Breathless Read online

  mistake of your life, Alex. I'm the best thing

  going. There isn't a woman in D.C. who wouldn't

  love to be you right now. You're going to be my

  wife and that's final. "

  Alex tried to jerk her arm from Tad's grip, which

  only served to infuriate him. Reaching up with his

  free hand, Tad pulled her hair back so that her face

  upturned to his. Digging his fingers into her skin,

  Tad brought her body flush against his and kissed

  her roughly. Squirming against him to be freed of

  his hold, Alex bit down on his lip drawing blood.

  "Dammit," Tad hollered throwing Alex to the

  ground, "What the hell was that for?" "You were hurting me, you arrogant ass," Alex said

  raising herself from the floor.

  Tad held his hand against the offended lip, trying to

  stem the flow of blood. Alex watched his mood

  change warily as a smile crept across his face.

  "Where's your car, Alex?"

  "What?"

  "Where's your car? I didn't see it out front," he

  stated, arching an eyebrow and going into the

  kitchen to grab a towel. "It's in the shop."

  "What's wrong with it?"

  "What's this all about? Two seconds ago you were

  calmly attacking me and now you're questioning me

  about my car. " "It'll need to be transported to D.C. I'll have to

  have somebody come and get it. "

  "No, you won't. I'm not going anywhere," she bit

  out frustrated.

  "I beg to differ. I need you in D.C. with me. "

  "Somehow Tad, I don't believe you. How much do

  you need?"

  "Excuse me," he asked.

  "Don't give me the shocked expression. How

  much do you need?"

  "You think this is about money?"

  "Not just any money, Tad. My money, my

  inheritance; remember that I know how much it costs to run a campaign. So how much do you

  need?"

  "You think this about your money?"

  "I know so!"

  "Well it's not! So go get dressed," he demanded

  again, coming back into the dining room.

  "I will not be ordered around, Tad. Not

  anymore. "

  Alex should have expected the blow but was

  stunned none the less when Tad's hand came across

  her cheek. Falling to the floor once more, Alex

  wondered if she would be able to get away from

  Tad long enough to get out of the house. "You will not defy me, Alex. GO GET DRESSED!"

  Alex gingerly touched the welts on her cheek and

  stared up at Tad. To have this happen again was

  painful enough, but to have James walk in on it

  would kill her. She cowered as Tad stooped to

  grab her arms and lift her from the floor.

  "Leave her go," came a quiet voice from behind

  her.

  James had heard the argument from the

  beginning. It was the breaking of the tea cup

  which made him wake up and realize something

  was terribly wrong. Slipping into his jeans from

  yesterday, he crept down the stairs and stopped

  short of the doorway. He had heard Tad question her about her car, which still sat at Suzanne and

  Harry's. He had heard Alex tell Tad no and

  question his motives for her to return to D.C.

  "I said, let her go, Tad," James quietly

  insisted. Moving across the floor, James reached

  out and put his hand on Alex's shoulder, trying to

  ease her away from Tad.

  "Who the hell are you," Tad asked outraged still

  grasping Alex's arms.

  "Leave her go, now," James demanded louder,

  gently pulling on her shoulder.

  Alex felt James' pull and pulled her arms as

  well. She didn't want a confrontation between the

  two, but it was unavoidable now. Tad let go, mainly from the shock of seeing another man, half

  dressed in Alex's house.

  Released from Tad's cruel hands, Alex allowed

  James to cradle her in his arms and look at her

  cheek.

  "Are you alright," he asked staring into her

  eyes. He saw the fear that had been there when

  Dan was stalking her. Turning his eyes from hers

  to stare at Tad, Alex was sure he was going to kill

  him.

  "Alex, say good bye to your lover, then go upstairs

  and get dressed. We're leaving in an hour," Tad

  requested one last time, "I'll forgive you this

  time. But there will be no more lovers in D.C. I

  will not have that scandal brought upon me. “ "She's not going anywhere with you," James

  declared. Setting Alex in a chair at the table he

  turned to Tad, "She's already said no. How many

  times do you want to hear it?"

  "You have no business here, mister. All you did

  was keep her warm for me," Tad sneered.

  James leapt across the room in a smooth movement

  and smashed his fist into Tad's cheek. Alex heard

  the crunch of bone on bone and saw the spray of

  blood come from a cut that James had opened on

  his face. Tad fell to the floor, holding his face.

  "You bastard! Do you know what you've done? I go

  on national television Monday morning! All this

  over her," he screamed pointing to Alex, "I guess

  you want her money too," he accused. "Tad, stop it. He doesn't even know about the

  money," Alex interjected. She saw that James

  looked as if he could hit Tad again, and reached out

  for him.

  James moved back across the room to the table and

  took Alex's hand. Caressing her cheek, James saw

  that the welts had gone down some, but that a faint

  bruise was forming.

