Fractured Beat (Meltdown Book 1) (22 page)

“Man you’ve got it bad. No she’s not married. Do you see a ring on her finger?”

“So? She could be a widow.”

“Relax, my man. She’s not married and never has been.” He waited for me to get a grip. “Look, I can tell you what I discovered but I think you need to hear it from Mallory.”

“If you’re going to tell me she’s a recovering addict, I already know.”

“Then you also know what happened.” Not sure what he was referring to I held my tongue and waited for him to talk. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees and I braced for what he was about to tell me. “You have no idea what I’m talking about do you?” he asked.

“No, but I’m counting on you to tell me.”

After a brief pause, he sighed. “I’ve never seen you act this way about a woman. From the moment Mallory stepped into your life you’ve been different. Whether you’re willing to admit it or not you really care about her and I think you owe it to the both of you to hear her story from her and not me.” I mulled over his words for a few minutes before finally nodding my head in agreement.

“You’re going to talk to her?” he skeptically asked.

“I am. In fact, we’re having our first official rehab session tomorrow morning at ten.”

He shot me a look. “Please tell me you’re not pretending to be an addict?”

I laughed as he scowled at me. “I admit I want her but that’s low. She knows I’m not an addict, but she’s worried about Kirkland catching on and firing her. I’m just making sure that doesn’t happen.”

“And hoping to get something in return?” he smiled.

Ignoring his dig, I asked, “Did you handle Chelle?”

“I spoke with Blane and he agreed to have Chloe shut her down.” Hank and I both knew that Chelle could cause trouble if she wanted to. If Happenstance threatened her with a lawsuit, she’d at least think twice before slandering mine or Mallory’s name to the press. I was sure Happenstance’s lawyer would be quite convincing.

“Good. I spoke with Mom this morning and she has copies of my medical records put away in the attic. When she questioned why I needed them I told her they were for the label. She seemed to buy it but we’ll see.” If my parents caught wind of my situation they would lose their minds. Hank knew how protective they both could be when it came to me.

“We may need Mallory to cut through some medical red tape for us if Marcel comes up empty handed on the Whitfield angle.”

Not gonna happen
. “I don’t want her talking to Nancy again.”

His eyebrow shot up in surprise. “You do realize that Nancy may be your only answer.”

“I’m serious, Hank, I do not want Mallory finding out about Nancy,” I repeated more forcefully.

“If Marcel hits a dead end are you willing to step in?”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, but no matter what, Mallory stays out of it, okay?”

“Fine, but I think you’re making a big mistake.”

“Duly noted,” I replied.

“If we take Kirkland down are you sure you want to take on the responsibility of running a label? You have a lot on your plate right now.”

Happy he changed the subject, I answered, “As long as Kirkland and Blane are out I don’t care who runs the label.” He gave me a questioning look and I sighed. “I haven’t gotten that far, yet. Right now I want proof Kirkland set me up. Once I have it I’ll figure the rest out.” We talked a few more minutes about how to handle things going forward before calling it a night.

I had just pulled out my guitar to work on a song when I heard a loud bang from next door.

Mallory
.

Placing the guitar on the sofa beside me I walked over to the adjoining door and reached for the doorknob.
Should I go in?
After a second of indecision I thought,
fuck it.
I’d rather she be mad at me for checking on her than sit and worry about her for the rest of the night. The knob turned and I mentally thanked Sean for unlocking it like I’d asked.

A pitch dark room greeted me. If I didn’t know better, I’d think no one was inside. A second passed before I heard what sounded like a muffled sob coming from the direction of the bedroom. Without thinking I bounded through the living area and flung open the bedroom door. Moonlight spilled across an empty bed.

“Mallory?” I called out.

“Grant?”

My eyes dropped to the floor where she was curled into a protective ball. Not quite sure what I was dealing with, I quietly asked, “Hey pretty lady, what are you doing down there?” She looked so damn vulnerable it made my chest ache.

“I’m okay, I’m okay, I’m okay” she chanted, while rocking her body back and forth.

Clearly she was not okay. Dropping to my knees I crawled over to her and curled against her. She immediately stopped rocking and let out a quiet sob. I had to bite my tongue to keep my shit together. “Talk to me, babe. Are you hurt?” I whispered in her hair. She tensed in my arms and for a second I thought she was going to push me away. Much to my surprise she didn’t.

After a minute or so, she began talking. “I have dreams, and sometimes they’re really bad.”

