“Oh, um…” I shake my head. “No. He just reminded me of someone.”
That’s not entirely true. Yes, the guy reminded me of Jace, so much so that I can’t be sure it wasn’t him. And if it was? Well, that’s a problem for some other time, like when I’m not with Screamer.
“Okay.” The way he says the word, it’s clear he’s not sure whether to believe me. “So, he reminded you of the guy who broke your ribs.”
I nod and take several calming breaths. “Growing up, I always knew I wanted to leave Marble Falls. I was tired of living around the biker lifestyle and needed to see what else the world has to offer.” Realizing how that sounds, I add, “No offense.”
“None taken.”
I smile gratefully. “Anyway, I moved across the country, to the east coast. I got a job, made friends, met a guy. All the normal things people do at my age. Jace was everything I thought I wanted, the exact opposite of a biker. Again, no offense.”
He chuckles. “Sweetheart, you’re here with me, not him. No offense taken.”
“Right. So, things with Jace were great. Then he proposed, and he changed. I should be planning my wedding, but instead, I’m here, hiding.”
“I’d say you’re here to heal not hide.”
“Maybe, but it doesn’t change the facts. I fell for a man who made me a fool. He became controlling and mean. It was little things at first. He didn’t like a shirt I was wearing or the color of my nail polish. Then it turned into him not liking my friends and the time I spent with them or the phone calls with my brother. I thought he just loved me, ya know? I thought he wanted me all to himself but in a good way. I grew up around possessive men, so I brushed it off.”
“There’s a difference between being possessive and being controlling,” he says. “If you were mine, I’d be possessive as hell, but that doesn’t mean I’d tell you how to act or what to wear or who to be friends with.”
“What does it mean?” I ask, suddenly needing to know.
“It means you’d belong to me. I’d protect you with my life, love you with everything I have, and take care of you so that you want for nothing.”
“Does that go both ways?”
“What do you mean?”
“What if I was possessive of you? Would that piss you off?”
Screamer grins widely. “Fuck, no, sweetheart. If I’m with a woman, if we’re committed to each other, that protection, that love and care… it better go both ways.”
I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “Good to know.”
“But we’re not talking about a relationship between us. I want to hear the rest of your story.”
The fact that he’s not focusing on what could be between us or making any move to hit on me or get in my pants lights me up from the inside out. He genuinely seems interested in me as a person, and that’s what I crave right now.
Well, that and his dick.
Shaking that thought away, I dive into the last night I was with Jace. “We had a dinner party. Some of Jace’s colleagues and friends were at the house. Everything went off without a hitch, or so I thought. When everyone left, he went off on me, accusing me of looking at a male friend of his too much and all sorts of things. He became physical. I managed to get away and to our bedroom, but it did me no good.” Wringing my hands in my lap, I fight off tears. “He beat the shit out of me that night and then left me there to bleed. I got to my cell and texted my friends. They came right away and helped me pack up and get the fuck out.”
“Good friends.”
“The best. When I left, I got a rental car under a different name and slowly made my way to Marble Falls. It took me two weeks because I wanted to heal as much as I could before facing my brother. I also dumped my cell and got a new one with a newnumber. Obviously, the wedding’s off, although I never officially told him that.”
“You leaving should be enough for him to get the picture.”
“You’d think. He confronted my friend, Greg, at the gym about where I am. Greg, Sammie, and Melody don’t know I’m here, so even if he could get them to talk, there’s nothing they can tell him.”
“Smart.”
“I just…” I huff out a breath. “I just wish I’d been smart sooner, ya know?”
“I do, but you can’t put that on yourself. You were being abused. Maybe not physically at first, but he manipulated you. You got out when it counted.”
“I guess.” I look into his eyes. “So, I showed you mine. And now I need a favor.”
