Dangerous Embrace (Embrace #1) (33 page)

“Forget it...I guess this was a mistake.”

She took the handle of the suitcase and turned to leave. Mark reached out and grabbed her arm again. She raised her free hand to cover her face as her chest heaved in an effort to hold in her tears.

“I don’t want you to leave.” He tugged on her arm. When she turned, he nodded toward the house. “Come inside, I’ll get your bags.” Mark gently pulled her hand from her face. “It’s okay, come in and we’ll talk.”

Sarah nodded and stepped inside but abruptly stopped. What a complete pigsty. Her mouth dropped open at the sight of his beautiful house in complete disarray. She stepped forward carefully and looked toward the glow coming from the stove in the kitchen It was the only light on in the house, but it was enough to see the mess. She felt sick and placed a hand over her stomach. At the end of the bar was a half-empty bottle of scotch and a small glass.

“I’m so sorry.”

Mark stepped in and looked at her shocked face. “I wasn’t exactly expecting company.”

Sarah’s stomach rolled again and she rushed to the bathroom.

When she rested back on her heels, Mark came through the door, his face stark white. “It’s not that bad in here.”

She waved him off. “I’m not sick because of the house.”

He helped her up and gave her a clean wet wash cloth. It reminded her of the night she had that awful nightmare about Kevin. Mark was so gentle with her, caring, and thoughtful. She wanted that back. She wanted him back...she wanted things to be like they were.

“I’m sorry—I am a coward—I panicked. I feel like every time things get really good, then something else happens.”

Mark’s expression was surprised. He looked as if he was taken aback by the outburst. He turned and left the bathroom and went to the bar to get a drink.

“Do you want me to leave?”

“No,” he mumbled. “I didn’t want you to leave the first time.”

“I know. I’m stupid, childish. I freaked out and ran, but I never stopped thinking about you.” She waited for him to finish pouring his drink. “I’ve never had these feelings before...I’m trying to accept us without the old prejudices sneaking in, but then I start doubting everything.” She rubbed her face and pushed her bangs back, her heart aching at the distance and the pain she felt from him. “I don’t know how to be part of a couple.”

He slammed the glass down on the bar. “What feelings? You haven’t shared any feelings with me. I shared mine and you took off.”

“I love you.” Her eyes widened at the relief she felt just saying those words to him aloud. “I love you.”

He shook his head slightly as if he didn’t understand. “What did you just say?”

“I love you...and I’m sorry it took losing you to figure that out.”

His anger deflated. “Did you say you love me?”

She nodded and tears dripped from her eyes.

He put a hand to his chest. “Are you sure, because my fucking heart can’t take this.”

“It’s the only thing I’m sure of. I love you, and I’m so sorry I hurt you.”

He stepped to her and she launched herself into his arms. He held her tight, tighter than she could take. She had to pull away to breathe, and when she placed her hands on his face, she felt the wetness on his cheeks too. “I’m sorry.”

Mark’s lips found hers, and he lifted her off her feet and took her upstairs.

~

Mark wanted to throw the phone across the room when it woke him up. If he didn’t have a kid to worry about, he would. He looked at the caller ID and realized it wasn’t his kid, or his ex.

“Why are you waking me up so early?”

“We need to talk.”

“I hope so, Brian, otherwise I’m kicking your ass for waking me up.”

“Do you feel secure with Shane? Can he handle things with his injury?”

“What exactly do you mean by
things
?”

“If our rapist finds Jennings, can Shane handle it?”

“It’s a moot point. She’s here with me.” Mark got up and carried the phone into his office to avoid waking Sarah up. “What’s going on?”

“Our guy is getting a little desperate and we both know what happens when sociopaths get desperate.”

Every muscle in Mark’s body tensed. “What the fuck?”

“That last letter...the one he left in your mailbox...”

“Yeah...”

“’There will be more blood spilt if I don’t taste Sweet, Sweet Sarah soon.’” Brian recited the words, then said, “Yeah, a real poet this one...she needs to be in protective custody.”

“Shane and I have her covered.”

“You can’t cover her. Get another guy.”

“It’s fine, Bri.”

“Yeah, fine huh? What happened the night you two were out at that club? You’ve got your head in the clouds and you know it.”

Mark knew Brian was right. He still fought the guilt that occasionally crept up on him for letting that bastard get to her in that damn club. “Fine, I’ll take care of it.”

“Smart move. I’ll push for more patrols in the area too. Make sure you call us if you get something on this guy.”

“I know, ‘don’t be a hero,’” Mark mocked. “We’ll call you if he shows his face.” Mark closed his phone and called Shane.

~

Pulling on Mark’s robe, Sarah hobbled her way downstairs and turned into the great room. She stopped at the strange man standing in her path. “Ah, hi...”

He turned and held up his coffee mug in greeting. “Mornin’.”

Sarah continued to stare at him, trying to figure out what she’d missed. Her brain frantically shifted through the last twenty-four hours, searching for a memory of this person, and how he ended up in Mark’s house. She squinted as she thought about it and realized she should be afraid of him. He was a hulking man, at least six feet five and almost six feet wide.

“Hey, babe.”

She turned toward Mark’s voice.

He was standing in the kitchen holding out a mug of coffee. “Good morning.”

Sarah looked from him, back to the man in front of her, then back to Mark.

“That’s Randy. He’s here to keep an eye on things.”

“Things...like?”

“Come have coffee and I’ll explain.”

She padded around Randy and reached for the mug Mark extended out to her. She sniffed, and her stomach instantly turned upside down. With her hand over her mouth, she rushed to the bathroom.

