“Of course I was. I have spent the last seven years building this life for you, for us, and you couldn’t be more ungrateful.”
“I didn’t want this life. I wanted you. I wanted the man I married, the man I fell in love with. But somewhere along the line he went away, abandoned me. So, excuse me if you’re not the first person I call when I need someone.”
“Who is the first person you call then, Lena?”
“Sam.” My answer was quick, but I knew my eyes were darting back and forth between both of his. I was never a good liar and I was sure he didn’t believe me.
“I wonder what Sam would say if I called her and asked her how she’d spent her weekend.”
My heart rate sped up at his words. He couldn’t get to Sam before I had a chance to talk to her. “She’d tell you exactly what I have. Now, please, let go of me so I can go to work.” I wrenched my arm away from him and held in a sigh of relief when he let me go. I dashed out of the shower, grabbed my towel, and proceeded to get ready for work the fastest anyone ever had in the history of man. I was dressed and heading for the door before Derrek had even left the shower.
I nearly ran to the garage door, hopped in my car, and peeled out of the driveway before he could catch me or make me stop. When I was a mile or two away, I pulled into a parking lot and found a spot, parked my car, and let out a loud breath.
Then I had a breakdown.
My heart was pounding, hands shaking, breaths coming faster and faster. I grabbed my phone and called Sam.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Have you heard from Derrek?” I asked.
“Lena? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
My terrified voice had given me away. “Did Derrek call you?”
“No. What’s going on? Where are you?”
“I’m on my way to work. I was at home and Derrek showed up asking me where I had been all weekend.” I took in a staggering breath, trying to get all the words in my brain to make their way out of my mouth. “I told him I was with you all weekend. Please, Sam, please, if he calls you I need you to tell him I was with you. Tell him I came over Friday night, and stayed until this morning.”
“Of course. Whatever you need. I’ll do anything, but you have to tell me what’s going on.”
“I can’t right now. But I will. I promise. But remember, if Derrek calls you, please tell him what I told you.”
“You’re scaring me, Lena.”
“I’m fine,” I lied. “I’ll be okay.” I sighed and wiped a tear that had escaped. “Can I call you later? I need to get to work.”
“Of course. Any time. Be safe, okay?”
“I will, and thank you for everything.”
We hung up and I put my car in drive, continuing my drive to work.
A few hours later, after countless sideways glances at my appearance and a few comments from concerned co-workers, I took my lunch break in a private conference room and called Preston.
“Sweetheart,” he said in greeting. It sounded as if just saying that word was a relief to him, as if it was a release.
“Preston,” I countered, suddenly very close to tears. “I don’t think I can wait until eleven to see you.” Perhaps I sounded needy and insecure, but that was exactly what I was feeling at the moment so it was useless to hide it.
“What happened?”
“Derrek came home this morning while I was getting ready for work.”
“Shit.”
I didn’t really know what else to say, but just speaking those words to him was already making me feel better.
“Did he touch you?” Preston’s voice was hard and deep. He felt very far away and I knew if I told him the truth about what had happened he would snap. I didn’t want him turning into a loose cannon if I could help it.
“No,” I lied.
“Don’t lie to me, Lena. Don’t you fucking cover for him.”
“Preston,” I whispered. I shouldn’t have called him. “I’m sorry, I have to go.”
“So you’re choosing to protect him?”
“I’m not protecting him. I’m trying to protect you. I can hear how mad you are and I don’t want you doing anything crazy. I can’t win here, Preston. Either I tell you what happened and you fuck everything up with your temper, or I keep it all inside and Derrek wins again. I can’t take this anymore.”
“I’m coming to your work.”
“Please don’t. Everyone here already thinks I’m crazy with the way I showed up this morning. I just wanted to hear your voice. I thought maybe it would calm me down.”
He was quiet for a moment and all I could hear were his rapid breaths, but with each passing moment, they slowed. Then, finally, he asked calmly, “Can I pick you up when you’re off?”
I sighed in relief at his voice, soothing and warm. This was the Preston I’d wanted to hear from, the man I thought could make me feel better about the terrible morning I’d endured.
“I’d love that,” I whispered.
Later I received a text message from Sam.
**That fucker called me at work this morning asking how I’d spent my weekend.**
**What did you say?**
**I told him to go fuck off.**
I laughed, a real, loud, therapeutic laugh. I felt more tension lift from my shoulders and smiled, looking down at my phone.
**You just made my day.**
**Are you ready to tell me what happened between you two?**
I sighed, because I really wasn’t. I wanted to tell her, eventually, but I’d just managed to calm down and focus on my work.
**Can we meet for lunch tomorrow? I just need a day to let my mind wrap around everything.**
**Sounds great. But call me if you need anything before then. I know you’re going through a lot right now. I just want to make sure you don’t push me out of your life.**
Her words made me frown. I was going through a lot and perhaps I needed a little space to figure everything out, but Sam was my best friend and I couldn’t imagine going through life without her.
