Beautifully Damaged (7 page)

"I wanted to help."

I watched as his fists clenched and saw that he was trying really hard to control his temper when he said, "I should get you home."

At that moment the owner of the gallery came out to see what was happening. Trace walked over to him, they spoke softly for a few minutes before the man walked over to the woman and helped her to her feet. Two others came out to watch over the unconscious man so he couldn't run off after he came to.

"Let's get you inside and call the police." He then looked over at Trace.

"I'll see you when you get back."

I heard the woman offer her thanks to Trace but looking at him I could tell he wasn't really there anymore. Whatever put that empty look in his eyes was consuming his thoughts. He walked over to me and reached for my hand as he said, "This was not how I saw the evening ending."

"Why does it have to end?" I asked.

He stopped walking and looked down at me and when he answered his voice was whisper-soft.

"I'll not be very good company."

I didn't think, only acted on impulse, as I stepped into him and wrapped my arms around his waist. "You did a good thing here tonight, Trace."

I felt his hesitancy and then those arms wrapped around me and held me close. When he spoke there was anger laced through his words.

"And you did a stupid thing walking into something blindly."

"I acted without thinking. I was worried about you."

That had him pulling away from me so he could look at me incredulously.

"Why?"

I didn't understand his question. "Why was I worried about you?"

"Yes." He acted as if the very notion was completely unbelievable so I answered with all honesty.

"Because I care about you."

He didn't say anything just continued to look at me like I had six heads. He pulled me back into his arms pressing me as close to him as possible.

"I should get you home."

"Thank you for tonight, Trace."

His lips brushed along my jaw as he whispered, "Thank you."

I was lying in my bed the next day reading but I couldn't really focus on the book because my mind kept turning to Trace. I couldn't stop thinking about him. Yes, I was wildly attracted to him but it was the lost, vacant look that I'd seen in his eyes at the gallery and the rage I saw later in the parking lot that occupied my thoughts.

There was a dark side to Trace Montgomery. It should be my clue to stay away but, despite that darkness, my gut was telling me there was so much more to him than the callous, womanizing hot-head that he was rumored to be -- that there was a really good man underneath.

My phone rang and I answered it without looking but was ridiculously happy to hear Trace on the other end.

"Hi, Ember. Are you busy?"

"Trace, hi. No, I'm not busy."

He was silent for a moment before he offered softly, "I'm sorry about cutting the night short last night."

"It's alright. Are you okay? I kind of got the sense that there was more going on in that parking lot, well, more than you rearranging that sick bastard's face."

Silence met that question and I thought he wasn't going to answer me but he surprised me when he said, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"I'm not asking you to share your past with me, Trace, but if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here."

A warmth came into his voice when he replied, "Thank you, Ember."

There was silence over the line for a few moments before Trace asked, "I wondered if tonight I could make up for last night?"

"There's nothing to make up but I'd like to see you."

"Dress casually and I'll see you at five."

"See you then."

Promptly at five, the bell sounded and I pulled open the door to find Trace standing there with a smile on his face. He was dressed in faded jeans, a black t-shirt and a leather jacket. The sight of him had me just staring speechlessly. I managed to pull my eyes back to his face and saw a heated look in his eyes.

"You look beautiful, Ember."

I blushed and felt my face burn from it, which only made Trace grin as he reached for my hand.

"Are you ready?"

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

I let him pull me down the hall as I offered, "I like surprises."

We climbed onto his bike and drove outside the city towards the suburbs. About half an hour later I saw the lights in the distance as a smile spread over my face. We parked and I climbed from the bike and pulled off my helmet just as Trace came to stand at my side.

"The fair -- we're going to the fair?" I asked and I didn't bother to hide my joy because I loved the fair.

"Yes."

"How do you know I'm a fair-junkie?"

"I guessed," he said as he reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a box with a pair of black, Doc Marten boots in my size.

