by BJ Harvey
Trying to end the conversation, I lean down and lift her up into my arms, proceeding to carry her to our bedroom. Right now she needs to feel comfort and protection in my arms. If I have to hold her in bed all night to make her feel safe again, I will do that. Nothing makes me feel better than when I help her, and God knows I can’t stand to see her cry again today.
Chapter Sixteen
After spending the night comforting Elle, I’m itching to get out this morning to meet with Shay. With all of yesterday’s developments, I think we need a strategy meeting to work out what we’re going to do about Brimstone and this bloody note.
The note is the unknown variable. Evans told me the man wasn’t his and despite his faults, he is the type of person who will freely admit when he is up to something and gets caught. That is why I met with him yesterday. I hate the man with every part of my being, but unfortunately I share DNA with him and sometimes I have to play that card. Shay and the boss man are the only ones who know that he is my father. Gibbons isn’t aware of the connection, it is something I’ve made sure was kept on the down low since I was a teenager.
When my adoptive father was dying, he explained to me exactly what happened when I was born and how he and his wife Leah came to adopt me when I was two years old. As far as I’m concerned, Roger & Leah James were the only parents I’ve ever known and would ever need. But on his deathbed, Roger expressed his wish for me to reach out to my birth mother, but only when I was ready. I haven’t reached a point in my life where I feel the need to do that, but events of the past six months have definitely got me thinking about family more and more. I’ve investigated her, so I know her maiden name and that she got married about five years after I was born, but that is all I know.
Having to come face to face with Evans and Brimstone certainly hasn’t helped matters, and seeing how Elle has dealt with having no family at all makes me feel guilty. I have a chance to reconnect with my birth mother, whereas Elle won’t ever see her family again. What Roger said that day has stuck with me. He didn’t feel good leaving this earth without making sure I knew where I came from.
I did already know about Evans unfortunately. I made mistake of looking Michael Evans up when I was fifteen. I had idealistic hopes of him spending a lifetime looking for me, wanting to make it all up to me. He knew about me, that much was true, but from all accounts he hadn’t spent a minute thinking about me until he saw an opportunity to groom an heir for his corrupt empire.
Despite only being fifteen, he tried to get me to go work for him, something he has continued to try and do since then. He made promises that I could rise up through the ranks and take over from him one day. I may have been an impressionable teenager but I scoffed in this face, saying that I would never work for scum like him. I even went so far as to tell him that the only thing we had in common was genetics.
He tried to trap me and force me into working for him. I remember that day fondly, he accosted me on my way home from school. When I refused to go with him yet again, he laughed at me and said that I was just as stubborn and stupid as my mother. That comment resulted in my punching him in the nose. I broke my hand, but it was worth every day I spend in a plaster cast. In the end, Roger and I decided the only way to escape him was for me to enlist.
I send Shay a text first thing in the morning, asking him to meet me at the campus café where I first took Elle. She has a morning class to go to so I left her as she was getting dressed. Now I’m sitting here at the cafe waiting for Shay.
He walks in five minutes later, taking a seat and muttering to himself. “What’s up? You look pissed,” I ask him, trying not to laugh.
“Well, your pops decided to pay me a visit this morning, insisting that I should tell him what is going on so he could help.”
I almost choke on my coffee.
“Dude, what the hell? When I saw him yesterday, all I asked him was whether the guy in the black Honda is one of his, mainly because it has his name written all over it. He denied any involvement.”
“Well, he seemed very interested in your girlfriend and I didn’t think you’d be pleased,” he says with a frown.
“Uh, no! I don’t want his dirty hands anywhere near her. I better not have to go see him again. Was hard enough dealing with him and his henchman yesterday.”
“Well, let’s end this delightful topic now then. Before you get really pissed off and punch a wall again, or his face,” he says with a laugh.
“Yeah, well yesterday was eventful,” I say sarcastically. “Brimstone really rattled Elle. She was on the floor crying when I got home.”
“What he say?” His tone suddenly goes serious.
