Sean's Sweetheart (11 page)

Chapter Twenty-six

The shouts from next door drew Anna from her book. Hopping up, she stepped outside to see what had caused the commotion. Sam stood at the curb shouting as a big black Harley drove away. Talia's red hair flapped in the breeze as she clung to Sean's massive back.

Sam stomped back toward the house.

Shit.

She better make sure he wasn't going to do something stupid, like get a gun and follow them. Helen sat with some friends on their porch. Their flabbergasted expressions told the story. When Sam came out with keys in his hand, Anna stepped up with a hand on his chest to stop him.

"You need to calm down first, Sam. It won't do you any good to follow them now. I know Sean Turner well enough to know that if you take this fight to him, he won't back down. Let it go for a moment. Tell me what happened."

With a quick rundown of the evening's events, Helen brought her up to speed. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at the young man before her. She'd suspected something had happened to Talia, but she knew it wasn't Sean. Now Caleb, on the other hand, looked like an arrogant little fuck.

"Sam, Helen, I have something I would like to talk to you two about in private, please."

She advised Caleb and his family to go home. The other family quickly said their good byes, leaving Anna alone with the Richmonds. It took some convincing to get Sam to sit down. Once he did, she started talking.

"I don't know how to say this without just coming out and saying it bluntly. I think someone abused your daughter." She darted her eyes between Sam and Helen. Father and mother. Waiting for the inevitable explosion. It didn't take long. She knew it wouldn't
.

"That damn bartender. I'll kill him, the bastard. I knew he was no good for Talia." Sam hopped up and started pacing, muttering threats beneath his breath.

"Sam, sit down for a minute and hear me out please. I know this is hard to hear. But I really think someone hit Talia. I've had suspicions for a while."

Helen covered her mouth with her hands and her eyes filled with tears. Shaking her head no, she tried to deny it.

"Have you noticed a change in her personality? Less interest in friends? Wearing more modest clothing?"

At Helen's nod, Anna continued. "Can you pinpoint when that started? Was it over the last month? Or before that?"

"Before. She's been more normal since… she broke up with Caleb." The lights came on for Helen. "Oh God, and we tried to push then back together."

"Caleb?" Sam asked.

Anna nodded. "I believe so. I talked to Talia a few weeks ago about Sean. I asked her point-blank if he had hurt her and she denied it. She didn't appear to be lying."

"Not Turner?" Sam asked. He still was spoiling for a fight, Anna could see that.

"No, I would be the first to tell you if it was him. I really don't think it was. She said Sean helped her out with another guy, but they were just friends. Said he wasn't interested in dating her."

Sam and Helen both nodded.

"We encouraged Talia to date Caleb. Not only today. How did we miss signs that he was hurting her? We see her every day. What does that say about us as parents?" Helen said, her face covered with tears.

Sam sat next to Helen and pulled her close, comforting her. "I owe her an apology. I was forcing her to go on a walk with him."

Turning back to her, Sam asked, "Anna, do you happen to know where Turner might have taken her?"

Karly cleared her throat and said, "I… Uh… I know where he lives."

"How do you know that?"

"I, uh... I was there with Talia once."

"Do you know anything about Caleb abusing your sister?"

"Well, I know he left bruises on her arms and she seemed afraid of him. I never saw him actually hit her, but I think he did."

"You should have told us. What's that address?" She gave them the address and Sam pulled his keys out of his pocket again.

"Wait a minute. What if I go with you to talk to him and Talia together?" While Sam seemed to have calmed down some, she'd best go along and keep an eye on things. Emotions ran high. Sam's rage may have settled to a simmer, but Sean could still be boiling. She'd seen the extent of his temper a few years back and didn't want a repeat tonight.

Sam nodded and Anna headed home to get her keys. A few minutes later, Sam climbed into the car with her and they headed across town. They swung by Garden, but Sean's bike wasn't there, so they continued on to his apartment. She prayed she wasn't making a big mistake throwing the two hot-headed men in a room together.

