Love Revolution (Black Cat Records Shakespeare Inspired trilogy) (14 page)

The atrocities that he’d seen taking place behind these walls…well, there’d been a time or two he’d longed for the freedom death would bring. Dark and demented souls ruled with iron hard fists and contraband weapons. Demons in orange jump suits, they wouldn’t hesitate to take you out if you had the misfortune to get on their bad side. A favorite pastime was inflicting pain on one another. Every day was a struggle to survive, never knowing when the next attack would come. The Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville was a godforsaken Gehenna.

He took the basket of cleaning supplies from the storage closet, studying his hands as he went about his daily janitorial chores. They were calloused from time and toil, as hard and strong as the rest of him. Manual labor and exercise were all he had to fill the wasted days of the last seventeen years. It had been a monotonous existence. The bastards had given him the maximum, twenty years in this pit, for what he’d done. Only the crime of passion defense had spared him a life sentence. Unlike his hands, though, his prison record had been virtually spotless. So far he’d been denied parole, but he was coming up for consideration again in two more days, and given his behavior and time served, he felt really good about his chances.

Back in his cell later that evening, he gazed at the newspaper clippings and magazine articles that he’d collected over the years. He scowled at the latest picture. There she was in all her glory. The same sassy smile and grey eyes. The same whoring way. She was exactly like her momma.

Just two more days. Come hell or high water, he was getting out this time. His lip curled and his eyes narrowed to slits. He ran a finger across her face. He barely suppressed a gleeful laugh. He was so close. Gonzalo assured him everything was in place, everything he needed. He’d have his pound of flesh. The day of reckoning was coming. Just two more fucking days.

Unplugging her cell from the charger the next morning, Sara saw that she’d missed three text messages and four calls from Chris. Scrolling through the texts showed that they were all variations on the same theme. Listening to the one voicemail sent her scurrying to finish up her cup of coffee so she could jump in the shower. The doorbell buzzed, making her jump.
Uh, oh.
Too late
.

Muttering curses under her breath, she went to open the apartment door. Chris leaned one arm against the doorframe, giving her the once over before his face slowly broke into that sexy smile of his.

“Chris, what a surprise,” Sara said, shifting uncomfortably under his gaze and feeling awkward in her comfy robe and striped socks. “Come on in,” she told him sarcastically, tossing her hair over her shoulder and leaving the door open for him. It irritated her that he looked so chipper and handsome this early in the morning fully dressed in a long-sleeve black button-down and tight jeans.

“You look like crap,” he told her.

“Thanks, so much. Figure flattery will get you somewhere, huh?” she snapped.

“I’m just kidding, babe.” If he told her what he was really thinking, she’d slap him. Her robe was white terry cloth and short, barely concealing the top of her thighs, leaving her long tanned legs on glorious display. And her hair was all tousled like she’d just had a romp in the hay. His imagination went wild and his throat went dry.

“Do I need to wipe that silly grin off your face then?”

He winked. “Sounds like a challenge.”

“Do you want it to be?”

“Hell, yes,” he replied instantly in a low husky voice. He moved even with her, so close she could feel the heat radiating off his frame. This time it was Sara who had difficulty swallowing.

“Where’s Sam?” he asked, tucking his hands in his pockets. Instead of all over her like he wanted. That would have to wait.

“Still sleeping, like most people are at this time of the day.”

He shrugged, pulling out one of the dining room chairs, turning it around, and straddling it. Watching the maneuver brought an image to mind that made her blush. The direction her thoughts took when he was around. It was ridiculous.

“Can I have some coffee?” he asked, pulling her mind back to reality. “Coffee, caffeine, liquid energy” he repeated, pointing at the cup in her hand.

“Sure.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ll get you some coffee. Would you like some French toast, too, maybe? Some freshly cut fruit, perhaps?”

“No. Just the java.” He chuckled, accepting the mug she handed to him.

“Cream and sugar are on the table,” she said, lowering herself into the chair across from him. “Now are you ready to tell me why you’re here at my apartment at seven in the morning?” She raised a brow. “Uninvited I might add?”

“I like my coffee black. Some things are nice just the way they are.” His lips curled into a wicked grin. “No additives necessary. Like you in the morning.”

“Yeah, right.” She snorted, tugging at the frayed hem of her robe.

It was true, though. Without even a lick of makeup on, her lightly tanned skin was flawless, glowing. She looked fresh and young, like a model from an Ivory soap commercial. “Didn’t you get my texts?”

She started to deny it but what was the point. The guy was as persistent as a hound dog on a hunt. “I did,” she shrugged.

