Inside Affair

by Ella Frank

  After that moment out on the terrace, we’d both reverted to our usual roles and kept our fake relationship safely in a box for now, since there was no one else around.

  That was fine by me. I was walking on eggshells already as it was. As my workout came to a close, it didn’t escape my notice that I couldn’t even enjoy a couple hours in here without thinking about the shitstorm that was now my life. At this rate, I was going to drive myself mad.

  As I hit stop on the machine and the belt slowed, I grabbed my water bottle and drained the contents. I wiped off my brow and slung the towel around the back of my neck. I glanced over to the lounge and saw Sean getting to his feet, his eyes locked on me.

  A shiver of awareness raced down my spine, and I was cognizant that that was one of the reasons for the tension between us.

  Somewhere between Sean moving in and taking on the role of my fake boyfriend to now, I’d begun responding to him as though we were going to end up in one of the nine beds in this house, and I had a horrible suspicion that I’d somehow projected my feelings onto him.

  There was no way in hell that Sean Bailey would have ever eyed my mouth the way he had last night—like he wanted to take a nice, long taste of it—and there was no way before the last two weeks that I would have ever wanted him to. But this forced confinement was making the two of us act in ways we never would’ve before, and if we didn’t pull it together soon, life would become incredibly difficult—not to mention frustrating as hell.

  It was time to man up. Time to be an adult about things and to stop thinking about being in such close confines with a man who was making my hormones go haywire.

  But as Sean walked around the end of the pool, I found myself studying his sure, confident stride. There wasn’t one hint of hesitation as he made his way to me, and as he came up my side of the pool to the treadmill and weights, any thought other than how damn sexy he looked left my mind. I was in so much fucking trouble.

  “Good run?” he said.

  “Yeah, it wasn’t bad.” I wiped at my face again, deciding if a towel was covering my eyes it might help—but it didn’t.

  “I was wondering if you’d mind me going for a swim this morning? I won’t take long, ’bout twenty minutes?”

  A swim? But wouldn’t that mean—

  Sean peeled his shirt off, revealing his muscular torso, and I almost swallowed my tongue.

  “I wore my board shorts and thought you could just sit over there and wait for me until I’m done.” He tossed his shirt by my feet, and for a second, I wondered if he was doing this on purpose. “That okay with you?”

  Was what okay? I’d forgotten what the hell we were talking about.

  “Xander? You all right?”

  No. No, I was not. And it was obvious from the look on his face that Sean had no clue what the hell he was doing to me. “I, um… I’m just feeling a little lightheaded after my run, that’s all.”

  Sean took a step toward me, and I backed up and reached for the treadmill, feigning dizziness to cover up that I wanted to lean in and touch all of that toned skin.

  Who knew Sean was hiding such a body under those horrible suits?

  “Maybe you should go grab yourself a Gatorade real quick? Or some crackers. I don’t want you to pass out on me.”

  I nodded. “I think that’s a good idea.”

  “Okay. But don’t be long,” Sean said as I walked by him, making sure to take a wide berth. “Ten minutes max or I’m coming to get you.”

  I all but ran from the pool area. With Sean standing that close to me and that…well, naked, I wasn’t sure I could be held responsible for my actions. After all, I’d almost kissed the guy just last night, and he’d been fully dressed then.

  I booked it down the hall toward the kitchen, not to grab a Gatorade but because it was the room farthest from the pool. Just as I was passing the elevator, the intercom chimed, indicating the front desk was calling.

  Frowning, I hit the call button. “Marvin? Hi.”

  “Oh, hello, Xander. How are you this morning?”

  “I’m good. Was there something you needed?” Sean had been very clear with management that under no circumstances were anyone other than Marvin and Gina—the two front desk clerks who had been fully checked out—allowed to call up to my apartment.

  “No, nothing I need. But a flower delivery was just dropped off for you.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, sir. A very fancy one.”

  Ah, okay. I knew what that was for: the awards. Marcus always sent flowers to his nominated employees—or Carmen did—and, deciding there was no harm with Marvin bringing them up, I gave him the go-ahead and waited for him to arrive.

  Minutes later, the doors slid open, and a huge bouquet of crimson roses close to filled the elevator. Marvin, an older gentlemen, peered around the blooms and offered me a wide smile.

  “Stunning, aren’t they?” he said as he handed them over. “Is it a special occasion?”

  They definitely were beautiful. Flawlessly cut and displayed, they were classy, elegant, and absolutely gorgeous.

  “I was nominated for an award at work.”

  Marvin whistled. “Must be some award. There’s a note right here.” He plucked it out of the back of the stems, handed it over, and got back inside the elevator. “Enjoy them. That’s one of the most beautiful bouquets I’ve ever seen.”

  As the doors closed and I placed the vase on the entry table, I noticed how heavy it was.

  I opened the note, drew the card out, and felt all the blood drain from my face.

  For your collection.

  I told you I knew you.

  You’re meanttobemine.

  My hands shook as I read the words over and over again, and when my vision began to blur, I reached for the wall to steady myself and heard Sean calling my name from down the hall.

