Page 68 of Captivated By You
We hadn’t been able to get in the air until after nine o’clock and we’d only been in the air for a couple hours. But two plane rides in one day, the stress, the assault…all of it was taking a toll.
I was exhausted, but lyrics continued to invade my brain, making sleep impossible.
I dipped my head, strumming my guitar with my head down when I felt Claudia’s presence before her bare feet appeared in my view.
“Hey,” I said, lifting my head. I swung my guitar to the side and pulled her into my lap. “How’d you sleep?”
She had a bottled water in one hand and she took another drink before answering. “Better. My throat hurts, but not as much.”
“Good.” I had to bite back a growl but as she settled against me and sighed, the anger was easier to push aside.
We were silent for several moments. By the tension in her shoulders even as she rested against me, I knew Claudia was struggling with her thoughts and most likely her memories, so I comforted her by running my hand up and down her back. She was still wearing the same black dress she’d worn that morning at the press conference, but I didn’t have clothes for her to change into. I knew all she’d want was to get out of it, wash off the day and the reminders of that asshole, and most likely, burn it.
“I never liked him,” she said. Her voice was so hesitant, I tensed for what was coming. “Harrison, I mean.”
“But you were going to marry him?” I still couldn’t erase the way he’d called her his fiancée. The way his face twisted as he called her a cunt. Goddamn it. Why didn’t I kill him when I had the chance?
“Sort of. I considered it, but mostly my dad was indebted to Harrison’s dad, Edward. Big time. Harrison and Edward are both lawyers and are also the trustees of my trust fund. When I was still a teenager, my dad made a deal with Edward that I would marry Harrison some day. I didn’t know until after my parents were dead.”
My arms tightened around her. “Did you want to marry him?”
She turned to me and I found I couldn’t look at her. I kept my gaze focused on the windows across from us, where all I could see was the black sky. Her palm pressed to my cheek and pulled me to look at her. “It was what my parents wanted, Liam. For awhile, I tried to like him, but slowly I realized I couldn’t stand him.” Tears filled her eyes and she took a deep breath, her chin trembling as she tried to continue. “I thought if my dad had wanted him for me, he’d be a good man.”
“Fuck,” I whispered and pulled her against me. “You don’t have to keep explaining, just know that I’m going to destroy him.”
“I just want to stop thinking about him,” she cried.
“You will. I’ll make sure of it.” I gave her a couple moments to let it all out before asking, “What was the Real Estate Deed stuff about? I grabbed the paperwork when we left.”
“I don’t even really know,” she said, shaking her head. “He controls my trust and said he’d used the funds to buy the house for us before it went up for auction like it was supposed to. When I told him I didn’t want it, that was when he got angry, and…”
“Stop,” I whispered. “Say no more.”
I’d seen it. I didn’t want to hear about it. That could wait. I just wanted her next to me. I gripped her in my arms and rose to my feet.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m taking you to the bed. I want to hold you and be next to you when I tell you I love you.”
Her head jerked. “What?”
I kissed her lips quickly, kicking open the door to the bedroom at the same time. “You heard me,” I said. We reached the bed and I climbed onto the mattress on my knees, setting her down gently. I followed, rolling to my side next to her as she curled into me. “I knew it before you took off this morning, and if I hadn’t known it then, I would have definitely known it when I walked into your house and saw him with you. No one will ever hurt you again, Claudia, not while I’m in your life, which I plan on being for a long time.”
“You love me?” Her hand brushed against my cheek. I turned and kissed her palm before she slid her hand down my neck, to my arm and traced the ink on my knuckles. I watched every fascinating, gentle brush of her hand on mine.
I’d memorize the feel of her. Her scent. The way she laughed and brushed her hair out of her eyes. I’d memorize every damn thing about Claudia Townsend.
“Yeah, sweetheart. It’s fast, it’s early. I get all of that. But I want you to know that when we get back to New York, the first thing I’m doing is calling your aunt and getting that contract torn up. I want nothing in between us. No more secrets. Nothing that can keep us from each other.”
She shook her head. “She won’t let you. They’re strict and would never allow it.”
“Then we live like it’s not between us and when our time is up, we keep living like it never was between us.”
She tipped her head back. Sweet, chocolate eyes met my gaze. I’d owe Anne a helluva lot for forcing me to go to Infidelity with her.
She hadn’t just saved my career. She’d given me everything I wanted out of life.
This woman. In my arms. My bed. My homes. On my tour bus. I’d take Claudia with me wherever she wanted to go, whenever she wanted it. She’d had enough pain for a lifetime and I’d see to it she feared no more.
