Broken Souls (2 page)

“Okay, okay.” He nodded. “Okay. In a few days. I’ll check on her in a few days.”

Daniel drove into town and did just as he said, stopped at a payphone, called the police, gave the address, and then hung up.

Getting back in the car, he assured Seth the
cops were going. By the way Seth acted, Daniel would’ve thought he had an attachment to Sarah that went beyond cell mates in the same nightmare jail. “Nobody knows about this, got it?”

Seth raked his hand through
his hair. “No shit, I think I know that much.” He flicked his gaze over Daniel. “What are you going to do with that money?”

“I’ve got a place to hide it. We’ll syphon it into a bank account in your name until it’s all safe.”

“What about you, how much you taking?”

“Me?” He looked at his brother. “Not a damn penny, why?”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want it.”

“And you think I want that shit?”

“I think you
need
it. Use it to change your life Seth. Please. For me if not for yourself. And if not for me then for Sofia. And Dara.” He was tempted to say Sarah since she seemed to mean a lot to him.

He
pshh
ed lightly. “You could’ve stopped at you.”

Daniel sighed, heading home. “I wouldn’t blame you for
hating—”

“I don’t blame you
or hate you, how could I? Your life was just as bad as mine.”

Daniel couldn’t argue with that.

“You’re all the family I got,” Seth muttered, “I’d do anything for you.”

Daniel took a deep breath and released it. “I’m glad you’re here. Glad you’re safe.”

“Yeah me too brother.”

Chapter Two

“What?”

Sofia stroked Daniel’s arm. She figured the topic wouldn’t go well. “I’m not saying cancel the wedding, I’m just saying—”

“Cancel the wedding.”

“No, I said
maybe
we should—”

“Why? Why in the world would you think
maybe
we should cancel? Do
you
want to cancel? Is this getting to be too much for you? Me and my brother’s shit?” Daniel sat on the edge of the bed with his back to her.

“Stop it
.” Sofia grabbed his arm. “Don’t be stupid, you know I love you. I just don’t want to do this while you’re upset, I want this to be a happy time. I was simply just thinking maybe postponing until—”

“
Hell no!” He shot up off the bed.

“Fine! Great, don’t postpone, I’m glad but I don’t want to walk down the aisle with the man I love just because he’s worried I might disappear at the next…bad news.”

He turned with brows raised. “Bad news?”

“
God Daniel!” Sofia sat up with an annoyed huff. “Don’t play word games with me, you know what I mean, bad as in makes you feel bad, Jesus.”

Daniel turned
away and scrubbed his face, making the muscles in his back stand out. Sofia sat at the edge of the bed, ready to go to him, comfort him. Her gaze lowered to his tight perfect butt and her anger went zoom out the damn window.

Daniel turned and Sofia couldn’t jerk her gaze up fast enough.
She tried not to feel guilty for thinking of doing him
again,
while he was upset, but failed. “Sorry.”

His eyes slowly hooded until he looked sedated. “Sorry?”

Sofia swallowed, trying to focus past her sudden roiling and rude hormones that seemed unable to do anything other than fuck fuck fuck the gorgeous man lately. No, more like since the day she met him.

Sorry.
What was she sorry for again? “I…it was…I mean I…” Sofia’s mouth stopped working as Daniel slowly walked toward her until she had to look up to hold his intense blue gaze or stare at his cock that was suddenly hard and right in her face now. But he was more than just aroused, he was…something else too.

“D
o you know I fantasize about hurting you?”

She let out a light gasp
at that bit of info. How did she say that she fantasized about him doing that? She wanted to explore that side of him. Know all of him. And prove to him that he wouldn’t really
really
hurt her.

She could only barely nod.

“You’re so sure I won’t hurt you.”

Geeze, w
as she that transparent, or was he that intuitive? She nodded again, more firmly.

“Are you ready to test that theory? Sofia? Because I’m pretty sure that when you see who I really am…” he stroked his finger along her jaw, “you
won’t want to walk down the aisle.”

Her heart hammered at those impossible words. “I’ll take my chances.”

His jaw ticked at the corner and he gripped her chin between his fingers.

“In fact…” Sofia, swallowed, fighting for courage, “I don’t want to marry you…until I know that side of you…and prove there is no part of you that I don’t love.”

She watched as so many things stormed his eyes, none she could quite
pinpoint. Anger, fear, desire, all mixed into one maybe. The wheel spinning in his mind seemed to stop somewhere between fear and anger. His jaw worked slowly side to side and he glanced right, barely nodding.

He finally
met her gaze and Sofia’s heart skipped a beat at seeing his expression all cold and calculated. “Pack a suitcase and bathe well. I’m taking you on a short excursion.” He turned and headed into the bathroom.

“What…sort of clothes should I pack?”

He paused briefly in the bathroom doorway, not turning. “It doesn’t matter.” Then he shut the door.

****

Daniel splashed cold water on his face, avoiding his reflection in the mirror. She wanted to know the monster. Who was he to deny her? He wanted her to know nearly as much as he didn’t want her to. Part of him knew it was only right and fair that she know. Part of him needed to know the extent of her…love? Disillusion? Confusion? He wasn’t sure what it was because he couldn’t fathom to begin with how or why she could feel that way about him. And judging by the way things were going, especially after discovering that shit about his brother Seth, he wasn’t getting better, but worse. More anger, more fucked up sexual frustration. The wound had been prodded and now it oozed with perversion. He wanted her bound in vulnerable positions, he wanted her scared.