  I took in several gulps of air and looked at the huge bouquet in front of me, trying to discern what exactly was going on, and that was when I spotted it: the insignia in the vase.

  Baccarat. Wow… How had he known that I collected that crystal?

  It was no secret where I lived. Being in the public eye took away that privilege, and we already knew that this slimeball knew my address—he’d flat-out told us he did in the first messages he’d sent.

  But how had he known about the crystal? That I had several items in my office from their collection, along with the chandelier hanging in my great room?

  My stomach twisted into a vicious knot as my fingers tightened around the card until my nails nearly broke the skin of my palm. I needed to get back to the pool to show Sean what I was holding. But first, I needed to work out how to stop my head from spinning, because I was in real danger of passing out now that I knew meanttobemine had somehow seen the inside of my place.

  28

  Sean

  XANDER HAD BEEN gone too long.

  I touched the end of the pool wall and raised my head to look at the door he’d disappeared out of nearly fifteen minutes ago, then tore my goggles off and tossed them up onto the tiled edge.

  Fifteen minutes wasn’t long in the scheme of things. But when it came to him being out of sight and out of earshot, I didn’t like it—whether it was in his fortress or not.

  I ran my hands through my hair and tried not to think about the real reason I’d needed to go for a swim. But every time I tried to shove aside this new obsession with watching Xander’s every move, my mind rewound to last night, when I’d been two seconds away from discovering if his mouth felt as soft as it looked.

  Fuck. What the hell am I doing? This was Xander, for fuck’s sake, a man. But that didn’t seem to matter anymore, because the second he was close, my eyes found him, my body came alive, and my cock ached in a way that it hadn’t in years.

  I was confused and frustrated, and trying my fucking hardest to act like everything was fine and dandy. But this gig was getting harder by the second.

  Yeah, okay, maybe don’t think of it
like that.

  I looked at the clock on the wall and cursed before I called out Xander’s name. The pool was at the far end of the house, but with no other noise in the place, he should be able to hear me and respond. When there was nothing, I shoved off the wall and headed for the stairs. I was done with this “waiting for him to grab a snack” bullshit.

  I climbed out of the pool and was about to grab my towel when I heard the door open, and turned to see Xander.

  “’Bout time you got back. I was about to send out a search…” My words trailed off as I looked him over, wondering why he’d frozen just inside the door. But as I took in his pale face, grim expression, and the clenched fist by his side, the hairs on the back of my neck stood tall.

  Uncaring of my dripping shorts, I was over to him before I took my next breath. “What happened?”

  Xander swallowed, his usually vibrant eyes glazed over as though he were in a state of shock. When he didn’t answer, I looked him over, trying to assess if he was hurt in any way.

  “Xander?” When he blinked, I shook him a little, hoping to shock him out of whatever state it was he was in. “Xander? What happened?”

  When he moved his right arm, I quickly let it go, thinking I might’ve been hurting him—but then I saw it. A small, crumpled card in his hand.

  “What’s that?”

  Xander’s jaw bunched as he held it out to me. “It…it came with some roses. Just a few minutes ago.”

  “Just a few— You let someone in the house?” I barked, and Xander flinched. “What were you thinking?” A wave of panic turned my vision red, and when Xander didn’t answer, I tightened my grip on his arm. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

  “I wasn’t, okay?” Xander shouted. “Marvin called up, and I thought the flowers were from Marcus, and…I didn’t think. And can you please stop cursing at me? I’m already stressed enough as it is. I don’t really need Detective Dick right now. I need Sean.”

  As Xander began to tremble, I told myself to take a deep breath and calm the hell down. He was right, and I was ashamed that I’d let my alarm cloud my judgment.

  I let go and crossed my arms over my chest, then realized I was still in nothing but a pair of wet swim shorts.

  Not about to excuse myself for a quick change of clothes, I shoved aside my lack of attire and said, “Look, I’m sorry I yelled at you. I’m just pissed off that this fucker got to you here. Inside your house.”

  Xander said nothing as I looked down at his trembling hand, and my annoyance vanished. He was shaken to his very core. I reached for the small card he held then unfolded the note, more aware than ever that this piece of shit had just upped the ante.

  I clenched my hand around the note as I ground my molars together, and then I read the words over. “For your collection? What is he talking about?”

  “The vase. He sent the roses in a—” Xander covered his mouth, and knowing I needed to re-establish the trust I’d just stomped all over, I reached for his hand.

  Xander flinched, but when I curled my fingers around his, he held on tight.

  “He sent them in a what?” I asked.

  “A Baccarat vase.” When I narrowed my eyes, confused over the significance, he whispered, “I collect Baccarat crystal. The only people who would know that are people who have been in my office at work, or here in my house.”

  Motherfucker. The reality of just how dangerous this asshole was had never been clearer now that he had penetrated Xander’s sanctuary.

  “Where are the roses?”

  “In the foyer.”

  “Okay. Leave them there. I need to look at them. You said Marvin brought them up?”

