Trusting You (14 page)

Sobbing uncontrollably and with tears streaming down my face, I removed my hand from his arm as if it burned me. He stormed out of his condo and slammed the door, only to leave me breaking
down on his living room floor…alone.

I cried until I passed out on the hardwood floor, tired and full of guilt. I didn’t know what time it was or how long I was there, but I knew it was late-morning by the sun creeping in through the blinds and leaving trail marks on the floor. The front door opened quietly, but I was too tired and sick to move. I was afraid this was the end to me and Brett.

However, when his fingers tenderly brushed the hair off my face I felt a new surge of hope travel through my veins. Brett lifted me off of the floor, wrapping me into the warmth of his scent and his protective arms.

Sniffling, I snuggled closer. “Brett,” I whispered.

“I’m here. Just rest.”

I didn’t think I could cry anymore, but the sting behind my eyes burned like fire. He was there and he was holding me; that was enough. When I drifted off to sleep and woke up again, Brett was behind me, cradling me in his arms. I didn’t want to move because I was afraid that if I did he would pull away again. Instead, I lay there and stayed quiet.

“I know you’re awake, Melissa,” he breathed softly against my neck. “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. I just needed to leave and clear my head. I didn’t mean to leave you the way I did, but I had to go.”

“Where did you go?”

He sighed and ran his fingers over my bare arms making me shiver and move closer to the heat of his body. “I mainly just drove around so I could think and calm down. I spent the rest of the time at the airport watching the planes take off. I had to do something to keep from going after the bastard.”

Turning around in his arms, I was scared to face him, but I had to look into his eyes. “Please forgive me,” I begged. “I don’t want you mad at me when all I wanted was to protect us. You have to know it made me sick to keep it from you. I was angry and disgusted with myself for not telling you.”

He nodded. “I know, baby. I understand now that that’s the reason why you haven’t been eating.” When I averted my gaze, Brett lifted my chin so I’d look at him. “Look, I’m not mad at you anymore, okay? I know I stormed out of here last night, but I do understand why you didn’t tell me. I just had to have a clear head to think straight. I promise I’m not going anywhere. If I get mad and walk away that’s just how I deal with things sometimes. We’re not always perfect.”

He leaned over, kissing me softly on the lips, and whispered, “Just always know that I
will
come back to you no matter what. No matter what obstacles are thrown our way, I will always come back. But there is something I have to know.”

Slowly, and with his unwavering gaze, he traced my cheek with his finger and then trailed them down to my heart, placing his hand over the pounding rhythm inside my chest.

“Do you trust me?” he asked warily.

And there it was, the one question I’d been dying to answer all my life with the sound of three simple words.
What’s crazy is that I should be asking him the same question?
I was the one who betrayed his trust, but yet I loved him with all my heart. Why was it so easy to love someone, but so hard to trust? Did I trust him?

Deep in my heart, I knew the answer. I’d known for a long time.
Yes, I trust him.

“Do you?” he repeated, his brows furrowing with my hesitation.

With tears flowing down my cheeks, I nodded my head and cried softly, “I do, Brett. I trust you with all my heart and soul. But I’m the one who should be asking that question to you. I’m the one who kept things from you when I should’ve been honest. So …” I paused for just a moment, “… do you trust me?”

Biting his lip, Brett slowly rolled on top of me and pushed my legs apart with his knee. Running his fingers through my auburn hair, he smiled down at me with such longing and need. “Firecracker, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t, and right now I want us to enjoy this morning together with no thoughts of anything else except you and me … making love. Can we do that?” he asked, lifting my tank top up and over my shoulders, exposing my bare breasts.

For the first time in days I had a genuine smile spread across my face. “I think I can live with that.” Because once we met with Korinne and Galen everything was going to come back full force; the stress was going to come right back.

Even though our emotions were running high, once we were both naked and laid out on his bed, he entered me gently and rocked his hips in a slow, torturous pace while holding me tight against his body. His muscular arms caged me in as he took my face in his hands and kissed me slowly, passionately.

