Page 35 of Stone (Claimed and Protected #3)

S tone

“I asked you this before about why my father disliked yours so much. Do you know the details about them growing up together?” she asked after we’d been searching the internet for a few minutes.

“Bradford certainly didn’t elaborate and neither did my father, but it stems from the fact my dad was in prison.”

“I remember you telling me about that twenty years ago. Manslaughter?”

“Yeah. Something happened in a bar. That’s all either one of my parents said.

He only spent eighteen months, but it was enough to destroy his reputation.

The only reason he returned to his hometown was because his and my mother’s family remained there.

But you know by growing up there how small towns can be. ”

“No one really said anything when we were kids.”

I shrugged and sat back, concerned I hadn’t heard anything from Kekoa. “Maybe because so much time had passed. Dad wasn’t proud of what happened but was determined to move on and care for his family.”

She squeezed my shoulder. “He did an amazing job.”

“Yeah, he did. He struggled, but everything he did was all about Mom and me. Why are you asking?”

“I was just thinking about what Dad said when he told me to stay away from you. He said you were a bad seed. One time I threw it in his face that Carter Bellows had more integrity than he did. You can imagine how well that went over.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, your dad thought I’d end up in prison just like Pops. God, I hated your father for the way he treated my dad.”

“I don’t blame you, Stone. I hated him and still do for the way he treated you and your entire family.”

“Is that the sole reason you’ve removed him from your life?”

When she didn’t say anything, I lifted my head to where she remained standing over me. “Not the sole reason. He hurt me personally as well, trying to tell me what to do in my life. He held my trust fund and college tuition over my head. I, um, didn’t tell you, but I never went to London.”

“What? Your dad?”

“One of many reasons. I was able to go to VCU, but art classes were few and far between. I appeased him with taking criminal justice courses as well. I suffered through his control while attending college, but the moment I had my degree, I left town and eventually made my way to Paris. It was crazy, I know, but I couldn’t take it any longer. ”

There was something about her pinched face that bothered me. “Something else happened. Didn’t it?”

A shadow fell across her face. “It was so long ago. So much time has passed. I’ve tried so very hard to find my way, but I can’t lie to you that I’ve suffered.”

“What aren’t you telling me? You can trust me with anything. I don’t like your father any more than I did before, but I’ll never use him against you.” Goddamn it, I could kill the man. He’d stripped her dreams away. I was so damn proud of her strength in pulling away from him.

“I’m just glad he shoved the past aside long enough to ask you to rescue me. I doubt anyone else could have saved me.” She offered a pained look before reaching for her wine. Her hand was shaking and the sense she was hiding something from me only deepened.

Pushing her wasn’t the best course of action. I knew that cold with Dani. Plus, she’d had enough of that with her father. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. Everything happens for a reason. Right? And I do trust you, Stone. More than anyone in my life, which is why being here with you has been so incredible, yet a fairytale.”

“Fairytale?”

“You know what I mean. You have your life and I have mine.”

“You’ve decided about the gallery tour.”

“Not yet. I need some time to think about it.”

The ache in my gut increased. “I’ll support you no matter what you want to do.”

“And I love you for that.”

There was as much sadness in her voice as I felt hearing her issue the words.

Maybe she was right, but what Kekoa had recommended pushed hard against my psyche.

What would happen if I told her how I felt?

Would that change the way we obviously felt about each other?

Or would our true feelings be challenged enough we wouldn’t grasp what we’d had but for so long?

There were certainly no easy answers.

“Did you ever search for the circumstances around your father’s arrest yourself?” The fact she couldn’t talk about herself pained me as well.

“No. You remember how proud my dad was. I thought doing so or even asking him any questions would be a betrayal and that’s the last thing I wanted.”

“I understand.”

“What are you thinking?”

She backed against the wall, folding her arms. “Why was my father so insistent on asking you to rescue me? No offense, but aren’t there a hundred Navy SEALs good enough to find me?”

Her smile was more playful this time. “I don’t know about that.” I laughed, but she was being serious. “Absolutely. There are several stationed in Paris or close by. He could have saved a lot of time.” I hadn’t thought about it that way. “I have wondered why.”

