Love, Honor & Protect- Addicted to You 2 Page 7

  “Oh my God. Tabitha!” The two cross the room toward me, stepping over the man and dropping to their knees in front of me. “What the hell hap—oh, sweetie.” Brooke takes the taser from my hand and wraps her arms around me.

  “I’m calling the police,” Amber says before kissing my hair and pulling out her phone.

  “Sweetie, we need to get you to the hospital so they can give you the proper care and medication to deal with this,” Brooke says, drawing back. “You need to take the morning after pill.”

  I shake my head. “No.”

  This time, it’s Amber who speaks. “No? Honey, Brooke is right. You need to see a doctor.”

  “He didn’t…he didn’t rape me. He tried to, but I fought him off.” I cast the man a look then look up to meet their gaze. “He didn’t rape me.”

  They share a look.

  “Tabitha—,” Brooke starts, but I take her hand in mine.

  “I’m fine,” I say.

  “Tabitha, please, for us,” Amber says.

  They’re just worried about me and scared. I should stop being stubborn and just do as they’ve asked to put their minds at ease.

  “Alright. I’ll go once the police get here and take him away.” I take Amber’s hand. “I do have a favor to ask, though.”

  “Anything,” Amber says.

  I swallow.

  “Don’t say anything to anyone, especially to Jeremiah. He’s worried about me enough, especially with someone out there trying to kill me. He doesn’t need this on his mind.”

  “Tabitha, he deserves to know,” Amber says.

  “She’s right. Maybe he can help you get through this,” Brooke says.

  I nod. “I know, but I don’t want to talk about it right now. I need to deal with this on my own first before I have to talk about it with anyone so soon.”

  “Tabitha, you have to tell him,” Amber says, squeezing my hand.

  “I know, and I will. Just not right now. Please, don’t say anything.”

  The two share a look before reluctantly agreeing. “Alright, we won’t say anything.”

  I sigh. “Thank you.”

  Past

  Jeremiah

  (10)

  “Jeremiah?”

  I turn around and come face to face with Melissa. She’s still dressed in her Harley Quinn pajamas.

  “Yes?”

  “Is Tabitha alright?”

  I tilt my head in confusion.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, lately she’s been acting … strange. She barely eats, she’s been a bit jumpy, and whenever we go out and come back, she acts hesitant to come into the house,” she says, folding her arms and moving deeper into the kitchen. “And she looks sad. She’s not herself.”

  Crossing my arms, I lean back against the counter. “Yeah, I’ve noticed that, too. She has definitely not been herself.” I take a big breath. “I’ll talk to her about whatever it is that’s bothering her.”

  “Thank you,” she says.

  I smile. “You’re welcome. Um, would you like to help me cook breakfast?”

  A smile spreads across her mouth. “Sure.”

  “Great.” I push off the counter. “Why don’t you grab the eggs and milk from the fridge and bread and cinnamon from the pantry.”

  “Alright. What all are we making?”

  “Cinnamon french toast, scrambled eggs with pepper and cheese wrapped in an omelet, and baked bacon with a side of orange juice.”

  She rubs her stomach. “That sounds amazing.” She opens the fridge and grabs the milk and eggs. “Where did you learn to cook?”

  I turn the stove on low and cross the kitchen to grab a large bowl from the cupboard. “My mother’s best friend, Donna, was big on cooking. I spent a lot of time at her house with her family, and whenever she cooked, she called her kids and me into the kitchen to watch.” I hand her the bowl. “Crack seven eggs open for me, please.”

  She takes the bowl and starts cracking eggs. “Was Donna a black woman? I’ve never heard of a white Donna before.”

  I laugh. “Yes, Donna was a black woman.”

  “You said was. Does that mean…”

  I swallow and nod. “She passed last year.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  I look up at her. “Thank you.”

  Once breakfast is done, Melissa goes off to get Jacob, and I go to wake up Tabitha. She and I slept in the guest room last night and the night before. When I asked her why she wanted to sleep in the guest room, she said she just wanted to sleep in the guest bedroom because our bed was starting to become rather uncomfortable for her.

