Graham, Jan - Finding Angel [Wylde Shore] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More)

by Graham, Jan

  “Can you repeat that please?” he asked

  “What? I haven’t spoken to a man for three hours before.” Angel decided to play dumb.

  “So you would like to know me intimately. I’ve won you over after only one decent conversation.” The statement had just fallen out casually in the conversation, but obviously, Daniel had no intention of letting it go. “When did you decide you wanted to be intimate?”

  “I just mean get to know you more. Don’t make a big deal about a word,” Angel snapped.

  “Why are you denying it, Angel?” Daniel maintained a soft and gentle tone as he spoke to her.

  “I didn’t mean to say it,” Angel responded with a sudden rush of honesty that she couldn’t seem to turn off. “You’re very attractive, you’re certainly very friendly to me, I find you sexually arousing, and I find myself drawn to you. I don’t understand why because I don’t usually attract men like you, and in all honesty…I’m scared by what I’m feeling. Either the universe is playing a cruel trick on me, or the minute I sleep with you, you’ll turn into a self-absorbed prick. But as I said to you at the start of our talk, I am only interested in being friends. I can’t be intimate with anyone at the moment. I need more time to sort things out.”

  “Thank you for being so honest, Angel. Can I just say in reply that with both Christian and I, what you see is exactly who we are. I know you may take a while to believe that, and I promise we will be patient and give you that time. More importantly, if at any stage of knowing us you think either has turned into a self-absorbed prick, then you can tell us and we’ll pull ourselves back into line.” Daniel waited for her reply.

  “I should probably go now,” Angel said quietly. “I really have enjoyed talking to you.”

  “You’re welcome, Angel. I’ve loved every minute of it as well. And in case you’re wondering, I find you sexually arousing as well, and when you’re ready I will spank your beautiful arse.”

  “Promises, promises,” Angel replied in a cheeky tone.

  “You better believe it.” Daniel chuckled, hearing her giggle as she clicked off the phone and ended their call.

  Angel smiled for hours after her call with Daniel. She wished she had been able to talk with Christian as well but decided she would get a chance to do that at some stage. She packed her bag for the few days away with Gavin and headed to the garage. Angel knew as soon as she found the ledger then the sooner she could move on, getting both Adrian and the police out of her life. The problem was everyone else seemed more confident that she would find the ledger than she was.

  The garage was a mess. It had basically been used as a junk room. All manner of things littered it, and Angel had no idea where to start. She doubted there was anything of value inside so decided to just move items out into the yard, sorting them into varying piles as she went. Angel assumed everything would fall into one of three categories. Recyclables, junk for the dump, and items for charity. Angel figured she had about three hours until it got too dark. There was no light in the garage, and she certainly wasn’t going to rummage around in there once night fell. Angel began to drag bits and pieces into the yard. She checked the drawers of a large desk and knocked around on any sides. She thought might be a good place to hide a book. There was an old cupboard filled with blankets and tools. Boxes filled with old papers and one even had a rat’s nest in it. She screamed as the fat rats ran away, cursing that she was the one left to clean the space out.

  “I should have let you look in here, Steve. If you want the bloody ledger so much, why am I searching for it?” she grumbled out loud, dragging another cupboard into the yard.

  Angel pulled open the interior drawers of the cupboard and found something she had lost years ago. She laughed as she stared at the crunched up leather. Samuel had taken her Harley Davidson jacket away from her. Angel couldn’t even remember why he had punished her by taking it, but she was delighted she’d found it again. She spread the jacket out on the desk. Apart from a bit of mould and dirt, the design was still intact. She ran her hands over the white wings etched into the back of the dark blue jacket and checked the stitching that spelt out the word Angel in the centre of the wings. The purple stitching didn’t look as bright as it had been, but it hadn’t perished at all. She grabbed the hose and gave it a quick rinse off. Yes, it would need a good clean, but it still looked wearable. Angel hung it on one of the hooks on the garage wall to let it dry. Right now Angel didn’t care if she found the ledger or not. Finding her jacket was worth the effort it had cost her thus far.