“And he was apologetic?”

“Yeah, surprisingly.” I continued studying her face. “What is floating through that brain of yours?”

“My father never apologizes. Not to anyone. Not to me and not to my mom. That means he had a reason or a level of guilt that outweighed his typical behavior.”

“Good points.”

“I think we need to find out how close our fathers were all those years ago for one thing. I also think you need to find out why your dad went to prison. What were the circumstances?”

“You think your dad was involved somehow.”

She shook her head as if removing the cobwebs. “You would think if he had been, his involvement would have been discovered through the intense vetting done before he took a single office.”

“That’s very true. Especially with him being governor and now in the White House, your father went under a huge microscope.”

She licked her lips. “But it’s not unheard of to lie and hold secrets. If you pay people enough money, they’ll keep them. Or, if you have something on them that’s even worse, you simply blackmail them into keeping your secret.”

“Dani. You’re seriously suggesting your father is corrupt.”

“Maybe not corrupt, but what if he has everything to lose if what he’s hiding is exposed? What if your father knew what that was?”

I sat back, uncertain what the hell to say. “I guess it’s possible, but we’re talking about your father here. Do you really want to know?”

Her brow furrowed, her nose wrinkling just like it always had when her mind had become determined. “Yes. I want to know the truth.” She sipped her wine and I allowed her answer to process in my brain.

She’d always been tenacious, struggling to get her way no matter what obstacle was placed in front of her, but if her basic accusations were true, they would haunt her for the rest of her life. I didn’t want to be responsible for breaking her any more than I already had.

“Okay. I doubt we’re going to find it on the internet. We can check.”

“What about your commander? Does he have any connections?”

As she’d been talking, I’d already thought about having another conversation with Gray. Although I feared the outcome wouldn’t be what either one of us wanted. “Yes, he does. I’ll plan on talking with him in the morning.”

“Okay, good.” She leaned her head against the wall and I could tell she was suffering.

Pushing my drink aside, I rose to my feet, taking the wineglass from her hand. She peered up at me when I did, her mouth twisting in frustration and worry. After putting the glass on the desk, I placed my hands on the wall beside her.

“I don’t want you hurt from any of this. I mean more than you already have been.”

“I know that, Stone,” she whispered and placed her hand on my chest. “You have no idea how many times I’d wished things had turned out differently. I shouldn’t have changed my number, but I was hurting and maybe a small part of me wanted you to try and contact me so that would make you suffer.”

“You have no idea how much I did suffer, Dani. Your father was insistent I keep away.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “The last night I saw you?”

“The worst night of my life.”

“I know he threatened you and was going to plant drugs in your truck. I overheard him talking to his attorney on the phone after he took me home. He was laughing about it. I confronted him and it was the first time he raised his hand to me.”

Bristling instantly, I could feel every muscle tightening as another wave of anger swept in. “He hit you?” Spots of blood formed in my eyes. I would fucking kill the man with my bare hands.

“Yes. I was shocked. He’d yelled at me several times, but not once had he hit me.”

“That’s why you didn’t come to see me off.”

“I knew what you’d do. You would have gone off the deep end and he would have been right there, having you arrested. I know how my father thinks.”

I fisted my hand, resisting pounding the wall. “You should have told me.”

She wrapped her hand around my shirt, arching her back. “I was afraid to. You were so excited to join the Navy. You had your entire life ahead of you. I wasn’t going to ruin that for you because I know exactly what you would have done. It’s what you’re thinking right now.”

A single tear trickled down her cheek. It was the most painful thing I’d ever seen. How many tears had been shed because of her father? How many times had we both lain awake at night wondering why things couldn’t have been different?

And how many times had I wanted to confront Bradford Vale? “Baby,” I whispered and rubbed away the tear with my knuckle. “I’m just so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Stone. I just wish things could have been different, but as you told me, we can’t relive the past.”

She studied me as I licked the tear from my hand. Her eyes continued to glisten and I was torn with everything that needed to be said. “There was never anyone else. I didn’t leave you for another woman. I left because I was selfish.”

“You weren’t selfish. You were practical.”