Chapter Twenty-seven

Credits rolled across the screen, signaling the end of the movie. Talia put another DVD in the player and moved back to the couch. She waffled for a moment, but instead of retaking her previous spot, she sat next to Sean. He didn't object and when she snuggled in to his side, he put his arm around her shoulders with a contented sigh. She glued her eyes to the screen, but her attention was on the big man she leaned against. His words yesterday had made his interest clear. But she spent twenty minutes summoning the courage to make a move.

His breath stirred her hair and she looked up to see Sean watching her, not the movie. A warm smile crossed his face when their eyes met. He breathed her name before bending his head to hers. His lips grazed hers with the faintest touch. She raised her head toward his and the second pass of his lips was firmer, yet still the softest kiss she had ever had.

This kiss held a tender quality their previous kisses had lacked. She brought her hand up to his stubble-covered jaw as she returned his kiss. The movement of his lips against hers was slow and almost lazy. When she sighed and melted into him, he deepened the kiss. His tongue twined around hers and his arms held her close.

He broke the kiss. "Are you sure? Sweetheart, we take this much farther and I'm never letting you go. If you don't want to be more than friends, now's the time to say so."

"I know what I want. And it's always been you. From the day we met, I've wanted you. You were the one pushing me away, silly goose." She nudged him and giggled wildly when he tickled her as punishment.

The tickles turned to caresses and the giggles to moans. Sean pushed her down onto the couch and covered her body with his own. His lips nibbled up and down her throat and she couldn't get enough. She tugged at his shirt, eager to touch skin. He moved over her, slowing the pace with his gentle, languid kisses. The moment his tongue brushed hers again, there was a loud knock at the door. Releasing her, he pulled back with a groan. Sean gave her one last kiss before rising to see who was disturbing them.

Sean's broad frame filled the doorway and blocked her view of their visitors. But the two familiar voices told Talia who stood in the hallway. She sat up to go to the door herself. But Sean opened the door wide and invited the pair in.

"Dad, Anna, what are you guys… well, I guess I know why you are here. Silly question, huh?"

Anna's curious gaze swept over the small apartment. Glancing at Sean several times during her observations, she looked amazed. "Not what I expected from you, Turner." She nodded in slight approval at him before taking a seat in the only chair in the living room.

Her dad did his share of looking around as well. His eyes lingered on the shelves full of books and the stacks of novels here and there. "You've read all these?" he asked Sean in a gruff voice. Talia was impressed. Her dad seemed to have a handle on his emotions. If only he would start listening about Caleb.

"Yes, sir. Well, most of them anyway. I'll get to the others someday." Sean looked perplexed at the older man's topic of conversation. The confused expression on his face made clear his expectation of another rant about Talia, not a random comment about books.

Sitting on the couch next to Talia, her father pulled her into a swift but warm hug. "I'm sorry for scaring you earlier. I never would've insisted you spend time with Caleb if I'd known you were afraid of him. I knew you broke up with him, but I didn't know… Anna told me tonight that there may be some truth to what your friend here said earlier about Caleb hurting you?"

"Caleb hit me more than once. He always wanted things to be his way and when they weren't he would make me miserable. I shouldn't have dated him as long as I did. At the beginning, I tried to be what he wanted. He convinced me it was my fault that he hit me. Then, I was fearful of what he might do."

She broke off with a tiny almost sob. "That night at Garden, when Sean stepped in, I was truly afraid he might hurt me. Dad, if Sean hadn't been there that night and gotten me away from Caleb, I don't know what would have happened. He threatened to kill me that night. That was the catalyst for me to break up with him."

Sean sat on Talia's other side. His weight caused the cushion Talia perched on to shift his direction. She tilted his way and giggled a little as she tipped into him. "Oops!"

Sean made no attempt to right her position and she chose not to move either. Her father glared a bit when she wiggled back into Sean and he slid a warm arm around her middle. With her back against his muscular chest, Talia faced her father and Anna.

Anna spoke up then. "So, I take it you were mistaken when we had our conversation a few weeks ago." She stared at the tattooed arm wrapped around Talia's waist.

