Forgiven (Touched Series #2) Read online

  “Guess I can’t do what I want to do yet,” she sighs.

  My head snaps to her. “What you want to do? You mean you would want to be with me?” She raises her head looking into my eyes, her eyebrows creased as she frowns.

  “I’ve always wanted to be with you but….”

  My face scrunches up. “But what?”

  Her eyes close and she looks in deep thought. “I wanted to be with you before…. Before everything in my life soiled me.” Her eyes open and search mine. “I’m dirty, Bo. I’m not sure you’d….”

  My hand grabs her face as my eyes stare into hers. “You’re not dirty to me, Stormy. You’ll never be. I’ve wanted you as long as I can remember. That will never change. I’ll wait for you until you’re ready. I’ll wait for you forever but don’t make me. It’s hard enough not taking you right now. Please, don’t make me wait too much longer.” Her lips are on mine, her tongue finding its way into my mouth, and I suck on it as our lips move together. My cock is twitching to get out, my body burning up with desire, so I pull my mouth away but kiss her lightly twice. Her head moves back to my chest, and I can literally feel her heart beating against my side.

  We lay there, and I’m staring at the ceiling trying to think of sad things to get my cock to deflate. She’s playing with my stomach, making circles with her finger on my t-shirt, which is definitely not helping. Her fingers finally stop, I hear her light breathing, and her heart slows down as she sleeps. I get comfortable, my eyes growing heavier and finally close.

  “We let you stay there last night for her, to make sure she was okay but not again. Not under this roof,” Dad yells as he paces the floor in the kitchen. I roll my eyes and Mom shakes her head at me.

  “What your dad means, in not a great way, is we trust you but we can’t have you two sleeping together, even though we know it was only sleeping, but not here, not in our house. You understand, right?” Mom says, always the voice of reason.

  I swallow the bacon in my mouth and sigh. “I get it. I get it. We fell asleep. It wasn’t even intentional. Chill out.” Standing I grab my bookbag, throwing it over my shoulder and lean down, kissing Mom on her cheek. “Gotta run. First class in thirty minutes.” I start to jog out of the kitchen. “Don’t let Stormy overdo it! You know how stubborn she is!” I jog into the garage, open the driver’s door of my Jeep, throw my bookbag into the passenger seat, buckle up and hit the garage door opener. Damn, I really need to get my own place and soon!

  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

  I slide into the driver’s seat of Jade’s Mustang and pull out of the garage. I can’t believe she let me take her baby over to my apartment. I’m so dreading this but driving her car is helping my mood, a little. She said she’ll have Emerson drive her over later today to help me with anything I can’t do. I haven’t seen Emerson since I’ve been back and even though he’s been their bodyguard for years then became their friend, he still makes me a little nervous. It doesn’t take long to pull into my mom’s old parking spot, since it’s only about fifteen minutes from their house. I just sit there and stare at the old rundown apartment building for a few minutes, nervous to go in. Finally, I gather up my courage, get out of the car, getting the empty boxes from the trunk, and walk into the open front door of the building, my hands shaking as I put the key in our one bedroom apartment door. We had made the dining room into my small bedroom, covering the opening with a sheet. I stand there, shutting the door with my foot, and just look around. Still the same old dirty looking place but Mom tried to keep it clean and with the walls covered in pictures of her, me, us together, baby pictures of me and some of Bo and me together, it always felt homey.

  I walk slowly into her bedroom, taking a deep breath, and begin the long day of boxing up her things. It becomes a slow process as I reminisce about my entire life while going through her things, and it becomes harder and harder as I fight through my tears to see what I’m doing. I pick up a faded picture and smile. Mom and me looking at each other. This was the day we had a big fight.

  “Who is he, Mom? You never talk about him. You have never told me his name. Anything! Just a name, that’s all I ask! Don’t you think I have a right to know?” I’m standing in my normal defiant stance, hip cocked, arms folded over my chest and a scowl on my face.

