Fragments (The Broken Series Book 2)
Read Fragments (The Broken Series Book 2) Online
Authors: Carrie Cox
FRAGMENTS
Carrie Cox
Copyright © 2015 Carrie Cox
All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author.
Billionaire racing driver, Jack Harding, suffered a horrific crash but he is slowly recovering. Left with broken bones and a crushed future, it’s up to me to nurse him and tease him out of his brooding, dark moods.
The more time I spend with Jack, the harder I fall for him, but he is convinced he is broken, damaged goods.
I want to help him put the fragments of his life back together again and convince him that to me, he isn’t broken. Jack Harding is the man of my dreams.
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Kristina
After Jack led me into his bedroom, his dark eyes fixed on mine, and my breath caught in my throat. Suddenly, I was unbelievably nervous.
He was looking at me as if he wanted to devour me.
Moving forward, he reached out, and his fingers gently brushed against my cheek, but his eyes never left mine for a second.
The intense way he looked at me made my whole body heat up. I was trembling as adrenaline coursed its way through my system.
I couldn’t believe that only an hour ago I had been at the airport, waiting to get on a plane back to the United States and fly away from Jack forever.
It didn’t seem possible that the situation had changed so much in such a short period of time.
I had been about to check-in when Lauren had arrived at the airport to tell me I couldn’t leave because Jack was missing. So I’d come back to the Harding mansion in Monaco, terrified that something terrible had happened to Jack.
After the evil, malicious words Joanna had goaded me with last night, telling me that Jack had once tried to commit suicide, it wasn’t surprising that I had feared the worst.
I could never have forgiven myself if something had happened to him. As we had raced back from the airport my mind was full of the terrifying thought that I might be too late. But we found Jack safe and sound, arguing with his brother, Alexander.
Now, I was staring up into Jack’s beautiful, dark eyes, waiting for him to take the next step.
Over the past few months, I’d fallen for Jack Harding. It had happened so fast, and I felt completely out of my depth.
When Jack had led me straight into his bedroom, I’d expected him to claim me straight away. I wanted to feel those soft lips crush against mine again. But Jack was taking his time. The fact that he hadn’t done anything yet, except tenderly touch my cheek, was confusing the hell out of me.
His gaze slowly travelled down my body, taking in the curve of my neck, then his focus dipped down to my breasts, then lower still to my waist.
My heart slammed against my ribs. I wanted to reach out and touch him, to trail the tips of my fingers over his hard abs. But my arms hung limply at my sides as I waited for him to make the next move. The anticipation was killing me.
What was wrong? Why didn’t he kiss me or start to undress me? The trail of my anxious thoughts dissipated as Jack reached forward and put a large, possessive hand on my waist.
His touch was gentle, but I jumped as if his hand was made of fire and scorched my skin.
I was burning up.
Why was it so hot in here?
I was trembling as I pulled away from him. As much as I wanted him to put his arms around me and tell me that everything was going to be all right, I knew that wasn’t true.
The reason I had fled the house early this morning hadn’t gone away. Nothing had changed, and I was still in the middle of an impossible situation.
I stumbled as I pulled away from him. I moved quickly towards the French doors and my hands fumbled awkwardly with the handle.
“God dammit,” I mumbled under my breath, while rattling the door handle furiously until I finally managed to open it.
I could feel Jack’s eyes burning into my back. I knew he didn’t understand what was wrong with me and why I was acting so crazily.
As the doors opened, the cool night air rushed over my skin. I took a deep, calming breath and stepped out onto the patio. Alexander and Lauren weren’t there, so at least I didn’t have to face them in my agitated state and embarrass myself.
I walked further along the patio, looking out at the dark gardens. Above me, the stars twinkled down in the night sky. I tilted my head up. It was beautiful. Tonight the sky was cloudless, and the crescent moon didn’t emit enough light to subdue the stars.
I crossed my arms over my chest and took another deep breath. I wasn’t shaking so much anymore. Physically, I was calming down, but mentally, I was still a mess.
I heard footsteps and turned to see Jack behind me. He didn’t say anything but stood next to me and put a hand on my shoulder.
I knew he was waiting for an explanation, but I didn’t have one, at least, nothing I could put into words. I’d never been very good at talking about my feelings. I guessed that was why I’d turned to drugs to blot out the pain after my mother died.
Jack’s vicious ex-girlfriend, Joanna, had taken great delight in informing me that before I’d arrived in Monaco, Jack had tried to kill himself, and the reason I’d been employed was to watch over him and make sure it didn’t happen again.
Her words turned my whole world upside down. How was I supposed to stop something like that happening? I was the last person in the world anyone should trust with something as important guarding a human life.
I had no idea what Alexander was thinking. Why would he put his brother’s life into the hands of someone like me?
