* * *
“I don’t want you to leave the house today,” Xavier spoke as he buttoned up his shirt, his eyes on mine as I stood behind him in the mirror.
“Why?” My voice was calm, but butterflies set up in my stomach at the command. Considering the plans he knew I had that day, he wouldn’t knowingly banish me back to the house after giving me my freedom if there wasn’t a good reason.
Ruth had phoned that morning and asked me if I’d come over for coffee to talk. I was planning on going to her apartment once Sophie was in school. While I couldn’t wait to see Ruth again and hopefully work through our issues, I was thinking tomorrow was as good a day as any.
“Ghost called. They have a lock on Harrison. I’ll feel better knowing you’re here, behind the security system.” His face was hard and his tone unbending.
Silly man thought I was going to argue. That thought was proven correct by the look of shock that briefly passed over his face when I told him, “I’ll call Ruth and tell her that something came up.”
“I’m sorry, Féileacán.” Knowing me as well as he did, he hadn’t miss the disappointment in my voice. Turning from our reflections, he pulled me into his arms. “I know how excited you were to see her.”
“Priorities. Once we’re safe, the rest will fall into place.” I placed a chaste kiss on his lips and smiled faintly.
“Right,” he murmured, dipping his head and taking a much more deliberate kiss from me. When he pulled back, it felt like my body was on fire and I wished we could go back to lazily exploring one another under the covers, but like I said… priorities.
“I don’t want Sophie going to school either. Luke will stay with you two while I’m gone. The only other person besides me who can relieve him is Ghost.” He paused to make sure I understood. Instead of agreeing, I frowned in confusion.
“I don’t think Cherry was the last of our rats,” he explained in answer to my unspoken question.
“How come?” I tightened my arms around his middle, a sudden coldness seeping into my bones.
“Call it a hunch,” he all but grunted and I knew that was all I was going to get out of him. At least for now.
“Okay,” I acquiesced, knowing how important this was not only to his peace of mind but to our safety as well.
Xavier gave me another kiss before leaving me in our bedroom. In the distance, I heard him talking to the newly arrived Luke. I looked at the bedside clock and figured I had a few minutes to call Ruth before waking Sophie up.
The phone rang once before she picked up.
“Hey, Ruth.”
“Is something wrong?” It amazed me how easily she could pick up moods from someone’s voice. She was so intuitive.
“It’s nothing, really.” That was an understatement of epic proportions, but the last thing I wanted to do was alarm her after the falling out we had. My goal was to smooth things over with Ruth, not alienate her further. “Something came up that I need to take care of. Can we get together tomorrow instead?”
“Of course we can reschedule, but I have to work tomorrow. How about the day after?”
“Perfect.”
“Are you sure there’s nothing wrong?”
“I love that you care about us, but we’re fine. There’s nothing to worry about. I’ll come over on Thursday.”
“Okay. I’ll see you then.”
“Thanks, Ruth. I’m really looking forward to spending some time with you.” Ruth was the only maternal person in my life right then. I craved the motherly doting she gave me after losing my mom at a young age.
“Me too. And Alyssa?”
“Yes?”
“Take care of yourself.” Her voice was soft and reassuring. It was almost as if she knew it was necessary.
Chapter Nine
I paced the room for what felt like the millionth time, as the day crawled by at a glacial pace. I had tried everything to keep my mind preoccupied so I wouldn’t go crazy wondering what was happening. Not even playing with Sophie had worked.
The questions bouncing around inside my head were endless. Did they find Harrison? What about Lucien Spinelli? Was Xavier okay? Or had he been hurt and that’s why I hadn’t heard from him all day?
Poor Luke was ready to tie me up and gag me to keep me from asking him if he’d heard anything. I made a mental note to ask Xavier if he paid him well enough to suffer with me through times like these.
While Luke had done his best to blend into the shadows, I still knew he was there. Sophie did, too. She might have even convinced him to let her brush his hair. I might have even taken a secret picture of my daughter sitting on the back of the couch so she could groom him as he sat on the leather seat glaring at me.
I had just finished sitting in order to spare Luke from another one of my paces around the living room, when a knock on the door had me jumping off from the couch. So lost in my own thoughts, I didn’t stop to think there might be a threat at the door or that I could simply call up the security camera to see who it was. Instead, I made a beeline toward the entryway.
“Aurora,” Luke warned. His hand wrapped around my bicep and halted the movement.
Catching my mistake, I hung back in the living room while he went to see who it was. A rough curse came, followed by the sound of the front door opening.
“What are you doing here?” I asked when Marx came into the room, Luke hot on his heels.
“I wanted to check on you guys.” He turned to Luke then and attempted to dismiss him. “You can go now. I’ve got this.”
“Not going to happen.” Luke’s retort was firm.
Marx cocked his head and studied the man like he was prey. Something lethal filtered through the air and it seemed to be coming from Marx. I had never thought him a scary man in that respect, but right then I did not want to be Luke. Marx watched him like a snake about to strike.
