Together Forever Page 5

  I slowly sit back down pulling the chair back up to the table. I think I just scared the shit out of him. His eyes still open wide in fear. Good. Take that fucker. I reach around and grab a Coke out of the mini fridge, open it and take a large drink. I let the silence hold him for a bit.

  “Come on, man. You have to know I didn’t mean anything by it. Seriously, you know I’m happy for you, man.” He looks a little worried. “I’m sorry, ok? I’m sorry.”

  I take another big drink of my Coke, set it on the table and stand. “I need a durry.” I head outside the back door and light up. Leaning against the wall, I see him come out the door and lean against the wall beside me. From the corner of my eye I see him light up too.

  I take a big drag, letting out the smoke into the air. “Sorry, I guess I’m a bit protective of her and our relationship.” I look over at him and shrug. “I moved in with her a couple of days ago. She’s my life now, mate. Not gonna let anyone talk trash about her, us. Got me?”

  He slugs my shoulder and nods. “Got ya, dude. It’s cool. Sorry, won’t happen again. I am really happy for you and Allie.”

  We end up talking for the next few minutes until my next customer arrives. The day moves slow. All I can think about is getting home. Home to my girl. Fuck. That sounds good. I texted Allie a few times when I could checking on her. She’s been writing all day. I hope she’s still awake when I get there this time.

  The best aroma hits me in the face as I walk in that evening. I immediately take off for the kitchen to find out what that heavenly scent is and find Allie bent over looking in the oven. I creep up behind her and wrap one arm around her waist the other sweeps her long hair over her shoulder. I kiss her neck, her head bending to the side. I nibble, lick and suck on it, my other hand leaving her waist finding her breast and squeezes. She lets out a moan.

  “Shane, stop. You’re gonna make me burn our dinner celebration,” she says as she tries to pull herself free.

  Against my body’s demands, I let her go. She closes the oven door and turns to face me. I jump as she grabs my face, her lips smashing into mine. I fucking love when she takes charge but I can’t take it anymore. I’ve missed her too much. I take over, holding her head and plunge my tongue into her mouth in search of hers. They battle each other, each trying to take control. One of her hands leaves my face and grips my hair, tugging. I moan. Fuck that turns me on.

  Without releasing our mouths, I grab her waist and lift her, setting her down on the counter. Her legs wrap around me clenching my sides. We continue our kiss until I finally have to break free to give us both some much needed air. I lay my forehead against hers, our panting blowing each other’s hair.

  “Fuck, love. We keep this up and all celebrating will be done in bed.” I say panting. “Or fuck, right here.” I pull back and look at her smiling face. Her eyes full of lust. My cock is fucking rock hard, and I’m not sure I can make it through dinner. I need to get my mind off sex, quick. “Now, what are we celebrating?”

  She adjusts herself and takes a deep breath. Seems she’s having as hard of a time I am getting her breathing back to normal. Good. I’m glad that she is affected as much as I am. I smooth back her hair from her face as she runs her hand across my cheek, smiling.

  She sits up straight and blurts out, “I finished my book!” I grab her, her arms go instinctively around my neck, and I swing her around. That’s my girl. “I’m so fucking proud of you.” I say in her ear. She pulls back, her smile so wide and full of pride. I finally, against my wishes, let her go. She jumps off the counter and looks in the oven.

  She shoo’s me away so I go sit at the table. It’s set up with candles in the middle, fine china and wine glasses. After placing all the food on the table, she hands me the wine bottle to open and lights the candles. The cork pops and I pour the wine into our glasses. I hold mine up in the air and she follows suit. “I’m so proud of you, love. To you and to your success.” We clink our glasses and taste the robust flavor.

  She talks throughout our dinner about all the plans for her book: the editor she sent her manuscript to, her cover designer and Lana’s plans to promote. I didn’t mind. I love listening to her excitement and her accomplishment. Fuck I love her!

  Our night ends with us making love. I will never grow tired of this. Of her. I will always want her, forever.

  Chapter Four

  The next day Lana and I go shopping for last minute Christmas gifts. And oh my God the girl loves to shop, and I hate it. I am in such a grumpy mood when I get home. I walk in the door and find Shane standing there with his hands behind his back staring at me. “Um, what’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?” I growl.

