"At least you still have your cell phone." Doctor Oliver Bentley, her oldest brother, now sat in prison for a crime he'd never commit in his life. "At least you escaped this nightmare."
At the hotel for those ten days, she'd felt like she’d lived in a nightmare. Now, despite the threats, Navid had offered her sanctuary. She slumped into the living room chair. "Oliver. I miss everyone so much. How are you? Have you heard from the others? I’ve tried to call but they won’t let me through and--"
Oliver cut over her. "Elle, the six of us are getting out tomorrow."
"How? That's amazing." Six meant her brothers, and not Mom and Dad, but it was a start. She leaned forward in her chair while her body zipped with adrenaline. In survival mode, she hadn’t scraped together the money for a lawyer, and the family lawyer refused to take her calls. Maybe her brother Roy’s old firm had come through after all. "Were you found innocent?"
Oliver scoffed with anger. "No. But we were contacted by a group of religious women who want to deliver us from evil. They’ve got bail money."
Was he joking? "That’s a lot of money times six."
"Yeah, it is. The guys and I agreed if we get out then we can work on finding who set us up, and then free our parents."
"What do the women want?"
"Marriage."
She batted her eyes against a rush of tears and tried to understand what her brother had just said. "You're getting married?"
"To a woman who wants to save my soul." She could hear the sarcasm in his tone. But then Oliver went into big brother mode. "It will be fine. How are you holding up?"
"I'm good." She sat back in her chair. "I'm working for my boyfriend as a temporary nanny."
"Boyfriend?" Oliver said in a way that reminded her of when she’d been a teenager and her six older brothers all stood in line to meet any guy that came to the door to ask her out. "You must have hid him from us," Oliver said gruffly. "Listen, I’ve got to go. Talk to you soon."
Part of her was angry her parents were still in that nightmare and that her brothers were selling themselves into marriage. Another part of her was just glad she’d see them again—maybe even tomorrow.
She looked up to see Navid leaning against the wall. Her face felt hot and she hoped he hadn't heard her. He walked closer to her and once again energy coursed through her that set desire into her veins. "Who was on the phone?"
She stood and fixed her butterfly necklace. "My brother, Oliver. They are getting out tomorrow."
"That’s wonderful!" Navid reached out and brushed her cheek. "So, I'm your boyfriend?"
He’d heard. "I'd like that." She let him push her hair out of her face.
He leaned so close his breath mixed with her own. "Margo is in bed for the night."
"Oh, she is?" Elle closed her eyes and lifted her lips.
He claimed her offer and she felt his hands on the small of her back as he pulled her against his hard muscles. His erection grew, demanding attention.
He let her go and stepped back. "Why don't you change into something more comfortable while I see Prudence out? If you want, I'll be in my room in under an hour and waiting for my girlfriend."
Hope grew in her chest. She nodded shyly. "I'll see you there."
Navid protected her and his daughter like they were presents to cherish. She still needed to show Navid that she’d fit in his world, but this was a better start than she hoped. He was her boyfriend, for real.
Navid turned off the shower just as Elle entered his bedroom door, wearing a lacy white slip. She made sure Margo was sound asleep before she crept into Navid's room. He walked out in snug boxer briefs, his eyes wide at the sight of her. "You came?"
"Was it a question? Of course, I'm here." She walked into his arms. His muscles around her gave her a sense of belonging. She kissed his chin and intended to kiss his lips.
He straightened her necklace. "Have I told you I like your butterfly necklace?"
She claimed his lips in hers, his mouth waking passion inside of her. Once the kiss ended, she let her hands rest on his hips. "No, but thank you. My mom gave it to me. In fact, maybe you could help me…later."
"Now."
Uncomfortable, she admitted, "You know a lot of people and I was hoping you’d help me find a jeweler so I could sell it."
She tried to kiss him and change the subject back to desire.
"Why would you?"
"My brothers are getting married for bail, the least I can do is sell this for Mom and Dad’s lawyer."
