Felony Romance Series: Complete Box Set (Books 1-5)

by Jeana E. Mann

  “Well, he’s been nothing but sweet to me so far,” Lauren replied. Indignation and irritation prickled her skin. “If you’re trying to tell me something, then spit it out. All these innuendos are starting to piss me off.”

  They shared a long look. Lauren searched Tasha’s face for clues. The girl was holding something back. Finally, Tasha’s gaze softened, and the tension in Lauren’s shoulders eased.

  “I’m just saying he’s deep. Like center-of-the-ocean deep. There’s a shitload of stuff going on in that gorgeous head of his, and…” Her voice trailed away, her brows furrowing. “I don’t want you to freak out or anything, but we hooked up a few times.” Lauren’s pulse slammed to a stop. Tasha rushed to explain, her frown replaced by worry. “It didn’t mean anything. Nothing at all. I wasn’t going to say anything if it was just a hookup between you guys, but since you’re here…I didn’t want you to find out down the road and be pissed about it.”

  Lauren studied Tasha’s face, absorbing this confession. She had no doubt that Luke and Tasha loved each other. And she didn’t believe in dwelling on past mistakes. She smiled and nodded. Tasha’s shoulders sagged in relief, explaining her earlier tension. “Thanks for telling me,” she said. “Does Luke know?”

  “Yes. He’s good.”

  “Stop worrying. I’ll be fine.” Lauren gave Tasha a playful shove on the shoulder.

  “It’s not you I’m worried about,” Tasha replied. The clouds in her eyes wiped away Lauren’s smile. “He’s really trying to get it together. He spent some time overseas, visiting the troops. Did you know that?” Lauren nodded. “He came back different. Better.”

  Tasha turned and moved down the hallway, ending the topic. Lauren trailed behind her. She’d dismissed Elijah as a spoiled, self-absorbed celebrity. Tasha added a new layer to an already complicated man. Maybe she’d judged him too quickly. Maybe, if she looked a little deeper, she’d find more than the sum of tabloid articles and music legend.

  “Geez, look at this.” Tasha swung upon the door to a hall closet. It was the size of Lauren’s bedroom at home. They flicked on the light switch and stepped inside. The shelves overflowed with framed gold and platinum records and various Seven Drift memorabilia. The top shelf held a row of prestigious music awards. She trailed her fingertips over the dusty reminders of who Elijah Crowe really was. Only someone with impressive talent earned recognition like this. Why did he keep these things hidden away in a closet? With every passing minute, her curiosity about him grew.

  They trailed into the master bedroom. Tasha’s eyes widened at the sight of the bed. She glanced at Lauren. Their eyes met, and on cue, they both ran and belly-flopped onto the mattress in a flurry of pillows, the way they had done when they were kids. They sank into the luxurious depths of the bed with twin groans of delight.

  “Oh. My. God.” Tasha sighed and burrowed deeper into the down comforter. “It feels like a cloud, doesn’t it?”

  “Mmmm…yes,” Lauren said. She drew in a deep, relaxed breath. “And for your information, he’s sleeping in one of the guest rooms.”

  “Oh, really?” Tasha sat up, eyebrows raised in disbelief. “So you haven’t fucked him, yet?”

  “Oh, yes. I’ve fucked him,” Lauren said, suppressing the urge to giggle like a schoolgirl at the torrid confession. “On the porch swing. Cadence was shocked.”

  “What?” Tasha exploded into shocked laughter. “Who are you, and what have you done with my cousin?”

  “I know, right?” Lauren bit her lower lip to contain a smile at her own wantonness.

  “Well, first of all, let me say well done, cousin.” Tasha said. They high-fived over the wall of pillows. “What did Cadence say?”

  “I think she might need counseling.” Both girls erupted into laughter. Tasha had never cared for Cadence and made no secret of her dislike.

  “Your dad is going to shit his pants,” Tasha said when they’d caught their breath.

  “My dad will not shit his pants because my dad is never going to find out.” Lauren narrowed her eyes in warning. There were some things a parent didn’t need to know. Her overprotective father would never approve of someone like Elijah, and her mother would have a coronary on the spot if she found out.