  By the time it started getting dark, Angel still had no joy in finding the ledger, but she had nearly fully furnished the backyard. Robes, a desk, a small dining setting, a lounge, and some bric-a-brac were piled up, ready to go to charity. Angel would call for someone to come and collect it before she left tomorrow. That way it would be gone by the time she got back. She had found two large palms in nice terracotta pots that she decided to put either side of the garage doors. With a bit of sun and TLC, hopefully she would get them growing again. There were lots of old folders filled with paper, dirty rags, some old clothes, and newspapers that could be recycled on rubbish day. As for the broken household items, some old doors and odd car parts, she would get them collected and taken to the dump. The floor of the garage was filthy. It had dirt and grease all over it, the cement was cracked in parts, and there was rat poo and dead cockroaches all over the place. Angel grabbed the hose, turning it on full blast.

  She washed down the garage walls, the exposed roof trusses, and the floor. As she began to put some tools and gardening items back inside, Angel tripped on a piece of cracked cement. She sat on the floor inspecting the graze on her knee before looking at the floor. The cement sat a little higher than the other broken pieces, and there was a constant trickle of excess water from the floor flowing down into the cavity under it. Angel used the shovel to prise the cement up so she could see underneath. A plastic bag floated in the puddle that had formed. As she pulled it out she realized the bag contained a book. The green, hardcover book was wrapped tightly in heavy plastic and had been placed inside three disused plastic shopping bags. It had to be the ledger. Angel placed the bag at the door to the garage and made sure the broken cement was firmly back in place. She finished returning the garden tools and a few other items she had decided to keep to the garage before heading to the house with her find.

  She discarded the wet outer bags into the bin and wiped down the thick, clear plastic. It was definitely an accounts ledger. She grabbed a knife to cut the plastic off the book and then stopped. If she left it wrapped, Adrian would know she hadn’t looked at it, and that may keep her safe. Angel was surprised that she didn’t immediately think of handing it over to the police. Maybe the police would protect her from Adrian. Maybe she should call Steve and give it to him. Angel placed the book on her kitchen table and made herself a cup of coffee. Whatever decision she made, Angel knew it should not be rushed. After all, Adrian had given her two weeks. As she stared at the book, Angel had the most brilliant idea. The poor ledger had been locked in that hole in the garage for God knows how long. Maybe it needed a holiday. As Angel repacked for her trip away with the book placed at the bottom of the overnight bag, she laughed. If Adrian and Steve knew she had found it and taken it on a holiday, they would be furious.

  Christian arrived home in the early hours of the morning. He was a bit miffed that he hadn’t gotten to talk to Angel, but he realised there would be another time for that. He’d been delighted when Daniel had texted him with her reply. It was amazing how three simple words could make a man’s day. Three simple words, Angel said yes. Christian wasn’t surprised when he found a folded piece of paper sitting against his pillow when he arrived home. He read the note Daniel had left him.

  Had a really good talk with Angel today. She has agreed to get to know us as friends, which I said we were fine with. She is aware we will give her time to sort things out, and if she then decides to go further, we would be happy wit
h that. She is still adamant she is not ready for a relationship.

  I think she is scarred from her childhood, got the impression it lacked love. From our lengthy conversation, I gleaned that her father was absent and she basically raised herself. She has been self-reliant since she was old enough to make her own money, and she has relationships based on sex not love. I’m sure there is a lot more to learn, and hopefully the honesty she showed during our conversation was a starting point to actually knowing who she is.

  As we suspected she is very wary of giving anything much away about her personal life, but hopefully that will change with time…

  She was quite honest on some points and admitted she finds me sexually arousing…no mention of you on that front, bro…Ha-ha.

