CHANNING
The silence in the backseat of my lawyer’s Suburban is nearly deafening as we ride the rest of the way to my house.
I don’t know why I said that. My mouth opened, and the words came out without me even thinking.
But the truth is I can’t trust anyone. I must be a horrible judge of character. Beth may be all up in this thing with them for all I know.
As the driver pulls up in front of my house I look at Beth. Her green eyes are full of fire. Her dark waves are cascading over her narrow shoulders and all I can think is she can’t be trusted.
“I’ll have the driver take you back to your dorm.” The words come out on their own.
Maybe I should just do what comes naturally. Maybe that’s been my problem all along.
My brain knows who is good and who isn’t but I’ve been overriding it with my emotions and feelings.
Beth’s eyes go very narrow. “The fuck you will, Channing.”
Her words kind of shock me. I thought she might cry but not get mad. “Look, Beth…”
She turns away and opens the door and gets out of the car and walks up to the front door, unlocks it then goes inside. I look back at my lawyer and shrug. “Guess she and I will have to talk about this inside. See you, Ronnie.”
He doesn’t say a word, just takes another drink from the bottle of whisky he’s had a death grip on since we left that parking lot. I slide out of the seat and head toward the door she left wide open.
As I come inside I find her pacing in the entry room. When she sees I’ve come in, she stops and glares at me. “Close the door, Channing.”
Slowly, I close the door never turning my back to her. I have no idea what she’s capable of. Just like I had no idea what Jana or my father was.
“I don’t want to fight, Beth. I just can’t trust anyone right now.” I try to walk passed her to go to the kitchen.
Her small hand grabs my arm. “You will trust me. You have no choices, Channing. We won’t be going down that road you’re trying to take. I’m not leaving you alone to deal with this. It’s quite obvious you’re dealing with a world class bitch and I will not see you do it alone. I love you. Get it through your head. I love you and I am going nowhere.”
Staring at her, I’m trying to figure out why she’d even want to be around me. “Is it the money, Beth? I’ll give you all you want. Just let me be alone. I’m the only person I can trust.”
“If you say you can’t trust me even one more time, Channing Michaels, it will cost your ass more than money. I don’t want your money and never have, you know that.” Her hand slips up and runs gently over my shoulder. “You’re trying to shut me out and it’s somewhat understandable that you feel you can’t trust me. But you have to wrap your head around the fact I am trustworthy.”
She looks at me like she can see right through me. I stroke her pink cheek. “You don’t know how bad I wish I could. My mother and grandparents are sitting on the fence about me right now. Mom told me they preferred to sit back and see what happens. My word is not good enough for them.”
Her other hand moves along my waist, sending sparks through me. “Channing, I do take your word for everything you’ve said. You have been honest with me about things you didn’t even have to tell me. I trust you. I want to help you. I love you, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Biting my lip, I gaze at this little, young, super-strong woman and have to ask, “What did I do to deserve you, Beth?”
“Channing, just stop.” Her arms go around me and she holds me to her as she looks up at me with her green eyes shining brightly. “You’ve had one rough night, and this morning was certainly no picnic. Let’s go up to your bedroom and take off all our clothes and climb into the big, comfy bed you have and make love until we can’t anymore. Then sleep this awful day away.”
I run my fingertip over her plump bottom lip. “You are beyond amazing.”
“Is that a yes?” she asks with a smile.
I pick her up into my arms and carry her up the stairs to my bedroom. “That is a yes and I’m about to thank you in every way possible for standing up to me and making me see that I was about to fuck up.”
With a sigh, she lays her head against my chest and one hand trails over my pec. “Yes, you were trying very hard to fuck things up, weren’t you? But I recall a little conversation we had a while back after you came to your senses about me. You told me to kick your ass if I had to.”
“Glad I came around before you had to exert your mighty force on me, Little-bit,” I say with a chuckle.
She balls up her tiny fist and shakes it near my face. “Watch out, I pack a wallop, buddy!”