  “You’re such a slut,” Tasha said. “I’m really liking that about you.”

  “Takes one to know one,” Lauren replied and bopped Tasha in the face with a pillow.

  “Oh, it’s on now, bitch,” Tasha replied. She grabbed the nearest pillow and tackled Lauren. They rolled and squirmed on the bed until Lauren ended up on her back with Tasha straddling her, beating the daylights out of her head with the pillow.

  “Now this is what a man likes to see in his bed. Wouldn’t you agree, Luke?” Elijah stood in the doorway to the room, eyes luminous with delight.

  Luke loomed at his side, eyebrows raised to his hairline. “Oh, hell yeah.” He waved a hand in the air. “Please, continue. Don’t let us stop you.”

  “Ass,” Tasha taunted.

  Breathless and flushed, Tasha hurled a pillow at her boyfriend. He caught it and launched it back to her then dove into the bed, tackling her and squashing her on top of Lauren. Elijah followed suit, diving into the bed, wrapping his long arms around Lauren. Luke sandwiched Tasha in the middle. They wrestled around the gigantic mattress, finally coming to a rest after an energetic struggle. It was hard to tell where one person stopped and another began. Someone’s leg nestled between Lauren’s thighs, and an arm rested across her stomach. Elijah’s face was only inches from hers. His slow, lazy smile warmed her insides. He looked young and carefree. Happy.

  “We came up here to tell you the food’s ready,” Luke said. His muffled voice floated from somewhere near Lauren’s middle.

  “Yeah, but this is good, too,” Elijah said, wicked intent lighting his eyes.

  “Get off me, fuckers,” Tasha said, wriggling ineffectually from beneath Luke. “I’m starved.”

  “Me, too,” Lauren replied, feeling sluggish and dreamy with the late day sun streaming into the room and warming her face. It would be so easy to drift into sleep. Her stomach growled again.

  “That’s it. Everybody up.” Elijah rolled to the side and onto his feet. He grabbed Lauren’s ankle and dragged her to the edge of the bed.

  CHAPTER 20

  WHEN THE dishes and leftovers were cleared away, they went down to the beach and gathered around a bonfire to watch the sun set and the tide come in. Luke and Tasha sat together on the opposite side. A wool blanket covered them from head to toe. The fire bathed them in gold light. Tasha’s eyelids drooped as she nestled in Luke’s arms. Twin expressions of contentment mirrored their faces.

  Elijah eased behind Lauren, drawing her into the V of his legs. He pulled her against his chest and rested his chin on her shoulder. They sat in silence, staring at the dancing flames. The magic of the night sent a thrill through Lauren. Everything was perfect. The crackling of the fire. The hypnotic rush of the waves over the sand. The whisper of the salt breeze through the darkness. She closed her eyes and tried to memorize every nuance of the moment. Elijah’s embrace tightened around her. Times like these were few and far between in life.

  “Happy?” The question reverberated in her ear, bringing goose bumps to rise on her skin.

  “Very,” she replied, snuggling into his warmth. “Are you?”

  He didn’t answer for a long time, so long she thought he might have forgotten the question. “I don’t think I’ve ever been happy,” he said finally. “But I’m working on it. Is this what it is?”

  “For me it is,” she said. She twisted to look at him, but his gaze was on Tasha and Luke. His eyes met hers. She wasn’t sure what she saw there, but it looked like guilt.

  Luke and Tasha left around midnight. They had an early return flight the next morning and wanted to spend time alone before their departure. Elijah escorted Lauren to the threshold of the master suite. He brushed his lips over her knuckles before backing away.

  �
��You know, this bed is very big,” she said and entwined her fingers with his. “I’m going to be lonely up here.”

  “You’ll be fine,” he said and pressed a kiss to her forehead. She gazed up into his eyes and found them shuttered, his jaw clenched tight. “We’ve both had a long day. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”

  And with that, he was gone. She curled up in the huge bed, feeling tiny and alone, bewildered and hurt by his rebuff. Flashes of the evening replayed in her head, the intimate glances, secret smiles, and the pulse of something heated between three people. Speculation told her nothing. The answers needed to come from him. Maybe explanations were asking too much of a relationship going nowhere. She had secrets of her own to protect. With a sigh, she buried beneath the covers and succumbed to restless dreams of unrequited love and stormy seas.