“He wasn’t happy that she wasn’t selling Brightlight to him. We expected that, but then he had to add in that her father would be rolling in his grave and that he’d get the company, whether she wanted him to or not. You know what that means, bro,” I say, looking straight at him.
We both know what that means. It means that Brimstone is aware that the company rules say that the final decision is Elle’s until such time that she sells her share or she is incapacitated. I hope to hell he isn’t going for the incapacitated clause, cause then I’d have to kill him.
“It means that she’s really in danger now, from Brimstone, from Evans if he is working for Brimstone, and maybe someone else we haven’t considered yet. We’re going to have to watch her twenty four-seven,” he states. This is why Shay and I are and the best partners; we think the same and we read the other’s mind.
“And then to add salt to the wound, Elle got another note yesterday. Hand delivered to the mailbox, on the same paper as the one from Richmond, but this one had a clear warning for her,” I tell him, pulling the note out of my pocket. Shay grabs the note and lays it on the table.
“What the fuck, dude? This is getting frightening now,” he says angrily.
“Tell me about it. She was freaked out, man. I’ve only seen her that bad when she’s had a nightmare,” I wince, remembering how upset she was.
“What do you want to do?” Shay asks, knowing that we need to formulate a plan. I’m glad I have Shay. He loves Elle like a sister and like me, sees this as more than a job now.
“We need to monitor her at all times. Who knows what this maniac is planning, or when he is planning it. He could be connected to Brimstone or Evans, or it could be totally unrelated to the whole thing,” I add, thinking out loud. “The unknown factor is what scares the shit out of me.”
“Considering the guy followed you to Virginia, I think we should go with it being separate to the Brimstone affair. Nobody knew where you were going and hardly anyone round here knows your car, so he must have been watching you,” he says, verbalizing everything that I was thinking, but really didn’t want to admit out loud.
As soon as I intercepted the note in Richmond, I knew we had been followed. I was too distracted by Elle and failed to look out for a tail. I was careless, especially given that our job is to protect her.
“Well, B, I’ve gotta get back on the street to watch your pretty girl and her hot ass,” he teases with a smile.
I growl at him. “Don’t you be watching my girl’s ass, dude,” making him crack up laughing at my possessiveness.
“See you tonight at the bar?” he adds.
“Yeah, I’ll text you to when we’re on our way,” I reply as he turns and leaves.
I’d totally forgotten about Shay’s birthday drinks tonight. I text Elle to make sure she still wants to go. After all the stress of yesterday, I’m half expecting her to pull back into her shell. She seemed okay this morning, but she had two bad experiences yesterday and I need to make sure she is really alright, and not just telling me what I want to hear.
I get home from my morning classes and find Brax is still out. He sent me a text telling me he was on his way home for lunch. I’m a bit wary of being home alone right now. Yesterday’s note freaked me out. I go to the front window and look out around the street. I can’t see the black Honda
anywhere so I feel my whole body relax a bit. We haven’t seen him for three days now, but after the hand delivered note yesterday, I have a gut feeling that he isn’t too far away.
I hear the lock in the door rattle and Brax walks in, carrying a bouquet of white roses with a big smile on his face. I stand in the middle of the living room, mouth open in shock. No one has ever bought me flowers. I blink back the tears in my eyes as his thoughtfulness sinks in. With a huge grin he walks up, hands me the flowers, and leans in to give me a sweet probing kiss. I can handle hellos like this.
He pulls away, leaving me wanting more than a kiss, and takes the flowers into the kitchen to put them in water. I turn and watch him go, unable to stop myself from checking out how the muscles in his shoulders move under his tight black Henley. I should really stop ogling him all the time, although I can’t see myself ever getting sick of the sight of him. An idea pops in my head and I decide to run with it, knowing that Brax is never one to turn me down.
He turns around with the vase and flowers just as I reach him in the kitchen, splashing water all up my top. I shriek at the sudden coldness down my front. He apologizes, but as soon as he sees that my white singlet top is saturated, a sexy smirk grows on his face.