“You’re adorable.” I kiss the tip of her nose and push my bedroom door open.
Placing her feet on the ground, she looks up at me as she pulls her shirt off over her head. Then wiggles out of her tight jeans.
I follow her lead and pull the sweat suit off I put on last night. She takes my hand once we’re standing in front of each other with only what God sent us here in and leads me to the bed.
The big, soft bed I missed so damn much last night as I had to lay on the hard, thin mattress in that jail cell. I push that out of my mind and climb onto the bed next to her.
Her small hands press my shoulders to the bed as she climbs on top of me. I reach for her perky tits and she takes my hands and places them on the mountainous heaps of pure perfection.
As I watch her use my hands to rub her tits my mind wanders and I don’t know what made me say those things to her. I don’t know why I do some of the things I do. Does that make me crazy?
Do other people have the same problem I do with opening their mouth and shit coming out they didn’t even know was going to?
Her face is near mine as she leans over and whispers, “I’m about to send you to your happy place, Baby.”
“Good, I need to go there,” I tell her with a little laugh.
She moves her body down mine and smiles at me as I watch her hands slip over my erection. The tip of her tongue flicks out of her mouth, serpent-like and touches the tip of my dick.
It jerks with her tiny touch it wants so much more of than what she gave me. Her eyes move off mine as her head moves into position to take me into her hot, wet mouth.
My eyes close as she takes me in and I can feel her tongue gliding on the underside of my cock. The moan I make rattles my chest, it’s so deep.
Up and down her sweet mouth moves over me. Every time she reaches the tip, she gives it a lick and a gentle suck. She already has my insides turning to jelly.
Her hands cover the space on my dick her mouth leaves. It’s totally being massaged and stimulated. Then she starts humming and I’m completely in Heaven.
She takes one hand off my cock and reaches down to take my balls into her warm hand. I make some sound I didn’t know I could make as she sucks a little harder.
My dick jerks a little and she makes something that sounds like, “Yum.”
I guess a little pre-cum seeped out, and she likes it.
She moves faster up and down my length as she hums and plays with my balls and then it hits me like a brick wall. “Fuck! Baby! Suck me!”
I shoot my wad down her throat as she moans and drinks it all down. Her mouth moves up and down slowly until I am completely spent. Trailing kisses up my body after giving my dick a good long lick, she moves over me and lays half on and half off me.
I wrap my arm around her and hug her to me. “Nap, then it’s my turn to send you to your happy place, Baby,” I tell her as I am so relaxed and the long night of no sleep has caught up to me.
“Rest, Baby. I’ll be right here with you,” her words come out soft and make me feel safe for some odd reason.
Life with her in my corner could be so sweet.
If I can manage to stop trying to fuck up what we have that is!
Chapter 6
BETH
The media brought their circus to Channing’s Beach house. Our sweet lit
tle nap was ruined all too soon as the doorbell began ringing incessantly along with the sounds of car’s, van’s, and truck’s honking.
Then both our cell phones began ringing. It’s insane how people can find out a number one considers private. But they have and Channing and I are prisoners in this magnificent home on a beautiful beach in Miami.
By the small amount of news, we’ve watched, because what’s on it is more than depressing. It’s obvious Jana and Morgan have sparked outrage in the community and all would like to see Channing’s gorgeous head placed on a stick and carried around town to show everyone the monster is dead.
Michelle sent me a text letting me know Jana and Morgan will be appearing on a talk show later this afternoon. The show’s host is notoriously loud and opinionated. She’s also an ex-judge and Michelle said she’ll be weighing in on the probabilities of Channing’s conviction.
I told him he shouldn’t watch it and asked Michelle to take notes and send them to me after the show. I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to watch it either.
Her text also included the information about her talking to my parents. Who actually told her they respect my decision to stand by Channing. They trust my judgment and know I always do the right thing if at all possible.
Their hippy kind of ways are actually working in my favor for once. And their belief in me has Michelle changing her tune. She told me she’s behind me, not Channing, but me. And if I need her to help me then all I have to do is ask.
