My eyebrows shot up. “You told him I was staying with you?”
She chewed her lip and said, “Well, I was passing by him as I was leaving. He was on the phone growling at someone. He said something about you and then someone named Holden. So, I stopped and wished him good night, like I do every night before I leave. Then told him you were staying with me for a night if he needed anything.”
“Shit.”
“Was that wrong?”
I smiled at her. “No, you’re fine, my husband’s name is Holden. I didn’t tell him where I was going and I’m afraid he’s a little miffed.”
“Really?”
I told her the entire story. From last year to the present. Leaving out minor details that were probably too rated-R for her, but the entire story nonetheless.
“So, I have a feeling we might get a visitor or two,” I finished.
Her face lit up like it was Christmas. “Awesome! I never just get visitors. This is so exciting.”
“He might be pissed when he gets here, just so you know.”
“I’m not worried about it. Did you say Ray had a .50 machine gun?”
I grinned. “Yeah.”
“That’s so awesome!”
“I know!”
There was a knock at the door. While Kate was answering it, I texted Holden.
Julia: Don’t scare the poor girl.
Holden: Hmm
That sounded ominous. I rolled my eyes. Whatever. He’d get over it.
“Julia,” I heard a familiar voice say.
I turned and saw Logan walking in. Behind him, stood Aiden and two of his security goons. They were all looking at Kate’s eclectic house.
Kate was trying to look anywhere but directly at Logan. He was trying to do the same.
“Hey Logan. Aiden, hope Liv is still alive.”
“She is, and mad as hell I wouldn’t let her come with me.”
Kate looked a little star-struck as she listened to Aiden. I wasn’t sure what she was thinking, but she was clearly trying not to fidget. Maybe she just wasn’t used to having someone in the house that looked like a linebacker on steroids. Aiden was cute but Holden, in my opinion, took the prize in the looks department out of all of them.
Aiden smiled down at her, “Hi, I’m Aiden Latimer, nice to meet you.”
She blinked. “Hi.”
Logan growled, “Kate, do you have any water?”
She turned to him and nodded, then went to the kitchen with Logan following close behind.
Aiden looked at me and shrugged. I wiggle my eyebrows at him and nodded toward the kitchen. He shook his head. I nodded mine, and gave him a serious look. He pursed his lips and thought about it, then smiled. I nodded and grinned.
He walked around Kate’s couch and sat down in one of the seats in front of me. Bells, jumped on the armrest and tilted her head to look at him. She looked about as star struck as her owner. Aiden eyed her cautiously.
“I get what you’re doing, but it’s really risky Julia. We’ll find him without all this.”
“Holden is on his way. That was the main reason I had to do this. The other reason is, if I keep hiding then nothing in my life is ever going to be on my terms. Roger will show up. You’ll get him before Holden can.”
“We will, I assure you. What is this move going to cost you personally in the long run though? You’ll be more than famous.”
“Maybe for a day, until the next person comes along. Allison and I will work on it. Holden too, if he still wants to, and I don’t murder him first.”
“Okay, just don’t do anything else that might be risky. And don’t drop your security team again. Jake’s ready to quit at this point. As far as record labels, I’ll do some thinking on some of your options if you would like. If that’s the route you want to go. If not, then you can live a nice little anonymous life somewhere. I’ll guarantee it.”
I winked at him. “I’ll get back to you on it.”
He chuckled. “Good, and it better not involve ditching Holden again because he will kill me. He is literally the only man alive that would make me worry. Did he ever tell you about the time we spent the night in a swamp, and one of our guides tried to use a machete on him? Bet he still has the scar on his thigh.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to know. Luckiest man I’ve ever heard of.”
“Sure is. Lucky to have you too. You don’t take his shit.”
I shrugged.
We heard something clatter on the floor in the kitchen.
“Logan, you are so dumb!” Kate yelled.
Aiden and I watched as she came stomping around the corner, through the living room past us, and down a long hallway. Then the door slammed.
Bells peered into the hallway from the chair, then turned to the kitchen and titled her head.
“Kate!” Logan bellowed and stomped into the living room. He looked at both of us, then turned around, and went out the front door. It slammed when he left.
I gave a sly smile to Aiden.
He chuckled. “Uh huh.”
He and the goons left shortly afterward. He gave me a final speech about behaving, not doing anything stupid, and not pissing Holden off any more than I had already.
Waving at him as he departed in his fancy armored car, I smiled like I was going to take his advice to heart. Fat chance!
I locked the door and went to bed in the insect room.
Late in the night, I felt the bed shift beside me and woke up with a start. “Wha—”
“It’s just me, angel,” I heard Holden say as I felt his arms wrap around me. “It’s always just going to be me.”
“How did you even get in?”
“Hmm? Wasn’t hard, I’ll show you sometime. Right now, I want to get in you.” I felt the heat of his back as he tightened his arms.
“I’m very mad at you,” I yawned and elbowed him
“You wouldn’t be mad at me if you were getting fucked every day. You purr like a kitten when you’re getting it regular.”
“I’m breaking up with you publicly tomorrow.”
“No, you’re not. You’re going to tell everyone we’re married.”
