There You Are

by E. L. Todd

  It was still weird seeing them get along so well.

  Apollo licked her cheek.

  “Ew.” Lexie wiped her face on her sleeve. “Thanks for the kiss…no matter how disgusting it is.”

  “Whenever you guys are done with your love fest, I’m still here.” Apparently, I was easy to forget.

  “Sorry.” Lexie stood up so Apollo would get off of her. “You haven’t been forgotten.”

  “Better not be.” I stood with my arms across my chest.

  She pressed her body against me, her tits right against my forearms. She gave me a triumphant look, like she knew her actions were enticing me.

  I sighed because it was working.

  She pulled my arms down and moved right into my chest again.

  I wrapped my body around hers and held her there, loving her more with every passing second.

  ***

  We ate in bed for the first time.

  Lexie picked up a spring roll with her chopsticks and held it out for me to take a bite.

  I pulled the whole thing into my mouth and swallowed it.

  “God, you’re a beast.”

  “I’m both—man and beast.”

  She grabbed balls of sticky white rice and shoved them into her mouth.

  I watched her, loving the fact she was only wearing one of my t-shirts.

  “What?” She caught my look.

  “Nothing.”

  “You keep staring at me.”

  “I love the way you look.”

  “Yeah?” she asked. “I love the way you look naked.”

  I grinned from ear-to-ear. “I get that a lot.”

  Lexie looked down at her rice and didn’t make eye contact with me again.

  I didn’t realize how my words would be interpreted until it was too late. “I didn’t mean it that way…”

  “I know.” Her eyes were still directed inside the carton.

  “It’s in the past.”

  “I know that too,” she said. “I don’t hold anything against you.”

  I slept with so many women I couldn’t keep track. There were more in that three-month period than the span of my entire life. Thankfully, I always wore a condom otherwise I’d have an STD by now. “I’m sure it’s still hard.”

  She shrugged.

  “For what its worth, I was totally miserable.”

  “I know. I just hate myself even more because I could have prevented all of that. If I weren’t so stupid…”

  My fingers grazed her arm. “It’s in the past, baby. Let it go.”

  She ate a few pieces of her orange chicken.

  “I saw Carrie today.”

  “Where?”

  “At the park. She was walking Sassy.”

  “How is she?”

  “Good,” I said. “She’s seeing some banker.”

  “Good for her.”

  I couldn’t tell if Lexie was jealous or not. I did sleep with Carrie so on some level she must be. “Hopefully, it goes somewhere. I know she really wants to have kids.”

  “She’s beautiful so I’m sure it will happen.”

  I set my carton on the nightstand because I was full. I shouldn’t have eaten all that greasy food to begin with. I couldn’t retain my muscle mass and body fat percentage eating shit all the time. “That was good.”

  “It was.” She closed her cartons and set them on the other nightstand. The second she returned to the center of the bed I cuddled with her. Just lying with her in bed was all I needed. We didn’t need to talk or say a word to one another. Just being with her was enough.

  I kissed her bare shoulder and treasured her small body in my arms. When she was with me I felt whole. She completed me in a way I couldn’t explain to another human being. All I knew was that I needed her.

  I would always need her.

  Chapter Two

  Sean

  “Slade, I’m not going to help you kill someone unless you tell me why.”

  He sat across from me with the same look of determination on his face. It’d been there since he arrived at my office. “I’ll gladly oblige if you promise to keep this information to yourself.”

  I couldn’t hide something important from Mike, not when it was about his daughter. There was just no way. If something were going on with Skye and Roland he would tell me no matter what. It was an unspoken rule between us. “I can’t keep something from Mike if it has to do with Trinity.”

  “And I understand that,” he said. “But then you need to help me anyway.”

  If Slade was serious about murdering someone, then some really serious shit went down. And that scared me a little bit. “Is Trinity in danger?”

  “No.”

  “Did something bad happen to her?”

