Breaking Conviction by Greer Rivers

Chapter Fourteen

Wes’s blood pulsed under his skin, growing hot at the desire burning in Naomi’s smoldering eyes. But his heart slowed its arrhythmic beat as he watched her consciously blink back her need, replaced by a nervous energy.

“Hey there, trouble.” Her chuckle was forced as she glanced at her phone. “Nora asked for some privacy... She’s my ride back to Sasha Saves, so... I’m just waitin’ for her to be ready.”

“You know, you’re the only one who’s ever called me that? Be careful, though. I might start thinking you like me if you give me nicknames.” He wanted to tease her more, but her weak grin in reply made him pause. “Shit, love, what’s wrong?”

Her legs were shaking with nerves and she crossed her arms while pressing herself fully against the wall, as if doing so would keep her from running away from him. Or into him. But it was her furtive glance at her phone yet again that tipped him off.

His lips tightened as he realized the problem and confirmed his thoughts with his watch. “It’s almost the end of your shift at Sasha Saves.” Her gorgeous light ivory skin blanched and she nodded. Of course she knew that. She probably knew down to the minute what time it was whenever she had to go back to that asshole at home. “Do you want me to give you a ride?”

Her warm chestnut eyes darted up to his, searching his face before biting her lip. “I probably shouldn’t,” she whispered and ducked her head, her dark auburn hair spilled from her shoulder, covering her face.

Frustration zapped his nerves. Naomi sparked and burned with life when she was able to be herself, just like the campfire in her eyes. Her fiancé smothered that light, and Wes couldn’t fucking stand watching it anymore or the thought of anyone taking away this brilliant woman’s fire.

He’d developed a theory over the past couple of months, but he hadn’t been able to test it just yet. Although they’d seen each other several times at Sasha Saves since the day they went over the guest list together, she’d managed to avoid him like the plague. But what he’d noticed during their brief times together was how alive she got whenever she decided to hate him for whatever reason. It hurt that he was the object of her anger, but it was refreshing to see the real Naomi, and he bet she thought so too.

Time to light the flame.

“Damn, he’s got some hold on you, doesn’t he?”

Those eyes narrowed at him and he could see the anger ignite inside her. Even though he wished to God it was a different emotion altogether, the fact that he could make her feel something besides responsibility or fear went straight to his cock.

“No one has a hold on me. I am my own person.” She shoved her thumb into her chest.

That’s it, baby, get mad.

Wes sipped his coffee, adopting the most nonchalant expression he could muster in the presence of the woman who drove him crazy.

“Alright then, prove it. Let me take you back to Sasha Saves. Think of me as a free Uber.”

He analyzed her facial expressions, seeing her creative wheels turning, trying desperately to come up with some stupid-ass excuse. Finally, after a heavy sigh, she relented.

“Fine.”

Wes couldn’t hide his surprise, but Naomi breezed by him and strode toward the elevator at the end of the hall before pausing halfway and turning back to him. “Come on, Uber driver. I’ve got places to be. If you don’t hurry, I won’t leave you a tip.”

Wes felt his lips curve up. “Oh, I wouldn’t want to go without that. I think I’d do just about anything to see what a tip from Naomi Ward would be.”

She pretended to be sucked into her phone, but he could tell she was fighting back a smile as he walked toward her.

He led her to his black Trackhawk and opened up the door for her. She seemed to be carefully avoiding looking at him and it made him want to irritate her more, do something to get a rise out of her so he could see that spark in her eyes again.

When he got behind the wheel, he set off for Sasha Saves. It wasn’t very far, so sitting in silence wouldn’t have been too awkward, except the air inside the cab was so thick it made it hard to think about anything else but how close she was to him. Her sweet scent, like a delicious dessert, was heady as he breathed in and he had a hard time maintaining focus while daydreaming about whether she tasted as good as she smelled.

Her phone vibrated and she cursed before digging it from her pocket. She cursed again before raising the phone to her ear.

“H-hey... Yeah... Yeah... I’m uh, I’m gonna be off to pick up T soon. Yeah, I’ve been at the store. Lots of customers today... Busy, busy.”

There was more conversation, all of it punctuated by the little question marks she added in every statement, until finally she said goodbye in a low, timid voice that made him so sick he couldn’t help but scoff.

“You’re going to have to learn to lie better than that if you’re going to stay with that asshole.”

Her head whipped around to face him and he could tell even from his periphery that she was scowling at him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He propped his elbow on the inside of his window and leaned his cheek against his fist, trying to seem like talking to her about her asswipe of a fiancé wasn’t killing him inside for reasons he didn’t want to analyze too closely.

“You’ve got a tell, baby. Every time you lie, it sounds like you’re asking a question.”

Naomi sputtered, but by the way she gripped the hem of her sweater in a tight fist, he could tell that he’d unnerved her.

“I am not your baby. And you don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”

“Maybe it’ll surprise you, but I might actually know more than you think.”

