Bane by Brenda Jackson

was when she’d turned seventeen. By then they’d been together almost two years.
    At least Dillon had believed Bane when he’d told his brother he hadn’t touched her. However, given their relationship, it would have been crazy to think they wouldn’t get around to making love one day, and Dillon had had the common sense to know that. Instead of giving Bane grief about it, his older brother had lectured him about being responsible and taking precautions.
    Bane would never forget the night they’d finally made love. And it hadn’t been in the backseat of his truck. He had taken her to the cabin he’d built as a gift for her seventeenth birthday. He’d constructed it on the land he was to inherit, Bane’s Ponderosa.
    It was a night he would never forget. Waiting had almost done them in, but in the end they’d known they’d done the right thing. That night had been so unbelievably special and he’d known she would be his forever. He knew on that night that one day he would make her his wife.
    In fact it had been that night when he’d asked her to marry him once she finished school, and she’d agreed. And that had been the plan until her parents made things even worse for them after she’d turned seventeen.
    Crystal had retaliated by refusing to go to school. And when her parents had threatened to have him put in jail if he came on their property, he and Crystal had eloped. He hadn’t counted on her parents sending her away the moment Sheriff Harper found them.
    Bane had come close to telling everyone they’d gotten married; no one had the right to separate them. But something Dillon had said about the future had given him pause.
    Once he’d revealed they were married, he’d known Crystal would not go back to school. And he of all people had known just how smart she was.
    That was when he’d decided to make the sacrifice and let her go. That had been the hardest decision he’d ever made. Lucky for him, Bailey had put her pickpocketing skills to work and swiped old man Newsome’s cell phone to get Crystal’s aunt’s phone number.
    “I need to go, Bane,” Crystal said, intruding into his memories. “I’ll give you my number and we can talk when I get to where I’m going.”
    Then in a rush, she added, “I’ll call to let you know when I arrive in the Bahamas so you’ll know I’m okay.”
    He stared at her. Evidently she didn’t get it and it was about time that she did. “Crystal,” he said in what he hoped was a tone that grabbed her absolute attention. When she stared at him he knew it had. “If you think I’m going to let you disappear on your own, then you really don’t know me. The old Bane did let you disappear when your father sent you away. But at the time I figured it was for your own good. But those days are over. There’s no way in hell you’re disappearing on me again.”
    From her blistering scowl he could tell she didn’t appreciate what he’d said. When she opened her mouth to reply, he quickly held up his hand. “I know it’s been five years and that we have changed. But there’s something with us that hasn’t changed.”
    “What?” she asked in an annoyed tone.
    “No matter what happens, we’re in this together. That’s how things have always been with us, right?”
    “Yes, but that was then, Bane.”
    “And that’s how it is now. We’re married,” he said, touching the locket he’d given her on their wedding day. Just knowing she was still wearing it meant everything to him. “We’re in this together, Crystal. Got that?”
    * * *
    For a minute Crystal didn’t say anything and then through clenched teeth, she snapped, “Yes, I got it.”
    There was no way she could
not
get it when he’d spoken so matter-of-factly. She’d never liked being bossed around and he knew that, which was why he’d never done it before. They had understood each other so well. And in the past they’d made decisions together, especially those that defied anyone trying to keep