  Christian laughed at Daniel’s last remark. It was around three when he showered and headed off to bed, his mind filled with thoughts of Angel. She was sexually aroused by both of them. Christian could see it in her eyes at the club. He remembered her gasp as she looked into his eyes and would have loved to have known what thought ran through her mind. Whatever it was, it made her eyes smoulder as she looked at him. He remembered her little demonstration with the straw at the bar and the fullness of her lips as she sucked it. Christian rubbed his erect cock as he imagined her lips sliding up and down its length. When she finally decided she could no longer resist her desire to have them, she was in for big trouble, and double trouble at that.

  The sound of the phone ringing woke Christian from a dead sleep. He contemplated letting it ring, but the sound coming from the handset next to his bed was so loud it was impossible to ignore.

  “Yeah.” Christian answered, his voice groggy from lack of sleep.

  “Oh God, I’ve woken you up.” Angel sounded shocked. “Shit, I’ll call back.”

  “Morning, Angel, don’t you dare hang up.” Christian tried to sound a little more awake this time. “How are you this bright and early morning?”

  “More awake than you, I think,” Angel joked.

  “Well, certain parts of me are more awake than others. You know I went to sleep thinking of you this morning.” Christian felt his cock poke into the sheet as he rolled over. “Does that surprise you?”

  “A little.” He imagined Angel blushing as she answered him.

  “I was remembering how nice you were to the straw of your drink at the club,” Christian teased.

  “Oh my God, please don’t tell me if you’re doing anything right now with your free hand.” Angel gasped.

  “It’s a deal.” Christian laughed. “But I will say that I don’t have a free hand at the moment.”

  “You are just like your brother, totally incorrigible.” Angel laughed.

  “So if we can’t talk about me, what is your free hand doing this morning?” Christian joked.

  “Don’t be a bad man,” Angel chastised. “But I am in bed. I just woke up.”

  “Oh, baby, who’s incorrigible now,” Christian teased, wondering if she was naked.

  “So tell me what I need to know to get to know you better.” He knew Angel was attempting to get the conversation back on track. It was a shame Christian had other ideas.

  “Well, I’m lying in bed, naked, talking to a beautiful woman who I hope finds me sexually arousing and will allow me to get to know her intimately some day.” Christian loved to bait people with their own words, and he wasn’t going to make an exception for Angel.

  “So you spoke to your brother then,” Angel replied. “You two certainly are a team, aren’t you?”

  “Yep, Team Shore, and we have no secrets. So give me something juicy that I can tell him tonight when he gets home.” Christian waited with bated breath.

  “Well, I suppose there is something I do want to say just to you.” Angel’s voice took on a sexier tone. “Every time I think about you, my nipples get hard and my pussy gets wet, and I want to touch myself in really naughty ways.”

  “Oh, you are such a bad woman. Daniel may not be the only one that puts you over his knee for a spanking.” Christian felt his cock flinch, demanding attention, preferably from Angel rather than his hand. “Tell me more. How naughty do you want to be when you think of me?”

  “To continue this call it will cost you two bucks fifty per thirty seconds. Press hash to continue.” Angel ended up laughing toward the end of her sentence. Christian loved the fact that she had a sense of humour. Even though she was openly flirting with him, Christian noticed a slight trepidation in her voice.

  “Oh, that’s more than a spanking for you. Where is my flogger?” he stated with a laugh.

  “I’m getting out of bed now. I’m taking you to the kitchen to make coffee. Would you like one?” The sudden change in pace took Christian aback. He would have liked to see if he could persuade her into a naughty session of phone sex but it appeared not. He wondered whether flirting was a fallback position for Angel when she was nervous. He decided to follow her lead and change the pace of the conversation. After all, both Daniel and he had assured Angel they were happy to work on being friends as a start.

  “I have mine black, no sugar. Feel free to come and serve it to me in bed,” Christian jested. “You know I could arrest you for trying to charge me for phone sex…”

  “Yeah, sure,” Angel quipped back at him.

  “No really, I’m a cop.” Christian stated, “As a Dom I wanted a profession where carrying cuffs wasn’t questioned.”