When she finished retching, she dropped the toilet lid and sat down, waiting for the nausea to pass. Mark knocked and came into the bathroom.

“Do you have the flu?” He touched her forehead. “You don’t have a fever.”

“It’s stress.”

“Since when does a cup of coffee stress you out?”

She reached up and laid a hand over his on her forehead, enjoying the feel of the skin-on-skin contact.

“It’s everything...traveling, dealing with my mother for an extended period of time.”

“I’m taking you to the doctor.”

“No...no, I’m fine. Tell me about Randy.” She hoped changing the subject would make him forget about the doctor.

“Randy is going to hang out with us, just to keep an eye on things.”

Her eyes grew wide, and she twisted to lift herself up off the floor. “You didn’t fire Shane, did you?”

He chuckled. “No, Shane will be back tonight. Randy will be here during the day.”

“You can’t do days?” she said, leaving the bathroom to return to the kitchen.

“Nope. I’m on boyfriend duty. I can’t do both.”

Randy caught her eye, and she couldn’t stop staring at him. He was unnaturally huge, like one of the body builders at the gym, only scarier and considerably taller.

“Don’t worry, he doesn’t bite.”

When she didn’t turn away, he said, “Do you want to try eating something?”

“Um...yeah,” she said, finally looking over at Mark as she climbed onto a barstool. Their eyes met, and she had to push back the self-consciousness she felt at being there. He’d forgiven her, but that didn’t erase the hurt he still must have felt.

“Are you going to be okay with having a tag-a-long?”

“I’ll deal with it.” She cleared her throat and lowered her eyes. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry about what I did. I know you’re going to be a little gun-shy around me now, but I will do whatever I have to in order for you to trust me again.”

She heard the front door close and turned. Randy was gone.

“He stepped out to look around. Are you sure you can handle having people around?”

“I can handle it,” she whispered.

Mark picked up her hand and held it to his cheek. “Stop feeling bad. It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re here and safe.”

“Me too.” She took a sip of her coffee and said, “Where’s Jamie?”

Mark lowered his eyes and mumbled, “He’s with Ali.” When he looked back up, she caught the unsettled expression on his face. “Some things have changed since you left.”

“Some things?”

“I received a note from the attacker in my mailbox.”

Sarah placed a hand to her chest and held her breath for a split second. “And now you can’t have Jamie over here.”

“Don’t!” He held a finger up to her. “It’s not your fault.”

“Oh my God, Mark. I’m so sorry I’ve put you and your family in the middle of my mess.”

“What? Come on, Sarah.” He slammed his mug down. “You’re a part of my family now. We’re in this together, dammit. Don’t tell me you love me then treat this like casual sex.”

Her pulse spiked at his outburst, but she deserved his anger for what she’d done. She’d spend a lifetime making it up to him if that’s what she needed to do. “I’m sorry. You’re right, thank you for saying that.” She reached out for his hand. “I do love you.”

~

After three weeks of having Shane and Randy tailing her, Sarah couldn’t help but feel annoyed as she waited for Randy to come out of her bathroom. Mark watched her pace, but she refused to complain. She had no idea how much Mark was paying these guys to protect her so she
would not
complain, not after everything he’d done for her.

“Maybe we should go back to my house. It’s bigger and has two bathrooms.”

“Maybe,” she said, tightening the tie on her robe. “I have my doctor’s appointment today. Are you going with me?”

“That‘s today?” His eyes shadowed. “I made plans for us to go over to Ali’s to see Jamie.”

“Oh, Mark, I don’t want to miss that. I’ll reschedule the appointment.”

“No. You need to go. Baby, you should have seen the doctor weeks ago. I’ll call Ali and see if I can do it tomorrow.”

Sarah shook her head. “No, you haven’t spent any quality time with him in weeks. You go see him. I can go to my appointment alone.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah...well, I’ll have Randy with me. He’ll keep me company.” She smiled at the look on his face. She liked to see that little hint of jealousy he got when she was friendly with his guys.

“Ha, ha! Very funny.” He pulled her close and nibbled on her ear. “I’ll miss you today. Hey, have Randy bring you by Ali’s after the appointment, and then you can see Jamie for a little bit.”

“Okay. I’ll see you after.”

When the bathroom door opened, Mark looked up to glare at Randy.

“Sorry,” Randy said, sneaking back into the living room.

“Good afternoon, Sarah,” Dr. Davidson said, peering over his reading glasses to look at her. “I’m sorry to hear you’ve been sick. I was hoping things would start getting easier for you.”

“I think it’s from stress, but Mark insisted I come in.”

“He’s right. You should have come in a couple of weeks ago. You’ve been vomiting and what else?” He pulled his stool closer and sat down.

“I’m really tired all the time, and I’ve had some headaches.”

“And the vomiting, how often?” he asked.

“Almost every day. I tend to be sick when I’m nervous or stressed.”

“Sarah, that can’t be from stress alone.” He looked her over. “How often do you have headaches?”

“A couple times a week.”

He jotted some notes down on his notepad. “When was the first day of your last menstrual cycle?”

She blew her bangs off her forehead and looked up at the ceiling. “Um, I don’t know. Do you have a calendar?”

“How about an educated guess.”

“Late September?” She smiled nervously at his expression.

“You haven’t had a period in over two months?”

“My periods have always been irregular. I don’t usually go that long, but I’m sure that’s due to stress too. There’s been a lot going on.”

“Yeah, stress can do funny things to your body. Your period would regulate if you took my advice and started a birth control regimen. Have you been sexually active?”

“Yes.”