The Dark Paradise Trilogy Box Set

by Heather C. Myers

  Andie forced a tiny smile onto her face, and managed to shrug. “I – he grabbed my shoulders,” she told him.

  “And your neck,” Jack said through a clenched jaw, his eyes having narrowed in that particular direction. Bruises shaped like fingers seemed to be stained onto her skin, causing Jack’s anger to reappear once again.

  “Hey,” Andie said, reaching out from the bed to cup Jack’s face into the palm of her hand. Jack pressed his brow up, trying to control his raging emotions as he looked his girlfriend in her eyes. Her lips curled up when she recognized she had his attention. “This is not your fault. At all. You know that, right?”

  “I should have been there, Andie,” he murmured, wrapping his fingers around her wrist and pulling it so now she held onto the back of his neck rather than his cheek. “I should have been with you, and this probably would have never happened. This is…” -

  “Not your fault,” Andie reassured him once again. “I love you. I know this is not your fault, and you should, too.” She paused, and her face took on a knowing, almost dry look. “Promise me something, Jack.”

  “Anything,” he told her, his fingers caressing the skin that made up her forearm.

  “Don’t do anything stupid,” she said flatly, though an amused grin touched her lips. She pulled her arm from his grasp, suddenly looking incredibly tired. “Come to bed soon, hmm?”

  “Of course,” he told her, standing back up and touching her cheek with his lips.

  He left their room and headed downstairs, hoping to talk to Reese more about the events that had happened. Luckily, the police officers had already left, and Beverly had probably headed to bed. The first thing Jack noticed when he walked into the kitchen was a new cup of tea sitting on the polished surface of the counter, steam rising from the cup. Despite his dismal mood, the right corner of his lip curled up, and he slipped his fingers through the handle before raising the cup to his lips. No matter what he was feeling, tea always managed to soothe him.

  “How’s she doing?” a voice called from behind him. Jack didn’t have to turn around to know Reese was walking up to him, and in a manner of moments, she was in front of him. Though her clear, grey eyes always seemed to hold secrets, they were thoroughly troubled right now. It took Jack by surprise.

  “You know Andie,” Jack murmured before taking another sip of tea. He set the cup back down before running his fingers over his cropped locks. “She was telling me not to worry about this, or do anything stupid.”

  Reese smiled at that, though the action didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Yes,” she said, nodding once. “Yes, I imagine she would be the one calming you down.” She paused, taking in the obvious worry and frustration collecting in the furrow of Jack’s brow. “You know this is not your fault.”

  Jack chuckled mirthlessly. “Yeah,” he said. “She told me that too.” A sigh slipped between his lips and he took another long sip of the hot liquid. “But it doesn’t matter,” he began, once he had finished swallowing. “It doesn’t matter. I still feel as though it is my fault. I should have been there, Reese. When I found out Burr rearranged his meeting with her, I should have rescheduled my meeting with Vanessa.”

  “You can’t be with Andie every single minute of every day,” Reese told her ward with a firm twinkle in her eyes. “In fact, before I got there, she put up quite the fight.”

  A more genuine smile slid onto Jack’s face and he cast his jade green eyes over at Reese. “Really?” he asked.

  Reese smiled in return. “Really,” she told Jack. “In fact, it was brought to my knowledge that she kneed Gabe right in his balls before punching him across his face. According to the officers, she put a decent bruise on his face.”

  “Good,” Jack said, clearly pleased at this information. “Thank you. For being there when I couldn’t.” He ran his fingers through his hair again.

  “How was your meeting with your… business associate?” Reese asked delicately.

  Jack immediately saw what Reese was doing and hid an amused smirk by placing one palm over the lower half of his face, and rubbing his chin as though he were deep in thought. “I can’t even remember, really,” he murmured, before sighing through his long nose. He glanced over at Reese, and had the urge to get his meeting with Vanessa off of his chest. “She wanted to go to the Ivy again, so I met her at the restaurant, and we discussed prospective catering and invites and everything that had to do with this get-together we’re throwing for the shelter.”