  “I can’t tell you that. But trust me on this. You would want me to kill this person.”

  I was already dragged into this so I couldn’t get out. “I don’t know what this person did, but you shouldn’t kill someone unless it’s a life or death situation. As in, if it comes down to him or you.”

  Slade’s face didn’t change but his eyes turned frightening. “If someone did something to your wife, would you let it go?”

  That was dangerous territory.

  “If someone hurt Aunt Scarlet would you do nothing?”

  He already knew the answer to that. “Of course not.”

  “Would you kill the fucker who touched her?”

  Probably. “It depends.”

  “On what, exactly?” He gritted his teeth like he was trying not to scream.

  “It depends on what happened. It depends on who the guy is. It depends on if he’s in jail or not.”

  “Well, he’s not in jail. And he deserves to die.”

  I rested my elbows on my knees and tried to figure out how to handle this. Scarlet was the better diplomat between the two of us. She would know how to handle this. “Slade, what happened to Trinity?”

  “Do I have your word?”

  “I don’t know…”

  “Trinity isn’t in danger anymore so Mike doesn’t need to know. Believe me, you’ll make him suffer by telling him. Keep it to yourself.”

  “Not in danger anymore?” I asked. “So someone did hurt her?”

  He gave me a grim look before he nodded.

  Whatever happened and went down, it was in the past. But it was clear I needed to be involved now that Slade came to me. Whether I could tell Mike or not, I needed to fix this. “Tell me what happened.”

  “Can I trust you?”

  “You can trust that I’ll do the right thing by my family. And Trinity is my family.” Maybe I didn’t want to hear this. Trinity was like a daughter to me. She was my niece, and I loved her like my own.

  Slade covered his face before he spoke. “There’s this guy, Maximum Shot. He’s a big designer—”

  “I know who he is.” I wasn’t into fashion but I recognized that name like everyone else. And I knew what he looked like.

  “Well, he’s the fucker that…raped Trinity.”

  That word stung like acid. Bile rose up in my throat and I wanted to die inside. The pain was unbearable. My head thudded like tennis balls were banging against my skull. The blow was devastating.

  “She didn’t go to the police and she barely told me.” Slade clenched his fists. “I’m going to kill him. I don’t mean that in a funny, ha-ha, kind of way. No, I’m going to literally stop his heart.”

  I couldn’t blame him. I wanted to do the same thing.

  “I need to put this guy out to sea. Or mix his body with cement. I really don’t give a damn where his bones lay. But I need to kill him and get away with it. There’s no point in me taking him out if I’m in jail for the rest of my life. I need you to help me with this.”

  “Contrary to what you might think, I’ve never murdered someone—with the exception of Zack.” And I considered that self-defense, not homicide. I didn’t go out of my way to take his life from him. I pulled that trigger because he shot my daughter.
/>   “But you know how to get it done.”

  Maybe. Maybe not.

  “I want to hire a hit man. You have access to all of that. That way I’ll have an alibi.”

  “That’s expensive.”

  “Don’t give a shit.”

  “And what satisfaction will that bring?” Personally, I’d want to torture him myself.

  “It’s revenge—and it’s sweet.” Slade wasn’t himself at all. He was a completely different person, almost maniacal. “We can have the hit man take him to a non-disclosed location and I can torture him to death. The hit man can dispose the body. Problem solved.”

  It was tempting—extremely. If it were Scarlet…I didn’t even want to think about it. I’d die inside if something like that happened to her. I completely understood Slade’s insanity. I couldn’t even imagine what he was going through.

  “I see the pain in your eyes,” Slade said. “Now you understand why you can never tell Mike.”

  This was one thing I thought was best to keep a secret. If the situation were reversed, I wouldn’t want to know about it. “You’re right.”

  “But we can handle this the way he would want us to. By killing that son-of-a-bitch.”

  ‘Trinity knows nothing about this?”

  “No.”

