Dorothy pouted, and I couldn’t help but think that she looked adorable. I took her hand and pulled her over.
“Hey, listen. Say the word, and I’ll take you away from here right now. We can start over. I’ll take you back to my hometown in Iowa. But if you want to know what happened to your Uncle Henry, then I think Tin is right. We should go to Seattle.”
I stared at her, waiting for her answer. After a long silence she finally pursed her lips and took a deep breath. “Fine. You win. All of you. Let’s go to Seattle. I spent the last year of my life chasing answers, and I’m not to give up now. I’m so close to finding out the truth. But to be clear, I am doing this to find out what happened to Uncle Henry. What he was involved in. Who he truly was. Once I find out these answers, I need to leave this all behind me.” She turned and stared at all of us. “And that means leave all of you behind as well. Everything I’ve done with you. It was a means to an end. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t regret what happened between all of us, but this is not how I want to live. So, I’ll go to Seattle with all of you, and I will try to find some answers, but whether or not I find them, at some point, I’m going to move on with my life. That means that none of you will be in it.”
Her words hit me like a ton of bricks, but I was proud that she stood up for herself. And even though I knew she believed what she said, deeper, somewhere in my heart, I didn’t think she would be able to let go of us that easy.
Us. I paused on that word. I had been forced to have sex with Dorothy in front of Lev, and I had had a threesome with Dorothy and Tin. All of these experiences were so unlike anything that I had ever done before, but I loved them. I had never been into group sex. I’d never wanted to share my woman, but why did I like it so much? Dorothy awoke a hunger inside of me. Normally I would’ve been jealous. Like I had been knowing that she had been fucking Tin when I’d been jerking off in my room at the compound, dreaming about her. But now that we had all been together the jealousy had subsided. I wanted more. I wanted to share her. All I wanted was to give her pleasure.
“Good choice, Dorothy,” Tin said. “I’ll text the wizard now to make the arrangements. Let’s go.”
We all piled into Tin’s rental car. Tin checked his phone.
“Done. The wizard set us up. He’s sending a plane to arrive tomorrow morning. Let’s all check into a hotel and get a good night’s sleep.”
Tin made his way to a nice hotel in the center of town. He was definitely not trying to hideout. We checked in, went to the boutique in the lobby, bought some new clothes and supplies, and headed up to our room, which was a luxurious suite. Dorothy immediately took advantage of taking a long hot bath in the claw-footed tub. I wanted to watch her relax into the bubbles, rub the soap over her breasts, and put lotion on her body, but I figured she needed privacy. Lev had bought a crime thriller from the store and began reading it, and Tin sat on the couch, scrolling through the television until he settled on some football game.
“So, are you going to go back to the SEALs?”
“Mind your fucking business.”
“How much is this wizard giving you? You know that the Navy will send you to the brig when they find you. And charge you.”
“Listen, farmer boy, you stick to growing crops. I can handle my business. I know what I’m doing.” He increased the volume on the TV.
I just shook my head—something wasn’t right. I’d been saying this since the moment Dorothy and I were taken. None of this made sense. Why would a decorated Navy SEAL leave his team and give up his life to find Dorothy? It couldn’t just be money. There had to be something more. I may be dumb, but I was persistent. I was going to find out what Tin and Lev were up to in Seattle. And then maybe Dorothy would never leave me behind.
22
Dorothy
“I’m so tired of planes,” I muttered as we pulled up to the airport.
The wizard, whoever the hell he was, had hired another charter to bring me out to Seattle—bring us out. Whoever he was, he was loaded. He’d have to be to orchestrate all the nonsense he has over the past few weeks.
“Maybe when we’re done with all this, we’ll take a drive across the country,” Brandon suggested. “Play tourist for a while. Forget.”
He still didn’t realize that once I put Uncle Henry to rest, I was putting all this behind me. I craved a normal life. All the way to the airport from the hotel he’d been suggesting ways to continue our relationship when this was over. After an hour of it, I’d stopped shutting him down and started ignoring him.
“Dude, give it a break,” Zac said from the front seat. “Or do you not understand that she’s not interested?”
“Fuck off,” Brandon replied, but he stopped bugging me about making plans.
All I wanted to do was get this over with so I could get on with my life...or what was left of it.
Zac pulled into the rental return and got out to handle the paperwork while Lev, Brandon, and I found our charter. Our flight was due to leave in half an hour, so I decided to go to the bathroom and wash my face, gather my thoughts.
