Sweet Temptation (28 page)

“I was always the strong one. It’s what I wanted. It’s what she wanted. She had me and David to protect her, to take care of her.”

“But no one ever took care of you,” she said softly.

“No,” he agreed. “I didn’t think I wanted it. But now . . .”

She raised her head to stare down at him, her hair falling over his chest, still damp. “Now?” she whispered.

“You make me want. You make me want things I’ve never wanted. How is that possible? The idea of sharing myself so deeply with another person. Of trusting them to see me ...”

“Vulnerable?”

He nodded, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed.

“I’m vulnerable too, Micah. Always with you. Only with you. Is it so wrong for you to be vulnerable to someone who cares so much about you?”

“Yes,” he said painfully. “I don’t want to ever give someone that kind of power to destroy me.”

She leaned down to kiss him. His hands gripped her shoulders and he pulled her closer, his mouth melting over hers in a warm, sweet rush.

It was she who took control of the kiss. She touched his cheek, in a loving gesture, stroking as her tongue swept over his, light and soothing. She inhaled deeply, holding his scent, letting it wash through her quivering nostrils.

Though he wouldn’t say it, wouldn’t admit it, his actions screamed louder than the boldest of words. He cared. Maybe too much. Maybe not enough. But when he touched her, all she felt was the most exquisite rush of love. It filled her with hope, made her heart ache.

She rotated, sliding her leg over his body, her lips never leaving his. Only when she’d straddled him did she break away.

She slid back until his cock jutted upward against her belly. She stroked lightly, running her fingers up and down the steel length. Then she rose up and tucked it into place. Slowly, reverently, she lowered herself onto his erection.

Their harsh breathing filled the air. She trembled. He shook. He reached for her waist, holding tight. She fell forward, bracing her hands against his chest.

When she was seated fully, she traced a path down his chest with her fingers, touching, loving. So soft, as if she could instill a hundred years’ worth of love in just a few moments’ time. She rolled her hips, making sweet, slow love to him.

Through half-lidded eyes, he watched her, a glow emanating from his dark depths. Yes, he could say what he want, he could hide behind his fears, but his eyes didn’t lie.

She reached for his hands, pulled them together over her belly and then slid them up her body until she clasped them over her heart.

“I love you, Micah,” she whispered. “You may not want it. You may not need it. But you’ll always have it. It doesn’t come with any strings or expectations. It’s given freely.”

With an agonized groan, he rose up, gathering her in his arms. He buried his face in her neck as he shuddered his release deep into her body.

She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight to her. She soothed her hands over his skin and just held him as he held on to her.

“Don’t love me, Angel.”

She smiled against his hair. “That’s one thing you can’t control, Micah.”

CHAPTER 36

M
icah sat on the edge of the bed watching Angelina sleep. She was sprawled indelicately across the mattress, the sheets tangled at her feet. Her hair spread in a disheveled veil across her pillow, and she looked completely at peace.

When had she managed to creep past his defenses? He almost snorted. What defenses? He didn’t seem to have any where she was concerned.

She loved him. It awed him and scared him shitless. He hadn’t wanted her to love him—she deserved so much better than him—but he wasn’t going to lie to himself. Her love restored life to parts of him that had died with Hannah.

An ache started low in his gut when he thought of Hannah. So young and beautiful. So full of life. His only comfort was that she hadn’t gone alone. David had been there with her, had gone with her. And Micah had been the one left alone.

And you left Angelina alone.

The thought was a fist to the gut. He’d spent so much time alternately grieving for and being angry at Hannah because she’d left him. And then he’d done the same thing to Angelina. Hannah hadn’t had a choice, but he had.

His cell phone rang, and he reached to grab it off the nightstand so it wouldn’t wake Angelina. He moved away from the bed as he flipped it open.

“Hello,” he said in a low voice.

“Micah, this is Chad. Look I have some stuff you need to see. Is there somewhere we can meet?”

Micah shook his head in confusion. “Where are you?”

“In a cab. I flew into Bush half an hour ago. I think I have our guy.”

Adrenaline surged in Micah’s veins. “You know who it is?”

“Yeah, I think so. Now we just have to find him. I brought all the information I could dig up on him with me. Can we hook up somewhere?”

“Yeah, sure. Look, give the cabdriver this address. Have him bring you here.” Micah relayed the address to The House. “Thanks a lot, Chad. I owe you one, buddy.”

“No problem. David was my friend too. I looked out for Angelina the best I could after he died.”

“Yeah, I know,” Micah said quietly.

