Sinful Ever After (Romance Collection)

by Vivian Wood

  My lips curl up. “Anything?”

  He chuckles. “Yes. I mean what I say.”

  I burrow into his touch, nuzzling the palm he leans against my cheek.

  “Then it’s settled. No matter what we do, we do it together. I can face anything as long I have you to lean on.”

  He exhales. “Even if that means learning to live out in the middle of nowhere? And with a fraction of the comforts you are used to?”

  “Even then.” I roll my eyes. “I’m not really so bad. I mean… walking away from my family money will be hard, but not impossible. You’ll see.”

  He kisses me again briefly, then leans his forehead against my own. “Where should we live?”

  I shrug. “Anywhere you want. Aren’t you building a house?”

  “Yes.” He grins. “That would be a big change for you, though.”

  “I think I’m going to be making several big changes. That will just be the first one of many.”

  He takes a big breath. “You are really ready for all of this change?”

  I grip his hand. “As long as you’re there, I probably won’t notice.”

  “Alright.” He bends me back a little, kissing me hard. “It’s a deal.”

  A little bit breathless, I wriggle out of his grasp. “You keep the bed warm. I have to pee again.”

  He sends me the most wicked glance, rubbing my empty spot on the bed. “Hurry back. I have plans for you when you return…”

  My heart shouldn’t speed up at that offer, but it does. I nod, biting my lower lip, and quickly let myself out of our cabin. I go down to the bathroom, my mind preoccupied with wondering if I’m going to get any of my things from New York or not. Maybe I’ll just start over, a completely clean slate.

  The idea is pretty appealing.

  As I walk out of the bathroom, I round a corner and bump into two people who are entwined, kissing. I start to apologize before I even see who it is. “Sorry—”

  The two people jump apart, looking guilty. It’s Aiden and Olivia.

  Olivia’s eyes bug out. “Rachel!” She swings her look to Aiden. “We were just… um… I didn’t know you were here…”

  “I was helping her get an eyelash,” Aiden says. “It was stuck in her eye.”

  I look between them, confused. They must think I’m stupid or something. “What are you doing here, Olivia?”

  Olivia clears her throat. “Um… applying for jobs. I’m supposed to get a summer internship just like you did.” Her eyes narrow. “What are you doing back here?”

  Shrugging, I stare both of them down. “Grayson and I were almost killed in a landslide. So we are back early, I guess.”

  Aiden clears his throat. “Where is Grayson?”

  “In my cabin.” My cheeks turn pink. “Maybe I should get him. We can all meet up outside the dining hall and…” I cast my gaze over Olivia again. “I guess we should all talk.”

  “Great. I’ll see you all there,” Aiden announces. “I have to grab some stuff from my Jeep anyway.”

  He strides off, leaving me to stare at Olivia. Her cheeks are pink and she can’t quite meet my gaze.

  “Don’t,” she says. “Please don’t say anything to my brother.”

  I feel nothing but pity for her. “Aiden? Really, of all the people in your brother’s life, you picked Aiden to make out with?”

  She shrugs. “It just happened. It’s not a big deal. He’ll kiss anyone.”

  “Well, you had better come up with a better lie to tell your brother when he asks why you’re here. You’re supposed to be three thousand miles away, getting ready to find a job.”

  She rolls her eyes. “That’s between me and my brother.” She looks at me directly. “What do I have to promise to you in order for whatever you suspect is happening to stay under wraps?”

  I lift a shoulder. “I have enough problems of my own to worry about for now. But…” I bite my lip briefly. “I really don’t think Aiden is any good for you. He’s a player.”

  She shakes her head. “I know that already. You’re painting with too fine of a brush here. You think that everybody is emotionally involved, but I’m not like you.”

  I crook a brow. “Really?”

  “Really.” She crosses her arms. “Now please, let me conduct my own affairs as I see fit.”

  “Fine.” I scrunch up my face. “When Gray finds out about this — and he will, if you don’t stop — please leave me out of it.”