  “Yes. But he’s just a sweet old man. You know that—”

  “It doesn’t matter who he is, Xander. I still need to talk to him.”

  “I know. I know.”

  I let go of his hand and ran my fingers through my wet hair. “I’m going to go and get changed. I’d prefer if you waited—”

  “I’ll be in my bedroom.” I studied him for a second, and then Xander added, “I think I’m going to call Marcus and let him know to bring David in for tonight’s broadcast. I need to lie down for a while. This is too much, Sean. This is all…” His voice shook and then cracked. “It’s too much.”

  I nodded, knowing that was the best plan. Then I snatched up a towel from a rack in the room and took the crook of his arm, guiding him down the hall to his bedroom.

  Once he was safely tucked away, I headed to my room with one thing on my mind: tracking down this chickenshit and putting an end to this sick and twisted game he was playing.

  29

  Xander

  THE SOUND OF my bedroom door closing seemed as loud as a gunshot as I shut myself behind the thick wooden doors and prayed for silence. But as I stood there with my fingers tight around the handle and my legs unmoving, I was aware that while I may be able to shut the door on the world outside, the one thing I couldn’t escape was my mind.

  I shut my eyes and took in a deep breath, and as I let it out, I tried to banish from it the roses, the email, and the hit-and-run. But it was no use, and as it all began to spiral out of control, my legs began to shake, and I had to lean into the door to keep myself upright.

  Who was doing this to me? And why? Had I somehow done something to provoke this person? I didn’t think so. But as each day passed and the advances became more brazen, more personal, I was finding it difficult to brush this off as some overly enthusiastic fan.

  Whoever this was wanted contact. They wanted me. And if they couldn’t have me, it seemed my blood would suffice. I wasn’t sure what to do with that.

  When I was fairly certain my legs wouldn’t give out from under me, I let go of the handle and made myself cross to the bathroom to have a quick shower. I kicked off my sneakers and quickly stripped, and as I turned the spray on and the warm water found me, I stepped under it and closed my eyes.

  Breathe in… Breathe out… Keep yourself upright.

  The last thing I needed was to have a panic attack and pass out. Sean was currently downstairs trying to find out what he could about the delivery, and I’d rather he didn’t come back to find me naked and unconscious on my tile floor.

  And speaking of Sean, he was a whole other problem I hadn’t been prepared for. An unexpected problem who was saying all the right things at all the right times, and making me feel a way that I hadn’t in a long time.

  I tipped my face up into the spray and tried to push aside the gentle way he’d comforted me last night. The unfailing way he’d assured me that nothing would hurt me while I was under his protection. I also tried to forget the image of his strong body that had been on full display in my pool earlier. But as my shaft stiffened in response to that very clear visual, I knew I was losing that battle.

  For days now, I’d been trying to convince myself that maybe my body was just confused. That maybe I was stressed and worried and Sean was someone I knew I could trust, and that was why he was starting to look like a viable option.

  But I knew that wasn’t true. Viable wasn’t the right word here. But the other option scared me, because thinking of Sean as the only option who could appease this ache was foolhardy in every way imaginable.

  Things had shifted between us. I hadn’t been prepared for that. And as the days and nights passed, it wasn’t going away. If anything, it was intensifying, and the more time we spent around one another, the more I thought I saw a flicker of…what? Interest from Sean? That seemed highly unlikely, and yet that niggling feeling remained.

  I stepped out of the shower, quickly dried off, and listened to see if I could hear any other sounds throughout the house indicating Sean was back.

  When all that greeted me was silence, my stomach twisted around on itself, my anxiety now at an all-time high.

  Heading out to my bed, I grabbed my phone to see a weather alert for tomorrow—Warning: Extreme Heat Advisory—and groaned at the idea of the first scorcher to hit Chicago for the
summer. It’d been getting hotter every day for sure, but it sounded like tomorrow was going to be the beginning of the extreme.

  After clearing it from the screen, I sent off a quick text to Marcus to call in David for the night, then I grabbed the bottle of melatonin from my bedside drawer, determined to put any thoughts other than sleep out of my mind. I crawled beneath my covers and lay there staring at my ceiling, thinking that maybe a few hours of shuteye would help clear my head.

  Maybe that would help put things back where they belonged with Sean, because right now, as my world was spinning out of control, the only thing that made any sense was how safe I felt when he was near, and just how much I wanted him back by my side as soon as humanly possible.

  30

  Sean

  MY MOOD WAS a dark cloud surrounding me as I marched down the hall toward the elevator. I was fuming mad, and having no one to take it out on, I punched the button with a little more force than necessary, wanting to get downstairs as soon as possible.

  The doors slid open and I stepped inside, and as I rounded back to hit the lobby button, I caught sight of the roses that sat on the foyer table and my vision turned a similar shade of red.

  When I finally caught up with this motherfucker, he was gonna want to either be dead or unconscious, because I was just about done with this brand of bullshit.

  I stared at my blurry reflection in the doors as the elevator began its descent. I’d changed over the last couple of weeks with this new haircut, new clothes, and new perspective on the man who lived in this uptown castle.