Forgotten Promise (Forgotten Series Book 2) (8 page)

“You don’t mean that,
darlin’.” He leans in and caresses my cheek.

It’s an unwanted
comfort that stirs guilt within me.

“You’re just upset
about your mother’s passage you read, her pregnancy. How can that be your
fault? They did what they thought was right. You weren’t responsible, you can’t
possibly see it that way.”

I hate that these
comforting words are coming from Cash. Surprisingly, I accept them. “But they
got divorced, it wasn’t meant to be. They only married because she was
pregnant.”

“That’s not what I
read, they loved each other, they loved you, and in the end, they also forgave
each other.” He pauses, reflecting on his own words. “Could you ever forgive
the damage I’ve done?” Cash pleads.

Can I forgive?
Questioning my ability to let go of the past, the pain he caused. I’ve held on
to this anger as a coping mechanism. I’m not sure I want to let it go, it’s
served its purpose well.

“Or is it broken
beyond repair?” he asks.

“Broken promises,
Cash, forgotten promises.” Apparently not. I push the tray.

He lifts it and sets
it on the bed side table.

“You ruined me,
Cash.” Hugging my knees to my chest.

“And you ruined me
for any other woman.” Slowly pulling the sheet off my body, exposing my bare
legs, and what little the t-shirt covered.

Stop…Stop…Stop, I
scream in my head. “Cash.”

“Now that I’ve got
you here, I’m never going to let you go.”

And in one fell
swoop, panic sets in, he can’t be serious. “I love Nathan, I do. There’s no question
about it, Cash, I love Nathan.” Almost a chant being said, not only to Cash but
to myself.

“You’re never gonna
get away from me again,” Cash whispers in my ear. His hands running up my leg,
skimming the shirt.

“Stop,” I say with a
desperation, hoping he will be strong enough to pull away.

“You don’t want me
to, Bryer.”

“You’re wrong.”
Resting my hand on top of his to stop him from going farther.

“We have this moment,
darlin’, let it happen.”

He’s spellbinding,
corrupting my thoughts. “I can’t.” Falling towards the edge of insanity.

“Shhh, I dreamed of a
second chance.” And without warning, our lips touch.

I’m on the edge of my
thoughts, looking at myself as if I’m someone else watching it all unfold,
knowing he holds the power. I pull away, turning my face as he pulls away.

“I want you,” he
softly says.

“NO, it’s too late,
Cash.” And at that very moment, all I see is Nathan and the pain I would cause
if he were to witness this. I use both of my hands on his chest to push
distance between us. “I’m not coming back, Cash, I’m moving forward. I love
Nathan.” It’s crystal clear.

Sadness clouds his
features, while looking hopelessly at me. “I thought we had a moment.”

“We did, a moment of
forgiveness.”

Nodding, he silently
leaves my room.

Day
Four

~Nathan~

“We got a tip,” Stan
says immediately when I answer his call.

“Holy fuck. What?
Where?” Adrenaline pumping through my veins. The agony has devoured every
waking moment. Now, hope is a flicker away.

“I’ll pick you up in
ten, I’m bringing her bodyguard. We’re lock and loaded, buddy. Awaiting details
from Intel, but it’s coming in soon.”

“Get here
double-time.” My urgency apparent.

The drinking spree
last night has caused me a hell of a lot of grief today, but soothed me into
one night’s sleep. The hazardous waste I consumed is just a trailing memory
now.

As I see them pull
up, I jump into the back seat. “Catch me up.” Breathing as if I just ran a
marathon.

“Nathan, we located
Cash’s off-again, on-again assistant, Sonya from Austin. She rented the house
here for Cash, secluded, and in a rural area. She confirmed it was in the
process of setting up all internet, land lines, etc., but the weather put a
hold on all that,” he explains, but the speed in which he speaks shows his
desperation.

“So, whoever is there
has no way to contact the outside world.” Stan adds.

“Thank fuck, there’s
some relief in that.” The tension radiating off everyone in this car is
explosive.

Frantic to reach her,
fearsome about what I may do to Cash. Every cell in my body wants to beat the
shit out of him. If he hurt her, justifiable homicide is on my side. A small
voice of doubt sweeping through me. How confident am I she is there against her
will? Confident.

