Finding You (20 page)

When she got to his office he was sitting in his chair looking over the city.  Lost in thought he didn’t hear her come in.

“Boo,” she said walking up to his desk.

He genuinely looked happy to see her which eased some of her emotions.

“What did you have in mind for lunch sweetheart?”

She looked at him and then she looked at his body. She had missed his touch.  “Actually I’m really not that hungry.”

He pulled her in and devoured her.  “God Nova, I am so sorry I have been so busy.  Do you forgive me?”

“It’s looking much better,” she admitted as she unbuttoned his pants.

He hit the intercom on his phone.  “Hold all my calls.” 

He wasted no time in getting her undressed.  Turning her around he pushed her against his desk.  “Are you ready for me sweetheart?”

She purred at his touch.  She had missed this. 

He ran his fingers finding her already wet.  Pressing his erection against her, he moaned, “I have made you wait too long haven’t I baby?”

Nova turned and hopped her ass up on the side of his desk wrapping her legs around him.  “You know what happens when you make me wait too long don’t you?”

He smiled pulling her lips to his.  “If you get naked in front of my staff I am going to break out the paddle.”

She lay back relieved to find the man she knew, the one who wasn’t lying, the one who wanted her.   

The minute she felt him push inside her all her worries disappeared.  This was her Ian.  This was the one that she doubted but she wouldn’t doubt him again. Not right now anyway.  Right now she needed to bring him back around full circle.  They had neglected each other too much over the last two weeks and it was time to make up for it. 

An hour later his intercom turned on.  “I’m sorry to bother you Mr. Strong but you have a phone conference in ten minutes.  Would you like me to postpone it?”

Ian growled.  “No, I have to take it.”

“Your conference line is secured when you are ready Sir.”

Sitting up he untangled her panties that had somehow ended up around his foot.  “Nova, I will be absolutely worthless the rest of the day. You know that don’t you?”

“Good, then come home with me and celebrate. Today was my last class.”

He smirked as he buttoned his slacks.  “I know what today is Nova.  You didn’t think I would forget, did you?”

To be honest she didn’t know what to think.  She shrugged her shoulders.  “Ian…”  Before she could finish his intercom turned on again. 

“Mr. Strong, Bosck is on the line for you already.”

She kissed him again.  “I hate that intercom Ian.”

He laughed adjusting his tie.  “Nova, as much as I want to keep you right here with me I have to take that call.”

“Is the Empire going to fall if you don’t take it?”  She knew it wouldn’t but she couldn’t resist.

“No, but nonetheless it’s important. I will be at home on time tonight.  Wear something pretty, I’m taking you out?”

Nova dressed and left as soon as Ian picked up the line.  She really wanted to give his secretary a “go to hell” look but she didn’t.  Instead she just smiled and wished her a good afternoon. 

That night Nova waited eagerly for him.  At 6:00 still no Ian.  She had already called his phone and it had gone to voice mail.  At 6:30 she called his office and his receptionist said he had left at 5:30.  At 7:00 she did what she had hoped she wouldn’t have to do, she tracked Ian’s phone.

In less than a minute she had him.  She looked at the location and rechecked the address.  It couldn’t be right.  She ran out to the Range Rover and got in.  It took her twenty five minutes to get down town.  She pulled over when she saw the Porsche.  She couldn’t believe it.  His car was parked in the private lot for “E
x
tension.”

She turned off the engine unable to do anything else.  She couldn’t stop shaking.  Why had he come back?  How many times had he been back?  She had wanted to believe in him.  She did believe in him but now she knew the truth.  She stepped out and walked around the Range Rover.  She wanted to barge in the front door but she couldn’t.  She could never go back in. 

Standing on the sidewalk she stared at the door that held Ian inside.  Bending over to hold her chest she couldn’t believe this was happening and there was nothing she could do. 

Feeling like such a fool she looked down.  She had dressed up for him and he had stood her up for whatever had his attention in the club.  She still had her phone in her hand.  She decided to try him one more time.  Unexpectedly he answered at the same time he walked out the front door of the club.  She stood beside the Range Rover watching him.

“I know you must be mad. I am so sorry I am late but I am on my way.”

She held her breath then finally she spoke.  “You have a beautiful smile Ian.”

“What?” he asked slowing his pace to a stop.  He looked around finally seeing her standing across the street.  “Nova, I can explain.”