  “Sweetheart. He doesn’t want anything to do with you, with us. He made that quite clear when I was pregnant with you. Don’t you think I’d give anything for him to be in your life growing up? Don’t you think I’ve always wished he could have been there for you?” She says tenderly to my yelling.

  I lower my arms, the tears I’ve been desperately trying to hold back but are now visible, and I bow my head. “I just want to know his name, who else I take after, what he looks like and if he ever loved me.” Arms wrap around me and I lay my head against her shoulder, her hand moving up and down my head and my long hair.

  “Oh, my baby girl. I’m sure if he knew you, he would love you with all his heart. I’m sure if he knew who you were he would be here in a heartbeat.” My eyes raise up to see her face, and she smiles. “I never told him about you. I knew he didn’t love me and when I found out that I was pregnant he had just told me he didn’t want children. We were so young. I knew from the minute you were conceived that I wanted you.” Her love envelopes me fully and I give her a smile as I listen. “You look like him, spitting image. Same color eyes, same color hair and your facial features are so similar.”

  “It must have been hard raising me looking so much like him, making you think of him when you look at me. I’m sorry, Mama. I guess I’ve only been thinking about myself. You’ve had it so hard and have done everything for me. I’m proud of you.” Her hand moves from the back of my head to the side of my face, raising my head up and looking into my eyes.

  “His name is James.” I smile as I nod, thankful that she told me at least that much. I figure if she didn’t want to tell him then I should be grateful to have her.

  By one o’clock I’m exhausted, physically and emotionally but I have her room packed and have boxes marked with ‘Needy’ and ones marked ‘Keep’. I start to pack up the kitchen, unsure of what to keep since I’ll be living with the Dunway’s for a while. I finally decide just to give everything to the needy except the few things that mean something to me, which isn’t much. A knock sounds on the door and I freeze. Shit! Why am I so worried? It’s probably just Jade or Bo. I walk over to the door, my eye immediately looking into the peephole and start backing up, my back hitting the wall behind me. My heart beating making me nauseous and my body begins to shake. Ricco.

  “Fuck, bitch! I know you’re in there. I’ve been watching. Let me the fuck in! Now!” his gruff voice travels through the door and my body starts shaking in fear. “Ok, whore. If you don’t open up, I’ll just pay a little visit to your friend’s house. I’m sure they’d love to see me.”

  My fear escalates. My eyes grow wide but the fear quickly turns into anger. I run to the door, opening it up and am pushed back against that same wall. His hand is around my throat so hard that it raises me up in the air, my feet kicking as I try to struggle. “Ah! My lovely whore. Now, why in the fuck wouldn’t you let your favorite man in the door, huh?” My eyes squint at him as I choke on my saliva, trying to gasp for air that is being cut off as he squeezes his hand. “Where ya been, girly? And why in the fuck is your phone turned off or are you just ignoring my calls and texts? Huh?” He leans into my face, and I close my eyes tight as his tongue sticks out from his ugly mouth, licking up and then down the side of my face. His hand tightens again as he shakes it making the little breath I could take not available anymore. Opening my eyes, I watch his head snap to the door, and I look over quickly when I hear a car door slam outside the building. He looks back at me, his cocky grin showing on his ugly face, and he chuckles. “You’re turning a little red in the face, my whore. Better go, for now, but I’ll find you. Soon” His mouth c
rashes to mine, the smell of stale cigarettes and whiskey filtering up my nose and vomit starts making its way up my throat.

  Dizziness begins to overtake me when my body slams on the floor, hard. I begin gagging and coughing, trying to bring in oxygen, my hand lightly around my throat. When I finally can take a few deep breaths, I lean over and begin expelling everything in my stomach onto the floor. Once there is nothing left but dry heaving someone lifts me, and I start to fight, punching them wherever I can, kicking and trying to scream but nothing comes out of my mouth.

  “Stormy! Stormy! Stop, baby. It’s me! It’s Bo!” My body relaxes, and I collapse in his arms.

