He's Captured My Trust (Captured Series Book 2) (30 page)

Fear. I sense my own fear as my body betrays me. Is he going to just stand there?

“You do know how cold it is, right?” I ask him in a soft voice. The door is still open behind him, letting the cold night air in. I shiver.

He takes a few steps and closes the door before continuing toward the desk at a slow pace, approaching cautiously. I want to block him from my line of vision, but I can’t bring myself to close my eyes. His eyes are piercing through me and I shift uncomfortably under his stare. All of a sudden, he is standing in front of the desk. I’ve had no time to think.

I sense he is as uncomfortable as I am. Our eyes linger way too long on each other. The silence is unbearable. I know what I want to do. I want to sink into his arms and let the hurt and pain flow away. But I’m not sure that’s one of my brightest ideas.

But then I am always cautious, and where has that gotten me?

I push the chair back slowly, get to my feet, and walk around the desk until I am standing in front of him. I am within touching distance. I take in the presence of Alex, the powerful businessman, who doesn’t look that powerful right now. I silently urge him to make the first move, to say something.
Anythin
g.

“Hey.” Thank God for that. He finally speaks.

“Hey, yourself.”

“I’ve fucked up, haven’t I?”

“You even need to ask?” My voice is low and soft. I know if I wanted, I could make this much more difficult for him. But seeing the pain and fear is more than enough for me to bear.

“Libby, I am sorry.” He is shifting uncomfortably now.

Part of me wants to yell at him—maybe even hit him because he has made me angry these last few days—but the biggest part of me wants to kiss him and let him know I’m still here, that I’m still his. I know we need to talk, but that can wait.

I reach both hands up to his face. All I want to do is take away the pain. It’s pain that he has brought on himself, but I’m sure he has figured that out. He is supposed to be an intelligent man, after all. I smile at him and pull his face toward mine. I press my lips ever so softly against his, feeling the cold night air from him. He closes his eyes, and I feel his whole body relax. “I know,” I say before pulling back.

I am sure he is not in the habit of apologising to anyone. But it’s not the first time he’s said he’s sorry to me, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. What’s the saying? “Give and take.” That has to work both ways. I know that.

“Seriously, Alex, what are you waiting for?”

He frowns, not understanding what I’m saying.

“I’m waiting.”

“Waiting?” he asks.

Oh, for the love of God. I take his suit carrier from him and place it on the desk, and then I move his other hand off the case. That’s all the encouragement he needs. Thank fuck for that.

His arms pull me closer to him, and I throw my arms around his neck. His lips are still cold as they meet mine, but they won’t be for much longer as I return the kiss. His tongue feels hot as it slides into my mouth, searching. As I melt within, I know I can’t stay angry with him. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. I love this man with everything I have. And now, standing in the reception area, I wish I weren’t working so we could take this elsewhere.

He must sense my reaction to him, because all at once, his lips leave mine and he pulls me in tighter so that I’m resting against his chest. We stand still, wrapped in each other’s arms, wanting and needing the closeness after the last few days.

“You look as tired as I feel, baby,” he says.

“I’m shattered now.” I tell him because it’s true, and now I feel as though I could get a decent sleep because he is here with me. But my sleep will have to wait. I have this shift, and then a certain young lady to spend the day with. I frown.

“What’s wrong? I know we need to talk.”

“It’s not just that. I have Lucy all day when I leave here. I have enough time to go home, grab a shower, and change before heading to Ethan’s. He has a presentation to do for work. Then I’m back in here at night to cover the restaurant.”

“We have plenty of time to talk and sort things out, but I can see how tired you are, and I don’t want you ending up ill,” he tells me.

“How long are you staying?” I ask reluctantly, because I have a feeling this is a quick visit and, judging, by his luggage, I’m probably right.

“However long you let me.” He smiles that smile that warms my heart. “I want to be with you. I made that clear in New York, and that hasn’t changed. If I can, I’m here until after the New Year with you. And if it’s all right with you, Murphy and Joan will still come over in two weeks like we talked about.”

“So you’re staying then. We do have a lot to talk about. I want things right if we’re going to move forward.”

He nods in agreement.

“That being said, what better time than the present? You remember your way to the canteen?”

“Yes, why?”

“Because you can go and get yourself a coffee and me a cup of tea, and then we can talk. We can’t do much else until I finish my shift.”

“Yes, ma’am.” And off he goes.

I realise security hasn’t been around like they usually are, so I call them. They know I’m fine because my father let them know about Alex, and they cleared him to come in. So he could contact my dad but not me. Why? That’s one of the questions I’ll be asking. I tidy up all the paperwork lying across the desk. It can wait. We still have a few hours before any staff get in. I can’t go anywhere in case a guest needs me, so we have plenty of time to talk. I walk back toward the open fire, keeping the entrance warm and inviting. I move the sofa that sits to the side and put it in front of the fire. Yeah, this will be perfect.

Alex appears with two paper cups in his hand and a packet of chocolate cookies. He hands me mine, and we both sit down. I take my shoes off and get comfy, curling my legs up and sit facing him.

“Are you hungry?” I ask, looking at the cookies.

“No, I ate on the plane. I thought you might be.”

“I had dinner with Karl earlier before he left, but I won’t say no to some chocolate.”

“Thought you might say that. So how is Karl?”

“He’s fine, but surely we’re not going to be talking shop.”