“Really, so can I.  Tell me if this is about right.  Don’t wait up on me baby, I am working late.  I will make it up to you.  Does that sound about right?”

Ian put the phone in his pocket and ran across the street. 

Nova dropped her head trying to decide what she was going to do.  He had played her.

“Nova, it’s not what it looks like?”  He reached out to try and touch her but she stepped aside and walked to the driver door.

“Ian, I’m not going to cause a scene in the middle of the street.  I came from in there remember, don’t you dare try and give me some bullshit excuse of how it isn’t what it looks like.”

“Wait, Nova, I can explain.”

“Get the fuck away from me Ian.”

“Stop,” he said grabbing her wrist.

Twisting out of his hold she turned to him.  “Seven,” she used the safe word.  “Game over Ian.”

When she got back to the house she dropped her dress at the bedroom door and put on some jeans and a t-shirt.  She threw most of her clothes in her suitcases.  She had everything she needed minus her back pack that was still in her old room.  She heard him when he came in but she knew he would go to their bedroom so she took the back stairwell down to the kitchen and hurried to her old room.

Grabbing her computer she had hid in the closet along with her other things she packed them in her backpack.  She heard him yelling her name when she came back to the foyer to gather her suitcases she had sat in the dining room so he wouldn’t see them.

“Wait Nova, don’t walk out on me, it’s not what you think it is.”

Her vision was distorted from her tears.  “Really Ian, is that all I get.”

She grabbed her bags and headed for the door.

“You aren’t leaving this house Nova.  Put your stuff back.”

“Ian, I get it.  Old habits are hard to break.  I got busy and so did you.”

“I swear to you Nova, I haven’t done anything wrong.”

A blinding furry past through her and the next thing she knew her hand came across his face.  “Get the fuck out of my way Ian.”

He grabbed her hands and pushed her against the door.  “I will take that only because I realize what all this must look like to you but you aren’t walking out that fucking door.”

“Fine, give me some more lies Ian.” 

He let go of her hands.  “I swear to God Nova I haven’t slept with anyone but you since you moved in this house.”

“Blow jobs still count as cheating Ian.” Hadn’t that been his favorite at
X
? She remembered that well enough.

“I haven’t touched another woman and no woman has touched me since you moved in.  I swear to you.”

“Come on Ian.  The other night when I called you and you said you were working, remember that?”

He stood not saying a word.

“I was outside the Enterprise Building when I called you.  How do you really expect me to believe you when you have already lied to me once?”

“Nova…” 

She cut him off before he finished.  “No, don’t Nova me.  Do you really think you can convince me with your bullshit lies that you weren’t with someone in the club tonight?  Oh, wait, you just went for the poker and the liquor right?  Don’t try to belittle my intelligence.  Certainly the great Ian Strong can do better than that.”

His eyes flashed wild with fire.  “I wasn’t at work Wednesday night when you called.  I did lie to you about that but I was working when you called me.  I have been working on something for you since we went on vacation.”

I rolled my eyes.  “Well that just makes it all better doesn’t it.  Let’s see it?”  She moved away from the door.  “Oh wait, what about the club tonight though.  How does that fall into place with your visiting the club?”

“It doesn’t Nova.  Caroline called me when I left the office and asked me to come by.”

He opened up his jacket pocket and handed Nova an envelope.  “This is what she wanted to talk to me about.”

“What is it Ian?”

“Just open it.”

She slid her finger opening the seal.  The first thing she saw was the pictures Stanford had given her.  “Why do you have these?”

“Caroline got them from Dunway.  He’s the one who set the camera up and took pictures of you.   Apparently he and your step father know each other quite well.  Dunway got himself into some legal problems and your step father helped make it go away in exchange for putting a tail on you and taking the photos.”

“Did you look at these pictures Ian?”

“I did Nova.  I needed to see them.”

She couldn’t really be upset that he looked.  Not really anyway.  They weren’t together when the pictures were taken and he certainly hadn’t stopped her from going in that room with that man.  “So what now?”

“These are Dunway’s originals.  Caroline even has the camera he used.  She hired a crew to search his apartment.  They took his computer and erased all his files, they took the camera and after they beat the hell out of him he handed over the combination to his safe and gave them the original flash drive with your pictures.”

Nova went to the fire place, turned it on and threw the pictures in.  “It doesn’t solve anything Ian.  Stanford still has a copy.”

