“I want to know what you said to Skye to cause her to bolt.”
She chuckled. “I find it amusing that you immediately assume it was something I said when you have given the girl plenty of reasons to hate you. Surely you don’t buy the sweet smiles she gives you? The seemingly complacent whore? You’re a bigger fool than I imagined if you don’t see through her facade. Deep down she hates you. Loathes you even. And with good cause. You’ve kept her from her family, isolated her from the outside world and leveraged her son for sexual favors. Even for you…that’s pretty low.”
He gaped, seeing a new side of Vivian. “You lie out of jealousy.”
At that Vivian pinned him with a deadly cool glare. “What have I to be jealous of with that simple girl? She has nothing I desire. She is an irritant. Nothing more. However, watching you lower yourself, simpering after her like a lovesick hound is revolting. It’s time you picked yourself up and stopped slavering for that spoiled piece of meat.”
“You will fix this,” he demanded, his voice shaking with the barely contained anger erupting in his body. Suddenly, in spite of himself, he replayed events in his mind, seeing things from the angle Vivian suggested. Where he’d wanted to see devotion, he saw banked revulsion in Skye’s eyes; where he wanted to see loyalty and desire, he saw coerced and forced action.
Vivian scoffed. “I’m not a miracle worker, you silly fool. Perhaps you’ve forgotten how you had her beaten for her deception?” She sighed and straightened the stack of checks for her assistant to pick up later. “Oh, Belleni, you look like you’re about to have a heart attack. Calm yourself before you expire on the spot. Think of this as a blessing in disguise—”
He crossed to the desk faster than Vivian expected and she jumped when he slammed his fists on the surface, the force of it scattering pens and pencils and other items to the floor. “You. Will. Fix. This.” Belleni stared down Vivian as she shrank away from him, real fear replacing her formerly smug and haughty demeanor. Good. Let her remember what it felt like to be on the other side of his grace. “Your years of service and our history together have earned you a reprieve, but if it were anyone else who dared to do this to me, I’d have ripped out their tongue and fed it to them. You are not above punishment, my darling. Do not push me to such dangerous places again. You will not enjoy the consequences.”
He shoved away from the desk, away from her tight-lipped fury and slowly regained control. “I want her back by Sunday. I have big plans to implement and I will not have your petty grievances cause trouble. In fact, it is time for you to find your own place. You have outstayed your welcome. Besides, it wouldn’t do to have two mistresses in the home. Skye will take her place by my side as we raise our son together.”
He felt nothing even though he knew the words twisted a knife in Vivian’s bony backside. The woman was nothing but artfully stretched skin and bones with only her bitterness to keep her heart going. He’d been a fool not to have seen it earlier.
CHOKING DESPAIR AND FURY robbed Vivian of speech but it didn’t matter. Belleni had passed judgment—on her!—and the matter was resolved without further need for her input. The man was already walking away, giving her his back as if she were some ordinary servant, here today and forgotten tomorrow.
Find another home? Indeed! The man was insane if he thought she was about to docilely slip out the back door with her belongings in a box like some pink-slipped employee. She’d helped build his empire. She signed his checks, handled the business aspect so that he could live his life as he pleased, dabbling in projects that amused him or causes that tickled his fancy at the moment, and yet he dared to send her packing as if she were of little consequence? It was obvious Belleni had conveniently forgotten who had been his right hand in the most devious of transactions; the one who didn’t blink an eye at directives that might’ve sent a weaker person into a crisis of conscience. He was an ignorant fool to dismiss the woman who had agreed to have life sucked from her body so that nothing hindered their upward climb to their shared goal. She’d had vision whereas Belleni had simply had desire. Without her influence and guiding hand, he would’ve remained a middle-class pimp with a handful of scraggly girls to offer. His clientele would’ve been tourists looking for a good time away from home and the occasional businessman. Instead, she’d helped cultivate a secret, exclusive stable of the finest women only the ultrarich could afford. And for all that, this was the thanks she was getting?
