by Thalia Eames
Out in the hall, the doctor pulled out his phone and made a call. Garrett left Dillon to it and met Cash on the way to the living room. “Nox?” Garrett asked.
The younger man made a looping gesture with both hands. “He did it. He’s messed up about it too. You’ll want to handle that quick.”
“What else?” They walked down the hall to the main part of the house.
“He’s completely in love with her.” A wry half smile curled Cash’s mouth. “He asked if women ever forgive the men in their lives for burning their houses down.”
Garrett paused mid-step. “You’re joking.”
Cash shook his head. “I wish. You know how much I enjoy a good joke.”
Garrett shook his head. Fuck. “Will the day ever come that I don’t wreck that woman’s life?”
“I can’t call it,” Cash said, handing off a tablet and leading Garrett toward a room off the wide main foyer. He opened the doors to reveal the office he’d set up for him and Garrett during their stay in LuPines.
Garrett flipped through his schedule, then through emails and calls Cash had tagged for immediate response. When his lip curled at the prospect of so much neglected work Cash chuckled. “Oh yeah, you’ll be up all night.”
With a cold-blooded stare, Garrett said, “You couldn’t handle any of this?”
Cash threw up his hands. “I took care of half of it already. That’s the last half. You owe me a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle’s 23yr.”
Garrett made a few adjustments to his schedule and handed the tablet back. “You want a $250 bottle of bourbon in exchange for doing your job?” He inclined his head. “I don’t owe you shit.”
His assistant/VP-in-training laughed. Garrett continued. “I’m going to have a talk with Nox. We’ll all have dinner. I’ll put the fam to bed. Then together we’ll tackle this mess you couldn’t handle alone.” Another bark of laughter followed Garrett out of the room.
He’d searched the house for twenty minutes before he found Nox outside the door to Gran’s room. Garrett motioned his son over to him. Nox complied and they started the walk to the opposite wing of the house, where Cash had set them up.
Inside the master bedroom he clasped Nox’s shoulders and guided him to sit on the bed. He only had to stare at his son for thirty seconds before a confession tumbled out. “I just wanted to see what happens when you fry frozen chicken.”
“Lennox getting burned in college didn’t give you a clue?”
“Nope. I stood back an’ did a jump shot to get it in there.”
“You could’ve killed yourself.”
Nox studied his sneakers. “Yeah.”
The air between them thickened with the weight of Nox’s guilt and Garrett’s responsibility. The younger Westlake’s shoulders drooped under the pressure.
“Look at me.” Garrett projected his ire outward for his son to feel. “You could’ve killed your godmother and your new grandma too.”
Tears he knew would never fall filled Nox’s eyes. “Yeah.”
“You’ll have to live with that.”
Anybody listening would find his words harsh but his son’s high intellect often made him try things most kids would run from. Nox’s smarts made him test the boundaries of just about everything. Garrett refused to hit his son so he had to teach him consequences in other ways.
Nox nodded and looked away. “I know.”
Garrett reached out and cupped Nox by the nape. The kid shrieked when he crushed him to his chest but let him kiss the top of his head before pulling away. “I love you too, Dad. You don’t have to get demonstrative about it.”
Before Garrett could say anything else a knock resounded through the room. Cash came in without waiting for a response. “That guy you had me look into, Ian Somers, he’s here and he’s pissed.”
Garrett squeezed Nox’s neck and rose. Cash had more to say. “Right now he’s cussing Dillon but it won’t be long before he demands to see Lennox.”
“Where is she?” Garrett passed Cash on his way to find Ian. Cash followed him out.
“She’s in her room now.”
“Did you refill her prescriptions?”
“Yeah, she took them. The muscle relaxant seemed to calm her down.”
“Is she resting?”
Cash shook his head. “I can’t call it. I do know she’s refusing to eat. Even snacks.”
A dark cloud descended over Garrett. He had zero patience when it came to Ian. The man pissed him off in enough ways to deserve an epic beat down. And Garrett really wanted to hand out an ass whipping. He strode down the hall, hoping for a fight.