When Brandon started following me, I stopped, held up a hand. “Look, the puppy dog routine was cute for a while, but I really don’t need you following me to the bathroom.”
Lev snorted, even though his eyes were closed, his hands crossed over his chest. At least he was the least annoying of the bunch. I never had to tell him to leave me alone.
I left Brandon behind; his face slumped with dejection. Whatever. It was easier to push them away than to deal with losing them, too, which was inevitable.
The airport restroom was bustling with activity, which helped to soothe my nerves. There was a calming anonymity in the crowd.
I locked myself in a free cubicle and relished the moment of peace. That’s the thing about having three lovers: one of them is always hanging around. When I couldn’t wait any longer, I got out and took my time washing my hands. I wet a damp paper towel and brushed the cool material over my face as I studied my reflection in the mirror.
I didn’t recognize the person looking back at me. I’d lost a year of my life and for what? It wouldn’t bring Uncle Henry back. The future I’d imagined working at the local florist shop, hanging out with my friends, and traveling was gone. Hell, it had been months since I’d even talked to Alice, Wendy, and Katrina. They’d reached out time and time again, but I was always too busy to talk to them, too focused on my goal.
The guys told me Seattle was the only option to finishing this once and for all. So off to the Emerald City I’d go.
We didn’t speak as we waited for the charter to board. We filed into line as though we were strangers. The part of me that had been so intrigued by them, by what we’d done was too numb from losing my mother for resurrection.
We took our seats, still not speaking, although Brandon tried several times to catch my eye. Zac took the opportunity to call him out, which put a stop to it.
It was going to be a long flight.
***
Try as I might, I couldn’t relax enough to fall asleep on the plane. I kept jolting awake at the slightest sound, remembering the storm or the night Uncle Henry was killed. Brandon would move to comfort me, and I would snarl at him in return.
By the end of the flight, none of us were speaking to each other, which left me feeling hollow. Zac and Lev got what they wanted—me on my way to see the Wizard and Brandon was so dejected it only made me want to pull away more. To take my mind off all of it, I studied the scenery outside the window.
Seattle was like an emerald-colored city, I noted as we began our descent. The forests in and around the city were vast and lush. Nothing like the plains and fields in Kansas. It was like a different world.
We disembarked with little fanfare and collected our luggage without a word. There was a limo waiting for us and a driver with my name on a placard hailed us down. A limo.
Jesus Christ.
It was all too much.
The letter from the grave.
<
br /> My mother demanding to talk to me out of the blue, accusing me of stealing those shoes. God only knew what was so important about them.
Then losing her without an explanation.
The devastation of Uncle Henry’s farm.
And now the summons from the enigmatic wizard.
Boy, did I have a shit ton to say to him.
He thought he could control my life like a puppeteer sending flying monkeys out to get me? He has another thing coming. Who did he think he was? My father? Ha, wouldn’t that be a joke?
The drive took us out of Seattle proper and down a delicately manicured road passed several upscale gated communities. The houses got bigger and bigger the farther we went until we arrived at one large enough to be a castle. The driver paused to announce us at the gate; which immediately opened to give us entry to the estate.
We pulled to a stop next to a fountain bigger than my last apartment and the driver opened the door. I tried not to stare as we entered the ornate, lavish front room. I’d never been privy to so much opulence in my life. It was even more beautiful than Uncle Henry and Aunt Emma’s house and theirs had to be the biggest I’d ever seen.
“Mr. Ambrose will see you in the drawing-room,” said a woman who seemed to appear out of nowhere.
So, the wizard has a name—or at least a last name.
My heart began to beat in double-time, and I hoped I wasn’t about to pass out right before I got the answers I so desperately craved. Zac, Lev, and Brandon followed close behind, but I only had eyes for the woman as she led us down a hallway and to a pair of French doors.
They opened, and we stepped through.
My eyes caught a blur of motion and then a small, furry thing launched itself at me.
“Toto!” I exclaimed and then fell to my knees on a Persian rug. “Oh, my god, Toto! You’re alive!”
I held him to my chest, inhaling his familiar scent.
This was better than I could have ever dreamed.
Toto was alive.
When I finally gathered myself, I lifted Toto into my arms and finally surveyed the room.
My chest constricted and my heart held still.
Apparently, Toto wasn’t the only one alive.