  “If I may,” Reese said, once she realized Jack was finished. “Why, exactly, do you continue to meet with this woman when all you’re discussing is the planning of this party?” She paused here, but wasn’t finished. “You would have more time focusing on your work, on getting other investors, on your family, if the two of you decided to only meet when your actual business required you to do so.”

  “Vanessa says that it’s important for her to get my input on these things because it’s my company,” Jack told her. He wasn’t sure why he was sharing with her, but didn’t question it. If Andie trusted her, he did, too. “She says it’s important for a businessman to make sure that he’s involved in every aspect of his company in order to be certain of its portrayal to the general public.” He knew Reese didn’t believe what he was saying, and to some extent, neither did he.

  “Does she know that she ultimately represents Andie and not you?” Beverly asked in her serious tone.

  “I highly doubt that, Reese,” Jack mumbled, refraining from rolling his eyes at the suggestion. He shrugged then. “Listen, I know that it sounds off-base, but if this is what I have to do to put money into my company to make sure Andie succeeds, then I’m going to do it.”

  “And what does Andie think about all of this?” Reese asked, perking her brows slightly.

  The question threw Jack somewhat off-guard. Andie rarely gave her opinion when it came to Vanessa, which was odd unto itself; Andie always had an opinion about something. “She thinks that Vanessa might want something more with me than just a business relationship.”

  Reese paused for a very long moment, regarding Jack as studiously as she possibly could. Many replies piled up onto the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed the majority of them, and instead, said, “And you, Jack? What do you think?”

  “I don’t think that’s true,” Jack replied, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. However, as he answered, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and Jack reached behind himself to cup the patch of skin in hopes to make them disappear.

  Reese gave Jack an enigmatic look. It was a moment before she said anything, and when she did, it was simply, “Very well,” before she turned and disappeared out of the kitchen.

  26

  Reese was almost out the door when she nearly ran into someone.

  “Darl, stop for a moment.”

  Ollo had been sitting in a chair Beverly had brought for Reese, but Reese found she couldn’t sit still. As such, Ollo took the seat, his eyes at half-mast. He was still tired after Reese had woken him up with a phone call of her own, right after talking to Jack. Ollo got to the scene almost as fast as Jack did, and as the billionaire tended to Andie, Ollo focused his tired attention on Reese.

  “If I stop, I’ll go crazy,” she told him, tightening her grip on her own fingers. She looked ahead and continued her pacing, not noticing the concerned look that touched Ollo’s features as she did so.

  After another few moments, the door to Andie’s room opened and Jack followed them to the entranceway. He dressed in a business suit, minus the coat, and his sleeves were rolled to the elbow, his collar loosely unbuttoned. His chestnut brown hair while his jade green eyes were tired and weary. He did not look like the intimidating Black Wing and he didn’t look like the confident Jack Phillip. He looked like a wreck.

  “Reese.”

  “How is she?” Ollo asked.

  “I didn’t see what happened to her,” Reese told him. She wanted to tell Jack before she left, but discussion of Vanessa made
her forget. “I was too late, I think, but when I saw the bag in the back of Gabriel’s car…” She let her voice trail off upon seeing Jack’s dark look. His fingers curled into tight fists and she was almost positive that if Reese hadn’t been there, he would have punched a hole in the wall.

  “She’s fine,” he told her in his usual low voice. However, it was strained. Cracked. “She will be fine. Just a bad hit on the head.”

  “The whole Gabe thing–”

  “He was Andie’s hired hand,” Jack said, “for the stables.” He shook his head. “I knew we couldn’t trust him. Not when he’s Burr’s son. But she was insistent we give him a chance. That girl is too trusting, and look what happens. She gets herself in trouble.” He ran his fingers through his hair as though he needed to collect himself. “But she’ll be fine.”

  “Do you know why he did it?” Reese ventured, her voice soft and hesitant. She didn’t want to push him too far.

  Jack shook his head, meeting her eyes. “No,” he murmured. “But I know Burr has to be involved. And I think it has to do with what we do. I think they’re using Andie to get to me, but I still don’t know why.” He paused. “You both should go. Get some rest. Thank you, Reese. If you hadn’t been there…” Now it was he who let his voice trail off and he pressed his lips together in a tight line. “I should have been there.”