  “Tabitha. Tabitha, baby, breakfast is ready.” I gently shake her, sitting on the bed beside her. “Baby, it’s time to get up.”

  She stirs, and her eyes flutter open. When her eyes land on me, they widen, and she jumps back, startled, her breathing heavy. I reach for her, but she draws back, inching away from me like my touch will burn her.

  “Tabitha? Hey, it’s me.”

  She stares at me for a long moment then throws herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and burying her face into my shoulder.

  “I’m sorry.”

  I wrap my arms around her. “Was it a bad dream?”

  She nods.

  I tighten my hold on her. “It’s okay. I got you.” I draw back and cup her face. “I won’t let anyone ever hurt you again.”

  “Promise?”

  “Promise. Are you hungry?”

  “I’m starving.”

  I smile. “Melissa and I made breakfast if you want to join us.”

  “Of course, I’ll join you.”

  We make our way down to the kitchen where Melissa and Jake are already seated at the table.

  “Good morning, Tabitha,” Jake says.

  “Good morning, Tabs,” says Melissa.

  “Good morning, you two,” Tabitha says, kissing them on the cheek before moving to sit in the chair beside me. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m still a bit tired, but it’s nothing a good breakfast can’t fix,” Melissa says with a smile.

  “I feel you on that one,” Tabitha agrees. “What about you, Jake?”

  He smiles widely. “I’m excited.”

  “Why are you excited?” I ask him.

  I must say that I’m happy to see Jake getting along so well with Tabitha and how well he’s taken to his new surroundings. Most children his age take a much longer time to adjust to an unfamiliar environment, but he hasn’t. Tabitha spends just as much time with him as he spends with me.

  “No reason. I’m just happy,” he says.

  “So, do any of you have any plans today?” Tabitha questions.

  “Well, I was going to take Jake to the fair this afternoon then to see a movie,” Melissa says. “That is, if you two are alright with that.”

  “Sure. Jason and Amber are taking their kids this afternoon, too. Maybe you can meet up with them and go together,” Tabitha says.

  Melissa smiles. “That sounds like a great idea.”

  “Cool! I can’t wait to see them,” Jake cheers.

  “What about the two of you?” Melissa asks. “Do you have any plans today on your day off?”

  I look to Tabitha, who smiles at her, but I notice the smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “We’re just going to stay inside and watch movies today. Spend some time together.”

  “That sounds like an excellent idea. The two of you have been busy lately,” Melissa points out.

  Tabitha looks at me. “I can’t wait.”

  Hours later, we’re lying on the couch.

  Tabitha sexy-as-hell Davenport.

  I can lie here with her for the rest of my life.

  Lying between my legs, her head resting against my stomach, she slips her hand under my shirt and traces the squares of my abs. I take a strand of her hair and bend my head and inhale. Her scent fills my lungs, and I close my eyes as it fills me. I’ll never get over how her feminine scent invades me. I knew the firs
t time I smelled her and saw her, that she was mine. I’ll never let her go. I’ll never let anyone take her from me. I’m hers and she’s mine.

  Opening a hand to the back of her head, I place a kiss on her forehead. She stirs and turns her head to look up at me. Peering down at her beautiful face, I trace my thumb along her bottom lip. I love her lips. Everything about them: the things they say to me and the way they taste, feel, and look.

  I pull her over to me and push her hair to the side and bury my face in her neck. “I love you, Tabitha,” I murmur huskily.

  She eases back and looks at me. “I love you too.”

  I reach out and caress her jaw tenderly. “I want to show you how much I love you.” I bury my face into her neck and squeeze her closer, kissing her neck.

  She stiffens.

  “Jeremiah,” she whispers.

  “What is it?” I draw back and cup her cheeks.