“Well, my dear, I think you might need some help getting out of that wet top,” he says, putting the vase down on the counter and stalking towards me.
I can’t help the giggle that escapes my mouth as I try to run into the bedroom. He catches me around the waist before I reach the door, backing me into the doorway, pressing his hard firm body into mine. I want to be closer, I need him to be closer. He pierces me with his eyes, staring straight into mine, full of love and adoration. I didn’t think it is possible to love anyone this much.
He grabs the hem of my camisole and slowly peels the wet, see-through tank off me in one fluid motion. I fist my hands in his shirt, pulling him down to me as he begins kissing me, starting at my forehead and moving painstakingly slow down my face. When he reaches my ear, he nips it with his teeth gently.
“I’ve never seen anyone look as beautiful as you, baby,” he whispers, making me melt into him even more as he trails his mouth down my neck, tracing small circles with his tongue as he tastes me.
“Brax, I need you,” I moan as he continues his downward trail.
“I know you do, and do you know how hot that makes me?”
His lips brush across my skin as he peppers me with feather light kisses while he rolls his hips into mine.
“Make love to me, baby,” I gasp as he reaches up and rolls his fingers over my hard nipples.
“I intend to darlin.”
Wrapping his arms around my waist, he lifts me up, encouraging me as I instinctively wrap my legs around his hips. We stand against the doorway, our bodies grinding against each other. I move one hand down between us and start stroking, following the shape of him through his straining jeans. The groan that escapes his mouth is so erotic, I almost fall apart right there.
“Take me to bed,” I whisper huskily in his ear.
“Gladly,” he replies as he carries me towards our bedroom and proceeds to show me exactly how hot I’ve made him.
We lie in bed after making love, Elle’s naked body draped over mine. Her hand is gently caressing my chest and damn, the afterglow feels good with her. I feel her head move and I look down into her eyes.
“Do you ever think about the future, Brax? Like where you will be in five, ten, twenty years?” she asks, absentmindedly tracing shapes through chest hair.
“Of course, but I also like taking each day as it comes. I learned a long time ago that expectations only lead to disappointments,” I reply, my thoughts trailing off to my screwed up family dynamic.
“Oh…okay,” she says, sounding disappointed in my answer. I can tell that my comment was not what she was expecting. I roll over so that I’m lying above her, my hips between her legs, my weight held up on one elbow now resting by her head as I look down at her. I grab her chin as she tries to look away.
“What I do know, sweetheart, is that you are my world. Before I met you I was simply going through the motions. Now I have a purpose, I have a reason to be here. My job was to make you feel again and to open you up to the world. I’ve never seen you more alive than you are now. You are a vibrant, shining star to behold. You are who I want to hold in my arms at night and who I want to open my eyes to in the morning. Nobody has ever touched my heart like you do, nobody ever will.” I lower my mouth to hers and I pour all of my love for her into this kiss. I’m desperate to make her feel the way I see her. I want her to believe deep down in her soul that there is nowhere else I want to be, and no one else in this world that I want to be with
She returns the kiss with fervor, eagerly wrestling her tongue with mine until we have to pull apart to breathe.
“I guess that answers my question then,” she says breathlessly. “I love you, Braxton James,” she whispers against my lips.
“I love you too, Elise Halliwell.”
Chapter Seventeen
Brax and I are getting ready for Shay’s birthday party at Stages, a bar downtown that Shay has hired out for the night. He’s turning twenty-seven which is apparently a big deal. He’s even booked a photo booth and DJ for the night. After the events of the past few days, I’m really looking forward to having a few drinks and letting loose for the night.
While I’m in the bathroom making some final touches to my make-up and hair, Brax is already dressed and waiting in the living room, having a beer while I get ready. I’m wearing my hair down in a sea of loose brown curls with sexy smoky eyes and wet look lipstick, Brax is definitely in for a surprise tonight.