  I stared at the table between us and brainstormed.

  “How are we going to do this?” Slade leaned forward, eager.

  “I don’t know…he’s a celebrity. You can’t just murder a celebrity like a regular person. There are so many witnesses, so many people invested in his life. Even if we kill him and hide the body thousands of people will be looking for him. It’s complicated.”

  “Then we can make his death look like an accident.”

  “Still difficult.”

  “Well, we need to figure out something. If we don’t, I’ll march into his office point blank and shoot him right between the eyes.”

  I could tell he wasn’t exaggerating. “There are worse things than death.”

  “Like what?”

  “A respectable man like him values his success. If we take that away from him it would be devastating. Dying is almost the easy way out.”

  Slade hung onto every word.

  “We can look into him and expose him to the world.”

  “I’m not telling the media what happened to Trinity. Forget it.”

  “We wouldn’t bring her into this,” I said. “But if he’s done this to Trinity he’s done it to others.”

  “True…”

  “And we can expose him for what he did and bring him down. Trinity would get justice and Shot would look like scum in front of the entire world. No one would do business with him and slowly the ground would crumble beneath him. Everything he worked so hard for would be ripped from his hand overnight—literally.”

  Slade rested his fingers against his lips, his eyes dark.

  “What do you think?”

  “I like it.”

  Shot deserved to die for what he did, but Slade shouldn’t carry that weight for the rest of his life. I wouldn’t want that for him. If it were Scarlet, I probably would commit murder. But that didn’t mean it was the best decision.

  ***

  Despite everything I believed in, I decided not to tell Scarlet.

  It would crush her.

  As selfish as it made me seem, I wish I didn’t know. The idea of someone doing that to someone I loved…was heartbreaking. How did you carry on after something like that? How did you find the will to believe people were good? Maybe people were just as evil as I claimed.

  I walked in the door and tossed my things aside. I didn’t want Scarlet to know anything but I couldn’t pretend I was okay. I felt like shit. Actually, I felt worse than shit.

  “Hey, sweetheart.” Scarlet’s voice came from the kitchen.

  “Hey, baby,” I said with a weak voice.

  She came out of the kitchen wearing an apron with flamingos on it. She took one look at me and knew something was wrong. “Bad day?”

  “Something like that.”

  She wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her face close to mine.

  I looked into her eyes for comfort. Whenever I stared at my wife’s soul I felt better. The connection was enough to heal me most of the time. This time it was different. Nothing would make me feel better.

  Her fingers danced in my hair. “What is it, Sean?”

  “I can’t tell you. I’m sorry.” I hardly ever said things like that to her, and when I did she didn’t press me on it.

  “Does it have anything to do with our children?”

  “No.”

  She breathed a sigh. “Can you never tell me? Or just now?”

  “Never.”

  “Okay.” She rubbed my arms then kissed me on the lips. “I have something that might cheer you up.”

  “What?” I whispered.

  “Cedric is here.”

  My grandson was the apple of my eye lately. He was a joy to be around and reminded me of the sweet time of raising Skye and Roland. He was a happy baby, and anyone near him fell head-over-heels. “That does make me feel a little better.”

  “Good.” She grabbed my hand and guided me into the kitchen. “Dinner is almost ready.”

  “Okay.” I walked to the table and noticed Angie was there. “Hey, how was work?”

  “It was okay. Trying to get the hang of things still.” She had an ice tea in front of her and she still wore her work clothes. “I’d much rather be a babysitter if I had the option.” She looked at Cedric as she spoke.

  Cedric was sitting in his small playpen at the end of the table. He was on his back, a colorful toy in his left hand.

  “Hey, little man.” I picked him up and held him in my arms. He was lighter than air.

  He giggled and a little drool fell down his chin.

  I wiped it off and continued to stare into his face. “You’re going to be a good-looking guy just like your grandpa.”

  He kicked his small feet.