“Hmpff. I don’t even have a ring.”
He chuckled, “Is that what’s eating you? A ring?”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Oh, believe me I do. I want my ring on your finger so everyone knows your mine. Just wait until this shit blows over.”
I wiggled around to get more comfortable and to irritate him at the same time.
“Babe,” he growled.
“What?” I asked innocently.
“By the way, don’t ever pull that shit again. Jake is about to pull his hair out. He may never speak to you again.”
I shrugged. “Eh, he’s too sensitive.”
“The problem is, he wants to do well. You’re not making it easy on him.”
“If he wants it easy, he can buy a puppy and potty-train it. He honestly needs a challenge.”
He laughed. “You think working with me isn’t challenging enough? Much less, all those guys, Brock and Aiden.”
I thought about it. “Point taken. Brock knew where I was at though. It wasn’t like I was totally off the grid to everyone.”
“True, and no one is completely off the grid with him. Even me. He called last night and started cussing me out,” he sighed. “He’s such a prick.”
“He was worried, there’s a difference.”
“Right, he threatened to start dating you if I didn’t stop searching. He got very detailed. I asked him how that was going to work out, since you were in New Mexico with me, and he said you were in Lakefield with him. Nearly lost my mind when he told me.”
I shook my head. “As if! I wouldn’t date him. He’s scary.”
“Yeah, I know, he’s also cocky. He never comes out of that building either, so his chances of ever meeting anyone nice, that doesn’t work for him, is pretty much zero. Not to say he hasn’t dated. But I’m beginning to w
onder if they were paid actors.”
“I’m sure he can handle himself. He’s cute, he’ll find someone.”
He snorted. “Yuck, yeah if a badger is cute, I guess he is.”
“I think Kate and Logan are crushing on each other.”
I told him what happened in the house earlier between the two of them.
“Julia, don’t start.”
“What?”
He squeezed my hip. “You know. Leave it alone. Logan has his own issues to work out. Kate’s probably just got a small crush and Logan probably told her to stop.”
The door squeaked open slightly and Holden tensed.
“It’s just the cat.”
I felt him lift his head up. “What cat?”
“Kate’s cat, Bells. She’s cute. Makes me want a one.”
There was a soft purring then a jerk on the covers as Bells jumped on the bed. She made her way up my side and started rubbing her head against my shoulder.
“Uhm, angel? Can you get rid of it? I was planning on petting your pussy.”
I giggled and let the cat curl up beside me. “I’m sleepy.”
Holden’s hand moved out of the covers and nudged the cat. She hissed and batted at him.
“Ouch!”
I laughed. “Hmm. Go to sleep honey. This pussy doesn’t want to play”
He growled. “We’re getting a dog.”
I smiled and drifted off to sleep thinking of a dog, my man and the mountains.
Chapter Eighteen
I woke up early despite my late-night conversation with Holden and the visit from Bells.
The sun had just breached the horizon, judging from the small window in the bedroom. I smelled coffee and bacon.
I went to the bathroom and did my thing. The small amount of supplies I brought with me would work for the press interview. I discarded my running shoes from the previous day, and put on the heels I had brought with me.
Scoping myself out in the mirror, I didn’t look half bad in my fashionably torn jeans and belly shirt. I turned to the side and checked out the shirt I had decided to wear.
No bra. That should get that psycho’s attention.
I had done it specifically for the effect today, and my ample breasts looked more than appealing. My blonde hair was also cooperating, and fell around my shoulders with a nice sheen to it.
Needing to ask Kate about makeup, I wandered out of my bedroom and down the hall to the kitchen. She hopefully had some I could use.
Before I entered I heard two people talking. One of them was going to be pissed about my attire.
Kate said, “No really it helps with digestion and a lot of other things. You wouldn’t believe all the incredible benefits of mint. Ants also tend to keep away from flower beds if it’s planted and tended properly. It’s great stuff. You should see if your mom can make it work if she has a garden up there.”
Holden laughed. “I’ll definitely suggest it to her. She’s always looking for different things to grow. You and she would have plenty to talk about if you ever want to visit.”
“I’ll seriously take you up on the offer. Oh, and Julia told me about the barn. I’m very curious!”
Holden sighed. “Yeah, just don’t touch anything, and for the love of God, don’t build a bomb with my dad. Julia nearly gave me a heart attack when they were building the pond.”
“You use a bomb for pond building? How is that even possible?”
“Forget I said anything!”
“Okay. So, Julia and you are better?”
He mumbled something. “We will be. She’s stubborn.”
“Well, if it helps, I can tell she loves you.”
“I know she does. It’s just complicated. She doesn’t want to take help sometimes and she’s not happy with what I do.”
“So, what are you going to do about it?”
“I’ll think of something. I was planning on dazzling her when we got back here, but we need to straighten some things out first. See, I have this ring. My great-grandmother wore it apparently. She was a bit of a free spirit like Julia. Traveled all over the place. This was back in a time when women didn’t necessarily do that sort of thing. She traveled to Cairo once on her own and wrote a lot of journals.”
“Would you do something like that if you had the means to?”