“I think I like it this way,” he uttered huskily. “Slow … gentle, because now I can feel everything inside you, every clench, every muscle wrapping around me. It feels so fucking good and I love it … I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I breathed. And that’s what we did. We loved each other for those precious moments we had before things took a turn for the worse once we had to deal with Daniel.

Brett continued his slow rhythm while I rocked my hips against his, countering his pace, and lifting up to allow him in further. He loved it when I lifted my hips because he could get in deeper, giving me all of him.

My orgasm was closing in and he could sense it because he tensed in my arms and picked up his pace. I could feel his arousal pulsating inside me and I knew he was close as well. Moaning, I gripped the smooth plains of his shoulders and dug my nails in as my release started building swiftly.

“I’m coming with you, baby,” Brett growled. “Let it go.”

Arching my back, my eyes fluttered closed as I rode wave after wave of him taking my body to new limits. My blood sizzled in my veins as the tremors of my release shuddered throughout my soul, to the point where tears clouded my vision and my heart swelled, feeling as if I’d explode. Brett clutched me tighter as his release had him spilling his warmth all inside me, coating me in his desire. I loved the intimacy of it and I craved it. I craved him.

Breathing hard and slick with sweat, Brett lowered his lips to mine and kissed me gently, tasting me like I was tasting him while he wiped away my tears. “Everything is going to be fine, baby. I promise. We’re going to get through this … together.”

“That’s not why I’m crying,” I told him.

With his brows furrowed, he gazed down at me and asked, “Then why?”

“Because I love you too damn much and I don’t deserve you,” I answered honestly.

Brett shook his head and smiled. It was the first show of happiness on his face since he’d gotten back and I couldn’t help but grin along with him. He murmured, “You’re wrong, firecracker. We’re perfect for each other in every way, but if you feel the need to make it up to me then so be it. I’m sure another strip tease would do wonders.”

Laughing, I wriggled my hips against his still hard cock. “Yeah, I can tell you like the idea of another strip tease. Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you … I promise.”

We didn’t have long before we needed to get ready and meet Korinne and Galen at the firm. So after another round of lovemaking, only this time more persistent and vigorous, we took our showers and got dressed quickly.

On the way to downtown I called my cousin, Mason, and waited on him to pick up. “Perfect timing,” he answered. “I was just about to call you. I have some news.”

“And I hope it’s good news,” I said, “Can you meet me at M&M in half an hour? I told Brett everything already and now we’re going to see Korinne and Galen and tell them.”

“I’ll be there,” he promised. “Oh, and Mel?”

“Yeah …”

“You are not going to believe the shit I found out.”

We arrived at M&M right after the lunch hour traffic, so it didn’t take us long to wind through the crowded downtown streets and into the parking deck. Brett stayed close to me the entire time and ran his fingers soothingly over my back as we rode the elevator to the top.

When the doors opened, Rebecca lifted her head from the receptionist’s desk and beamed. “Hey you two,” she greeted happily, fumbling with the mountain of papers on her desk. “Mr. and Mrs. Matthews are waiting for you in their office.”

“Thank you, Rebecca,” Brett said warmly.

“Oh you’re welcome, dearie. You had a couple of phone calls this morning so I took messages.” She rumbled through the documents and smiled when she found them. Handing them to Brett, she said, “I told your client you would be in later today. He’s a very persistent man that Mr. O’Briene.”

Brett stiffened beside me and nodded stiffly. “Yes, he is,” he agreed through gritted teeth. “I’ll call him this afternoon.”

Brett immediately took my hand and led me toward Galen and Korinne’s office, which was on the opposite side of the building from his. The door was open and when they both saw us approaching they motioned us in. Brett shut the door just as Galen stood up, arms crossed over his chest, and demanded, “Okay, what’s going on?”

I looked up at Brett and raised my brow. Did he want me to explain or him? “I think it’s best you tell them,” he said, gently nudging me forward. “Because if I do I’m liable to break something.”

Galen and Korinne both waited patiently for me to explain, so I took a deep breath and told them everything from start to finish. They listened and didn’t interrupt at all while I informed them about my knowledge of the land Daniel claimed was his.

