Sweet Dreams Boxed Set (38 page)

Ivy hugged him again. “Hugh, this isn’t about you. It’s not your fault.”

He squeezed her, wrapping his arms tightly around her. “No? Then whose fault is it, Ivy?  Who the hell do I blame?” Over Ivy’s shoulder, Hugh met Bennett’s stare.

“You blame the killer,” Bennett told him. “When we catch him, when we lock that perp behind bars…
you blame him.”

“I’m sorry,” Hugh told him. “For so much…dammit, man,
I’m sorry.
”

Bennett inclined his head toward Hugh.

“Don’t you wish you could change the past?  Past…” Hugh’s head sagged forward as he pressed closer to Ivy. “Present and future.”  Then he whispered something to Ivy. 

Bennett didn’t know what the guy had said, but Ivy jerked away from him. “No!” 

Hugh smiled, a sad sight.

“No, don’t ever say that! You’re nothing like him! You never were!”  She shook her brother, hard, and her voice rang out as she said, “You matter. You have always mattered, and I don’t care what crap he told you. Our father was one grade A bastard.” Then, softer, she said, “You know you matter to me.”

Hugh’s fingers slid under her chin. “Wait until Bennett tells you what I did. See if you still feel the same way.”

All the secrets are coming out.

Hugh exhaled and focused on the uniformed cop who waited a few feet behind him. “I get my own guard, Ivy.  Good deal, right? Don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll make certain I don’t do anything too crazy.” He turned and headed toward the cop.

“I’ll be pissed if you do!” Ivy threatened. “I know you’re hurting, Hugh, and I’m so sorry.”

He glanced back at her. “I loved her, Ives.” 

Ives.
It had been so long since Bennett had heard that nickname. 

“I didn’t even realize it,” Hugh said as he shuffled away. “Not until I saw her on that floor.” 

“Hugh…” There was so much sorrow in Ivy’s voice. “Please, promise me…” Her words trailed away.

But Hugh had stopped.

“Promise me you won’t do anything to hurt yourself,” Ivy said, “Not like…not like our father.
Promise me.
”

Bennett hurt for them both.

Hugh slowly glanced at her.

“I’ll come with you,” Ivy said quickly. “I’ll stay with you tonight. I’ll—”

“No, not tonight.”  Hugh’s voice was firm, his eyes grief-stricken. “Tonight, I want to think of her.”  His jaw hardened. “And I give you my promise, Ives.  I won’t be like him.”

Him. Their father…the all-powerful senator…a man who’d killed himself one hot southern night. 

Ivy nodded. “I’ll…I’ll come to you tomorrow?”

Hugh nodded.  Then the cop led him away.  

Bennett put his hand on her shoulder.

She stiffened. “Let me guess. My brother is getting protective custody, too, right?” 

“Yes.”

“Good. I want him safe.” She glanced back. “In case you didn’t realize it, our father spent most of his time making Hugh think he was worthless.” Her lips twisted. “Is it really such a surprise that when he was eighteen, Hugh caved to my dad’s pressure? That he lied at the scene of that terrible accident?”

It hadn’t been an accident.

The senator had truly gotten away with murder.  But not forever…eventually, the guilt had set in, and then, one night, he’d put a gun in his mouth.

When Bennett had heard the news, he knew that he should have felt relief. His aunt had gotten justice. But he hadn’t felt relief. He’d just felt sadness. And he’d wanted to see Ivy.

But when I got down here, she wasn’t alone. She was with Cameron.

Now Cameron was missing. 

***

Ivy hadn’t returned home.

He sat in her bedroom, waiting. He’d been waiting for the last few hours.

But she hadn’t come back home.

Her brother was a fool. The idiot had saved her security system’s passcode on his phone.  It had been merely a matter of a little finger swiping, and he’d had perfect access to Ivy’s house.

He’d explored all the nooks and crannies.

He’d touched the silk of her underwear. He’d spread out in her bed. He’d imagined all of the wonderful things that he would do with the sensual Ivy.

Now, so much made sense to him. She’d been the piece of the puzzle that he hadn’t realized was missing. A puzzle piece that had been deliberately kept from him.

She was everything now.

Every single fucking thing.