**I would never push you out, Sam. I need you more now than ever. Just bear with me for a little while. I will see you tomorrow.**
**See you then.**
Chapter Five
That evening when I left work, Preston was waiting outside my building, leaning up against his Lotus, like every woman’s Sixteen Candles fantasy. Arms folded over his chest, ankles crossed, sexy black leather jacket stretched over his shoulders; he looked just as I liked to picture him in my mind. I walked up to him with a smile on my face, a true miracle after the day I’d had.
“Hey,” I said as I stopped a foot away from him. We’d spent the weekend in bed together, but all of a sudden, I was unsure how I was supposed to greet him, especially since we were in public. I was very much still married and still trying to appear the happily married person I’d always hoped I’d be.
“Hey,” he said in response, the corner of his mouth perking up as if he could read my mind and knew all I really wanted to do was press my mouth against his and run my fingers through his beautiful hair. He jolted away from the car and opened the door for me, making sure I was snugly inside before closing it. I watched him walk around the front of the car and get in on his side. He started the Lotus, which purred like a cat looking for some affection, and drove out of the parking lot.
Once we were out of the lot and a few blocks away, he reached across the console and placed his hand on my knee, gently squeezing. I turned my head toward him, smiling shyly, thankful he’d made the first move to touch me. I still wasn’t sure how we were progressing from our weekend together. I reached down to his hand, which he turned over, lacing his fingers through mine.
“I’ve got some news,” he said as he expertly took a corner with only one hand on the wheel.
“Please let it be good news.”
“It’s not bad news, but not really good either.”
“Okay, well, let’s get it over with then.”
He stopped
at a red light and turned to look at me.
“The house he goes to? The one Jessica lives in as well? His name’s not on the deed. It’s just in her name. I was hoping he owned it and that could be some piece of evidence against him, but either she owned it before they started seeing each other, or he was smart and put it in her name. The car she drives is just in her name as well.”
“Damn,” I whispered. “What else can we look at?”
“I’m still trying to access bank statements to see if they share an account, but honestly, if the house is just in her name, I doubt he’d make a mistake like share a checking account with her. Other than that I can try to find small things, like electric bills, water bills, stuff like that, just to see if we can prove he lives there, but a piece of mail isn’t necessarily going to hold up well in front of a judge.”
“So you’re saying the house was our best bet and we lost it?”
“All I’m saying is that the house isn’t in play anymore.” He accelerated as the light turned green, but he looked over at me briefly. “I’ll find something, Lena. I promise.” He squeezed my hand. “I’ve got a few more ideas,” he said, not elaborating. I didn’t push, either. I trusted him to do his job. I was instantly reminded that this was a job to him. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that anymore. I’d hired him as a private investigator to help me make a clean exit from my marriage, but in the last few days everything had changed. Now, at least for me, it felt as if he was helping me escape my marriage for different reasons. Perhaps, I hoped, because he wanted to be with me, free from Derrek and his twisted ways. But, to be honest, I wasn’t sure what Preston wanted after all this was over.
“Where are we going?” I asked, suddenly aware we were not heading to my house.
“My place.”
“Preston,” I began.
“This isn’t up for negotiation, Lena. You’re coming with me back to my house. We’re going to have dinner and you’re going to tell me what happened this morning.”
“I need to go back to my house tonight.”
“No. You don’t.”
I didn’t bother arguing with him. I knew he’d never give in. Instead, I turned my head and looked out the window, watching the city pass us by as we headed into the hills to the west. As his Lotus wound through the tree-lined roads that led to his house, I started to feel tired, the events of the day obviously taking a toll on me. I yawned as we pulled into his garage and stifled another one as he led me into the house by the hand.
He walked me into the bedroom, the sheet and comforter still a mess from our weekend together, and walked me to the bed. He gently urged me to sit down and then knelt down and moved closer to me until he was just a breath away.
“I missed you today,” he whispered, his eyes moving back and forth from my eyes to my lips.
“Preston,” I started, wanting to tell him I missed him, too, wanting to talk about what was going on between us, but I was stopped when his lips closed the distance and pressed up against mine. It was the softest, sweetest, slowest kiss I’d ever had, and it both excited me, my pulse thumping harder and harder, and also made me sleepier. They were a strange kind of drug, his kisses.
“Lie down, sweetheart. Take a nap. I’ll get dinner situated.”
A smile twitched on my lips. “You don’t cook.”
He matched my smile and his hands slid up my thighs in a sweet caress. “I said I’d situate it, not make it. Do you prefer Chinese or Indian food?”
I leaned forward to kiss him and his hand moved to the back of my neck, taking the kiss deeper than I intended, but I wasn’t about to argue with him.
“Chinese sounds good,” I said against his mouth when the kiss finally ended. He smiled and kissed me quickly one more time before he stood up and walked out the door, flipping off the lights as he left.
I looked around the room and felt surprisingly comfortable. I stood and peeled off my work clothes, settling in the bed in just my panties and bra, loving the feel of his soft sheets against my skin. It didn’t take long for me to drift away, surrounded by the scent of Preston as I pulled his pillow into my chest.
