Built Over Time (The Middleton Hotels Series Book 4)

by C. M. Steele

  “No, of course not. I want you to stay. It’s just a bit overwhelming. In a good way, of course, but overwhelming nonetheless.”

  “Why do you keep looking out the side mirror?” I asked, my heart feeling completely insecure.

  “It’s strange, but that car behind us…well…we passed him up on the road and then he followed behind. Like directly behind,” she emphasized.

  If she was worried about it, I would take it seriously. As a man of my wealth, there were people out to cash in on kidnapping or robbing me, but I was always prepared. “It could be nothing, but I feel like there’s more.”

  “It’s just, I’ve seen him in town before. Not that we’d ever spoken, but I felt like he was watching me.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes,” she muttered. I had a weird feeling about the car, too. It was time to play a game. The car was still about fifty yards away, so I braked hard, but not painfully. The car came close to almost hitting my tail but stopped just before. I spun the car to block the road, then grabbed my gun from my waistband. We kept them at the house for safety and I’d made sure to take one with us.

  I pointed it at the fucker and demanded, “Get out of the car.”

  “You’re making a big mistake,” he snarled.

  My anger was rising by the second. “No, the fuck I’m not. Following my woman around will get you killed.”

  “I’m a federal agent,” he shouted. “I’ve got my badge on my belt.”

  “Proof, motherfucker,” I growled, my gun was cocked and pointed at this son of a bitch. He opened his jacket and just as he’d said, there it was. I lowered my gun, just enough, but didn’t put it away.

  “What are you doing stalking my fiancée?” I asked, authoritatively tilting my chin.

  “I’m not stalking Ms. Simmons. I’m watching over her,” he replied.

  “And I’m supposed to take your word for it?”

  “No, but here. Call the field office.” He took a card from his inside pocket then handed it to me. He was supposedly a FBI agent according to his card at least, but anyone can make a phony business card.

  I spoke into my phone asking for the California branch of the FBI. And it came up with the Los Angeles branch along with others, but this matched his card information, so I gave them a call. “Do you have a Special Agent White working for you?”

  “Yes, we do, sir,” she said. “Is he okay?” I heard the tension and concern in her voice. He must be undercover or she thought I found his body or belongings. Whatever it was, he was safe now that I knew Harper was.

  “Yes, he is. I just needed to verify his story. Thank you,” I said, hanging up on her. I tucked my gun away. “Do you care to explain why you scared her?” My tone wasn’t soft as I did all I could not to choke him for making her worried.

  “I didn’t mean to. We need to speak somewhere private,” he said.

  “Why?” I asked, trusting this fucker as far as I could throw him.

  “Because her mother is involved,” he muttered, looking around to see if anyone was lurking in the brush. There had to be a lot more to it, but he was right. This wasn’t the place to talk about it.

  There was one I knew we could use that was close. “Okay, meet us by the pond down the road behind my family home.”

  “That works. I’ll be there in five minutes.”

  I climbed back in the car, pulled around and headed back toward the house. “What the hell? I didn’t know you had a gun,” she screeched, slapping my arm as she turned in her seat.

  “First, sit right. Kitten, I’m from Texas,” I reminded her, we all owned guns.

  “Whatever. What happened?”

  “He’s a Fed. Something about your mother and he’s been assigned to tail you.” I didn’t want to tell her that he was protecting her. Part of me wasn’t sure that was true, but if it was, that meant her mother was willing to hurt her. “We’re going to meet him by our pond,” I added before she could ask.

  “That isn’t smart. He could be lying and getting us alone would be perfect.”

  “He gave me his business card and I called the number listed as his field office. He’s legit.”

  “Okay, let’s see what he wants,” she said with a defeated look on her face. Something tells me she has a feeling of why the Feds would be snooping around. There was the path that left me out of view of the house. It was the same one Harper used to take.

  We arrived at the spot and the man got out of the car with a file in one hand and a coffee in the other. I got what he was doing. He wanted to make us feel secure so I wouldn’t pull a gun on him again.

