Hidden Truths (Violet Chain Book 2) (17 page)

Candace didn’t go easy. She cried, screamed and threatened to sue, but eventually with the help of security, she left.

The project Violet had taken on was now in full force and she was working practically day and night and some weekends. She was very considerate, working at the office during her normal hours and bringing the extra work home so she could spend time with me.

I could hear Violet’s fingernails clicking against the keys of her laptop when I walked into the house.

I grabbed a beer from the fridge, poured a glass of wine for Violet and walked into the living room, sitting down on the couch where she was, handing her the wine glass.

“Thank you, I need this,” she said, taking a quick sip, then placing the glass on the table.

I took a swig of my beer before saying, “How’s the project going?”

She exhaled hard. “It was fine until my brothers got this idea to make a commercial; now it’s overwhelming. Between the commercial, the billboards, the email blasts and the marketing kits, it’s never-ending.” She took a sip of her wine before saying, “How was your day?”

“David fired Candace today.”

An astounded look encompassed her face. “Why?”

“She came on to me.”

Violet shook her head. “I knew that woman was trouble.” And she was right.  After everything that had happened today and the little beer I had drunk, I was feeling sleepy.

I patted her on the knee and stood up. “I’m going to take a quick cat nap, I’m exhausted.”

“Okay, dinner should be ready in an hour or so.” I nodded, kissed her on the top of the head and walked to the bedroom.

***

As I stood in the kitchen, I heard a loud crash and rushed out the front door of the apartment. I glanced towards the road and saw a small black car, flames raging from the trunk. Without a thought, I rushed up to the car. I could see her hands pounding on the glass. Her mouth was moving quickly, but all I could hear was the sound of the flickering flames.

“Carena!” I shouted. I grabbed the door handle and pulled hard, but it wouldn’t budge. Pressing my foot against the car, I yanked and yanked but nothing. The flames began to rise as they engulfed the inside of the car. I glanced up and Carena’s face was gone, replaced with the face of my father.

“Dad, Dad!” I began slamming my hands against the glass when I heard a small whistle, then felt my body being launched into the air, landing with a thud on the concrete. I went to stand up when I felt arms encircle me.

“No!” I screamed as my eyes popped open.

“It’s just a dream, Chain, just a dream.” I turned to see Violet.

“I couldn’t get them out—I couldn’t get them out.”

“Who, Chain, who?”

I rubbed my head before saying, “My sister and my dad.” She embraced me tightly and my head went limp, falling into her chest as I sobbed.

For hours, Violet held me as I sobbed and released all the pent up emotions I had inside from the deaths of my sister and mother.

My pain seemed to encase Violet, swallowing her whole, pulling her in. It was as if she felt every stabbing pain in my heart, every bad memory in my head, and every staggering breath in my lungs. Tears pooled in her eyes as she looked for relief, for answers, for comfort.

I should have spared her the hurt, but I was weak, selfish and I needed her.

My hand slid behind her neck as I pulled her close. “I’m sorry,” I whimpered tearfully.

A tear fell down her cheek as she curled her hand around my body, pulling me against her.
I drew a breath in and held it as her lips caressed my neck. Her thumb slid across my cheek as she dried up my tears, then her lips captured mine. The tenderness of her kiss, the caress of her hand, sent a sensation through my body and even in my darkest moment I knew one truth.

I loved her.

Truly.

Always.

Forever.

I felt the heat of her lips as she moved down my body, placing small feather kisses along her path. I had never felt so much love and desire in the entirety of my life as I did right then, there with her.

She used her body to wash away the pain, her heart to rid me of the hurt. And I let myself get lost in her.

All I could see was her.

All I could feel was her.

All I wanted was her.

Her essence filled the air, engulfing me in a deep abyss of passion, her body moving slowly against mine as she made love to me.

We both cried in unison as we found our release, but it wasn’t a cry of pleasure, it was a cry of relief, it was a cry of love.

Her body fell onto mine and I ran my hand up and down her back, feeling the slick touch of sweat that streamed down her body. After a few minutes, she lifted her head and I wiped the stray tears that still dripped from her eyes. “You are everything to me.”

“Chain—” I placed my finger on her lips, silencing her. I needed to tell her how much she meant to me, how much she completed me. “I never knew what love was until I met you, Violet. You bring me comfort and security I never thought I would find. You accept me for who I am, all of me, my flaws, nightmares, my past and you don’t hold it against me. You are always here for me.”

“I will always be here for you, Chain. I love you.” Her words bit at me hard, but in a good way. I knew she loved me, she had proven it over and over again and I still couldn’t believe it, that a woman like Violet could love a man like me. The wall I had tried to build came crashing down. I wanted her to see me for who I was.

Tears pooled in my eyes as I held her face gently in my hands and gazed into her eyes. “I love you, Violet Townsend, so much…so very much. I will always love you, until my last breath. You are my life, forever.”

She smiled as tears rolled down her cheeks. “And you are my life, Chain Alexander. You are everything to me. Before you, I didn’t know how good love could feel. You are all that’s in my heart, forever.” She swallowed hard before saying, “Marry me.”

I was shocked by her words and I thought in my emotional state I had misheard her. “What?”

“I want to be your wife; I want to spend forever with you. I want to grow old with you and live my life loving only you. Marry me.” It was music to my ears. However, I needed to make sure it was not her compassion for me that was making her say this. If we got married, I wanted it to be for all the right reasons.

“Are you sure?”

Her lips turned up into a big smile. “I have never been more sure of anything in my life, Chain. Marry me.”

I pulled her into my chest. “You know this is what I want, Violet, of course I will marry you.” And it was what I wanted, forever with Violet.