Absolutely not. She’d handpicked each Rosa Aurora marble tile for the foyer, overseen each and every stone and timber for the building and kept a watchful eye on the craftsmanship of each room so that no detail went unchecked. Leave? The man was slipping into early dementia. She would not leave her home.
She bent to retrieve the fallen items from the floor and when each one had been properly returned to its rightful spot, she breathed a little easier. A level head is what she required for the moment. Ranting and raving would gain her no ground, not with Belleni, and besides, she was above such nonsense. The trick was not to allow anger to rule your head, she chastised herself. Don’t get mad…get even, as the saying went.
And Vivian knew a thing or two about getting even.
It was just time to remind Belleni of her true skills.
He wanted Skye. He could have her. In fact, she would do as he demanded and return the miserable maggots to his possession. But it would not be a happy homecoming, she vowed silently.
No. In fact, it might be…deadly.
She smiled tremulously. That’s better. Having a plan always managed to smooth out the edges.
Now to make some phone calls and find that intolerable woman and her brat.
MORNING SEEMED TO BREAK earlier in the country, Skye thought, squinting at the bright light pouring in through the window of Christian’s bedroom. She glanced over at Nico who was still crashed out on the other twin bed, presumably belonging to one of Christian’s brothers many years ago.
She could smell coffee filling the cold morning air and she could hear someone moving around in the kitchen. She let her head drop to the pillow as she tried to rouse herself but sleep was clinging to her like cobwebs on a hot summer day. She’d slept well enough considering she rarely slept well at all, but her dreams had been filled with torrid imagery that would’ve made a porn star blush and so she wasn’t feeling entirely rested at all. She rolled to her back and had just flung her arm over her eyes with a soft groan when Christian came in bearing two mugs.
“Rise and shine,” he announced softly. She shot him an aggrieved look, taking in his flannel pajamas with a barely concealed snort of laughter and rolled away from him in spite of the enticing aroma of coffee. “Not a morning person I see,” he observed.
“Very astute of you,” she said, yawning and rubbing her eyes. “Now go away until it’s at least 10:00 a.m. But feel free to leave the coffee.”
“Sorry, no can do. Full day on the schedule,” he said, affecting a regretful tone that she knew was completely false. “Besides, Mama Jo has already been up since five and around here, 7:00 a.m. is sleeping in.”
“How dreadful,” she muttered, burying her head under the pillow, which he promptly removed. She groaned.
“Drink this,” he said, thrusting the mug into her hands. “And become human again.”
“Ha-ha,” she retorted but she accepted the mug and curled her chilled hands around its heat. “Smells good,” she said grudgingly.
“Mama grounds the beans herself as a hobby.”
“Of course she does,” Skye said with an uncharitable sigh. Mama Jo was not only a saint but an amateur coffee bean enthusiast. The woman probably trains Seeing Eye dogs in her spare time, just for kicks. Egad, that was catty. She sipped the coffee and waited a minute for the caffeine to seep into her bones, awakening each part of her with a jolt. The awareness leached away the surliness and she gave Christian a sheepish glance. “Sorry. So not a morning person,” she admitted.
“Noted and filed away. Never approach Skye i
n the morning without promise of immediate caffeine or run the risk of total annihilation.”
She laughed in spite of herself, then said, “I was just kidding about Mama Jo. She’s an amazing woman.”
He laughed good-naturedly and sipped his own coffee before saying, “No worries. Now, want to know what we’re doing today?”
“Sure,” she answered cautiously. “Does it involve heights of any sort? I’m deathly scared of heights. So if you’d like to completely wreck any illusions you have about me being a demure, sweet, docile type…go ahead and take me someplace more than two feet off the ground. I turn into a screaming, panicked lunatic.”
He sipped his coffee with open contemplation. “Another good thing to know. But no, no heights to worry about.”
“So what are we doing?” she asked.
“Have you ever gone horseback riding?”
She grew up on a farm but her sister had been the horse fan. She’d been too busy dancing to add more to her plate. “No,” she answered.