  “Harper, this is Agent White.” Then I introduced him to her. “And she’s Harper Simmons, but since you knew that, what can you tell us?”

  “Ms. Simmons, congrats on the engagement. I’m here because there’s been a hit put out on your life. It was taken down this morning when someone surveilling the hotel contacted your mother to inform her that you’d been spotted with Mr. Middleton.” I felt Harper tense up next to me, and I wanted to kick this fucker for his lack of subtlety.

  I turned her to me and held her head against my chest. I whispered, “Princess, are you okay?”

  “Yes, Bryce. I suppose this was only a matter of time,” she muttered. More had been going on than she’d let on.

  “Ms. Simmons, what makes you think your mother has it in for you?”

  She didn’t address White, but instead directed her answer to me. “Well, remember when I said I was coming here to find you again? I did so because I had to know, and if you wanted nothing to do with me, I was going to run.” Harper started fidgeting. “See the thing is…she was acting weird toward the end of the school year. And then I found out about the life insurance policy for ten million on my life and I heard her tell someone that it would need to look like an accident and the time for it was coming soon.”

  “So, you had to think quick,” I answered. I wasn’t mad at her for her reasons for coming. Either way, she was here with me and that was all I gave two fucks about. What bothered me is that I could have lost her. That bitch was going to pay big time. I’d take her back to Texas in the trunk, slice her up, and feed her to the pigs on a nearby livestock ranch.

  “Well, it’s what I wanted, but it seemed like the perfect ruse because she’s all about money. She never had enough. Even though she married and divorced many men for their fortunes, she still needed more. There would never be enough to quench her appetite. I’d run out of usefulness to her, so I figured it was only a matter of time.”

  “Don’t worry, see the thing is, I’m the one she hired to kill you if you didn’t end up with Mr. Middleton. She didn’t know she was being set up by a friend of hers who contacted our offices. We’re going to nail her on more than those charges. I have a plan and I want to know if you’ll go along with it.”

  “What’s the plan?”

  Chapter 11

  Harper

  “You’re getting married tomorrow? You know I’m not ready for a wedding.”

  “It doesn’t matter, Sarah. You’re not invited. I’ve made it clear that you aren’t welcome and his parents gleefully obliged.”

  “What? You little bitch,” she screamed. “After all I did for you, you ungrateful cunt. I’m going to see that you pay for this,” she continued raving like the lunatic she was. “I’m not welcome? Does your fiancé and his family know that you set out to find and marry him for his money?”

  “Ha, he knows that I told you I had a scheme to catch his attention. There’s just one little tidbit I left out. I already had it. I’d met him years ago.”

  “What a lying, conniving twat,” my terrible excuse for an incubator said.

  “I learned from the best. By the way, what are you going to do? Poison me like you did my dad?”

  “No, I need your death to look like an accident, and it will. The life insurance goes up a fuckton more if you drown. That little pond where you used to go is a great spot. Better keep looking over your
shoulder. I’ve always hated you. If it wasn’t for your father, you’d have been dead as a baby.”

  “Good to know, cuntbag. Have a nice life. Smooches,” I said, cheerfully hanging up on her.

  I turned to the agent with a smile as my conversation ended. They had it all or at least enough to nail her to a prison wall. Bryce stood leaning on the door frame, his large build taking up the entire space with his hands balled into fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

  “You did good, Ms. Simmons. She’ll…wait…she’s calling now.”

  “Hello,” Agent White said, placing the call on speaker. “Sorry, in my car. Can you speak up?” he asked, shouting over the phone.

  “Do it, make it look like an accident. I want her gone like yesterday. Better yet, strike on her wedding day. I want it ruined.” The venom in her words didn’t faze me one bit, but I could see Bryce looked ready to kill.

  I walked up and wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing my head against his chest. I heard White end the call, then turned around in Bryce’s arms so I was close to him but able to speak to the Fed.

  “Are we done here?”

