Turbulent Kisses (10 page)

Chase’s body recognized her before his mind did. Just looking at her stirred up his insides with a hunger he hadn’t anticipated. He hated his response to her, but doubted he could do much about it.

His gaze narrowed. “What do you want?”

“A chance to apologize.” Her pleading look sent a flush of heat through his entire body. But he wasn’t willing to give in to that.

“Why didn’t you call?” he growled, taking a step backwards.

“I figured you wouldn’t talk to me.” The tension in her shoulders increased, but she didn’t move.

“And rightly so.” He warily watched her face.

Pearl squirmed beneath his cold stare and wrapped her arms around her torso. His resistance melted when he saw the chattering of her teeth and the slight blue tint around her mouth. “How long have you been out here?”

“I don’t know. A few hours.”

“Hours? Are you crazy, woman?” he demanded.

“I had to talk to you. I was afraid if I went back up to the car, you’d leave before…”

His heart lurched with hope, but moments later, he remembered the times she’d dumped him. No thanks. He couldn’t handle getting dumped by her one more time.

“Chase, please don’t make me beg.”

He almost grinned. He’d love her to beg him – aroused and naked in his bedroom. Not now.

“I won’t.” A maelstrom of emotions broke over him and he gasped for breath. He needed a timeout. One minute to clear his head. “Pearl, give me a minute to put away my gear. I’ll be right back.”

The agony that swept over her face when she nodded at him cut through his resolve and he had to turn away in order not to wrap her into his arms.

He carried his kite board and other gear to a nearby shed, stowed it away and then grabbed his fleece jacket, handing it to her. “Put this on.”

For a moment, he believed she’d reject his offer, because a stubborn glance etched into her eyes. But she gratefully took it, slipping her arms into the sleeves and holding the extra-large jacket around her body like a shield.

“Thank you.” Her voice was a mere whisper.

When she didn’t say another word, he nudged her with a warm and caring voice. “You wanted to talk.”

She took a deep breath and met his eyes. “Chase, I missed you so much. I was frightened out of my mind and turned you away. I can’t excuse my behavior, and I know I put you through a lot, but I’m hoping that maybe you could forgive me and give me another chance.”

The sincerity in her eyes got to him. And with every word she said, he felt his heart soften towards her. The sadness and anxiety her rejection had left behind slowly dissipated and by the time she finished her speech, only warm and positive feelings for her remained. He wanted her – in his bed and in his life with an intensity that shocked him.

He’d never felt this way before. He had the strongest urge to protect her and try to make everything right in her world. In that very moment, he realized he was in love with her. Just like that. It seemed so simple, so obvious.

“Pearl, I’ve missed you too, more than I ever thought possible. Those last days were like hell. But now you’re here and everything will be alright.”

He closed the distance to her and wrapped her into his arms, nearly crushing her with the force of his embrace. She pressed her body against his, molded them into one another.

This woman was all he’d ever dreamed of, and more. But there was one more thing he needed to know before they could make a fresh start.

He released her from his embrace, holding her at arm’s length and studying her sweet face. “Darling, I want to be with you. Every day of my life. And every night. But if we are to have a future together, you first need to be totally honest with me. I need to know the truth.”

“The truth about what?” she asked, her face a mixture of question and fear.

Chase pointed to her left leg. “The truth about your injury.”

He watched as the color drained from her face, terror washing over her as she took a brisk step back from him.

“You think I haven’t noticed the way you react whenever your injury is mentioned? Or the way you moved my hand away from your scar? Believe me, I’ve had my share of training injuries, and that scar sure as hell isn’t one.”

“But it is. I don’t know what else you want me to say,” she insisted, stubbornness replacing the terror in her eyes.

Chase physically felt the walls around his heart closed down. This was it. They were done here. He couldn’t have a future with a woman who didn’t trust him enough to tell him her biggest fear.

He glanced at her face and then dropped his eyes to her leg. Leaning close so that she wouldn’t miss a syllable, he told her, “Bullshit!”

Then he turned around and walked away.

Pearl saw her future crashing down around her and called out to him in a panic. “Wait! Please, Chase. Wait!”

He turned around and stared at her, and she bit her bottom lip as she tried to work up enough courage to give him what he wanted. Full disclosure.

Her heart beat up in her throat, while he simply stood there, waiting for her to tell him the truth. She squirmed beneath his gaze, sweat forming in her palms. But while she was afraid, no terrorized, she could understand his point of view.

She cast her eyes down and took a deep breath. Or two. This was so difficult. Looking up, she nodded once. “Okay.”

Chase still didn’t soften his stance. On the contrary, he put his legs firmly onto the ground and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I’m waiting.”

His stare was dark and cut right through her heart. Neither of them moved for long minutes. Pearl wanted to curse him for making it so hard for her, but a small portion of her brain actually took his side.
He needs to make a point here. He needs you to trust him, before he can trust you again.

She sighed. “I really want to tell you, but…it’s so hard.” She heard the tears in her voice and swallowed to push them away.
No weakness. I am not a victim.

His look softened and he uncrossed his arms. “Look, Pearl. If we want to have any chance of making this work, I need you to trust me. Enough to tell me your biggest fear.” He paused and swallowed. “These last few days without you I was miserable like hell. Without you, nothing matters, because I’ve fallen in love with you.”

Pearl gasped at his words and raised a hand to her lips, wondering if she’d heard them right.

He went on. “And while I don’t want to cause you pain, I’m not willing to let you dump me once again. I couldn’t handle it. And whatever secret you’re keeping from me is the reason you’ve shut me down. Right?”

Pearl nodded with tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Sugar, that may be, but you still need to trust me enough to tell me what really happened.”

