7 Degrees of Alpha (a collection of seven new BWWM, Alpha Male Romances) (6 page)

18:45 p.m. October 13, 2004

Jones cursed himself. He knew that something was going on, but he thought he had time to figure it out. He thought she’d be safe at his apartment, but that was clearly not the case. He couldn’t tell her to stay home. Val was too headstrong and independent to take that sitting down, but sending her out to be a target made his blood run cold.

Jones didn’t want to imagine what would have happened had he not come along just then. He’d been home earlier that day and was worried about her, knowing that she had no car. He’d been concerned for her in a new neighborhood. Even though it wasn’t that late, he still felt uneasy about the time she was getting back.

When he’d seen her pressed up against that wall, the large brown skinned man pressed into her back, he’d panicked. The pose was so intimate, almost reminiscent of someone owned. His world had fallen out from his feet. He’d actually stood there for a few seconds, trying to understand what he was seeing. He’d shouted when his wits had returned, but now, he feared he may have awaited too long.

He would have chased him had Val not collapsed to the ground, shaking and mumbling in shock. She looked so pitiful, all he could do was gather her up in his arms and take her as fast as he could back to the apartment.

He couldn’t even find out who the fuck had done that to her because she’d passed out from shock. Jones had been so scared for her, so he’d called a doctor to come and check. He didn’t know if she was injured or not. The bastard could have done anything to her for all he knew, he just hoped that it wasn’t serious. What confused him was why the hell she’d fainted like that?

Jones carried her into his place and had taken her directly to the first bedroom he’d come to. He’d struggled with the apartment door and her bags, while juggling her lifeless-seeming body and his anger. He couldn’t get the image of her pressed against the wall out of his mind as he had held her, marveling at how well she fit into his arms.  She was so light, weighing almost nothing and it frightened him when he remembered how the guy had her pressed against the wall like a rag-doll.

20:10 p.m. October 13, 2004

Doug had come over. He was watching Jones as he refused to stop pacing the living room, walking around the furniture like a trapped tiger. His stormy eyes’ visage was enough to warn anyone off from talking to him, anyone but Doug.

“Can you sit the fuck down?” Doug said again for the fifth time since he’d walked through the door.

Jones didn’t answer, giving him a ‘shut-the-fuck-up’ look.

“Doc, what’s wrong with her?” Jones asked, barely giving the doctor a chance to place his bag on the floor next to the living room door.

“She’s a little shook up,” he told Jones, “A mild shock, that’s about all. No other injuries as you suspected,” the doctor continued.

“So how come she hasn’t woken up yet?” Jones pressed.

“I can’t be sure about that. Perhaps her subconscious is keeping her under, fear causing her body to shut down and keeping her there,” the doctor surmised, “Nothing lasting. I gave her a mild sedative, so she should sleep for a while, either way.”

“Okay. Thanks, Doc.” Jones held out his hand, grasping the doctor’s hand as he led him to the front door.

“So, what happened as far as you can tell?” Doug asked when he’d shown the doctor out and returned to the living room.

“I don’t know for sure,” Jones said, pushing his hair back with an annoyed gesture. “I was thinking she was taking too long to get back home, so I went down to see where she was. Good thing too! Some bastard had her pressed up against the fucking wall like she was nothing. He could have hurt her, and I would have been too late!”

“Hey! It’s not your fault!” Doug told him.

“She’s my responsibility! I should have thought about it! I knew she was scared about something, and it should have crossed my mind.” He growled as he threw himself on the sofa, opposite Doug, gripping his head with his hands, his shoulders stiff and rigid with frustration. “I need to know who the bastard was, that’s all.” Jones’ tone turned quiet and severe. “I just need to get my hands on him so that I can wring his neck.”

“Patience, mate. Let’s find out what it was first before we go all Rambo and start accusing innocent people. Maybe it was a simple bag snatch,” Doug reasoned.

“No. It was more than that. I can feel it.”

“Pete?”

Jones jumped up off the sofa so fast that he bumped the coffee table, spilling the untouched drinks Doug had poured them earlier.

“Val!” He rushed over to her, as she stood in the doorway looking at Doug uncertainly.

“He’s my partner, Doug,” Jones told her as he led her into the room, keeping his hand on her back, guiding her. He looked her up and down, trying to assess if there was more damage than the doctor had told him about. He couldn’t imagine that she was okay when she’d been pale and unresponsive not more than an hour ago. He never wanted to see her looking like that again… ever!

“Did the doctor leave?” Val asked in a weak voice.

  “Yeah. He said he gave you a sedative,” Jones said.

“I wouldn’t know because I can’t sleep, someone keeps shouting about retribution.” She half smiled at him.

