Free Her Old-Fashioned Husband by Laylah Roberts

cried . By the time she’d finished, his shirt had a wet patch from her tears and she was feeling exhausted.
    “Frankie?”
    “Hmm?”
    “You know I only do this because I love you and because I believe you nee d this, need me to take charge. You ‘re not ever scared of me are you? ”
    “No.” She shook her head. “Never. When you use that voice on me, the one that tells me you’re in charge now, my stomach drops and a kind of peace comes over me. I guess because I know you’re in charge and I trust you to take care of me. I don’t have to worry, because you’ll be there to look after me.”
    She buried her face against him in embarrassment. He kissed her forehead, rubbing her back soothingly.
    “Thank you for being so honest, baby. I know tha t wasn’t easy. Honey, there is something I’ve never talked about with you, becau se I found it too painful and because I wasn’t sure how you would react . But I’ve realized not that I can’t expect you to give me all of yourself if I’m not willing to do the same. And I want all of you, Frankie. Warts and all. You’re bottling things up, honey. There are times when I see you worrying about things, only you won’t talk to me.”
    He kissed her forehead. “Sometimes I worry about what exactly is goin g on inside this head of yours.” His voice grew deep. “Frankie, there is something I never want you to forget and that is that I love you and want to protect you. Never forget that.”
    “I love you, too,” she whispered.
    He kissed her. “It’s settled then. But first, there’s a question I need to ask. I want an honest answer. Do you know just who gave you a ride home last night?”
     
    Tom waited for her reply, praying she had no idea who had driven her home last night was. Because if she did, if she’d lied and betrayed him... well, he had no idea what he would do.
    “No. I’m sorry,” she said quickly, obviously thinking he’d be furious at her answer. “I know I shouldn’t have gotten a ride with someone I didn’t know. But he said he knew Brax and he was willing to wait with me while I called him. I just... I know there are no excuses. But his name must be on his card. I guess I should call him and thank him.”
    “No,” he said sharply. Frankie jumped in his arms, looking at him with wide, frightened eyes. Tom squashed his anger.
    “I don’t want you anywhere near this guy. Understand?”
    Frankie gaped at him. “Why? Do you know him? Is he dangerous?”
    “Yeah, I know him,” Tom said grimly. “And I wouldn’t have put it past him to set this all up just so I would have to see him again. He knows as soon as he shows his face to me he’s a dead man.”
    Rage filled his veins. His hands clenched, his jaw tensing. A soft hand ran over his face, trying to soothe him.
    “Tom? Who is he?”
    “Roarke Landon. He was my best friend’s brother. My mentor. Hell, I thought he was my friend.”
    “Was?”
    “Yeah.” He looked down at his wife, so small and delicate to him, even though he knew she didn’t believe that. “He killed Austin, my friend. He killed him. And now he’s here. But for what?”
     
    Frankie took a deep breath, shocked at the pained anger in her husband’s gaze. What did he mean? The man who’d given her a ride home was a killer?
    “He-he killed your best friend?”
    Tom looked down at her and sighed, his face softening. Thank God. She’d never seen him like this before.
    “Roarke is-was Austin’s older brother. I met Austin in c ollege. We fast became best friends. He even took me home to his family’s house during the holidays. I spent a lot of time with his family, they’re really good people. Austin had four older brothers. Roarke w as the oldest. To us, he was this older, together guy who had this special way with the lad ies. He came and visited us at c ollege when we turned twenty-one and took us to this club he owned . It was a BDSM club. That was our first introduction to the lifestyle. Roarke