Page 29 of Take Me to Church
I bite my lip, ignoring the poorly timed throb between my thighs as I follow him into the fenced lot. The second the gate is closed and latched behind me, his hand is on the small of my back, urging me toward the door. “You can’t just walk out of buildings alone like that, Lydia. Not until we really know how much danger you’re in.”
“Okay.” I agree because that’s what I do. It’s simpler and less scary than arguing.
“See, you say that, but I feel like you’ll go and do whatever you want the second I turn my back.” He stops at the door and turns to me, looking frustrated, but not necessarily angry. “I get that you want to make your own decisions and do what you want to do, but can you at least be obvious about it?”
I’m a little taken aback by the request. “You want me to tell you when I’m gonna do what I want instead of what you want?” I shake my head. “Why would I do that?”
Being defiant in the household I grew up in was dangerous, but being openly defiant would have been more than a hazard to my health. The only reason I was able to escape was because no one saw it coming. They never expected sweet, quiet, agreeable Lydia to bolt the second they tried to marry her off.
Christian closes his eyes, blowing out a breath as he props his hands onto his hips. “I get it. I promise I do.” He lifts his lids and focuses on me. “And I want you to have complete power over your own life.” His head barely tilts to one side. “Just as soon as I get all this straightened out.”
“So until then you want me to come live with you so you can boss me around?” I press one hand to my stomach as a lightning bolt of excitement zaps through. It’s a little embarrassing. And frustrating. I should be doing everything in my power to have complete autonomy, not imagining Christian making ragged demands I’m a little too eager to follow.
But Christian shakes his head at me, voice low and deep. “I would never boss you around, Lydia. Never.” His eyes pin me in place, his intense focus on me making my belly flip a little. “But I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe. And if it means I have to hunt you down when you take off, then that’s what I’ll do.”
The possibility is oddly appealing. I left my family, my home, my life because I wasn’t safe. Not a single decision was my own and the people making them for me only wanted to use me for their own gain. I was being bartered off to a man old enough to be my father because of the connections he could provide my actual father in his bid to take his own beliefs and power to the next level.
I expected them to hunt me down when I left. Without me as a pawn, my father was left with no bargaining chips on the table. No way to make his dream of controlling more than just his congregation and family a reality. The thought of him trying to find me made me sick to my stomach and had me watching my back for months.
But Christian hunting me down gives me a completely different feeling. One I don’t quite know how to unpack.
“I know that’s not what you want to hear, but you deserve to know the truth.” There’s a surprising amount of softness in his voice, as if he doesn’t like admitting what will happen if I go against what he wants. “Until this is all handled, I go everywhere you go.”
I drop my eyes, skimming down his body, and it takes everything I have not to clench my fingers at the memory of how his skin felt beneath them. I’ve come a long way from the virginal girl who moved to Memphis with a complete lack of understanding about how sex worked, but I’m still fully aware of how little I actually know. Touching Christian in the bathroom, imagining the opportunities physical contact with him would present, made that perfectly clear when I had no idea how to show him what I wanted.
How to get from point A to point B.
I shove both hands in the pockets of my shorts, trying to get my brain back on track. “Don’t you have a job?”
“I own a demolition business, but we’re off for the next three weeks. Until then, you’re stuck with me.”
“And I have to stay at your house?” The tingling ache between my legs intensifies at the thought of being so close to him.
Christian’s nostrils barely flare, his gaze still locked onto my face. “That’s right.”
I should be put out, but I’m not. I am, however, a little worried. “What about Piper? Is she safe?”
“We’ll make sure she is.” Christian sounds confident—like he’s got everything completely under control—and it eases a little of the fear I have for my friend.
But only a little. I’m not sure Christian understands just how much of an undertaking keeping Piper safe will be.
“Are you going to have someone follow her, the same way you were following me?” I shake my head. “Because I’m not sure that’s a great idea. We should probably tell her what’s going on.” I don’t think Christian would be thrilled if one of his friends ends up with a taser to their privates, and that’s exactly what will happen if Piper figures out they’re tailing her.
“No.” Christian’s response is immediate and abrupt. “No one else can know about what’s going on.”
That’s probably technically the best course of action, but he doesn’t know Piper the way I do. Calling her a loose cannon is the understatement of all understatements. But I’m not one to argue. Even now, despite knowing I should at least try. So I just nod, pretending to go along with what he’s saying even though I’m not so sure I will.
I glance up as the heavy metal gate barricading the lot slides open and a familiar vehicle pulls in. “Is that my car?”
“We can’t leave it at the bar.” He tips his head at the stranger behind the wheel as my little four-door pulls past us into the warehouse. A second car follows close behind, this one unfamiliar though I’m pretty sure I know who it belongs to.
“That’s what you drive?” I look over the bright blue, sporty hatchback, a little surprised by what I’m seeing.
“They don’t offer much in a stick shift anymore.” Christian’s explanation doesn’t come close to touching on the reasons it’s not at all what I expect.
“I thought you own a construction company.” I continue staring at the cute, but impractical, vehicle.
“Demolition.” Christian’s hand gently clasps around my arm, leading me into the still open bay of the warehouse. “And did you think I drove my work truck everywhere?”