  “I don’t know, Mom. I came into her apartment and found her getting sick on the floor. I’ve already cleaned it up and she’s laying on her mom’s bed. Yes. Ok. I’ll let you know.”

  I open my eyes slowly, Bo’s sitting on the bed beside me and worry marring his gorgeous face. The cool cloth he’s pressing against my forehead feels good but my throat is sore, and it hurts to swallow. “Bo,” I croak. His eyes snap to mine, and a small smile develops.

  “Here, Peaches. Have a drink of water.” He helps raise me up by the back of my head and I drink about half the bottle. After helping to lower my head back on the pillow he looks at me, his eyebrows creased low and his smile turns into a frown. “What happened, Stormy? You were violently ill and the skin on your throat is really red.” I swallow, hard.

  My eyes roam the room, making sure we’re alone, and then back to his baby blues. “I…. I’m not sure. A man. He held me by my throat, cussed at me and I guess…. I guess you scared him off. Thank you.”

  His brow crease further. “What did he look like? I’m calling the police. I….” I stop him with my hand on his arm, my head shaking frantically as well as my body. “Why? Stormy, you need to file a report and get him behind bars where the asshole belongs.”

  My eyes close, visions of his face, the feeling of the pressure against my neck, and I open them quickly. “I…. I didn’t see him. He had…. He had his hand against my throat and I…. My eyes were closed and….” My breathing escalates, and I feel nauseated.

  His hand caresses my face. “Shhh. Okay, baby. Okay. Calm your breathing down for me. There. That’s my girl.” I take some deep breaths. My eyes close and I lay there trying to forget, trying to find some resolution in lying to the only person I have in my life, the one person I love and finally, finding some peace in his touch, I dream of us.

  When I awake I find Bo’s not in the room. I sit up, throw my legs over the side of the bed, standing slowly, and then walk to the door and open it quietly. Jade is sitting on the couch wrapping up pictures that were once on the walls and packing them in a box. Her head lifts as I walk into the room, and she smiles as I sit down next to her. Her hand reaches to my face, and she tucks some of my now snarled hair behind my ear. “How are you feeling? Let me see your neck.” I raise my head, and she frowns. “Well, it doesn’t look as bad as it did earlier. That’s good.” She looks back into my eyes and smiles sadly. “I’m so sorry, Stormy. Seems like you can’t catch a break, huh?” I shake my head not knowing what to say. She starts to wrap up another picture, and I feel useless just sitting here and letting her do everything but now I’m not in the mood to do anything.

  I look around the room which consists of the kitchen and living room and then back at her. “Where’s Bo?” She places a wrapped framed picture in the box and looks back at me.

  “He went to get a couple more boxes. He should be back soon.” She lays her hand on mine. “Would you like him to take you back to the house? I can finish up here. Looks like this is all there is left to do.” She smiles sweetly.

  “Oh! I don’t want you to have to finish. I can do the rest tomorrow after the service, really.” I start to feel so guilty. She and Knox have been so kind, and I don’t deserve any of it.

  She smiles again and then begins wrapping up another picture. “Nonsense. It’s no trouble and I’m almost done. Why have to come back here again tomorrow, especially when you’re grieving. Bo can load up everything you want to take with you in his Jeep and I can bring this last box when I’m done. I may not even need both boxes he brings. One will probably do it.”

  Our heads turn when the door opens, and Bo walks in carrying two boxes and his face bright with his gorgeous smile. He sets the boxes down by Jade and then walks to the back of the couch, leans over me and kisses my cheek. The guilt starts feeding on me, but I try to shrug it off the best I can. It’s better for him if I do. “You ready to go home, Peaches?” he asks as he smiles still leaning over me. Home. This has been my home for as long as I can remember, however, his house was always like a vacation but also a bit of a second home to me.