She’d be home again. Sooner or later, and when she was…

She’s mine.
He had so many wonderful plans for her.

Chapter Nine

She hadn’t been to Bennett’s place before.  Ivy stood just inside the doorway, far too conscious of him as he closed and locked the front door. There was a quick beep as he reset the alarm.

He flipped on the lights and illumination flooded the area.  Bennett’s home was in the midtown area of Mobile, nestled at the end of an oak-lined street.  Most of the houses in midtown were historic, and his home was no exception. The gleaming hardwood was strong and sturdy beneath her feet, and she knew the ceilings were easily thirteen feet high. The place was sparsely furnished, but the home was absolutely beautiful. Obviously, someone had spent a lot of time and dedication restoring the home.

She headed toward the fireplace. Her fingers trailed over the mantel. “Did you do the restoration yourself?”

“Yes.”

Something they had in common.  She’d been doing all of the painstaking work in her house, too.

“When you’re not hunting criminals…” She looked back at him. “Maybe you can drop by my house and give me a hand.” She thought her words might lighten the heavy tension that seemed to hang in the air between them.

But Bennett didn’t smile.  She didn’t blame him. She didn’t exactly feel like smiling either.  Her eyes burned from the tears she’d already shed for Shelly.

I keep picturing her body—all of that blood.
And that wasn’t how she wanted to remember Shelly. She wanted to remember her friend beautiful. Happy. 

“It’s okay to cry,” Bennett said softly.

Ivy swept the back of her hand over her cheek. “I’ve cried plenty.  I don’t want to do that anymore.” Because she was afraid if she started again, the tears wouldn’t stop.  Grief wasn’t what she wanted.

No, what she wanted, what she needed, was an escape. Something to numb the pain.

Bennett.

Her gaze met his. Held his.  Could he read the need in her stare? Could he understand how much she’d changed?  Everything had altered for her when she’d seen Shelly’s body. Playing it safe, going slowly with him this time around—
why?
Ivy didn’t know how much time they had.  A killer was stalking her. She might not have tomorrow. She might have nothing but this moment.

And with the danger growing, Ivy didn’t want regrets.

I want Bennett.

He seemed to understand because his green gaze darkened as he stared at her. Then, slowly, so slowly, he stalked toward her. “You have a choice to make.”

Ivy waited.

“You can sleep in the guest room down the hall. You can rest and know that you’re safe. Totally protected.”

Her breath came a little faster. “That’s option one.” She nodded. “And option two?”
I don’t want option one.
With option one, she’d be alone. She’d see Shelly in her mind. She’d hurt.

“Option two…you can let me have you.”

Her whole body got warm.

“And you can have me.” He stopped in front of her, but Bennett didn’t touch her. Even though she wanted him to, so badly. “I know you said things were going too fast before, when we were at your place.”

Oh, jeez…had that just been…
last night?
It had been, and, with the brutal events of the day, all of her priorities had shifted. She wanted to reach out and grab tight to her dreams. To reach for the thing she wanted most—

And I will.
Why be afraid? Life was short and hard and so very unfair. People had to grab their happiness when they could, and hold on tight with both hands.

“But I don’t think it’s too fast,” Bennett said. “I think it’s just the opposite. I think things are too slow because I’ve wanted you back in my bed for
years
but I was too damn big of a fool to tell you.”

Hope bloomed within her. Maybe it wasn’t too late. Maybe—

“You need to know all of me, before you make the choice. Because there won’t be any going back.” Then, staring at her, he took off his coat. Tossed it aside. He still wore his gun holster, but, carefully, he removed it. Then he reached around her and put the gun on the mantel.

He still didn’t touch her.

She needed his hands on her.

He exhaled slowly, then Bennett lifted up his t-shirt.  He hesitated, only briefly, then tossed the shirt to the floor. “I’m not the man you knew before.”

Scars sliced over his chest and stomach. So many scars. Deep, long. Twisting.  All over his front torso and—

Bennett turned to show her his back.

And on his back.

Tears stung her eyes.

“The Greenville Trapper kept me for two days before I was able to kill the bastard.”

She stepped toward him. His back was still to her, so he didn’t see her hand trembling as she reached toward him.