He hung up and went back to the bed where Angelina was now propped up, her eyes sleepy and her hair falling in waves over her shoulders.

“Who was that?” she said in a drowsy voice.

“Chad. He’s on his way here. He thinks he knows who our guy is.”

Her eyes widened. “That’s great! I mean, I guess it is. Will you be able to find him?”

“Just having a lead on his identity will give us plenty to work with. We can track him then. Learn his habits, his quirks, find out if he has any connections here. If he’s used any credit cards. Yeah, we’ll get him, baby. Don’t worry.”

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “You should probably get dressed. He’ll be here in half an hour.”

He got up and walked toward the door. “I’ll wait downstairs for you. Come down when you’re ready.”

She nodded and he went down the stairs to wait for Chad.

Angelina took her time showering and getting dressed. She was in a mellow mood today and her clothing would reflect it. She chose her most worn pair of jeans—her most comfortable—and a cotton T-shirt that had been washed until it was faded and soft. Not bothering with shoes, she padded down the stairs.

She heard voices from the front sitting room, so she ventured in there. Micah and Chad were sitting across from each other and both looked up when she entered.

Micah stood, as did Chad, and she went to stand next to Micah. It was automatic, and he pulled her into his side, a gesture that comforted her.

“Hi, Chad,” she said softly.

He smiled warmly at her. “Hey, kiddo. You doing okay?”

She nodded. “Micah said you’ve found him?”

“Yeah, we were just getting to that.”

Chad pulled out a folder and handed it to Micah. What happened next was a blur. One moment Micah was flipping open the folder, and the next Chad whipped out his pistol and hit Micah in the back of the head.

Micah went down, blood spilling from the wound on his head. Angelina’s knees buckled, and she dropped down next to Micah, her hands going to his shoulders.

“Oh my God, what are you doing?” she screamed up at Chad.

Chad pointed the gun at Micah, his eyes so cold she shivered.

“Get up, Angelina. Do it now.”

“What is wrong with you? I need to call an ambulance. Are you
crazy?”

The realization was slow to come, but when it did, it hit her like a sledgehammer. Her gaze flicked to the open folder lying next to Micah on the floor. It held empty sheets of paper. There was nothing there. It was all a trick.

She stared in horror at Chad. Nausea bubbled in her stomach. “It was you,” she whispered. “You’re the creep who’s been stalking me.”

“Not stalking. I never stalked you.”

“What the hell would you call it then?” she spit out. “You made my life hell. I lived in constant fear. I had to pack up and move in the middle of the night.”

“You should have come to me,” he said calmly. “I took good care of you. For a little while you leaned on me. You should have seen that I was perfect for you.”

Oh, sweet Jesus. He was insane. Out of his ever-loving mind, and now Micah lay on the floor with a head injury.

“Get out of the way, Angelina. I don’t want to accidentally shoot you when I shoot him.”

Terror blew through her chest, robbing her of breath. He was utterly serious. There was no emotion, no reaction in his eyes. He would calmly kill Micah without a second thought. Unless she could stop him.

She rose to her feet, careful to keep her body in between Chad and Micah. Her knees shook, her palms were sweaty, and if she so much as breathed wrong, she was going to puke.

“Please don’t kill him, Chad,” she said in her softest voice. “I’ll go with you. I’ll be whatever you want me to be. We can be together. I won’t fight you. But don’t kill him.”

His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he stared at her, but the gun never moved. “I’m supposed to trust you? After you betrayed me by sleeping with him? You’ve been holed up here acting as his sex toy for weeks now.”

“I didn’t know it was you. You should have realized what a crush I had on you. Why do you think I went to you for help? But you ignored me. You treated me like a kid sister. Like David’s sister. What was I supposed to think?”

“Why do you care what happens to him then?”

Angelina glanced down at Micah and prayed he was still alive, that she could buy him enough time.

“He was David’s best friend. And if you kill him, you’ll go to prison for murder. How can we be together then? You’ll leave me just like Micah left me, like David and Hannah left me. I’m tired of being left behind, Chad. If you care for me like you say you do, then you won’t leave me either.”

His eyes flickered and he slowly lowered the gun. She held her breath as tension knotted her belly. Then he gestured toward the door.

“Let’s go.”

“I need my stuff. My clothes. It’s all upstairs.”

Suspicion glittered in his eyes again, and his lip curled upward in a snarl.

“Forget it. I’ll provide you what you need. For now we’re getting out of here.”

