I whip around, barely controlling my rage as I face Mark Lear head on. I put myself between Adeline and him as my fists clench at my side. I’m livid. “What the fuck are you doing here?” My words are strained behind gritted teeth, and I want to beat the shit out of this man.
“That bitch has caused me a lot of problems lately, getting me kicked off this project, but she hasn’t managed to get me fired from Trigg yet. I left a couple of things upstairs, and I intend to get them. Didn’t mean to interrupt your little playtime. Really should be careful who you fuck, Jordan; this one’s nothing more than a dick tease, and a pathetic one at that.”
I can’t imagine what it is he thinks Adeline has done that he’s not entirely responsible for, and his inappropriate anger toward her has my hackles raised and my fists ready to strike. Adeline is breathing with heavy, shuddering breaths behind me, and my body yearns to be done with this prick so I can comfort her. She’s terrified; I can sense it in her ragged, uneven breaths. And the terror coursing through my veins threatens to unleash itself in a fury aimed at the simpering Mark Lear.
“You did this to yourself you dumb fucking freak. And your misguided ploy to destroy her reputation because she rejected you made you look all the more a fool. You stay the fuck away from her. She’s done nothing to you.” My words are harsh and my expression is without doubt near crazed animal. There is nothing in this world I wouldn’t do to protect her, and the realization of this nearly chokes me, but I’ve no time to consider it at the moment. Swallowing hard over the emotional lump in my throat, I step toward Lear.
He takes a step back from us, and I glare into his cold, cruel eyes as I continue to walk toward him, forcing him to retreat. When he reaches the door to the property, I give him my final words. “Get your shit and stay off our job site.”
He returns my glare, and with his final comment starts up the steps of the building, but stops as he reaches the door. “Tell me, is fucking the intern worth losing your job? I’m guessing you’re not exactly allowed to indulge in the student help, are you?” Adeline gasps behind me as I hold his harsh gaze without wavering. I give him no response, and he slips away into the building. Seeing him leave our space and a safe measure of distance put between Adeline and him, I breathe a desperate sigh of relief, but turning to see Adeline standing behind me in shock and terror stills me. I grab her and pull her into my arms, pushing us both back to the side of my car. I lean to her mouth for one last kiss before ushering her into the car.
Her body is shaking and the unease of the situation is coursing through her body, radiating to mine. As I take my place in the driver’s seat, I reach for her hand, and she meets my eyes. I’m begging for her reassurance, and she gives it. She nods as she sees my worry and tries for a weak smile. Lear’s presence has rattled us both and turned what was another incredible day with Adeline into a train wreck.
“Are you okay?” I want to take her away from this building, but I don’t want to leave with Lear still inside. I don’t trust the man on Adeline’s job site given his oh-so-resentful behavior toward her, and while I don’t want to leave her in the car alone, I won’t take her anywhere near him. She’s ready to be gone from this place and so am I, but not until Lear is gone. I leave her waiting in the car as she watches after me, and I run upstairs to babysit Mr. Lunatic. He’s snooping around when I enter, but he’s not destroyed anything.
He tries for another stab at Adeline. “She’s a lousy designer, and frankly, if you’re looking for a quick fuck, you could do a lot better.” I’m fuming at his words and bite my tongue to stow my fury. Adeline doesn’t need to be present for me to want to defend her, and besides, this freak is just plain wrong. Adeline is an impressive designer, and I could never and will never find a more amazing woman than her. There is no doubt of that fact in my mind.
I stow my rage as effectively as possible and follow Lear from the building. I will absolutely be changing the locks tomorrow. As I exit directly behind Lear, her eyes meet his for only a moment before flitting away. She’s so terribly intimidated by this man, and it makes me want to hurt him. She doesn’t deserve to fear him, and he doesn’t deserve her fear.
As I climb in next to her once more, she speaks. “I’m so glad you were here.” She reaches for my hand, and I spend the next many long moments stroking her hand, wanting to pull her to my lap but instead watching Lear to ensure he leaves. Adeline had no reason to be at the site alone today, but it’s more than conceivable she might be one of these days, and the nightmarish thoughts of what she could have endured had I not been here with her hit like a fist to the gut. I have no doubt that alone with Lear, he would hold nothing back and would do everything in his power to humiliate and destroy her.
Instead of going out to dinner, I opt to take her home with me. Neither of us are in the mood for going out, and once we arrive at my home we settle on ordering Chinese and curl up together on the couch. When the doorbell rings, she jumps in my arms, and I pull her tight to my chest before letting her go to get the food. She’s really rattled by our encounter with Lear, and I don’t blame her, but I want to push it out of her mind and set her soul at ease.
We sit on my leather sofa with the food between us. My appetite is gone, and from the looks of it, hers is too; the all too frequent glances she steals at me with a nibble on her lip tell me she has something on her mind. But so do I.
“I think we should talk to Foster about what happened.” I find her eyes as they open wide and hold mine, but she shakes her head. “Adeline…”
“What for? He showed up at the site. He didn’t do anything wrong. He was an asshole, but we already know he’s an asshole. Hell, he didn’t even touch—”
“He sure as hell would have if I hadn’t been there. I don’t trust him,” I interrupt. My expression must be harsh, given the tightness of my muscles, but she’s still shaking her head.
She shakes her head without saying a word, and it’s clear by the contemplation in her eyes she’s still debating something. Meeting my eyes once more, she confesses her worries. “Could you be fired for this?”
“‘This?’” I mock with a small smile. Her small smile passes her lips, but the wrinkle in her brow tells me she’s serious. She wants an answer more than my mocking. “You don’t need to worry about that.”
“Of course I do! I don’t want to be the reason you lose your job.” Her expression is concerned, incredulous even. “And for what? I’m the one-night stand, the booty call. You don’t do ‘next times.’ Remember? You can’t risk your career for this. Not for me.”
The passion in her voice is compelling were her words not so completely divergent from what I want, what I need from her. “If you want to stop, we’ll stop.” My guts clench even as my lips utter the words.
I feel as though she’s threatening me even though I know how irrational this is, but then she stops me cold with her next words, and a guilt I hadn’t allowed myself to consider grips my conscious. “What about me?” Her words are quiet as she seeks my eyes. She’s not accusing, not in the least, but I feel accused.
My gaze drops from hers. “I don’t want to jeopardize your internship.” But of course I have! “I just can’t stop with you. I’m sorry.” My eyes finally find hers again, and the emotion behind her eyes is everything I feeclass="underline" sadness, defeat, emptiness, and dread. But it doesn’t really matter what pain this realization causes either of us at the moment. Her safety is still front and center in my mind. “Regardless, I want to tell Foster what happened with Mark today. I’m serious.”