“By then, he’d more than left his mark on me, physically and mentally.”

Her fingers touched the deep scar on his right shoulder. It looked as if someone had just taken a knife and cut out a chunk of his skin.  “Bennett…”

“I don’t want your pity.” His voice was sharp.

She shook her head.

“He made me into a monster, Ivy.”

Her lips pressed to the scars. First one, then another. Another. “You’re not a monster.”

He stiffened. “I am.” His voice was so stark. “And if anything happened to you, the whole world would truly see just how screwed up I am.”

Tears were sliding down her cheeks. He’d endured so much.  The pain—it made her sick. Made her furious. Made her want to kill.

I could have lost him. He went through this hell…and I had no idea.
She pressed another kiss to his skin. His arms were clean, no scars there. 

“Ivy…” He turned toward her and her gaze shot up to meet his. When he saw the tears on her cheeks, his expression hardened. “No, dammit, no, don’t—”

“Shut up,” she said as the tears just came harder. “You should have called me! I needed to know.” She grabbed him and held tight. “I needed to know!”

Silence. 

And…

“I wasn’t in any shape to call anyone, baby.  I was drugged up for days.  More dead than alive.”

He was gutting her. 

“But, later, the nurses told me…I kept saying one name, again and again.”

It almost hurt for her to breathe.

“Your name, Ivy. Yours.  You’re the thing that got me through, Ivy. The reason I survived that hell. I couldn’t die because I knew I needed to come back to you.” 

“Bennett?”

“You’re the reason I came back to Mobile. The reason I walked away from the Bureau. You were the thing that mattered to me, and I just had to figure out how the hell to get back in your life. I had to try and figure out a way to make up for the past. I was a stupid kid back then. Hurting too much. Feeling too much pain. And I pushed away the one person I should have been pulling close.”

He wasn’t pulling her close. He was just—

Still wiping away her tears.

“I came back because I wanted to be with you, but when I got here…I didn’t know how to approach you. Didn’t know what the fuck to do. I thought you were with Cameron. You two always seemed to be together—”

“Not like that.” Just the one time. The mistake that still dodged her. 

His chin lifted. He caught her hands and pulled them from his shoulders. Then he just—held her wrists. Between them.  “I changed.  I realized just how much when I got back here. Dammit, baby, I would go to your house and stand outside, watching the lights in your windows. Watching you.”

He—

“That shit isn’t normal. I knew then just how far I’d fallen. I wanted you too much. I needed you too much. You were my lifeline, and I was too dangerous because I couldn’t stand the thought of anyone else being close to you.” His jaw hardened. “When I saw you go out with Cameron, I wanted to beat the hell out of that guy.
That
isn’t normal. It’s not safe.”

He took a step back.

She wanted to follow him. She didn’t. She…

“What makes you think I’m safe?” Ivy asked. “You think you’re the only one with inner demons?”

“You haven’t killed a man, Ivy. I have. With my bare hands.”

She flinched. “Your own life was on the line! Stop this! Stop it!” And she did follow him. Her body brushed against his. “Stop saying you’re some kind of terrible person! You survived hell! Yes, you’re different. How could you not be?  But do you think I don’t…do you honestly think I don’t want you anymore?”

The answer was plain to see on his face.

“Oh, Bennett…I never stopped wanting you.”
I never will.
“So tell me about that option two because that’s the option I want to take.”

She saw the change sweep over his face—the desperate need, the desire that wasn’t checked any longer.  His control shattered and he reached for her.

His hands were rough. So were hers. He kissed her with a wild, fierce lust that she craved.  She couldn’t get close enough to him. Her hands slid over his back, over the scars that he shouldn’t have ever been forced to carry. She touched every inch of his body that she could. She needed him to understand that she still wanted him—every single bit of him.

His hands curled around her waist and he lifted her up, holding her so easily. Her legs wrapped around his hips and she felt the long, hard length of his arousal pressing against her.  She arched against him, hating that her clothes were in the way. She needed them gone. Needed his jeans gone.

Flesh to flesh.

Sex to sex.

He started walking, still holding her, and a thrill shot through her. His strength had always been a turn-on for her. But then, nearly everything about him turned her on.