The Bound Bride (18 page)

Jeff started to voice his confusion as Oliver held his hand before his face. Adam was working through the alcohol to process Oliver’s words.

“Your…
what
?”

Now there was no turning back.

Oliver grabbed his neck.

“My wife. You bothered her friend. So she had to intervene.”

Now that he was face to face with Adam, Oliver understood Cassandra’s choice.

“Hey, man. I didn’t—”

And Oliver broke.

He slammed Adam’s head into the table. The mug shattered, and Jeff was on his feet along with the rest of the barflies. Oliver caught hold of a singled shard of glass and held it before Adam’s closing eye.

“Look at me.”

Adam slowly did as he was told.

Oliver thought of slashing his eye from its socket until he could see nothing. It would be a kind of justice. But he didn’t want him blind. He wanted Adam to face what he was with an eye over his shoulder for all that was left of his miserable life.

“
Look
at me!”

Adam finally obeyed. Oliver nearly grazed his pupil with the broken glass.

He leaned in closer and whispered into Adam’s ear.

“Think about touching her again. Think
about it. Adam?”

He trembled under Oliver’s hold and started to close his eyes. But then they slipped open and stayed
open. Oliver pressed the glass under his eye.

“Thinking about it?”

Adam’s nod told Oliver that he was thinking about much
more than touching her.

Oliver slashed his cheek open with the point of the glass. Adam fell back and held his face. The others from the bar tried to move forward and offer aid, but Jeff held them back.

Oliver pressed his foot against Adam’s neck.

“Now forget about it. Because if you even think it, I’ll make sure that you never
see
anything again. Do we understand each other?”

Adam clutched his bleeding face and angrily nodded. Oliver spat at him and turned for the door. Jeff followed, and Oliver could hear all who were left in the bar help Adam to his feet.

When they were back in the car, Jeff twisted away from the wheel and faced him.

“So now what?”

Oliver contemplated going back and finishing the job. But that would be harder to explain. He would have done it already. But Cassie was involved. He knew it would go down easier for her if he kept the bastard alive.

“Boss?”

He wanted to see her. He needed to go back, but he had yet to decide his next move. He couldn’t let her go. Her will was strong, So how to keep her safe?

Oliver stared out the window and contemplated the time he’d need to sort everything out.

“Just drive,” he said.

Chapter Twenty-Six

He had to come back. Cassandra paced the great room as Faye applied cold compresses to Iris’s head. Iris moaned as Faye tended to her injured state. One thing was certain. Iris was in good hands.

Cassandra only wanted Oliver’s.

She kept looking to the window in the hope that the car would reappear. She didn’t mean it. She hadn’t meant it. He was just a boy who’d answered the call too late. It was good that she had reached Iris with time to spare. He’d understand if she could just hold him.

Iris rose, and Faye started to lead her up the steps. Cassandra gently grabbed her friend’s wrists as Faye waved her away.

“I got her, Cassandra. Have a drink or something. He’ll be back.”

Faye’s certainty set her mind at ease. Cassandra watched them move to one of the guestrooms and headed back to the bar. Scotch wasn’t her style, but she needed something strong.

He’d be
back. When he returned, what then? Would he understand why she had broken the rules to see to her friend? He’d have
to. Because if he didn’t, he’d send her on her way with yet another debt in hand.

And that wasn’t even the worst of it.

Cassandra saw the lights of the car pull up the drive, and she rushed out of the house to meet him. Jeff emerged first, and he doffed his cap when he saw Cassandra standing in the night air. He opened the door, and Oliver appeared, his face fixed on a mystery that she couldn’t solve. He strode towards her and took her hands.

“Cassie.”

That was something.

She silently nodded.

“Is your friend okay?”

“Yes. Faye’s with her.”

He looked back at Jeff and nodded as he wrapped his arm around Cassandra’s shaking frame.

“See to the car.”

Jeff was back in the driver’s seat to do as he was told.

Cassandra saw her breath against the air. She reached for Oliver’s coat to shield her from the chill.

“No,” he said. “Come with me.”

He led her into the house, to their room, and locked the door behind them. Cassandra shivered more than she had in the night.

Oliver moved past her. She could feel him longing to touch her. He sat on the edge of the bed and folded his hands under his chin.

“Off.”

Cassandra was at a loss in the face of his new request.

“Oliver—”

“Your clothes.”

Cassandra’s trembling grew, but she couldn’t fight the demand in his eyes. She slowly removed her jeans and let them fall to the floor. The sweater came next. Up and over her head until she was standing in just her bra and panties.

“
Everything
.”

She obeyed and was soon naked under his eyes. Cassandra expected him to lunge and twist her to his side. But he stood and circled around her. When he touched her arms, she moaned lightly. His hands left her skin, but she could still feel them just above her back.

“He did this, too?”

