I couldn’t help but smile as I joked, “I’m not too sure about that. I don’t want our relationship to turn into a Pretty Woman situation,” I said referring to the popular Julia Robert’s film from the 90s.
“Definitely not. That whole movie made me see Richard Gere as a creeper.”
“I know, right!” I agreed, amused by Winslow’s use of the word creeper.
He escorted me to his personal car, which sat behind our building, and I climbed into the sports car from a maker I didn’t recognize.
“What kind of car is this?” I asked as I settled into the plush seat next to him.
He shook his head, “It’s one of a kind. It was specifically designed for me.”
“You mean someone created a car just for you?”
He nodded. “Why not? I knew what I wanted and went to the person I knew could make it happen.”
“That must have cost you a pretty penny.”
“It did. But nice cars are my vice.” He then glanced at me, “Nice cars and beautiful women are my weakness.”
“Then what are you doing with me?”
“You should think more highly of yourself, Ivy. In a sea of arrogant, carbon copy, vapid beauties, you are a breath of fresh air. You’re a beautiful woman of substance.”
I met his eyes and then turned away. “You barely know me.”
He shrugged, “But I’ll get to know you and honestly, it doesn’t take years to realize that a person is special. It takes only seconds. I felt something for you instantly. Are you saying that you didn’t feel it too?”
Before I could answer, he added jokingly, “Or was Hollis’ presence at the time too distracting?”
I said what was on my mind, “He doesn’t want me to see you, you know.”
“That’s not his choice to make.”
“You’re right.”
He smiled boyishly, “I usually am.”
I smiled as well and settled back against the seat, growing comfortable. A girl could get used to this, was the last thought I had before I fell asleep.
When I woke up, I was alone in the car and I blinked a few times while I fought off a yawn. I looked around not knowing where I was. We seemed to be in the woods somewhere. It was clear we definitely were not in the city any longer. I had to admit, I was slightly alarmed. Moreover, where was Winslow?
Just as the thought popped in to my head, I noticed raised voices that seemed rather near. I climbed out of the car and looked around. There were acres of forest that seemed to stretch on forever. If it weren’t for the damp shoeprints that led in a particular direction, I wouldn’t have been able to find which direction Winslow had gone.
As I walked through the trees, they seemed to thin out abruptly and there sat an impressive cabin. Glass panes were where walls should have been. It sat at least three stories high and the architecture was a mix of rustic meets modern. It was a beautiful design. It was then that I noticed the cars that lined the driveway and I could hear music from afar. I stared into the house as I saw several individuals appear at the windows or find their way to the side of the home where a patio was located that led directly to a pier. Clearly, there was some sort of party going on.
I moved closer to the voices, recognizing Winslow’s voice and for the first time since I met him, he sounded angry.
“She has the right to know.”
“And you thought this was the best way to tell her. To bring her here? Have you lost your fucking mind?”
“You had the opportunity to tell her before; instead you led her to believe a lie.”
“A lie is better than an inconvenient truth,” Hollis retorted.
“I believe she deserves to know the truth and I intend to show her.”
“I’m not going to let that happen,” Hollis said softly.
“Then try to stop me,” Winslow growled.
I turned to walk away, wondering what that conversation was all about. Were they talking about me? If so, what was Hollis lying about? What was the inconvenient truth that he wanted to keep hidden? Or maybe I just needed to mind my own business; maybe what they were talking about had nothing to do with me. But for some reason, I didn’t believe my own attempts to calm my fears. What other woman could they be talking about? Unless I was one of many women who were a part of Hollis and Winslow’s lives.
I turned to go and ran into an imposing form who covered my mouth and wrapped arms like steel around my body hoisting me off the ground and silencing my screams. I clawed at hands the size of bear claws all while thinking to myself, Oh God not again.
Chapter Four
“Put her down,” Winslow ordered. “She’s my guest.”
Abruptly the hands released me and I would have fallen to the ground if Hollis hadn’t been there to catch me.
“You’re making a great impression, Darwin. Have you gone out of your way to assault all our other esteemed guests as well?” Winslow said softly although there was an undercurrent of anger in his tone and his eyes seemed to darken as he addressed the giant man in front of us.
Darwin had to be just under seven feet tall and his shoulders were as wide as a small car. His whole body was huge, but he cowered under Winslow’s clear displeasure.
“I—I—I’m so sorry, sir,” he stuttered backing away slowly.
“As well you should be,” Winslow said dismissively.
He tried to explain again, “I saw her sneaking around and I thought–”
“I wasn’t sneaking!” I protested.
Hollis cut-in, “See to the other guests, Darwin. We’re fine here.”
“Yes, sir.” He turned around and quickly made his way back to the cabin.
“Good idea hiring a giant as security. He’s definitely intimidating,” I said trying to make a joke out of what had just happened hoping that they wouldn’t think I was eavesdropping although that is exactly what I had been doing.
Neither Winslow nor Hollis seemed to be in a joking mood.
“Come on, Ivy. I’ll take you back to the city,” Hollis said leading me away by the elbow.
