Page 74 of Bought
Fox must have either heard my footsteps or sensed me, because he stepped in front of his friend, blocking me from view. “Get out,” he repeated. “Get the fuck out now.”
Caleb gave me one last glance, then turned and went out without another word, the door closing heavily behind him.
Fox stood frozen in front of the door, a tall, muscular statue carved out of stone. He didn’t turn and he didn’t say a word, and though I was supposed to stay where I was, I couldn’t bear it. Whatever Caleb had told him had hurt him badly and I wanted him to know I was here. So, I walked down the hallway toward him.
He didn’t move as I approached and when I came around to face him, his gaze was on the front door, blue eyes burning like gas flames in the mask of his face.
“Sir?” I asked, my chest tight with concern. “What happened?”
He didn’t look at me. “I told you to stay where you were.” There was a darkness in his voice, icy and yet at the same time full of hot rage.
If it had been at any other time, I would have apologized and begged him to punish me. But something was wrong. He was furious and hurting and I wanted to know why.
“I know you did,” I said. “But you were shouting, and I was worried for you. Why did you hit him?”
“Go back into the living room.” A muscle leapt in the side of his jaw. “And stay there until I come to you. I am not fit company now.”
Perhaps I should have done what he ordered and left him to his fury. Because being around men in a rage had never ended well for me. But I didn’t even think about that. All I knew was that I wasn’t leaving him alone.
“No,” I said simply. “You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to, but I’m staying right here.”
Finally, he looked down at me, his gaze full of frozen fire. “Not a good idea, little sub. I can’t be trusted at the moment.”
He was still white around the mouth, fury rolling off him, and it took me a moment to realize something. I’d never been afraid of him since after that first night, and even now, even when he was quite clearly in a rage, I still wasn’t afraid. He wouldn’t ever hurt me, I knew that with a certainty that went bone deep.
“You might think you can’t be trusted, but I think you’re wrong.” I dropped my blanket and stepped up to him. “And I trust you.” I didn’t wait for permission. I slid my hands beneath the T-shirt he was wearing, stroking my palms over the hard, cut muscles of his abs and chest, feeling the warm satin of his skin and the tension in him.
He said nothing and didn’t move, but I didn’t stop stroking him, standing close so my body was pressed to his, and eventually the rigidity left his muscles. He let out a breath and reached for me, his hands sliding down over my butt as he brought me close, fitting me against him. “Caleb came to tell me that he and…” The muscle in his jaw leapt again. “That he and Isabel are…together.”
A bolt of surprise went through me, but hard on its heels came a small burst of gladness. Isabel had had a crush on Caleb — or at least, she’d said it was a crush, but from the way she’d always spoken about him, I knew it was more than that. She’d never said anything to him about it, because he was her dad’s best friend and so much older than she was. He’d used to babysit her as a kid, too, which had complicated things. Yet it seemed as if her crush had been reciprocated which made me happy for her. Though…I could see why Fox was so angry about it. Even despite how much older and more powerful Caleb was than Isabel, there were a lot of dark rumors about his past swirling around him. Perhaps I should have been worried too, but Caleb was Fox’s best friend and Fox was a good man. If Caleb had been awful, then surely they wouldn’t have been friends.
I slid my arms around his waist, putting my head on his chest, reveling in his warmth and the steady beat of his heart. “She’s had a crush on him for years,” I said. “She told me so. But I knew it wasn’t a crush. She’s in love with him.”
Fox’s hands on my hips squeezed hard. “Caleb’s nearly twenty years older than her. He was supposed to be protecting her. He was…. His past….” Fox broke off. “She’s my daughter. And he’s my friend. I didn’t think I’d have to protect her from him.”
“I know.” I reached up to cup his face between my palms. “But Isabel isn’t stupid. And I’m sure she knows exactly who Caleb is. She wanted him. She can make her own choices, just as I made my choice to stay with you.”
Rage still flickered in his eyes. “It’s different. You’re different.”
“But I’m still twenty-three.”
“You know the world, Zara. Isabel has been protected all her life. She’s an innocent, she’s—”
“She’s your daughter and you love her,” I interrupted gently. “And you’re afraid for her. That’s fair.”
His attention shifted, focusing in on me in that intoxicating way he had. “Caleb’s my closest friend,” he said. “But he’s the last person who should be anyone’s partner let alone Isabel’s. It’s a betrayal.”
“I know. You’re angry with him, and that’s fair too. You’re allowed to feel that way.”
“You don’t understand,” Fox bit out, releasing me suddenly. “I know what it’s like when an older man takes advantage of someone younger. That happened to me. That’s what I was trying to protect Isabel from.”
I got it now. Of course, this would screw with him. Sir George Wyndham had taken advantage of him, had used him, and now that was all he saw.
“You’re right, I didn’t understand.” I didn’t try to touch him again. “I do now. But, Sir, this isn’t the same. Izzy isn’t desperate and she doesn’t have a child to protect. She’s very stubborn too, so in many ways, good luck with that, Caleb. And if she loves him then he has to be a good man, doesn’t he? Like I said, she’s not stupid. She wouldn’t love someone who took advantage of her.”
Fox said nothing, so I went on, “Plus, Caleb is your friend. I don’t know him, but I can’t imagine him taking advantage of Izzy in any way because that would not only hurt you, but it would hurt her too. He wouldn’t want that.”
“How well do you actually know Isabel?”