  "You deserved it. Now get out," James declared.

  Tad got up from the floor, blood still pouring out of

  the cut, "This isn't over, Alex. Just because you got

  some backwoods, redneck to protect you doesn't

  mean it's over. Not by a long shot," he seethed

  before slamming out the front door. Alex burst into tears the minute the door

  closed. Still sobbing, James gathered Alex in his

  arms and carried her upstairs to bed.

  "Are you alright? Did he hurt you anymore than

  this," he asked caressing her cheek.

  Alex shook her head, still trembling with the shock

  of the scene. James laid her down on the bed,

  covered her up and went downstairs. After

  rummaging through the kitchen cabinets, he made

  her another cup of coffee, some toast and an ice

  pack.

  As soon as James went downstairs, Alex left the bed

  and walked to the mirror on shaky legs, she

  removed her robe and surveyed the damage. Her

  cheek had taken on a light purplish-green bruise

  where Tad's hand had connected. She felt a small trickle of blood on the back of her right bicep and

  saw the scratches and bruises that were forming

  from his grip. Sighing, Alex ripped a tissue from

  the Kleenex box on the dresser and dabbed at the

  scabbing cut. As Alex finished tending to the

  wound, a wave of dizziness hit her suddenly, making

  her reach out to the piece of furniture for support.

  James found her naked, sitting on the floor when he

  came upstairs with her tray. He had found itr />
  underneath the sink while looking for paper towels

  to clean up the spilt coffee. Setting it quickly on

  the night stand, James knelt beside her and brushed

  the hair from her face.

  "Your skin is like ice," he whispered, as he carried

  her back to the bed and covered her up, "What

  were you doing out of bed?" "I wanted to see how bad it was," she whispered to

  him from underneath the covers.

  "It's not bad," he lied.

  "Yes, it is," she replied back, pointing to the bruises

  on her arm.

  "Christ," James sighed, running his fingers through

  his hair. Getting up from the bed, James walked

  into the bathroom, located a washcloth, ran hot

  water over it and returned to Alex. "Let me see

  that," James said, pointing to her right arm.

  Alex held out her offended limb as James wiped

  away the dried blood. Wincing at the tenderness

  of the bruises, James looked at her left arm for the

  same injury. It had escaped the brutality that the

  right had suffered and light purplish-green bruises were beginning to form. James looked up at Alex

  tear stained face and shook his head. He could tell

  she had suffered this before, but why she hadn't

  told him he wasn't sure.

  "Would you like to wash your face," he offered with

  the washcloth in hand.

  Alex shook her head yes, wiped her face, inhaling

  sharply as it brushed her cheek.

  "Here, this should help," James said offering the ice

  pack and two aspirin.

  Alex downed the aspirin with a swallow of coffee

  and applied the ice pack gingerly to her face. Lying

  down, she closed her eyes and sighed

  again. Feeling as if the weight of the world were on her shoulders, Alex brought her attention back

  to James who looked as tired as she felt.

  "Do you want to tell me what happened," James

  asked.

  "You saw what happened. You probably heard it

  as well. "

  "I did; most of it anyway. I was half awake when I

  heard the tea cup shatter. I have to admit that I

  eavesdropped before making my presence

  known. What did he want?"

  "He says he wants me," Alex responded sitting up,

  "He's making his announcement for Adler's seat on

  Monday. He planned on us getting married this

  weekend and me moving back to D.C. to have a

  good show of family values. " "And you told him no "

  "Of course, I did. Did you think I wouldn't," Alex

  asked shocked.

  "No. I knew you would, eventually, tell him you

  weren't returning. However, I didn't think it would

  be this morning. "

  "James, I told you before, I'm not going

  anywhere. You're stuck with me," she smiled

  finally.

  "Good. 'Cause I'm hard to get rid of," James

  smiled back, and then frowned, "Can you tell me

  what money he was yelling about?"

  "My maternal grandparents were quite well

  off. They left their entire estate to me. "

  "Entire estate?" "Yeah, roughly four million dollars’ worth of stocks,

  bonds, property and liquid assets. Tad will need

  the assets to get his campaign off the ground. But

  the catch is that I must be married to receive

  anything. "

  James whistled. He understood, now, why Tad

  was so insistent upon marrying Alex. It was all

  about money and she knew it too.

  "I'm almost afraid of what he'll do next. He has

  too many connections to let this go. The

  humiliation he received today along with the

  questions about the cut on his face on Monday will

  be enough to put him on the rampage. "

  "I won't let him hurt you again, Alex. I'm sorry I

  wasn't there to begin with," James muttered pulling Alex into his arms being careful not to touch the

  bruises.

  "It's alright, James. It's over. "

  James pulled himself away from Alex and looked

  into her eyes. He could see she was still

  apprehensive about what happened, but was

  feeling better.