“Ivy’s my guest and she’s staying here,” Winslow said grabbing hold of my other arm. His grip was just as strong as the giant who had just picked me off the ground.
“Get out of my way, Winslow.”
“I’m afraid that’s not going to happen, Hollis. If you have a problem with Ivy being here, then you should leave.”
They stared at each other. Neither man moved and finally I grew tired of the stare down and said, “What exactly is going on here?”
“Winslow’s being stupid. You should not be here. Not around this crowd. It’s just not safe.” Hollis bit out.
Winslow’s eyes narrowed. “And how is that, Hollis? How am I jeopardizing Ivy’s safety by telling her the truth?”
“My safety? Is the gala for escaped criminals or something? What’s going on here?” I said again thoroughly confused and feeling apprehensive at the same time.
“It’s nothing like that, Ivy. I just wanted to introduce you to some friends and family. Apparently Hollis doesn’t like my friends and family much although we pay his salary.”
“Friends? Family? Is that what you consider them?” Hollis laughed hoarsely.
Winslow didn’t respond and then Hollis slowly let go of my arm. “I have an idea. Why don’t I stick around? Keep Ivy company while you entertain your friends.”
“I would prefer you not stick around.”
“I’m not going to give you any other choice. She stays. I stay.”
“You’re being ridiculous.”
“I’m being cautious,” Hollis shot back.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I threw my hands in the air in exasperation. “Listen, this has been fun and all,” I said sarcastically. “But I’m done. I don’t know what is going on here, but apparently, it’s not what I thought it was and I want no part of it. Even though I have no idea what IT is. Either you or Hollis can take me back to the city for all I care.”
“The fer
ry’s already left. We’re here for the night,” Winslow said turning away from us and walking towards the cabin.
Hollis stood there with me, his jaw tight. He looked like he wanted to murder Winslow. Moreover, Winslow didn’t seem perturbed by Hollis’ anger at all.
“Are you two just going to stand there or are you coming along?” He called over his shoulder.
“Come on, Ivy,” Hollis said reluctantly.
“What’s going on Hollis?”
“Just a family gathering.”
“Truthfully? Then what’s the big secret you don’t want me knowing?”
“Excuse me?” Hollis said faking ignorance.
“I overheard you two talking.”
He stopped abruptly and said, “And how much did you hear, Ivy?” Then he mumbled as if to himself, “Apparently not much since you’re still here.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. Just follow my lead.”
I sighed, “Is there something about Winslow’s family and friends that you don’t want me to know? You seemed more concerned about them than Winslow.”
“There are things about Winslow’s family that I don’t even want to know.”
“Winslow said he was taking me to a gala not to some sort of family filled party.”
“It is a gala. Of sorts. Anyway, just follow my lead. They’re a strange bunch.”
I didn’t know what to make of Hollis’ words, but I didn’t get another second to think about it as we approached an impatient Winslow on the front steps.
He took my hand in his ignoring Hollis and began to show me around. The cabin was more of a mansion than anything else and I stared at it in awe of how big and pretentious it looked.
“It’s pretty opulent for a cabin. Don’t you think?” Winslow said reading my mind.
I tried to be diplomatic in my response. “There’s nothing wrong with splurging every now and then, although I would guess this splurge cost more than the seven figures range.”
He surprised me by saying, “It was 14.8 million actually. My grandfather bought it, said it was a steal.”
I shook my head, “You must be loaded if you consider 14.8 million dollars a steal.” It wasn’t until then that I noticed that almost everyone was staring at us. There were at least fifty people at the party and they all literally were looking in Winslow’s direction. Some whispered to each other while others pretended to be looking elsewhere. The majority of the looks were curious, but others were veiled hostility and it was clearly directed towards me. I didn’t even know these people but some of them were clearly bothered by my presence.
“Is it just me or is everyone staring at us? And I thought we were going to a gala?”
“This is gala-ish.”
“Oh jeez, now you sound like Hollis too. No, this is some sort of family reunion where I’m clearly not welcome.”
“As long as this property belongs to me, you’ll always have a place here. There’s no need to feel uncomfortable. Would you like to know what’s going on here?”
“Yes, please.”
Winslow opened his mouth, but Hollis popped up and handed me a drink. I took it and then he began to speak not allowing Winslow to continue.
“Every six months Winslow’s family and friends gather here for some rest and relaxation.”
“Oh is that all? You all get a bit raucous? Is that what you were hiding? I mean, I just graduated from college I’ve gone to my share of wild parties.” I was exaggerating, but I wanted to seem worldly. I honestly probably had only gone to one wild party my entire college career. I had found all the drinking games boring and had promptly left.
Winslow smiled acerbically, “More than a little bit raucous.”
“If that’s the case, I hate to sound like a party-pooper, but I’m beat. Exhausted. And I need to shower.” I tilted the wine up to my lips and took a sip.
“Shower?” said Hollis with a teasing note to his voice, “Are you feeling dirty, Ivy?”
I shot him an angry look. I knew what he was referring to and apparently so did Winslow as he replied, “You can quit being crude, Hollis. I could smell your scent on Ivy miles away.”
“Get used to it,” Hollis growled.
