Deception (15 page)

She left him standing with a gaping mouth and walked toward the bed. She removed her jeans and slid into the pocket she’d been cuddled into before he’d disturbed her.

“Maura.” He squatted so that they were eye to eye. He placed the hair that had stuck to her lips behind her ear. “What happened between us was…” His head shook as he searched for the words. “It was incredible. The next day I wanted nothing more than to accompany you to Avery Island, but I’m not good for you. I want to be, but trust me I’m not.” He looked down at the floor and took a deep breath. “You’ve already been through hell. You don’t need to go through it a second time with me.” When the verdant green of his eyes pierced her she gasped. “A relationship with me could be worse than what you had with Alan.” His chin quivered and it broke her resolve.

She couldn’t stay mad at him when he needed her comfort. Her insides burned at his vulnerability. “Julian.” She placed her palms to his jaw. “I don’t know why you think these things and I don’t care. I know there is something dark in your past that you’ve yet to share with me. Again, I don’t care. I trust you. Our relationship doesn’t have to be itemized so quickly from the start. We can build that assurance that you crave day by day and moment by moment.” Nervous, she moistened her dry lips, desperately awaiting his response.

“You wouldn’t want to build a life with me if you knew what I’d done.”

“Something happened. Someone was hurt. It was an accident. It doesn’t make you unlovable.”

“It doesn’t?”

“No.”

“Even if it wasn’t an accident?” His perplexed look and beaten face screamed at her. His demons had him questioning his worth. She leaned in and delicately kissed his swollen lip.

“Oh, Julian.” She pulled him into a tight embrace. “Please tell your psyche to stop beating up the man that I love.” She had to say it, there was no skirting the truth.

His smile broke and his eyes lit up with hope. His mouth and throat worked as if he tried to say something in return, but she silenced him with a finger to his lips. She kissed her finger as it rested over his lips. “Shh.” He appeared much younger when he smiled rather than scowled. “You should smile more often, Julian.”

“Yeah, why is that?” He moved to sit on the bed and pulled her toward him in a bear hug of sorts.

“Because I like it,” she squeezed out around his tight hold, and then he eased his grip.

“Then consider it done.” He looked at the food left on the little table. “Can you not eat?”

“With everything that happened my stomach is tied up in knots.”

“Do you want a soda or anything?”

“No, I’m good. Wanna watch a movie?”

“Sure.” He stood and walked to the armoire that housed the television. Maura emerged from beneath the covers and grabbed a pair of shorts. Then she lay on her stomach, propping her head on her elbows next to Julian’s hip.”

“What would you like to rent?”

“A comedy.”

“A stupid comedy or a romantic comedy?”

“Romantic.” She smiled and he returned the gesture.

He scrolled through the options. “Hmm. How about
Forever in Paris
.”

“Oh yeah, I wanted to see that one when I caught the preview.”

He flipped onto his stomach and mirrored her position. “Have you been?”

“To Paris?”

“Yeah.”

“No. Have you?”

“I studied for a semester at the Opéra de Paris.”

“That’s amazing. Do you still dance?”

“No, not any more.”

“Oh? Why not?”

He laughed nervously and caught her gaze before staring at his finger as it traced the glossy finish of the remote. “That’s a long story. If we talk about that, we’ll miss the movie.”

Horn fanfare from the screen announced the start of the movie. She’d bared her soul to him and his father and even his brother. Although she was placated enough for now, she wouldn’t let him get away with keeping his secrets locked away. Not if they were going to be friends, and she hoped that they would be.

Maura cried. The end of the movie so sweet it made her jaw ache. She wanted that for herself—some guy to unconditionally love and accept her and need her more than he needed air to breathe.

Julian turned off the television and stood. “What time is it?”

“Closing in on eleven.”

Now she was hungry. She sat at the table and nibbled on the sandwich and sipped the tomato soup.

“I can heat that for you.”

“It’s perfect as it is.”

Step by step brought him closer to the door. Her heart pounded in her chest and her hands started to feel clammy. “Julian?”

He turned and offered a slight smile. “Hmm?”

“Would you stay?” She swallowed. “I mean…would you stay the night in this room with me?”

“I was coming back. Just got to go take out my contacts.”

“You wear glasses?”