  I turn, leaving her there. My mind is awhirl, but one thing sticks out to me. Grayson and I are worried about ourselves, but everyone else has their own things on their minds. Maybe my father does too…

  Although what his mind is preoccupied with is impossible to know. Heaving a sigh, I trudge toward the cabin.

  Chapter Forty

  Grayson

  I’m still glaring at Olivia, trying to figure out why she is here. She and Aiden sit on one side of the mess hall table, Rachel and I sit on this side. Olivia mumbled something about trying to get an internship here for next year, but she blushed the entire time she said it. That makes me think it was a lie.

  “Hey,” Rachel whispers in my ear. Her hand on my leg creeps upward, making me wish I could close my eyes and just enjoy her advances. “Are you almost ready for bed?”

  That brings a smile to my lips. I look at her. “Almost.”

  Rachel is doing her best to distract me, sitting close to me and kissing me regularly. I guess there is no need to hide our relationship, but still. It’s a little shocking to me.

  Aiden pushes himself up from the table at the mess hall. “Well… I am sure that you and Rachel have somewhere you’d rather be than here.”

  “Aiden, I wanted to talk to you before you leave,” I interject.

  A strange look passes over his expression for a second. “Yeah?”

  My eyes focus on his face. He’s hiding something, but I don’t know what it is. “Yeah. It doesn’t have to be tonight though.”

  The relief on his face is evident enough to redouble my suspicions. I rub my shoulder, watching him with narrowed eyes.

  Lucky for him, Nate suddenly appears at the end of our table. His energy is nervous and twitchy, his face sweaty.

  “Rachel, your father is here. And he’s not alone.”

  Rachel springs to her feet. “What? Where?” She pauses. “Who did he bring?”

  “An army of lawyers and a fucking senator.”

  I stand up. “Fuck.”

  How am I supposed to protect her against that?

  Rachel looks at me, her hand finding mine. She looks nervous. “I didn’t know that he would come out here.”

  I squeeze her hand. “He knows that you are important.”

  “Mr. Black is asking for you, Rachel. I sent the whole party to my office to wait.” Nate looks nonplussed. “What should I tell him?”

  She tosses her hair, gripping my hand all the harder. “Nothing. I’ll deal with my father.”

  She looks back to me though, her concern evident. I can’t help but worry, because her gaze is not nearly as confident as her words.

  The fact that her father makes her feel so uncertain makes me feel angry. I wish I could do something, threaten someone, or fight them maybe. Somehow though I don’t think that would help Rachel all that much.

  She clears her throat, tugging my hand. “Will you face my father with me?”

  “Of course.” I keep my expression neutral. I want to shout and beat my chest, scream that I would do anything for her. But I don’t. “Anything you want.”

  She squeezes my hand and takes in a big breath. “Then let’s go.”

  Nate sets off, practically twitching he is so nervous. Rachel trails after him and I follow her. We head out of the mess hall and down the stairs, around the corner to Nate’s office. Here already I see several men in suits waiting impatiently outside the office.

  That doesn’t bode well for Mr. Black’s temperament.

  We file past them, stepping into Nate’s al
ready crowded office. It looks like an ad for expensive suits and unpronounceable colognes in here right now, with men crammed around the back of the room. My eyes immediately go to Mr. Black, who is seated in Nate’s chair. Dressed in a nice suit and graying more at the temples than I remember, he smiles at us. But his smile is cold; it doesn’t reach his eyes. Rachel doesn’t look much like him but she has his eyes.

  “Daddy,” she says, crossing her arms.

  “Hello Rachel.” His gaze flits over me and he sneers. “I don’t think you need him to be here, do you?”

  Rachel looks back at me, smiling nervously. She takes my hand. “Yes, Daddy. I do think that Grayson needs to be here. He has every right to hear whatever you have to say.”

  Mr. Black glowers at us. I want to wipe that look off his face with my fists, but I don’t think that will solve anything. I move closer to Rachel, as if I can protect her by my very proximity.

