“What about her father?” Cami wondered.
“He says there have been some past episodes where Louisa became unhealthily attached to people. There have been a few incidents. She fixated on a guy in her class, telling people he was her boyfriend and showing up everyplace he went. He threatened a restraining order before she backed off. She freaked out another student by changing her appearance and emulating everything she did. She followed her around, telling people they were best friends, and showed up at her house more than once, insisting she’d been invited. Louisa’s father stepped in and took her out of school and had her admitted to a hospital.” I released the curl, watching it drape across Cami’s skin. “He told me she was released and has been better. Still, he admits he only talks to her on occasion, and he couldn’t recall the last time he paid a bill for her therapist. He said the last phone call from her was over a month ago.” I huffed. “Again, not parent of the year.”
“Why wasn’t that in her records?”
I sighed, scrubbing my face. “Her father paid off the school and the kids to keep it all quiet. He wanted her to start with a clean slate, so he moved her here, and being the idiot it sounds like he is, left her on her own.” I captured another curl, needing to touch her. “I’m afraid neither of them cares a great deal. He tosses money at the situation, and her mother ignores it. I told her father what she’d been doing, and he didn’t seem shocked or particularly interested.”
“So she’s all alone and sick.”
“Mentally unstable, yes. Her father told me she adored her sister, literally worshiped the ground she walked on. They were only a year apart in age, and people thought they were twins. Louisa copied everything her sister, Jessie, did. It appears after her death, Louisa has transferred that…need to other people.”
“But she’s never, ah, hurt someone?” she whispered, fear in her voice.
I ran my hand down her arm in comfort. “No, not that her father admitted. She gets obsessed and can’t let go easily. I have Reid digging a bit more because her father was too light on details.”
“She needs help.”
“Yes, she does.”
“If she is just lonely, maybe I should go home. She might come see me, and I could convince her to get help.”
“No,” I stated firmly. “That isn’t happening.”
“Aren’t you tired of me being in your space already?”
“No,” I said, quiet and reflective. “I like having you here. I find your company very soothing.”
Her cheeks pinked. “Really?”
“Yeah.” I ran my knuckles down her cheek, an idea coming to me. “You only have one class today, right?”
“Yes.”
“Wanna blow it off and play hooky with me?”
Her eyes lit up, and she nodded.
“Okay, Sunshine, up and at it. Be sure to bring your knapsack.”
* * *
The wind whipped past us as we hurled down the highway. Cami had been excited when I pulled up in front of Jay’s garage and she realized what we were doing.
“We’re going on your bike?”
“Yep.”
“I don’t have anything—like a helmet!”
I laughed, pulling her out of the car. “Jay is loaning me some protective gear for you. We’re covered.”
She ran her hands over the bike, then winked at me. “This is hot.”
“It’s a Ducati Monster.”
She was nervous getting on, but that dissipated quickly once we’d been traveling for a while.
I loved how she felt on my bike, her chest pressed to my back and her hands wrapped tight around my waist. She was excited when we pulled up to a winery, one of the two I planned to visit that day.
“You remembered!”
I tweaked her nose, happy to see how thrilled she was. Her tangled hair fell around her face, her cheeks flushed from the wind, and her eyes sparkled. She was stunning.
“You bet. I booked us a wine tasting and lunch here, then another tasting later.” I winked. “Of course, you’ll be tasting. I’ll be driving.”
Lunch was great. They offered a tour with a picnic, and since it was such a beautiful day, I had taken that option. We sat at a table in the sun, eating the gourmet lunch, and she sipped the wines that accompanied the meal. I tried a small taste of one I liked the sound of, and Cami seemed to enjoy. After lunch, we went inside, and I ordered a case of wine to have delivered since I couldn’t carry it on the bike. We put one bottle in Cami’s knapsack.
Cami wandered over, talking to another woman as I paid, and when I was done, I joined her. I slid up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her back to me. “What are you doing?”
“I’m entering a contest. It’s a trip to Vegas for four people, and the draw is in a couple of weeks. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
I hummed. I’d never been to Vegas or had any inclination to go, but it made her happy to enter, so I agreed.
We left and went to the other winery. It was smaller, and the owner was behind the long bar, offering tastings. Cami was fascinated, and he seemed taken with her, answering her questions and giving her several samples. One vintage she particularly liked, so I bought two bottles, adding them to her knapsack. He gave us information on the ice wine festival in the winter, and after she had a sample of their specialty, she assured him we would be back.
“We need to get Bentley and Emmy here. She loves ice wines.”
“Sure,” I agreed. “We’ll figure something out.”
We walked around the vineyard, enjoying the sun.
“Thank you for today, Aiden,” she said, not looking at me. “It was an unexpectedly good day.”
I slipped my arm around her and tucked her to my side. As if drawn by an invisible thread, I couldn’t stop touching her. All day, I’d held her hand, kissed her temple, drew her close. And when I looked down at her, she was grinning.
“I’m glad. I wanted you to smile. I love it when you smile.” I blew out a breath. “I especially love it when you smile at me.”