  “Yes. I’ll be at your wedding with a few of my men for protection, but I’ll be acting as a guest.”

  “Thanks for doing this,” Bryce said, shaking his hand without letting me go.

  “Please excuse us. We have a lot to do.”

  We left the hotel the agents were squatting in and headed back to my place. “We have a lot to do? Then why are we here?” I asked, knowing exactly why and mentally stripping him with my eyes.

  “You’re so about to get fucked on the first surface I find,” he growled, tossing me over his shoulder and running up the steps to my place.

  “Put me down, fool,” I screamed before I bit his ass.

  “Kitten, you’re kinky. I like that.” Then I felt his fingers slip under the hem of my shorts and up my leg until he reached my wet pussy.

  “No panties, in front of all those men? That’s asking for it, kitten. You better be prepared.” He pulled his fingers from my body and brought them to his mouth. The only way I could tell was because I heard him suck his fingers clean. “You taste prepared.”

  He opened the door and waited until he locked it before sliding me down his body. His hands came to my shoulders as he pushed me down to my knees. I hid the smile on my face by ducking my head, but I wanted him so uncontrollably. He cupped my chin roughly, then tilted my head up to look at him. I watched as he undid his zipper and pushed his jeans off his hips. His boxer briefs came down with them, revealing his girthy length. His tip was glossy with beads of cum on the tip. He stroked it once, making another strand of pre-cum to coat his cock and fingers. I looked up at him before taking his hand and slipping in one finger at a time, tasting a bit of me and all of him on my tongue. A low rumble came from his chest, demanding a prideful smile from me.

  “Fuck, kitten. I’ve got a lot of cream for you,” he muttered, taking his hand from my mouth, then pushing his cock toward my lips. I sat back on my heels and pressed my hands to my thighs, then parted my lips, telling him I wanted to be fed. He pushed his cock into my waiting mouth. We moaned together as I closed my lips around the tip. Immediately, he wrapped his strong fingers around my hair, grasping it tightly.

  I slid my mouth down his length, going as far as I could. His cock was so big and I wasn’t even sure I was doing it right, but I wanted his cum. He started to rock his hips, letting moans slip from his lips. Needing more, I wrapped a hand around the base and began stroking, using my tongue to wet my path. My thighs were starting to shake with my own need. I pressed them together, hoping to stop my ache, but Bryce took that moment to look down. Our eyes met and he smiled, then I was on my feet with his mouth crashing down on mine.

  “I’m not coming anywhere but your pussy for now. I want you marked and tied to me in every way. I want my baby in here,” he muttered against my lips with his hand splayed across my tummy. He walked us to the bed until the back of my knees hit the mattress and I flopped onto my ass; my shorts felt drenched as I waited impatiently for more. He stripped in front of me as I took it in with anticipation. I removed my blouse because I was done waiting. He stood there stroking his long, thick cock, watching me undress.

  “Go ahead, take it all off. I want to watch,” he commanded.

  I stood, kicking off my shoes without taking my eyes from his. Suddenly, I felt so uncontrollably sexy. I took my time to strip out of my shorts, sliding them slowly down my legs deliberately, all the while biting my lower lip. He’d had enough. With a growl, I found myself pinned the bed and my bra pulled down. Then with one smooth thrust, he entered me. He leaned over me with his strong arms on either side of my head. He grabbed my legs and wrapped them around his waist. His gaze focused on mine. Only his hips rocked forward. My body was humming as I felt his thickness stretching my walls. I pulsed with every stroke, squeezing, refusing to let him go.

  A crooked smile appeared on his face as he drove into me. Over and over I felt the pull of each one, my body still adjusting to his size. I loved how I could feel every inch of him.

  “I’m going to come,” I shouted, my orgasm building around my clit. Knowing what I needed, he reached between us and gave my little nub a stroke with two fingers. And like that I was screaming.

  “Bryce. Fucking hell yes. Oh my God.”

  “I’m the only man’s name you scream, kitten,” he growled, lifting my ass a bit and spanking me.