“Nathan, we’re twenty
minutes away, pull yourself together. The last thing I want is to wind up in
jail.” He glances back at me. “With a fucking lawyer.”

“I’ll keep that in
mind, no promises.” I hear his disapproving sigh.

“Love means
commitment
,
of course, so does
insanity
.”

Stan and I both look
in surprise at Bryer’s bodyguard uttering the only words I’ve ever heard come
of out of his mouth. “Story of my life, pal.” Never knowing his name.

As we approach the
entrance to the grounds, without a word, the two men jump out and go straight
into defcon five. I’m left to follow.

They stalk as
predators, hidden, professional and quite impressive. “Perimeter, you got my
six?”

“Yes sir.”

I stand back in the
shadows, as hard as this is, I know it’s for the best.

“Bring it up the
rear, Nathan.” And points.

I know my purpose
now.

“No cars, and this
house is so big, but I don’t see anyone on the main floor, except smoke from
the chimney.” Stan assesses.

“We’re going in
aggressively, Nathan, this is what we do. You’re in third, got it? Stay low and
under no circumstance are you to take him down,” he orders

“What? Fuck, lucky
for him.”

They knock, but don’t
wait. In seconds they’re in, guns drawn.

I watch as they
strategically go from room to room. Then it happens. And I watch in slow motion
as they take him down. I watch as Cash crashes on the floor.

“I’m a God damn
lawyer. Are you sure you want to do this?” he yells.

“Let me give you a
brief rundown on kidnapping, and several other charges we’ll come up with.” And
I watch as the handcuffs are put on.

Stan calls 911.

A vision appears at
the top of the staircase.

“Nathan.” She
screams.

“For the love of God,
Bryer.” I wail, not recognizing my own voice.

Our eyes meet, and
she starts running toward me—it’s all in slow motion, it’s in every movie I’ve
ever been forced to watch, it’s magical. She dives into my arms, wrapping her
legs around me, crying. I could devour her whole.

Damn woman, but all
mine.

~Bryer~

Home, he opens the door
and subliminally ushers me inside. A sudden comfort seamlessly awakens my body,
mind and soul. I feel him hovering behind me. And I know I will have to satisfy
his curiosity. But at this moment, I’m rendered speechless. How much do I tell
him? The truth? No, a voice answers in my head. A version of the truth?

His arm is over my
shoulder, cocooned in his strength, like a life line. We walk upstairs, wrapped
in each other’s embrace. Nathan starts a bath, and undresses me with the
tenderness I rarely see.

“Once you’re
finished, we’ll talk.” Leaving the room.

I look in the mirror,
feeling the intensity of what has occurred these past several days. The guilt
weighing me down like bricks and mortar. I lavishly pamper myself and think of
the conversation to come. My choices, my actions, and I’m beginning to unravel.
I wish we could just move forward, and never speak of it again. But reflecting,
I realize I owe him this.

I find a fluffy robe
hanging on the back of the door, not the sexy silk one he would normally
choose, and it sends a powerful message of understanding. I make my way down to
see him on the couch, I feel apprehension, but there’s sympathy in his eyes.
Not the derailed man I anticipated facing.

He waits.

I see two glasses of
wine, I sit and immediately take a slip, more like a gulp.

But he says nothing.

There’s a beat of
anticipation, I sense it. “How much do you know?” I ask.

“Only pieces.”

I start to twirl my
hair around my finger, which I haven’t done since I was a child, contemplating
the story to come.

“I know the beginning
and the end,” he says.

“I have my mother’s
journal, and I have read only a few passages, savoring it, knowing it’s the
last piece of her I’ll ever get.” I decide to start with
why
I left.

“I know what that
means to you, babe.” Pulling me closer into his warm body. Or perhaps claiming
what’s his.

“I’ll share it with
you.”

“I’d like that.”

His patience
startling, where’s the volcano I expected? “I got closure with Cash.” His eyes
flickered with a look I don’t recognize.

“Four days is a long
time, Bryer.”

Encouraging me to
tell more. “The lines were blurred.” Blue to green he looks deeply for the
answers he wants.