“He offered to pay me money, Dani. One million dollars.” While her eyes opened wide, she didn’t appear angry with me.

“That’s my father. He’s always thought he could buy the world.”

I slammed my hand into the wall without thinking. “I almost took it. Do you know what that makes me?” She should shove me away and completely out of her life. She should never talk to me again and I deserved as much, but she yanked on my shirt, rolling onto her tiptoes.

“That’s why you acted like there was someone else.”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“I know so. You were still trying to protect me. And that’s why you give almost all your money to charity. You don’t feel like you deserve to have success.”

Narrowing my eyes, I leaned my head back. “How do you know I give it all away?”

“Maybe a little bird who thinks highly of you mentioned it.”

“I’m going to kill Kekoa. You just can’t understand. Or hell, maybe you can.”

She lifted her head until our lips were almost touching. “I do and you will not lay a finger on Kekoa. He does care about you. Do you hear me?”

“What do you think you can do about it?”

“Take you on.”

“Not a chance.”

As soon as she darted her tongue across the seam of my mouth, I issued a single, powerful growl. “If you think you scare me, then you’re wrong, big boy. I can handle you.” She rubbed her lips back and forth.

Fuck me if there weren’t a thousand jolts of current running through my system. My cock was fully aroused, my balls pulsing as quickly as the veins in my neck. “You can, huh?”

“Mmm… Try me.” She captured my mouth and all I could think about was filling her with my cock. The kiss was soft and sweet at first, but within seconds, the explosive heat rose to the point I wasn’t certain I could control myself.

She leaned against me and slid her other arm around my neck, I adored it when she tangled her fingers in my hair.

I was lost in not only the moment, but also in the woman herself.

She was a rock, so beautiful and so confident.

I’d missed out on so much in her life and I knew I couldn’t allow even another minute to pass without having her in mine.

I jerked her away from the wall, holding her as tightly against me as possible. She moaned into the kiss, trying to dominate my tongue. While I allowed her to explore my mouth, my hunger had reached a point where I needed to consume her.

The kiss became rougher, more manic and within seconds, we were tearing at each other’s clothes, but I wasn’t willing to wait. We’d been through so much both in the past and only days before. The urgency we both felt was explosive.

Within seconds I had my cock in my hand and yanked her thong aside. As soon as I eased her across the desk, I drove my cock inside. She pushed me away, breaking the kiss, her gasps turning into subtle laughs.

I laughed softly as well as the pressure began to release while my cock swelled and throbbed.

“Oh, my God. You feel so good.” She wrapped her long legs around my hips, still gasping for air.

The kiss had tasted too sweet. I crushed my mouth over hers again, immediately thrusting my tongue inside. The hint of cinnamon candy and pineapple juice was a startling combination. I was hooked, my thirst for her increasing.

She rolled her hand over my shoulder and down my back as she squeezed her legs together.

Just being able to take my time exploring her mouth was incredible. I took my time as I pulled out, driving into her again. Her pussy muscles contracted, squeezing my dick like a tight vise. This was the sweetest ecstasy possible.

When I broke the kiss, I dragged my tongue along the underside of her jaw before biting down on her chin. I slowed the rhythm, pumping several times. My heartrate was off the charts. She was so wet, so damn hot I thought I’d lose my mind.

Her laugh was subtle and she ripped at my shirt so she could slide her hands underneath.

Now it was my turn to laugh as I jerked one of her arms over her head then the other, trying to grab both wrists with one hand.

She was stronger than she looked, pulling her arms free.

“You’re not in control,” I growled.

“You just think that.”

“Oh, I know that.” When I pulled my cock from her tight channel, she whimpered, reaching for me.

With a grin on my face, I wrapped my fingers around her small wrists, yanking her off the desk. When I spun her over, bending her at the waist, she almost knocked the laptop onto the floor.

The feisty woman continued to fight me, managing to toss my pen holder onto the floor. “No, you don’t.”

As soon as I thrust my cock into her pussy once again, she took a deep breath and lowered her face to the desk.

“You need to know something, Dani. You were mine all those years ago, but you escaped. There’s no turning back. What was once mine will always be mine.”