  The thundering surf echoed the turmoil in Elijah’s soul. He sat on the beach, watching the tide race up the sand then retreat in an endless cycle. The last few days had been a blend of soaring highs and devastating lows. He’d made some progress at repairing his life. His lawyer had contacted Chelsea and set up a meeting with her. The paternity test would be back in a few weeks, but he already knew the results after one look into Layla’s sweet face. All good things.

  The call to Gabe hadn’t gone nearly as well. Apparently, he was up to his eyeballs in shit with the record label. After a fiery ass-chewing, Gabe had agreed to set up a meeting to repair the breach, if that was even possible. The idea of bowing to their demands brought back the familiar panic in his gut. Gabe wanted a private meeting first, to rehearse their approach, but he’d refused. Once Gabe got his hands on him, it would be too easy to fall back into old habits. And he wasn’t going back there. Ever. His focus needed to stay on the horizon, Layla, and his future.

  Which brought his thoughts back to the lovely girl in his bed. Lauren’s confusion and disappointment when he’d left her alone haunted him. If only she knew how badly he wanted to strip her naked and erase his thoughts with her body. So much had happened. His brain needed time to catch up, and he didn’t want to be with her like that, distracted and scattered. She deserved his full attention, and he wouldn’t give her any less.

  He’d been so excited to have her to himself that he’d forgotten a few of the finer points, like Luke and Tasha. His friends were good together, happy, and deeply in love. Meddling in their relationship had been a shameful move. He’d come to terms with his feelings for them and their summer together, but he wasn’t certain Lauren would understand. Seeing their relationship from her potential perspective put an entirely different spin on the situation.

  When he could think no more, he went upstairs to check on Lauren. She was curled on her side, sheets tangled around her hips and legs. A sliver of moonlight danced over the curves of her face, a slight frown puckering her forehead. He watched her sleep for a while. An ache grew inside him, filling him with need. He kneeled beside the bed and swept a lock of hair back from her forehead. “Lauren?”

  She stirred but didn’t open her eyes. “Hmmm?”

  “I changed my mind. Can I sleep with you?”

  “Sure.” She blinked sleepily at him and lifted the covers.

  The sheets were warm from her body heat. He slid in next to her, fitting his chest to her back, snuggling her into the curve of his body. The floral scent of her shampoo surrounded him. He buried his nose in the silky strands of her hair and let sleep take him away.

  CHAPTER 21

  “SO WHAT do you want to do today?” Elijah asked Lauren the next morning.

  They were seated on the deck, a carafe of coffee and a plate of croissants between them. Elijah rested his bare foot on the bottom rung of her chair. He wore a pair of black-and-gray striped board shorts, slung low, and a long-sleeved AC/DC concert T-shirt with an open gray hoodie over it. By the looks of his hair, he hadn’t bothered to do more than run his fingers through it after his shower. It stood up in rebellion, ruffled by the breeze.

  “Well, I don’t know. What do you suggest?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

  His knee bobbed up and down, jiggling her chair and sloshing coffee over the rim of her cup. “Fuck if I know. What do sober people do with all their free time?” He’d seemed preoccupied and restless since breakfast. The focus of his gaze often escaped to the sea where the waves pounded on the rocks.

  “Let’s go for a run,” she suggested. Unsure what to expect of their getaway, she’d brought her running shoes. Although she wasn’t a dedicated runner, she tried to work out every other day to keep the pounds from creeping back. The cool morning and gray sky seemed like perfect weather, and Elijah appeared to need the release.

  They ran in silence along the hard-packed sand just above the waterline. The thuds of their footfalls coupled with the swoosh of the water, soothing Lauren’s unrest. Elijah showed no expression, his gaze trained on the beach in front of them. Despite his claims of being against structured exercise, the sculpted lines of his body said otherwise, and his stamina far surpassed her own.