  She looks down, staring at her hands then meets my gaze. “I’m just… I just want to lay here with you until we fall asleep.” She sits up until she’s at eye level with me. “Can we do that?”

  I smile.

  “Anything for you.”

  Smiling, she dips her head and kisses my lips. “I love you.”

  She turns around in my arms and rests her back against my chest, and I wrap my arms around her, and she lowers her head onto my shoulder, turning her head toward the flat screen.

  “I love you too.”

  Past

  Jeremiah

  (11)

  I run my fingers through my hair and let the thick curls fall around my eyes. I then rest my elbows on the smooth, dark wooden surface of my desk and drop my face into my hands. It’s been a long day, and I’m ready to call it a day, despite it only being two in the afternoon. I just want to go home and see my beautiful fiancée, but things between us have been … different. She barely lets me touch her, and when I do, she stiffens or jumps suddenly. Her nightmares seem to be getting worse, and she won’t talk to me.

  Every time I ask her what’s wrong, she says she’s just stressed from work and planning the wedding, but there is a huge part of me that is screaming it’s more than that—that she’s hiding something from me. That there is something big she’s keeping from me. But I don’t want to push her so far that things become too much for her. So, I am just going to give her the space she needs… for now.

  Just then, my office door is thrown open. Remy strides inside, without knocking, of course, and crosses the room toward my desk.

  “By all means, come in,” I say sarcastically.

  “I talked to the delivery guy,” he says.

  That piqued my interest.

  “Go on.”

  “He said the woman had long, dark hair, brown eyes, semi-full lips with a small tattoo of some kind of bird on her left back shoulder,” he says.

  I sit back in my chair, trying to think of anyone I may know or have seen that matches that description, but no one comes to mind. No one.

  “So far, I’ve come up empty with that description. The only woman I know with dark hair, brown eyes, and that hot is your girl Jessica,” he says with a smile.

  I roll my eyes. Remy’s had a thing for her—a sex thing—since I introduced them a few years back.

  “I agree, but Jessica isn’t… She’d never do anything that would hurt me.” I run my fingers through my hair again. “Tell me, where are we with everything?”

  He’s serious again. “Danny is off with the kid now, trying to get a better sketch of what that bitch looks like.”

  “Who’s watching my kids and Tabitha?”

  “Sammy’s with Melissa and Jake, and Brody is guarding Tabitha. He knows to go unnoticed by her.”

  “Yeah. She’d kill me if she knew I had someone following her.” I take a big breath. “Even if it is just to keep her safe.”

  “How’s she holding up?” he questions.

  “I think it’s all finally getting to her. She’s having nightmares, she’s barely eating, and whenever I touch her, she seems afraid sometimes.”

  “Just give her some time. She needs time to let it all really sink in.”

  I nod in agreement.

  Not long after Remy leaves, there’s another knock at my office door.

  “Come in.”

  My assistant, Kelly, walks in with a manila envelope in her hand.

  “Mr. Keegan, this was left for you.” She crosses the room and hands me the envelope.

  “Who left it?”

  “Ms. Brandon. She asked me to give this to you.”

  “Thank you.”

  I take the envelope and wait for her to leave and close the door behind her before opening it. I reach inside and pull out what looks like pictures and flip them over, and my breath is caught in my throat. My throat and chest tighten as I slowly flip through the pictures, each picture adding fuel to the fire that’s building deep in my stomach.

  “What the fuck.”

  I can’t believe what I’m looking at. This can’t be true. What I’m looking at can’t be real. No! She can’t… No! How could she cheat on me, and in our bed? I thought we were happy. I thought I made her happy. Maybe that’s why she’s been acting so different lately. She’s been cheating, and now she feels guilty, and it’s been eating at her.

  I push to my feet so fast that my chair falls to the floor, and I start pacing my office. I don’t know what to do. What am I supposed to do? Do I confront her about it? Do I give her a chance to explain? Or do I … I need a drink. Taking a deep breath, I grab the envelope, my jacket, and car keys and yank open my door.

