After five days of living with her family, Rachel was at her breaking point. She felt small and insignificant. She was exhausted from sleeping on the uncomfortable couch and she was losing the battle against her mother’s guilt trips about coming back to Georgia to help with the business.
Tarin walked into her office the following Friday and she ached to feel his arms around her. But she’d kept away from him because her family was so toxic. Illogical as she knew it was, she feared contaminating him.
“What’s going on, Rachel?” he asked gently.
Rachel sniffed and looked out the window, giving in to the inevitable. “I have to go back to Atlanta and help my family,” she said, her heart breaking with every word.
Tarin stared at her, his heart aching for her. He wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her, but her body language over the past week had screamed ‘Hands off’!
“Why?” he asked, wanting to yell at her, but knowing that he had be gentle. He’d received word from several sources about the way her family treated her and he couldn’t do the same thing. “You have a job here. One that you’re amazing at and you love.”
She sniffed back a sob and his heart lurched at the thought of her tears. “Because they…need me.”
He sat down in the chair beside her desk, leaning his elbows on his knees. “But I need you. Here.”
She shook her head and stared blankly down at the pages in front of her. Brushing her curls off her forehead, she sniffed, struggling to pull herself back together.
For a long moment, he watched as she closed her eyes. But when those green eyes opened again, she was all business.
“The party tonight is all taken care of. The orchestra is setting up now. I’ve been over the menu one last time with the chef and the food is delicious.” She blinked, still fighting the tears. “Everything is set up and ready. Also, the dignitaries have arrived.”
“And your family? Are they coming as well?”
“No!” she yelped, shaking her head. “No, you don’t want them there. I’ll just…I’m leaving with them on Monday, so you won’t have to worry about them anymore.”
Tarin stood up, pacing across her small office as he struggled to tamp down on his helpless fury at her words. Fear clutched at him, both at what her family had done to her as well as what he would lose if she left. Standing up, he paced the length of her office. “Of course, I’ll worry about you. Why are you doing this?” he demanded, pausing to frown at her with his hands fisted on his hips.
“I have to,” she replied, bowing her head.
That just didn’t make sense! Walking over to her desk, he let his fists rest on her desk. “No you don’t!”
“Their business,” she explained, desperate for him to understand. “It’s failing. I used to work at their event planning business, but…well, they’re struggling now.”
“It’s their business. Not yours! You’ve never once mentioned their business and I know that you don’t really care.”
He was right! He could see it in her eyes! “My mother…she said she needs me, Tarin.”
He paused, eyeing her carefully. “I’ve told you I need you too.”
She blinked again, furious that she couldn’t hold back her tears. They spilled over, pouring down her cheeks. “Look, I’m barely coping here now. Please, just let me go. This…thing between us was bound to end at some point. Besides, you need someone who is strong and vital. I’m…” she sighed, her shoulders folding inward. “I’m not good enough for you.”
Not good enough?! What was this crap? Her smiles warmed his heart, brought life and sunshine into his days! “Shouldn’t I be the one to make that decision for myself?”
Rachel ached all over, and not just because she’d been sleeping on the couch. She missed him so much. “I’ll just go check on the arrangements for tonight,” she said, walking out of her office and leaving Tarin, and her heart, behind.
“Don’t go, Rachel. You know they aren’t good for you. Every time they call or you read one of their messages, you’re hurt and wounded.”
“They are my family, Tarin. I can’t turn my back on my family when they need me!”
He slapped the desk, glaring at her with a ferocity that seemed to…excite her? No! That would be wrong! She couldn’t be with Tarin. He wasn’t her man and…!
“Please, Rachel! They are toxic! Give us a chance!”
“It won’t work. I’m not…” she bit her lip, wanting to tell him that she wasn’t worthy, but as she looked up into his eyes, she wanted to believe she was. She wanted to believe that there could be a future between them. Then her mother’s taunting words from this morning came back to her. “You’re just a plaything to him, Rachel. Stop making a fool of yourself and come back home where you belong. You’re staring longingly at him like a puppy…well, you’re embarrassing yourself and us. It’s pathetic because he couldn’t possibly return your feelings.” Rachel hated the power her mother and sister had over her. She’d fought it tooth and nail over the past five days, but their attacks were so vicious!
So, why the hell was she even considering going back to help them?
“You are!” he stated with vehemence. “You’re worthy and wonderful! Don’t leave Izara, Rachel. Stay and…”
“And what?” she asked, pleading with him to say the words that she so desperately needed to hear.
He pulled her closer. “Stay and be with me.”
That was nice to hear, but they weren’t the words that she needed. She needed him to tell her that he loved her! Rachel was so completely, madly, deeply in love with Tarin, but he just cared for her? It wasn’t enough.