Swallowing back the stark terror that swelled in her throat, she took a step forward and made herself not look back at Micah. It would enrage Chad, and she needed him calm if she ever hoped to escape him.

He took her arm roughly with his free hand and kept the gun pointed at her side as they walked out of The House.

Sunlight accosted her vision and she winced, blinking away the brightness. She stumbled when he yanked her forward. How could this be such an utterly gorgeous day when her entire world had gone to hell in a matter of seconds?

“Get in,” he ordered.

She stood inside the open car door and everything inside her balked at getting into this vehicle.

Like the cop he was, he put his hand on her head and shoved her down into the car just like she was some criminal he was arresting.

The magnitude of her situation slammed into her brain with the force of a hurricane. She was being kidnapped by a lunatic cop. Crazy or not, he was a good cop. He’d be hard to find. He knew how cops thought.

She clamped her lips shut to quell the desperate moan that threatened to escape.

Think, Angelina. Keep your cool.

Chad slid in beside her, and to her relief his gun was at least holstered. To her dismay he clapped one cuff around her wrist and proceeded to secure the other cuff to his.

“Just in case you get any stupid ideas,” he said as he yanked her arm forward so he could start the engine.

“Where are we going?” she asked with fake calm.

He drove onto the highway, ignoring her question. There was sick determination on his face, and she knew no one was going to find them. If she was going to get out of this alive, she was going to have to do it herself.

Real calm descended over her. Her mind quit screaming. Her gut, which was knotted in worry over Micah, loosened, and she began to think. Really think.

Images from when David had taught her self-defense at the gym came to mind. He stood over her, making her repeat her moves until she was sore and exhausted.

You can beat anyone if you use your head. Intelligence always beats brawn. No matter how small you are or how big the guy, you can find a way to win, Angelina. You just have to outwit him.

Chad drove on, obeying all the speed limits. He was careful not to bring attention to them. He made all the correct stops. In fact he looked decidedly casual, one arm on the steering wheel in a nonchalant manner. He firmly believed he was invincible. He’d won. He’d gotten the girl.

Or so he thinks.

Somehow, someway, she was would escape. She only prayed she would get an early opportunity, before she had to endure whatever he had in mind for her.

CHAPTER 37

M
icah stirred and was immediately assaulted by a rush of pain so intense that he gagged, which only made the pain in his head all the more vicious.

He tried to force himself up, but his arms and legs wouldn’t cooperate. Beside him, his cell phone lay on the floor, and he stared curiously at it as it wavered in out and out of his vision, so blurred he had to blink to try to bring it back into focus.

And then it came back, sharp, like a lightning bolt. Knowledge exploded through his head and he panted against the pain.

Angelina. Chad. Oh God.

He was an idiot. He’d trusted the wrong person and now Angelina would pay the price.

He closed his eyes and swallowed, forcing himself to focus, to shake off the nausea and the pain. He wiped at his head, and his fingers came away red and sticky with his blood.

With shaking hands he grabbed at his cell phone, swearing when the buttons wouldn’t work right. He punched the speed dial for Connor because he knew he couldn’t navigate through his address book for another number.

“Hey, man,” Connor said, and Micah winced as the too loud voice seemed to crack his skull all over again.

“Chad Devereaux,” Micah rasped. “He has Angelina. Came here. It was him all along.”

“Whoa, back up. First, are you all right? You sound hurt. What the hell happened?”

“Get here,” Micah gritted out. “Need you to call it in. Get everyone looking. Find what you can on him.”

“On it,” Connor said and the line went dead.

Micah dropped the phone and tilted his head back, closing his eyes as an agony of a different kind flooded him.

Bits and pieces of the exchange between Angelina and Chad came back to him. He’d drifted in and out of consciousness, but he’d heard her agree to go with Chad if Chad wouldn’t shoot him.

Fear and rage slashed viciously through his chest. Fear for her. Rage at Chad.

She’d given herself to a man who’d tormented her for a year—to save Micah.

I love you, Micah. You may not want it. You may not need it. But you’ll always have it. It doesn’t come with any strings or expectations. It’s given freely.

Her words hit him like a ton of bricks. She loved him and she’d just sacrificed everything for him.

He’d been so afraid to love again, to open himself up to the kind of pain that came with losing someone. He’d loved Hannah deeply, the kind of love he thought he’d only feel once in his life. And he’d lost her. He hadn’t wanted to love Angelina. Hadn’t wanted to form an emotional attachment to her. He’d lost her anyway.

Shut the fuck up. You haven’t lost her yet. You’ll get her back.

