Broken Ground: (Broken Series Book 1) (31 page)

She nuzzled into my chest and pulled the blankets higher around us. I waited for long minutes for her response, worried that I'd taken things too far. Thinking she'd fallen asleep, I switched off the television and lay there in the darkness listening to her soft breathing. Just as I felt sleep begin to overtake me, she whispered, "There is no pain when I'm with you."

THE WEEKS FLEW
by in a blur of activity. I spent all my time in Denson with Ali, foregoing returning to Richmond for meetings, which was fine with Spencer since it helped keep distance between Marissa and me. Marissa hadn't made contact and the court date was a ways off, so there was still time to do some damage control. My investigator had finally gotten his ass to work and had been making some interesting discoveries. They were adding up to a win for our team.

I finally knew the name of Marissa's benefactor and all the pieces were falling into place. If things played out like I planned, we'd be rid of two problems in one fell swoop. She would be running scared before the case even made it to court.

Not that it mattered, either way I wasn't letting Spencer take the fall for my mistake. If she wanted to release the video, so be it. I didn't give a damn. Ali already knew what was going on and swore she wasn't worried about Marissa or the video; she had me now, and that was all that mattered.

And have me she did.

Neither of us had further addressed our feelings, but we both knew where we stood. We'd each admitted being in love with the other. No need for repeated declarations. It was just a given.

We also craved each other constantly. Every chance we got, we would sneak away for some alone time. When Talia was in town, we kept it low-key, not wanting to be inappropriate with our PDA, but it was difficult. The apartment had been cleared and cleaned, but I convinced the girls to stay on at the cabin. It had been difficult to get Talia to agree to stay, her assertion that Ali and I needed our privacy was hard to deny, but Ali wouldn't be comfortable staying with me while Talia went to stay alone in an apartment they both saw as tainted. Eventually, I wore her down, playing on her desire to keep Ali happy.

Reining in the intensity of our relationship was difficult for Ali and I. Talia nearly caught us one night despite our best efforts. We were upstairs on the living room couch, long after Talia had gone to bed for the night, and things got heated. By the time Talia had entered the kitchen behind us, I was face down in Ali's dripping pussy. The high back on the couch blocked me from Talia's view; all that was visible was Ali's head as she lay back against the arm of the sofa.

I could barely contain myself as Ali and Talia had an entire conversation while I flicked my tongue over Ali's clit relentlessly, making her gasp and squirm. She told Talia she'd come upstairs to read. Thankfully, Talia hadn't wanted to see the book. Ali's voice cracked when I trailed my index finger close to her ass, but she didn't pull away. I decided it might be interesting to spend more time gauging her reactions to activity in that particular area. Maybe I'd found a new way to make her come.

By the time Talia had finished her glass of water and descended the stairs, Ali was bucking up into my mouth, clutching my face to her as she came. That hadn't been our only close call, but it had definitely been the most fun. I was starting to think my girl liked the danger of being discovered. Sometime soon, I would take her out and test her limits in that area too but it would have to wait until the holiday weekend was over.

Preparation for the Fourth of July festivities started on July second in Denson and Ali was helping Teach run a large booth at the town festival. I'd volunteered to help set up, having grown fond of the man myself since his return home two weeks prior. He'd been delayed a week longer than initially planned because of some additional tests requested by his doctor. Ali had been disappointed to have to wait, but I managed to keep her occupied, even sinking so low as to allow her and Talia to give me cooking lessons as a means of distraction. They said my cooking skills needed to extend to baking. I tended to disagree, but I was willing to do anything to make Ali happy.

During a lesson Talia referred to as Cheesecake 101, I doused the entire kitchen and my instructors with batter. Since then, they've kept to simpler recipes.

I reached Teach's booth and set up the last of the tables, pressing on the surface to check that it didn't wobble as a pair of familiar arms wrapped around my waist from behind. "Think that thing will hold us both?" Ali purred.

"Gorgeous, it only needs to hold you and be able to take a pounding." I teased, turning and pulling her into my chest. "I'm not sure now's a good time, though. Teach is headed this way."

We both turned to watch his slow approach. He walked without a limp or any assistance, but the look of fierce concentration on his face made it clear that it wasn't as easy as he wanted it to seem. He stood about 5'10" and looked as though a stiff breeze might blow him over. His thick hair still showed some of his original brown color under the heavy peppering of gray. And he had the full smiling face of a Macy's Santa despite his thin body; a sign that the weight loss was a bi-product of his recent illness.

The box in his hands was light, being filled with napkins, so I resisted the urge to step over and offer to help. Nothing hurts a man's pride faster than having to ask another man's help with a simple task.

He saw us watching and nodded. "Haven't I worked you two enough today? There's no reason to hang around here all afternoon. Lauren will be here in a minute to help set up the display cases for the pies."

Lauren had been helping Teach at home during the day and working nights at the diner. Whether coincidence or by design, she and Ali had spent precious little time in each other's company since Teach's return. Even Talia was being spared the misery of dealing with Lauren, given that they now worked opposite shifts. From the way he was trying to run us off, I got the impression that he wanted to keep the two women as far from each other as possible.

Ali looked uncertain as she watched her mentor wiping his brow and reaching into the cooler for a bottle of water. "Are you sure you should be out here this long yourself? You don't want to overdo it. It's hot as hell out here, Teach. Maybe you should go on home and let the rest of us get things squared away here." She didn't flinch as she said it, but I knew the thought of working with Lauren was about as appealing as a root canal.