“Blind as a bat.”

With that he left her in the mint-green room where she’d felt safer than she had in the past five years. Maura placed her hand over her mouth and forcefully exhaled. She wanted to brush her teeth and hair, but didn’t think Everett had brought her things into the room. The poor thing had been white as a sheet after they’d returned home.
Home
. She could call it home, but deep in her heart and mind she knew it wasn’t really hers.

She remembered a drawer in the bathroom that housed boxes of unused toothbrushes and toothpaste. She padded to the bathroom and wasted no time brushing her teeth, her hair, and washing her face
Shit
! She had on granny panties. Maura didn’t know if she’d get lucky tonight, but if she did she didn’t want to be caught in her tighty whities, so she simply removed them.

Back in the room Julian arranged the pillows and fluffed them in the process. He looked more tempting than homemade vanilla ice cream on a hot summer day. His black trendy glasses really accentuated the angle of his jaw and the shorts he wore went to mid-thigh so that his muscular dancer’s legs were on display. The thin cotton shirt he wore bulged with the muscles beneath. He slid into the bed and unfolded the bedclothes from her side, tapping for her to take up position beside him. “Let me hold you.”

H
old
. Yes, please! That sounded nice after a long weary day. She slid in next to him and fit naturally into the curve of his body, their heights complementing each other. Silky warm hands skimmed up her back and unclasped her bra. Smooth fingers rubbed where the clasp had been, soothing her into a hypnotic haze of happiness. After his massage, his hands wrapped around her and settled just under her breasts. She sighed and settled deeper into him.

A light knock at her door had her body on full alert, but her mind lagged behind, caught up in a Julian trance.

“Yeah.” Julian answered the knock.

Shoes scuffed across the hardwood and then stopped. Maura and Julian sat up, pulling the bedclothes with them.

“Got a second?”

His father stood before them at the foot of the bed in a tuxedo with a bowtie hanging undone.

“Sure.” They answered in unison.

He moved to sit at the desk where the remnants of her dinner remained. She smiled when he nibbled the crust she’d left behind on the plate. He chewed slowly and methodically, seemingly lost in thought. Next to her Julian seemed content to wait on his father, so Maura followed suit.

He wiped his fingers on the wadded-up paper towel and then he cleared his throat. “Everett has informed me of the events from earlier. I think it best not to mention the incident to your mother. I can’t tell you how glad I am that nobody was hurt.” His voice turned raw with emotion and he coughed into a closed fist. “I almost lost you once Julian…I can’t bear even the thought of losing you again.”

“Dad.” Julian walked over to his father and hugged him. The emotion brought tears to Maura’s eyes.

Maura stood. “I’m sorry, Mr. David. Everything is my fault. I should leave.”

“Promise me…” the men said in unison and turned eyes on one another. They laughed. “Maura, I think Julian and I would like your promise that you will never leave here again.”

“But I’m putting your family in danger.”

“You’re family, Maura. You and Bailey. When will you understand that? I hate to be blunt, but if you’d been here you would have been safe and sound, as would my boys. Now promise me.”

His chastisement was warranted and Maura felt extreme remorse for her mistake. “I promise.” Julian returned to her side at the bed.

Mr. David leaned back in his chair. “I’m familiar with Douglas Enterprises. His company bought up large parcels of land down along the gulf in the early millennium. Built huge casinos with no regard for those families that had lived on those plots for generations. The owners of those he couldn’t buy, because they refused to sell, are now being forced to move or live with the natural progression of the expressway, traffic, and congestion. One house in particular sits in the middle of that concrete spaghetti bowl.”

“The Lewis house,” Julian added.

“That’s right. Old Mr. Lewis refused to sell. Now his house sits surrounded by interstate. His land encompasses a triangular patch in the middle of where three interstates merge together. He lives in the house alone, his wife and kids having left because they just couldn’t take it anymore. I should mention his house has been set on fire three times.”

“Set on fire?” Maura questioned to make sure she’d heard correctly.

“He’s not the only one. Several refused to sell only to see their homes and possessions burned to the ground. One entire family perished in their beds.”

“What caused the fires?”

“What or who indeed?” Maura gasped at Mr. David’s implication. Alan could be cruel with her, but she remembered how he’d been the life of every party. Among the community he’d been so well liked and charismatic. Could he actually be linked to the death of this family?