She beamed, making the light around us seem dim by comparison. Without thought, I turned and tugged her closer, never breaking her gaze. Her breathing picked up as we stared. There was nothing around us. No vineyard and sunlight. No voices from other people as they strolled through the neatly laid-out rows.
Only her. Only us.
“I can’t give you what you want,” I murmured. “But I’ve missed you.”
“I’ll take what you have to give.”
My lips were on hers instantly. I lifted her, holding her tight to my chest as I devoured her mouth. It was passionate and intense. Full of yearning and need. Her tongue slid along mine sensuously, filling my senses with her taste. I felt every one of her curves aligning with my body, forming around my hardness perfectly. The desire I had pushed down and tried to ignore exploded. I gripped her hard, molding my hands around the swells of her ass, letting her feel how much I wanted her. I groaned low in my chest, dragging my mouth to her ear. “I need to take you home, Sunshine.”
“Here,” she pleaded. “Don’t make me wait.”
My cock was in total agreement with her. Frantically, I looked around, finding a small shed a few rows over. Still holding her, I headed in that direction, rounding the corner to the back of the building. It was shaded and secluded, away from everyone.
“You have to be quiet.”
“You need to be fast.”
“Not an issue, baby. Trust me.”
Minutes later, I’d buried myself inside her. She cried out softly, her head falling back on the rough wood wall. I was out of control, pounding into her, chasing my release, and desperate for hers.
“Give me your mouth.”
She lifted her face, and I captured her lips, kissing her hard, frantic, and controlling. The worry I had been feeling, the odd contentment of having her with me every day without acting on my feelings, was too much. I gripped her hips, sinking as deep as I could go, almost growlin
g in my need. She stiffened, her fingers digging into my shoulder, tightening around me.
“Yeah, baby, like that,” I praised her. “Just like that. Come for me.” I buried my face into her neck, my lips by her ear. “Come all over me. Right now.”
She whimpered and shuddered, her body taut as she rode out her orgasm. I drove into her again, my balls tightening and pleasure spiking through my spine. Her name broke from my lips as I came, and my body stilled with the strength of my orgasm.
We stayed connected until we both stopped shaking. Gradually, I lowered her to the ground and helped her pull up her jeans, before yanking mine back into place. I slipped my fingers under her chin, making her meet my gaze.
“Okay, Sunshine?”
Her eyes glowed, her smile wide. “I am.”
“I still need to get you home.”
“I’m good with that.”
We walked to the bike hand in hand, grinning. I made sure her helmet was on correctly, she was seated properly, and then I swung my leg over the bike. She wrapped her arms around my waist, leaning into my back with a sigh.
“Hold tight,” I instructed, covering her hands with mine for a brief moment. “Don’t let go.”
She increased her grip in reply.
I ignored the small voice in my head.
“Ever.”
Aiden
I leaned back in the tub, enjoying the feel of the warm water lapping at my skin. Or maybe it was the feel of Cami reclining into my chest, the way her hands drifted up and down my calves. Either way, the bathtub was more pleasurable than I had expected. The rain had returned, and we spent Saturday in the loft watching movies. Cami did some schoolwork, while I slowly made my way through some documents Bentley had sent over from the office. When she had stood, stretching, I had suggested a bath, and she agreed as long as I joined her.
I was good with that.
My phone rang, and I stiffened when I saw who was calling.
“Aiden Callaghan.”
“Mr. Callaghan, it’s Calvin Hob from the School of Design.”
“Yes, what can I do for you?”
“I wanted you to know we had a call from Miss Kershaw’s mother informing us she was withdrawing from the program and would not be returning.”
“When did she call?”
“Today, as a matter of fact. I was in my office, catching up on some work, and picked up the phone.”
“Are you sure it was her?”
He sounded surprised. “She identified herself as Louisa’s mother. I have no reason to suspect it was anyone else.”
“Did she say why Louisa was leaving?”
“She said it was for personal reasons, and that her ex-husband would be in contact shortly about the remaining tuition.” He cleared his throat. “There are no refunds on unused portions, but I will take that up with him.”
I rolled my eyes. “Did you see the number the call came from?”
He sighed. “No. It showed a transfer from the main line. I can inquire on Monday if they can look it up.”
“I would appreciate that. Thank you.”
Cami turned, meeting my gaze as I disconnected the call. “I heard the uncertainty in your voice. You don’t believe it?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. It would explain why no one has seen or heard from her. Maybe she went home to her mother.”
“That would be good—she needs someone to care for her. And I could go home, put this behind me, and get back to my life.” She eased away from me, crawling out of the tub and reaching for a towel. She slid it around her body and tucked it closed.
For some reason, her actions and words rankled. As if she was closing me off from both her and her life. I shook my head over the stupid notion.
“Let’s not jump ahead of ourselves. I’ll call her parents again and check it out, okay?”
“Okay.”
Her phone buzzed, and she picked it up, reading the screen. “Emmy is inviting us for brunch tomorrow. She says Bentley is making coddled eggs.”