  When they reached the end of the beach, she stopped and bent over to stretch. Elijah, lost in his own musings, ran a few yards past her before he stopped and came back. The stitch in her side reminded her it had been awhile since her last workout. She grabbed her ankles and pulled, enjoying the stretch in her hamstrings. A glance upward revealed Elijah. She bit back a smile. He was studying her ass with focused intent. When their eyes met, he actually looked embarrassed.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, rumpling his hair with his fingers. “It was right there. I couldn’t help myself.”

  She laughed, endeared by his chagrin. “I’m flattered.” He smiled and shrugged. “You can run ahead if you want,” she said. “I’m going to walk for a bit.”

  “No. I’ll walk.” When she stood, he linked his fingers through hers and strolled along the water’s edge with her. “I feel better. That helped. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. You seemed a little uptight earlier.”

  He snorted. “That’s an understatement.” A jellyfish rolled up in the surf and landed in a quivering mass in front of her. He tugged on her hand to guide her around it. “I don’t know what to do with all these feelings. Before, I’d pop a pill and down a fifth of Jack. Problem solved. Now I’ve got all this shit swimming around in my head and I have no idea how to cope with it.”

  “Well, psychology isn’t my forte, but I’ve always found exercise helps. It builds endorphins, you know.” She squeaked and hopped away as the tide came perilously close to her high-dollar running shoes.

  He laughed and pulled her back to his side. “God knows I could use more endorphins.”

  They fell silent again. The sun stayed behind the clouds, and mist hung low over the water. His hand felt warm and strong. Every stroke of his thumb over the back of her hand sent a flutter of excitement between her legs. She cast a sideways glance at him, wondering what kept him silent and why she cared.

  “Sorry about last night,” he said.

  “Oh? Why? I thought it was wonderful. I had a great time.”

  “You know what I mean.” He stopped and tugged her to him, pressing her front to his chest. One of his hands cupped her ass and held her hips to his. “I was a little overwhelmed by the whole day…” His voice trailed away, leaving her hanging.

  “What are you not saying?” she asked. “Last night, you and Luke and Tasha…I got the feeling you guys all shared some big secret. Something everyone knows but me.” She shook her head and headed toward the house.

  “Lauren, hold up.” Elijah trotted to her side and grabbed her arm above the elbow. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I’m just ready to go back.” She shivered and wrapped her arms around her waist. The wind dragged an icy finger down her spine. She bent her head to brace against it.

  “Look.” He shoved a hand through his hair, staring at the horizon like there was something there visible only to him. The muscles of his throat constricted as he swallowed. When
he turned to look at her, the blue of his eyes rocketed straight through her, spinning the world around them. “I’ll tell you everything, but just not now. Okay?”

  The hoarseness of his voice rasped over her, raw with vulnerability. His words promised intimacy. It was her turn to look away, overcome by a unique need to nurture this guy, no longer a stranger. She shivered again, blaming it on the cold, but this time it came from inside her, from the place where his gaze touched her.

  “Lauren.” He unzipped his hoodie and draped it around her shoulders. It was still filled with his body heat and scent, masculine and clean. “Better?”

  “Why am I here, Elijah?” The question tumbled from her lips. Before she succumbed to whatever throbbed and pulsed between them, she needed to know.

  “Because you’re pretty and you smell good,” he replied with an impish smile.

  She gave him a playful shove that sent him back a step. He recovered and hooked his arm around her neck, dragging her to his side.

  “Seriously, I want to know.” She wrapped an arm around his waist and tilted her head up at him. “You could have any girl in the world with you right now. Why me?”

  “You don’t want anything from me,” he said. His features became somber as he gazed down at her. “And when you look at me the way you are right now, I get the feeling I might not be a piece of shit after all.”

  CHAPTER 22

  COOL RAINDROPS spattered Lauren’s face as they climbed the steps from the beach to the house. By the time they got inside, a spring shower pebbled the surface of the swimming pool and plinked against the wall of glass. Elijah lit the fireplace in the living room. Lauren ran upstairs to take a quick shower. She pulled on a flowered sundress and covered it with a light cotton blouse then ran barefoot down the stairs.