick to.
The twins were safe so long as their crime ended with Cherry.

Rubbing at his temples, Elijah waited for the anger to
come to him. Nothing happened. She’d not even cared about these two men. The
door to the house opened, and he saw two men, identical, carrying out bags of
trash. They were laughing at something, and he didn’t know what, nor did he
care.

“Shall I turn the car around?” Henry asked.

“No.”

Elijah opened the car door, climbing out of the
vehicle. Neither man spotted him. Crossing the road he heard Caleb and Henry
climbing out behind him. These two men would easily hurt Cherry. She was so
small in comparison to them.

It was a long time ago.

Henry had done a thorough background check on them,
and it had come up clean.

“Good morning, gentlemen,” Elijah said, stepping in
front of the man.

“Hi,” one on the right said.

“Can we help you?” This came from the one on the left.

“Actually, you can. I want to talk to you about a
mutual friend,
an
… acquaintance.”

The left looked him up and down, assessing him. “I
doubt we’ve got the same friends in common.”

“Cherry Morgan, she’s our mutual friend.”

Both men knew her, and they remembered her. What
surprised Elijah more was the shame on both of their faces.

“I think it’s best if you come inside.”

“I’ve got two friends with me.” Henry and Caleb walked
up behind him. “Are they invited in as well?”

“Yes.”

He followed the two men inside. Neither of them showed
any signs of being a threat. Henry was the one to close the door. The two men
entered a sitting room, both of them taking a seat.

“How is Cherry? Is she well? I’m Bradley, and that’s
Daniel.”
The one who’d been on the left spoke.

“She’s well.” Elijah took a seat, staring at both men.

Daniel stared at Elijah, the shame so easy to see.
“You’re here on her behalf? Does she need anything? Want anything?”

“You want to know if she wants you to hand yourself in
for raping her all those years
ago?
”

Both men’s cheeks went a bright shade of red. If it
was left to Elijah he would kill both men.

“It didn’t get that far,” Bradley said.

“It doesn’t matter. We were close, Brad. We fucked up,
and she was scared. We were fucking idiots.” Daniel rested his elbows on his
arms.

“What do you mean?”

“We were joking around with her. She was beautiful,
all that blonde hair, and she had big tits.” Daniel stopped talking, closing
his eyes. “Didn’t she tell you all of it?”

“All of what?” Elijah was starting to wonder about
Cherry. She’d not said anything against them, not really. She had asked him not
to come, but he’d been determined.

“It was a game. We were tormenting her about her
breasts and hair. The guys at school wanted her, and I don’t know what
happened,” Bradley said.

“We attacked her. I’ll never forget how much she
screamed, but it was like something snapped in my head.”

Bradley and Daniel shared a look.

“We didn’t do anything because our dad found us before
we could. He protected Cherry by getting her away from us. That day he took her
back to the foster home with an apology. When he got home, he took the belt to
us. He taught us the hard way that when a woman or girl says no, we were to
fucking listen. We’ve never forgotten.” Daniel finished talking. “Is she okay?
Does she want us to confess? We’ve been wondering for a long time if we should
find her. Dad, he told us not to.”

“You’ve not raped another woman or forced her?” Elijah
asked.

“No.
Never.”

Tapping his fingers on his leg, Elijah still wanted to
hurt the men for scaring Cherry. Boys made mistakes, and their father handled
it. Getting to his feet, he started toward the door.

“Please tell her we’re sorry. It was never supposed to
happen.”

He shook his head. Climbing into the backseat of the
car, he waited for Caleb and Henry to join him. No one spoke as Henry started
up the car.

Minutes passed before Caleb spoke up. “Donna’s invited
you around for Sunday lunch.”

“I’m not going to make it. I’m spending the day with
Mindy and Cherry.” He rubbed at his temples. “Take me straight home.” He should
probably stop by Marcel’s place to handle another coke deal, but he wasn’t in
the mood for business.

He listened to the two men in the front of the car
making plans. Neither of them seemed
put
out by what
just happened. For the first time in his life, Elijah had simply walked away.
Cherry asked him not to hurt them, and he hadn’t. The anger he was known for
hadn’t risen to take care of them.

Three hours later Henry dropped him off outside of his
home. Elijah stopped when he saw Cherry’s car in the driveway. Why was she
home?

Entering his home, he walked down the hall only to
stop at the dining room. Cherry sat at the table. She held a cup to her chest,
and she stared at him.

“What are you doing home?”

“I dropped Mindy off at school. I had no intention of
going to college today, especially knowing where you were going.”

“I don’t want to do this, Cherry.”

“You want to see the twins.
Bradley
and Daniel.”
She didn’t move from her seat, and he watched her take a
sip of her drink. “Did you get everything you wanted out of today?”

“Why didn’t you just tell me all of it?”

“You were intent on hurting everyone. There are some
men that have already paid the price for what they did. You needed to see that.”

“How did you know they paid?”