  “Cancel all of my meetings I have for today, Kelly.” I storm past her. “In fact, cancel everything for the rest of the week. I’m going to be on leave for a while.”

  “Yes, Mr. Keegan.”

  Stepping onto the elevator, I wait until the doors close before punching the wall repeatedly until my fists are bruised, red, and numb. My breaths are long, and my heart is beating rapidly as I lean back against the wall. Why is my life going to hell all of a sudden? I’m supposed to be getting married to the love of my life, and now, it’s all gone to hell. Why is this shit happening to me?

  Stepping off the elevator, I cross the lobby, to the doors, out to my waiting car.

  “Are you ready, sir?” Kevin questions

  “I relieve you of your daily duties today, Kevin. I will drive myself.”

  I jump into the car and take off down the street. I want to go and find Tabitha, confront her about the pictures, and ask her how she could do this to us, but I speed right past our street. I find myself driving down Farmington Road and pulling up to Jimmy’s Bar. Parking the car, I hop out, storm inside, and take a seat at the end of the bar, away from prying eyes.

  “What can I get you, my man?” the male bartender questions.

  “Scotch with one cube. And keep them coming until I say stop.”

  “No problem.”

  He’s quick on making my drink. He goes to place it on the bar, but I reach out and take it mid-air and swallow it down quickly. It burns all the way down my throat to my stomach, heating me from the inside out. As I wait for him to bring me another drink, images of Tabitha with that man continue to flash before my eyes. I can’t believe she’d do this to us—to me. I can’t believe she’d sleep with another man in our bed.

  The bartender slides me another drink, and I down it just as quickly as the first one, and it feels just as warm. It’s five shots later that I find myself at the other end of the bar, talking to some woman with short, dark hair, blue eyes, and thin lips, dressed in a very short red dress with a pair of matching high heels. She’s very attractive but not as attractive or beautiful as Tabitha. No one will ever be as beautiful as she is.

  “Want to get out of here?” she questions, moving a hand up my thigh.

  I go to say no, but the images of Tabitha, naked, in our bed with another man, in our room flashes before my eyes, and all the anger from before floods my entire being. So, I ta
ke her hand in mine and pull her to her feet and flush against me.

  “I’d love to.”

  Once we make it to the hotel, I cross the lobby to the front desk, pay for a room, and quickly move to the elevator. She, the woman whose name I don’t remember, starts running her hands down my chest to the bulge in my pants while kissing my neck. Despite how angry and hurt I am with Tabitha, I have to imagine that it’s her who’s kissing me and running her hands up and down my chest.

  Once the doors to the car open, I step off and move down the hall toward our room.

  “This place is amazing,” the woman says once we enter the room.

  You should probably ask her what her name is, a voice in my head says.

  “What is your name?” I ask.

  She turns to me and crosses the room to stand in front of me. “Angela. What’s your name?” She runs her hands down my chest.

  “Jeremiah.”

  She smiles and steps closer. “Well, Jeremiah, why don’t we have some fun. Huh?”

  I smile. “Yeah, fun.”

  Our fun turns into me ripping her dress off and bending her over and fucking her like there’s no tomorrow. Using all the anger I’d built up, we don’t stop until neither of us could feel our legs and are panting.

  “Holy fuck,” she gasps, dropping down onto the bed beside me. “That was … mind blowing.”

  I nod. “It was satisfying.”

  Reaching over her, I grab my phone from the bedside table and unlock it. I have three missed calls and several texts messages, all from Tabitha. I go to my pictures and scroll through the ones of Tabitha and the kids and her and me. The longer I stare at them, the angrier and more hurt I become.

  Just then, my phone rings, and Tabitha’s picture pops up on the screen. I hesitate to answer it before answering it.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey. Uh, I was wondering if we could talk.” Her voice is kind of shaky on the other end.

  “What about?” I ask.

  She doesn’t say anything for a moment before I hear her take a deep breath. “I have to tell you something. Something that may change the way you look at me.”