AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTERSIX
Noah forcedhimself not to flinch. He’d been afraid of that, but hearing her admission didn’t lessen the blow. He knew firsthand how manipulative and destructive family could be, but that kind of negativity had never come from his parents.
He pressed a kiss to Emma’s forehead, to each cheek, and then to her lips. He kept each kiss soft, but each one reverberated through him like a sledgehammer.
“Come with me,” he murmured.
She made no protest as he led her from the patio and down to the wharf overlooking the Buffalo Bayou. Emma rested her forearms on the top of the railing. She was spectacular in moon glow, and he couldn’t resist the pull to touch her, to connect them in some small way. A muggy heat clung to the late spring air, and the nearly full moon tossed down silvery rays that played on the water. The night would have been perfect for strolling hand in hand if not for the weight of her admission hanging over them.
“Most everything I know about my mom I learned from my brother,” she finally said. “His name is Preston, and he’s the reason I’m still alive.”
Noah pressed a kiss to her temple but said nothing. He wanted to let her get everything out.
“I was sick a lot as a baby, ear infections mostly. One night, my temp was nearly one hundred and five and wouldn’t come down, so mom loaded me into the car, and we headed to the ER, only we didn’t make it there the way she intended.” Emma swiped away a single tear. “The roads were wet, and mom misjudged a turn and lost control. We slammed into a tree. Preston said she died instantly, but I don’t know if that’s true. Me, on the other hand, I didn’t have a scratch. We lived in the middle of nowhere, so it was hours before anyone found us. By then, the elements had gotten to me. I was hypothermic when they brought me into the hospital, and I almost died, too.”
Noah gathered her close and held tight. His chest ached for her. He wanted to do anything, everything within his power to shield her from ever feeling pain again. It was a ridiculous notion, one that would be impossible to keep, but the need to protect her welled up inside of him.
“Her death broke something in my father,” she continued, “and he blamed me for what happened to her. All my memories of him are—God, Noah. He’s a monster.”
“If you’d like, I’d be happy to pound him into dust and then spread his ashes in my stables with all the horse manure.”
She laughed, and the tightness squeezing like a rubber band around his chest lessened a degree.
“While I can’t say that isn’t a tempting offer and strangely sweet, my father’s a guest of the state. But if he’s ever up for parole again, I’ll remember your offer.”
Good. Her father was in prison. Noah hoped he rotted there. She had been, and obviously still was, terrified of the man. He’d most definitely mentally abused her. Physically abused her? Unfortunately, that was probably a yes, too. But he prayed to every god he could think of that the abuse ended there.
“Did he ever…” He fought for the right words. “…sexually abuse you?” If he had, being behind bars wouldn’t be enough to keep him safe from Noah’s wrath.
“No.” She locked her arms around him, burrowing closer. “But my therapist suspected that had been on the horizon.”
Noah sent up a silent prayer. “How old were you when you got away from him?”
“I was fourteen the last time he hit me. My brother made sure of that. He joined the Army at eighteen just to take care of me, and after he graduated from Basic Training, he came home for me. He’d always done his best to shield me, but he couldn’t protect me from everything. Joining the Army was his way of changing that.”
“Could you not have gone to the police? Surely, they would have—”
“My fatherwasthe police, Noah.” She pulled back, a vulnerability on her face that lashed at his chest. “We lived in this tiny town in the middle of Nowhere, Colorado. Our father had us so scared of the police that we thought they were all as ruthless as him. He belittled me every day, told me I was stupid and useless and fat and ugly and—”
“No.” Noah pressed a kiss to her lips to silence the torrent of negative words. “You know none of that is true, right?Noneof it. You arenoneof those things, Emma Morgan.”
“Yes, I know that. Most of the time, I even believe it, too, but that’s only because Preston got me into counseling. It took a lot of work, but over the years, I got better. I used my father’s vitriol as an accelerant to prove to myself I wasn’t any of the horrible things he used to call me. I studied hard and graduated from high school at sixteen, college at nineteen. I was first in my law class,andI learned two foreign languages, all to silence the voices inside my head that told me I wasn’t good enough. I worked hard after I graduated, and when I landed the job at Reynolds & Clark, I made it my mission to be the best damn lawyer in the firm.”
“And you have succeeded. David said you were one of the best lawyers he’d ever worked with, and from what I’ve seen over the past week, I’d have to agree with his assessment. You’ve knocked me flat.”
Noah caught her face between his palms—strong, remarkable, resilient, and brave Emma Morgan. She’d have to be all four to survive the childhood she’d described, and he’d never admired or wanted anyone more in his life.
“Come home with me tonight,” he whispered.
Emma buriedher hands in Noah’s hair and held on. She didn’t know what to do with this man. On the surface, they shouldn’t work, the lawyer from Nowhere, Colorado with an abusive father and the gorgeous billionaire who looked as if he’d been sculpted by some deity on a very generous day, but with his chocolate eyes on her and the moonlight reflecting off the water, she couldn’t quite remember why they shouldn’t work.
Her head spun, a tilt-a-whirl of sensation, so what the heck, she went with it. Pushing onto her toes, she touched her mouth to his. It was the first kiss she’d ever initiated, and the jolt of power and lust in her belly was almost enough to have her knees buckling. She was grateful for the strength of his arms as he dragged her up, lifted her until only the very tips of her toes remained on the ground.
“Can I take that as a yes?” His words were a rough whisper against her lips.
She wanted to give him that yes, wanted to give in to the need burning inside her like a nuclear reactor on critical, but harsh truths still needed to be spoken.
She pressed her cheek to his and fought to find the right words. “I want to say yes. You have no idea how much I want to go home with you tonight.”
