Forgiven (Touched Series #2) Read online

  “Mmmm.” Her warm lips are on my abs, move to my chest and then over my heart with soft kisses. I open one eye and see her leaning over me but she doesn’t notice, she just keeps on peppering kisses over my body. I can’t take it anymore and grab her upper arms, lifting her up and on top of me and the weight of her cast doesn’t faze me. I press my mouth against hers and she struggles a bit but relaxes in my arms quickly. She moves back and lays her head on my chest.

  “Bad breath,” she whispers.

  I chuckle knowing what she means. “Are you saying I have bad breath? I brushed my teeth last night before I came to bed.” My eyebrow raises, and my smile turns in a cocky grin. She peeks up at me and tries to slide off my body, but I hold her firm. “Nope, you’re not going anywhere, Peaches. This is our first morning as roomies and I want cuddling.” Her face plants into my chest and she sighs.

  “I need to brush my teeth,” she says, her voice muffled.

  Grabbing her arms again I hoist her up and off the bed, making sure she’s standing steady and smile. “Ok, off you go but you come back as soon as you’re done and resume your position.” She smiles, nods and scurries off to the bathroom. She’s so fucking cute even with her long hair all a tangled mess but her sleepy face is beautiful. It doesn’t take her long but I did notice she brushed her hair too, silly girl. She hesitantly begins to climb back onto the bed and I grab her arms again, placing her exactly where she was before, the warmth of her body overtaking me along with her smell. Even without any expensive things her skin always smells of peaches. I look down at her and right to her eyes that are glistening at me. “Better?” She smiles, showing her white teeth, and nods. “Good. Now where were we?” She giggles into my neck, her breath tickling my skin and I take a deep breath, closing my eyes, taking in her delicious aroma.

  “I have a ton I want to get done today while the workers are here. The offices need to be finished, the computers programmed and I need to buy a few more supplies.” I look down at her as she’s talking into my neck, her fingers rubbing designs on my chest.

  “Breakfast first then I start on the computers while you get what you need and help you with the office things. Since I’m going to be taking one of them, you need to tell me which one so I can set it up.” She nods and her soft hair moves across my arm. “Okay. Up you go. I’m going to take a quick shower and then I’ll be ready to cook.”

  Her head raises and she looks at me with her eyes softening. “You spoil me. Here I’m the cook but yet you keep cooking for me. I might just get used to that.” I give her a wink and then lift her off the bed, get up and walk towards my room.

  “Don’t get too use to it! I love your cooking!” I yell over my shoulder. I can still hear her sweet giggles as I enter my room.

  The breakfast was great, the company was even better. I can’t believe we’re here together, at last. Everything I’ve ever dreamed of is coming true. I have Stormy, we’re going to work together at the restaurant and I graduate in less than three months. Life is good.

  “So, which one do you like better? The blue or the red?” Stormy walks into my office and I look up from the computer. She’s holding up cloth napkins. “I’m kind of partial to the blue but the red speaks ritzy.”

  “Hmmm. I like the blue too.” She smiles and relaxes.

  “I’m going to go get the few supplies I need. Do you need anything?” She walks over and sits in a chair that’s in front of my desk.

  “Just you. Hurry back to me.” Her face keeps her smile but her eyes soften. A knock sounds from the outer door causing her to jump. “Stay put. I’ll see who it is,” I tell her as I stand and walk out of the office, her body turning to watch me. I walk to the door and look through the peephole and roll my eyes, while unlocking and opening the door. “What are you doing here? I thought you left this morning.”

  “I leave in a couple of hours, jerk! Where’s my girl?” Pearl asks as she pushes by me. Stormy steps into my office doorway just in time to be bowled over by my sister, the force of Pearl’s hug knocking Stormy back a little. I cross my arms over my chest and watch as Pearl takes Stormy’s hand and begins leading her down the hall to our apartment, the look on Stormy’s face is priceless as she shrugs her shoulders. I guess I’ll just go continue to work in my office.