  Mr. Black looks at Rachel. “Very well. You’re looking… rather unwell. I don’t suppose that means you are ready to come home? Your office at Civicore is still awaiting you.”

  She flushes. “I’m fine.”

  “Your hair is unkempt. Your makeup is a wreck.” He looks circumspect. “Seattle hasn’t treated you very kindly, my dear.”

  My hands clench into fists. It’s all I can do to keep my voice level. “Do you have something else to say? Because we aren’t interested in hearing your review of how Rachel looks, honestly.”

  Mr. Black favors me with a glance, squinting for a moment. He turns to one of the other men. “Get the papers ready.”

  Rachel moves a little closer to me. I unclench my fists and put my arm around her. That simple move gives us both much-needed comfort and support. Mr. Black turns back to face us.

  “Do you talk?” Mr. Black asks me.

  I give him a cold little smile. “I do.”

  “Well, from what I can tell you aren’t stupid, so I will dispense with the small talk and get to the facts. You are a piece of worthless garbage. And you, Rachel, are foolish for even wasting your time out here. You two are purposely being defiant, which I don’t like.” He narrows his eyes at us. “I’m assuming that you don’t like the idea of fracking for some reason—”

  I shift forward, menacing. No one talks to Rachel like that. Ever. Period.

  “You have some fucking nerve,” I growl at him.

  Rachel tenses up, almost crackling with her need to interrupt. “First off, you don’t get to call anyone garbage. Let’s not pretend that you didn’t get everything that you have handed down to you from your father. And second, fracking causes earthquakes and poisons the water table, to start with.”

  Mr. Black rolls his eyes. “That isn’t proven.”

  I grip Rachel’s hand a little tighter, glaring at him. In this moment, I realize that I hate Rachel’s father. Not just Civicore, not just all the things that he stands for.

  I hate him. In his designer suit and his expensive watch… you would never expect someone like him to be evil. But he is. Greedy, possessive, and evil.

  Rachel’s whole body practically hums with her disapproval but she keeps her mouth shut.

  Her father leans back in the chair, which squeaks awkwardly. He pulls a face.

  “There are three ways I feel like this can play out.” He purses his lips. “One, I can take my daughter back to New York and buy the rights to drill all around the Olympic Peninsula.”

  “I’m not going back with you,” Rachel warns.

  He smiles at her like a cat at a mouse he intends to eat. “Nobody said that you would go easy. But you’ll go if I want you to go.”

  “Don’t threaten Rachel,” I rumble in warning.

  He gives me a bored look. “Two! You resist me. I cut off her inheritance. It may take a few months for Rachel to realize that you aren’t made of much, but when she’s hungry enough she’ll come back home. In the meantime, I will spend my considerably vast fortune on buying the rights to drill. Same result, more painful process.”

  Rachel crosses her arms. “You’re not listening. I don’t want your money. I just want to be left alone.”

  Mr. Black pushes himself up to a standing position. “Then you will love option three. In the third scenario, I leave. I don’t drill out west. You get a portion of your money. Enough to live on for a lifetime, if you’re smart.”

  “What’s the catch?” I ask. “There is always a catch.”

  Rachel looks at me gratefully. “There really always is.”

  He reaches behind himself. One of the lawyers pushes a thick stack of papers into his hand. He presents them to Rachel, setting them on top of Nate’s desk. “Voilà. You just sign these documents and your problems just… disappear.”

  Rachel gives her father a long look before she picks up the sheaf of paper. At the top, I catch the document’s headline. Dissolution of Trust and Annuity. She flips a few pages, and I see Formation of New Trust.

  He is no doubt offering Rachel something fishy. I mean, that is why he’s trying to bribe her. Otherwise none of this makes sense.

  “What is this? What deals are you making?” I ask, looking up at Mr. Black.

  He narrows his gaze on my face. “You don’t get to talk. Just because Rachel wants you to be here does not mean you get to ask any questions.”