“I have the money to. Shit, I could retire and live nicely on the investments I’ve made. I just never have had the time to travel.”
“Maybe you should make the time. Take Julia with you.”
He growled. “That was the plan. She just won’t get on board with the plan. I would kidnap her if I didn’t think she would try to take a baseball bat after me in bed. She’s quite possibly the only woman I’ve ever met, that I both love to piss off, and am terrified to piss off. She threated to chop Brock up.”
“Oh, I want to meet Brock too!” she giggled. “And you said Cade was looking for people at that bar downtown?”
“Yeah just give him a call. Are you sure you want to work there? It gets a little rough at night sometimes. You just don’t seem like the type that would like it.”
I heard a pause like she was thinking. “Well I thought about it a little. I could use the funds. My day job doesn’t pay very well. It’s fun, and really rewarding, but this house is a lot to keep up with. I’ll go see him over the weekend.”
“Cool. Let us know how it goes. We’ll be your first customers.”
I walked into the kitchen like I hadn’t been eavesdropping, and Holden turned around.
His eyes bugged out, and he coughed on the coffee he had been sipping. He looked first at my top and then slowly down to my shoes. Then he returned to my breasts.
“Fuck me. You are not wearing that!”
I rolled my eyes and turned to Kate. She had a huge grin on her face.
“Hey do you have any extra makeup I can borrow? Or, where is the nearest store from here?”
Her eyes perked up. “Sure do! Actually, I have a lot of free samples, from some fancy company that came through the clinic one day. I don’t wear a whole lot but I figured I would give it a try sometime.”
“Hmm,” I responded while eyeing her. “Do you have a dress Kate? I think I might need you today, and it’ll involve some media stuff. Wear the sexiest thing you have.”
She grinned. “Oh sure, let me go look in the closet!”
She left and I took my time wandering past Holden. He was wearing one his black on black suits that hugged his muscular body. I preferred him in a pair of jeans and a thermal but his current look was just as sexy.
He was looking directly at my face but his eyes did a slow burn down to my shirt again when I got closer. I avoided him and went straight for the empty coffee cup that Kate had on her counter.
I felt him come up behind me before his hands planted on the counter on either side of my body. Then he pressed his chest up against my back and his crotch against my ass. He was hard. Very hard.
“Good morning,” he growled against my neck.
It sent shivers up my spine.
“Good morning. I forgot to ask you last night, how was your flight?”
“Uncomfortable. The plane was filled with a bunch of gear I had to step over every single time I got up. I’m tired because I didn’t get much sleep, chasing you down after I got here. Now, because you’re wearing that damn shirt, I want to fuck you on the counter.”
I smirked. “We can’t. Kate would possibly pass out. I’m not sure she would survive.”
He rubbed against me. “Since when have I cared about what other people think?”
“It’s Kate, Holden. She doesn’t even cuss. She would be traumatized.”
“Hmm,” he said and started kissing the side of my neck.
I poked him in the ribs with my elbow.
His hand slid up the front of my shirt and lingered on my breasts. I started panting when he slowly massaged them.
“I’ve been thinking about that time in the cabin. With you on the table, a
ngel.”
I was instantly wet when the memory hit me. “Ahh, gawd.”
He squeezed my breast gently. “Uh huh. We are going to do that and several other things, five times a day, until you realize your mine and not going anywhere.”
His tongue made a lazy circle along a sensitive part just under my ear, and my back arched against him.
“I’m thinking handcuffs,” he whispered against my neck. “Possibly a crop and a blindfold. You’ll be at my mercy for hours.”
I whimpered. Although I had never even thought about using any of those things, the thought of Holden doing those things with me, was a huge turn on.
I turned around in his arms, and my mouth was instantly on him. His mouth slanted against mine and his tongue possessively claimed me. One of my legs inched up his, and he grabbed it to hold it in place.
He pressed into me, then into me again, and growled.
The next instant, he was suddenly gone. My leg dropped to the floor and my eyes flew open. My mouth was still on fire and I was breathing fast.
What the hell?
Kate walked into the kitchen with two dresses. She frowned, looking back and forth between them. “I have this one and this one. Purple or green. I’ve never worn them. Someone bought them for me a long time ago.”
My mouth felt pleasantly used and slightly numb. “Uhm.”
Holden, who was leaning against the island, sipping coffee and hiding his erection, answered. “Are we trying to impress anyone?”
I looked at him innocently. “Just need her to look sharp.”
His eyes narrowed. “Purple.”
I took a serious look at both dresses. The purple one looked a little too conservative. Green, was actually the better choice. It seemed shorter and a little more risqué.
“Go with the green one Kate. It’ll show off your hair.”
“Okay! When do you want me to dressed by?”
“We’ll leave at eight-thirty. The press deal isn’t until ten.”
She grinned and did a little hop. “I’ll start getting ready now. It’s already seven. It takes me a while.”
She ran out and Holden was back across the kitchen with his mouth on mine.
“I have to take a shower, angel.”
“You’re coming?”
He growled against my mouth and pressed into me again. “Yeah, in more ways than one. Want to take another shower with me?”
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