5 Care To Join Me

Lisa's P.O.V.

"Dad, stop! You'll kill him." I pulled at his arm to no avail, having to watch him beat Lucas in front of me.

Lucas was bloody and bruised. The bridge of his nose was gushing blood from the deep wound. His eye swole shut, and his cheek was double its size. His head dangled as dad held him up by the shirt.

"He won't die," Dad argued, hitting him again.

I yelled, begging for him to stop. I kept trying to pull at his arm, to make him turn his attention to me, but he refused. He continued to beat Lucas in front of me even when I placed myself between them. His fist went through me as if I was an apparition, hitting Lucas in the face again and leaving me unscathed.

"Lisa!" I felt a firm hand on my shoulder, shaking me awake. "Lisa, wake up. It's just a dream. You're okay."

My eyes fluttered open slowly, blinking as they adjusted to my surroundings. I wasn't in a room I recognized, remembering that I was in Davis' house, in his guest bedroom. His face came into view, his brow furrowed and his eyes concerned as they looked at me. My vision blurred as tears pooled. I cried hard, clutching onto Davis for dear life. Lucas' beat up face haunted me even now that I was awake.

"Shhh, it's okay. I've got you now," he whispered as he held me close, grazing my back with his hand. I ugly cried for a while before I could calm myself. Stopping the flow of my tears, I sniffled as I collected myself.

"Are you okay?" he asked me, lifting my face to look at him.

"I'm so sorry," I said, feeling guilty for waking him, for clutching onto him for comfort, for keeping him up.

"What?" he asked, a bit shocked. "There's nothing you need to apologize for."

"I woke you and kept you up. Look, I even got your shirt wet with my stupid tears." I pointed to the giant wet spot near his shoulder.

He grabbed me, pulling me into his chest again. It surprised me, but I didn't pull away, enjoying his embrace and finding comfort in it. He rubbed my back again as he smoothed my hair with his other hand.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I am a grown man, and I chose to come in here and comfort you. Now, tell me what happened."

"I just…" I sighed.

I don't know how much of our past Davis knows about. Lucas doesn't exactly broadcast that we grew up with an abusive dad.

"I dreamt Dad was beating Lucas up again. Only this time he wouldn't stop, and he was killing him. When I put myself between them, his fist just went right through me and hit Lucas. It was terrible. I can still see his face all beat up any time I close my eyes." A tear slid down my cheek again, only to be wiped off by Davis' large thumb.

"Lucas is safe. He's with Liv and his daughter in that beautiful home he built for them. Your Dad has not bothered them, and Lucas has been coming up with safeguards to keep him away. You really don't have to worry about him, Lisa," he tried to comfort me, but it must have fallen on deaf ears, as my emotions were still high.

"He can get to Lucas if he really wants to. I need to keep him safe this time," I pleaded, clutching onto Davis' shirt again.

"He's got it, Lisa. He and Liv are working on it. They're okay."

I nodded my head, still not believing him, unable to shake this feeling off. I didn't want to hear him keep saying the same thing, so I just sat quietly, listening to his heartbeat against my ear.

"Get some sleep," he said, getting up.

I gripped his wrist, not ready to let him go, pulling at him to come closer.

"Please don't go," I practically begged. "I don't want to be alone right now."

He leaned down, scooping me in his arms and carrying me. I blushed as he held me, bridal style, and took me to his room.

"You can sleep in here with me. I have a larger bed than the one in the guest room."

He placed me down gently on his soft bed, causing him to hover over me for a moment. The tension between us was thick as his eyes held mine. He was a mere few inches away, letting me feel the warmth radiating off his body. I felt a deep desire for him to lean down further and kiss me. I knew that would be a terrible decision on both our parts.

I had to marry Chris, and there was no way of getting out of it. To keep Lucas safe, I had to marry Chris, no matter what. I couldn't act on these feelings, these impulses that were driving me to want Davis more and more. Perhaps it would be best if I found someone else to teach me how to fight. I feared my feelings for Davis would only grow and intensify if this continued. I couldn't handle that.

"Thank you," I whispered to him, feeling grateful to have him right now. I would have hated to be alone after that nightmare.

Davis laid beside me, and without warning, I snuggled up to him, wrapping my arms around his large biceps and holding it against my chest as if it was a teddy bear. He didn't pull away or say a word, letting me just hold his arm like that until I fell asleep.

When I woke, he was no longer with me. I noticed it was well past seven. We were supposed to go for a run, but he surprisingly didn't wake me. Even though he'd gone through the trouble of hunting me down to work out last night.