“Good. Then you’re in for a treat. My brother Thomas’s girl owns a horse stable at her parents’ property and we’re going to meet them for lunch and then go riding. It’ll be great and Nico will love it.”
“You ride horses,” she mused, not quite able to wrap her head around this country version of the city bartender. “How well?”
“I’m not an expert or anything but I know enough to keep from making an ass out of myself.”
She grinned. “And what if I was allergic to horses? What then? What was your backup plan?”
“Are you always this difficult?” he asked.
“Yes.” She laughed. “Do you always wear flannel pajamas?”
He lifted his cup with a wink. “Only when I’m visiting Mama Jo. When I’m home I sleep naked.”
Her cheeks flared with heat and she murmured into her cup, the early morning fuzzies loosening her tongue in a way she might not have otherwise allowed. “That makes two of us.” She grinned when his Adam’s apple bobbed, his expression a comical cross between pained and excited.
“Now that wasn’t nice,” he managed to say before spinning on his heel and disappearing from the room.
“I know,” she murmured with a soft chuckle. It felt good to flirt on her own terms, to be in charge of her own sexuality again.
“Breakfast in ten,” he called from the other room and she sighed with a smile.
A girl could get used to this, she thought to herself, allowing a finger of heat to curl around her heart and give it a squeeze.
Intoxicating.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHRISTIAN COULDN’T STOP grinning. He had a beautiful woman by his side, a plan to visit with Thomas and he was standing on the cusp of his dream becoming a reality. If he forgot about the circumstances that brought the most breathtaking woman in the world into his life he could almost say things couldn’t get much better.
“So give me a little background on your brother and his girl…” Skye said as they made the drive over to Cassi’s former home.
“Thomas and Cassi are soul mates or something,” he said, smiling ruefully. “Thomas fell in love with her the very first time he saw her but it took having to arrest her to figure things out between them. They only just got together. It was a long, sad story, but suffice to say, they’re damn near inseparable now.”
“Sweet…I think,” she said, giving him a quizzical glance. “He actually arrested her?”
“Yeah. Thomas is a stickler for the rules and Cassi, at the time, was breaking them. It turned out all right in the end but when Thomas went after her he had no idea that not everything was as it seemed. Cassi’s stepfather was a real bad dude. Killed her mother actually,” he shared.
“That’s awful,” she said with a short gasp. “What a terrible thing to have to go through. He’s in prison right?”
“Yep.”
“At least that’s something,” she mused. They came around the bend of Cassi’s place and Skye’s gaze widened when she saw the palatial southern plantation-style home. “Oh, wow,” she breathed, turning to stare out the window. “You didn’t say she lived in a mansion.”
“Oh? Yeah, her parents were loaded. But Cassi was always down-to-earth. She hung out with us more than she stayed here it seemed. But yeah, it’s a big place. See the stables over there.” He pointed toward the large, beautiful barnlike structure. “And I think there’s a tennis court around back somewhere.”
They parked and climbed out of the car. Nico slipped his hand into Skye’s as they went to the front door. Christian gave the door a knock and it was opened by Thomas who greeted Christian with a tight embrace.
“It’s about time you came by. I couldn’t believe it when Mama Jo called and said you were coming to town for a surprise visit. Come on in, Cassi is dying to see you.” Then he noted Nico and Skye and extended his hand to Skye. “Thomas Bristol, I’m this guy’s big brother. Whatever he’s told you of me is totally untrue. He always had a tendency to embellish,” he said, winking.
Skye looked to Christian who had the grace to roll his eyes and she laughed at their easy nature. “He’s said nothing but good things, I assure you.”
“Oh, well in that case, everything he’s said is true.” Thomas grinned and ushered them inside.
The house looked different from what Christian remembered, although he’d only been inside maybe twice, as Cassi’s mom hadn’t exactly been inviting to the neighborhood kids, particularly those whose parents didn’t travel in the same circles.