  “Bryce, only you, ever,” I moaned, loving the possessive side to him.

  “Yes, kitten.” He lifted my legs from his waist, then pulled out for a moment before tossing me on my belly. I wasn’t on all fours, instead he picked up my thighs with my knees in the crook of his arms as he pushed back in. Taking me from behind was even deeper. It felt as if every stroke was going to pierce my stomach and I loved it.

  “Oh shit, give it to me, Bryce.”

  He grunted, then thrust a few more times before spilling his cum in my womb. Fuck me, this man had kinky thoughts running through his head. I was in for a world full of fun in the future.

  “Sorry, don’t know what got in me, but I’ve thought about fucking you hard and fast like that,” he apologized, leaning down with his chin resting at my shoulder.

  I turned my head slightly. “I liked it. I want you to dominate me in bed. I love feeling your strong body on mine.”

  “Always, princess. I love you, Harper. I have for much longer than I should.”

  “I love you, Bryce, even before I understood what I was feeling.”

  “Nap time.” He lifted me to the middle of the bed, where we spent the rest of the day cuddling. Just like I’d dreamed of.

  Chapter 12

  Bryce

  Harper was right. This was perfect setting for our wedding. I looked at the water, loving that she wanted to have the ceremony where we met. All those years and this place still held a spot in our hearts. There was a surprisingly large gathering for such short notice. The flight from Dallas to Reese was only two and a half hours, so many of the guests were able to fly in this morning. When my parents were my age, flying here would have taken over four hours. My eyes scanned the crowd as I heard my father whisper to the officiant. I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but I could feel their eyes on me.

  “Are you okay, son?”

  “Yes, Dad. I’m just looking for trouble in the crowd.”

  “Bryce, I brought in the best and your people are here. Besides, she was picked up this morning and taken into custody to await federal charges.”

  “I know, but I can’t take anything for granted where Harper’s concerned.”

  “I understand it, my boy. Congrats and try to enjoy this day.”

  “I will, Dad. I definitely will.” The music began and that was when I saw her come from around the tent they set up for the reception. I was off the platform in a flash and running toward my bride. She deserved to be walked down the aisle, and if no one else wa
s there to do it, I would. I smiled at her with the biggest, cheesiest motherfucking grin I had. I slowed down when we got closer. She shook her head at me. Her long curls splayed over her shoulders, dancing with the slight movement of her head, were perfect.

  I loved this woman and enough time had separated us. Never again would she walk alone.

  Epilogue

  Bryce

  One year later…

  I was waiting at the foot of the stairs for my wife who was taking her sweet time to get ready. It had been a long time since we had a date night. Our son, Jacob Bryce, was born about three months ago, and we’ve been spending all our free time loving our little man. With her mother being convicted last week on the attempted murder, solicitation of murder, and fraud charges, we were feeling secure in letting him go without us for a bit. Local authorities had opened in an investigation in the death of Harper’s father. If they could nail her for that she’d never breath free air again.

  “What the fuck is that you’re wearing?” I asked as she walked down the steps in a skintight dress that didn’t reach mid-thigh. I shook my head because she wasn’t going out like that. Normally, I wasn’t an overbearing, chest thumping asshole, but this was a bit too much. It was like me walking around without a damn shirt. “You wear more to bed,” I pointed out. There was no way I was taking her out in Dallas looking like this.

  “I want to feel pretty,” she argued.

  “Kitten, you’re fucking sexy as fuck. This isn’t pretty. This will get you bent over the railing with my dick buried between your thighs.” She paused and bit her lip as a guilty expression covered her face. My little wife wanted to be fucked dirty.

  “You’re lucky that Elizabeth took him an hour ago,” I growled. “Grip the railing, princess. One leg on this step and the other one two steps down and pop that ass up for me. I’m going to give you what you deserve.” I rubbed my cock through my dress pants. Dinner could wait. I needed to fuck some sense into her. I needed to remind her that she was sexy, pretty, or whatever she wanted to be, as long as that shit was just for me.