After yesterday’s teasing episode, where he left me all worked up before he went out, I went shopping with one purpose. To buy an outfit that would leave him speechless. I’m not just talking about an open mouth kind of speechless, either. I’m going for a drooling mess, mouth gaping, barely able to breathe reaction. I searched through Victoria’s Secret and a few major department stores until I found exactly what I wanted.
The dress I’m wearing is a navy v-neck jersey dress with a plunging neck line that even made Shay blush. It gathers into a crystal adornment just below my cleavage then falls into a drapey skirt, finishing just above the knee. To go with it, I’m wearing a pair of Christian Louboutin chain-maille red sole wedges with my ultimate weapon underneath. A black mesh corset covered in silver eyelets from Victoria’s Secret. It is almost a waste to cover it up; it is truly stunning. I finish the look off with a pair of silky black thigh-highs, held up with silver garters.
The whole outfit makes me feel so sexy and wanton. I don’t know how long I’ll last tonight without needing Brax to touch me. I hope I’ll be able to outlast him. Well, I damn hope I can. I want to see pure unadulterated lust in his eyes and for his mind to be spinning so damn fast that he won’t have anything but me on his mind.
I dab some perfume on my wrists and chest, before taking one last look in the mirror and opening the bedroom door. As I walk in to the living room I see Brax standing by the window with a beer in his hand, looking out into the night. I stand in the doorway, taking in the view of the sexy man before me. He’s wearing a gorgeous navy blue shirt I bought for him yesterday which fits him perfectly, nicely hugging the lines of his chest. He’s matched it with some black linen pants and his freshly polished black dress shoes. He may not dress up often but damn, I’m glad he has tonight. That man is switching the tables on me and he doesn’t even know it yet.
Well, two can play this game.
I clear my throat to get his attention. He slowly turns around and the grin on his face disappears, instantly replaced with one of the most lustful looks I have ever seen. He looks awestruck, almost spellbound. He slowly takes in the full length of my body and his gaze travels from head to toe and back to my face, like he is slowly memorizing every inch of me. He returns his eyes to mine and starts stalking towards me. It’s like he has lost all self-co
ntrol and wants to have me here and now, I’d know that look of his anywhere. I quickly put my hands up to his chest to stop his advance.
“Brax,” I say, my voice giving away the effect he’s having on me. “We have somewhere to be.”
“I don’t care right now. Shay will understand. Damn, Elle, he can wait all night,” he says desperately, running his fingers slowly down my exposed arms, making me shiver.
“No, baby. You’re going to have to wait until we get home,” I say sweetly, knowing that I’m frustrating the hell out of him. I can’t hold back a smirk that would rival his best.
“Damn you, you little minx,” he replies with a smile. “This is revenge for yesterday, isn’t it?”
“Maybe, but believe me, this is just as hard for me as is it for you,” I reply shakily.
“I very much doubt that, baby, but I welcome you to find out,” he replies.
“Brax!” I say with a giggle. “Now, babe, let’s go see the birthday boy,” I say, walking to the door with extra swing in my hips.
I hear Brax breathe out a big breath I didn’t know he was holding in. “This is going to be a long painful night,” he mutters, walking towards me. I can’t help the smile that spreads over my face gets closer to me. He almost looks like he’s sulking now. I decide that it’s the perfect opportunity to put the final nail in the coffin.
“Brax?” I whisper as he reaches around me with my coat.
“Yes, darlin?” he whispers back.
I place both hands on his shoulders and reach up to kiss him ever so softly, pulling away when he tries to deepen the kiss and moving my mouth to his ear.
“I’m not wearing any underwear.”
Holy hell, I’ve unleashed a monster.
My Elle, my once innocent, shy, and sheltered Elle, has turned into a sexual deviant. She’s reveling in the fact that she has teased and taunted me to my breaking point. She knows we will not have a chance to relieve any of this built up tension until the party is over, and we’re already running late. Anyone else and I would’ve said screw it and carried her off to our bedroom there and then. But for Shay, I can’t do that to him.