Funny how true friends and a family who believes they raised you right can have your back even when it seems the whole world is against you.
Channing comes out of the bathroom. His color is so off. His tanned skin, a bit on the pale side and his stiff jaw a lot more slack than usual.
I get up and pull him to the bed. Then an idea pops into my head. “Why don’t we go all the way up to the party room on the fourth floor? It’s further away from the noise and you did say there was a badass sound system up there. I bet it would drown out these pests. What do you say, Baby? Want to go hide with me up there?”
“Put on your bikini and I’ll put on my board shorts. It’s all tropically themed up there and there’s a huge hot tub. There’s even a stocked bar. All I have to do is run down to the kitchen and rustle up some food and take it up there. We’ll make a day and night of it.” He jumps up and goes to his chest of drawers and pulls out a pair of faded blue swimming trunks I know he’s going to look awesome in.
“But I didn’t bring a bathing suit, Channing.” I get up and go to the closet to see what I can wear.
He clears his throat as he takes a little red bikini from the same drawer he pulled his shorts from. “Yes, you do. I bought this for you last week.” He tosses it to me. “Now you get dressed and I’ll meet you up there. And don’t even make an attempt at turning on the sound system until I get up there. I’ll show you how to do it. It’s a fussy bitch of a system.”
Laughing as I go into the bathroom to make sure I’m mostly hair-free before donning the tiny bathing suit, I can’t help but feeling this will all work out. Somehow it has to.
As I’m shaving my legs in the sink my cell rings and I see it’s the security company I called early this morning. “Hello.”
“Um, I’m at your door and no one’s answering. Are you home?” a man asks me.
“Yes, we are. Have you not noticed the crowd out there?” I ask as I can hear them all yelling questions about Channing and me.
“If you let me in, I can be of help to you,” he says.
“Be right down.”
Quickly, I find a cover up and throw it over the bathing suit and rush down the stairs to let our help inside. As I run through the kitchen I see Channing putting things in a bag.
“Hey, the security guy’s here. He says he can help us.”
“Then let his ass in. We need all the help we can get!” Channing follows behind me. Temporarily abandoning his at home shopping.
As I look out the peephole all I can see are reporters. I call the number back. “I don’t see you, sir.”
“I’m right here at the front door,” his deep voice tells me. “Just open the door and you’ll see me. Move to the side so I can slip in quickly.”
“Stay back, Channing. He’s coming in fast, he says.” I pull the door open and all I see are the reporters who blast me with questions.
I don’t know why they bother. It’s impossible to understand any of them.
“Hi,” the same deep voice I heard over the phone says and I look down. I look way down to find a small man with a full beard and sparkly blue eyes looking up at me.
I mean this man is short. His head comes to about my waist. “Oh, sorry. Come on.”
He moves his small body through the narrow opening of the door and I manage to close it back up before anyone can manage to get an appendage in to stop me.
Channing is all smiles as he greets the security guy. “Hey, dude!” he says like he knows this guy.
“I know, it’s me! The Skippers’ number one fan!” he holds up his hand and makes a fist pump into the air. “Go, Skippers!”
Channing reaches out to shake his hand. “Wow! How cool is this, huh? What’s your name, guy?”
“I’m Lance with the security company. When the order came in this morning and I saw your name on it.” He kind of blushes and I smile. “Well, let’s just say it felt a lot like Christmas.”
Channing laughs. “That’s nice to hear after all I have going on in my life right now.”
Lance gives him a wink. “Hey man, I got your back. I happen to have witnessed quite a few things going on when you and that, pardon the term, battle-axe of a wife you have, were at some of the games. The ones she went to that is. That was only a handful, but I happen to live down the street from another one of your nemesis, Mr. Michaels.”
Channing shakes his head. “No misters around here, Lance. You call me Channing.”
The guy smiles like he just won the lottery. “Wow! Okay, Channing. This is like a dream come true, man!” He hops up in the air and does another fist pump.
