“I know I should be thanking you for caring about me, but I can’t help thinking that I shouldn’t let you control my life like this.” The thought to call her best friend, Mario Guzman, prodded her mind. She knew that Mario would do everything in his power to help, but then she wasn’t sure Mario wouldn’t try to kill Ralph. Their friendship had already been somewhat strained after she told him about Ralph’s verbal abuse, and she remained in the marriage. If he found out about this, Mario would kill him. No, she couldn’t go to him with this, and certainly not in her present state. Mario’s proficiency with guns wasn’t something she should ignore.
Justin laughed. “Don’t look at it like that. I promise that you won’t regret it. The apartment is in a very secure complex, so I won’t have to worry about you being alone there. And your husband will, for sure, not be able to get to you once you’re in our office building.”
“If I do this, I have to ask you a favor.”
“Anything.” Again, he gave her that devastating smile that sent her heart rate racing again.
“I need you to not touch me.”
Justin gazed down at her hand on his thigh and didn’t remove his hand holding her in place.
“I mean it. You have no idea what your touch does to me. I’m married, and so are you. I can’t take this.” She held his gaze, and she was shocked to see the molten heat in the depths of his eyes.
“We’re not doing anything wrong,” he told her softly. “I’m not going to pretend that I don’t like touching you or having your hand on me. You like it, and despite your protest, you don’t want me to stop either. In fact, if this is all we’re allowed, I’m taking it.”
“We’re playing with fire.”
“Yeah, and if either of us get too close to the flames, we both have to agree to stop and not get burned.”
“Right, and that’s working so well right now. I just asked you to stop, and you’re ignoring me.”
Justin grinned. “That’s because neither of us can do anything about the embers, no matter how much we fan them. When you’re healthy and whole, we can have this conversation again.”
Despite his cavalier response to their now acknowledged desire, Nakia couldn’t fault his manners or care of her feelings over the next few weeks.
Chapter Four
On the day Nakia was released from the hospital, it was Justin’s sister-in-law Imani who came to the hospital with him to help with her relocation to Austin. With Justin piloting the sleek, but tiny jet from Dallas to Austin, Nakia was grateful to have the other woman on board to help her. She was shocked at what effort it took for her to navigate climbing on and off the jet. The doctors had given her painkillers, but she’d thought to tough it out and not take them. Big mistake. By the time they arrived in the penthouse apartment Justin had secured for her use, she was a quivering mass of exhaustion and pain.
Imani helped her in and out of the shower and into one of the sexiest pair of silk pajamas she’d ever seen. It made her blush to see the look on Imani’s face when Nakia pulled them on. They were almost transparent, with a deep V-neck, which was almost to her navel and barely covered her nipples. The pants were short and hugged her ass.
“I gatta get me a pair of these,” Imani teased. “Better yet, I’m going to tell Justin to get me some from wherever he found them.” She laughed at Nakia’s stunned look.
“Don’t worry. That boy needs a little happiness in his life because he’s set himself up for years of misery.”
Nakia was dying to ask Imani what she meant. It was terrifying how much she wanted to know every bit of information about him.
“Are y’all decent in there?” Justin yelled from outside the bedroom door.
Imani rolled her eyes. “As if this thing you bought could be called decent,” she mumbled for Nakia’s ears only. “Yes, sure. We’re all good.”
Nakia shook her head at Imani’s teasing grin as she pulled the covers over the generous display of her breasts.
Justin walked in moments later with his arms filled with fresh baskets of flowers.
“Jay, we talked about this!” Nakia scolded. She had been telling him for days to stop sending her flowers. Her room at the hospital had begun to look like a florist shop. She had to get the nurses to distribute most of her flowers to the other patients on her floor, and still he hadn’t stopped despite her pleas.
He grinned sheepishly. “This is the last of it. I promise.”
“You’re impossible.”
“Yeah, I know. But you love me anyway.”
“Jay!” Nakia hissed.
“What?” He looked at her as though he didn’t understand what he did wrong this time.
From the intent gleam in his gaze, Nakia knew that he understood perfectly what he’d just said. His choice of words wasn’t an accident.
“Jeez, y’all two got it bad.” Imani had a worried frown now. It seemed that she was no longer finding their situation amusing. She, too, had picked up on Justin’s serious intent.
“Are you going to be okay here by yourself?” Justin didn’t acknowledge Imani’s statement, and quite frankly, Nakia didn’t know what to say either.
Nakia knew how she felt, but she wasn’t sure what Justin was feeling. “I’m not here by myself. You have a twenty-four-hour nurse and a housekeeper here with me.”
“Yeah, but they won’t be here until tomorrow.” Justin stared down at her.
Despite most of the bandages being removed from her face, and the bruising and swelling all but gone, Nakia was still self-conscious of the few cuts still visible on her skin. “I ate before we left the hospital, and I’m really exhausted now. I’m going to sleep, so I doubt I’ll even notice being here on my own.”
His frown deepened.
“I’ll stay with her if you want,” Imani offered.
“No, I don’t need anyone to stay with me. Imani, please don’t let this pigheaded man rule your life too. I’m perfectly fine.”
“Not a good idea for you to stay, sis. Colt would have my head if his wife isn’t beside him in bed tonight.”
Imani grinned dreamily in acknowledgement. She had the smile of a woman who knew that she was completely loved. Nakia wondered what it was like to be so confident of someone’s love. She wasn’t afforded the most basic unconditional love, the love of her parents.
“Both of you, please go home to your spouses.” She had to get rid of them before she really got depressed. “Thank you for helping me, but now I’m going to sleep. No need for any of you to be further inconvenienced. In fact, if you give me some water, I’ll take those painkillers the doctor gave me. I’ll be out in no time,” she joked.
It was clear that Justin didn’t find anything amusing about her little speech. However, he went to her new kitchen, which was almost on the other side of the very elegant apartment, and brought her a tall glass of water. He and Imani waited until she took the painkillers before leaving her safely tucked into bed and her eyes already drooping with sleep.