“Their father came to visit me before I was moved to
another home. He apologized for the way their sons behaved. Not only did he
apologize but he also filmed them saying sorry. He taught them a lesson they
would never forget. He wanted to take me home with him, but he didn’t want to
put me in danger.” Cherry smiled. “He told me that I could call him the next
time an asshole thought they could put a hand on me. He’d be there to help.”

“Both men wanted me to tell you that they were sorry.”

Cherry smiled. “I already know they were. Their dad
put the belt to them and possibly worse. They were punished when they were
younger. They don’t need to be punished anymore.”

 
Elijah left her
side and walked back to his office. He grabbed the file containing all of her
information. “Here, that is everything I have on you.”

She took the file from his fingers.

“I won’t go hunting anymore. I promise you. I need a
drink.” He left the room, going through to his office again to pour himself a
generous shot of whiskey.

Cherry followed behind him. He watched as she knelt
before the fire on the floor. Sipping at his whiskey he admired her curves in
the skirt she wore. Her full ass was on display, tempting him to touch and play
with.

She put each piece of paper into the fire, watching
them burn.

“Why were you determined to burn this?” he asked.

“This file is only focused on the past. I’m so sick
and tired of living it. I don’t want to think about the past anymore. Wouldn’t
you want to destroy everything that reminded you of those final moments with
your wife?” She glanced back at him.

“Yes.”

“I’m not just a number or a bunch of papers with facts
on. This doesn’t tell you anything about me.”

“It told me you were a survivor.”

“Everyone is a survivor, Elijah. Some people just have
to fight a little harder than others. I’ve had to fight a lot, but I don’t have
to keep fighting for what I want.”

She placed the folder into the fire, poking away at
the ashes. This was her past gone up in smoke.

Elijah was happy to be part of the burning of her
past. He was going to concentrate on her future with him and, he hoped, a baby.

Chapter Nine

Three weeks after moving into Elijah’s room and Cherry
couldn’t believe the change in her life. She’d gone from being a struggling
student making her way in life by cleaning houses, to living in luxury. Elijah
spared no expense to his daughter’s care. They’d become a family who shared a
great deal together.

She cooked meals with Mindy, and they always sat
together. In the mornings Elijah came with her to drive her to school. Since
she’d been living in his home, she’d also convinced him to allow Mindy to have
friends over. It had really brought the girl out of her shell. She was far
happier with life than Cherry remembered in the short time she’d known her.

“It’s Friday night, Mindy. You demand me home,” Elijah
said, glaring at his daughter.

Cherry stared at her study book not really paying any
attention as Mindy argued with Elijah.

“I know, but this is really important. It’s my first
ever sleepover. Please don’t spoil this for me.”

“Spoil it for you?”

“Yes. We can do family night next week, or tomorrow.
Don’t you want to have some time alone with Cherry?”

Elijah glanced over at her.

Holding her hands up, Cherry shook her head. “I’m so
not getting involved with this. It’s between you and her.”

“You can go,” Elijah said, without arguing.

“Really?”

“Don’t make me change my mind.”

Mindy threw her arms around him. “Thank you, thank
you,
thank
you.”

“I get it, you’re thankful.”

The young girl ran out of the room screaming about how
she was going to get ready.

“You’re letting her go for a sleepover. This is a big
step for you,” Cherry said, resting her chin on her hand.

“Well, I already knew they were planning it. John called
me in warning. I just wanted her to fight for what she wanted.” Elijah leaned
down and picked up a bag. “I’ve got plans for us tonight.”

She took the bag from him, opening it up to see a red
silk dress. “Where are we going?”

“To Ecstasy.
It’s time I showed you what having fun is all about.”

Putting the dress away, Cherry swallowed down the lump
in her throat.

Mindy ran downstairs minutes later with her bag packed
ready to leave. She hugged Elijah then pulled Cherry in for a cuddle as well.

“I’ll see you
both tomorrow
afternoon
. Bye.”

Following Elijah they watched Mindy climb into the
back of John’s car.

“He knows to keep an eye on her?”

“Yes, he knows to keep an eye on her.” Elijah waved as
Mindy waved vigorously back. “She’s staying over, and it won’t be long before
she’s wanting
to go out and date.”

“How are you going to handle the boys sniffing around
your daughter?” Cherry asked.

“Simple, I’ll shoot them.”

She chuckled.

“Go and get dressed. I want to take you out dancing.
Leave your hair down.”

“Okay, bossy.”

Gripping the bag, she made her way upstairs aware of
his gaze on her. She entered their bedroom, going for the shower. Cherry took
her time trying to stem the excitement of going out dancing. She’d never been
dancing before. Once she was washed, she blow dried her hair and then stepped
into the dress. There was a zipper at the back, and when she turned, she found
Elijah leaning against the doorframe. His arms were folded over his chest.

“How long have you been standing there watching?”

“Long enough to
debate fucking you before we leave.”