This guy has a lot of enthusiasm, I must say!
“So who is it you live by, Lance?” Channing is only wearing his swimming trunks so I go to the laundry room and grab him a T-shirt.
When I walk back into the entry room I see a frown on Channing’s face. “That mother fucker.”
“Who is?” I ask as I toss the shirt to Channing.
“My father,” he answers as he pulls the shirt on over his head. “Lance saw him borrow a boat from one of the neighbors the same day I took Jana out sailing. I knew that bitch was up to something that damn day.”
I look at Lance and ask, “You personally saw him take the boat?”
“I did. I didn’t know he was Channing’s father until last night, though.” Lance looks back at Channing. “That must’ve been rough, Dude.”
Channing nods. “The roughest.”
Lance looks back at me. “Since all this stuff has been on the news since it all began I knew the date Jana disappeared. And since I’m kind of a math junkie, I remembered the date I saw the man taking the boat from my next-door neighbor’s house. I actually talked to him about it because my neighbor wasn’t home and I wanted to be sure he had permission. I asked him if he knew about the small craft advisory and he assured me he did and wasn’t taking it out very far. Just wanted to do a little fishing, is what he told me.”
“I bet he did do a little fishing. For Jana,” Channing mumbles. “So, it’s quite possible they set the whole thing up. I bet her ass did have some type of flotation device on.”
Lance smiles. “The lifejackets that my neighbor uses on his boat are those little things you wear around your neck. They’re flat and undetectable under clothing until you pull the little cord to inflate them if you need to. She could’ve had it under her clothing. You did report she had on a red dress, right?”
Channing nods. “And it had a high neck and a collar. She could’ve
had one on under it I didn’t see. God knows I didn’t touch her. She knew I wouldn’t. She knew she was safe from me finding it on her like that.”
From outside the noise gets louder as someone starts honking a horn and the others shout even louder. Lance smiles at Channing. “Want me to end this?”
“Can you?” Channing asks with hope in his voice.
“If you can bankroll it, I can get you a security team. And I know you can manage the money part. Plus, I know two of the best private investigators this side of the Mississippi. With one phone call they can be here tonight,” Lance says as he pulls out his cell phone.
“Do it, Lance!” Channing looks so relieved.
But now I’m the one with trust issues as this little guy seems to have all the answers.
A little too good to be true…
Chapter 7
BETH
“Set him up with free tickets for life, Beth. I want Lance to have his own skybox and everything.” Channing is nearly glowing with his affection for his new BFF. “Oh, yeah! Set him up right too. Make sure you add chauffeur services for game days. We don’t want our little guy getting any tickets after the game if he’s consumed a little too much free beer.”
“Free beer?” I ask.
He nods. “Yeah, free food and drinks come standard in the skyboxes, Baby. Didn’t you know that?”
“How could I? You and I have always sat on the floor-seats behind the team. I’d love to sit in a skybox.” I tap into my laptop to get all the things he’s ordering for the guy and frown.
Channing sits down next to me on the sofa in the living room and puts his arm around me and kisses my cheek. “I like to sit with my team, Baby. Hence, the reason I don’t have a skybox. But if you want one then I’ll get it for us. It would be nice for our families, anyway. And one day, when we have kids, they’d do much better in one, I think.”
I turn to him and find him grinning at me. “Channing, you’re getting a little ahead of yourself. Don’t you think? I mean thinking about kids right now with so much hanging over your head. Well, it’s kind of playing in a fantasy land.”
“Lance is helping me get to the bottom of it all. The private investigators have been on the job for two days now. I expect results soon. If Lance saw my father taking a boat out the same day Jana fell overboard then those men can certainly dig up more on Jana and Morgan. I have complete faith.” He gets up and finds the remote to the television hanging on the wall.
The Shameless Billionaire Series: Billionaire Romance Box Set (An Alpha-Male, Billionaire, Bad Boy, Bad Girl, Romance) Page 121