  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

  “Give me a quick tour and then let’s settle somewhere and talk. I’ve missed you,” Pearl rattles on as we walk into my apartment. It seems that she conducts her own tour as she pulls me into each room, remarking on every item and then upstairs, doing the same. “Oh! I love the pictures on the walls in the hallway. You should really get some made of you and Bo together. You remember how Mom and Dad did that? So, what are you all doing with the third spare bedroom?” Good question.

  “Uh. I haven’t thought about it yet,” I stammer.

  “Well, it’s not like you don’t have time. I’m so happy for you both. You know I love you like a sister,” she continues as she loops her arm through mine and walks me down the stairs and leads me to the couch.

  We sit down and I turn to her, the look on her face tells me she’s about to explode. “What’s up, sis? You have the ‘I’m dying to tell you something before I burst’ look on your face.” She lets out a deep breath and smiles.

  “I’m in love,” she blurts.

  Well, that wasn’t what I was expecting. “Wow, really? Who, what does he look like, how long, do your parents know?”

  She turns to me now, grasping my hands and her entire face lights up and my eyes widen. “He has short black hair, blue eyes, and a killer body. No, my parents don’t know and….” She scrunches her face like she’s thinking hard. “I haven’t really met him. Yet.” What?

  Now my face is scrunched up. “Let me get this straight. You’re in love with him but you haven’t met him. Did I get that right?”

  She nods. “Every time I work out at the gym, he’s there. I don’t know a lot about him other than what I’ve overheard and all the women swarming him when he’s there. He owns the new bar down the street from here that’ll be opening in few days. That’s all I’ve learned so far. Oh, except he’s so dreamy.” She sighs.

  “Okay, so you all have a gym at home but you belong to one. This is sounding like what your mom and dad did when they met,” I giggle. Her face turns sad so I shuffle quickly. “I’m sorry. So you see him when you work out and how did you fall in love with him?”

  She looks down, removes her hands from mine and fidgets with them. “Okay, maybe ‘love’ is a strong term.” She looks back up at me and her face is all lit up. “Stormy, there’s just something about him. I just…. I can’t explain. But you should see him, hear him speak and when he works out…. Well, his body. Ugh! Okay, I think you get the picture.”

  My hand covers my mouth with my laugh but I quickly control myself and put my arm around her shoulder, scooting closer. “I think that’s great! A bar owner, huh? I’m thinking you and I should break in the new bar when it opens. Maybe because my restaurant and the bar are like neighbors I can get us a good table there for the opening night. Good thing I turned twenty one earlier this year, I’d be pissed if I couldn’t come.” She squeals in deafening proportions and my ears are left ringing.

  “What in the hell? I thought the alarm was going off in here,” Bo yells as he runs in, the front door slamming against the wall. My eyes go wide. My hand covers my mouth as I watch him lower his hands to his knees as he pants. He looks up at me and then Pearl and stands up straight, rolling his shoulders one at a time while giving us a smirk. “Oh. It’s just you. Do you mind keeping your squeals down a notch or a million? Thanks!” He turns, grabs the side of the door and as he leaves his head turns, his eyes gleaming at mine, and he winks.

  “Well, he’s always been a little overprotective. Definitely gets that from Dad,” Pearl says matter of fact and I can’t contain it anymore a
nd break out in laughter.

  After an hour and a half long visit, she finally leaves, hurrying to catch her flight that she may miss due to her lack of watching the clock. But we had such a great time. I finally feel like my life is turning around. After everything I’ve been through, all the horrible things I’ve lived through, that I will have a life I’ve longed for and dreamed of for so long.

  I love this little shop that’s about two blocks over from us that carries almost everything you need in office supplies. The owner is friendly and knows about the restaurant so he gives me a nice discount. It’s a beautiful early evening, the sun is already beginning to set and there’s a little cool breeze blowing my hair back as I walk to my car in the parking lot. I try to shift my two bags into my casted hand so I can open the car door when I’m pushed against it roughly, the bags dropping to the ground. The side of my head slams hard against the car and I yelp when my bad arm is brought up behind my back, the stench of Ricco’s breath on the side of my face alerting me who the perpetrator is.