"I don't think your Converses are going to fare very well."

"How do you know my foot size?"

"Another guess."

His hands wrapped around my waist and he lifted me onto the seat of his bike.

Hold on, Ember," he said and I watched as those wonderful hands lifted my foot, slipped the Converse off and rubbed my heel, and arch. My eyes closed from the sheer ecstasy of his touch. His fingers caressed every inch of my foot before he pulled on the boot and tied up the laces. He finished and moved to the other foot to which he paid equal attention. I contemplated a scientific study of foot-massages and the loss of brain cells, since I was feeling pretty mindless at that moment.

"Ready?"

"Um." I was lucky not to drool and roll my eyes into the back of my head. He grinned as he reached for my hand to link our fingers before pulling me along.

"Do you mind if we do the Ferris wheel first?"

I smiled as my heart hiccuped because the Ferris wheel was my absolute favorite. "Not at all."

He paid for the tickets and helped me into the chair. As soon as we were seated, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close.

"Are you cold?"

Being so close to him, I was more likely to ignite, not freeze. "No."

As the ride began its slow, circular spin, I studied Trace and the boyishness about him that I found to be absolutely charming. He caught me staring at him and before I could turn my head he leaned over and brushed his lips over mine having the effect of the back of my head blowing off.

The thought popped into my head that if Trace and I ever actually had sex, I'd probably explode, literally, but somehow I knew it would be so worth it. His hand moved to cradle the back of my head and when that mouth settled more firmly over mine, yup, I felt my blood begin to burn, but oh my.

He didn't take the kiss deeper; he seemed perfectly content to feast on my lips and I felt myself melting. He pulled back and his eyes were darker and burning with desire but there was something else there, too -- something infinitely darker that sent chills of anticipation skirting down my spine. His thumb rubbed over my lower lip as he held my gaze.

Before I could embarrass myself by doing something truly appalling like launching myself at him, the ride stopped. We climbed from the ride before Trace reached for my hand and linked our fingers. It was perfect, walking hand in hand, with Trace as we slowly strolled around the fairgrounds.

At one point we passed a cotton candy stand. "Oh, we have to get some," I said, which was met by a blank stare from Trace. I turned more fully to him and held his blank expression.

"Have you never had cotton candy?"

"No," he replied and I couldn't have been more shocked by his answer.

"Never?"

"No."

"Well, that's a crime. Come, let me introduce you to spun sugar."

I reached for his large hand, which he wrapped around mine, and I felt a connection to him that went deeper than the physical one. We approached the stand and I held up the money to the kid working the machine.

"One, please."

It was huge, the mound the kid spun for us, with enough sugar to satisfy even my sweet tooth. Trace and I stepped away from the stand and I held the cloud of blue sugar up to him.

"Just pull off a hunk."

As he reached for the cotton candy, I watched him and noticed an almost boyishness about him. I couldn't help the pang of sadness that filled me as I wondered how a man approaching thirty could never have experienced cotton candy. My eyes stayed on his as the spun sugar disappeared into his mouth.

"It dissolves," he said mostly to himself and then he sought and found my gaze as a smile spread over his face.

"It's delicious!"

I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to do that more than I wanted to take my next breath.

"Hold this for a second?" I asked. He took the cotton candy from me and I stepped into him resting my hands on his shoulders as I lifted myself up on my tip toes before I pressed my mouth to his. I tilted my head and wrapped his face in my hands as I licked his lower lip. I heard him growl deep in his throat before his arms came around me and pulled me close. My tongue sought entrance and when he parted for me, I tasted him fully, running my tongue over his, licking the roof of his mouth as I lost myself in him. I pulled my mouth from his and he tightened his arms around me in response. I had the sense that he didn't want to let me go and I ran my lips under his jaw, trailing them down his neck before I forced myself to take a step away from him.

I held his gaze before I whispered, "You're delicious."