"I’ll buy it from you if you need so I can give it back when you’re ready."
Her heart soared. "So, where is this rope?"
"Rope?" He brought her to sit on the edge of the bed.
She flirted with a seductive smile. "This morning you promised some 50 Shades if I came to your room tonight."
He laughed and the sound of that deep-seated joy made her want to hear it again. He stroked her back. "That was before you were my official girlfriend."
"What does that mean?"
Without a word, he went to his closet. She tried to see behind him, but couldn't. A moment later, he turned with a bouquet of at least two dozen red roses in his hand. He gave them to her, and she smelled the sweet floral perfume as tears formed in her eyes. "I love the flowers."
"They are for you." He brought another dozen or so to the bed. "Everything is yours for the taking, Elle."
He’d remembered about the roses. If he could do all this for her, she'd do whatever he wanted in bed. In fact, she was eager to try because no one had ever really offered and she wondered what the fuss was about. She held out her wrists. "Well I still want the rope and to know what you wanted to do to me."
He kissed her cheek. "Elle, tonight, I don't want to hurt you. You deserve kindness."
Last night he'd been hard and fast and unyielding. She wanted to feel that level of intensity again. She lowered her lashes. "Navid, I trust you won't hurt me, but I am curious about being blindfolded and tied to the bed. I thought you could fulfill that wish."
"Come here." He offered her his lap instead. Once she settled on his muscled thighs, he kissed her neck and shoulders.
She bent backwards to give him access to any part of her his hands might roam. As he suckled on her neck, she sighed, her skin alive from the touch of his five o’clock shadow. She ran her hands through his hair. "Oh, good. And keep doing that."
She shifted on his growing erection. "Do you have the blindfold?"
"You win." He stroked her long hair and didn’t block the huge erection he wielded. He shook his head. "Think of a safe word so I know you want me to stop."
"Avocado," she quipped a split second later.
He brushed the shadow of beard along his jaw—he hadn’t shaved after his shower. "Avocado is what came to your mind?"
She touched the rough skin, following his fingers across his jaw and the scratch made her skin tingle when she kissed him. "It's not what I would think about if we were making love."
"Okay, avocado then." He kissed her cheek. Then higher on her cheek bone and asked into her ear that he teased and nibbled, "Are you sure I can't look into your eyes and know right away if you like what I do?"
The image of him on top of her as he peeled away her slip was all she truly needed. She kissed his shoulder until he came away from her ear and she could nibble on his chin and lips. "Well, when you put it like that..."
His hand slipped the shoulder strap off and kissed the upper portion of her chest that he revealed as he tugged the fabric down. "I'd also like to shower your body with the rose petals and then take them off one at a time."
His erection was already hard beneath her and growing. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Won't that take a long time?"
"Are you in a rush?" He spoke slowly but his hardening shaft told her a different story.
He slid the other band down and nibbled on her chest as he laid her down.
He lifted her hands and tugged her slip all the way off. Her
body was ready for him. He gently kissed her nipples but then stepped away from the bed. She stayed seated and watched him strip off his boxer briefs. Bare, he went into the closet.
He brought out a basket of rose petals. He tossed them on her. She laughed at the velvet tickle. "Rose petals sound good."
He climbed back on the bed and threw more petals in the air. "Then relax and just kiss me."
"Navid, I like being with you." She claimed his kiss. Her arms wrapped around his strong back.
As the kiss ended, he stared into her eyes. "I just saw a woman tied up and terrified, it wasn’t sexy. I can't imagine you ever not liking what I do to you."
That made sense. She would never hurt him. "Navid... I like every feeling I get when you touch me."
His fingers trailed south and she let out a soft sigh. She arched for him, and needed to feel him inside her. Now.
His phone rang, but they both ignored it.
Her hands traveled his body as he kissed her stomach and took off a rose petal.
Then he repeated the pattern and she laughed. "Seriously?"