Cassandra slowly looked at him over her shoulder. She knew he was seeing more bruises, a result of the moment when Adam violently pushed her into the wall. She nodded and watched his eyes close. He was obviously feeling the blows as if
he
had been in the room. He shook his head. His jaw tensed, and then he finally let out a low, long sigh.

“Were you afraid?” he asked.

He had removed all but one boundary. Cassandra was both vulnerable enough and sure enough to fall on honesty in response to his question.

“Yes.”

He reached for her hand.

“And are you afraid now?”

His hold tightened around her palm. She was feeling
so
many
things. Gratitude at his return, curiosity at where he had gone and what he had done, worry for Iris, and the slight draft trickling through the window.

But she wasn’t afraid.

Cassandra moved as close to him as she could and touched his face.

“No, Oliver.”

He had to believe her, and she waited for him to voice his trust in her. Oliver didn’t make a sound as he led her from the foot of the bed to the master bath.

Oliver removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. He ran the water and tested the temperature against his arm. When he seemed to find it acceptable, the bath began to fill. Cassandra was suddenly desperate for the feel of the warmth against her battered flesh.

He doused the water with oils and soap. The scent of lavender filled the room, and Oliver extended his hand.

“Let’s get you cleaned up.”

She quickly took his hand as he guided her into the water.

Cassandra moaned as the water encircled her body. She sank deeper and craned her neck back as she closed her eyes. The next thing she felt was a loofah sponge slipping against her shoulders. Cassandra opened her eyes and saw Oliver carefully stroking her. She sat up, and he ran the sponge across her back in slow, smooth circles. He was beyond gentle as the sponge left her back and caressed her breasts. She wanted to
thank
him for his care, but she was too tired and too happy to speak. He was back, and he was kind. Could he just forget what she had done? Did he finally understand?

“Feel good?” he asked.

She nodded with a smile.

“That’s all I want.”

At that moment, Cassandra only wanted him.

She reached up and held his face in her hands. They were locked in each other’s eyes. Oliver was focused on nothing but her, and Cassandra pressed her lips to his cheek.

And Oliver sighed.

“How does that feel?” she whispered.

Oliver lowered her back into the tub as he ran a wet hand through her hair.

“Like home.”

Cassandra smiled as he loosened his tie. He continued to wipe away the morning, and she closed her eyes again. She had his touch, and she found his hand under the water. Cassandra held it fast.

“Oliver?”

He murmured
yes
as he returned to her eyes and kissed her damp hair.

“I’m… I
am
sorry.”

“I know.”

“I had to go—”

 “To help you friend. I know. It was… brave.”

He finally understood.

“And a
risk.”

That
was also true. But would he
have done any less?

His hand moved between her thighs. She remembered their night at his penthouse and expected him to finger her again. But he simply stroked her quivering part and kissed her brow.

“What else
did you feel?”

Her eyes went wide.

“Feel? When?”

“When this happened.”

He touched her black eye and kissed it before she could answer. When his lips left her face, she started to speak.

“I… felt… lonely.”

It was something he could understand.

“Why?”

“Because I missed you.”

She had handled it. She could and would do it again if Iris or anyone she loved needed her in their corner. But it would have been better to have him near.

Oliver didn’t need to hear anything else.

He lifted her from the tub and gently dried her with the towel hanging from the back of the door. He wrapped her in one of the robes from her shopping spree and carried her back to the bed. Oliver laid her out and pressed her closer to him.

“I know. I missed
you when you were gone.”

“If I’d known you were coming back—”

“You still would have gone. Because she’s your friend. She’s… she’s lucky to know you.”

His kiss was soft against her lips.

“I can understand that.”

She wanted him. But she didn’t want to feel him inside her. She wanted him like this
.
When he held her, she felt no fear. His arms were more than she could ever ask for. Cassandra pressed her body closer and tried to forget someone who would see her and only want to cause harm. That
wasn’t Oliver. He wanted her warm. He soothed her until she felt that she could sleep.

He wanted her safe.

Cassandra lifted her eyes to his and starred at him in the moonlight passing through the window.

“Thank you. I… had
to
do it.”

Oliver sighed against her throat.

“I just don’t want you hurt. And if it happens again, you call me. I’ll
take care of it.”

She wondered if he already had.

“Where did you go? Did you… did you see him?”

She waited for the nod that didn’t come.

“He won’t
bother you
or
your friend ever again.”

And she believed
him.”

“Cassie… just stay here. Stay safe.”

For the first time it didn’t feel like an ultimatum. It felt like Oliver loving her. The
words
didn’t matter. His eyes were telling her that he’d rather die than see her harmed in any way. She didn’t need—

“I… Cassie. I just don’t want anything to ever happen to you.”

He touched her black eye again. For a second, he made all the sense in the world. With him, in his house, she was out of harm’s way. It was perfect. A perfect
prison, but so carefully constructed that she might be able to stay.

“So you see now? Do you see why it’s better here?”

She settled against him and started to surrender to sleep.

She would stay.

For the length of the contract.