“You’re on my territory tonight, Hollis,” Winslow said softly, but clearly his words were a veiled threat.
“You think that’ll stop me?” Hollis said stepping closer.
Winslow said, “It should.”
I was standing between them, looking between the two of them. They seemed ready to tear each other to shreds. And that’s when a deep voice from earlier interrupted. It was the giant, Darwin. I knew that before even turning around. But when I did turn around, I realized the whole party had stopped and all the guests were standing mere inches away from me encircling Winslow. I moved towards Hollis clearly startled. How in the world had they all appeared at Winslow’s side so fast? With none of us noticing or hearing them approach. Something wasn’t right here.
And there was something about their eyes that bothered me. Their gazes seemed predatory.
“What would you like us to do, Winslow?” said an older woman studying Hollis with disdain.
“Nothing. At least not tonight. I’ll see Ivy to her room. She’s tired. We’ll be retiring early. Enjoy the rest of the party.” And with that he slipped my arm around his and led me away. I looked behind me and saw Hollis looking after us, completely unperturbed by the mob around him who looked just as threatening as Winslow had earlier.
“Call me crazy, but they’re not thinking of hurting Hollis, are they?”
Winslow shook his head. “As long as Hollis remembers his place, he’ll be safe.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means, my dear Ivy, you don’t have to worry about our dear Hollis. He’ll be fine.”
“I would worry about you as well if your circumstances were the same as his,” I said not wanting to sound as if Hollis were the only man I cared about.
“I know. You have a big heart, Ivy. Big enough to care for the both of us. But just as I’m sure Hollis has said to you, I’m not interested in sharing.”
I didn’t know what to say as we continued down the long hall and he escorted me to an elevator. We stepped in silently and the elevator began to ascend. I could see down below and the guests were now scattered, again enjoying themselves. I spotted Hollis easily, leaning casually against a column with his arms folded watching us. I watched him watch us, until the elevator arrived at its destination.
I went to step out of the elevator and hazarded a glance behind me, Hollis was no longer there. Next thing I knew, Winslow was tugging me along.
“Don’t worry about Hollis. He’ll be fine. He’s pretty resilient.”
“I thought you guys were friends,” I found myself saying.
“We are. And will always be. That doesn’t change that we both want you and will do what we must to have you.”
“But the other night when we made love…when we all made love together…” I couldn’t continue talking. I was suddenly too embarrassed to ask the question that went without saying.
“We both wanted you. And neither of us were willing to let the other’s presence stop that from happening.”
“Oh,” was all I managed to say as he led me to a door and opened it.
Just as the rest of the house was a nod to modern architecture so too was my bedroom. It was minimalist and contained few items, but they were beautifully made of wood melded with metal. I looked over at the king size bed covered with pillows. I couldn’t wait to sleep. As far as I was concerned, it had been a long emotionally draining day. Being torn between Winslow and Hollis was definitely taking a toll on me.
As if sensing that, Winslow touched my cheek gently and said, “Take a hot shower and then relax. Get some sleep. I’ll make sure no one bothers you. Especially, Hollis.”
He kissed me then. Gently. Taking my face between the palms of his hands. He took his time explori
ng my mouth. I sighed against his lips and slipped my arms around his neck. I kissed him back, not wanting that moment to end. I knew what I felt towards both men was more than just a sexual pull that I couldn’t ignore; no they both stirred more than my arousal. I was falling for them. I was falling for Winslow’s gentleness and his ability to understand who I was as a person and my wants and needs. And I was falling for Hollis’ unwavering protectiveness, his desire to shield me and possess me in only a way an alpha male could. They were different but they both appealed to me and I knew I had to make a decision as Winslow slowly pulled his lips away from mine.
I stared into his eyes and wanted to shove everything else away from my brain and just exist in that moment.
But we both knew it wasn’t that simple. He stroked my cheek. I loved the gentleness of his warm hand against my skin and then with a frustrated sigh, uncharacteristic of him, he said a gruff, “Goodnight.”
I stared after him until he disappeared through the elevator doors.
Chapter Five
I was back downstairs at the party dressed in an exquisite white gown. My hair was pinned up and as I turned around, I noticed that the train of my dress extended almost ten feet behind me. I looked down at my chest and noticed that the bust of the dress was crusted in diamonds. I didn’t know how I knew they were diamonds. But they were large and gorgeous, reflecting the light that beamed through the ceiling.
The party guests were gathered on each side of me and they watched me this time, not with curiosity or veiled hostility but with acceptance and love.
I hesitantly met their eyes and smiled back at them and they seemed to smile back as well. But there was something about their smiles, something that wasn’t quite right. I stared as my eyes tried to help my brain figure out what was wrong. Then my heartbeat began to race as I figured out what was wrong. Their teeth. They seemed to elongate as I watched and then their faces seemed to blur and suddenly to my horror, their flesh began to peel back.
I began to scream as their bodies began to change, growing taller, losing all sign of their humanity, as they became monsters in my eyes. I began to scream running through them as they approached me.
Jocked Up: Sports Romance (A Secret Baby Second Chance Romance) Page 38