  ‘You are way too nice to be a cop,” Angel replied. “Most of the cops I meet are pricks.”

  “Serious, how many cops do you meet?” Christian sounded intrigued.

  “Too many lately. So what are you planning to do today?” The fact that Angel had changed the subject so quickly wasn’t lost on Christian and he decided to store that information away for a later date.

  Christian got out of bed and wandered to the kitchen to make coffee. He chatted with Angel about anything she suggested. He loved the sound of her voice. Angel told him she was going away with a friend on business for the next two days and she seemed to be looking forward to going but clammed up when he started asking questions about who her friend was.

  Angel talked about her work and a few articles she had written including the current one she was working on. Christian suggested he may have read her piece on domestic violence. The police often circulated current articles of value through their intranet service, and the angle she had used sounded familiar to him. Angel doubted it would have been hers as she only sold to magazines, rather than academic or professional publications. He found out where she had gone to school and also recognised her father’s name. Angel explained he had been a property developer before his death. Christian decided to ask his dad if he knew of Angel’s father. It was a good bet they had dealt with each other at some stage, considering his father had made most of his money working in the building trade.

  Three coffees and one hour later, Christian ended his call with Angel. He took care of his erection and got dressed before calling his father. Christian and Daniel’s father, Andrew Shore, still ran a large building company but spent a good amount of his time working from home. Christian dialled his father’s cell phone, trying to avoid the risk of having to speak with his stepmother, who would probably answer the home phone.

  “Well, it’s about time I got a call from one of my sons,” Andrew’s jovial voice boomed through the phone. “When are you and the doctor coming to visit me? Soon, I hope!”

  “Whine, whine, whine, no wonder I never call!” Christian joked. “How are you, old man?”

  Christian and Daniel were close to their dad and did visit regularly, just not regularly enough for their father. Christian organised a day for Daniel and himself to visit within the next few weeks before moving onto the topic of Harold Wylde, Angel’s father. It was obvious from his dad’s tone that he didn’t like the man. Apparently, he had worked with him early in Harold’s career, but there was obviously no love lost. Christian was a little surprised that his father seemed to know
the Wylde family quite well. He even spoke about Angel’s mother and how devastating her passing had been. Christian wanted more information, but his father had to cut the call short due to a work commitment. He promised to talk about it more when Christian and Daniel visited.

  Christian was puzzled by his father’s dislike of Harold Wylde. His father disliked very few people and always had something good to say if he could. Still, he had said nothing good about Harold. Arrogant, deceitful, cruel, opinionated, underhanded…they were strong words for his usually unruffled father. Angel obviously didn’t take after Harold. Christian had the impression that Angel was the opposite of everything his father had just described. At least from what he knew of her, she was the opposite, and Christian was generally a good judge of character. Years on the police force gave him the unique ability to sum someone up often with just a look or simple, general conversation. Maybe those traits described by his father reinforced what Daniel had gleaned from his conversation with Angel. Her childhood lacked love. A cruel, underhanded, deceitful father could certainly make a woman be wary of men.

  God, it would make anyone wary.

  Chapter Seven

  Sitting in the hospital’s family room, Angel listened intently to what was going on in the adjacent emergency room. She assumed Gavin was better than when he had first arrived. The commotion surrounding his arrival at the hospital had eased. Staff no longer ran in and out of the curtained partition. Voices had calmed and no longer appeared to have a tone of urgency. It seemed like an eternity since she had heard the last thump of the resuscitation machine. Angel could see the curtain flutter as she sat waiting. There was still movement behind it and still a chance Gavin would be okay.

  “Is Mr. Clark’s wife here?” A male voice resonated from inside the cubicle. The tone of his voice was firm but friendly, and Angel hoped it wasn’t who she thought it was. Angel worried the nursing sister wouldn’t remember the information she had given when she had arrived with Gavin. The last thing she wanted was the doctor walking in to talk to her under a serious misapprehension.