“Why didn’t you respond, then?” His voice rumbled low in his chest and his eyes took on that same predatory gleam from the day before. “Woman,” he drawled, standing and advancing slowly toward her. “We’re gonna have that talk, right here and right now.”

She took a step back, reflexively.

He stopped. “You’re not afraid of me, are you?”

“Pfft,” she dismissed him, shaking her head back and forth and chastising herself for letting on how much he rattled her.

Chris took another step closer while watching her closely. This time she didn’t back away. He reached out and gently caressed her cheek with his thumb. Her skin was as silky soft as he’d remembered.

Sara closed her eyes, sighing.

“Admit it, Sara. You feel it, too. There is something between us.” He removed his hand from her cheek only to replace it with his lips, beginning to trail feather light kisses along the line of her jaw.

Eyes still closed, she moaned low in her throat.

“And it makes you nervous,” he whispered.

“Yes, ok, so we’ve got chemistry,” she conceded, pushing him gently away. She needed some space so she could think straight. Glancing at him, she read the longing in his eyes, and knew her own mirrored it. “So what? Where’s this gonna go? You’re Chris Alex, lady’s man. I’m Sara ‘love ‘em and leave ‘em’ Daniels. Neither of us is exactly relationship material,” she ended, lifting her chin.

Chris wasn’t buying the bullshit. He pulled her back into his arms.

Sara stiffened, but as he continued to hold her and gently stroked her back, she dropped her head to his chest and began to relax. Her shoulders began to tremble.

“Sara?”
Was she crying?
The thought disarmed him. Chris lifted her chin. The surface of her grey eyes glittered with unshed tears and he saw in them an unexpected vulnerability. He smoothed a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I want you to give this thing with us a chance.” His voice was raw with emotion. “That’s all I’m asking.”

“Why?” she asked as a tear escaped and tracked down her cheek. He gently brushed it away with his thumb. His gentleness was her undoing. “Why me? You don’t even know me.”

“Not true.” He shook his head, his gaze penetrating. “I know the important things, like how you are with Sam… I believe you have the capacity inside of you, Sara, to love deeply and I think it’s worth a try to see where things might go between us.” Clearing his throat, his tone was lighter as he continued, “And I have in my arms an incredibly gorgeous woman who is also, smart, sassy and sexy… to the max. What man wouldn’t want to have some of that?”

“You still say to the max?” Her lips curved up slightly. “Really?”

“Just wanted to see if you were paying attention.”

She had been. Enough to be extremely flattered as well as unsettled by the things he’d said. She’d accepted and gotten accustomed to being with guys who were more interested in her fame than her heart. And for her, it was much safer that way. Wiser to end this right now. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t bring herself to say them. “Ok,” she said instead in a whisper.

“Ok, on what? On us?” Chris asked, needing verification before he got his hopes up.

“Yes.”

A boyish grin spread across his face. Sara laughed. The Chris Alex mega- watt smile practically illuminated the entire room.

“Alright, then. Pack up some things…”

“Whoa there mister. What do you think I just agreed to?”

“We’re going out to Whistler, babe. You and I, the two of us, together.”

“Whistler, as in skiing?” She shook her head. “Uh- uh, no way.”

“Listen.” He grasped her gently by the elbows. “You know that JR is taking your sister to the island and that Keith and Danny are going with. Everyone’s going to be out of town for the next couple of days. It’s a perfect opportunity to get away. Be ourselves. Get to know each other without any expectations or bullshit reputations to get in the way. I’ve got separate rooms. Nothing’s gonna happen unless you want it to, ok?”

Sara didn’t answer. Silence filled the room as she stood there hands at her side, legs feeling like jelly, undecided. The way she felt about him, being alone with him for forty-eight hours in a row was a decidedly big risk.

“Come on, Sara. Be brave.” Chris leaned back and gazed into her eyes, lips curled into an intimate smile. “I won’t bite unless you want me to.” He chuckled, wiggling his eyebrows, attempting to break the tension.

His exuberance toppled Sara’s remaining resistance. It was a bad idea, but she wanted this. “Alright, but I’m not skiing. Hurtling eighty miles per hour down an icy mountain is not my idea of a good time.”

The seaplane ride was not something Sam wanted to repeat any time soon. She was a little claustrophobic in general, and the small cabin of the twelve-seater made a phone booth seem large in comparison. To distract her on the way over JR held her hand and hummed her favorite Allman Brother’s song, “Melissa,” while nuzzling her ear. She did enjoy being close to him. He had a surprisingly good voice. Still, she couldn’t have been happier to step onto the dock in Nanaimo.