  He smiles and comes to me, a little fear in his eyes. He moves his hands out from behind him and in one hand is a lilac, the other is a small square box. I gulp. He hands me the lilac. I close my eyes, bring it up to my nose and take in the delicate fragrance. I open my eyes to see his outstretched hand with the box. My hand shakes as I take it.

  “Shane, what did you do?” I ask him nervously.

  He nudges my hand, holding the small box. “Open it, love. Go ahead.” His perfect teeth gleaming as he gives me his sexy smile.

  I open the lid and gasp. It’s a set of beautiful pear shaped diamond earrings. I look up at him and smile. “They’re stunning, Shane. But, but you shouldn’t have. They have to be so expensive.” I touch them gently with my finger.

  He approaches me and envelopes me in a hug, kissing my neck. He makes his way up to my ear and whispers, “Go take a shower, get dolled up and wear your new earrings. I’m taking you out on a date. Early Christmas present.” He nibbles on my ear a bit then releases me. I turn to go get ready when he swats my behind. I yelp and giggle as I leave.

  When I come out of our room, I find Shane standing by the front window. He’s in a black suit, white shirt underneath with a lavender tie. He looks simply edible. He turns to me eyes wide with lust. He walks to meet me, taking my hands and pulling them apart. “You look beautiful, love. I adore your lavender dress and those shoes! You’re so much taller. I won’t have to bend as much to ravage your mouth.”

  “Thank you. How did you know what I was going to wear? Your tie matches my dress perfectly,” I laugh. He leans over and pecks my cheek and whispers, “I peeked in your closet earlier today and knew you loved purple so I ran out to get a new tie.” I swat his arm and smile. “Cheater, but I love it!”

  A few minutes later we leave in my SUV, Shane insisting that where we are going is too fancy to take his truck.

  “Where are we going, Shane?” I whine for the 10th time. He won’t tell me where he’s taking me for our date, and I’m starting to get annoyed but anxious at the same time.

  He reaches over and squeezes my hand. “Patience, love. Trust me, you’re going to love it.” He winks and returns to watching the road. We drive and drive until I think I’m going to go crazy. I am fidgety and so anxious. I can only imagine what he has planned for us.

  An hour later we pull into the valet in front of a ritzy restaurant. The valet attendant opens my door and offers me his hand. I look over at Shane, he nods and smiles. I extend my hand and get out of the car. Shane is beside me in an instant, puts his arm around my waist and guides me into the front door. The hostess smiles a little too much for my liking at Shane. “Reservations?” She asks him. He is oblivious to her. “Yes, Barton, for two.” He leans over and kisses me.

  “Very well, sir. Please follow me.” She turns abruptly and leads us passed a bar area to a cozy, private table in the corner. Shane pulls out my chair for me, then pushes me up to the table and sits across from me.

  “Your waitress, Marla, will be here directly to take your order. Bon appetite.” She turns and saunters off. I take my menu and begin fanning myself with it. “Well, I think you have an admirer, darling,” I smirk.

  He looks down shyly, as he places his napkin on his lap. He laughs, shaking his head. Looking up, he reaches his hand across the top a
nd takes mine. “No, love. She’s just jealous that I’m with the most beautiful woman in the restaurant.” He brings my hand up and kisses it. Swoon! My blush covers me from head to toe.

  Marla, our waitress, comes over and places drink napkins in front of our plates. She looks directly at Shane. “What’s your pleasure tonight, sir?” She bats her eyes, and I roll mine.

  He looks at me and smiles. “Love, what would you like to drink?” Marla then turns to me like she didn’t realize Shane was with someone.

  I look at Marla and tell her as sickingly sweet as I can that I would like a glass of their white wine. As she writes down my order, she turns back to Shane. “I’ll have the same as my girlfriend,” he says proudly. She smirks, turns in a huff and walks away.

  I reach over and pat Shane’s hand. “Well, that was nice,” I say through a giggle.