He sagged against the couch and then tried to elbow his way up by putting his arms on the cushions and levering. It took longer than he’d have liked, and he felt like a goddamn wimp, but he finally managed to get himself off the floor.

I’m coming, Angel girl. Don’t give up. I’m coming for you.

Angelina looked up wearily when Chad pulled onto yet another bumpy backwoods road. They’d been driving forever. She’d tried to keep up, to notice road signs, landmarks, but all she knew was that they’d driven north of Houston, and he’d taken her on a veritable maze of unmarked, shabby roads. On purpose she was sure. He wasn’t a man who left anything to chance.

The road narrowed and the surrounding woods grew thicker, until they were following what looked to be an old ATV trail. At the end, they came upon an old frame house that looked like the woods had tried to swallow it up.

Gnarly bushes grew up the sides. Two trees stretched their massive branches over the roof, dipping low as if they’d punch a hole right through it.

The house looked intimidating. It looked isolated. Like it hadn’t been lived in for years.

“How did you find this place?” she asked helplessly.

“Spent a lot of time looking for just the right spot after you left Miami. I knew you’d wind up in Houston sooner or later. You were so transparent. Like a bitch in heat after Hudson. I just had to wait for you to appear.”

She closed her eyes. All that work for nothing. Her predictability and her love for Micah had been her ultimate downfall.

“What are you going to do to me?” she asked calmly. As calmly as she could when she was afraid she’d die. He’d picked the perfect spot. Who would ever find them here? Who would hear her screams? Or a gunshot?

He ignored her question and opened his door. None too gently, he hauled her across the seat, forcing her out his side. Still attached to him by the cuffs, she had no choice but to scramble out or have her arm ripped off. She winced when her bare feet hit the ground and immediately picked up at least three stickers.

He grabbed her arm and propelled her forward, onto the sagging porch and then inside. There was no electricity, probably no running water. The house had been abandoned for years.

Once inside, he fumbled with the cuffs and removed them, but he took his gun out of his holster and kept it up and ready.

“Don’t be stupid. I’ll shoot you before you ever get three steps. You made me a promise. Now let’s see you deliver.”

“What do you want me to deliver, Chad? I told you I’d come. I did. I told you I wouldn’t fight. I haven’t. Now you tell me. What am I supposed to do? What do you want? Did you bring me out here to kill me? Why not just shoot me back there with Micah?”

He curled his hand around her shirt and yanked her to him. He held the gun to her cheek with his other hand, and his breath blew hot over her face as he seethed.

“Don’t push me, Angelina. I’m already pissed at you. You’ve fucked with me for over a year, teasing, making promises you had no intention of keeping. You’re mine now. I’ve run out of patience.”

She gaped at him. The crazy asshole honestly believed she’d somehow led him on some merry chase. He’d made her life hell, forced her to leave Miami and spend many exhausting hours running. He’d drugged her, terrorized her friends and now he’d hurt Micah and kidnapped her.

She wanted to knock the ever-loving shit out of him, but she forced herself to calm. She didn’t have the advantage ... yet. No matter what it took, she had to play it smart and wait for her chance.

“I’m sorry.”

It nearly choked her to say the words and actually sound sincere. But they seemed to have the effect she was going for. He loosened his hold on her and pushed her away.

He circled the room, lighting candles. It was obvious he’d spent time here and arranged everything just so. Was this his attempt at seduction? Nausea rose in her throat. How could she endure him touching her?

He returned to her a moment later, a box in his hand. He shoved it at her, and to her astonishment it was a home pregnancy test.

“What is this for?”

“Get in the bathroom and take it. Now. I have to know. I want to know what I’m dealing with. If you’re coming to me with someone else’s baby.”

“Chad, this is ridiculous. I use birth control.”

It was the wrong thing to say. His face darkened into a savage mask at her reminder that she’d had sex with another man.

“I won’t have it. I won’t have Hudson’s bastard. Your babies will be mine. Just like you’re mine. Now get into the bathroom.”

She stumbled when he pushed her forward. God, this was crazy. More crazy was the worry of what would happen if she
was
indeed pregnant. Frantically she searched her memory for her last period. She couldn’t think. How long had she been here? Had she taken all her pills? Had she missed any? Would Chad go over the edge if she was pregnant?

He stood in the doorway and lit two candles on the small counter. Coupled with the thin stream of sunshine from the hallway, the light was enough for her to see.

“Are you going to watch?” she demanded. “Don’t I deserve some privacy?”