  "Has he done this before," he asked implying the

  abuse she had just suffered.

  "Once or twice," she admitted.

  "That son-of-a-bitch," he cursed under his breath.

  Alex laid the ice pack aside, wrapped her arms

  around James' neck and kissed him tenderly on the

  lips. "Don't worry about it," she whispered against

  his lips. James sighed and returned Alex's kisses, finally

  laying her down on the bed and insisting that she

  take a nap.

  "I'm fine," she protested.

  "Take a nap. I'm going to go get your car. Lock

  the doors and don't let anyone in until I return.”

  "Yes, sir," Alex saluted, chuckling.

  "Very funny," James smiled, kissed her lips softly

  again and left the room, taking the tray with him.

  James returned from Harry's house with Alex's car

  about an hour later. He had called Harry who

  came, picked him up and took James to his house

  where Alex's car still sat from the night before.

  "Is everything okay," Harry asked on the ride up. "Sure. Why wouldn't it be?"

  "You knuckles are bruised. Like you just punched a

  wall or something," Harry noted. James removed

  the cigarette from his lips and looked at his hand,

  "Don't ask," he requested.

  "Okay; as long as Alex is alright. " "She's fine," James assured him.

  Chapter 15

  When James came back, he found the door hanging

  wide open with the screen door locked. "Alex,"

  he hollered in the screen, filled with concern.

  "Hang on," she hollered back making her way from

  the kitchen to unlock the screen door.

  "Are you alright," he asked concerned.

  "Yeah. I couldn't sleep so I got up. "

  "What are you doing," he asked taking in the smell

  of the house and the flour on her face.

  "I'm baking cookies," she smiled.

  "Baking cookies," he laughed, shaking his head. Alex had gotten up showered and put on jeans and

  a long sleeved shirt to hide her arms. Her face was

  bruised but an application of cover up had reduced

  the coloring. James looked at the lovely sight she

  created and locked the screen door behind him.

  "They smell great," he said.

  "Come on and try them," Alex requested leading

  him into the dining room. James laughed when he

  saw the table. She had mixed up four types of

  cookies while he was gone.

  "Feeling industrious are we," he asked.

  "A little; it helps to keep my mind busy. " James took a cookie from the cooling rack and

  tasted it, “Hmmm, good, " he muttered around the

  mouthful.

  "It's a family recipe. "

  "Great family," he said around a mouthful of cookie

  before leaning over to nuzzle her neck, "I need to go

  home to check on the dogs. They're probably

  eating the couch by now," he chuckled, "Will you

  come with me?"

  Alex tilted her head to the side, to allow James

  greater access to her neck. She giggled slightly as

  his mustache ti
ckled her earlobe.

  "Yes, I will, as soon as I finish these cookies. I'll

  pack a bag and follow you in my car. "

  "Why do you need your car?" "I'll stay until Monday morning and go to work from

  there."

  "That sounds good, but I still don't understand why

  you need your car."

  "Because, silly," she said spinning around to look in

  his eyes, "how do think it would look if I went to

  work in your car."

  James smiled at her quick thinking. He understood

  now what her need was for her car; to preserve

  their privacy and secrecy even though there was no

  use in it.

  "Okay," he mumbled against her lips before

  capturing them in a deep kiss.

  The timer on the stove erupted suddenly

  interrupting the foreplay. Alex reluctantly pushed away from James and rescued the narrowly burnt

  batch of sugar cookies, placing another tray in the

  oven.

  When the cookies were finished, in between kisses,

  Alex packed an overnight bag and a few days of

  clothing. Sealing the cookies in Tupperware

  containers, she and James loaded her bags and the

  containers into her car.

  "I'll see you at my house," he said before kissing her

  on the lips and getting into his SUV.

  "I'll be right behind you," she smiled getting into her

  car and starting the engine.

  Alex pulled up in front of James house, just as he

  was getting out of his vehicle. Smiling, he

  approached the car and helped her unload several of the batches of cookies. "Leave the rest. I'll

  just take them to work. "

  James picked up the suitcase she had packed and

  led her into the house. He took the case upstairs

  and placed it in the bedroom where they had spent

  the night. Alex walked into the kitchen and stopped

  dead in her tracks. She stared down at the dog

  growling at her and gently laid the cookie

  containers on the counter.

  "Hi, Sasha," she whispered extending her hand for

  the creature to smell. Sasha smelled the hand and

  shoved her snout into Alex's palm.

  "You're starved aren't you," Alex said to the dog,

  "Here, maybe this will help," she said quietly

  reaching into one of the containers and fishing out a

  sugar cookie. Sasha took the cookie eagerly and allowed Alex to scratch her head as she chomped it

  down.

  "Shall we find you something better than that to

  eat," she asked the dog, half expecting an

  answer. Turning to the cupboards, Alex located a

  closet with a bag of dog food in it and poured some