She sighed and stared ahead. "I"ve been thinking."
"Oh. You want to share your thoughts?"
She glanced back over at him. "I was wondering how to convey my thanks to you for giving me something really special last night."
He felt a rush of pleasure that she didn"t have any regrets about what they"d shared. "Conveying your thanks isn"t necessary because you gave me something special, as well."
She raised her brow. "What?"
"A chance to savor a special part of you."
Heat sizzled her skin and a yearning erupted in the pit of her stomach when she thought of how he had done so. "Yes, but you took things a step further when you exposed me to your incredible experience and masterful skills."
He chuckled. "Did I do that?"
She angled her face toward him. "Yes, you did." Moments later she said, "And I"ve decided to go to your brother"s party with you after all."
He smiled then, pleased with her decision. He glanced over at her when the car came to a stop at another traffic light. He wished she didn"t have her sungla.s.ses on because he wanted to look into the depths of her dark eyes, see if they held some clue as to why she"d made that decision.
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
"Mmm, I was just thinking that you have such a pretty face."
She laughed. "Thanks, and if you keep saying such nice things, I might want to keep you around."
He grinned. "That"s what I"m hoping."
An angry Reese paced Jocelyn"s living room, getting angrier by the second. Why hadn"t anyone told him what had happened to Leah? How could they keep something like that from him? And to think that for five solid years he had hated her, despised her, tried to eradicate her from his memory...his heart.
The scene that had played out in this very living room less than an hour ago had his stomach in knots. Neil Grunthall had forced himself on Leah! The thought of her defenseless against Neil made Reese"s entire body shake in rage.
He sighed, trying to recall what Jocelyn had almost let slip the other day when she"d come to Leah"s defense. She was certain her sister wasn"t pregnant because, according to Jocelyn, he was the last man Leah had been involved with. What she hadn"t said was that someone had forced himself on her.
He doubted he would forget for as long as he lived the crazed look in Leah"s eyes when he had touched her. h.e.l.l, he could just imagine what had played out in her mind. He"d watched a special episode on rape victims on CNN once and according to the reporter, some women never fully recovered from such an ordeal and were encouraged to seek some type of professional counseling. He wondered if Leah had done so.
Had that been the reason she had left town all those years ago, he wondered. Considering the timing of everything, a part of him knew that it had been. Why hadn"t she come to him and told him what had happened? It would have given him sheer pleasure to kill Neil Grunthall with his bare hands. If the man wasn"t already dead, there was no way he would be living now.
But hating Neil wouldn"t undo what he"d done to Leah. The woman he loved was now his main concern and yes, he loved her. He had never stopped loving her and he vowed then that if her spirit was still broken from all of this, he intended to repair it.
More than anything he wanted Leah to know he would always be there for her, no matter what.
Pleased that Jocelyn had no regrets about last night, Bas set his mind on getting them back to Newton Grove. She had mentioned a baby shower for a friend she wanted to attend that afternoon.
He picked up the cup of coffee and took a sip, appreciating the taste, and smiled when he thought of another taste he appreciated-the one belonging to the woman sitting beside him who had dozed off to sleep. With the windows up, her luscious scent filled the confines of the car and he couldn"t stop the desire that quickly encircled his gut. It was difficult to recall the last time he"d wanted a woman so much.
He tried to rationalize his attraction to her. She was a beautiful woman but he had met beautiful women before. What was there about Jocelyn that made him feel emotions he"d never felt before? In his book she was P and P: proper and pa.s.sionate.
He"d seen her proper side one evening when she hadn"t been aware she was being observed. It had been a social ball a couple of weeks ago that Ms. Sadie"s group of older ladies had given for some debutantes. Sadie hadn"t been able to get her car started and when he"d come in from a workout at the gym, she had asked if he would drop her off. He had pulled up in front of the Civic Center in time to see a very sophisticated-looking Jocelyn meet and greet all the other guests. She hadn"t seen him, but he had seen her and what he"d called her proper side.
He smiled, knowing that beneath that proper side was a pa.s.sionate side, one yet to be explored to the fullest. She was definitely a woman who could make his blood run hot. She was a distraction but a distraction that he liked.
It suddenly hit him why he felt that way, and emotions he"d tried a.n.a.lyzing for the past couple of weeks instantly became crystal-clear. He was falling in love with Jocelyn. And if he wasn"t careful, she could become the person he loved more than anyone in his entire life.