  “Daddy,” Rachel takes him to task. “Be civil. Besides, Grayson is right. I’ve been raised better than to sign some documents without even knowing what they are.”

  Mr. Black scoffs. “I don’t think you are in any position to argue with me, darling. You sign the papers. I fly back to New York. End of discussion.”

  She pages through it with a frown. “What about the fracking? You said that Civicore has had interest here for years. Do you have a plan to stop the drilling?”

  He sighs, sitting back down. “When you were coming over here, did you see all the men standing outside?”

  Rachel sighs. “Yes.”

  “One of them is a very powerful senator who is going to push through legislation. Or, for a small amount of money, he can be convinced that fracking would be bad business for the state of Washington.” Her father shrugs. “Either way, it doesn’t make much difference to me. I just thought that I could save you the trouble of having to realize what life is really like without money.”

  If it were me, I would just thrust the documents back at him and be done with the whole thing. But it’s not me. Rachel’s fingers grip the papers hard. She looks at me for a moment, then exhales.

  “I will need a little while to think,” she says, looking at Mr. Black.

  He scowls. “Think about what? I’m offering you everything you want. All you have to do is put your signature on some forms.”

  “She said she needs to think about it,” I growl.

  Rachel shoots me an appreciative look. Mr. Black crosses his arms. “The deal is only good for twelve hours. After that, I will press forward with the fracking plan. I’ll be back tomorrow morning and I am leaving with signed paperwork.” He smiles, showing his perfectly white teeth. “Or else.”

  With that, he stands up and pushes past us. The lawyers file out after him, leaving me with Rachel and Nate. Nate clears his throat.

  “I don’t really have any say in the matter, but you obviously know my vote already.”

  I glare at him but he just shrugs. Rachel sighs.

  “I know I should’ve just signed. I just… I can’t help but feel as though my father didn’t need to come all the way out here. He just came to get some forms signed? It makes me wonder what these really are.” She waves the sheaf of papers.

  “Well… we should start by reading them,” I suggest. Then I pause. “Do you know anyone who is in the know in your family’s business? Anyone who might be able to tell us what’s going on with the trusts and stuff?”

  She sucks her bottom lip between her teeth. “Mmm… maybe. I can call Sarah and see what she knows. She usually acts as assistant to my mother when I’m not around.” Her should
ers fall. “I hadn’t thought of this until just now, but my failure to return to Manhattan probably affected her badly.”

  I wish that I could smooth the worry from her brow, but I can’t. All I can do is take her hand as I lead her out of Nate’s office. All the while, Mr. Black’s words ring in my head.

  Piece of garbage.

  You don’t get to talk.

  Imagine listening to that every fucking day of your impressionable youth. I don’t know how Rachel ended up being a functional person. Gritting my teeth, I steer Rachel toward the cabin.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Rachel

  Dissolution of Trust and Annuity. Division of Assets Agreement. Formation of New Trust.

  I flip through the pages of the stack of papers before me, frowning. Just what is my father up to, exactly?

  Reading the legalese in these documents seems impossible. If only I had become a lawyer instead of an environmental engineer. I find one paragraph that indicates that a trust should be dissolved, then another contrary one that establishes a new trust fund.

  There is something rotten in the state of Denmark. I just can’t put my finger on it.

  Setting the papers aside, I look up at Grayson. “I need to find a phone charger. The one I had with me in the forest is long gone.”

  He scratches his neck. “Oh, I actually grabbed a couple last night. Let’s see…”

  He pulls out a couple of chargers from underneath the bed. I’m impressed that he remembered, honestly.

  “The white one,” I say, beckoning. “Let me just plug the phone in…”

  While I seek the plug on the wall beside the bed, Grayson stands up. “It’s still not dark yet, so I think I’m going to go through the equipment shed. I’ll try to replace any of our stuff that I can find. Anything I can’t replace I should be able to order.”

  I look up at him with a smile. “Okay. I’ll be right here.”

  He catches me off guard with a long, slow kiss that is full of need. When it’s over, I look up at him, biting my lip.