He more than likely felt bad for me after last night. I didn't want to be pitied, though. I wanted to learn, and if he said running in the mornings would help with that, then I needed to do it.

I dragged myself off his ridiculously comfortable bed, hating having to get up. I opened his door, greeted by the smell of bacon wafting into my nose. My stomach grumbled as if the smell alone caused it to realize I was starving. I followed the scent down to the kitchen where Davis was humming along to the country music he was playing on his phone. He was lightly dancing as he cooked breakfast, showing me a less intimidating side to him.

It was slightly comical to see him dance around a kitchen like that. I smiled as I watched him, enjoying the moment. He turned to grab the eggs and froze when he saw me. Our eyes met, and for a moment I thought he was embarrassed, only to see him smile instead.

"Care to join me, Lisa?" He asked, staring straight into my soul.

"I don't know the song," I admitted.

Davis grabbed my hand, spun me around, and then quickly pulled me into his chest as he swayed us. He smiled down at me, causing my heart to skip a beat. His hair was down, not braided or pulled up, just hanging around his torso beautifully. I never thought I would be attracted to a man with hair as long as mine, but it was absolutely gorgeous, and he looked so damn handsome. He spun me out, letting me go before going back to cooking. I just watched him, stunned for a moment, trying to calm my swooning heart.

"We'll go running tonight, and exercise this afternoon. It's supposed to be a full moon. I thought it would be nice to run under it."

That explained why he didn't wake me. So it wasn't out of pity then. He sat a plate before me on the kitchen island and we ate side by side as his music continued to play. I was never a huge fan of the country, but sitting here beside him made the music better.

"Thank you for breakfast," I told him as I rinsed my plate off in his sink.

I washed his dishes when his hand grabbed mine from behind. He leaned forward, making me feel all his muscles against my back, turning the sink off before he spun me to face him. The space between us was abysmal, causing me to feel the warmth of his body against my own.

"You're a guest here, Lisa. Don't worry about cleaning up. I'll get it," he said as his breath fanned over my face, smelling of the food we just ate mixed with coffee.

My breathing felt erratic as I tried to convince myself that kissing him would be a terrible, terrible idea. I think the universe thought the same as my phone buzzed, cutting our tension filled moment. It took a second for our eyes to break apart. Finally, I reached for my phone, pulling it out to see who saved me from myself.

Chris' name flashing across my screen was a splash of cold water called reality. It pulled me right out of this moment with Davis, reminding me I couldn't have him, even if we wanted each other. Which I very much doubt he did. I stepped to the side, releasing myself from our moment. He didn't say a word as he let me go, allowing me some privacy as I pressed the phone against my ear.

"Hello?" I answered, stepping out of the kitchen and walking further away from Davis.

"Hello, beautiful. I'm at your door, but you're not answering." My blood ran cold as I couldn't exactly say I was at some other guy's house. "I brought breakfast," he added.

"That's so sweet of you, but I'm actually not home," I confessed. I don't know why I felt so scared of what Chris' reaction would be if he knew I'd spent the night in another man's house.

"Oh, where are you? I'll come to you."

"I'm with a friend. We've already had breakfast. I'll head home now, so I can see you, if you feel like waiting fifteen minutes for me."

"That long?" He sounded slightly irritated as he asked. I didn't feel like fifteen minutes was a long stretch of time. Besides, he was the one that showed up randomly without checking to see if I was home first.

"Yes, it's okay if you can't. I can come see you later if you'd like," I offered, trying to appease the situation.

"That's fine. You can come to my place this time. I'll text you the address."

I was a bit surprised to hear he couldn't wait a quarter of an hour for me. I tried to not let it bother me, pushing the feeling aside.

"Okay, sounds good."

With that, our conversation ended, and so did our phone call. He texted me his address, which was across town. I sighed, turning back into the kitchen.

"Hey, Davis?" I called out to him, finding him with his back against the counter and his arms crossed before him. He watched me carefully as I reentered the kitchen.

"Yes, Lisa?"

"Would you mind taking me home? I need to get going. I have to meet up with…" I paused for a moment, wondering what to call Chris. "Someone."

Someone. That wasn't vague at all, Lisa.

I mentally slapped myself in the forehead for that one.

"Someone?" He arched his brow.

"Mhm, someone." I nodded, unable to go into further detail than that. Well, not unable, but unwillingly.

"Alright, Lisa. I'll take you home."