“Oh man, I love those. He only makes them on special occasions. He never makes enough, though.”
“I could make pancakes so you don’t go hungry.”
I stood, the water coursing down my body. Her gaze was intense as I stepped out onto the mat beside her. My cock stirred at her leer. With a grin, I tugged at the top of the towel that was hiding her curves from me. “I’m hungry now, Sunshine. I need you to feed me.”
* * *
I hung up the phone, frustrated. I hadn’t been able to reach either of Louisa’s parents. Her mother’s voice mail box was full, and her father hadn’t returned my messages.
Something felt off. If it was true that Louisa had left and gone to her mother’s, it was good news, although I still felt she needed to answer for what she had done to Cami. But it seemed too convenient. Reid had obtained the files on the missing spans of time, and there had been four cases of her odd behavior of fixating on another person. All four times she had to be stopped. She had never ended it voluntarily.
I paced around the room. I knew there was a possibility that, after my calls, one or both of her parents had come to town and taken her away. In fact, I hoped that had happened, but until I spoke with one of them and confirmed it, we still had to be careful.
Cami came into the room and stopped as soon as she saw my agitation. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Did you–did you talk to them?”
“No, I can’t get ahold of either of them.”
“Oh.” She worried her lip.
“Sunshine.”
She looked up.
“Nothing changes. You’re with me until we confirm. You’re safe, okay?”
She pushed her hair away from her face. “I spoke with Dee. Things are still up in the air about when she’ll be home. She told me to listen to you.”
I smirked. “I always liked your sister. Smart woman.”
She rolled her eyes. “Are you ready to go to Bentley’s?”
I clapped my hands. “Yep. Coddled eggs, here I come.”
* * *
Bentley was in fine form when we arrived. With a grin that stretched from ear-to-ear, he sat back on the sofa in his massive living room, his feet kicked up on the coffee table. I had never seen him that relaxed. Delicious aromas filled the house, making my mouth water. I sipped the Bloody Mary Bent handed me and cocked my head.
“What’s up?”
He smirked. “What makes you think something is up?”
“The fact that you look like the cat that swallowed the canary. Plus, you’re making coddled eggs. I hope you made a lot, by the way.”
“You can have Maddox’s share.”
Maddox was sick with a wicked cold, so he decided not to come and infect us.
“He is missing out.”
A squeal from the kitchen interrupted us, and I was on my feet in an instant, relaxing when I realized it was a happy sound. I glanced at the table, taking in the flowers, then realized there were flowers everywhere.
“You did it, didn’t you?”
Cami came barreling into the room, heading straight for Bentley. She flung her arms around his neck, laughing and crying at the same time. “Congratulations!”
He patted her back awkwardly, but he couldn’t contain his smile. Emmy appeared, smiling and blushing. Lots of hugs and backslaps were exchanged, and Cami exclaimed in rapture over the ring.
It was perfect on Emmy’s hand, just as Darlene had described. The diamond was brilliant in the bright light of the room, and Emmy obviously loved it.
“Darlene did an amazing job.”
“It’s more than I ever expected,” Emmy said with a sigh.
“Gorgeous,” Cami gushed. “It’s one of the most beautiful rings I have ever seen.”
Bentley kissed Emmy’s head. “It was for the most beautiful woman in the world. It had to be.”
Emmy rolled her eyes and slapped his chest. “Rigid. Stop it.”
> “Just speaking the truth, Freddy.”
She pretended to be annoyed, but like Bentley, her joy was evident. She tugged Cami’s hand. “Come on. We need to finish brunch.”
They disappeared into the kitchen, and we sat down.
“How’d you pop the question?” I asked.
Bentley laughed. “I had planned a whole thing. Dinner, champagne, violins, the whole works. Then I realized she would hate the whole idea. So I took her for a drive and had a florist come in and decorate the sunroom with flowers while we were out. When we got home, I surprised her. She was so overwhelmed with the flowers, it took her a moment to realize I was on one knee.” He chuckled. “Then she lunged so fast she knocked me right on my ass—and said yes.”
I raised my glass. “Congrats, Bent.”
He tilted his chin. “You’re my best man, right?”
“Absolutely.”
“Maddox is my second-in-command.”
I chuckled and reached for my phone. “We need to call and tell him.”
I put it on video, and Maddox answered after a few rings. His hair was mussed, his eyes heavy and bleary, his voice rough.
“What? I was sleeping.”
“Bentley’s been busy.”
He scowled in confusion.
“He completed that project we helped him with.”
A grin broke out on his face. “Hey, man,” he rasped. “Congrats.”
Bentley grinned. “Thanks, Mad Dog. You’ll stand up for me with Aiden, right?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. I’ll take us all out to celebrate once I’m over this cold.” He coughed, the sound painful.
“Ouch.”
The girls entered and sat down, offering him sympathy over his cold. Emmy told him she would make him some chicken soup and send it over later.
He grinned. “Thanks, Emmy. Congrats on your engagement. Bent is a lucky man.”
Vested Interest Box Set Books 1-3 Page 40