In that moment, she knew that she wouldn’t return with her mother and sister. They were truly horrible people and, if she went back, Rachel knew that they would destroy her.
But nor could she stay here. She loved Tarin too much to stay. Remaining here at the palace…that would destroy her as well.
She allowed herself a moment to memorize the feeling of his heat against her one last time. But only a moment. This was forbidden territory now, she thought. If she was ever going to get over her love for him, she needed to stop allowing herself these moments. If he’d just tell her that he felt the same way, then maybe…but he hadn’t. He’d only asked her not to leave Izara.
“I have to meet with the event staff,” she said and carefully extricated herself from his embrace. “Thank you for this time with you,” she whispered, looking up at him.
Tarin watched her leave and he wanted to roar with frustration. Where was the feisty woman who had ordered him around two months ago? Where was the hot, sexy siren that had tempted him with her expressions, her hands, and her body? The woman who had laughed when he couldn’t figure out how to make coffee and had refused, despite several direct orders, to call him by his first name?!
This woman, this Rachel, was a shell of her former self. No one in the palace ever got the best of her, but a few days with her family and…hell!
He knew that she loved him and he loved her so intensely, he couldn’t think straight most of the time. He had to get her away from those horrible people! Even if she chose not to stay with him, those vile excuses for humans would destroy her!
Running a hand over his face, he sighed with frustration. Leaving his office, he hunted for Harper. When he found her, in Amit’s office, sitting on his lap, Tarin rolled his eyes.
“You guys have been married for too long to be still doing stuff like that,” he grumbled.
Amit glared at his brother. “What do you want? Also, go away.”
Harper tried to stand up, but Amit kept his arms around her, holding her on his lap. “What’s wrong?” she demanded.
“I need your help,” he admitted, his voice almost cracking at the idea of asking anyone for help. Especially when it came to his love life. And yes, that’s exactly what it was. Love. He loved Rachel and, even if she didn’t stay with him, if she returned to Talia in Padar, he didn’t want Rachel to go back with her family. They were horrible and dangerous.
“It’s Rachel,” he said, perching on the edge of the desk. “Her family is toxic! Everything they do and say is meant to belittle her. It’s overt and it’s constant. They’ve only been here a week and already Rachel is being browbeaten back to her shy, timid self instead of the vibrant, confident woman she’s been over the past few years. I’ve heard little comments from them here and there, criticizing the way she dresses or telling her to stand up straight and at least pretend to show some pride.” He shook his head with a disgusted snort. “It’s horrible, Harper. Tell me what I can do to get her away from them!”
Harper had stood halfway through his explanation, her eyes shifting from smiling to concerned. By the time Tarin finished, she was frowning. “When are they leaving here?”
Tarin stood as well, needing to move. He began pacing the office. “That’s the thing. They were only supposed to be here for three days. But they’ve stayed for a week. Plus, she just told me she’s going back with them to help them with their business. Apparently, it has been falling off since she’s been here in Izara. They’ve convinced her to come back and fix things for them.” He shook his head. “She can’t do it, Harper. Her mother and sister are vile. They do and say everything they can to undermine Rachel’s confidence and self-esteem. She’s strong though,” he added, turning to smile at Harper so that she saw his belief in Rachel. “She’s so strong, but it’s nearly impossible to block out a family member, even if they are being abusive.”
Harper agreed. “It’s exactly how abusive men wear down strong women. They start with small comments, little criticisms. Then those comments grow. When the woman tries to pull away, he switches into sweet mode again. It’s insipid and painful. So yes, I’m sure Rachel is very strong; she’s had to be. But her family has probably convinced her that she’s not, that she needs them in order to manage.”
“She doesn’t need them!” he snapped. “She needs me! And I need her, damn it!”
Harper smiled gently. “Have you told her that?”
“Yes! But she says that she needs to go help her family!” He shook his head, his hands fisted on his hips. “I can’t let her do that. I can’t let her give up this battle. I love her too much.”
“If they were good…?”
He understood where she was going with that prompt and hated it. But he was honest. Closing his eyes, he braced himself for the truth. “Yes. I love her enough that, if they were better for her, I would let her go.” He opened his eyes and looked directly at Harper. “I love her. I just want…I need her to be happy, Harper.”
“That’s good.” She stepped closer to him. “Think, Tarin. Is there something that can get through to her? Something the two of you have done that made her feel powerful and beautiful? You need that crutch to break their power.”
He stared at her and a thought occurred to him. Something that…would it work? It had to work! But even if it didn’t, he would never stop fighting for her. Somehow, he would win her over.
“Thank you! I have an idea,” he whispered, and kissed Harper’s cheek gratefully, ignoring his brother’s growl of protest. Tarin only chuckled and hurried away, eager to put things in play.