23
Wizard
Dorothy stood in front of me, her mouth gaped open. I appreciated her shock and found it amusing.
“Uncle Henry? You are alive?”
Her hands began to shake, and guilt crashed over me. I had never meant to hurt her, ruin her life.
Maybe one day she would forgive me.
But I couldn’t tell her the truth. Not today. Maybe not ever.
“Yes, I am. I’m sorry, Dorothy. But at least you have been reunited with Toto.”
She was cradling her massive pug in her arms. He gave a few snorts as she rubbed his ears.
Then her look of shock turned to anger.
She put Toto down and ran over toward me, shaking her fist. “What in the hell is going on? I have ruined my life over your disappearance. The past year has been hell for me. Hell. Losing you. Losing Toto. Taking that job in the middle of nowhere. Being kidnapped by your thugs. How fucking dare you!”
I smirked. She was not entitled to these answers.
“I’ll I can say is everything I did was to protect you.”
“Protect me? You don’t know what I have done. What Lev forced me to do.”
I wish I could agree with her, but the sad truth was I knew exactly what she had done. What Lev had forced her to do. I would punish Lev for his actions. I hated to admit it, but I watched it, powerless to stop it and save her. Lev had installed a camera in the cabin. I tried to turn away—Dorothy was my niece for fuck’s sake—but little sweet Dorothy had grown up into a beautiful woman.
She reminded me of Aunt Glinda when she was younger.
Watching Dorothy come with Crow had given me one of the most intense orgasms of my life.
“Lev will be dealt with. For now, why don’t you go to your room and relax. We can discuss everything later tonight at dinner. I made your favorite. Lasagna.”
Dorothy spat in my face. “Fuck you, Uncle Henry. I’m out. I will not waste another minute of my time on you.”
She scooped up Toto and ran toward the door.
She was cute the way she thought she could leave. I decided to give her a head start. Once she was closer to the door, I called her bluff.
“Seize her!” I commanded Tin, who, like the SEAL he was, raced after her and grabbed her.
She kicked and screamed. “No. I’d rather die than stay here.”
“Don’t be so rash, Dorothy. I’m still the same Uncle Henry. There is a lot you don’t know about me, but I’m a good man. Tin—take her to her room. She can keep Toto for comfort.”
Dorothy flicked me off as he carried her away. Lev followed behind them, as Crow stood in front of me.
Why was this fool here? Who was he? He could not be trusted either.
I would have Tin deal with him later.
“How could you do this to Dorothy?” he demanded.
“None of your business. I’m the great and powerful Osmand Henry Ambrose. I made a billion in the tech industry. Who are you?”
* * *
Thank you for reading Desiring Dorothy.
Stay tuned for Book 2 of the Men of Oz trilogy—Defying Dorothy. Expected Release early 2020!
Visit our websites for the latest news!
www.authoralanaalbertson.com
www.authornicoleblanchard.com
xoxo
Alana & Nicole
About Alana Albertson
ALANA ALBERTSON IS the former President of RWA’s Contemporary Romance, Young Adult, and Chick Lit chapters. She holds a M.Ed. from Harvard and a BA in English from Stanford. She lives in San Diego, California, with her husband, two young sons, and six dogs. When she’s not saving dogs from high kill shelters through her rescue Pugs N Roses, she can be found watching episodes of Cobra Kai, Younger, or Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team.
For more information:
www.authoralanaalbertson.com
[email protected]
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Alana’s Note
Acknowledgements
Somewhere over the rainbow, I’m thrilled that I was able to fulfill my dream of writing a version of my favorite book.
To Nicole Blanchard—thank you for writing this book with me! Finally! Here’s to the first of many collaborations.
To Wander Aguiar for his incredible photography.
To Anja for your incredible edits! You were a life saver. Thank you so much.
To my hubby Roger for keeping me caffeinated while I play with my imaginary friends. Love you.
To Connor & Caleb—my two sweet talented boys. You are my everything.
To Venata for allowing us to photograph her pug, Maximus Lepera.
To all my fans in my readers group and on Instagram. Thank you for supporting me.
About Nicole Blanchard
Nicole Blanchard is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of gritty romantic suspense and heartwarming new adult romance. She and her family reside in the south along with their menagerie of pets. Visit her website www.authornicoleblanchard.com for more information or to subscribe to her newsletter for updates on sales and new releases. P.S. there’s also a free book!
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