They found Cassi in the expansive kitchen, finishing the fixings for their lunch and when Cassi saw him, she immediately stopped what she was doing with a squeal and nearly bowled him over for a squeeze herself. “Look at you,” she said, pulling back to admire him like a fine painting. “You always were a cutie, even as a kid. Seems nothing has changed. How is it that you’ve escaped the clutches of some determined woman with her sights set on marrying you?”
He laughed at the thought of being tied down, though his gaze did search out Skye before he realized it. Mildly disconcerted, Christian retorted, Women in New York have wonderfully short attention spans, which suits me just fine.”
Cassi chuckled and turned to Skye. “So nice to meet you. This must be your son, Nico? Mama Jo said he’s a good boy and that’s coming from a very discerning source so he must be an angel.”
Skye smiled, ruffling Nico’s jet-black hair with love. “I tend to think so but I’m biased. It’s nice to meet you, as well. You have a lovely home.”
“Thanks, it was my parents’ place and I had thought of selling it but the market tanked and I didn’t feel like giving it away so I figured we’d keep it for a while longer.” She slid a look toward Thomas, adding slyly, “And maybe we might need a little extra room eventually so…who knows?”
Thomas coughed, his cheeks reddening, and used the opportunity to lead them to the table where a full spread of lunch choices awaited. Skye’s mouth watered and she realized how hungry she was. She settled Nico beside her and awaited their hosts.
Cassi followed and took her seat beside Thomas in the sunny breakfast nook. The windows were open and a cool breeze filtered through the room, giving it a fresh and rejuvenating feeling. She glanced out the large bay windows and sighed. “Boy, you must get tired of this horrible view,” she said, almost dreamily. The view from her apartment was the wall of another building.
“It doesn’t suck,” Cassi admitted cheerfully. “This was my dad’s favorite room because of the view. Okay, disclaimer time—I didn’t make any of this food. I have no talent in the kitchen since I grew up with a live-in chef. It will be good, though, because I’ve used this catering service before and it went over like gangbusters.”
Thomas grinned and leaned over to kiss Cassi. The love that flowed between them caused a pang of yearning in her own heart. She risked a glance at Christian who had begun to dig into the fruit salad with gusto and she wondered if it was true that soul mates were possible. It was
easy to make that assumption hearing Thomas and Cassi’s story and then seeing them in person but what about the average person? Did she have a soul mate? Had she already met him? Was he sitting across from her eyeing the southern fried chicken like a starving man? She giggled at herself and he looked up. “Don’t stand on ceremony, get yourself some of this grub before it gets cold,” he advised, eliciting a smile on her part.
As she loaded Nico’s plate and then her own, she wondered what life would be like if she had the option of indulging in her desire to test out the soul mate thing with Christian.
Belleni’s face popped into her head and she kicked it away. No bad thoughts today. Nothing was going to keep her from having a good day. She deserved it after all she’d been through in the past five years. One day off didn’t seem too much to ask. If she allowed thoughts of that nature in her head, she’d have to start thinking of what a terrible mess she was in and that she’d jumped ship without any sort of viable exit plan. She’d have to admit she was screwed in the worst way and that would cause her chest to tighten and panic to follow. So none of that. Today was all about living in the moment. Tomorrow would come soon enough.
FOLLOWING LUNCH, THEY VISITED a bit longer and then went to the stables. Christian was eager to take Skye and Nico on the trail behind the house but as their horses were saddled and Thomas went to lift Nico onto Skye’s horse, he balked and started crying.
“What’s the matter, little guy?” Christian asked.
“I scared,” he said in a small voice. “I don’t wanna ride the horse. Too big.”
Skye bit her lip, disappointment in her gaze. “We don’t have to ride the horses, sweetheart. We can do something else if you want.”
Christian agreed, not wanting to scare the boy further, but he felt the same letdown as Skye. Thomas, catching Christian’s gaze, jumped in to save the day.
“Hey, how about this…Cassi and I were planning to take a ride into town to pick up some ice cream, would you like to come with us?”
A Chance in the Night Page 15