  Reese wanted to ask what happened, but she knew that would make him feel more guilty than anything, so she said nothing. Instead, she nodded and told him to call her if they needed anything or if Andie’s condition changed. Then, she turned to Ollo and the two showed themselves out of Phillip Manor.

  When Reese and Ollo returned to their apartment, Reese immediately went to the tiny restroom and started to draw herself a bath. The night finally caught up to her, and she could feel her body shaking in response to it, even though she wasn’t cold. She hadn’t talked to Ollo much, which made her feel slightly guilty. It wasn’t his fault this had happened to Andie and she knew he wanted some kind of explanation from her, some reassurance that while she was shaken up, she was still okay. But she couldn’t give that to him. Not just yet.

  The bath was hot, but Reese preferred it. She needed to burn her skin, cleanse it off after the past few nights. A shower just wouldn’t do. She quickly shed her clothes and entered the water, and once she was positioned comfortably, rested her head back against the wall behind her. She was suddenly exhausted, and this felt like the perfect place to fall asleep.

  “Darl,” Ollo said from behind the door. Without waiting for a response, he popped it open and walked inside. Reese didn’t immediately cover herself, and Ollo’s gaze didn’t descend past her face. “You’ve been in here for forty-five minutes. You need to talk to me. I need to know how you are.”

  “I–” She stopped herself because a sob nearly escaped her lips and she wanted to hold it back. She didn’t want to cry, not now. Not in front of Ollo, again. She didn’t realize she had been in there for so long.

  “Hey.” She could feel him kneel down and didn’t flinch when his rough hand touched her bare back. “Hey. It’s all right, darl. You did good.”

  “I can’t do this, Ollo,” she said as the tears finally came. “You were right. I’m in way over my head. I have no idea what I’m doing. I shouldn’t do this. Not anymore. I can’t” – she hiccupped – “I can’t save everyone, and if I hadn’t been there, one of my best friends would have… I don’t know. I don’t know. I just know I wouldn’t have been able to save her.”

  Ollo proceeded to rub her back silently until he could feel Reese calm down. When her shoulders stopped jumping up and down because of the hiccups and the sobs, he leaned forward and reached over so he could gently pull her chin towards him.

  “I want you to listen to me, Reese, and I want you to listen very carefully,” he murmured. “I believe in you. The reason why I didn’t want you on the battleground was because I’m selfish. You don’t understand what it’s like to finally find the one person who makes people–not just me, but people–happy just by being alive. You inspire me. And if anything were to extinguish your light… You’re still learning, but it’s not your fault the war started faster than anyone could have planned. You’re a Seer and you didn’t even see it coming. I want to protect you from everything, even if it is your destiny to stand on your own. Understand I do not question your ability, but war is a deadly environment and there will be casualties on both sides. People die, no matter who they are, no matter how you try and protect them. And I can’t picture my life– this one or any other–without you by my side.”

  Reese knew he was thinking of Pythia, but there was no surge of jealousy, no doubting herself.

  “Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you?” he asked, trying to read her stormy grey eyes.

  Reese nodded. “I do,” she murmured. “I’m ready to get out now.”

  Ollo nodded and stood, turning to grab her a towel. By the time he found one for her, she was standing, waiting for him. The ends of her hair were wet, and her body dripped with water from her neck down. His eyes took her in, took every inch of her in, and Reese felt herself respond to his hungry eyes. They hadn’t made love since their first time; she hadn’t really thought of doing it again only because she had too much on her mind. But now, she wanted nothing more than to connect with him once again, to lose herself in the moment and let the world fall away.

  She would have to make the first move. Ollo wouldn’t, she knew, because he had no idea what she thought, what she felt. Hell, she didn’t know what she thought or felt half the time so she couldn’t fault his passivity. She reached for him, cupped his cheek in her palm. Ollo turned his face so he could kiss her wrist and she leaned in to capture his lips once he released her wrist.