"I get to taste and exam every part of your perfect body." He kissed the skin he revealed under the rose petal. She moved, but he said, "Relax. You trust me, remember?"
Her head rolled back as her body grew warmer. His lips inched closer to her nipples. One by one he took the petals off her body, but at her nipple he kissed the sensitive bud and her body flamed. "Please?"
He pushed his finger in and out of her while he licked and flicked her breasts that were now hard and aching for him.
"Navid..." She brought his face to hers. She needed his kiss.
His lips were better than any sweet she'd ever tasted and she was absolutely addicted. She curled her legs around him to keep him close.
His erection was so stiff it had to be painful. She maneuvered her legs so she'd accept all of him. All he had to do was press into her.
He kissed her forehead as he slid into her.
He released, and she felt all of him inside. The rhythm he set was that of a man totally in control. She moved and urged him to go faster and more intense as her body blossomed in new and exciting ways.
Her ability to think left her. Was this heaven?
Her body no longer felt like her own, and she lost all control as he went faster and faster. She hoped he joined her in feeling this perfect.
Finally, his weight pressed on her and she clung to him, wishing this night would never end.
He slipped out of her and maneuvered beside her. She rolled to keep the connection and he kissed her a final time, the taste of nectar, honey and spice.
If he asked her to stay at his side forever, she'd never leave him. The rest of the world no longer mattered except his hidden kindness.
Navid woke up in bed with Elle wrapped around him. He loved the softness of her warm skin on his hard body. She made him feel alive. Slowly he disentangled himself from her and stared out into the morning sun that blazed across the blue ocean.
He stretched, showered, threw sweatpants and a shirt on, and picked up his phone to head out to make breakfast for Margo and Elle. He turned on the screen and saw a text from Paul. When? He remembered the phone call last night that he’d ignored.
You tried to trap me, Navid. Your daughter and your blonde will pay for your mistake.
Navid stopped by the bedroom door, his gut tight. He clenched the phone in his hand and felt every muscle in his body tense. From behind him, Elle called out softly, "Everything okay?"
Elle and Margo were in danger. His heart sped up and he turned around. "I need to check on Margo."
"She's probably still asleep." Elle got out of bed, shrugged on her slip, and followed him out into the hall.
If Paul now knew Elle was in this house, then he had access somehow despite his security. He would find the leak, but first he would lay eyes on Margo. "I need to be sure."
"You're scaring me." Elle raced behind him.
He threw open the door and his daughter was lying serene and safe on her bed, fast asleep. Elle caught up with him and held his shoulder. "Look. She's okay."
He went in anyhow and combed her hair back from her lips and onto her side. Margo had been his precious angel these past few years and it was his job to ensure she had everything she might ever need. If anyone took his daughter, they'd rip out his heart and purpose in life.
Elle walked softly beside him and whispered, "Come out or you'll wake her."
Because of his past lifestyle choices, he’d created a safe room and shown Margo how to use it. He followed Elle out the door and checked the entire condo. They were alone. Once he was sure of it, he picked up his phone and stared at the screen. "I have to call the FBI. Now."
"Why?"
He dialed the director of last night's operation. The phone rang. He held the speaker and stared into Elle's hazel eyes. "Paul."
She crossed her arms as he leaned against the wall, slowing his heart from racing by breathing deep. Elle’s brows arched. "What was on your phone?"
He stood straighter, placed his arm on her shoulder and said, "Someone betrayed me. Don't let anyone in this condo."
She nodded and looked down to the floor. "The only people were your family."
"I can't believe it was any of them, but I can't be sure." He listened to the hold music on his phone. Why weren’t they picking up?
She shook her head. "The Hawke family is like my second one. It wasn't them."
Yet Paul knew Elle was here with him. He mentioned her though hadn't known her name. That clue might mean it wasn't family, but he wouldn’t bet Elle or Margo’s life. "Someone is helping Paul."