He wanted her
broken.
And that terrified him.

But he also knew that she wouldn’t stop. She wouldn’t stop until she reached the bottom of the
bad boy barrel, stubborn woman. Sweet, stubborn woman. She was raw desire, hope, freedom, all encased in delicate glass. He needed to get at it in the worst possible way but what if he hurt her beyond repair?

D
oing this before they were married seemed right. Maybe she’d finally realize she’d gotten more than she bargained for and could save herself a lot of heart ache. He owed her that chance. Because more than ever, he knew, he could
not
guarantee his mental health.

The thought of her leaving speared his chest with
unbearable agony. He gasped and forced himself to face the handsome monster in the mirror. Forced himself to gaze into the eyes of his past, the broken boy that had pretended to become a man. A man that learned to tweak his pain and create an elaborate labyrinth of surreal, sophisticated bullshit.

She was
nothing like he’d ever known. Strong and sweet and…amazing. Maybe…maybe she’d survive him.

****

Sofia’s hands trembled as she packed various ensembles into her suitcase at 4:30 in the freaking AM. She didn’t care, whatever he needed, whenever he needed it. She’d bathed
well.
Something told her what he had in mind didn’t require clothes at all. Hence his
it doesn’t matter
answer. God, she was actually scared shitless. What did he have in mind? Did she really want to poke at his angry beehive? What if it was more than she could stand? What if he hurt her? What if he
liked
it? How would that affect her?

“What about the bakery?” Sofia
got into her seatbelt as Daniel pulled out of the driveway.

“Seth said h
im and Dara would watch it.”

“You think…that’s safe?”

“Safe?” He headed out of the subdivision. “Safe as in will he burn it down, or will Dara eat us out of business?”

She rubbed her hands on her jeaned legs
, uneasy with his irritation. He didn’t have to be all bitchy to do this. Did he? “I don’t know what I mean. Just making small talk cause…”

“Because you’re scared.”

Sofia laughed a little at his soft, knowing accusation. “Not scared just…curious. Okay maybe a little nervous. Amelie knows my number, if she needs anything for gammie, she can call.” She cleared her throat and pushed hair behind her ear. “I still laugh at how gammy ended up with the room you were planning to do sex classes in.”

“What color panties do you have on?”

Sofia was thrown by the intimate question
and his determination to be an uptight ass. “Uhhh. You know, I can’t remember.”

“Take your pants off.”

“Now?”

“Yes, now.”

His tone was gentle with a tinge of impatience. Not something she was used to hearing in his voice. And not something she did very well with. She swallowed the instinct to resist and rebel and undid her pants and saw red lace. “Oh, that’s right, red.” She worked the jeans over her hips. “Panties too?”

“Did I say panties?”

Sofia bit her lower lip to keep from laughing. It was also kind of funny when he was mean, like it so wasn’t his personality with her. She removed only her jeans like a good little girl. “Now what?”

“Pull your panties to the side.”

Sofia’s heart raced and her stomach flip flopped as she opened her legs and did as he said.

Daniel reached over and whispered his index finger
slowly over her slit, sending a bolt of heat into her stomach. She pushed her hips toward his teasing touch and he dipped into her several times. Slight shame filled her cheeks as the silence filled with the sound of how wet she was along with Daniel’s groan of what that did to him. He drew his hand away and put his finger to his nose. Sofia watched him slip it into his sexy mouth and withdraw it slowly with a near painful
mmm.

Lordy.

“Finger yourself with your middle finger.”

Sofia hesitated. “You didn’t say the ma-“

“Do it. Sofia.”

Sofia’s heart stuttered at the bite in his tone. But he’d said Sofia. She slid her middle finger halfway inside. “Where are we going?”

“Don’t talk. Just fuck yourself. Use your other hand and rub your clit.”

Sofia let her head fall back as she gave herself to the feeling between her legs. She opened as wide as she could and
pumped her hips as she did that intricate dance Daniel had helped her learn.

“God yes, do it baby.”

She laid her seat back, worried who might see, even though it was like five in the morning. She opened wide and resumed building herself to orgasm. Daniel stroked her inner thigh, groaning. If this is what he had in mind for her, she could so handle that.

Moments before the big moment
, Daniel ordered, “Stop.”

His hard tone stole her momentum and rhythm
.

“Stop.” H
e said more firm.

Her fingers froze.
“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just want you to stop.”

“Why?”

He looked
casually in the rear view mirror. “Do. As I say.”

Sofia s
tared at him for several seconds then snorted and lifted her seat back up. “Okay.” Not.

“If you’re going to be mad about that, we need to turn around now and conclude this. Because I plan on bei
ng a lot crueler than that.”

“Well that kind of mean is just…really mean.”

“Oh sweetheart.”

Sofia glanced his way at hearing the remorse in his tone. She got kinda disturbed to see the
,
you have no idea
look on his face. She shook it off, determined not to let him scare her. She knew beneath all his shit, he was a good and sweet man. She just needed to prove it to him.

Forty-five minutes later and he turned
off the main highway onto a dirt road. She watched the towering trees pass them as he followed the winding strip up. “Ohhhh my goodness,” she gasped when a two-story log cabin came into view. “We should so come here for our honeymoon!”

He parked the car
, opened the glove box, and handed her a red blindfold. “Put it on.”

Sofia stared at it, her adrenalin kicking in. Survival instinct?
“What about my pants?” She took the blindfold and did as he said, determined to not chicken out.