Talia smiled at the older woman and trailed her fingers up Sean's arm. Before she could answer, Sam asked, "Okay, so I have to know. How long have you been dating this guy behind my back? I thought you two were just friends. You told me you were friends."

Talia flinched back at the hate in her dad's eyes. Eyes that settled on Sean. "You assured me you hadn't even asked my daughter for her number and you weren't interested. You lied to me, boy."

Sean sighed and ran his free hand through his hair. "Like I told you at Zane's, I didn't lie to you. But your daughter…she's determined. Before I even knew what happened, we were hanging out. It's not something I had planned, I promise you that."

"Daddy, I gave him my number. Twice, actually. The first time he crumpled it up and threw it away right in front of me." She elbowed Sean and smiled when he grunted. "The second time he took it. I really didn't think he would call, but I hoped…"

"I almost didn't," he whispered as he buried his face in her hair. His arm tightened slightly around her as he pulled her closer.

Anna and Sam swapped concerned glances at the tender display. Talia noted the exchange between her father and their neighbor, but didn't comment on it.

Sam repeated his previous comment, "So, since neither of you answered me when I asked how long you have been dating, I'm going to ask again. I'm assuming that you are, since you're all cuddled up together."

Sean raised his eyebrows in question when she tilted her head his direction. She grazed his lips with her own before turning back to her father.

"We haven't kept anything from you, Daddy. Today, things changed. Neither of us wants to be 'just friends' any longer."

Her father looked ready to explode when he got confirmation that they were dating, but whatever it cost him, he held his tongue for the moment. A little muscle in his cheek twitched. He managed a grim smile that didn't make it to his eyes. "I think maybe we should discuss this over dinner one night soon. Not at midnight, and with your mother present, perhaps? Let's go home for now, and you and your mother can plan a dinner for him to come to soon."

Talia beamed at her father for the effort. They still had work to do to get their relationship back on solid ground, but he was trying.

"Now, I've got work in the morning. Think we can head home soon?"

Talia sighed. She didn't want to leave Sean when he'd finally given in, but her dad was right. It was late. And she had class in the morning. She turned and gave Sean a big hug and a brief kiss at his jaw line.

Sean walked them out to Anna's car and pulled Talia into a quick embrace. "That went better than I expected," he whispered.

"I know, right?"

"Let me know if he blows up in the car?"

Her dad stood watching, so Sean only brushed his lips across her forehead. He tucked her safely into the backseat. "Goodnight."

She smiled up at him as he shut the door.

Peering out the window into the dark night, she saw him silhouetted by the streetlight, watching their car drive away. He hadn't moved when they turned the corner and she lost sight of him.

Her dad and Anna stayed quiet, and she smiled the entire drive. Her persistence had paid off.

Chapter Twenty-eight

Sean dragged himself out of his car. Everyone in town under the age of thirty had been in Garden tonight. He'd worried they might run out of liquor before closing time. His shoulders ached from all the boxes he'd carried. Not to mention all the drunks he had poured into cabs.

He wanted a sandwich, a shower, and his bed. Preferably in that order. He hadn't had time to get food. The growling and rumbling coming from his stomach made food a priority. He smelled like vomit and stale whiskey.

He walked into the breezeway of his apartment building and Talia stood there talking to his drugged-out neighbor. What the hell was she doing here at two a.m.? He unlocked the door and grabbed her hand, pulling her inside the apartment without saying a word. His jaw clenched so tight that it hurt. Shutting and locking the door, he flung his keys across the room. They clattered down the wall onto the little kitchen table.

He tried to keep his cool. He really did. But shit. She wasn't stupid, so why would she be waiting outside in this neighborhood at night? When he turned to her and asked, she froze up.

"Damn it, Talia. Answer me!"

Sean expected her to yell back. Throw a book at him. Slap him in the face. Anything but cower in the corner with tears pouring down her face. Fuck. He walked toward her and damned if she didn't put her arms over her head like he was about to beat her. If he ever got his hands on that bastard Caleb, he would break the little shit's arm off and beat him half to death with it.