The pain in her voice gutted me. Brushing her hair away from her tear stained face, I asked, “Did you have one just now?” I felt her head nod, yes. “Do you want to tell me about it?”

I expected her to tell me no. In a voice so quiet I had to strain to hear, she said, “I was at the end of a race. It was an important one. When I went to draw my rifle it wasn’t there. Instead there was a pistol.” She pointed to her waist. “I couldn’t figure out how it got there.”

I had no idea what she was talking about, but at least she was talking. I didn’t dare interrupt to ask questions for fear of her shutting down.

“It was the same pistol my dad taught me to shoot when I was thirteen.” She paused to catch her breath, and I wondered what kind of father taught his kid to shoot a pistol at the age of thirteen? “I slipped off my gloves and tried to pull it from the holster, only it was stuck. The second time I tried, I lost my balance and my skis shot out from under me. I fell hard and the gun accidentally discharged. The bullet blew a hole through my k-k-knee,” she sobbed. “It was so r-r-real.”

Her tears bothered me more than I was willing to admit. In attempt to toss some levity into the situation, I said, “That’s one fucked up dream, babe.” She let out a hollow sounding laugh. It wasn’t much but at least it slowed the tears. Pulling her closer, I kissed the back of her head. “Do you have these dreams often?”

“I used to have them all the time but I haven’t in years. They started up again the night before I took this job.”

I didn’t want to push her but I wanted to know as much about her as she’d give me. “How exactly did you hurt your knee? Was there a gun involved?”

She quietly laughed. “If you’re asking if I shot a hole through my knee, the answer is no.” She sucked in a shuddering breath. Gently stroking her hair, I kissed the side of her head and waited for her to continue. It didn’t take her long. “I was such a cocky skier. I was young and reckless and didn’t care about anything but winning. I was taught caution but never used it, not in my day to day life, nor in my training. I was a bully and a know-it-all.” She tilted her head back and I was trapped in her stare. “Do you know what happens to bullies and know-it-alls?” Without waiting for me to answer, she said, “Karma, that’s what.”

I placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “All teenagers are bullies and know-it-alls, babe.”

“No, they’re not,” she huffed, and I smiled. I could handle a sassy Mallory so much better than a sad one.

“Tell me the rest,” I coaxed.

She lowered her eyes back to the wall in front of us and continued her story. “I was in the middle of trials and the training was brutal. The last day it was snowing so hard I could barely see the path in front of me, much less the trees. It was dangerous and they should have called us in but it was the last day. Everyone was running on fumes and just wanted it to be over. I was sandwiched between two of my teammates. I was so cocky,” she repeated. “In my head I was better than the rest of the team. The girl on my heels kept taunting me.” She tilted her head back to catch my eyes, and said, “She was a real bitch. The more she pushed the angrier I got. Instead of paying attention to the trail, I was busy devising a way to out maneuver them both. I missed the turn and slammed into a tree. My left ski bent all the way back and didn’t release until the ligaments and tendons in my knee snapped. In one foolish second I destroyed my whole career.”

“And now you have nightmares about it,” I stated.

“And now I have nightmares about it,” she repeated.

“What race?” I asked.

She dropped her eyes back to the wall before answering, “The 2010 Olympic trials.”

My jaw dropped. “You were an Olympic skier?”

“No, I was a biathlete, and for a very brief moment in time, an Olympic contender.”

“Holy shit,” I whispered.
How did I not know this?
“Show me your knee.”

She reared back and almost clipped my face with the back of her head. “What? No, it’s ugly.”

“Show me,” I commanded a second time. We both sat up and I almost swallowed my tongue when I noticed her barely there tank top and panties. Her tight little nipples were standing at attention and I tried not to stare at them but it was hard. Hell, I was hard.
Focus
, I told myself. Mallory slowly peeled off her knee brace and turned her knee to face me. Two long angry looking scars spanned either side of her knee cap. I ran my fingers up and down them and inwardly gloated when my touch made her shiver. Lifting my eyes from her injured knee, I asked, “Were you in a lot of pain?”

“Unbearable pain,” she half whispered, half panted.

Wanting to get a similar reaction, as well as make her forget her nightmare, I gently ran my fingers up and down her scars. “Does it hurt when I touch them?”

“No,” she gasped. “They’re actually really sensitive.”