“I was not shouting about retribution, just stating a fact,” Jones corrected her.

“Whatever!” Val eyed him. “Is he always like this?” she asked Doug.

“I haven’t seen him this bad, but… yeah, usually!” Doug smirked.

“You scared the shit out of me! What do you expect me to do?” Jones told her.

“Sorry,” Val whispered.

“Why should you be sorry? You didn’t do it to yourself,” he told her, “But I think I know the man who did.”

Val didn’t answer. She was hiding something and he knew it, but whether she liked it or not, she was going to tell him. And today!

“Looks like that’s my cue to get out now, while I can,” Doug teased, “See you later,
Peter
!”

Jones gave him a hard look, preferring not to say anything, before he returned his attention to Val, who sat squirming slightly in the armchair. Neither of them spoke as Doug made his way out of the apartment. They were anticipating the door closing behind him.

“Speak! Tell me what’s going on,” Jones told her.

“What? There’s nothing to tell,” Val said, trying to be evasive.

Jones said nothing. He would wait only so long.

“Look, I can handle it. Okay?” Val ensured.

“Yes, I saw you handling it very well when I went down and found you pressed against the fucking wall like a goddamn ragdoll!” Jones shouted at her, “Val, how can I protect you if you don’t trust me to help you?”

“I'm scared, Pete! I am scared!” she told him.

“Then tell me what’s going on so that I can help you! I need you around, and I don’t want to see anybody touching you like I saw earlier.” He wasn’t going to back down, and he saw the moment when her resolve broke and she shattered like a crystal under pressure. He couldn’t tell her how much he needed her; he didn’t want to scare her with how strongly he felt about her. All he could do was show her, and she needed to trust him first, trust that he had her best interests, and her heart at the top of his agenda.

“It was Damon,” she confessed quietly.

“Is he coming back?” he asked her, his voice stern.

She couldn’t speak, her terror palpable, as she nodded yes.

Jones rose and stood in front of her, pulling her from the chair into his arms.

“He will not get the chance to do what he did to you today ever again. Do you hear me?” he told her as he held her tightly, pouring reassurance into her through his touch.

“I was so scared. I didn’t even know what to do. I felt so helpless!” She sobbed into his chest, causing Jones’ heart to crack.

“Tell me everything.”

08:25 a.m. October 16, 2004

“Please? You have to let me go to work,” Val pleaded with Jones again.

“No!”

“What?” she asked him in surprise, “Do you hear yourself?”

“I told you; until that bastard is caught, you stay here,” he insisted, unremorseful.

Her mouth dropped open in shock. “I can’t believe you’re trying that caveman shit with me right now!”

“Then believe it.” Jones turned away from her. He couldn’t take how damn beautiful she looked all upset and glowing with irate anger. He wanted to take her to bed and do naughty things to her, but he knew she would flip. He’d been holding back for three days, three days of torturing himself because her essence had filled the apartment. Everywhere he turned, she was there, if not in person, then in spirit. He wasn’t sure how long he was going to be able to hold himself.

Val interrupted his reverie. “I'm talking to you.”

He shook his head, bringing himself back into the present. “What did you say?”

“I have an exhibition to curate!”

He couldn’t help himself. He reached out and touched her bottom lip with his thumb. The gesture was so gentle and intimate that it stopped Val mid-tirade.

Her deep brown eyes registered her shock, but also registered something else. If he followed his instincts, he and Val wouldn’t be standing there for much longer.

“Why did you do that?” Val questioned in a quiet voice, reaching up to touch her lip where Jones had stroked.

The simple move broke him, and he snaked his arm out and encircled her waist, pulling her into his chest. Jones lowered his head, fitting his lips to Val’s sensuous mouth, and kissed her. He couldn’t have stopped himself. He couldn’t remember if he had imagined her mouth tasting like that, or if he had dreamt it, but it was almost more than he had conceived. Her lips were soft and inviting, moving against his of their own accord. She tasted divine!

He stopped kissing her reluctantly, saying, “Sorry, Val. I don’t know what came over me. But I hope you don’t mind because I'm going to do it again.”

He then lowered his mouth over hers. Jones could feel her gently pushing on his shoulders, and he raised his head, looking at her enquiringly, asking, “What?”

“I still need to go out,” she reminded him.

“Look, Val. I didn’t want to bring this up, but you pushed me.” He told her, holding her against his chest, “The other day scared me. I want to rip that bastard’s head off, and until I do, I can’t imagine you going anywhere; not to work, not even outside of this apartment. I can’t be with you all the time, and I don’t trust anyone to look after you the way that I want you looked after.”

“But-” Val stammered.