  The kiss was this odd mixture of both tenderness and passion. It was a kiss Reese had never felt before; she had had passion, she had had tenderness, but she had never had both. She wondered if that was what kissing the person you loved felt like. Ollo dropped the towel to the floor so he could wrap his hands around her bare body, and she immediately pressed herself against him. He started removing his own clothing, which was nice because she didn’t want to let go of Ollo for any reason, even if it furthered her intentions.

  When his shirt hit the floor, his mouth found that sensitive spot where her shoulder and neck met, and Reese’s grey eyes rolled back as she let out a gasp. Somehow, he knew exactly where to touch her, where to kiss her. His hands found her breasts and he cupped them fully in his hands, squeezing, before his thumbs began to tweak her nipples. This time, she moaned, her head rolling back.

  Ollo turned her around so her back faced his chest, and he positioned his head so his lips were by her ear. “Watch,” he told her in a rough voice.

  Reese forced her eyes open and she did exactly as he told her. The sink was right in front of her, and above that, a mirror, where she could fully see everything the two were doing. She could see Ollo behind her, his body making her feel so small, his hands still playing with her breasts. Lust was clearly written in their eyes, and Reese felt herself moisten not only at his ministrations, but at her reflection, at the pleasure she was clearly feeling.

  With one hand, he undid the button of his jeans, wiggling his hips so they fell to the floor, while the other continued to hold onto her breast. She had always been proud of her breasts–she had developed at a young age, and thanks to her mother’s tutelage, knew what to wear to show them off without wearing anything too revealing–but she had never been aroused by them until now.

  He dropped her breast and pressed against her lower back, pushing her over the sink. She grabbed onto the white porcelain, and Ollo focused solely on entering her body.

  “Watch,” he told her again, and she picked up her eyes so she could watch their reflections in the mirror.

  The minute he was inside of her, she sighed and her grip on the slippery sink tightened. Slowly, he maneuvered in and out of her before he found a steady rhythm and con
tinued in and out, in and out. It was nice of him to start at an easier pace so her body could get used to him, to his size, so by the time he went faster, she was already used to him. Besides a stretching feeling, it didn’t hurt.

  She couldn’t take her eyes off of Ollo, how animalistic the act of taking her from behind made her feel. His eyes were dark, his shoulders broad, and he couldn’t take his eyes off of her vulnerable position. Just the sight of him, mixed with the feeling of him thrusting inside of her…

  ….and she felt it build up until…

  “Ollo, I” –

  “Watch me, darl. I want to see you. I want” –

  Before he could finish, Reese released the tension building up in her body, and Ollo grunted. He couldn’t seem to control himself, and filled her with himself until both were tired, panting, and satisfied.

  Ollo kissed her shoulder blade as Reese closed her eyes.

  “Thank you,” she murmured, not sure how she found the energy to even speak. “I really needed that.”

  27

  Noir never had a moment when his mind didn’t think. It was hard to quiet his thoughts. Yet lying with Keirah in her bed, her willowy body wrapped securely in his arms, silenced everything. The only thing he could hear was her heart – or was it his, since she had inspired the black hole to start beating once again? It didn’t matter. He refused to pay attention to such trivialities. Instead, he traced the scar he had left on her side so long ago. He stabbed her, and yet she still chose him.

  She was just as fucked up as he was.

  They were made for each other.

  Keirah had immediately fallen asleep after their fucking, but he wasn’t tired. Not just yet. His eyes took the sight of her in, refusing to skip over any part of her. Her dark, chestnut hair, her square-shaped face, her round cheekbones, her strong jaw. When she smiled, her eyes would crinkle and turn a lighter shade of brown, though he preferred the darkness. It contrasted nicely with her alabaster skin. She was a skinny girl with a body like a boy’s–taut and flat–but there were small curves he appreciated more than obvious ones, like the curve in her back, the slight curve in her hips, the curve in her neck. Her legs were long, and though they, too, looked slender, were quite strong when they wrapped around him and met every one of his thrusts with one of her own. Her back was his favorite part of her–elegant and classy, sensual and seducing–and he continually stared at it when he didn’t have to worry about prying, inquisitive eyes. It was the one place on her he promised himself he would never, ever mark up, even if it told the world she belonged to him. It was too beautiful to be marred.