But that thought didn"t bother him and he hoped to h.e.l.l it didn"t bother her when she discovered how he felt. He wouldn"t shock her by declaring his affections, at least not now. He wanted them to spend more time together, to have what she considered fun, before he broached such a serious subject with her. He had discovered that Jocelyn didn"t handle surprises very well.
"If you"ve done a thorough review of the company books, then I guess you know that my dad and Noreen were having an affair."
Her words, spoken out of the blue, surprised the h.e.l.l out of Bas. He jerked his head and stared at her. He thought she was sleeping. "You knew?"
She smiled. "Yes, even though they thought I didn"t. Believe me, they were very discreet, but there were some things you couldn"t help but notice-like the looks they gave each other when they thought no one else was around."
"Did you have a problem with it?"
Jocelyn shrugged. "I did at first. No girl wants to imagine her parent being s.e.xually active, but then I saw how happy he was, and what a great mood he was in whenever he returned from one of his mystery trips out of town."
She chuckled. "After spending a weekend out of town with you I have an idea of just how he felt."
An hour later, after arriving back in Newton Grove, Bas was driving them through the city. "Do you want me to take you home or to your father"s house?" he asked, glancing over at Jocelyn when he came to a stop at a traffic light. She looked refreshed from her nap, and the desire he"d been holding at bay suddenly kicked into high gear. Combined with the love he felt for her, the emotion completely overwhelmed him.
"You can take me on home and I-"
Before she finished whatever she was about to say, Bas leaned over and brought his mouth down on hers, effectively s.n.a.t.c.hing both breath and words from her throat. She responded and when his tongue darted into her mouth, she captured it with her own, sucked on it before he could pull back.
When he straightened up in his seat, he smiled at her. "You"re coming up with some pretty masterful skills yourself."
She chuckled as she raked her fingers through her hair. "Only because I have a good teacher. I was just following his lead."
Bas"s pulse rate increased and he couldn"t wait until he got to her place. His goodbye kiss would be one she remembered for a long time. Well, maybe not, he thought moments later when he pulled into her driveway and saw the two vehicles parked there. She had left her car for her sister to use and he recognized the truck as Reese"s.
"Looks like you have company."
Jocelyn glanced up. When she saw the two vehicles, a deep frown settled on her face. "Oh, no," she said, unsnapping her seat belt before Bas brought the car to a stop. "What are the two of them doing here together?"
Her question, as well as the worried expression on her face, confused Bas. "Maybe they"re trying to patch things up."
Jocelyn shook her head. "It won"t be that easy."
He lifted a brow. "Why?"
"Because it won"t. Please stop the car, Bas."
Upon hearing the panic in her voice, he stopped the car and the minute he did she threw open the door and raced toward her house. Not knowing what the h.e.l.l was going on, he took off after her.
Before she could use her key to open the door, it was s.n.a.t.c.hed open and an angry Reese came out and glared at Jocelyn. "Dammit why didn"t you tell me, Joce?"
She didn"t answer. Instead she tried to move past him to go into the house. "Where"s Leah?"
He blocked her path. "She"s asleep, but I want to know why you didn"t tell me."
"Not now Reese, I have to-"
"No! I want to know why you didn"t tell me."
Bas heard the anger in Reese"s voice, anger that was directed at Jocelyn. He also noted that Reese was blocking the way into her own house. Bas stepped forward. "Calm down, Reese. What"s going on? What has you so upset? Is something wrong with Leah?"
Reese"s glare left Jocelyn and moved to Bas. "Yeah, something is wrong with her all right, something I didn"t know about until today."
He then moved his gaze back to Jocelyn. The eyes that looked at her were filled with a mixture of rage and anguish. "My G.o.d, Jocelyn, why didn"t you tell me that Neil Grunthall had raped her?"
Chapter 13.
Jocelyn"s eyes widened. "Leah actually told you?"
Having his suspicions confirmed was like a kick in Reese"s gut, and it took everything he had not to ram his fist into the nearest post. "She didn"t tell me willingly," he said with fury lining his every word. "I confronted her about why she left and when I told her about this house she started shaking uncontrollably. I reached out to calm her down, and when I did all h.e.l.l broke loose. She went berserk as if she was reliving those moments with Neil and actually thought I was him."
