Trusting You (23 page)

“I didn’t know what else to do,” I uttered sadly. I just wanted to forget the look in Daniel’s eyes when I bashed him in the head. It will always be a permanent mark on my heart.

The room grew quiet and they could tell I didn’t want to talk anymore about what happened. Wary, Claire and Mason both tried to smile and left the room while Brett took a chair and moved it beside the bed. Taking my hand, he kissed it and held it in between both of his.

“One day, the pain will be less,” he murmured gently, leaning over to brush the hair away from my face. “But I’ll be with you every day to make sure you get through it until it does. I can promise you that.”

Smiling, I captured his hand with mine and held it to my face. “Good, because I’m going to hold you to that promise. I hope you know what you got yourself in to. I can be a little hard to handle sometimes.”

He chuckled and stood up to kiss me, tracing his tongue lightly over my lips. “Oh, I’m always up for a challenge, firecracker. I look forward to it.”

Me too.

Before leaving the hospital, I did something I didn’t think I would do or wanted to do for that matter. I went to see Daniel. Claire told me what room he was in and offered to walk in there with me, but I wanted to see him alone. Brett pushed me in the wheelchair down the hall to the room designated for him and once outside the closed door, I licked my dry lips and hesitated. What reason would he have to want to see me after everything he did?

Brett helped me up by grasping my arm gently, and other than feeling weak I was fine. There was a guard by the door who was stout like an ox, all bulky in his uniform, with a shaved head and kind smile. He nodded at us as we approached and moved aside so I
could have access to the door.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Brett asked skeptically.

Heaving a resounding sigh, I nodded my head and faced the door. “Yes, I’m sure. I’ll always wonder what he wanted if I don’t.”

With my hand on the knob, I turned it slowly and opened the door, little by little. I walked in, taking quiet steps, until I could see the foot of Daniel’s bed. Carefully, I turned the corner and gasped when his face came into view. His head was wrapped in gauze, his eyes were swollen and black, and his nose was crooked from what I assumed was from a punch by Brett’s fist. Shockingly, he was actually breathing on his own.

I sat in the chair beside his bed and watched him. His eyes were closed and his breathing was even. For about fifteen minutes I sat there waiting on him to wake up, and when he didn’t, I quietly ambled over to the door, not getting very far. I froze immediately when I heard the sound of Daniel’s voice, all raspy and hoarse, calling out my name.

“Melissa,” he whispered.

Turning my head ever so slowly, I gazed at him from over my shoulder. His face was toward me, but with his eyes so swollen I didn’t know if he could really
see
me. He repeated my name again in his gruff and beaten voice, “Melissa.”

I blew out a shaky breath and answered, “I’m here, Daniel. Claire told me you had something to say so I’m here.” My eyes pooled with unshed tears, and in a way I knew I shouldn’t feel sad with the way he landed himself all broken in a hospital bed. It was his fault he made terrible choices in life, but …

I couldn’t forget how that same man was one I had married and was happy with, if only for a short while, I did love him and he loved me.
Sometimes love just isn’t what it seems.

“I’m sorry,” he choked out. “Mel, I am so sorry.”

A tear escaped the corner of his blackened eye and his shoulders shook with each sob. I had never seen him break down before, and even though I wanted to hate him, I just couldn’t. He was a screwed up individual, and deep down I prayed that he’d get the help he needed to get his life back on track.

I let my own tears fall freely when I gazed over at him. They
were the last tears I’d ever cry for him. “Good-bye, Daniel.”

He stared at me for the longest time, his cheeks moist with tears, before saying, “Good-bye, Melissa.”

One Month Later

It was a week before Christmas and there was so much to do. When my parents saw me on the news right after I’d been taken they came straight home from their travels and refused to leave. It went from talking to them once every couple of weeks to talking to them every day. It was kind of nice having them around. However, the night was just for me and Brett, but there was one stop I had to make before going to his condo, which had now become my home for the time being.

After selling everything I owned, I had a nice giant sum of money that was going to help me with my new adventure. An adventure I couldn’t wait to begin. So many things were going to change once the New Year came. Once everything settled down after the whole Daniel debacle I had chosen not to go back to work for the rest of the school year. There was so much going on that I knew I wouldn’t be able to focus on it. It hurt my heart to leave, but it was the right thing to do.

My last stop for the day was the one place I never wanted to see again. When I pulled into the driveway of my old house, the one I’d shared with Daniel, my realtor was waiting for me in her car. It was mid-December and very cold for this time of year which was odd. I parked my new yellow Jeep Wrangler, which I bought after selling my Lexus, beside my realtor’s SUV. Before climbing out of the car, I wrapped my scarf around my neck and buttoned up my jacket.

“Good evening,” Amy said, walking around the front of her car to meet me.

She was dressed in a long black skirt and a dark gray petticoat. I really liked her when she helped Daniel and I find our house, and I knew she would be the perfect one to help me sell it.

She smiled and said, “Thank you for meeting me here. I was in the area and thought it would be easier to get the paperwork done.”

Shivering, I tucked my hands in my wool pockets and smiled. “It’s perfectly fine. I can’t believe the house sold so fast. It’d only been on the market for two weeks.”

Amy giggled. “That’s the way it goes sometimes. Did you want to take one last look around inside or do you want to sign the papers out here?”

“Out here is fine,” I told her. “There are too many painful memories inside that house.”

She opened the passenger side door of her car and pulled out a yellow folder. “I completely understand,” she said, sorting through the papers. “I know it has to feel good to be away from here.”

“You have no idea,” I mumbled to myself.

Slamming her car door, she fumbled with the papers in her hand and laid them on the hood of her car. “Okay, here we go.” She pointed to the vacant lines on both papers. “All right, Melissa, I need you to sign on both of those lines and you’re done.” She handed me a pen, and wasting no time I signed my name on the empty lines.