He pushed himself off the counter, grabbing a pair of keys that hung beside the connecting door to the garage. I followed him close behind, hitting his back as he suddenly stopped.

"I'll let you drive the Triumph if you tell me who this someone is," he proposed as he dangled the keys in my face.

The bike called to me, much in the same way a siren called to a sailor. I looked at it hungrily, itching to get my hands around the throttle. I contemplated if it was worth it, concluding that it was.

"The 'someone' is called Chris. He's someone my dad arranged for me to see," I told him part of the truth. I don't know why, but I didn't want to tell him I was meant to marry Chris.

"And you're doing so willingly?" He arched a brow with his blue eyes darkening in anger.

"Yes."

Currently, I was going to see Chris because he asked me to, not just because Dad said I had to.

"I see." His eyes narrowed for just a moment as he looked at me. It was as if he was trying to determine if I was telling him the truth or not.

"Keys, please." I held my hand out, ready to feel the Triumph beneath me.

He looked at me for a moment longer before gingerly placing the keys in my hand. The metal wasn't as cold as I expected it to be. It was as warm as his hands.

I swung my leg over, straddling the bike with excitement. My heart pounded happily as I felt the cool metal between my thighs. My hand wrapped around the throttle eagerly, ready to speed my way through the streets.

Davis placed a helmet on my head as I felt around the bike. He climbed in behind me, wrapping his muscular arm around me and holding me tight. I could feel every dip and curve of his muscles pressed against my back. My heart raced as thick emotions built in my throat.

"Ready?" I asked him as the bike roared to life.

I barely heard him say yes over the loud noise. The bike was an absolute dream, handling so beautifully through the busy streets. Its narrow design made it easy for me to squeeze between cars when I needed to. At times, Davis' arm would squeeze around my waist any time I would do something he deemed as dangerous. I pulled into the parking garage of my apartment building, reluctantly getting off the Triumph.

"I'll see you later for our workout and night run," he said, taking the helmet from me.

I was unsure why, but I thought he would at least get down and walk me in. I nodded my head, letting him know I heard him.

"See you then," I responded with a small smile. "Thank you for last night."

I was very grateful that he allowed me to sleep in his bed last night after the nightmare. My body, soul, and mind felt so safe in those muscular arms of his. I couldn't recall a time I was ever attracted to an older man before, but Davis didn't make me think of his age. He was damn good looking, strong, and playful, yet so mature and loving. I watched as he pulled out and sped onto the street with a pop of his front wheel. And he thought I was being dangerous. I shook my head, heading to the elevator.

I stared at the black door before me as if touching it would burn me. I was not sure why I was so nervous, or why my stomach twisted so badly, it felt like it would pop. Chris' place was gigantic, a full mansion instead of some decently sized apartment. It seemed Chris liked the lavish lifestyle, as he had many expensive cars parked out in his driveway. All showcasing a shiny new color.

Eventually, I got the courage to knock on the door, having it immediately answered by a lovely-looking lady. She was roughly my age, wearing a black and white maid's uniform, with her dark brown hair in a neat bun. She gave me a friendly smile before asking me a question.

"Can I help you?"

"Um, yeah. I'm here to see Chris. I'm Lisa, his…" What the hell am I? "Just Lisa. He should be expecting me."

"Yes, of course. Come on in."

She moved back, opening the door more to allow me to enter. I stepped through, looking at a familiar layout. The mansion reminded me so much of the one I grew up in. A large staircase in front of me led to a landing and then branched off to the right and left, forming the wings of the house.

To the left, on the first floor, was the den with an enormous fireplace and various arm chairs. To the right was the large dining room with a swinging door to the kitchen. In the back corner beside the staircase was a door that I was sure would lead to a cigar room, or office, just like Dad's. I found myself on edge as I continued to note the similarities.

I jumped when a hand landed on my shoulder, startled by the sudden touch. I rarely jumped so easily, but with so many reminders of my old home, I felt on guard.

"Woah, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Chris' voice penetrated my ears. I shook my head vigorously, as if trying to deny the very obvious jump scare he'd given me.

"No, you're fine. I'm sorry, I was just lost in thought."

The dark reminders of my past.

"What do you think of the place? I hope you like it, as it will be where we'll be living after we marry."

I hadn't thought about that part, of how life would look after marrying him. My mind suddenly raced with the many things that would change after we tie ourselves legally. I nodded with a smile, a fake smile I had perfected over the years. No one could tell the difference between my fake smile and my real one, not even Lucas.

"It's nice," I lied.