“So you’re saying that your ex-husband doesn’t own rights to that land?” Galen asked to confirm.

I nodded. “That’s right. It was supposed to go to his sister. I tried calling her, but I can’t get in touch with her. Daniel is very persistent on getting this project started and was very adamant on Brett being the one to help him, no one else. That’s why when he saw me with Brett he came up with this whole blackmail scheme to make sure that your company doesn’t fall through.”

Galen lifted a brow at that, so I held up my hands and explained, “Not that your company wouldn’t take on a client just because he was the ex of your girlfriend, but this is Daniel we’re talking about. When he saw me he freaked. He said he
had
to make sure I didn’t screw that up for him. I’m thinking it might be a good idea to find out who this investor is and why he’s so adamant he has Brett on the project.”

Galen sighed and took a seat at his desk. He closed his eyes and rubbed them with his fingers while he leaned back in his chair. “We need to get to the bottom of this before we start anything. Are you sure without a doubt that you think Daniel is lying about the will and that his family didn’t leave him the land?” Galen questioned firmly.

Confident, I nodded. “I’m sure, Galen. If I can just talk to his sister I can get her help and figure out what happened. And once my cousin gets here he said he had some news for us, so hopefully it’ll lead us in the right direction.”

As soon as I said that a knock sounded at the door, interrupting me. “Perfect timing,” I chimed in.

Brett opened the door, and standing there was my cousin Mason in a pair of blue jeans, a tight gray T-shirt, and his favorite New York Yankees baseball cap that hid his shortly cropped blond hair. He was also holding a folder in his hands which I hoped was the information we needed.

“Thank you for coming,” I said to him. I introduced him to everyone, and after he shook everyone’s hands I gazed at him expectantly and asked, “So what do you have for us?”

He took a seat in one of the chairs and removed his cap. “All I have to say is that you owe me, Mel. I had to sit through the most boring ass dates with Daniel’s receptionist to get some inside information I needed and believe me that wasn’t easy. But it did have some perks,” he said, waggling his eyebrows up and down.

Rolling my eyes, I groaned and held up my hands to stop him from going further. “Okay, we don’t need those sordid details, Mase. The last thing I want to hear is
how
you got her to speak. You didn’t tell her who you were did you?”

Mason scoffed. “Of course not. What kind of detective do you think I’d be if I did that? Seriously, Mel, you have to give me more credit than that. Anyway, I was given a few names and I did some digging. It appears Daniel’s reach is farther than I imagined. He has a lot of people in his circle, and I’ll bet everything I own that he has them in his pocket. But what I can’t gather is how he has the money to do everything he does and buys. He makes a lot of money, but he spends out more than he makes. Unless he’s embezzling it from his investors, which is something I have my people looking into. That would explain why he wants the properties on the vineyard to be built quickly so he could sell his portion and get the money back into his clients’ accounts.”

Galen leaned forward in his chair and cut in, “So what should we do? If we put off the project then it might draw suspicions, but I don’t want to waste resources by starting early. Do you have any concrete evidence that could put him away?”

Mason shook his head. “Not yet. The only way we can get that is to openly bring out this case and bring in more people. What we really need to do is get in touch with Daniel’s sister and find the
real
copy to his mother’s will. I also wouldn’t mind finding the lawyer that helped him in this scheme to interrogate him. That is if he even had a lawyer help him like he said he did. If we can just find the real will and have Daniel’s sister cooperate then we can definitely bust his ass.”

Korinne spoke up, directing her question to me. “Have you been able to talk to her yet?” she inquired.

“I’ve tried calling her, but she hasn’t picked up her phone. I don’t know how else to get in touch with her other than show up at her doorstep,” I remarked, glancing from her to everyone else.

Mason shrugged and closed the folder on his lap. “Well, it looks like we’re going to California to hunt her down.”

“And I’ll be going, too,” Brett acknowledged. “I can make it look like I’m starting early.”

Reluctantly, Korinne cast Brett a sympathetic smile and recommended, “Well … If you’re going to go out there, Brett, then you need to give Daniel a heads up if you’re supposedly going to be on
his
land. If not, it’ll look suspicious and we don’t want that.”