“There you go, Amy. Thank you so much for taking care of me and finding someone so quickly. I really appreciate it.”

Amy waved me off and shook my hand. “It was no problem. Good luck with everything.”

“Thank you,” I replied, letting go of her hand. “For once I feel like luck is on my side.”

As soon as Amy got in her car and drove away, I took one last look at the house before turning my back and driving away. It wasn’t my home anymore. My home was with Brett and that was exactly where I was headed.

Before getting on the road, I dialed Claire’s number to tell her the good news. She answered with an excited, “Hey, girl. How are ya?”

I chuckled. “I’m doing well. I just signed the papers over to the house. It’s officially been sold.”

Claire shrieked. “No way! Does this mean what I think it means? Please tell me you’re going to move out here now. Does Brett know that you’ve been thinking about it?”

I sighed. “No, he doesn’t know yet. I didn’t realize the house would sell so fast and now that it has ...” I paused and massaged the tension at my temples. “I just thought I would have more time. I won’t be able to leave Brett. I love him too much.”

“Just talk to him, Melissa. I’m sure things will work out perfectly. All you have to do is ask him one simple question and go from there. If he says no then … I don’t know.”

“Thanks, Claire,” I retorted dryly. “You were such a big help.”

She giggled. “Anytime, babe. Call me tomorrow and let me know what he says.”

“I will,” I said. After hanging up the phone with her, I started up the car and headed home.

It was early evening, so I knew I would make it to the condo before Brett, but when I opened the door to our home, I was completely surprised with what I saw. Our Christmas lights on the tree were all turned on and twinkling in the darkness of the living room while our gas logs were burning bright. I gasped when I saw that Brett had a laid out the perfect picnic in front of our beautiful Christmas tree that we both spent a whole day and night making perfect together.

“I thought I’d surprise you,” Brett muttered, coming up beside me and handing me a glass of sparkling white wine.

“Surprise me?” I began. “What’s the occasion?”

Unbuttoning my coat, Brett smiled as he took it from me and hung it on the coat rack. “It’s been a good day and I just wanted to let you know how much I love you.” Grasping my hand, he pulled me over to our picnic. “Sit,” he commanded playfully. “Let’s eat.”

I took a seat on the soft pillows he had spread out and drank the rest of my wine. “Actually, it has been a good day,” I remarked. “My house is officially sold.”

Brett’s eyes went wide. “Already? Wow that was fast.” He pulled the top off my plate and poured me another glass of wine that he had chilling in a tub of ice.

Taking the filled glass of wine, I agreed, “Yeah, that’s what I thought too.”
Just go ahead and tell him what’s on your mind
, I thought to myself.

With my stomach in knots, I sat there and ate the delicious chicken parmesan and salad that had my mouth salivating as soon as I entered the door. The meal satiated my growling appetite, but it did nothing for my nerves. Once we were all done, Brett cleared the plates and settled behind me on the massive pillows and blankets he had scattered across the floor.

Brett nuzzled his nose in my hair and breathed me in, moaning as he exhaled. “I think it’s time for dessert, don’t you?” His hands slid down my arm, down the side of my stomach to my thighs and then back up making shivers race across my skin.

“I couldn’t agree more,” I acknowledged, breathless.

Reaching around to the front of my shirt, he slowly undid my buttons one by one. My lip tilted up in a smirk as I watched his hand deftly undo each one, exposing the bare skin underneath. I sat up and slipped my shirt off once it was completely unbuttoned while Brett did the same with his. Kissing me tenderly on the lips, he reached around my back and unhooked my bra while I worked on the button of his jeans. Once my breasts were exposed from the satiny cotton of my bra, he pulled one of my peaked nipples into his mouth and licked the sensitive flesh until I was bucking underneath him.

I tried desperately to get his pants unbuttoned, but the bulge straining against the zipper made it difficult; I huffed impatiently. Once the button came undone I carefully freed him and wrapped my hand around the thickness of his cock, stroking him long and hard. He jerked in my hand and moaned above me.

“Damn, I love your hands and the way you touch me. Your grip is so tight, just the way your sex is when I make love to you.”

My eyes rolled in the back of my head as his tongue licked my aching nipples and his fingers slowly delved into my underwear and grazed over my clit. He tested my wetness and I knew he was satisfied by the growl rumbling in his chest.

“I see you’re ready for me, baby.”

“Always,” I replied softly.

With hooded eyes, I gazed over his hard, muscled body with satisfaction. His arms flexed as my eyes trailed over them, and then I couldn’t help but lower my stare to the one part of his body that instantly made my core slick and throb with the need to be touched.

Once my pants were gone, Brett slowly lowered himself on top of me and entered me as deep as he could go. My sex instantly clenched tight and he stopped momentarily to take a deep breath. “Why do you always make it hard on me?” he teased.

“I can’t help it. It feels too good when you’re inside me.”

Taking my face in his hands, he kept his gaze on me the entire time we made love. He kissed me over and over again, while riding me slow and rocking his hips against my tender spot. I could tell he was getting close to the edge, but he always kept it off until I was on the verge of mine. It was one of the things I loved about him when it came to making love. He always put my needs first above his own.

His thrusts grew deeper and he pounded harder while holding my face in between his hands, watching me as I screamed out my orgasm. Growling, he bit my lip and sucked it as he came inside me, all hot and thick. Breathing hard, he kissed my lips and slowly lifted up on his elbows, still hard and pulsating inside me. It always drove me crazy when he would stay inside me without pulling out; it made the tremors from the orgasm vibrate more violently and I loved it.

“We need to talk about something,” he began, gazing down at me seriously. “It’s something important.”