A warm flurry of butterflies started up in her stomach, as the impossibly hot and sexy man in front of her confessed his love for her. Her brain was a little slow to catch up, but when it did, she understood what her body had known all along. She loved Chase.

But apparently loving someone was not a piece of cake. The card makers had gotten it all wrong. It wasn’t all roses and picnics in the park like the advertisements tried to make one believe. No, love was hard work. It took trust and giving up control.

Trust. A simple five-letter word was the hardest thing in the world to do, she thought.

Looking at him, she sighed. If she blew it now, there wouldn’t be another chance.

“Can we walk, please?” She needed to move and try to hold herself together for what she was about to tell him. It was the only way she could hope to get through the next few minutes.

***

Chase saw her shivering and his heart broke for her. But he kept his distance. She needed to get her secret out in the open, and while he wanted to be there for her, he understood she needed to feel in control. And strong – which she wouldn’t if he were to take her into his arms.

She started walking, and he dropped into step beside her. After a long time and several false starts, she finally started telling him her story.

“I was in Mexico. It was late night, after a competition. I insisted on walking back to the hotel to get a clear head. Two guys followed me and shoved me into an alley. I ran away from them, but one of them caught my leg and I fell, twisting it. I fell to the ground and one of the guys kicked me with his boots. One of the kicks went straight to my knee.”

She broke off on a sob as she remembered the horrible scene. Shuddering, she added, “The impact ripped the tendons from the bone. I can still hear the sound of them ripping even today. It was like a whip.”

Chase held back a curse and curled his hands into fists. He’d kill those bastards.

Pearl increased her pace, wiping the tears from her cheeks with her fingertips as she took a shuddery breath. “They were after my money. The other guy grabbed my wallet, and tore the watch from my wrist. He threw both of them towards the other guy, who turned to leave. I prayed they’d disappear.”

She stopped walking and bent over, her hands around her middle as she struggled to deal with the fear and memories. When she finally regained control of herself and straightened back up, she didn’t look at him and started walking again.

Chase muttered a curse. All he wanted was to pull her into his arms and soothe her pain. But she didn’t need easy. She needed the raw truth. She needed to tell her story and get rid of the fear and anger she’d been carrying around deep inside since her attack.

Sobbing, she continued, “But the worst was yet to come. The first guy seemed to change his mind and returned to where I lay. I wasn’t able to move. My leg hurt like hell. I watched him pull out a long knife.”

“Pearl.” Chase couldn’t stand to see her suffer any longer and grabbed her hand, but she shook it off.

“He turned on me, waving the knife in my face, and yelled at me in Spanish. I didn’t understand a word, but I could tell he was drunk, and I knew he was out to hurt me. I thought he’d kill me.”

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Afterwards, there were days when I wished he would have.” She took a moment and went on. “On pure willpower, I managed to get up and steady myself on my good leg against the wall, ignoring the screaming pain in my knee while the two of them argued. I believe the second guy was trying to convince him to leave me alone and to just get out of there. But the guy with the knife didn’t listen.”

Chase saw a multitude of emotions wash through her eyes, none of them pleasant. “Pearl. Take a break.”

But she didn’t even notice his words. She looked right through him into some distant point in her past, her voice shallow as she continued to recount her nightmare. “He yelled some orders at me and when I didn’t move, he waved the knife in my face and then slowly moved it down my body until he hooked the tip into the buckle of my jeans. I was frozen in place, not only because of my trashed knee.”

Chase wanted her to stop. He’d heard enough. She didn’t have to suffer any longer. But when he tried to take her into his arms, she pushed him away and continued. Her sobs and tears made the rest of the story difficult. “He sliced the knife all the way down my leg. Cutting through my jeans, and the flesh underneath. The pain was excruciating. I wasn’t sure if he was going to kill me or rape me. Or both.”

She stopped walking, her energy gone as she finished revealing the secret she’d been bearing on her own for so many months.

When she didn’t continue talking, he turned and took her hands in his own. They were cold as ice and he spent a few minutes rubbing some warmth back into them. He searched her eyes and locked with them. He could see pain and fear in her eyes. But also relief.

Love spread throughout his body and he pressed her against his chest. But when he searched her lips, she turned her head away. Confused he asked, “Is there more?”

Pearl shrugged. “No. Some people came down the alleyway, and the two guys took off. They called an ambulance and I was taken to a clinic.”

“Did you report to the police?” he asked.

“The doctor did. I had to give my report to them the next day, but the policeman who took my statement wasn’t very interested in doing so. I know the language barrier was part of the problem.” Her voice took on a matter-of-fact tone.

“When he was finished typing my statement on his old manual typewriter, I spotted only three lines on the paper. And when I was wheeled out of the police station, I saw out of the corner of my eyes how he crumpled up my report and tossed it into the trash can.”

Chase used his finger to try and turn her back to face him, but she resisted and he let her have her way. “I’m sorry.”

Before his words had floated away, she shoved against his chest and glared at him, leaving an utterly confused Chase.
What in the hell is wrong now? Who can understand this woman, because I sure as hell can’t?

“See what I get for telling you the truth?” she spat through angry, clenched teeth. “Now you think I’m a loser. A victim to be pitied.”

He shook his head, his confusion evident in his voice. “Sugar, I don’t pity you. On the contrary, I admire you for your strength. You are one of the strongest women on the planet. And one of the most courageous.”

The whole time he spoke to her, she was adamantly shaking her head, and he knew she hadn’t heard a word he said. He wasn’t surprised when she yanked her hands from his and backed away from him.

“Pearl?”

She turned around and stomped off. Again.