To his credit, Ian kept his voice down while blasting Dillon for not calling him sooner. Only the wolfen in the house would hear the tongue-lashing. Dillon, like a good lieutenant, took it without offering excuses.
“Somers, why are you in my house stirring shit up?”
Ian turned and growled. “She’s not yours to protect.”
Garrett flickered amber and flashed his canines. “More mine than yours.” They advanced on one another, each taking inventory of the other’s physical strengths, each accessing the other’s flaws. Gauging how one’s longer reach would fare against the other’s greater agility? Whose claws were sharper? Whose teeth clamped harder, shredded deeper. Ian had no idea how far into history Garrett’s wolfen bloodlines ran. Garrett had no doubts he’d paint the walls with the other man’s guts.
“If it weren’t for your son, I’d kick your ass out of my territory.” Ian circled left.
Garrett mirrored him. Moving around to the right, he unleashed a wolfish grin. “I really wish you’d try it.”
Very few people could stop Garrett in mid-fury. Cash, who happened to be one of them and one of Garrett’s few friends, laid a hand on his shoulder. Speaking low, Cash said, “He’s as worried about her as you are. Don’t kill him for that.”
Garrett glared.
“We both know you can. Do you really need to prove it at the risk of your friendship with Lennox?”
Ian scoffed loud enough to let them know he’d heard Cash’s words.
Too much had happened. Too much anger, too much confusion, too much…Garrett couldn’t say what else. It had all been too much. Garrett stalked over to one of the leather couches in the open living room and forced himself to sit. “Cash, find out if she’s up for company. If it’s a yes, you know what to do.”
Minutes later, Cash led a smug Ian to Lennox’s room. Garrett rose and stood at the mouth of the hall. Minutes after, Ian quietly closed Lennox’s door behind him and rested his forehead against it.
Mr. Chuckles reeked of rejection. Judging by his hangdog demeanor, there’d be a lot of forlorn howling at the moon tonight. Garrett almost felt guilty for enjoying Ian’s dejection so much. Almost. But it felt damn good to know Lennox had refused comfort from his rival. Chuckles shot him a curt nod before he signaled Dillon to follow and left.
Garrett walked down to Lennox’s room. He listened at the door for a minute. The bed linens rustled but no other sounds escaped the room. He made his way to his office and, calling out to Cash, said, “Let’s eat and get that work done.”
As expected, neither Gran nor Lennox joined them for dinner. Garrett and Cash had been working from the office for several hours. Good thing Hollywood never slept. A lot of moviemakers got late-night phone calls during that time.
Garrett couldn’t focus the way he wanted too. Thoughts of Lennox kept coming to him as he worked. The need to hold her or whisper nonsense to make her laugh splintered his attention.
Hell, he had no idea what he’d been saying all night or who he’d promised what. No doubt he’d negotiated some very bad deals. Even now, a prima-donna actress and her agent were going tag team on his patience. Sure, he wanted her to star in the arthouse film he’d been developing for his directorial debut. Sure, audiences held
their breaths when she cried on screen. But right now she stood in the way of him going to Lennox.
“Here’s the thing,” he said, cutting the famous actress off mid-rant, “roses will grow out of your ass before I agree to a paycheck that big.”
Oddly enough the line went dead. Garrett looked at Cash who blinked at him. “Last week,” Cash began slowly, “you told me sunlight shines out of her ass. Can roses really be that far behind?”
Garrett laid the phone down. “Roses don’t grow in the desert.”
The laptop in front of Cash clicked closed. “You’re done for the night. Go check on Lennox.” He stood and stretched. “And get some sleep. We’re back on the clock in four hours.”
Cash left the door open when he left. The next thing Garrett knew he had his ear pressed to Lennox’s door. Quiet words drifted through the wooden barrier and out to him. He’d forgotten her habit of telling the universe what she wanted. It still made him smile.
