Isaac ignored the anger simmering in his veins, determined to make the meal as enjoyable for his angel as possible.
“Then I’ll make sure you never have to eat anything you don’t want again,” he said, solemnly.
Her smile was small, but at least she lifted her head again and most of the shame shadowing her eyes had disappeared. Just to make her smile again, he leaned over and forked her asparagus, moving the stalks to his plate.
“Now their offending presence is gone from your plate and won’t interfere with your steak and potato,” he said with an exaggerated grin.
Her smile broadened and once more he felt like he’d been punched in the stomach, momentarily robbed of air. Even bruised and fragile looking, she was the most beautiful, tiny angel he’d ever seen in his life.
“There. That’s better. I like it when my girl smiles.”
She blinked in surprise and he wondered if he’d gone too far in his teasing. There was sadness in her eyes, but also what looked like a flash of hope and yearning, as if she wanted more than anything to belong to anyone.
Fuck that. She might not know it yet, but she did belong to someone. She belonged to him.
NINE
ALLtoo soon the others began filtering back into the living room and Jenna retreated into observation mode, shrinking against the couch as if to make herself invisible as she watched the others interact.
Isaac had used the need for more seating room as an excuse to move closer to Jenna until they sat side by side, their thighs touching. Eliza walked out ahead of Sterling to collect Jenna and Isaac’s plates, but before she could return them to the kitchen, Sterling was there, taking them from her, and then he leaned in and kissed her deeply.
“We need to be going,” Sterling said to Isaac and his men. “But my guys will be staying to guard the perimeter and if you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to call me.”
Jenna had watched Eliza and Sterling, her eyes glazed with shock, but she waited until they’d left the room before she whispered to Isaac.
“Why did hekissher?”
He could tell she was deeply confused and hell, so was he.
“He loves her,” he said simply. “She’s his wife. Hell, he can barely keep his hands off her most of the time,” he added with a chuckle.
There was no change in her expression.
“The men never kissed their wives,” she said in a low voice. “I was told I was unworthy of being kissed, of being held in such high regard, but none of the women were kissed. They were just possessions, married or not. I guess I don’t understand the point of kissing.”
Isaac swore under his breath. Just how old was Jenna? Was she even legal? He knew she looked young and there was definitely an air of innocence and naïveté about her that he’d never encountered even in very young girls. Jesus, if she wasn’t even of legal age, that meant he was almost twenty years older than her and he had no business having the thoughts he’d had of her.
“There are many reasons to kiss someone,” he said in a near whisper so the others wouldn’t hear. He knew she’d be deeply embarrassed if they were overheard. “Kisses can be a gesture of affection. Friendship. They can be an indication of passion. Of love. Of wanting someone. Or they can show a person that they are deeply cared about.”
Her sad expression of longing told him that she’d never felt any of those things, or at least that no one had ever felt those things about her.
He leaned forward, sliding his hand behind her neck to pull her toward him, and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“See?” he said huskily. “It’s not so bad, is it?”
She stared strangely at him, color tinging her cheeks, her eyes glazed and her respirations speeding up as she emitted shallow breaths. Then she raised a shaking hand to touch the exact spot he’d kissed, almost as if committing it to memory.
“And, honey, if anyone is worthy of being kissed, of being held, of being given the utmost regard, it’s you. I don’t know what kind of bullshit you’ve been told and I know you’ve been told it often enough and long enough that you believe it, but if it’s the last thing I do, I’m going to prove you wrong.”
She turned away, but not before he saw the betraying glimmer of tears in her eyes and the sadness that seemed to swamp her entire expression. God damn it, he hated fighting a faceless, unknown enemy. Worse, he hated fighting against her own deeply ingrained belief that she had no worth.
He knew he should be pressuring her to answer his questions and provide the information he needed, not only to keep her safe and protected, but also his teammates, who were in more imminent danger. Her pursuers wanted her at all costs. Alive. But he and his teammates were expendable, mere obstacles in the way of the ultimate prize.
He doubted he knew even a fraction of the horror Jenna had been subjected to, but what little he did know instilled a fury unlike any he’d ever felt in his life. Not even hearing of Ramie’s gruesome ordeal and experiencing firsthand Ari, Gracie and Eliza being taken, tormented and tortured or learning of Ramie’s horrific ordeal before DSS was created and Isaac had come to work for the Devereaux brothers had made him feel this murderous.
How would he react when he finally knew it all? When the time came that Jenna trusted him enough to confide in him, he needed to be strong and in control for her. A rock for her to lean on. Her shelter and shield against anything or anyone that could ever hurt her again.
But he also knew that it would be the most difficult thing he’d ever have to do. To sit there and stoically listen as Jenna outlined what she’d been made to endure without losing his ever-loving mind. He wanted to lash out and destroy everything in his path, anything to unleash the terrible rage that bubbled within him even nowbeforehe knew everything, but he couldn’t afford to lose control, scare the fuck out of her and have her shut down and worse, shuthimout.