Reese paused long enough to rub a tortured hand down his face. The eyes that looked at Jocelyn again were hard and angrier than before. "Why didn"t you or your dad tell me?"
Jocelyn inhaled deeply, hearing the hurt, pain and despair in his voice. "Dad never knew and I only found out myself a few weeks ago, Reese," she said softly. "And she made me promise not to tell you."
Reese"s head fell back against the wooden post and he looked up at the sky as if the clouds held some kind of comfort for him. Then he looked back at Jocelyn. "Tell me what happened. Please. I need to know."
Jocelyn slid her gaze from Reese to Bas. He was staring at her just as intently as Reese, although he hadn"t said anything. She knew Leah was still in love with Reese just as Reese was still in love with Leah. If anyone could break through the barriers Leah had erected, it would be Reese.
"All right," she said wearily. "But I want you to promise you"ll be patient and understanding and-"
"My G.o.d, Joce, of course I"ll be patient and understanding. I love Leah," he said in a tortured moan. "I"ve never stopped loving her even when I thought she had done me wrong. If you think I"ll turn my back on her now, knowing what she"s been through, then you don"t know me."
Jocelyn inhaled deeply. She did know him and she knew how much he loved her sister. Somehow, through it all, his heart had remained intact even when his mind had a.s.sumed the worse.
a.s.sumed.
She shook her head. Bas had helped her to see how that one little word could cause a world of trouble. "Okay, I"ll tell you what she told me."
"On that note I think I"ll wait out in the car," Bas said, turning to leave, thinking he"d heard more than he should have already. This was a private matter between Jocelyn, Reese and Leah.
"No, please stay, Bas," Jocelyn said, not understanding why but knowing she needed him there.
Bas turned back around and met the silent plea in her gaze and knew at that moment he could deny her nothing.
He glanced over at Reese. "You"re okay with me staying?"
Reese nodded. "Yeah, man. I"m okay with it."
Moments later, after telling the two men everything, Jocelyn shifted her gaze from Reese. It was hard not to see the tears that filled his eyes without getting misty-eyed, as well.
And then there was Bas. She had seen him ball his fist in anger several times, and although he hadn"t said anything, the tightening of his jaw and the fury that lined his eyes had said it all.
"Did she get any professional help?" Reese asked, breaking the silence.
"Yes, but there are still issues she"s trying to work through, hurdles she"s yet to cross. It takes time recovering from an ordeal such as that."
"No matter how long it takes, I"m going to be there with her," Reese said in a firm voice. "We"re going to work through this thing, Leah and I. Together."
Jocelyn smiled. "She"s not going to make things easy for you, Reese. Already she"s talking about returning to California in a few weeks."
Reese nodded, and although he didn"t say anything, Jocelyn knew he had no intentions of letting Leah go anywhere. "She"s sleeping now, but I want to be there when she wakes up, to talk to her, Jocelyn. Alone."
Jocelyn knew what he was asking of her. The mothering instinct in her demanded that she see to her sister herself, but she knew Reese was right. He was the one who needed to be there for Leah. "Okay." She then glanced over at Bas. "Do you want to go grab some lunch?"
Bas smiled. She had a feeling he agreed wholeheartedly with her decision to let Reese handle Leah in his own way. "Yes, lunch sounds good and I know just where I want to take you."
Leah came awake, remembering where she was. Then she recalled her argument with Reese and..."Oh my G.o.d!" She covered her face with her hands when it all came tumbling back to her. He knew. There was no way he would not have figured things out.
"Are you okay?"
She jumped then turned in the bed to face Reese, her eyes going wide. He was standing in the doorway. "What are you doing here?"
"I told you I wasn"t going anywhere, Leah. Besides, I think we should talk."
No! She didn"t want to talk. She wanted to be as far away from him as she could. Knowing that he knew what had happened to her was too much. She quickly slipped off the bed. "I just want to finish my laundry and leave. Jocelyn should be back any minute and-"
"Jocelyn is already back. She and Bas went somewhere for lunch. They knew I wanted to talk to you alone."
"We have nothing to talk about."
He ignored her and took a step into the room, and she automatically backed up. Her seemingly frightened retreat almost broke Reese"s heart. "Why didn"t you tell me what Neil had done to you? Why did you run away instead? Didn"t you think I had a right to know?"