“It’s just so hard. I don’t have anyone to lean on, nobody to run to when things go wrong for me,” she whispered. “And I’m so damn lonely. It’s crazy. And it hurts.” She choked on what sounded suspiciously like a sob. He knew better. Neither Lennox nor Nox ever cried. From time to time their eyes glistened with unshed tears but their pain never made it to the outside.
After a few ragged breaths she seemed to steady herself. “Don’t I deserve someone to love? Someone who chooses me at the same time I choose him? Not this one-sided stuff I’ve had to deal with my whole life but something real? Something really mine.”
Before now he’d always thought her talks with the universe were cute. Tonight her pleas became a lure, drawing him to her. He understood her better than anyone. They both needed comfort. Hell, he’d been dying to lie in Lennox’s lap and share his pain since his wife died. Lennox had probably needed loving longer. Why not give that to one another? Their trust ran deeper than most. He could hold her and be her shoulder for a while. He’d be there for Lennox—just until she found love with a man who’d mean everything to her the way Tina still meant everything to him.
Garrett opened the door quietly and stepped into the room. Moonlight filtered through the sheers covering the windows. Lennox sat up in bed. His keen night vision focused on the sheets falling to gather at her waist. As the linens rustled Garrett caught the blossoming scent of sexual desire in the air. He went still.
“Garrett?” Her voice wrapped itself around him and tugged. The soft hush of her breaths, the scent of her arousal, and his own loneliness seduced him. He moved soundlessly across the room. Pulling the sheets back, he slid into the bed beside her.
“Garrett?” she said again. He didn’t answer, but wrapped one arm around her waist, slid the other hand into the small curls at her nape, and drew her to him. She stopped breathing. Gently, as though in slow motion, he lay them both down. It felt right to hold her against his chest, to bury his face in her soft hair. The texture of her skin outdid the silken Egyptian cotton sheets they lay on.
He should have done this a long time ago. Now that he knew how incredible she felt he knew he’d do it again. Lennox allowed him to hold her for a few moments. On a long sigh, she turned away, pulling free from his embrace. “Stop it, Garrett.”
“Let me hold you.” He gathered her in again, crushing her lush backside into his front. Mistake number one. His body responded immediately, lengthening and hardening against her softness. Another delicate whiff of desire invited him to touch her. He didn’t refuse the call. His fingers drifted down her belly and stroked over her mound. Mistake number two.
She exhaled on an ahh. Garrett loved the sound. He nuzzled her neck, stretching the arm pinned under her side to unbutton the bottom of the men’s dress shirt she’d worn to bed. The fabric carried the faint scent of smoke. She’d been wearing it when he’d rescued her. Why had she put it on again? He shook his head. It didn’t matter. Her scent superseded all.
With the shirt unbuttoned, he had full access to her naked belly and the lacy fluff of her thong. He slipped his hand beneath the lace and slid one finger between her folds. Wet want coated his finger. His cock jumped in response, flattening tighter to his stomach. His need hurt so good. It made him feel alive.
Lennox gripped the back of his hand but didn’t stop him. Garrett continued to tease her clit to pleasure-swollen life until she became slick with desire, and her moans begged him for more. Squeezing her tighter, he played with her nipples through the fabric of the shirt with one hand while he plunged two fingers deep inside her with the other. The twin peaks of her breasts pebbled. He wanted to see them, to taste the sweetness of her skin. But he knew he couldn’t do that. If he went that far, there’d be no turning back.
Panting, Lennox rubbed her ass in circles against him. He gritted his teeth. It took everything he had not to free himself from his jeans and drive into her wet, waiting body. She smelled so damn good and felt better.
But he’d come to her for her pleasure. She needed the release and he wouldn’t complicate it any more than he already had.
Her body craved erotic touch so badly. She filled his nose, his sense of touch, and his mind so fully he couldn’t function beyond getting her off. It only took a few minutes before her inner walls convulsed around his fingers and she came, rocking against him, her hands clutching his. Garrett reveled in the power of bringing her to orgasm so quickly. She hadn’t allowed any other man to do this for her in a long time. He could tell by the tightness of her sheath. “That’s right, my Elle, take it all and ride it out,” he whispered.