“Did he touch you?”

And there it is. “We
shared a kiss, Nathan.”

He stiffens, but
contrary to his body language, he slowly absorbs the words.

I’m expecting him to
fly off the handle. But he doesn’t. “It meant nothing, I didn’t kiss him back.
I put a stop to it.” Would this soften the blow?

“A kiss?” His words
sounding like an open wound. But recovers quickly.

“I think we’re both
emotionally spent,” he says. “Maybe a night in our bed, in my arms will satisfy
our own traumas.”

My eyes turn to him,
his rugged appeal, his sensitivity shown tonight amazes me. “Yes, take me to
bed.”

Once under the covers
and disrobed, I feel his body press to my back, his arm encasing me like a
vise. His strong front claiming what is his. His hands caressing my stomach, my
breasts stirring the need.

“There is only you.”
As I twist in his arms, a fierce flare of desire flashes in his baby blues.

“Go on. I need these
words,” he whispers. As he lifts my leg over his hip.

“All for you,” I say.

“I want to be patient
tonight, but I’m failing miserably.”

“Please fail.” As I
find the hard cock and embrace it.

“I want your mouth,
baby, those fucking lips on mine.” As if wiping Cash’s kiss off with his own,
as if it never happened. Craving more than sex, more than physical contact,
it’s deeper, our souls touching.

“I’m aching for you
to be so deep in me, Nathan.” Adrenaline soaring. Sealing his mouth over mine
again, his tongue a driving force in my mouth. His fingers tangling in my hair,
as if I might get away.

“I won’t rush this.”

Some narcotic power
in his voice, I offer my will openly to him.

His lips trail down my
body, gravelly words utter against my flesh. His path leads to my core, nudging
my legs apart, my pussy is his, waiting wet with hunger. His tongue playing
with my tormented flesh until I’m on the brink.

I run my fingers
through his messy waves, holding on. “Make me feel again.”

Climbing my body, his
tongue making a wet path to the sensitive spot behind my ear.

“Take me there,” I
beg,

A dimple appears as
if a challenge was made. His hand twisting and finding its way to my clit,
running circles with a fiery need. His hard body against mine.

I was teetering on
the brink. His scent, the familiar aroma that always pulls me in.

He pushes inside with
a slow torment. “Fuck me,” he says over and over like a chant, with every
thrust I’m matching his rhythm. An all-consuming climax, convulsing around his
hard length.

“Feel me, baby?”

He always asks, as if
that makes me his. “Claim me Nathan, make me yours forever.”

“Jesus, woman, I’m
coming, follow me there.” Ravishing every part of my body until we explode in
harmony, like a musician’s crescendo.

“So good, Bryer, so
fucking good.”

“I love you ,Nathan.”

“I love, love, love
you, baby.’ Kissing my face with every word.

“You need sleep, we
both do, c’mere.”

And I lay in the one
place that feels so right. His arms.

~ ~ ~

“Another cup?” He
offers.

“Yes please.” Pouring
cream and sugar in.

“I don’t think it’s a
good idea, Bryer. We have both been through so much this past week, I can
reschedule it.” Nathan reasons.

“No, I want to get away,
with you.” Now at the point of begging.

“What about Stan,
work, we have responsibilities,” he says

“I spoke with Stan.
There’ll be no charges, I left willing with Cash, so it’s over. As painful as
that statement is, I won’t let him rob us of the trip you planned.” Knowing
it’s happening. “I didn’t think I would have beg to keep your Vegas plans in
place, we deserve this.” Wrapping my arm around him, lifting to look into his
blue eyes.

“I suppose we do.” A
crack in his armor.

“Think of it as a
wicked distraction, unless you’re not up to it.” Challenge given.

“When has that ever
happened?” A wicked smile breaks, and a double-whammy dimple show appears.

“So, we’re on?”
Wrapping my arms around his neck, pulling his into a kiss he won’t soon
forget..

“Amazing fucking
idea.” He gives. “Flight leaves Friday morning, be packed and ready,” he
orders. “Happy now?” he asks, kissing me back quickly.

“Yes.”

I can’t wait to get
out of town, as far away from Cash as possible.