Truly Madly Deeply Boxed Set(35)

“And he turned toward me to finish his tirade.” Her voice quivered and her skin, which had been so soft against his, suddenly felt damp. At that moment, Griff knew he didn’t want to hear any more. But Chelsie seemed lost in the past, as she had been so many times before. He shut his eyes to the darkness surrounding him, but he couldn’t block out the truth.

“He grabbed my shoulders and shoved me against the railing. He wanted my promise that I’d quit, that I’d stop volunteering, that I’d do something with my life that he could be proud of instead of having to hide his head every time someone asked what kind of law his wife practiced.”

Griff held her close, soothing her with gentle kisses against her neck, but she continued her story as if unaware of his touch. She began to tremble in his arms.

“My back was pressed against the metal railing and each time he shook me, my head hit the concrete wall. The first time, I was so stunned, I thought it was an accident. But he just shook me harder.

Each time, my head hit that damned wall. He had a firm grip on my arms and I couldn’t move. By the time he stopped, I was dizzy. I couldn’t catch my balance. I think he knew that, but he released me anyway.” She sucked in a breath of air, as if needing the fortification to continue.

Griff decided to spare her. “And you fell down the stairs,” he finished for her.

“When I came to, the paramedics were there. They said, and this is a quote, ‘Consider yourself lucky you have a husband who cares’.”

They lay in silence. Soon, her trembling subsided and she slept in his arms. He had more questions, but none that mattered in the least. What she revealed had been bad enough. The details of what happened after were unimportant. But the sudden need to protect her signaled a serious problem.

He was beginning to care. Too much.

Chelsie awoke with a start. For a long while, she lay in Griff’s arms, savoring the feel of his body close to hers. Last night’s revelations came swarming back. She’d only told that story once before, to the police. At the time, she’d been so alone. In the aftermath of what she’d come to think of as the main incident, she’d never repeated the tale. Not to her parents, who would hate the scandal should the episode be revealed, and certainly not to her happily married sister. She couldn’t face Shannon with the shame of what she’d allowed to happen, and later of what she’d done.

The result had been a withdrawal of the only emotional support Chelsie had ever known. Once Shannon had gotten pregnant, the closeness they’d shared as siblings disintegrated even more.

To have Griff’s unconditional support now meant a great deal. But then, Chelsie had omitted select details and he hadn’t thought to ask. Her inability to have children and the way in which she’d dealt with her ex-husband would change his perception of her forever. Though she wouldn’t have lied had he questioned her, she was grateful she had been spared the humiliation of admitting the truth.

Silence still reigned in the house. Maybe she could sneak out to the couch and avoid the agony of a pseudo-morning after.

She squirmed towards the edge of the bed. Griff locked one solid leg around hers, halting her effort

“I won’t pass judgment, you know,” he said, obviously referring to her admission last night.

Chelsie closed her eyes. She’d been so close. “I never thought you would.”

“Then why sneak out on me? It’s not like we did anything and can’t face each other in the morning. At least, not yet.”

She rolled to face him and placed a hand on his forehead. “No fever.”

“Yet.” He smiled, a sexy grin she found impossible to resist. “Care to rectify things?” he asked.

Would she ever. Good thing reality prevented her from acting on her baser instincts. “Alix will be up soon.”

“Have you looked at a clock?”

She shook her head.

“It’s five in the morning. That means three things. One, Alix finally slept through the night. Two, with any luck, she’ll continue her pattern of sleeping until six-thirty or so. Three, we have to celebrate number one.” He raised himself up on one elbow and looked down at her. “Unless you have other plans, in which case you’re free to leave.”

His dark eyes simmered with a combination of amusement and banked desire.

Free to leave? Her heart already belonged to him and wouldn’t allow her to walk away. She’d held her own feelings for this man in check for so long, she now wondered if he’d done the same.

She glanced over. “You’re so kind, Griff. Always giving me a choice.” She sighed. “Let’s see. Should I stay or should I go?”