“I said I had this. I’ll stay with the ladies until Xavier returns.” Marx had stepped up to where Luke stood. His alpha side showing. A predator in an expensive suit. I was entranced by it—even found myself wanting to explore it. Shaking the thought from my head, I opened my mouth to defuse the situation but Luke got there before I could.
“No disrespect, but I have my orders.” He crossed his arms on his chest in the universal sign of make me.
“I’m not leaving,” Marx told him.
Luke nodded his head. “I didn’t think you would. I’m still going to have to let the boss know you’re here.”
“Do what you have to do.” Marx waved a hand dismissively at the man and turned back toward me. “How about a movie?”
It was such an odd question to ask after the showdown he just had that I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of my throat. Both men stared transfixed as I proceeded to laugh like a maniac, courtesy of the anxiety that had built up inside me. When I finally sobered, I was self-conscious with the way they watched me.
Clearing my throat, I said, “Sure.”
“You pick,” Marx stated before removing his suit coat and draping it next to where he settled into the plush leather, crossing his ankle over his knee. His arm rested along the back of the couch and I became hyperaware of how sexy he looked sitting there. And when I settled back to where I had been sitting before he arrived, I couldn’t help but notice how dangerously close his fingers were to brushing my bare shoulders.
The way Luke’s eyebrows rose, I don’t think he missed it, either. I swallowed hard and tried to put it out of my mind. We technically weren’t doing anything wrong.
Calling up Netflix on the television, I chose a random comedy and tried to focus on the screen and not on the way Marx’s scent filtered over to me. Or the way his fingers began idly playing with the ends of my hair. Or the fact that it suddenly felt like it was a sauna with the way my body began perspiring.
I was about to ask Marx to leave, knowing we were encountering risky territory, when Sophie came flying into the room. She skidded to a halt when she realized we had a new guest.
“I know you,” she stated with authority. She walked over to Marx and stood directly in front him, eying him intently.
“Yes, you do,” he agreed. “It’s lovely to see you again, Miss Sophie.”
Marx leaned forward and took her hand, brushing his lips against her knuckles and giving her an endearing smile. I knew then that if the cards had been dealt differently and there was no Xavier, I still would have been pretty lucky to have had Marx.
Sophie giggled and held up the book that she had brought out with her. It was her favorite, Charlotte’s Web. “Will you read this to me?”
“I’d be honored.” Marx patted the couch cushion and Sophie scurried up to sit in between us.
Opening the book, he began recounting the story of a beloved pig named Wilbur for my daughter. He was exceptional at playing the role of each character. I couldn’t help but wonder about his story and where he had honed this particular skill that only came from a lot of practice.
Watching him with Sophie also made a small part of me sad that I hadn’t met him in another time or another place. He was so obviously fond of the two of us that it made my heart hurt. It was silly to feel that way though. There would never be room for anything but friendship for a man like Marx in my life. Deep in my bones I knew Xavier and I were meant for one another. Yet, for some reason I still mourned something that could never be.
As the chapter they were reading came to a close, the front door opened and heavy footsteps followed. Within seconds, Xavier came into the living room like thunder. He tried hard to mask his fury, but after seeing Sophie practically in Marx’s lap, the mask slipped. Thankfully, she was oblivious. The adults in the room, though, knew the shit was about to hit the fan.
Sending Sophie to her room to play, I stood up and inserted myself between Xavier and the now standing Marx. Placing my hand on Xavier’s arm, I attempted to smooth out the situation. His eyes cut to mine before going back to Marx. In the split second we made eye contact, I sucked in a breath at the amount of hurt and anger I saw in his.
This was going to get ugly. Very, very ugly. And I had a feeling it was all my fault.
“Thought I told you Aurora was off limits.” Xavier’s voice was deadly when he finally spoke. It reminded me of the first time I met him.
“Wanted to make sure they were safe, given what happened today.”
“What happened?” I asked Xavier.
“Nothing,” was his reply.
“Keeping things from her?” Marx taunted, but by the glint in his eye I knew he wouldn’t have told me either. I quickly found myself over these two pissing around me in an attempt to stake claim.
“Will you two stop already? Nobody is keeping anything from anybody. This is my life, too, and I deserve to know about everything that affects it. Now tell me, did you find Harrison?” I looked between the two men who seemed to be having a conversation without words. Making a sound of annoyance, I crossed my arms and shook my head. “I’m not some child that you need to coddle. I want to know what happened.”
“We found Harrison,” Xavier finally told me.
“And?” I prodded when it was clear he wasn’t going to say anything more.
“And he’s no longer.”
I gasped at that. Marx instinctively reached for me, only to find me behind Xavier’s solid body.
“I suggest you leave,” Xavier warned him, but Marx only had eyes for me.
“Are you okay?” I nodded woodenly and he continued. “The dreams?”
“What dreams?” Xavier barked.
“They’re nothing,” I answered quickly. My eyes pleaded with Marx to let it go, but instead of doing what I wanted, he betrayed my secret.
“Aurora’s been having nightmares since Spencer attacked her. She promised me she would tell you.”
I gave Marx a scathing look right before Xavier turned toward me with disbelief in his eyes. I could see the hurt written on the planes of his face. Not only hadn’t I told him, but I told another man. Another man who clearly had feelings for me.