Chapter 5.5 – Violet

I felt a hand brush against my head and I turned to see Chain standing above me, fully dressed.

“Good morning,” I mumbled.

He bent, giving me a kiss. The kiss was perfect, slow-burning, the kind of kiss that still scorched me from the inside out, lingering even after his lips left mine and he stood up.

He held his hand out. “I was hoping you would join me for breakfast.” I took his hand and slid out of bed. He strung his fingers through mine and we walked past the living room to the dining room. I smiled as I saw two candles burning and two plates filled with poached eggs and bacon, a bottle of champagne sitting in the middle.

I turned back to Chain to find him bent on one knee, still holding my hand. I could feel the nervousness fill him as his hand shook furiously.

He took a deep breath, then tilted his eyes up to me. “I’m hoping that from last night until now you haven’t changed your mind.” He stopped, clearing his throat. “Violet Townsend, will you marry me?” I smiled. And there he was nervously awaiting my answer. And for the first time, I had no doubts. Any fears I had of marrying Chain had completely dissipated from my mind last night when he completely surrendered himself to me.

“Yes.” He grinned as he fumbled through his pocket, and then slid a very large ring onto my finger.

I could feel the weight of the ring as I lifted it to my face and gasped. It was a pink diamond, a very enormous, expensive pink diamond. I was shocked and completely taken off guard. I had never seen anything like it before in my life.

I looked up at Chain and he was scratching the back of his neck. “I think we were suppose to kiss after I proposed. Why are you looking at that ring like it’s your worst enemy? Don’t you like it?”

“It’s beautiful, Chain, but it had to be expensive. I don’t need something this expensive.”

He curled his arms around my waist and pulled me into his chest. “I picked that out just for you. If you don’t like it we can take it back.”

“I love it, it’s beautiful, it’s just that—” He placed his finger on my lips, silencing me.

“You’re keeping the ring.” His finger slid under my chin, lifting my eyes to meet his. “Now about that kiss.” I smiled just as his lips met mine. His kiss sent a jolt of sensation through my body, making my toes curl.

“I love you.”

I gave him a quick peck. “Love you too.” He reached to my chair and pulled it out and I sat down. He lifted the bottle of champagne to pour and I covered my glass. “I can’t drink alcohol, I have to work today. He displayed the bottle in his hand, showing me the label.

“It’s apple cider.” I giggled. He had thought of everything.

After breakfast, I strolled back into the bedroom and lay back on the bed. Chain slid in beside me.

“You’re going back to sleep?” he queried as he ran his finger down my cheek.

“Mhm, I’m still tired.”

His tongue slipped across his lips as he bit down and grinned widely. He lifted my hand and slowly kissed every knuckle on my hand. And that look, that damn lustful gaze that made my toes curl. A storm began to brew down below and my want for him grew deeper as he sucked on my finger. He winked before releasing my hand and standing up, leaving me hanging. I frowned and he laughed, kneeling on the bed, hovering above me.

“I know what you want, but after last night, I don’t think I can give you a quickie ever again.” His fingers lightly lingered on my neck. “Don’t get me wrong, I would gladly be late for work to give you what you want, however, it is already 6:45 am and I’m pretty sure your father wouldn’t be too happy if you were late again.” 6:45! I shot out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. I had fifteen minutes to get ready for work. I couldn’t be late again, my father would have my head. I washed my face, brushed my teeth and threw my hair in a ponytail and rushed out. Chain was sitting on the bed.

“So I will take that as a no?” he said to me as I ran into the closet. I threw on the first outfit I found and slipped into black flats, then walked over to the bed, placing my hands on his shoulders.

“I’m sorry, I really have to go.” He smiled and gave me a quick peck.

“I’ll see you tonight.” I kissed him again, then grabbed my purse and rushed out of the bedroom.

I glanced at the clock as I hurriedly scampered into the office building. 7:01. I made it in the nick of time.

I opened the door to my office to find Lonnie sitting at my desk, rummaging through my drawers.

“What are you doing?”

She jumped as she slammed the drawer shut. “I was looking for a pen, to leave you a note.”

“Why?” She smiled as she stood and handed me a cup of coffee.

“I thought you might need a pick me up so I brought you a latte.” Well that was sweet. I smiled as I took the foam cup from her. “Thank you, Lonnie.” She glanced at my ring. “Is this what I think it is?” she asked as she lifted my hand.

“Yes, he gave it to me this morning, isn’t it beautiful?” I told her proudly. The expression left her face as she stared down at it. She seemed almost angry.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, a little shocked by her reaction.

She exhaled. “I’m just worried about you,” she said as she sat down in the chair.

“Why?”

“That man, your boyfriend…I mean fiancé, he doesn’t have a good reputation.” It wasn’t a secret that Chain was once known as a man who used women for his sexual needs. The whole world practically knew it. The tabloids made sure of it, so her statement didn’t surprise me one bit.

I laughed as I took a big swig of coffee “Yes. I know he was quite the lady’s man before we were together.”

Her face turned cold, distant. “And you went out with him anyways?”

I shrugged. “It wasn’t exactly like that. When I met Chain, I had just ended a four-year relationship and wasn’t looking to get back into anything. In the beginning, we would just hook up.”

Her eyebrow rose. “For sex?”

I blushed. It was the truth, but I was still embarrassed by it. I downed the rest of the coffee in the cup before saying, “Yes. I mean that’s all it was in the beginning. But then it grew into more and now he is the love of my life and I wouldn’t change it for the world.” A yawn slipped from my lips. She went to say something when I heard the scuffle of shoes and looked up to see Chain standing near the door. I glanced down at his hand and saw he was holding my cell. I must have forgotten it in my mad rush out of the house this morning.