“No, Libby, we’re not.” He pauses and draws in a long breath. “I know I messed up. When you told me that was it over, I lost it.” I start to speak, but he silences me with a slight raise of his hand. “I need you to hear me out. I know I should’ve been in touch as soon as I sorted things out with the police. But I also knew that I needed to sort things out with Katherine so she wouldn’t come between us again. I hate that she has managed to do that . . . the incident in my office and her overall behaviour toward you. Even Stephen wasn’t that bad with me, and I know how much he cares for you. I think that’s what put things into perspective. Stephen loves you and wants you to be happy no matter what. I know he wouldn’t be as manipulative as Katherine was with you and me, because, ultimately, all he wants is for you to be happy.”

“I’ve already told you I see things differently since you and that everything is much clearer. Katherine felt like unfinished business. I had to make her see that there could never be anything between us so I could move on with my life. I think I’ll always care for her because of everything we went through. But she needed help as well.”

“I get this, I do, but you should have told me—been honest and open with me. I understand she needs help, and I wouldn’t have objected to you helping her. What I object to is the way I had to find out because you couldn’t be honest with me. If we are to make this work between us, we need to be honest with each other. I need to be able to trust you to be honest with me. You have entrusted me with your past. Now we have to trust each other.”

“You’re right, of course, and I will be forever sorry for hurting you. I know you need my honesty, but I’ve never lied to you. Katherine needed my help, and yes, my mom was mad about that too. Actually my whole family felt the same way. But I couldn’t leave things up in the air with her. I got her the help she needed, something her own family should’ve done a long time ago. We spoke at great length to each other in the presence of her therapist.” He stops talking and stares at the flames crackling from the fire as he takes a drink from his cup.

I reach out and take his hand, stroking his thumb with mine. “So you’ve spoken about what happened?”

“Yes, and I’m glad I finally got it out in the open. I know I’m not to blame for what happened that day. I see it now, and so does Katherine,
finally.
She has a long way to go, but I think she’ll get there. I’ve managed to get her and the rest of her family in the same room. She has shut them out for years, but they never stopped loving her. I hope they can help her now. She knows I’ll no longer be available to help, and she understands. If it makes any difference, she said to tell you she was sorry for everything.”

“So will you continue to get help?”

“All the help I need is sitting here right beside me. I meant every word I said in New York. I want to be with you every day, and we’ll work it out. But like you said, we have time on our side, and I’m here for what, seven or eight weeks? We have time to adjust to being a normal couple, and we’ll see what happens. I love you, Libby, and nothing in this world is going to change that.”

I inch my way closer to him and snuggle in. He wraps his arms protectively around me and we sit watching the flames. I know I shouldn’t, but my eyes slowly close and know it won’t be long until I drift off.

“Libby, it’s fine. I promise I’ll wake you long before anyone comes in.”

“I would much rather just sit and talk,” I reply with my eyes still firmly closed.

“We have a lifetime together to talk, so go to sleep, and if anything comes up, I’ll wake you.”

“LIBBY. LIBBY, YOU NEED TO
get up.” I hear his voice whisper in my ear, but I’m sure I’m dreaming. Mm.

“Do I have to?” I ask sleepily, trying to open my eyes.

“Yes, before any staff come in.”

That makes me move out of his arms quickly. I stand and stretch and smooth down my clothes.

“You look beautiful as always. Now come on. I can give you a hand until it’s time to leave.”

“You’re going to help? You’re too much of a distraction.” I put my arms around his waist and press my head to his chest, feeling it rise and fall with each breath he takes. It’s soothing. He kisses my hair before releasing me.

I go about the morning checks with Alex watching closely, making sure everything is ready and up to date for the shift coming in. He wants to help, but I’m quicker doing it myself. Stephen is the first in, as he is on the early shift in the gym. Sometimes it can be busy in the morning. It’s the first I’ve seen him since I came home. He looks from Alex to me before finally speaking, and he’s pleasant to him. But then, I don’t know what I expected—they were on speaking terms when Alex was last here. I’m not sure if Ethan has been talking, though, because Stephen eyes me suspiciously. He makes an effort—a real effort—with Alex, which makes me think about what Alex said last night about Stephen and Katherine. I can’t imagine Stephen being hurtful. He’s always been a true friend to Ethan, and I suppose to me as well.

They spend a few minutes talking before Stephen heads to the gym, and Alex keeps watching me. The next hour flies by, and I’m glad, because I’m ready to leave. I need to shower and be fresh before I go to see Lucy. And I could do with some alone time with Alex. I’m glad we were here and that I was working, because it meant we had no other option than to talk—no distractions of the sexual kind. But now I need it.

My relief arrives bang on at seven o’clock, and I do what has to be the quickest changeover in history. I don’t think it takes me even a minute. I leave my notes for Kieran on my desk and a list of orders for suppliers, along with booking reservations and some room-service requests. As soon as I’m finished, I take Alex by the hand and head outside to my car. It’s starting to get light. The birds are singing away, but that’s the only thing I hear. The loch is still and quiet. I can’t see the hills on the other side because of the early morning fog. It’s cold and damp from all the rain last night.

I open the boot of the car, and Alex puts his things in. “What are you doing about clothes, because there sure as hell isn’t enough there for your time here.”

“I know. I thought maybe we could go shopping.”

“Shopping—that should be fun. I haven’t been shopping for ages—well, since last week at Sophie’s.” I smile, thinking of his sister. “We could try to plan for during the week, but I’ll need to check the shifts I’m working.”

“I can go anytime; there’s no rush, as long as you don’t mind me invading your space at home. I know what you girls can be like with space and clothes.” He laughs as he closes the boot.

The roads are quiet considering what time it is as we head toward the city. Our conversation flows with ease and we both seem relaxed, considering all the events from the past week. I still can’t quite believe the length of time he’s here for. I’m looking forward to spending some high-quality time with him, and I’m sure it will be.