Nakia stared at the man who, despite it not being his responsibility, seemed determined to protect her. Her emotions were in turmoil. Yes, she’d had inappropriate feelings toward him for a long time now, but never would she have acted on it. Never would she have approached him. These last weeks, when she’d been lucid and aware of his presence, she’d pretended most times that she wasn’t. She’d learned from the first day when she’d opened her eyes that, as soon as she was awake, he’d ask her a few polite questions and then he’d leave and not return until another mealtime. He would be polite, gentle, make sure that she didn’t need anything, but she couldn’t help hating when he left.
She had gotten in the habit of watching him from slits in her lowered lashes. He’d been watching her too. The stark emotion on his face let her know that he cared. Maybe not how she wanted him to, but it was clear that he cared a great deal about her. It was evident in his expression now. He couldn’t hide his fear for her.
“You’re worried about Ralph?” she asked gently.
“Hell yeah. That bastard will be angry.”
She wanted to grin at the disgust he held for Ralph. Of course, she’d learned the hard way any animated expression came with a price. Pain. “Don’t worry about him. Ralph won’t come near me.”
“How are you going to achieve that? He’s been trying to get in here ever since they found out where you are. Thus, the restraining order.”
Nakia wasn’t aware of that. She’d thought that when they were denied access the week before that Ralph hadn’t dared come up against the power and wealth of the Ragnarson Law Firm. “Ralph caught me unaware. Despite what happened, I’m not afraid of him. I knew he was escalating and didn’t take the necessary precautions. That won’t happen again.”
“Still, you’re not strong enough to fight him. I can’t let you go back to Miami unprotected.”
“Justin, you do realize that I’m not your responsibility, right?” she asked him softly. “What happened to me was not your fault.” The realization that he felt responsible for what happened to her was only now occurring to her. It certainly explained a lot of what he’d done for her.
“I shouldn’t have let you leave with him.”
To hear him confirm her suspicion devastated her. She’d begun to weave a fantasy without realizing that she’d been doing it. She’d convinced herself that he cared about her, even perhaps secretly desired her, as she secretly desired him. The disappointment was crushing.
“How were you supposed to stop me from leaving with my husband? I didn’t think you recognized me. We were never introduced.” She frowned before she remembered that she shouldn’t be using that much facial expression. The pain was a welcomed distraction from the disappointment of her ill-advised desires. “How did you find out who I was?”
“My sister-in-law is an incredibly resourceful woman. If the US government had asked her, she would’ve found Osama Bin Laden within hours. She can find anyone or anything.”
“That’s a handy resource. You’ll have to thank her for me.”
“As you know, I am a divorce attorney, and I have seen more than my fair share of domestic violence. I should have seen what was coming. I should have picked up on his violent tendency from the way he treated you. Even in the presence of strangers he was openly criticizing you. I should have known where that was leading and stopped it.”
“Justin, this was not your fault.”
“I was a soldier for Christ’s sake. I knew better.”
Nakia sighed in exasperation. “I’ll say it again and hope that, this time, you hear me. I’m not your responsibility. If you’d tried to stop Ralph then, many more people may have gotten hurt in that crowded airport. There was no way Ralph would have accepted that quietly.”
Justin gently took her palm in his.
Nakia’s breath hitched in her throat, and thousands of tiny butterflies took flight in her stomach. She couldn’t believe the searing impact of his touch to her senses. Her mind blanked to everything but him.
He seemed to be just as affected as she was. This time she wasn’t going to make any assumptions. He’d have to come right out and tell her how he felt.
“I’ll protect you whether you want me to or not,” he told her quietly. “You may not be my responsibility, but I’m making you my responsibility.”
Despite the quickening of her heart on hearing that, she knew that he didn’t mean it the way that she wanted. She had to make him see that none of what happened to her was his fault. It was Ralph’s, and Ralph’s alone. “How does your wife, your brothers, your family feel about how much time you’re spending with me? You must know that you’re putting yourself in the line of fire. On my own, I could probably get Ralph to back off. However, with you in the picture, Ralph will be stubborn, and out for blood.”
“I want that. I want that bastard to come at me. Nothing would make me happier than flattening his ass.” His jeweled-green gaze was murky with anger. “Don’t worry about my family.”
Nakia sighed in resignation, knowing that a day of reckoning for all of them was coming soon. Hopefully she could hold on to her heart long enough for this to be over. She couldn’t afford to let her emotions for him go any deeper. He was someone else’s husband. Besides, her life was so much of a mess right now that even the thought of getting into another complication was nuts.
“Justin…”
“No. This is not up for debate, Nakia.”
“You realize that you have no authority over me, right?”
Justin smiled.
Nakia knew she should call him out on this now, but he was so damn beautiful it was impossible to deny him anything when he looked at her like that. Smiled at her like that. That shit should be against the law or something.
“Nakia, I like you.”
She rolled her eyes. “I like you too, but that still doesn’t mean I’m going to let you rule my life.”
“I like you,” he continued as though she hadn’t spoken. “So, let me tell you what’s going to happen.” When she was about to speak, he sat on the edge her bed and moved her palm to his hard thigh, resting his hand on top of hers.
Is he trying to drive me crazy? Nakia didn’t know where to look. Awareness of him, of his hard body against her thigh and under her palm, had her senses buzzing. No way should she be feeling any of this for any man after Ralph’s brutality.
“You’re going to relocate to Austin, work in our office there, and live in one of the firm’s apartments.”
“Jay, that’s too much.”
“Jay?”
Oh shit. That slipped. “Sorry, I mean Justin.”
“No, I’ve never had a nickname before. I like it.”
“I can’t accept your generosity. You’ve done too much already.”
He gave her a hard stare. “This is not up for debate. Until I know that bastard is out of your life, you’re not going back to Miami or anywhere near him.”