He sank down on the floor next to her. Not touching her. He wasn't sure how she would react. He hung his head in his hands and took several deep breaths before speaking. "Sweetheart, I don't know what I did that provoked this reaction. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Shit."

After rubbing his hand over his face a few times, he peeked over at her. She had uncovered her head and stared at him with a deer-in-the-headlights look. He deserved to be shot for putting it there.

He reached a hand toward her. God, it hurt when she flinched away. His stomach twisted. Great. They'd barely started dating and he terrified her. He knew, deep down in his gut, it wasn't him specifically. Tonight's reactions were a direct result of what Caleb had put her through. He'd seen the signs. He stood up and got a beer and sat at the table staring at it. He didn't even open it, just rolled it around in his hands.

Some time passed before Talia got up. He didn't look up. She was going to walk out that door and out of his life. They hadn't been dating long, so he shouldn't care if she left. But he did, damn it. He didn't want her to leave, but after he'd scared her like that… Well, who could blame her?

The soft touch on his shoulder astonished him. He jerked his head up to meet her eyes. The confusion in her eyes tugged at his heart.

"What? Aren't you going to leave?" He turned his gaze back to the bottle in his hands. He didn't look up when the other chair scraped the floor as she pulled it out to sit next to him.

"I thought you'd be happy to see me." Her whisper was so soft that his ears strained to hear it. He looked up to see her picking at a divot in the worn table, staring at the little dent like it held all the answers.

"You could've been hurt. My neighbor was high. You realize that? People do stupid shit when they are high."

"I wanted to see you. I didn't think I was in danger—"

He interrupted her. "Promise me you will not come down here alone at night again. Ever. Talia, please. If you got hurt because of me…"

He twisted the top off his beer and took a big mouthful. "I'm falling for you. And it really fucking hurt to see you curled up on the floor like I was about to take a swing at you."

She looked up at him then. Tears filled her big green eyes and she launched herself out of the chair so fast it clattered to the floor behind her. She wrapped her arms around his neck so tightly, he had to gasp for air. He pried her arms loose so he could breathe and slid his chair back. Pulling her down into his lap, he kissed her softly.

He cupped her cheek and brought her face nose to nose with his. Staring directly into her eyes, he reminded her, "I don't hit girls. Ever. I swear to you that you will always be safe with me."

She nodded before kissing him again. The growl from his ignored stomach interrupted them. She cocked one eyebrow at him questioningly.

"I skipped dinner," he said with a shrug.

She hopped off his lap and peeked into the fridge, offering to make him some food. Wrapping his arms around her from behind, he whispered his thanks and went to get a shower while she made him an omelet. He made quick work of the food and pulled her to the couch. Holding her, the soft vanilla scent from her shampoo lingering in her hair and the warmth from her body made him drowsy. He kissed her a few slow, lazy times.

"Stay with me?"

She nodded and he led her into the bedroom. Giving her one of his shirts to sleep in, he turned down the blankets and was nearly asleep when she came out of the bathroom. He heard the sweet sigh of contentment when his arms slid around her. She trusted him enough to sleep in his bed and that was enough for tonight. He drifted off to sleep holding her.

He woke with her hair tickling his nose. Shifting, he brushed her hair away from his face. A groan escaped him when she sighed a soft, sexy little sigh and snuggled closer. Would she push him away if he woke her with kisses? Did they have time for that? He grabbed his phone from the nightstand. Still early. Not wanting to push her for more than she was ready for yet, he closed his eyes, but couldn't fall asleep again.

When she started to stir a little while later, he grazed a kiss across her forehead. "Morning, sweetheart. How'd you sleep?"

Talia giggled and tilted her face up toward him. "I could get used to this."

"Good." He captured her lip with his. She moved even closer, wrapping her arms around him. He nibbled his way down her throat and rubbed one hand up and down her bare thigh. When he moved to slide his hand beneath the oversized shirt she wore, she tensed.

He pulled his hand away and softened the kiss. Gradually, he pulled away from her. He could tell she wasn't ready to take the next step. But that was okay.

With her held tight in his arms, he asked about her plans for the day. It wasn't how he wanted to spend the morning, but he'd take it.