Behind Closed Doors (22 page)

“Yes.”

His face scrunched up, and he looked doubtful and reminded her of Chris who was standing only a few feet away.

“Can I get you anything to drink, Trent? Looks like you’ve been out working in this hot sun this morning. Water?” Jan asked.

“Yes, please,” he said. “Thanks.”

They’d just sat down when the buzzer sounded, alerting them that Detective Stephens had arrived, and she tried to collect herself. Chris leaned in and placed a soft kiss behind her ear. “You look lovely.”

Just the absurdity of that statement, all things considered, made her laugh. Of course, the fact that his breath lingered on her neck a little longer than it should have probably added to her sudden mood change.

Everyone stood as Detective Stephens entered the apartment. As the only one in the room the detective had never met before, Trent introduced himself.

After Jan made sure he was provided something to drink, Detective Stephens grabbed a dining room chair and swung it around so that he could straddle it. Taking a seat facing Elizabeth he asked, “How are you holding up, Ms. Marshall?”

“Fine.” It was an automatic response, and she felt Chris cringe beside her.

The detective nodded and turned to Chris. “You have the pictures?”

Chris stretched to reach the envelope, now safely secured in a large zip lock baggie, and handed them to the detective.

From inside his jacket pocket, Detective Stephens produced a pair of rubber gloves. He placed them over his hands before opening the bag and removing its contents. He looked through the pictures one by one, taking his time. “Date?” he asked once he was finished.

“Yes,” Trent confirmed. Chris stiffened beside her and on impulse, she took his hand.

The good detective missed nothing and raised his eyebrow.

Thankfully, Trent quickly said, “It was a first date, a getting to know you type thing. By the end, we agreed to just be friends.”

“Is that right?” Detective Stephens asked, looking at her.

“That’s right,” she confirmed.

“Did either of you notice anyone following you? Acting suspicious? Anything?”

“No,” she said.

“I didn’t see anyone either, but it was getting dark by the time we left the restaurant. There are a lot of places to hide downtown if that’s what you’re looking to do.”

“Yes, it does look like most of these were taken from a distance.”

“Do you have any leads?” Chris asked.

“We’ve checked out Mr. Carter’s family and a few of his colleagues. So far, all of them check out. We’re still working on it. There were a lot of people who weren’t happy with what happened.”

There were a few more questions back and forth between Trent and the detective, but Chris was only half listening. His focus was on Elizabeth.

“You sure you’re all right?” he whispered.

She nodded, but he wasn’t sure he believed her.

Turning his attention back to the detective he asked, “Is there anything we can do about Abigail Carter?”

“Do?”

“She called again Friday harassing Elizabeth at work. I told her not to call again or I’d file charges. Any suggestions? I can’t exactly change my office number.”

“How often is she calling?”

“Three times this week.”

“If she calls again, let me know right away. I’ll see what I can do.”

After a few more words of caution from the detective, Trent and Jan walked him out.

The moment they were alone, Chris had his arms around her. “I’m fine. Really.”

“You always say you’re fine, even when you’re not.”

“I’m sorry.”

He pulled back enough to look into her eyes, but didn’t release her. “Don’t be sorry, just be honest.” She nodded, and he hugged her once again. Having someone to lean on felt really good.

Two hours later, Elizabeth was surrounded by Chris’s family. The only one missing was Gage. Being a pro football player, he couldn’t walk away from a game just because someone had taken pictures of her and his brother on their date last night.

She honestly didn’t understand why his family had dropped whatever plans they had for the day and showed up on their doorstep. Sure Trent was in the pictures too, but this was about her, not him. So when Chris ran upstairs to grab a soda for his dad and Paul, she followed him and voiced her confusion.

He seemed equally confused by her question. “Why wouldn’t they?”

“Because they don’t know me.”

He pulled her close, giving her a kiss that made her toes curl. When he released her, they were both breathing hard.

“Because you’re important to me.”

He picked up the drinks and walked back downstairs, leaving her just as clueless as she was before. The only difference was that now she was wishing they would all go home so she could have Chris to herself.

Once they were all sitting in Jan’s living room, Paul took charge. “The local PD are involved?”

“Yes,” Chris said.

“Good. Why don’t you fill us in on what’s going on?”

Chris touched Elizabeth’s shoulder. “Do you mind?”

So many emotions passed through her at that moment; relief, terror, anger at whoever was doing this to her. She was trying to start over, and now Chris’s family was going to know about her past. Her gaze drifted up to Chris’s, and he gave her what she thought was an encouraging smile. “Please.”

Sentence by sentence, she listened to Chris share her dirty laundry with his family. He didn’t tell them everything, just the basic facts. She wondered if they’d all start looking at her differently now that they knew she’d killed her husband.