A gentle tapping at the door jolted them as sure as an explosion. Lennox rolled away from him and pulled the covers over her delectable body. Garrett cursed at the loss of contact. The press of her ass to his body had felt like home. And he and his cock had been celebrating homecoming.
“Leni,” Gran called through the door. “I can’t hide it from you anymore. I’ve got terrible news and it’s completely my fault. We’re broke, honey. Every dime we had burned up in that fire.”
Chapter Eight
Four cups of Gran’s coffee later Lennox still had the shakes. “Explain it to me again, Gran. What happened to all our money?”
Gran clasped her hands together and rubbed them as though arthritis had set in. “Oh, Leni,” she said, looking up from across the table. “I got real scared when I thought another Great Depression was coming and the banks seemed more con men than trusted institutions. I decided our money would be safer at home.”
Lennox stared at her own shaking hands. She needed to do something with them so she twisted her curls up, and tucked the mass into a bun on top of her head. “But we have money in the bank. The household fund is right there along with the diner operating account. I saw it earlier this week.” Her voice started to rise with each word. The last came out as a squeak.
Garrett’s sudden touch made her go rigid. He massaged his thumbs into the knots of tension she usually called shoulder blades. The combination of his touch and her situation made her mind race. He’d just had those same fingers on her naked body, inside her. And, have mercy, it’d been so good. Those fingers sent soothing heat straight into her soul. She resisted but melted anyway.
Gran read Lennox’s sagging shoulders as defeat. She scooted her chair around the corner of the table and patted her knee. “I know. I deposit money into those accounts each month to cover the bills and accounts payable. But I sold off all our stock and took the savings out of the bank.”
Thunk. Lennox’s forehead banged onto the table. Even with her neck healing as quickly as her body always did, the action still hurt. She’d welcomed the pain. She needed it to clear her head.
Garrett stepped in. “Gran, I know you. You’d take the precaution of putting the money in a fire-proof box.”
Gran jumped up, her voice sailing toward soprano. “I did. I did, Garrett. But, well.” She sat. Her head drooped to her chest. “I li
ked having all the money around. Sometimes I’d take it out and…and…”
“What?” Lennox asked.
What shade of crazy would make Gran play with their money?
Gran stood up and went to stand behind Garrett. Peeking around him, she whispered, “Sometimes I’d take it out, spread it on the floor and…” She went silent.
“Give me a break, Gran. What?”
Gran’s answer came out a whisper. “I’d spread it out and moll mmm nit.” Lennox didn’t quite hear the response but the look on Garrett’s face told her she wasn’t going to like it. “I can’t hear you, old woman.”
Her grandmother didn’t bother showing her face this time. She spoke from behind the big male body between them. The words came out in a rush. “I liked to roll around in the money. Not all the time, about once a month. Then I’d stack it up, count it and put it all back in the safe. Only yesterday I hadn’t finished counting it when the house burned down.”
Lennox downed her fifth mug in one gulp. Thankfully Cash had set it in front of her while Gran explained the absolute ridiculousness of the situation. The coffee burned. Why not? Her whole life had gone up bonfire style.
An odd feeling filled her chest as she set the mug down. Her emotions whirled as though a tornado stormed within her. The totality of everything she’d been through in the last few days—seeing Garrett again, the betrayal she thought she’d buried resurrected, she’d fallen for Nox, got a concussion, sprained her neck, her house burned down, and she’d lost all her money because her grandmother liked to roll in it. Oh dear and fluffy lord, she’d lost more than $441,082. 00 in that fire. The entire whirlwind of it all pushed its way into her throat and erupted.
Hysterical laughter boiled out of her. Lennox covered her mouth. She knew she sounded completely nuts but she couldn’t stop. Too much. It was all too much. She pounded on the table and laughed. Garrett and Gran exchanged startled looks. She kept giggling. It went on far longer than sanity allowed for until, exhausted, Lennox laid her head down on top of her arms and shook.