  “Dammit, Ricco! Let me the fuck go, now!” I shout. His sick laughter penetrates my ear. “You’re drunk and I’m in no mood for your threats so back off!” I try to move, to push back but his weight is against me and he’s too strong.

  “Ah. I see you’re all moved in and still you never call, you never write. Now, is that any way to treat your best man here? Hmmm?” He pulls up on my arm, the pain hitting it and my shoulder and I groan. “I told ya you’re never leaving me. I’ve got so much shit on you girly, you’d better do what I want.”

  My eyes close as I try to get past the pain and then open them when the anger and fear intermingle. “I told you before, I’m not working for you anymore and I’m going straight. You can’t hold anything over me anymore, prick. My mom’s dead. So go crawl back into your hole and leave me the fuck alone.” When his hand strikes my face, I scream out when pain hits me hard. My head smacks hard against the car and tears form fast in my eyes. I feel nauseous when I hear his laughter.

  “Girly, that’s what I’ve always loved about you. You’ve got guts.” He leans in closer, and I wince when he pulls my arm up higher. “But hear this. Your nice new life and restaurant won’t be so great when I leak everything out about your past.” My heart beats fast, and my chest rises and falls smashed up against the car with his words.

  “Stormy? Is that you?” I open my eyes and see Emerson in the distance. Ricco’s head turns quickly towards his voice. He releases me suddenly, my body drops to the ground hard, and I hear running footsteps moving away and moving closer simultaneously. A hand grabs my upper arm, and I startle until I’m pulled into a sitting position, leaned against my car, and look up to see Emerson’s concerned face staring at me. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier to see him. “Stormy. Who was that and what did he want? Did he hurt you?” My eyes blink slowly and I look around then back at him. “You do not need to be afraid of me. Where do you hurt, girl?” His voice lowers as his eyes soften a little.

  “I…. I’m ok,” I choke out but feel shaken up.

  “Can you stand? Do you need medical aid?” he asks. I look at him and still see the concern in his eyes. He’s always been so gruff, so grumpy sounding but now, he’s so sweet and worried. Maybe I’ve been afraid of him for no reason.

  When I tried to stand my legs seem to want to buckle. He grasps my upper arms, helping me until I’m finally standing and leaning against the car. I’m not there for long as he let’s go of one of my arms and leads me around to the passenger side, opening the door. “Get in. I’ll drive you home,” he says roughly. I don’t argue or put up a fuss as I know I couldn’t drive right now if I wanted to, but I must be strong or at least try to appear to be. Nodding slightly, I get in and buckle my seatbelt as I watch him walk back around, pick up my bags and get in the driver’s seat, putting the bags in the back seat. I pull out the keys from my purse and hand them to him. He takes them and starts the car, the entire time he’s pulling out of the lot he keeps his eyes out the front window.

  “You’re always so straight faced, so rough sounding but I don’t think you are, underneath that exterior. I think you have a soft spot in that tough heart of yours, don’t you?” I speak out but keep my eyes firmly in place to the front.

