An hour later, the judge stood and so did everyone else in the courtroom. John slid his leather jacket on in anticipation of leaving. The car was in the parking garage next door and they’d leave by a side entrance to avoid the bulk of the media. They wouldn’t be looking for Topaz anyway. All the attention would be on her sister. He felt bad for Emerald, but his concern was for Topaz.
The judge and jury exited and people began to quickly file out of the courtroom as the defendant was taken away. John waited patiently for Topaz and her family to make their way down to the entrance of the room. He stepped in beside her as soon as they reached him.
“Ready to go?”
She shot him an annoyed glare. “I was thinking about having lunch with my family.”
He shook his head. “Not a good idea until the trial is finally over. Better to split up and divide the media’s attention.”
Aloysius Jewel heard his comment and nodded his agreement. “He’s right, baby.” He put his arm around Topaz’s shoulders and dropped a quick kiss on the top of her head. “I’ll take your mother, Emerald can go with Jackson, Sapphire will go with Jake, and you can slip out with John.”
Her frustration was palpable. “I’ll be glad when this is finally over.”
John caught the subtext. She’d be glad when he was finally out of her life. Not going to happen. Not until they’d talked. If, after that, she wanted him gone, he’d go, but not until he tried to talk her into giving their relationship a chance. They had been together under nothing but stressful situations. John wanted to be a part of her everyday life when it wasn’t quite so crazy.
“Let’s go.” He took her coat from her and held it until she reluctantly accepted his help in putting it on. He caught a whiff of her subtle perfume and his fingers brushed against her neck as he fixed her collar. A delicate shiver went through her, but she squared her shoulders and turned toward her family. He patiently waited while she hugged and kissed her sisters and mother. He’d been around the Jewel family long enough to know they never went anywhere without saying a prolonged goodbye. They were fascinating to watch and he found himself drawn to their warmth and the obvious love they shared for one another. He wanted that for himself.
He glanced toward his brother, but Jake had eyes only for Sapphire. He stood behind her, his big body blocking her from the view of all but her family. He understood his brother’s need to protect his woman, and it went far beyond just doing a job, for both brothers.
As if sensing someone watching him, Jake turned his head and met John’s gaze. He inclined his head, but the connection between them was broken seconds later when Sapphire spoke. Jake leaned down to listen to whatever she was saying to him.
He wished his brother luck with her. He’d need it. They both would. Although, he thought he had it harder than Jake did. Topaz was the eldest sister and the most stubborn and bossy of the bunch.
John stood back and kept one eye on Topaz and the other on the people milling in the hallway. If they stayed here long enough the media hounds outside might think they’d already sneaked out and disperse. They should be so lucky. Some of those guys would do just about anything for a story and a few minutes waiting wouldn’t deter them.
Topaz finally turned to him, her smile slightly strained. “I’m ready.”
He wasn’t sure either of them was ready for what was coming, but he knew it was what needed to be done. He glanced at her father. “I’ll take care of her.”
“I’ll see you this afternoon,” she promised her family.
John put his hand on the small of her back and led her toward an elevator at the far end of the corridor. It would take them down to the basement so they could slip into the parking garage where he’d left the car.
Chapter Two
John’s hand burned where it rested against the base of her spine. Topaz had never been so aware of a man’s touch. It frightened her and made her angry at the same time. What was it about John Knight that drew her like the clichéd moth to a flame? He was always ordering her around in his overbearing, arrogant way.
No, that wasn’t fair and she knew it. He was simply doing his job, which was to protect her. It wasn’t his fault that she didn’t like taking orders from anyone, especially not a man who fired up her sex drive in a way it never had before.
That made him dangerous to her peace of mind and her plans. She had too much she wanted to accomplish with her life before she was ready to take on a full-time relationship. She had goals and plans, and John Knight threatened all of that simply by existing.
She took a deep breath and slowly released it, trying to pull her tattered composure around her. She’d be glad when this trial was behind them and their lives could go back to normal. The media that had hounded them for months would quickly find another story and leave them to pick up the pieces of their lives.
And John Knight would disappear from her life once again.
She counted off the seconds as the elevator descended to the garage level, acutely aware that they were alone. She could hear his even breathing but she couldn’t see his face. The moment the elevator doors slid shut, he moved in front of her, maneuvering her behind him, his manner protective. When the bell pinged and the door slid open, she didn’t move. After all this time, she knew the routine. John stepped out ahead of her and scanned the area before allowing her to leave the safe confines of the elevator.
His hand on her back once again, he guided her toward the car. His gaze never rested on one thing but was constantly moving, checking to make sure no one was lurking, waiting for them to appear. He was always hyper-alert, hyper-aware of his surroundings.
She’d never met anyone like him. And that was part of the problem.
Topaz knew how to deal with men who wore three-piece suits, civilized men who conformed to the standards of society. She knew what to expect from them and how to act.
John made his own rules and didn’t care what anyone else thought of them. He dominated a room simply by walking into it. He didn’t need to flex his muscles or throw his weight around to get people to defer to him. All he had to do was breathe.
It was annoying as hell. And, if she was being honest, incredibly hot too.
“Watch your step,” he murmured. She glanced down in time to keep from stumbling over a slight rise in the concrete floor.
His arm tightened around her waist as they hurried across the almost deserted lot. There were several other people getting into their vehicles but, thankfully, they weren’t paying any attention to them. John unlocked the car and held the door while she slid onto the leather seat. He shut the door and she locked it immediately. It was second nature to her now after all these weeks.
She couldn’t help but watch him as he walked around the front of the black Mercedes, his ever-watchful gaze continuing to study his surroundings. He was six-foot-three and all of it muscle. The brown leather jacket he wore clung to his broad shoulders and the black pants clung to his thick thighs. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on him.
She knew that for a fact after getting naked with him last summer.
He kept his blond hair cropped short, which emphasized his icy blue eyes and high forehead. The cleft in his chin accentuated his stubborn jaw. The only softness on his entire face was his lips. They were incredibly smooth and full for a man, sexy as all get out.
And she had to stop thinking about his lips. Heat climbed up her face and she feared she was blushing. John slid into the driver’s seat and locked his door before glancing her way.