To her surprise, Paul was the first one to comment. “I remember that. It was big news in Columbus.”

She didn’t respond other than to nod and shift uncomfortably.

Mary came over, knelt down in front of Elizabeth, and pulled her into a hug. “I am so sorry that happened to you.”

All the months she had endured the hateful comments of her former friends and Jared’s colleagues, she’d never cried in front of others. Ironically it wasn’t the hate that broke her, it was the kindness.

She clung to Mary while she cried, letting all the months of hurt, the pain of the years of abuse from Jared, pour out of her.

She felt the couch shift beside her. When she opened her eyes, she found Chris. He had become her rock. How would she deal with it if one day he decided she wasn’t worth all the grief? That thought brought on another round of tears.

His family stayed a little while longer, finally leaving around six, and the house felt strangely empty with them gone.

“Are you sure you’re okay, dear? I had no idea you’d gone through so much and now this,” Jan said, hugging Elizabeth.

It was a sad commentary on his life that he was jealous of Jan’s show of motherly affection toward Elizabeth. Chris wanted to be the one holding her, comforting her.

The moment he could do it without being rude, he led Elizabeth up the stairs. “Did you want to get some clothes from your place?”

She looked up at him, and a blush covered her cheeks. “Am I staying with you again tonight?”

“I’d like you to.”

Her blush deepened and she nodded.

He waited just inside her apartment, and when she came out of her bedroom, she was carrying a duffle bag.

“It’s just overnight.” He smirked.

She ignored his comment and said, “Do you mind if I use your shower?”

Visions of her in the shower, water running down her body filled his mind. He reached for her, plastering her against him before placing a hard kiss on her lips. “Only if I get to join you.”

She tucked her head shyly into his chest. “You want to shower with me?”

He tilted her head up so he could look into her eyes. “Well, I was hoping to do more than just shower,” he said, running a suggestive hand down the length of her body.

She swallowed hard, obviously nervous, and he was reminded of this morning and how she’d covered her body. But before he could offer anymore reassurances, she said, “I think that could be arranged.”

Elizabeth arched her back and stretched, feeling the pull of muscles she never knew she had.

Last night had been what dreams were made of. Well, really sexy dreams anyway.

As promised, Chris had joined her in the shower and they’d stayed under the spray until the water began to cool, only to continue, what turned out to be, the best and longest foreplay of her life in his bed. She’d never felt sexier or more beautiful in her life.

Joining with Chris was more than just the physical. Sure, she found him attractive, hot, sexy, and every other term for
drop-dead gorgeous
you could think of. She wasn’t sure any woman with eyes wouldn’t. His dark hair, deep brown eyes, broad shoulders . . . she could go on and on, but when he was inside her, she felt connected to him in a way she’d never felt before. And then after . . . he’d held her again until she’d fallen asleep.

Reluctantly, she threw off the covers and strolled into the bathroom, smiling the entire way.

Picking up her duffle bag, her fingers ghosted over the baby doll she’d tucked into her bag last night. She pulled it out, enjoying the feel of the silk and wondering what Chris would have thought of her surprise. It had been an impulse purchase, and she’d never had the courage to wear it before, even alone, but for some reason she’d wanted to try with Chris.

They’d never gotten that far. Clothes hadn’t been on either of their minds for the rest of the night.

“What have you got there?” Chris’ voice startled her, and she dropped the nightie.

“Uh . . .”

He pushed his large frame away from the door and walked over to her. He bent down and picked up the silky material from where it had fallen on the floor and held it up by the straps. Chris’s eyes met hers, and instead of commenting, he neatly folded the baby doll and put it back in her duffle bag.

Then he stepped closer, pulling her into his arms, his lips going directly to her neck, and he placed a kiss just under her jaw. “I’ll try not to be too impatient tonight so you can wear it for me. I’m sure the color will look amazing against your skin. Plus,” he said, continuing to kiss her skin, “it will give me the opportunity to take it off you.”

She released a huge breath. She’d taken a chance last night putting it in there and although she knew Chris was nothing like Jared, she couldn’t help but compare the two. Jared had been her first and only lover before Chris, and seeing her in anything like the silk nightie in question was not on his list of desirable things to do. It was another of those things she’d tried once and never again.

He gave her a quick kiss. “Are you done? Breakfast is almost ready.”

She blushed. If only he knew how much time she’d wasted on her daydreams. “Can you give me five more minutes?”

He kissed her again before stepping back. “You can have all the time you want. I’m the boss, remember?” He smiled. “I’ll sign your tardy slip.”

She laughed. It felt so good to be like this. But as he walked away, her insecurities crept in, and she wondered how long it would last before he realized she wasn’t what he really wanted.

If someone had told Chris that his Monday would have ended up the way it did, he wouldn’t have left his bed this morning.