  My ears hear a slight chuckle and my eyes shift to him to find a small smile on the corners of his mouth but he doesn’t look over at me. “I care about those in my life worth caring about and I take my job seriously.” His eyes move to mine but only for a beat then back to the front. “You’ve always been part of their family and it’s my job to protect all of them.” He hesitates for a moment and then continues. “I know we’ve never met officially but I’ve watched you grow from a stubborn little girl into a stubborn and strong willed adult. I have to admit you’ve not made the best decisions in your young life but I admire you trying to correct those bad choices now. I’ll help you with what I can.” I cringe at parts of his words but then relax at others. “Mr. Dunway wants me to be around you more to help sort out the difficulties you face currently. I’ve looked into Mr. Ricco, and I put that nicely, and I have to tell you…. You sure know how to pick ‘em.” My eyes widen, and my heart beats a little faster. “He’s bad news, Stormy,” he says slowly, looking into my eyes. “His rep precedes him and he’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants. I’d like to suggest you stay home for a while, get your restaurant ready to open and leave any outings, with the exception of visiting the Dunways as they have added security, to myself. I won’t do any shopping of anything having to do with ‘female items’ but I can get any other type of supplies needed and I’m sure Bo will agree.” I would have thought his last words were funny if the situation wasn’t so grave. I swallow hard as the reality of the situation becomes more real. I feel like I’ve been living in my own bubble, my own dreams, as if things weren’t bad and my life could finally be happy again. What a fool I’ve been.

  I look back out the front window but I’m not really seeing anything as my thoughts are jumbled with everything that happened, everything that’s happening. “Maybe I should leave. I don’t want to put those I love in danger.” My head turns to him swiftly as I feel his hand cover my casted one, my fingers feeling his warm touch.

  “Don’t do that, girl. You’ll only worry the hell out of those people and do you really think that will alleviate the danger for them? No. It’ll only make Ricco want to hurt them even more wanting to find you.” Shit! I hadn’t thought of that. “I know your mind is reeling right now and you’re not thinking clearly. Go inside. Talk to Bo. He’ll understand. He knows of the stories of Jade and Knox and what they went through to find their peace and happiness in this world. You know the stories too but let him remind you.”

  My eyes then focus on the scenery in front of me and find we are in the parking lot of my apartment. My fingers feel the coolness as he removes his hand, and I look over at him. He’s turned my way and an actual smile is on his face. I think I finally understand him a bit better and my fear of him is completely gone. I unbuckle my seatbelt, turn and grab my bags and open the car door, putting one leg out but stop and turn my head to him once again. “Thanks, Emerson. You’re not so bad yourself.” My smile is genuine as I turn back and get out of the car, hearing his chuckle as I shut the door. My fear is tenfold what it’s ever been before. I feel a little more comforted knowing I have Emerson behind me, protecting my family and me. I can do this. I will do this. It’s not just about me anymore but everyone I love. Time to refresh myself of all my self-defense moves. I have a feeling I’m going to need them more than ever.

  Chapter Nine

  I’ve been setting up programs for an hour, making notes and setting up new email addresses for the restaurant as well as planning ad’s in the paper, on the radio and other media sites about the grand opening when I hear the front door lock shift and then open. “Bout time you got home I was ready to….” I look up, and
my heart stops. There on my beautiful girl’s face is a swollen cheek that’s already turning purple and Emerson’s arm around her shoulder, guiding her in. I’m out of my chair so fast it knocks onto the floor with a loud bang and I run over to them. I gently cup her chin and lift her head up so I can see the damage. “Stormy. What happened?” Her lips part as if to speak but she closes her eyes instead. Instantly, my eyes move up to Emerson, his face telling me all I need to know. “Come. Let me take care of you.” Emerson removes his arm as mine moves around her waist, and we slowly walk towards our apartment door. I turn my head back to the front door and nod at him. “I will be calling you in a bit. Please lock up on your way out.” He nods back at me and turns to leave so my focus returns to my girl. Once I’ve gotten our door unlocked, I guide her to the couch and as she sits I can tell she’s hurting elsewhere as well. I jog to the kitchen, grab a dish towel and lay a bunch of ice there from the freezer than wrap it up and take it to her. Sitting down next to her, I gently place the ice against her cheek and watch as she winces but makes no sound.

  “Thank you, but I’m fine, Bo. Really,” she finally speaks softly.

  She won’t look at me so I move my face in front of hers and she finally looks into my eyes. “You don’t have to be so strong for me, Peaches. I’m your family and your boyfriend and can take it. Let me be here for you. Let me take care of you.”