  I look at Jade, who’s smiling at me and then back up at Bo. “Yes. I’m ready to go.” He winks at me and walks to the bedroom to get the few boxes there, and I head over to my small makeshift bedroom, gathering up my things there. It’s sad that by the time we get everything loaded all my belongings that mean anything to me all fit in his Jeep. Once back at the house he helps carry everything up to my room and won’t let me make the second trip with him, telling me I should rest and he’d get what’s left. So sweet. I begin unpacking my clothes and take out a few of my favorite pictures, placing them on the dresser, desk and nightstand. By the time I’m done I lay down on the bed, kick my flip flops off and just look out the window. He came for me. He could have been waiting and followed us here. I could have just put Bo, Jade and Knox in danger. What have I done?

  “There all unloaded!” My head snaps to him, and I give him my best smile. He sets down the last box and walks to me, sitting on the bed. “You tired, baby?” I nod but keep smiling. He’s so good to me. He reaches over, brushes some of my long hair off my shoulder and then cups my face. “I’ll let you settle in and rest. You have a big day tomorrow. Come get me when you’re ready. I’m sure dinner will be ready in a while.” Leaning down he kisses me and then rubs his thumb along my jaw. Finally, he stands and leaves the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

  I turn back to the window and just stare. Trouble has always had a way of finding me. It didn’t help getting involved with the wrong people. I’m so fucked up and now I may have fucked up their lives too.

  Chapter Four

  I leave my room and take a run on the beach. This is my favorite time of day here. The sun is starting to rise making the blue in the ocean change from dark to light and there’s a cooler breeze. My mind begins thinking about Stormy. Something’s off. I get that she was scared and fighting for her life, but she didn’t see what the asshole looked like? Maybe. I get she’s had a really hard life, and I know she ran with the wrong crowd. Hell, I’ve had to get her out of jail more than once. There’s more to this than she’s telling me. I can feel it. We’ve always had a special connection, and I know when something’s not right.

  The house is quiet when I return, and I run up the stairs, two at a time and into my bedroom, grab a clean wife beater, boxers and shorts and head into my bathroom. After getting the water just right I step into the shower and walk under the heavenly spray. Damn, that feels good. My body aches from the run but my cock aches even worse. Being a virgin at the age of twenty two is most likely unheard of, but I’ve only had the desire for one woman. Stormy. Running, playing basketball and studying have helped to keep all the women at college away from me. I’ve always had an excuse to give them and believe me there have been a ton of them. Chip off the ole block, ya know? But none of them mattered, none of them were Stormy. She and I have fooled around, quite a bit, but never made love. I know she isn’t a virgin. Shit, I know she’s been with a ton of boys and men, but I also know in my heart, they meant nothing to her. She’s always been a rebel, ever since she was old enough, but I know she loves me. I’m gonna marry her one day.

  I lather up the soap then take my thick, hard cock in my h
and. My eyes close and I imagine it’s Stormy’s small hand. Fuck! My other hand presses against the cool tile, holding me up and I stroke from base to tip. As I imagine Stormy’s light emerald green eyes looking at me, her white teeth peeking through her parted lips as she smiles, I begin stroking faster and faster. I press my mouth against my shoulder to muffle the moan that leaves my mouth as the liquid from the tip of my cock squirts out meshing with the cascading water. After drying off, brushing my teeth and running a comb through my short hair, I quickly get dressed and head back downstairs. As I walk through the living room I hear voices in the kitchen.

  “Yes, but he doesn’t want to make basketball his career. With his business degree he can take over the company someday. He’s got a good head on his shoulders. Not many men have common sense along with good business sense. That’s hard to find. And Pearl? She wants to continue advancing her painting career. She doesn’t want to run our company. End of.” Dad’s voice is loud and clear, and he’s right about Pearl and me, but I’m not sure taking over his company is what I want. I’ve not really decided yet what I want to do. Guess with only three months left of college, I need to start really thinking about it.

  All conversations drop when I walk into the kitchen, head over to the fridge and get out the orange juice, pouring it into a tall glass and then stand there chugging the entire thing. I fill it up again, put the juice back and walk to the table, sitting down next to Mom. “Morning!” She smiles at me, leans over kissing my cheek and then Dad raises his eyebrows.