  We talk and laugh the night away at the restaurant. I am having the best time of my life. Pretty soon though nature calls. I wipe my mouth off of the luscious dessert we just shared and push my chair out to stand. “I’m just going to go to the Ladies Room,” I said with a wink. Shane immediately rises and jogs over to help me up. Such a gentleman! I turn and kiss him, probably a little too long. “I’ll be right back.” He leans over and kisses my forehead before I get a chance to turn and leave.

  I notice a man leaning against the bar as I pass staring at me. From what I can tell in the dim light, he’s well built, has blonde hair, but I can’t see his face very well. I shake my head and continue to my destination.

  I do all my bathroom duties, checking myself in the mirror once more and leave the bathroom. Turning around after shutting the door, hands grab my arms, pushing me down the hallway. We push through a back door, and I am suddenly pinned up against the outside wall, a hand around my throat. My hand grabs their arm and tries to pull it away, while my other hand pushes against a solid chest.

  “Allie Cat. You didn’t think I would come all this way and not see you,” a man’s voice said.

  Shocked, I look into dark green eyes, boring into mine and gasp. I struggle but to no avail, his hand around my throat tightens, making it hard to breathe.

  “Oh, Allie Cat. What’s wrong? Not happy to see your old friend, Paul?” He leans forward and kisses my cheek. My eyes begin to water. Oh! My! God! Not Paul! My body begins to quake with fear.

  He steps back shaking his head, a sneer on his face. “ANSWER ME, WHORE!” He screams. I jump. Leaning back to look at me better, he laughs. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. You never were a good whore, now where you? You always treated me bad. Always tried to make excuses not to see me. Never tried to help me get into your precious dad’s practice.” His face comes so close to mine that I can smell his liquored breath. “DID YOU? YOU WERE NEVER NICE TO ME, WERE YOU?” He screams.

  A loud noise from the restaurant causes him to sharply turn his head towards the back door. My eyes look quickly that way until his head whips around back to me. “You’re lucky. This. Time. Whore.” He smashes his mouth against mine, trying to force his tongue into my mouth, but I clamped my lips tight. Moving his head back again, he laughs quietly. “Very well, whore.” He gets in my face once more. “But, I’ll be back. Count on it.”

  I close my eyes and feel the pressure of his hand squeeze once more, then it was gone.

  As the tears flow, my body slides down the wall until I am squatting. I begin coughing, holding my throat gently with my hand. I hear the back door slam against the wall, causing me to jump. Before I can turn my head, Shane is in front of me, his arms on my shoulders. He’s speaking to me gently, shaking my shoulders a little. “Allie, love? Allie? Are you ok? What happened?”

  I look up into his eyes, filled with a mixture of fear and caring. “I’m—” I choke and cough. “I—” I cough again and wince when I swallow. My eyes begin to blur from my tears, I shake my head. I hear Shane talking low and look up to see him on his phone. “Yes, please hurry.” His face is back in front of mine again. “Love, an ambulance is on its way.” I shake my head, my eyes have gone wide. “Yes, sweetheart, they need to make sure you’re ok. I will be right there with you, ok?” I nod slowly, blinking rapidly.

  The fear is raging in me. He’s here. Oh, my God. He’s here. How the hell did he find me? What am I going to do? Jesse!

  “Shane,” I choke.

  He lays his hand on my face. “No, love. Don’t try to talk. Stay still.” He sits next to me, putting his arm around me. I turn my face up to his and shake my head, looking at him pleadingly.

  “Jesse.” I sputter. He nods, pulling out his phone, he calls Jesse. As he talks quietly, I can hear sirens. By the time Shane has explained everything to Jesse, the ambulance has arrived.

  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

  Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! They won’t let me in to be with Allie and Jesse isn’t here yet. What the fuck? Who was that bastard? I’m gonna kill him for touching my woman! I swear! I’m fucking sick of pacing the waiting room. No one has told me anything. She looked so scared. Her throat was really red, and I could tell it was hurting her to talk.

  I slam my hand against the wall. Fuck!

  I hear footsteps behind me and turn around quickly. “Jesse!” It only takes me two strides to reach him. We put our hands on each other’s arms. “Fuck, mate! They won’t tell me anything! They won’t let me get to her! I’m about to lose it here. Said I have to be a relative.” I say excitedly.