He looked at me pleadingly. "Clay, please take this woman out and show her a good time. She worries too damn much. She needs a break, and I need her to stop hovering. Okay?"

Ali huffed indignantly. "Listen up old man, I don't need you soliciting a date for me. If you want me out of your hair, fine." She smiled to let him know she was only half serious. "But I'm not going to stop worrying about you. You scared the crap out of everybody with that stroke. Get used to people hovering. We love you, and we want you here with us for a long time, so it's not stopping anytime soon." She rose on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "I'll see you in the morning at the diner, okay?"

He nodded, misty-eyed at her words.

I stepped forward and shook his hand. "See you tomorrow, old man." He cocked a brow at me, and I laughed. "Teach, I mean Teach. I figured I'd try it since Ali got away with it."

He gave a lopsided grin. "She gets away with more than most." He glanced at her and leaned closer, his voice dropping so that she couldn't hear. "Take care of her, Clay. She's a keeper."

"She sure is, Teach. She sure is."

ALI STOPPED TO
chat with a few of the locals at their booths as we made our way to the truck. She'd stammered while introducing me at the first booth, not knowing what title I'd find appropriate. I laughed and offered my hand to the smiling middle-aged woman she'd been talking to, introducing myself first as Ali's boyfriend then mentioning my work in town. Ali had the most charming smile as I claimed the title, taking it as an affirmation of some sort.

It was.

After that, she proudly introduced me as her boyfriend to each new person we spoke to, tucking herself into my side even in the blazing heat. It was fucking adorable and flattering that she would so eagerly embrace the title and its implied commitment. We hadn't discussed what would happen when the job was finished or if she was called back to her position at GFS, but I fervently hoped that we could find a way to remain together. I wanted that more than I cared to admit.

We finally made it to the parking lot a while later, sweat pouring down our backs from standing in the sun for so long. I'd just suggested we go for a dip in the pool when Lauren stepped out from between two cars, on her way to help Teach, I presumed.

Her eyes were already trained on us as she strode over, a smug smile on her face. Something about her demeanor, the way she seemed to be stalking us like prey gave me a chill despite the nearly triple-digit heat. She glared at me with ball-shriveling hatred as she approached.

Ali gave an annoyed sigh and started to go around her. "Teach is waiting for you at the booth."

Lauren came to a halt right in Ali's path, and I saw Ali's back go rigid. I was poised to step in, if only to keep Ali from getting an assault charge, when Lauren smirked at me and asked. "You tell her who you are yet?"

My heart skipped and then galloped in my chest.
No. No, no, no, no, no
. From the look Lauren was giving me, it was clear she knew everything. And she was about to tell Ali.

Fuck!

I glanced around frantically, mind churning, trying to find a way out of this before it was too late. There was no point wasting my breath trying to convince Lauren to keep her mouth shut. She was elated by the fear in my eyes, eager to watch Ali's world come apart in front of her. Ali wouldn't understand. And she'd never forgive me for lying to her all this time, no matter the reason. Panic started to set in as Ali turned and glanced at me, her eyes widening when she noted my expression. "What's she talking about?"

Lauren chuckled, causing Ali to turn back to her and away from me. Something about the motion felt so final, so fitting. "I'll tell you exactly what I'm talking about. Your boy toy here has been lying to you for months. He's not just the designer hired to build that house, stupid. It's his land, his house." She smirked at me. "Guess he was trying to hide his money to avoid being targeted by gold diggers. Jokes on him though, huh, Ali? He managed to pick the daughter of the biggest damn gold digger on the East Coast. Or maybe he knew exactly who you were and decided to fuck you anyway, as long as you never found out he was loaded."

Ali glanced over her shoulder at me but didn't turn. "I don't believe you. Clay wouldn't do that, wouldn't think that of me. You're making things up again, Lauren. Like your trip to Virginia Beach the weekend my apartment got trashed. You lie so often, you're starting to believe the shit you make up yourself. Try peddling your stories somewhere else." Ali reached behind her seeking my hand, which I gave with no hesitation. Lauren had totally misrepresented my intentions. If I could get Ali alone, I could explain everything and make her see that there was never any malicious intent.

I just didn't want to be the focus of town gossip.

Didn't want people talking about how I'd ended up with the land.

We stepped past Lauren, whose delighted smile made me livid. Just as we neared my truck, Lauren called out, "Ask him where he first saw you. See if he'll at least be honest about that."

Son of a bitch! This couldn't be fucking happening. It had to be a dream, a nightmare.

Ali dropped my hand and turned, scrunching her brow in the glare of the afternoon sun. "Why don't you tell me, Lauren? I'm sure whatever you've made up is far more interesting than the truth."

I kept my back to Lauren, Ali standing just inside my peripheral vision as my worst fears came to life. "Oh, it's the truth, Ali, whether you like it or not. Allow me to jog your memory." Her voice got closer with every sentence. She was enjoying this and wanted a fucking front row seat. "You made a little trip to the ER last year, remember? Driving all the way to Fredericksburg to be sure you wouldn't bump into anyone you knew?" Ali stiffened beside me, and my heart fell to my knees. "Claimed that you'd fallen down some stairs, I believe, but we both know you antagonized your fiancé into a fight and then couldn't handle it when you got what you deserved." My fists clenched so tight that my knuckles cracked, but I said nothing, knowing exactly what was coming. "Do you remember some jackass trying to play the hero in the parking lot, picking up your boyfriend and slamming him against a car while you scurried off into the darkness like a cockroach?"