AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“There a reason you look like you saw a ghost?”
“I don’t sleep very well in the studio.” She speaks so soft I almost miss it. “Actually, I sleep little anywhere.”
Her admission strikes straight to my gut, and I know this is one of those times I have to tread lightly. “Why don’t you sleep?”
“I sleep, just not really at night. Usually, I can pass out as soon as the sun rises. I get a few hours before I go downstairs to the salon.”
“The light in your window?”
“What light?”
“Every night, there’s a routine. You switch off the lights upstairs, and a few seconds later, a light comes on in the back room.”
She jerks in surprise, her fingers gripping my shirt. “How do you know that?”
“Because until Saturday night, I’ve been outside watching to make sure you are safe. If I’m on shift and can’t drive by, Talon checks for me.”
“Oh my God. You’ve been watching me?”
“Yeah, babe. Watching and biding my time. What you went through, what you experienced, I told myself you needed the time.”
“Why didn’t you call me? Or come up?”
“Because you were dealing with serious shit, and the last thing I wanted was to scare you away. Swear to God, I hate the motherfucker and never want to mention his name, but Craig Johns left a trail of heartache. I needed to give you that. Me swooping in wasn’t smart. It fucking killed, but knowing you were upstairs safe was enough.”
I give her time to process, seeing the wheels spinning in her mind. “He didn’t leave a trail of heartache, Ford. I never loved him. It sucks that I was stupid enough to stay with a cheating, lying, abusive, psychotic dick. But my heart, it wasn’t his.”
“He kidnapped, beat, stole from, and tried to rape you. That leaves a mark.”
“I was never scared for myself. Jewls was my priority.”
I grip her head, feeling a surge of pride and rage battling inside. “We were coming for you.”
“I was counting on it and did what I needed to keep her safe.”
“You are selfless, but there’s something else you need to know. We all went into that situation with an agenda. Mine was always you. Seeing you that night made me want to rip the fucker apart with my hands.”
Her breath hitches and eyes well with moisture. “I hate you saw me that way.”
“Don’t. Ever. Think. That.”
“Can you get past it?”
The vulnerability in her question makes me realize she’s still holding her uncertainty deep.
“Rowan, I’ll never get past a man hurting you. But the moment I saw the fire in your eyes, the hatred on your face, and the fight in you, I fell hard. Or should I say harder? You are the bravest, most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”
“You’ve been watching my building for over six weeks?”
“Yes.”
There is no warning before her lips crash over mine, her legs locking around my hips. It takes a millisecond for my brain to compute, and I growl down her throat when her tongue sweeps through my mouth. My hands slide to her back, pulling her flush to me. Unlike other times, she fights me for control, curling her tongue, speeding her movements as she digs her fingernails into my chest. I relent, letting her have this, knowing she’s giving me something special.
Too soon, she breaks away, breathless. “I really, really wish you would have called or come up.”
“Jesus fuck.” I roll my hips to hers, making sure she feels what she’s done.
She giggles, curling her hands around my neck. “You sure you don’t want to go back to bed?”
