All that mattered was that Hayden and I were together.
That was the mantra I repeated to myself anytime homesickness set in. I felt ungrateful every time a twinge of nostalgia hit me. There I was living in a gorgeous tropical paradise. My days were spent dangling my toes in the sand while I read books and basked in the sun. It was most people’s dream, and yet sometimes a sense of restlessness I just couldn’t shake came over me.
At my core, I was a teacher. It was what I felt I’d been born to do. I thought about the college I’d taught at often, wondering if they’d hired anyone to take my place after I’d so abruptly resigned. I thought about my students daily, wishing I could be there to help guide them on their journey through academia and life. I pined for my half-finished research projects. Abandoning all that didn’t feel right.
My life in Burlington had been quiet, but I nonetheless missed it.
Hayden had vowed to find out who was behind the threats, but his efforts so far had led to nothing but frustration. Without divulging our location, he’d reached out to the person or persons who so desperately wanted the painting, dangling it like bait. But he’d gotten no bite. In fact, communication had stopped entirely, just like that.
It was clear Hayden was frustrated, so I tried not to push the matter much. I knew he was trying his best. But it made me anxious sometimes to think there was a very real possibility that we’d never be able to stop looking behind us for the dangers that lurked in the shadows.
“I’m going in to make us some drinks,” Hayden announced, jarring me back to the present. “What would you like?”
“Surprise me,” I told him, my eyes still shut.
He leaned down and kissed me. “I hate to tell you to put clothes on because I love when you walk around naked,” he murmured, “But there are surfers out there.”
My eyes snapped open. “Shit!” I cursed as I noticed a couple of surfers out in the water just beyond the perimeter of our yard. They seemed oblivious to our presence but even so I grabbed my bikini and frantically wiggled back into it while Hayden chuckled before retreating into the house.
Stretching and stifling a yawn, I contemplated my plans for the day. Maybe I’d start in on another book or go for a swim. Or maybe I’d wait until my boyfriend got in the shower and then sneak in there to join him… I loved being able to think of him as my boyfriend!
My mind wandered, mostly to dirty, filthy places as I waited for Hayden to return. I lost track of time as I thought about the things I’d like to do to Hayden and what I’d like him to do to me.
The back door of the house banged shut. “It’s about time!” I called out to Hayden good-naturedly as I realized just how thirsty I was. “What did you bring me?” When I didn’t get an answer, I cracked open an eye – and saw Hayden’s father standing right in front of me.
“Mr. Slate!” I gasped, sitting up and reaching for my towel.
Hayden came storming out of the house then, looking like man on a mission. “I told you to leave her out of this!” he snapped at his father angrily. “I’m done taking orders from you and I’ll be damned if you’re going to tell Daniella what to do! How did you even find us?”
“You certainly didn’t make it easy,” Henrik retorted, equally as enraged. “Now go inside and get dressed. We’ve got a plane to catch.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Hayden insisted as I stared at the two Slate men with confusion and mounting anxiety. It was easy to see where Hayden got his dominant streak because his father seemed unwilling to take no for an answer. Whatever was going on between the two of them clearly wasn’t good news. You could practically cut the tension with a knife.
“You will come with me and you’ll do it now,” Henrik spat. “I’ve had enough of your irresponsibility. Your whole life you’ve acted like everything is a big joke. You think you can just skip out on your duties and run away to Jamaica? Well I’ve got news for you.”
“No,” Hayden interrupted. “I’ve got news for you! The world doesn’t revolve around you. You’re so obsessed with your stupid business’s legacy that you’ve never even stopped to think about what I want, have you?”
“You don’t know what you want!” Henrik roared. Then, regaining his semblance of control, he smirked. “It would be a real shame if your mother found herself unable to pay her bills thanks to your disobedience, wouldn’t it?”
Hayden’s jaw dropped. “What? You…know where Mom is?”
I leaned forward, waiting on pins and needles for the answer. Hayden rarely spoke of his mother. All I knew was that his parents had divorced about two decades earlier and it had been ugly. His mother had walked away penniless while his father had retained everything, including custody of their young son. Now, Hayden believed she was living abroad, possibly in South America, but had lost contact with her long ago.