  “That’s the cutest baby I’ve ever seen,” Angie whispered.

  “I know,” I said proudly. “He really is.” I rested my arms on the table and supported his head with my hand. Then I looked down at him, enjoying the sight of my beautiful grandson.

  I pressed my face into his stomach and blew on his belly.

  Cedric laughed when I did it.

  “Don’t get him all riled up before dinner,” Scarlet said. “I still have to feed him.”

  “I’m the cool grandparent,” I whispered. “Grandma is the stickler around here.”

  “I heard that,” Scarlet said.

  I kissed Cedric’s forehead before I returned him to his playpen.

  Scarlet set the table before we gathered around and began to eat. She made meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner. Manhattan had the best food in the world but I preferred my wife’s cooking any day. “This is good, baby.”

  “Thank you,” Scarlet said with a smile.

  Angie ate quietly. Ever since she moved in with us she was quieter than a mouse. Her room was always sparkling clean and she cleaned up after herself. She even did the housework even though Scarlet told her she didn’t have to. Having her around wasn’t that bad.

  When we finished Angie stared at her plate. “Thank you for everything. You’ve made this difficult time so much easier on me.”

  “Of course,” Scarlet said. “We don’t mind.”

  “Not at all,” I said. “How’s your mom doing?”

  “She’s not responding well to chemo…” Angie’s eyes were glued to the table. “The doctors told me to prepare for the worst.”

  Poor kid. She couldn’t catch a break, could she? “I’m sorry to hear that, Angie.”

  “Me too.” Scarlet placed her hand on hers. “We wish there was something we could do…”

  “You’ve done enough.” Angie pulled her hand away and silently excused herself from the table. “Thank you for dinner…but I want to be alone right now.” S
he left the kitchen then walked upstairs to her bedroom.

  I looked at Scarlet with a sad look on my face. “This day just keeps getting worse…”

  Chapter Three

  Arsen

  I was awake before the alarm went off. Silke lay in my arms, her pretty brown hair scattered everywhere. Sleeping with her was the greatest part of being married. She was always there when I went to sleep, and she was always there when I woke up.

  I was the happiest man in the world.

  I watched her sleep for several minutes before my impatience got the best of me. My lips found her neck and I kissed her slowly, trying to wake her up as gently as possible. My hand glided up her body, feeling the smooth skin of her sexy curves. I was hard the instant I woke up. Now I was trying to make it soft. “Beauty.”

  She arched her back and turned her head, coming to consciousness slowly. She took a deep breath then stretched her legs outward.

  “Wake up.”

  “No…”

  “Come on.” I kissed her neck then her chest. I slowly moved on top of her, getting between her legs. Her eyes were still lidded and heavy. When she woke up in the morning her face was always beautiful after a good night’s rest. Her skin looked rejuvenated and her lips plump. That’s when I wanted her most.

  I rested my stomach against hers and held myself on my elbows, my face directly above hers. Then I moved inside her, not surprised to feel how wet she was. I rocked into her slowly, trying to stay quiet just in case Abby was awake.

  Silke moaned quietly, her body coming to life under my touch. Her hands glided up my arms and to my shoulders. Her nails were short from molding clay all the time but I love feeling them dig into my skin anyway.

  As the thrusts continued she fell deeper into me. Her lips parted and made a beautiful O and she grabbed my ass and pulled me further inside her, wanting more of me. Now she was on fire.

  And I was the one who lit her up in flames.

  “I love you, Beauty.” I kissed the corner of her mouth and felt her tighten around me, preparing to ignite.

  “Arsen…I love you.” She pulled me into her harder, knowing she was about to fall hard. She pressed her lips tightly together and muffled her own moans. Watching her repress her pleasure was another turn on.

  I wanted to finish at the same time so I pumped into her a few more times until I hit my threshold. My eyes locked to hers, I came inside her. We reached our moment at the same time and I filled her with everything that I had.