“Don’t talk to me about what you deserve,” he hissed. “Take the damn test. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

Refusing to let him see her humiliation, she fumbled with her jeans and tried her best to shield what body parts she could. He yanked the box from the counter and tore it open. He thrust the stick at her, and she took it, praying she could pee on command.

After several long moments, she managed enough to comply with the test instructions. When she set the test on the counter so she could clean up and get her pants back up, he took it, curling his hand around the plastic tube.

“It takes five minutes,” she mumbled.

“Get back in the other room,” he ordered.

She went ahead of him, back into the living room. Despite the warmth of the late afternoon, a chill whispered over her skin. She was scared. More scared than she’d ever been in her life. How did you reason with someone who had clearly lost whatever grip on reality he once had?

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” she asked.

It felt clichéd, the whole thing of trying to get her captor to talk, but her mind had shut down, and she needed time to figure a way out of this mess.

“Tell you what?” he snapped.

“Your feelings. That you wanted me. You never said a word. I trusted you, Chad. I went to you for help when I started getting all those creepy notes. I thought you cared, but it was you all along.”

He seemed put off by her bluntness, as if she made a very valid point and he was at a loss as to how to respond.

Then his eyes narrowed and rage boiled off him in waves.

“I went to David.”

“What? Chad, he’s been dead for three years.”

“Before. I went to him before. A long time before. When you were sixteen. I told him I wanted you. I asked for his blessing. He told me if I ever came near you he’d kill me with his bare hands.”

His hands shook, and she watched nervously as his fingers tightened around the gun in response.

“He had the nerve to act like I was some piece of shit not good enough for you. He freaked. Completely lost his cool.”

“I was sixteen,” she said gently. “Of course he freaked. What would you do if some guy so much older started paying attention to your sixteen-year-old sister?”

“He said
never,”
Chad snarled. “I’ve always loved you. Always. I waited. Waited until you were twenty. I did the right thing. Instead of going to you, trying to sneak around him, I approached him like a man. Told him my intentions. Told him I wanted you.”

Angelina caught her breath. He was well and truly obsessed. He saw himself as the victim. To him he had done nothing wrong.

He glanced down at the test in his hand, and Angelina caught her breath when he threw it across the room, splintering it on the wall.

“You bitch! You fucking whore. You did this on purpose. You did it thinking if you got knocked up I wouldn’t want you. You don’t think I’m good enough either, do you?”

Oh God. Her knees gave out, and she went to the floor holding her stomach with both arms. Pregnant. Tears welled in her eyes. He’d never let it live. And she’d never let him touch her.

This changed everything. She not only had herself to protect, she had to protect her baby.

He lunged at her, grabbed her hair and yanked her painfully toward him. Spit hit her face as he raged at her.

“I’ll get rid of it. Just like I got rid of David. I won’t let you get away with this. You’re mine.”

She went cold. “What did you say?”

He dropped her hair and backhanded her across the mouth. The taste of blood exploded onto her tongue, and she reeled away, holding her split lip.

She scrambled up, fury raging through her veins like acid. Burning. Eating.

“What the hell did you do to David?” she hissed.

“I got rid of him and that bitch lover of his. He had a hell of a lot of nerve thinking I wasn’t good enough for you when he was shacked up with Micah and his wife. You needed to be removed from that situation. They weren’t a good example for you.”

Tears of rage scalded her cheeks. “They died in a car accident.”

“Stupid bitch. Who do you think caused the accident?”

She forgot all about caution. About preservation. About patience and waiting for the right moment. She lunged at him and drove her knee directly into his balls.

He dropped to his knees, the gun clattering across the floor as he dropped it. Both hands went to his groin and he doubled over in pain.

She made a fist and punched him in the eye, and when his head reared back, she jabbed him right in the throat.

He went down hard, and she didn’t waste any time bolting for the door.

He grabbed her ankle and yanked. She hit the floor with enough force to knock the breath out of her. He rolled her over, and she came up fighting.

She landed another punch to his face before he grabbed her wrists and yanked her arms over her head. No way. No fucking way she was going down this easy.

She arched her back and slammed her knee into his crotch again. He managed to dodge this time, but she still hit him where it hurt.

“Bitch! Goddamn you. You promised not to fight me.”

“Sue me, asshole.”

When he leaned down to kiss her, she reared back and then head butted him right in the nose. Blood spurted like a geyser, splattering her shirt. He loosened his hold enough for her to wrench free, and she rolled, kicking and punching for all she was worth.