Trust by Design (Colorado Trust 2)

“Nothing. I’m just decorating his house.” She dropped her bags, but when she tried to move, his hold tightened, and his weight pinned her in place. Tears welled in her eyes. “Jackson, please, you’re hurting me.”

His face moved so close she could feel his hot breath on her skin. Her stomach bottomed out as his gaze bore into hers. “I don’t know if I can believe you. Maybe you were screwing the bastard all along.”

“No—we only met last week! I was just trying to get back at you at the club because of Grace, that’s all. I didn’t even know who he was.”

Her choked voice and the moisture blurring her gaze seemed to convince him she was telling the truth. She sucked a shallow breath into her tight lungs.

“Well, now that you do, you better keep your damn mouth shut. To him or anyone else that comes asking.”

“Why would I say anything now?” she asked bitterly. “I can’t prove any of those ideas were mine.”

His hand rose to grip her jaw, holding her head still. His ice-blue gaze drilled into hers. “Don’t you forget that, either. It’ll be your word against mine, and I’ve got a lot more people on my side.”

“I just want to move on with my life. I don’t care what happened anymore.” She swallowed hard. “Please, Jackson.”

The ice in his gaze melted somewhat and his grip eased. Relief began to flow as she managed a decent breath, until he slid his hand into her hair and fisted his fingers. She froze in place as he leaned forward and nuzzled his face against her cheek. After a deep inhale, he spoke against her ear.

“Mmm. Remember when you used to say those words to me in bed?”

The low taunt froze the blood in her veins. The thought of ever being with him again made her nauseous. “That’s over now,” she whispered.

“Seeing as how you have no problem giving it to Daley, how about one more time, for old time’s sake?”

Alarm exploded when a press of his hips revealed the hard ridge of his arousal. Oh, God, he wouldn’t—would he?

“No.” The word barely reached her own ears, and she forced her voice past the fear clogging her throat. “Jackson, stop.”

He ignored the denial and slid his mouth across to hers. Panic jerked her hands up between them. She tried to shove him away, but he easily overpowered her.

“Come on, baby, it’ll be even better than before.”

His fingers tightened in her hair and his mouth crushed down hers, grinding her lips against her teeth until she tasted blood.

Gina wrenched her head to the side and screamed as much from the pain in her scalp as the terror of how far he would actually go. She brought her knee up as hard as she could and connected with his groin close enough to make him double over. His guttural moan sounded through the hall.

“I said no,” she rasped.

He surged upward with

a hoarse shout and his backhand swing snapped her head to the side. Pain exploded in her face. Stars danced on the edge of her vision as she reached up to cover her throbbing cheek. Blinking through the involuntary tears, her whole body trembling, somewhere she found the strength to not cower before him.

“I didn’t make a case about the computer stuff, but don’t think I’d keep my mouth shut if you raped me.”

“You bitch,” he growled.

Just when he reached for her again, a door opened at the end of the hall. Jackson jerked back, stumbling as he hurried toward the stairs. “Forget it. You’re not worth the trouble.”

The moment he was out of sight, her knees refused to support her. As a neighbor she’d never met hurried down the hall toward her, she sank down against the wall with a hand fisted in her mouth to stifle her sob.

Chapter 14

Dean rubbed his burning eyes before running both hands up to fist them in his hair. He held on until his scalp tingled, then scrubbed back and forth a few times, and dropped his arms to the rests on his chair.

He hadn’t exaggerated when he’d told his mom about his twenty-hour days, and holy hell was he tired. A glance at the clock made him groan. Two more hours to midnight. Three more hours before he could drag his ass up the stairs to bed. The alarm would go off at four-thirty and he’d start all over again.

Maybe he would just rest his eyes for a moment.

No more than he folded his arms on the desk in front of him and lowered his head, the damn doorbell rang. He ignored it. Anyone showing up here at ten at night wasn’t someone he wanted to talk to.