“I’ve always known where she is,” Henrik said simply with no trace of remorse.
Hayden was pacing now, looking as agitated as I’d ever seen him. When he turned toward me, I saw a vulnerability there that was telling. He’d just been a child when his vindictive father had ripped the family apart with his controlling ways. Hayden had lost his childhood, his mother, his innocence…everything.
“I’m going to kill him,” Hayden growled so quietly that only I could hear. “I’m going to do the world a favor and fucking destroy that soulless bastard.”
Did he mean it? Who was to say? Hayden wasn’t the violent type but the rift between him and his father was deep. All I knew for sure was that in this moment, Hayden was out of control and in over his head. I needed to intervene. Placing my hand on his muscular chest, I stared deeply into his tormented eyes and shook my head. “No,” I told him in a voice that was both gentle and firm. “No.”
Then I turned to Hayden’s father. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was staring into the eyes of evil itself, but I didn’t let his empty gaze shake me. Instead, I did my best to stay calm. “What do you want?”
Henrik gave me a wide smile in response but it was devoid of any pleasantries. “I’m glad you asked that,” he told me with a wink that made my skin crawl. He reminded me of a snake. “The family business needs you. I want to make a deal with you, son,” he told Hayden.
Hayden scoffed, unapologetically making his opinion on the matter known.
Undeterred, Henrik said, “Come back and live under my roof instead of wasting away on the beach. Has it ever occurred to you that anyone could come in on the water?” he demanded, gesturing to the beach that was only meters from our back door. “We can beef up security at the mansion. You’ll be safe there…much safer than you are here. Come home.”
“No.” Hayden said the word flatly and decidedly, practically spitting it out before Henrik had even finished speaking. “It isn’t home to me. It never has been…how could it be when I spent most of my childhood at boarding school? Home for me is wherever Daniella is.”
Henrik ignored him. With a sneer, he told Hayden, “I’ll sweeten the deal. Your little flavor of the week here can join you.” My eyes widened. Hayden hadn’t been kidding when he’d told me his father was a real piece of work.
Hayden’s temper flared at once. “How dare you talk about her that way!” he bellowed. I stepped between the two men before Hayden had a chance to unleash his fury on his father. “Daniella, this is between me and him,” my boyfriend said quietly. “Please get out of the way.”
I shook my head and grabbed Hayden’s bicep, pulling him out of earshot of his father. “This isn’t just between the two of you anymore,” I informed him. “The moment you involved me it stopped being about just the two of you. I’ve uprooted my life for you, Hayden. I’ve willingly put myself in danger for you. I think that warrants me to have a say in this, don’t you?”
His jaw was clenched. “Of course you get a say, but you don’t know what he’s like.”
“I think I’ve gotten a good idea,” I replied wryly. “I understand why you butt heads with him, believe
me. But maybe he’s right…maybe we’d be safer at his mansion than here. And besides,” I added with a grin, “You told me once it’s an absolutely massive estate, didn’t you? Chances are we could live under the same roof as him without even seeing him most days.”
Hayden sighed. “That’s really what you want to do?”
Taking a deep breath, I nodded. “I think it is,” I told him. I knew full well that he’d give me anything and everything I asked for no matter how he felt about it himself. With enough gentle coaxing from me, he’d even move into his father’s mansion.
Under different circumstances, I’d never ask Hayden to do something he wasn’t comfortable with. But there was a lot at stake. If Henrik had been able to track us down, then we weren’t as safe as we’d hoped. Hayden, I reasoned, harbored such resentment toward his father that maybe he wasn’t capable of seeing the situation clearly. That meant it was up to me to step in and urge him to do what was best for us both.
I just hoped, for both our sakes, that I wasn’t making a mistake.
Table of Contents
Chapter 01
Chapter 02
Chapter 03
Chapter 04
Chapter 05
Chapter 06
Chapter 07
Chapter 08
Chapter 09
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
His for Now (His #2) Page 10