“No he doesn’t Nova.  His place was searched too.  They found the pictures in his office.  His entire computer system was wiped clean and his email accounts were corrupted.  I watched Caroline burn his copy at her office tonight.”

She froze in place.  This couldn’t be right.  “Why did she do this Ian?  He will come after me again.”

“If he so much as sets foot in Boston I will kill him.  Do you understand?”

Running back to the foyer she had to go talk to Caroline.  She had no idea what she had done by involving Stanford.  “Ian he would have never used those pictures against me.  He couldn’t,” she screamed.  “What I have on him would lock him up for years.  He isn’t that stupid but now Caroline has given him every reason to come up here and beat the shit out of me again.”

Ian chased after her.  “We protect our own in the club.  You should know that and she would have never done anything that would risk  you being harmed.”

How could he be so stupid?  “And you believe that? She had no idea what she was doing.  Neither of you had any right to interfere but you did.  He will kill me if he gets a hold of me Ian.”

“He will never touch you again Nova.”

Her legs wobbled as reality set in.  “Oh God Ian, you have no idea what you have done.  I’m as good as dead now and you are too stupid to see that.  Those pictures made him think he had control over me Ian.  I wanted him to think that.  I let him beat me because I wanted him to think he had the upper hand but Caroline has ruined that.  He is coming for me Ian and he will get to me.  He always does.”

“I want to see what you have on him Nova.  Let me see your computer?”

“No.”

There was no way.

Ian walked to the stairs and sat down.  “Tell me what he did to you Nova.  Tell me how you got the scar on your leg.  I need to know.”

She shook her head.  “I told you already and the scar doesn’t mean anything.”

He shook his head.  “Please make this easier and tell me the truth baby.  Please don’t lie to me about this.  I won’t judge you.”

The ground under her feet felt like it was moving.  Everything was crashing down as she leaned against the door and slid down to the floor.  She couldn’t believe she was about to do this but she had no choice.  He had no idea the danger he had put her in.

“You let yourself in Ian.  You had no right to pry in my past.”  Grabbing her backpack she pulled out her computer.  “This is what he is coming for since you took away the only leverage he had with me.”

She turned on the video and handed Ian the computer.  Hearing his voice made her sick and the sound of her screams as he hit her brought all the memories back in living color.  But that wasn’t the worst part, the worst part was when her screaming stopped.  She turned to look at Ian as his mouth gaped open.  She had never admitted to anyone that Stanford had raped her countless times.  She had never meant for anyone to know that, especially Ian. 

The look on his face showed the disgust she feared.  He would never want her now.  Why would he. The dark secrets of her past came crashing down on her.  She tried to hold it back but there was no use.  She tried to make it to the bathroom but she didn’t even get out of the foyer before she threw up in the floor while Ian watched the video in horror. 

“I will kill that fucking bastard Nova.  This isn’t your fight anymore, it’s mine.”

Nova dropped to her knees pulling off her shirt trying to clean up the vomit. 

“Don’t touch it Nova.”

She was frantic.  She couldn’t think.  She was still trying to clean the floor with her shirt. All she could see was the mess in the floor and the fear that crippled her.

“I’m so sorry.  Don’t hit me I will clean it up.”    He would hurt her over the mess. He never liked a mess.  Running to the kitchen she grabbed a spray cleaner and wet some towels. 

Ian couldn’t do anything but sit in disbelief and watch her.  The words she said pulled his feet out from under him,
“Don’t hit me.” 

Whenever he tried to get close to her she would knock his hands away begging him not to hurt her as she tried to clean up the floor.  She was muttering nonsensical words as she tried to scrub the floor and all Ian could do was watch her as the tears ran down his cheeks. 

Pulling clothes out of her suitcase she wiped the floor over and over until she finally gave out and started screaming.

Ian finally got close enough that he could pick her up.  “Oh my God Nova
,
look at me baby, it’s me.  I’m not going to hurt you baby.  You are safe with me.” 

She collapsed into his arms.

He carried her up stairs and turned on the shower.  He sat her down in the bottom of the shower and held her against him while she cried. Eventually after her tears stopped, he bathed her, dressed her and laid her down in the bed.

She hadn’t spoken a word since he put her in the shower. 

“Nova, we need to talk about this.”

“I can’t Ian.  Not right now, I’m too tired.  Please just let me sleep.”

She nestled her face down in the covers and closed her eyes.