“No buts! I never believed in love at first sight, I always thought it was a load of bull. But that day I met you, I fell in love with you, and it’s only growing stronger.” His confession left Val speechless as he went on, “You couldn’t possibly want to see a grown man cry, which is what will happen if I have to let you out of my sight.”

Val reached up and touched the side of his face, the stubble causing friction against her smooth palm. “You have to let me out sooner or later. Cabin fever is real.”

Jones laughed, “Babe, no amount of cabin fever could make me change my mind. You have to know I make no excuses for the way I am.”

“Please? I'm going crazy,” she told him, holding her head between her hands and rocking from side to side.

“Nice try, but I can’t let you out. Maybe tomorrow… or the day after,” he told her jokingly.

“Are you for real?” Val asked in shock.

Jones noticed that she had avoided what he’d told her about falling for her, but he didn’t mind; there was still time.

His face registered how serious he was, causing Val to sigh in resignation. “Okay. If you won't let me out alone, at least, take me to work, you can take me and pick me up. That way, I'm where you left me and I’ll wait. Please?” Her beautiful lips pouted as she pleaded.

Jones seemed to think about her suggestion. “You won’t leave until I get there to pick you up?”

“Not a step,” she returned hopefully.

“You have five minutes to get ready.”

“Yay!” she screamed, leaping into his arms and kissing him quickly, “Thank you for being so understanding.”

“Please, baby, don’t make me regret it, okay?” he warned her.

Jones didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one little bit, but he couldn’t keep her hostage indefinitely. There were Geneva Conventions limiting his right to keep her hostage, even if it was out of his love and desire for her and his need to protect what belonged to him. Val belonged with him, and he wouldn’t let an ex-boyfriend touch her again, not while he breathed.

He wasn’t thinking of anything except trying to keep her safe. He had no idea when she stopped being plain old Val and became his one light in the world, and he didn’t want anyone to turn out his light. He needed it to see, to believe, to function. Jones couldn’t remember a time before Val. She had fit so snugly into his world and the chemistry between them was so natural, it was like they had been together for years. He had that feeling that they had been together a lifetime, not just days. He went to sleep thinking about her; he caught himself almost calling her every five minutes. He couldn’t wait to feel himself between her thighs, peeling her clothes off slowly, kissing, tasting every inch of her body, from her feet to her fingers. The last thing he wanted to think about was someone trying to hurt her. No one touched what was his!

He heaved an unsteady breath; the mere thought of losing her making him beyond uncomfortable.

“And I heard what you said earlier,” Val said, as she came back into the living room shrugging on a cardigan as she went.

“Oh? What did I say earlier?” He had thought she hadn’t heard him, but he knew she was smarter than that.

“Look, we’re adults here, and I understand how you feel,” Val said.

“Go on.”

“I feel for you too, but… we just got started. Let’s take it slow. Okay?” She held his hand, showing she wasn’t rejecting him; far from it, she wanted to understand how she felt so strongly so soon. She had never felt like that about anyone.

“Baby, you take all the time you need. I'm not going anywhere. And I know how I feel about you. So when you’re ready, you know where I am,” Jones reassured her.

“Thank you,” she said, as she reached up and patted his roughened cheek.

“What for?”

“For giving me the space to go forward.”

“I’m not an idiot. I won’t push you, but you know how I feel about you.” He held her hand, stroking her knuckles gently with his large thumb, pushing his love through the touching of their fingers, “Come on. Let’s get out of here. The quicker you go, the quicker I can get you back here.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Bossy Boots!”

10:30 a.m. October 16, 2004

Val was glowing. A light had turned on in her world, and she was shining. As she walked down the corridor to her office, people turned to stare at her. She radiated so much joy that her face beamed. She felt the love that Jones was willing to pour over her and how it had healed her after all the years of negativity with Damon, dragging her down to a place where she no longer recognized herself. It was strange and new, and it scared her because it was so different. She didn’t think about their differences; she thought about their connection and how they complemented each other, how Jones supported her, protected her and drove her crazy with his obsession with her.

She smiled indulgently to herself, knowing that he would be there on the dot when she called him later that day. That morning, Val saw the indecision he struggled with to let her leave the apartment. She wondered why he was so adamant to keep her close. They had only met less than a week ago, and she could see that he was reluctant to let her out of his sight, even for a minute.

Val was still apprehensive, even though she had tried to play down the threat Damon posed. She was looking over her shoulder, scanning each and every unfamiliar face and staying where she could see and be seen easily. Val didn’t want to make Jones angry with her over something stupid that could have be avoided so long as she took the proper precautions. Damon was dangerous; that much was clear, especially with the warning he’d given her. She planned to do whatever she could to ensure that nothing happened to her; there was no way she was going to cause Jones any grief.