Beauty from Pain (Beauty, #1)(54)

I reach for her bag on the floor as I glare at Ben. I’m going to find out what you did.

We leave the apartment and I say nothing until we’re in my car and I can’t stand it any longer. I have to know. “Tell me, Laurelyn.”

Her head is lowered and she’s staring at her hands in her lap. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I’m not moving this car until you tell me what he did.”

It’s dark, but the spill from the streetlights shines on her face and I see that she’s crying. “I really just want to get out of here.”

She’s not going to tell me anything while we’re here. She knows I’ll go up there and beat the shit out of him if he hurt her. I start the car and pull away. When we’re on the highway, I reach for her hand and bring it to my lips.

She sighs deeply. “He came into my room and saw me packing. He knew I was going to stay with you, so he asked me not to leave. When I told him I was going with you, he grabbed me and started kissing me. I pushed him away and he told me I was nothing more than a whore to you.”

There’s only one word to describe the feeling raging inside me: fury.

I’m glad she didn’t tell me while we were there because I would have flown into a blind rage. I wasn’t entirely sure I wasn’t going to turn around and go back to kick his ass. “You’re not staying with him anymore.”

“Lachlan, don’t be ridiculous. I have to.”

“No, you don’t. I’ll get you your own apartment.”

She’s shaking her head. “No, Lachlan. I can’t let you do that.”

“Then the only other option is for you to stay with me at the vineyard because you’re not going back to stay with him.” I’m watching the road, but that doesn’t keep me from feeling her watch me in the dark. “Packing every few days is getting old anyway, right? And you never have all the things you need.”

“Won’t you have to go out of town sometimes? Where will I stay when you’re gone?”

“You can stay at the vineyard without me. Mrs. Porcelli would probably like the company and Daniel can drive you if you need to go anywhere. I don’t know. Maybe you’ll come with me on some of my trips.”

Is she considering it? “Baby, I don’t want you there with him anymore,” I add.

“Addison will be upset with me if I move out.”

“I think she’d be more upset if something happened between you and her brother and it ruined your friendship,” I counter. “Besides, she stays with Zac most nights, doesn’t she?”

“That’s true,” she agrees.

“Tell me you will.”

She hesitates before answering. “Okay, I will.”

I bring her hand to my lips again and kiss it. “We’ll go back for your things in a day or two after I cool down. There’s no way I can be near that little f*cker right now without killing him.”

Okay. It’s a done deal; Laurelyn is moving in with me for the next two and half months. This isn’t something I’ve done before. Hell, I’d never allowed any of my companions to visit one my houses or vineyards. I couldn’t chance the connection afterwards, but it doesn’t matter if Laurelyn makes the connection. She will be nine thousand miles away once we’re over so it doesn’t matter.

She’s being unusually quiet and I’m worried about the things spinning through her head. I hope she isn’t putting any merit into Ben telling her I think of her as my whore.

I give her hand a little squeeze where it rests on my thigh. “Ben is wrong. You’re not a whore to me.”

“How am I not? Didn’t I agree to a sexual relationship with a man I didn’t know in exchange for the time of my life? That’s as good as being paid for sex.”

“Laurelyn, we are two consenting adults. We have great sex, but I don’t pay you for it. We have a great time together because we’re friends. We enjoy spending time together and it has absolutely nothing to do with sex. Got it?”

“Yeah.”

She doesn’t sound convinced but the doubt Ben placed in her mind is fresh. She’ll need time to forget about his cruel words. For now, I choose to say nothing else about it and instead change the topic. “Yanks have New Year’s traditions, right?”

“Yes. There’s a southern tradition of eating black-eyed peas and ham hocks on New Year’s Day. It’s supposed to bring you luck throughout the year.”

“Should I have Mrs. Porcelli cook that for you today?”

She’s laughing now. “No, I don’t eat ham hock, whatever that is, so that won’t be necessary.”

At some point in the drive, she becomes quiet and I think she has Ben’s accusation on her mind again until I realize her hand has relaxed. She’s fallen asleep. I pull into the garage and park, but take a moment to watch her sleeping. As I brush her hair from her face, she reminds me of a sleeping angel and I can’t understand how that bastard could hurt her by saying such horrible things.

I brush my fingers against her cheek. “Laurelyn, we’re home.” She stirs a little and I think about how that came out all wrong. “We’re at the vineyard.”

She doesn’t wake so I get out and go around to her side of the car. I scoop her out to carry her to bed. I take a few steps toward the door and she tries to focus on me with exhausted eyes. “What are you doing?”