“I wanted to tell you,” I said hurriedly.
“And yet you didn’t.”
“There was no point. Now that you’re here they’re gone. I didn’t want to ruin anything.” The unspoken truth was that I didn’t want him to feel guilty for leaving me to handle them in the first place. Judging by his grimace, he knew what I was thinking.
“If I had known…” His tone gentled even though Marx was still there, which I thought was a testament to how much he cared about me.
“I know,” I whispered, fighting tears. One day I would kick Marx’s ass for telling him the way he did.
“We need to discuss next steps,” Marx broke in. Xavier wiped the emotion from his face and turned back to him.
“In my office.” He started from the room without another word.
I opened my mouth to protest being kept out again, but shut it when Marx walked by me and shook his head. “Harass him about it later.”
Even though I was still pissed at Marx, I decided to do just that. After all, there was a time and a place for everything. God help Xavier O’Brien though, if he thought he was going to keep me in the dark.
* * *
“Tell me.” Sitting astride Xavier, I demanded him to open up to me.
Instead of answering me, he thrust his hips up, forcing me to brace my arms around his shoulders. God, that felt good. But I was not going to be deterred.
Clamping my inner muscles around him, I ground down, circling my hips slowly. I knew that move drove him crazy. I bit back my smile when he growled, “Faster.”
“Tell me,” I repeated.
He shook his head in a negative response so I did it again. Instead of answering, he thrust up into me again and I moaned.
“Please,” I pleaded with him. This teasing was killing me as well. I wanted nothing more than to brace myself on his sturdy shoulders and ride him like it was nobody’s business.
His hand went between us where he cupped our connection. “Those fuckers do not get to share this with us. Ever.”
I nodded and his fingers went from cupping me, to strategically rubbing me. Bracing myself, I set about riding my man.
It was only after we had both come, my forehead resting on his and his cock softening inside me that I broached the subject again. Xavier sighed, knowing I wasn’t going to give up. He removed himself from me and situated us on the sofa in our room so I was on his lap, a blanket covering our naked lower bodies. I loved that he always had a mind to Sophie possibly barging in on us.
“Intel was good. We found Harrison hiding in a safe house that Spinelli hardly ever uses. It was empty the first time we checked so he must have thought he was safe going there.”
“Did he tell you anything? What about Spinelli?”
“He shot himself when he knew he was cornered. We got nothing.” I shivered at the visual of the slimy man I had met when Marx brought me to a party at Xavier’s, lying dead on the floor. Even back then he had given me the creeps. There had been no mistaking the evil lurking within him. The world was probably a better place without him in it.
“Why do you think you have a rat?” Something about his earlier admission had been niggling at my brain. It wasn’t that I had any idea who it could be. More a feeling I got sometimes when I was at The Den. It made my hair stand on end, like I was being watched.
“Every time we got a lock on Harrison, he disappeared into thin air. Someone had to have been warning him. There’s no other explanation for it.” Frustration rolled off him in waves. I began running my hand along his arm and he relaxed infinitesimally.
“Want me to keep my eyes open when I’m at work?”
Xavier pressed a kiss to the tip of my nose and shook his head. “We’ll find whoever it is. Just be careful who you share info with until we do. Only a select few will be hanging around you for now.”
“Okay,” I agreed and snuggled into his embrace. It was getting late and I knew we needed to go to slee
p, but I wasn’t ready to give up his warmth.
“We need to talk about your dreams.” My body locked at the change in subject. I so did not want to talk about this.
“There’s nothing to discuss.”
His arm tightened before his hand rose to grip my chin and forced me to look at him.
“Bullshit. First, I want you to tell me what these damn dreams are. Then I want you to explain to me why you thought you could tell Marx and not me.”
I could not let Xavier see how badly these things affected me. He would beat himself up even more than he already did. Blowing out a breath, I willed my voice not to shake as I recanted the horrid visions of Spencer and the helplessness I felt whenever he went after Sophie.
By the time I finished, his arms were a tight vise around my body. Caging me in and protecting me.
“Shit,” he cursed and crushed me to his chest. His hands running up and down my back.
Eventually pulling back, I leveled him with a gaze that showed my steely determination.
“The dreams are gone. Do not blame yourself for them. And do not treat me like broken glass because I had them.”
“Fine, but if they come back I expect to know about them.” When I nodded my agreement, he continued. “Now explain to me how it came to be that Marx knew about them.”
“He stopped here a while back and caught me at a vulnerable time. You hadn’t been home and I was exhausted. I was near my breaking point and if I didn’t share them with someone then they were going to eat me alive.”
“You should have called me,” he bit out, barely leashing his anger.
“I tried,” I murmured lowly.
“Fuck.” The wind seemed to leave his sails with that admission. “I’m sorry. If I could go back and change the way I acted after your attack, I would.”
“Can we please try to forget about the past and move forward?” All I wanted to do was forget about the bad stuff and focus on building our life together. We hadn’t been able to fully enjoy being together yet. There was always something standing in our way.
“And stop hiding things.” He gave me a pointed look and I winced.
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