When I woke, it was to a gentle hand brushing against my cheek. My eyes fluttered open and I saw Preston’s face leaning over me and his body next to mine. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his hand pushing my crazy hair from my face. I stretched, much like a cat waking up from a long nap, and the way my muscles had been tightly coiled all day with stress, the stretching felt magnificent.
As I stretched out in Preston’s bed, I noticed his eyes wandering down the part of my body not covered by the sheet. He was getting a pretty decent view of me in barely any clothing and I loved the way his eyes darkened and his tongue darted out to wet his lips. His finger came up and gently pushed the sheet further down, revealing that all I had on under the sheet were panties.
“Is dinner ready?” I asked with mock innocence. He narrowed his eyes at me and they blazed with lust. I thought it would be fun to tease him, but all I managed to do was turn myself on as well. As his eyes moved from mine, they ran down my body, leaving a hot trail as if he were actually touching me. I couldn’t help but squirm under his gaze, feeling the heat from him move over me.
“Do you always wear underwear this sexy to work?” His eyes were still lingering on my body as he asked his question, and I felt goose bumps rise on my skin.
“I always wear nice things under my clothes.” My voice was shaking slightly. I swallowed and tried to sound less like a scared little girl. “It makes me feel sexy if I’ve got something nice on under my clothes; like I’m keeping a secret no one knows about.”
“Well,” he said, his eyes moving back up to mine. “I know your secret now and I agree. It is very sexy.” With no more words between us, he stood up and walked into his closet. Surprised by his hasty exit, I pulled the sheet up over my breasts, trying to cover the sight I thought he had just been enjoying. When he came out, he had something in his hands. He came back to the bed and held it out to me. I recognized the fabric and gave him a questioning look. He shrugged. “I stopped by your house earlier while you were still at work and picked up some of your things. I didn’t want you to be uncomfortable while you were here and even though I’d love to stare at your body dressed up in satin and lace all fucking day long, it’s not conducive to a productive lifestyle.”
I grinned at him as I put the familiar nightgown over my head and threaded my arms through the short sleeves. There was a time, even just days ago, when him being in my house without me would have sent off all kinds of alarms in my mind. But now, to the contrary, I felt his urge to break into my house to get me the things that would make me comfortable sweet. He held his hands out for me, pulling me up to him, wrapping his arms around my waist.
“Damn,” he said as he pressed his lips to the sensitive spot where my neck met my shoulder. My hands instantly found their way into his hair.
“What?” I whispered.
“I thought if I brought you the most modest piece of sleepwear I could find, it would make me want you less.” I giggled and then gasped as his tongue flicked out to lick my skin. “Turns out,” he said as he nipped at my neck, “it doesn’t matter what you’ve got covering you, because I can still see every single inch of you in my mind. The nightgown is just teasing me, asking to be taken off.”
“Preston,” I rasped, his hands moving from my waist to my ass, pulling me against him, pressing his erection into me.
“You hungry, baby?” he said, as if he weren’t currently pawing at me.
“Yes,” I groaned. I was hungry for him. For us. For all of it. He gently bit my neck, trailed his teeth up to my jaw, and then traced the edge all the way to my chin, where he ended with a tiny kiss.
“Let’s go eat dinner then.” His hand found mine and before I could protest he was pulling me from the room and down the hall toward the kitchen. I followed without objection, but I wore a frown until I saw the smorgasbord of Chinese food waiting on the dining roo
m table. “I didn’t know what you liked, so I might have gone overboard and ordered a little bit of everything.”
“You didn’t have to do all of this. I would have been happy with some rice and crab puffs.”
“I’d do anything to make you happy,” he said, all playfulness gone from his voice. I turned and saw the lust gone from his eyes. The only expression he wore was one of earnest. I smiled at him, loving the way he chose to care for me.
“I’m beginning to realize that.” I pressed my hand to his cheek, gently rubbing my thumb against his skin. I leaned forward and kissed him chastely. “Thank you for dinner,” I said, my forehead pressed against his.
“You’re welcome. Come on. Sit. Let’s eat.”
As we ate the Chinese food, which we’d never be able to finish because it could have fed an entire Chinese village, I realized there were fundamental things I didn’t know about Preston. When we first met, he asked me quite a few questions about myself and I never really reciprocated because asking questions wasn’t part of my job. But now, as I sat across from him at his dinner table in my nightgown, it became apparent there were things about him I wanted to know. Things a woman should know about the man she’s sleeping with.
“Preston?”
“Yes, baby?” he said as he dropped a dumpling in his mouth from his chopsticks.
“Will you tell me about your family?”
He swallowed and took a sip of his water, but then he gave me a questioning look. “What exactly do you want to know?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. General stuff. How many siblings you have, whether you got along with them, if you see them often, if you’re close with your mom and dad. Stuff like that.” I took a breath, not realizing I would be nervous asking him about himself. “I just feel like you know a lot more about me than I know about you. I want to know you.”
His eyes softened at my admission and a smile hinted at his lips. “I have two brothers and a sister.” His smile grew wider. “A twin sister, actually.”
“You have a twin?”
The Private Serials Box Set Page 13