  He pats my arm. “Ok, man. Calm down. Let me go find out what the hell is going on. Don’t you worry, I’ll come right back, ok?” He says nodding his head.

  I watch him leave the room, and I go back to pacing. Shit, if they don’t tell me something soon, I’m gonna blow.

  About 20 minutes later, when I think I’m gonna storm the hospital to look for her, Jesse walks back into the room. I get up and start walking towards the door, but he stops me with a hand on my chest. “Shane. They’re gonna let you go in to see her but you’ve got to be calm or they will kick you right out. I mean it. I explained to them that you’re her boyfriend so they’re gonna let you in.” I nod and take a deep breath. “You calm now?” He asks with a raised eyebrow.

  Taking one more deep breath, I let out a big exhale. “Yes. I’m calm. They just better not get in my way.” I say seriously.

  “I get ya, mate. But you need to be calm for Allie. She needs you to be strong.” I nod sharply and we head to my love. I need to get my fucking act together. She needs me.

  Once we get to her ER room a nurse just finished taking her pulse and was laying her arm back down. She smiles at us and whispers to Allie. When she passes us to leave, she smiles and winks at me. What the fuck was that all about?

  I walk as fast as I can over to her side, grabbing her hand in mine. “Love? Are you ok? What did they say? Do you have to stay the night or can I take you home?” I’m talking so fast that I can hardly understand myself.

  She gives me a sad smile and rubs my hand with her thumb. “They said I can go home tonight but not to talk a lot,” she whispers. I smile back and stroke her hair back with my other hand.

  “Shane, while the nurse helps Allie get ready to leave, why don’t we step out in the hall,” Jesse says tilting his head towards the door. I look at my love. She looks so small, fragile and scared, but she smiles and nods at me.

  “No, I’m staying. I’m not leaving her,” I say matter of factly. I feel her hand rest on my arm and her grip lighter.

  “Go ahead, darling. I won’t be but just a minute. I promise,” she whispers. I sigh heavily. Damn, I don’t want to leave her. Fuck!

  Jesse walks over and takes me by my arm, starting to pull me towards the door. I halt, making him stop, and lean over to kiss my love. When I pull back I see the tears in her eyes starting to form which is not helping me leave this fucking room, at all. She pats my arm and nods. So I reluctantly leave, letting Jesse push me out of the room and into the hallway.

  Once we are out of the room, I turn abruptly and twist my arm away. “What the fuck, Jesse? Tell me o
ne good reason why I should have left her. One. Fucking. Good. Reason.” I cross my arms and stand there tapping my foot, waiting.

  He looks up and down the hallway, then back to me. Crossing his arms, he leans against the wall and clears his throat, he looks pissed. “It’s Paul.” My brows go up. “Yep, she confirmed it. The police questioned her, once the doctor was done examining her. It’s fucking Paul. I don’t know how he found her or why, but you can bet I will find out.”

  I run my fingers through my hair and giving Jesse a serious look. “He’s dead. But, not before he wishes he was dead. Where is he, do they know? Are they even fucking looking for him?” I growl.

  He stands up straight and looks me in the eyes. “They have an APB out on him and have sent cars out on the street looking. I gave them the number to the police station in L.A. to pull her files. It has a copy of the restraining order and the pictures—” He stops short.

  “What fucking pictures, Jesse? If someone doesn’t tell me what the fuck happened, I’ll find out my own way,” I said, cracking my knuckles.

  The door opens to Allie’s room and the nurse comes out. “Allie is ready to go. She is signed out.” She smiles. “Here are some instructions for any pain and some medicine she can take to help her sleep, if she needs it.” I take the paper and pills she hands me and the nurse smiles again and walks away.

  I go to my girl. I take her to the car, so we can go home. She’s so quiet, even though I know they told her not to talk much. She won’t look at me either, and keeps staring out of her window. I need her to tell me what fucking happened. I need her to know I will be there for her no matter what.

  Once we get home, she walks straight to our room. I give her some time alone. I grab my laptop, and I sit on the couch to check messages. When she doesn’t come back out, I shut down the computer and go to her. I enter our room. The lights are out, and I find her curled up in a ball in bed, crying softly.