Mr. David’s fingers thrummed on the tabletop. “I’ve got an investigator looking into his investment accounts. Douglas is a shady businessman. There was something funny a few years ago down on a rig in which he’d invested a large sum. The entire crew perished. I had a nephew on that platform. I hadn’t connected the dots, but I’m starting to. I think he’d rather destroy a company than have it not thrive. In light of this new information about his character, I’m almost one hundred percent sure he is extorting money on a current business endeavor.”

Maura felt her face heat. If that were true what kind of person did he think she was? “Mr. David, I really had no idea. I don’t know what to say.”

He laughed and anxiety started in her chest and radiated out to her limbs, stiffening her body where she sat.

“Douglas has been around a long time. Long before you were his bride. I don’t think for one second you had any prior knowledge regarding his deplorable business affairs.” He smiled, relieving her initial worries. She watched as his smiling eyes took in his son next to her on the bed. His arm around her, rubbing, comforting.

Mr. David cocked his head, looking delighted. “And Maura I meant to tell you, next time Julian is an ass, don’t leave. We’ll kick him out instead.” She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing as Julian frowned. Her laugh broke free, followed by his father and finally Julian, and their jubilance filled the room.

“What’s so funny?”

Mrs. David stood in the doorway in a beautiful royal blue chiffon floor-length gown. One crystal-encrusted strap emerged from her left breast cup and crossed over her right shoulder and continued down her back, Maura suspected. The effect was breathtaking and the woman beautiful with her platinum hair which was so light it almost looked white. Maura knew that the ages of Mrs. David’s children placed her somewhere over forty, but her youthful beauty belied her years.

“I was just telling Maura here that we have no qualms about kicking Julian to the curb if he displeases her in any way.”

Mrs. David smiled and angled her chin toward her chest, walking toward Julian. Her palm went to his jaw and she bent to kiss his cheek. “Don’t you worry Maura, Julian could never displease anyone.”

“Mom, you look beautiful.”

Suddenly Mr. David stood and placed his hands in his pockets. “Truer words were never spoken.”

“Thank you, baby.” She kissed Julian’s head. “I saw that horrid Travis at the gala.” She sat next to Julian and brushed his hair behind his ear.” He told your father he was going to sue Courtney for the engagement ring and damages to his car.” Mr. David watched his wife, and if Maura wasn’t mistaken there was fire in his eyes. “Can you believe the nerve?”

“Did Courtney see him?”

“No, she’d left with Arianna to go to Nana’s, thank God.”

Maura felt like an intruder watching their very private moment. Mr. David rubbed Maura’s back and then moved before his wife and extended his hand. She placed her hand in his and as they exited the room, they issued goodnight wishes.

“Wow, your parents are still very much in love.”

Julian smiled. “I know. We’re lucky to have them.” His smile waned and she knew he’d read the sorrow in her gaze. Sorrow for the loss of her own mother and father. “You must really miss your mother. After all, it hasn’t been so long, has it?”

She looked down and pretended to pick lint from her lap just so she didn’t have to look into his eyes. “No, it hasn’t been long. But we’re not going to talk about this.”

“We’re not?”

“Nope. If you won’t tell me about your dancing queen days I’m not telling you about my mother.”

“Touché.”

He stared at her. She stared back at him. Eyes so lush their gaze brought tingles to her skin.

Julian leaned forward and took her lips in his—soft, but insistent. When she sighed his tongue slipped in. He’d had whiskey recently and she tasted the rich honeyed bitters on his tongue—a clean, crisp taste. He made the move—the move that had him rolling over her and had her going down on her back in the bed. Thank God she’d removed her granny panties. He moved her like a rag doll, pushing her higher up on the bed. Reaching up, her hands skimmed his sides in search of his shirttail. Her blood rushed at the thought of him shirtless. Finally, she grasped the ends and pulled the shirt from his body. She could stare at his chest from now until the end of time—until the planets collided and life on earth ceased to exist. Planes of sheeted muscle coupled with tight nipples. And did he wax? Her palm flatly rested over one pectoral muscle and she sighed in delight at the feel of warm, taut silky smoothness.