"It wasn't them." She dropped her arms to her sides. "I can't believe it." She then glanced into his eyes, "What about Prudence?"
"She’s been helping me for years, even before I moved to Miami." The faces of the people he’d hired all blurred in his memory. He paid well, but she was right. "Even security passed a background check."
They went into his office while he listened to the music on the phone. She tapped his laptop. "Check again. Your security people are new and papers can be forged. Identities changed."
He took it from her. "Good point. Once I finish this call, I'm on it."
She smiled with understanding. "You love your daughter. I get protecting what's yours."
The phone clicked like someone might finally answer. "Just make sure no one gets in or out when I'm on the phone."
She nodded. "West is the only security guard I know with a name and he's been in here a lot."
Henry West was the only one he knew well. It was bad he hadn't memorized his new security staff's entire name and unlike him—he’d been preoccupied. "I'll run his first."
"I'll get coffee." She headed to the kitchen. He took his laptop and followed her.
Neither Margo nor Elle should be alone. Finally, he was connected on his call and he launched into what happened. "Hello director, this is Navid B, er, Hawke. Paul texted me last night."
Elle never moved from the kitchen counter. She stayed close and clearly listened. He stared into her gaze and swallowed as he processed what the director said. Then he repeated, "Paul is in jail?"
"Well, that's good," Elle said under her breath.
The director summarized how they’d caught their man and the case was closed. Navid's entire body went numb. "But my family is being threatened still. That means by one of his associates."
"I can send an officer," the director offered.
Elle stepped forward and took his hand. "Tell him that's not good enough."
Navid realized that the only one who could protect them was him. "I understand."
He hung up and Elle took her hand back. "What happened?"
He repeated what the director said. "Last night Paul made a second withdrawal and the FBI captured him."
A huge smile grew on her face. "That's good. He's in jail." She turned into the kitchen toward his Keurig coffee maker and selected a pod. "It’
s over."
He sat on a stool near the kitchen counter. "It’s not—who sent the text, if Paul is in jail?"
"What if he sent it before going to jail?" She placed her pods on the counter, next to the coffee maker. Making the first cup, she handed the fragrant brew to him.
"Thanks." While Elle was technically right, and it could have been before, he knew Paul. The threat hadn’t been laced with enough blood and reminders of the past. Navid’s his instincts said it wasn’t over, not yet.
"I’ll have coffee after my shower. We should act normal when Margo wakes up."
How she could be so calm at a time like this he didn't understand. He stopped her from leaving. "Elle?"
"Yes?" She stared up into his eyes. She seemed so pure and innocent. He kissed her cheek.
Once he felt her soft skin, the full force of his adrenaline rushed in his veins. He stood up. "Don't ever change."
She walked down the hall, but then turned to look at him again. "What are you going to do?"
"Go, shower." He showed her his laptop. "I'm going to rerun the background checks and pay attention to anyone whose history is missing details, just in case the FBI is wrong."
"I trust you, Navid." She slipped down the hall and into her room.
He waited for the shower to turn on, then fired up his computer and pulled the employement log of everyone on his security team, starting with Henry West.
He read the file and ordered additional information for the entire security team. The background company would get back to him in under an hour.
Elle came back out in her shorts and a nameless blue t-shirt. She filed past his seat at the counter, her fingers trailing against his shoulder. "Should I make another cup?"
"That would be perfect."
She popped the pod into the machine and took out fresh coffee mugs.
As she set the first one in place, she picked up her phone as it vibrated. "I'm getting an unknown call."
If Paul threatened her, Navid was right here. It would be good to know who was behind the text. He nodded. "Answer."
She took a deep breath and said, "Hello?"
A huge smile grew on her face and she motioned with her hand she was good, while she said, "Oh hey Oliver..." She looked at him and handed him the first cup. "It's my brother." She popped in a second pod and fixed her coffee mug. "Ollie, don't worry about me. I'm fine. Are you married yet? Out of jail?"
Tempting Navid Page 9