His eyes flashed before he pulled me to him and kissed me hard on the mouth. He released me but it took a minute for my eyes to open because -- oh my -- the man knew how to kiss. When I did finally look at him he was watching me with a tender look on his face. He reached for my hand and linked our fingers.

"Shall we?"

I smiled in reply and for the next hour we rode practically every ride. The rides were broken down when the fair moved from location to location and I must say that I felt scared for our safety. Being with Trace though, feeling his solid strength next to me, helped to alleviate some of my fears. After the rides we tried our hands at some of the games. Trace was remarkably good at the shooting games and when he handed me the large stuffed bear I felt tears prickling the back of my eyes.

We were making our way through the crowds when we saw a little girl. Her face was scrunched up as tears streamed down her face. It only took a second to realize what happened. Her doll was swimming in a puddle of mud. Her parents were trying to console her but she was heart-broken, and remembering that age, I understood her pain. Trace looked down at me and though he didn't say anything, I knew what he wanted, and I felt my heart trip in my chest at his compassion. I handed my doll to him as a smile touched his lips. He ran his finger down my cheek as his eyes held mine and then he turned and started for the little girl. I saw the silent question that he directed at her parents and when they smiled and nodded he knelt down next to her. I couldn't hear him but I saw the smile that spread over the little girl's face as she wrapped her arms around the bear. He stood then and turned back to me. I met him halfway and wrapped my arms around his waist. His arms came around me as he pressed a kiss to my head. His lips brushed over my ear when he asked, "Are you hungry?"

I looked up at him and smiled.

"Yes."

He took my hand and led me towards the concession stands but my thoughts were on him. His reaction to that little girl had been a gut-instinct and that gesture of kindness was completely in contradiction to his reputation. His behavior both that day and the day before only confirmed for me what I had already suspected. The image he allowed everyone to see was just that, an image. The real Trace Montgomery was far more complicated and I feared that underneath his seemingly put together and beautiful outer package existed a damaged soul.

We reached one of the food trucks and he stopped and looked at me with the most charming expression on his face.

"Tell me, Ember, what's it gonna be: chili dogs or funnel cakes for dinner?"

I couldn't help the smile as I replied, "Can't we have both?"

He pulled me closer before he said, "I was hoping you would say that."

The following night Lena extended the olive branch and invited me to go out with her and Todd. I was touched by her invitation until we reached the little hole-in-the-wall club and realized we were only there because of a back-room poker-game. As soon as we arrived, Todd disappeared and stayed gone for quite a while. Could Lena not see that her boyfriend was a loser? Was this how all of her dates went? Did she not see that the love of her life didn't seem all that eager to spend time with her? Or, to be fair, he liked gambling more than he liked her. Since I didn't know the answers to those questions, I asked.

"Does he usually leave you alone?"

"Just stop, Ember. At least I'm dating."

"I'm not judging you, Lena, but it seems to me that you sitting here alone hardly qualifies as a date."

Her eyes narrowed at me as she leaned over the table. I knew she was thinking how absurd it was of me to be giving relationship advice to her when I lacked experience but it didn't take a shrink to see that Todd was all wrong for her.

"I don't claim to be an expert but I do know that Todd's taking you out and leaving you so he can gamble is not a healthy relationship."

"Whatever."

I leaned back in my chair in an attempt to reign in my temper that was stirring to life. I couldn't reason with her since she absolutely refused to open her fucking eyes. My dad's warning played in my head and, damn, if the man wasn't right. I wanted to leave but I felt bad leaving her here, alone, in not-so-safe a place. What kind of guy brought his girlfriend to a place like this only to leave her alone to fend for herself? A gambling jackass, that's who. I didn't voice any of this to Lena and instead just sat in silence.

My phone buzzed -- signaling an incoming text -- and I saw it was Trace, my mind shifted gears as a smile touched my lips. I was falling -- hard -- for the man that Trace was allowing me to see.

Are you free tonight?