And during those moments of being inside her, he hadn’t felt one iota of guilt or anger. He’d only felt pleasure and a gratification that had been so strong it had affected him in ways he thought he wouldn’t survive. But he had survived just to indulge again and again, while the sound of torrential rain beat down on her roof, washing the shingles and simultaneously washing his soul.
He had needed that. For the first time, he didn’t see Jules as just another woman he had sex with, but as the only woman he wanted to have sex with. And for some reason the thought of that didn’t send him into panic mode, didn’t make his dick fall off or his fingers rot. What he felt was inner peace, a desire to be with a woman in a way he’d never thought possible.
A peace that could only be had with her.
She was the first woman who’d ever made him consider an exclusive relationship, basically abandoning his lifestyle as he now knew it. That was a lot to think about, and he couldn’t do it here. What he told her was true. He wasn’t a thinker—he was a doer. But this was one time he had to think and not act, because failing was not an option. He had to get it right.
Glancing around, he spotted her notepad and pen. Tearing off a sheet of paper, he began writing, first assuring her that he was okay and that he had not left to go find Nannette Gaither’s fiancé, but was going back to his place to think some things through and would call her later. He ended by telling her that he hoped she had a nice lunch with her father.
After placing the note on the pillow where his head had lain a short while before, he quietly dressed before tiptoeing from the bedroom.
*
Ben glanced over at his daughter. “Are you okay, Jules?”
Jules looked up from her meal and met her father’s concerned eyes. In a way, she wasn’t okay because Dalton wasn’t okay. She was certain that he was better than he had been last night, but she knew he wasn’t one hundred percent.
Seeing that man in the video had taken a toll on him, and she could just imagine what he’d been thinking. At the time he’d been a child, not fully realizing what the man and his mother had been about. But now, as a grown man, he knew all too well. She had pulled him into her arms and held him while his body shook with a hurt that should have been buried long ago.
And later he had made love to her, as if doing so would release all the anguish from his body. When she’d awakened that morning, she’d found the note on the pillow saying he was okay and just needed time to think.
“Jules?”
She drew in a deep breath. Over the years, her daddy had always been the one she could take her troubles to and talk things out with. He never judged, and he never condemned. He always listened and offered advice only when she asked for it.
“I’m glad we’re doing lunch, because there’s so much I need to tell you, Dad,” she said softly, not knowing where to begin.
“I’m listening, Jules.”
She loved this man so much. The man who’d always been there for her and Shana. The man who was still there for them. Benjamin Bradford was the daddy every girl should have. “I’ve taken on Sheppard Granger’s investigation to find out who killed his wife.”
Ben didn’t say anything for a minute. “He hired you?”
She shook her head, smiling wryly. “No. In fact, he’s probably not going to like it when he finds out. He believes the other PI on the case, a few years back, was murdered.”
“That’s what I heard, too. The thought of that doesn’t bother you?”
She chuckled softly. “I’m an ex-cop, Dad, and I was a detective for two years.”
Ben nodded. “Yes, I know.”
“Risks come with the territory, with the job I do. I can handle it.”
“I know you can handle it, Jules, I’m just asking you to be careful.”
“I will.” She paused a moment and then told him what she’d learned so far. Her father agreed that Ivan Greene’s flimsy alibi was worth further investigation.
When the waitress delivered their dessert, she said quietly, “And then there’s Dalton,” she said.
Her father glanced up at her before taking a sip of his coffee. “You two still at it?”
Definitely not the way he was probably thinking. “I haven’t told anyone, not even Shana...but Dalton and I are no longer...”