Brett gritted his teeth and scowled. I knew it was too soon for him to be able to put on a front with Daniel but he had to. “Fine, I’ll handle it,” he said heatedly. “Apparently, the bastard has been calling nonstop.”

“There is one thing …” Mason began, averting his attention to me and Brett. Hesitantly, he moved forward in his chair and leaned his elbows on his thighs. He sighed before adding, “And I know you’re not going to like it.”

Brett and I exchanged wary glances before turning our gazes back to my cousin. “What is it?” I asked skeptically. Brett wrapped his arms around my shoulders and held me tight while we waited on Mason to continue.

He explained, “We’re close to figuring out the shady dealings with Daniel, but it still doesn’t keep you out of his sights, Mel. Maybe if you and Brett…” He paused, releasing a heavy sigh, “… separated for a while it would make Daniel cockier if he doesn’t have to worry about you spilling the secrets to him. Mistakes happen when the culprit thinks he’s invincible.”

Brett’s grip on me tightened and his voice was laced with anger when he spat, “I refuse to leave her alone when that fucker can get to her anytime he pleases. What all of you don’t know is that Daniel broke into her house and violated her. He’s lucky I haven’t killed his sorry ass for what he did.”

Korinne and Galen gasped while Mason stormed to his feet. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” he shouted. “Did he rape you?”

“No,” I shrieked, holding up my hands. “He didn’t and I know for a fact he would never try to do that to me anyway. Just let me explain,” I pleaded.

Fuming, Mason sat back down and I took a deep breath before telling the story. I didn’t go into full details, but I did tell them about Daniel tricking me and left off the sexual parts. I wasn’t about to say that out loud. I felt like the hugest fool for falling for it.

“So now you understand why I won’t leave her by herself, right?” Brett argued.

Regretfully, Mason nodded but didn’t relent. “Yeah, I understand that, but if she stays somewhere else or has someone staying with her it’s going to draw suspicion. Melissa can take care of herself, and she knows how to use a gun; I taught her how myself.”

“He’s right,” I agreed, glancing at Brett. “We’ll never pull this off if I’m seen with you. As much as I hate this we have to make him believe that I’m not a threat anymore. And I know you’re not going to like this, but if I pretend to get back together with him it could possibly give us some information we need.”

Brett’s eyes went wide and he snarled, his voice laced with animosity, “That’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard. You do realize what you would be putting yourself through, right? Not to mention what it would be doing to me.”

I swallowed hard and nodded. “It won’t be for long. If I can just make him believe me, then I can see what he’s really up to. I could definitely lower his guard.”

Mason spoke up, “I loathe the idea of this, but Mel has a point. It could work.”

Aggravated, Brett tugged at his tousled hair and growled, “What about California? I’m still going out there with you no matter what. How are you going to get away with that?”

Brett was like a ticking time bomb: angry and on the verge of exploding. Taking his hand, I lifted his palm and laid a calming kiss to the center. His breathing slowed just a bit, but he was still coiled tight like a snake.

Softly, I murmured, “All I have to do is tell Daniel that I’m going to Kori’s cabin in the mountains for a few days if he calls me. I’m pretty sure that we’ll get our answers when we go to California. Besides, I’m sure he isn’t going to be making any appearances for a few days with his face the way it is. I hit him pretty hard.”

Galen’s voice boomed throughout the room, “Then it’s settled.” Next he spoke to Brett, “This isn’t going to be easy, but we all know you can do it. When you feel ready, I want you to call Daniel. Tell him about how you want to get started on the planning and that you want to make a trip to California as soon as possible.”

“Also,” I stated, “try to sound angry and upset since we just broke up. Tell him that the reason why you want to get started is so you can get away for a while. Daniel will eat it up.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about me not sounding angry and upset, firecracker,” Brett said.

Rolling my eyes, I lifted up on my toes and kissed his lips. “We’ll get through this … I promise.”

Sighing, Brett pulled me close. “Yes we will, and we might as well start now.”