When I didn’t respond, Jack’s hand slid from my shoulder and along my arm. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and started to pace the patio. After a moment, he said, “Do you want to sit down?”
He nodded towards the two loungers stacked at the far end of the patio. I nodded and he scooped up the chairs and carried them over to me. My eyes focused on his taut biceps as he lifted them. He set one chair up, throwing a cushion on top, and waited for me to sit down.
I adjusted the back of the chair so I was looking up, directly at the sky. Jack set up the other chair and pulled it close to me.
Once he was sitting down and we were both gazing up at the stars, he began pointing out and naming the constellations.
I’d never had any idea what the constellations were. I had tried to figure some out in the past, but every time I tried, the constellations all seemed to merge together. I found it impossible to recognize the distinct shapes. The only one I’d ever been able to recognize was Orion.
But it didn’t matter to me. It was the vastness of the stars – the infinity – that gave me comfort. In my darkest moments, it helped me to remember that no matter how bad my day had been, the sun would still set and the stars would always be there.
I leaned back as Jack pointed out and traced the outline of another constellation. I wasn’t focused enough to spot the stars he pointed out, but I didn’t care. His deep voice was soothing, and I felt myself relax.
When he raised his arm again and pointed out yet another group of stars, my eyes focused on his forearm and wrist.
I couldn’t see any scars, but maybe that was because it was too dark. I’d been with him every day for weeks. I’d seen him naked for chrissake. If there were any scars, I would have seen them.
I mean, the things he’d been doing to my body at the time had me a little distracted, but surely I would have noticed if he had scars or not.
I was so intent on staring at his arms, I wasn’t expecting what he said next.
“Why did you leave me?”
He wasn’t looking at me. He was still staring up at the sky.
He didn’t sound angry, but I detected a note of sadness in his voice that made my eyes prickle with tears.
My voice sounded cool, calm and distant as I told him how Joanna had confronted me in the ladies’ restroom and decided to tell me the real reason I’d been employed.
Jack turned in his seat to stare at me.
I took a shaky breath. “She told me I’d been employed here because… you tried to commit suicide, and Alexander wanted me here to make sure it never happened again. Why did no one tell me?”
Jack looked furious. “She’s exaggerating,” he said. “I just drank too much whiskey on top of a few painkillers. It was an accident. I didn’t try to kill myself.”
I let his words sink in. Was that the whole story? Had Joanna really lied about the reason Alexander had employed me, or did Alexander not believe that Jack’s overdose had been a mistake?
I swung myself around in the lounger, planting my feet on the floor and looked at him, trying to read his face.
He scowled. “You should have come to me and told me what she said. She’s poisonous.”
I nodded slowly. I had to believe him.
God, I wanted to.
“I shouldn’t have listened to her,” I said. “She’s just jealous.”
Jack gave a bitter laugh. “Jealous? Why the hell would she be jealous? She’s getting married to someone else. She dumped me as fast as she could after the accident.”
I shrugged. “She’s seen that you are starting to get better. Maybe she thinks she’s made a mistake.”
Anger flashed over his face so fast it made me wonder if he wasn’t completely over her.
“I was the one who made a mistake.” He practically growled the words. “I should have gotten rid of her a long time ago.”
He was silent for a moment as if he was mulling things over, and I racked my brain to think of something I could say to reassure him.
Right then, my reason for leaving must have seemed terrible to him. I knew it sounded like I found out he tried to commit suicide and abandoned him when he needed me the most. I wasn’t that shallow or callous. More than anything, I wanted to help him.
How could I explain that I had left because I knew I wasn’t up to the task? I would have been responsible if anything had happened to him, and I wouldn’t have been able to cope with that. I was literally the worst person in the world for the job. Hell, I couldn’t even manage to live my own life without screwing it up, so how was I supposed to help Jack when one misstep on my part could cause irrevocable damage?
“I know it sounds bad,” I said. “It must seem like I left you when you needed me most.”
He shrugged. “You don’t owe me anything. It’s just a job.”
His words hurt. “You don’t understand. I was worried I was going to screw things up. I was terrified that if something happened to you, it would be my fault.”
He got to his feet and held out his hand to me. “I’ve told you before,” he said. “I’m not that delicate. I don’t want you tiptoeing around me. You can’t hold yourself responsible for other people’s actions, Kristina.”
I took his outstretched hand. It felt so warm. Tingles shot up my arm and flooded my body. How did he do that with one touch?
“Did I ever tell you about the telescope?”
“Telescope?” I shook my head as I stood up.
He turned back to the house and nodded in the direction of the upstairs windows.
“It’s up there.” His eyes took on a mischievous glint. “Come with me.”
The house was quiet as I followed Jack inside. He held my hand as we walked up the stairs. Every few steps, he turned back to me and grinned. I was starting to feel a little nervous. He obviously had something planned.