Naomi paused at that, seemingly trying to figure out what to say next. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that, but every situation is different. You don’t know mine. What you think you saw is the worst it’s ever been. He doesn’t normally get that mean.”

“Oh, hell, have I heard that one before. You know what that makes me think of?” Without waiting for her to respond, he answered. “Woo-hoo! He doesn’t always beat you up when he’s mad. Fan-fucking-tastic.” He massaged his eyes under his glasses before looking at her again, hoping she could see how frustrated he was. “Hell, Naomi, your bar is so low for him, it might as well be on the goddamn floor.” He gave her a pointed look. “You deserve to have standards higher than the fucking clouds. Don’t settle for a coward who should be six feet under.”

“I’m not settling!”

“Yes, you are.” His words were simple and quiet, not even trying to argue with her anymore. Just stating facts. But he wondered if she could tell the undercurrent of fear in his statement, like he could tell the desperation in her lies.

She growled and looked at him. “No, I am not.”

“Let me ask you something. Is it only when you lie to everyone else that your voice lilts up at the end, or do you also hear it in your head when you lie to yourself?”

“Snake—”

“Wes, please. And listen to me, if you’re so fine, then why do you always flinch when your phone goes off? Or relax once you’ve read what I’m assuming is an innocuous text message? Why do you walk on eggshells every time you speak to or about him? Why do you have to call him every half hour or respond immediately to messages or you start getting fidgety—”

“I don’t do that!”

“—and that’s just what I’ve noticed concerning your damn phone. I won’t even go into the rest of your tells… Naomi, please just tell me. Why are you with him if you’re so afraid of him?”

There was a breath of a pause before she mumbled. “He’s my fiancé, Snake—”

“He’s your warden, Naomi. Damn, it’s so easy to tell he’s wrong for you. Don’t you see what he does to you? I hate this scared, deferential side of you—”

“I don’t care if you like me or not—”

“No. That’s what I’m saying. That side is not you. Nothing like you, actually. I’ve seen the real you.”

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “How could you have possibly seen the real me? We’ve barely been around each other for two months, Snake.”

“Stop spitting my nickname back at me like a curse. I know exactly why you won’t say my real name—”

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

“Because if you do, it’s another rip in this fucked-up reality you’ve convinced yourself is your only option. Because if you do, you might actually have to confront your feelings, instead of hiding behind this wall you’ve built up.”

Her eyes widened at him as she shook her head. “That’s not true. I don’t… I don’t feel anything for you.” Lie. “You think you’ve seen the real me, but you’re just seeing this version you’ve created in your head.”

“I’ve seen what I need to. The Naomi I know fights with me and I fucking love that fiery side. That Naomi loses track of time helping strangers, not worried to death over being a minute late. That Naomi would die before her daughter got hurt, not stay with someone who could hurt them both. That Naomi is intoxicating and I don’t think I’d ever get enough of her.”

The silence in the car was deafening, and he could hear her swallow. “You don’t know me, Wes.”

His name on her tongue sent electric desire straight down his spine, traveling to his shaft, but it mattered more that he might’ve cracked one of her thick walls. “I know enough, Naomi. I know the woman I like. The woman I wish I could spend more time with… I think you wish you could spend more time with that woman, too.”

She bent her head low, avoiding having the rest of the conversation. But it didn’t matter. He’d said what he needed to say and they were already at Sasha Saves. He rolled up beside her Nissan and parked his vehicle, waiting for her to talk.

His Jeep was off for a long minute before she spoke in a low voice.

“I-I wasn’t always like this... pissed off and second-guessing everything. It took that last time to realize I’ve become someone I don’t want to be. Someone I don’t like. I had a vision for my life, of who I want to be and I-I’m tryin’ to find that woman again. It’s just takin’ time.”

Her tears crashed to her lap, making Wes feel like an asshole, but hell did he like seeing some kind of emotion on her. It was way better than the numb automaton that always arrived at Sasha Saves. Over the shift, she lowered those steel walls, only to raise them back up again before she left.

Wes grabbed her phone from her hand, entered his phone number and gave it back to her.

“Now you have my number. It’s under “Sasha Saves - W,” and I expect you to call me if you ever need me, okay?”

Her bottom lip trembled as she nodded, and before he could stop himself, he lifted her hand from her lap and held it between both of his. His heart stuttered when she squeezed instead of tugging away.

“I’m here for you, Naomi. If you ever need me. I know you can do what’s right for you. I know the glimpses of the fiery, confident, smart, caring woman you are, is a fucking queen in her own right and I know you can be her again.”

Naomi nodded and wiped a tear from her cheek. She missed one and without even thinking, Wes reached and caught it with his thumb. With a small shy smile, she slowly withdrew her hand.

“I hope you meet her someday. I think she’d like you.”

Wes grinned, hoping she saw his genuine excitement at that idea. “I’m counting on it, love.”