Leaning down I placed a kiss on one of the scars. Then I traced it with my tongue. She made a humming noise. I couldn’t tell if it was good or bad, so I did it again. When I felt her fingers slide through my hair I had my answer. Mallory Scott wanted me just as much as I wanted her. Slowly, so as not to spook her, I gently kissed from her knee over to her thigh.

“Grant.” The sound of her moaning my name made my cock ache unbearably as it strained against my zipper. I reached the spot where her leg ended and her panties began and paused to see what she would do. “We can’t do this,” she murmured.

I pulled back far enough to see her gorgeous face, and smiled. “Oh, but we can.”

“But we shouldn’t,” she huffed, right before fisting a handful of my hair. My cock jumped and I sucked in a deep breath when I felt the pinch of my zipper.

Before she could protest further, I leaned down and ran my tongue across the seam of her panties. Her honey scented skin called to me in a way that nothing ever had. I pulled back far enough to capture her gorgeous blue eyes. “This is about you and me and no one else.” Like magic, she opened up for me. I was going to do dirty things to my Mallory but not on a hotel room floor. She let out a squeak of surprise when I lifted her into my arms and placed her on the bed. Afraid she would change her mind I quickly slid her panties off and buried my face between her legs.

“Oh, God,” she moaned, and dug her nails into my scalp. With a grunt of approval, I devoured her sweet smelling pussy. It didn’t take long for her to break apart beneath my lips. The bite of her nails, along with the sounds she made when my tongue was buried deep inside her, drove me to distraction. She smelled like a dream and tasted like a song I wanted to lose myself in. When she came a second time I pulled back in order to adjust my aching cock and make sure she was satisfied. She stared at the ceiling with a satisfied smile on her face and I couldn’t help but grin like a teenager after his first taste of pussy.

“More?” I asked.

Shining her sweet smile on me, she said the only word I wanted to hear. “Condom.”

“Stay,” I commanded, and bolted for my hotel room. One thing Blane made sure to always have on hand, was condoms. I grabbed a strip of five and hauled it back across both hotel rooms. When I got to her bedroom door I paused for a moment to take her in. She was lying where I’d left her, naked from the waist down with her top up around her ribs and her breasts partially exposed. Moonlight spilled from a crack in the curtains and danced across her skin. Mallory Scott was the most beautiful woman I’d ever set eyes on. It wasn’t one specific thing that drew me to her, but everything. She was everything I never knew I wanted and more. Her head turned and her eyes landed on me. A slow, sensual smile spread across her face and I suddenly found it hard to swallow. “There are no words,” I confessed.

Her eyes dropped to my fly. “Then show me.” Her answer was both simple and perfect.

Placing the condoms on the table beside me, I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it on the floor. Mallory sat up and licked her lips in anticipation as I fought back a groan. Her eyes were glued to my fly and I thought about teasing her but my dick really was throbbing in anticipation. As quick as my fingers would allow I released it from its prison with a sigh of relief. Kicking my jeans to the side I slid my fingers beneath the waistband of my briefs and paused when I heard her suck in a deep breath. While pushing them down my legs I lifted my eyes to her face. The carnal gleam in her eyes made me swallow my smile. It also had me snatching the condoms from the table faster than I’d planned. Mallory stared up at me with those big blue eyes and all I could think about was how much this mattered. Sex had always been a way to blow off steam. It was fun and games but had never really seemed to matter, until now.

“What are you thinking?” Mallory asked.

Not wanting to scare her with the truth of my thoughts, I leaned over and pressed my lips to hers. She sucked in a surprised breath before opening up and letting me in. I pulled my mouth away long enough to peel her tank from her body. Mallory was lean with just the right amount of muscle, but she still managed to have curves. Right now, those curves were taunting me. I cupped her breast in my hand and lowered my mouth for a taste. Taking her nipple between my teeth I bit down just enough to cause her to gasp. When I gave it an apologetic kiss with my tongue her head dropped back against the pillow and she let out a moan. My cock literally wept as I was torn between wanting to slowly savor her and needing to take her like an animal. I wasn’t sure if this made me more of a man or a monster, or if I even gave two shits either way. The desire not to scare her, thankfully, overrode my caveman tendencies. I switched nipples and she arched her back and dug her nails into my scalp. Her whispered, “Please,” was all it took for me to completely lose all self-control. I pulled back long enough to get the condom on and, with zero finesse I grabbed my throbbing cock, lined it up to her entrance and pushed inside. The moment I entered her, my mind completely blanked. Pleasure whipped like lightening up my spine and my only thought was,
finally.