by E. L. Todd
Her small teeth were showing through her parted lips. Those words seemed to turn her on even more. “I’d love to see that.”
“And I’d love to show you.” I scooped her from underneath then lifted her onto the counter. My dick was so hard it was about to burst. I’d been thinking about her gorgeous legs and kissable lips since she walked out of my office. Now I wanted to have her right then and there.
She laid back as her hands snaked up my arms. “What about dinner?”
I undid my belt and dropped my slacks. “You are my dinner.”
***
Apollo lay right between us, taking up most of the bed and stretching out his legs so he could have even more room.
I eyed him with an irritated look. “Apollo, get down.”
He bent his ears slightly but didn’t move.
“Leave him alone.” Lexie curled up next to Apollo, snuggling with him instead of me.
“I’m just supposed to be okay with this?”
“He saved your life. Or do you not remember that?” She rubbed Apollo behind the ear, his favorite spot.
He wagged his tail, thumping it against the sheets.
“But he’s big and hairy. He shouldn’t be on the bed.” I assumed Lexie would want him out of here more than I did. Women were supposed to be meticulous about being clean.
“You’re big and hairy,” she argued.
“What?” I argued. “I’m not hairy.” I didn’t even have any hair on my chest.
“Just leave Apollo alone.” Lexie turned off her lamp and the room fell into darkness.
I could only see her outline. “I miss cuddling with you.”
“I do too,” she said. “But Apollo likes to cuddle too.”
That dog felt more like a child than an animal.
“I found an open apartment just a few blocks away. I’m going to take a look at it tomorrow after work. Want to come?” Lexie couldn’t handle living with her mom any longer. Now that her mom had a boyfriend, Lexie was infringing on her privacy.
Since we were getting married it didn’t make any sense for her to get her own place. Right now I lived in a penthouse that could house ten people. It had bedrooms I didn’t even use. “Why don’t you just move in with me?”
She took a deep breath like she was surprised or excited. “Really?”
“Why not?” I asked. “Why wait until we get married?”
“I’d love to.” She sat up and looked at me, the excitement in her eyes.
“Good. I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.”
She tried to lean over Apollo to kiss me, but she couldn’t reach. Apollo’s massive size was too wide for her to lean across. She eventually gave up and sighed in defeat.
“See? Do you really think he should be sleeping on the bed?”
“Why should he have to sleep on the ground just because I’m here?” she countered.
It was hard to believe that Apollo ever disliked her. Now they were two peas in a pod. “Whatever.” I turned on my side and faced the other way, my back to Apollo’s.
“Maybe we can get a bigger bed.”
“Why don’t you two just get a bed together? I’ll sleep alone.”
Lexie chuckled into the darkness. “You’re cute when you’re jealous.”
“I’m not jealous. I just don’t like being replaced by a dog.”
“You haven’t been replaced, Con. You could never be replaced.”
***
“Are you sure you want to go?” Carol asked on the doorstep. “You can stay here as long as you want.”
“It’s okay, Mom.” Lexie stood in the entryway with her purse over her shoulder. “I want to live with Conrad. Besides, you should spend some alone time with Logan.”
“I’m sorry you fell on hard times and had to live with me,” Carol said with a sigh. “But I loved living with you again. Truly.”
“I know, Mom.” Lexie hugged her tightly. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Carol hugged her tightly and closed her eyes. “You were so comforting at my lowest point.”
“And you were comforting during mine.”
Carol gave her a final squeeze before she stepped back. “I’m so glad you and Conrad are settling down. I’m sure you’ll have a lot more room for your shoes and clothes at his place.”
“And I won’t have any,” I teased.
Carol came to me next and hugged me tightly. It was the kind of hug that reminded me of the ones my own mother would give me. “Thank you for being such an incredible man for my little girl. I know you’ll be good to her.”
“Thank you, Carol.”
“I can’t wait to officially call you my son.” She stepped back and cupped both of my cheeks.
When I looked away I saw Lexie staring at us, her eyes lit up in affection.
Macy came into the entryway, looking mischievous like always. “About time you left the house. It was getting cramped in here.”
“You’re one to talk,” Lexie snapped.
“By the way…” Carol turned to her youngest daughter. “I think it’s time you’ve moved on.”
Macy’s jaw almost touched the floor. “What?”
“You’ve been living with me for years, and I think it’s time you left the nest and found your own way in life.” Carol kept her voice calm even though it was clear this was hard for her to do. “I can’t keep babying you.”
“But I’m working on my career,” Macy argued.
“You’ve been sitting around all day,” Carol said. “And we both know that. Perhaps you should put this modeling gig aside and focus on a real career—like your sister.”
Macy’s nostrils flared the moment she was compared to Lexie. “I don’t want to do anything else besides model.”
“Well, you’re going to have to find something because you can’t live here anymore,” Carol said. “I’m sorry.”
“Is this just because of Logan?” Macy asked. “Now that you have a boyfriend to shack up with you cut me loose?”
“I’m not shacking up with him,” Carol said calmly. “I’m just giving you a push.”
“She’s right,” Lexie said. “You need to grow up.”
Macy turned her heated look on her sister. “Grow up? You’re the one who ran out on Conrad when he asked you to marry him. Now you’re mooching off of him and living in his glorious mansion. Maybe you should grow up.”
Lexie didn’t let her words affect her. “I know you’re jealous of my super hot fiancé and his wallet but that doesn’t change anything. Stand on your own two feet and stop taking advantage of Mom.”
Macy narrowed her eyes like she might slap her.
“Let’s go, Con.” Lexie walked out then wrapped her small fingers around my wrist.
I knew Macy and Carol would return to arguing the moment we left, and I wasn’t eager to stick around and see it. “Alright, baby.” She pulled me down the stoop and to the sidewalk. Once we were a few feet away the arguing continued.
“So, you’re just going to throw me out on the street?” Macy shrieked.
“Calm down,” Carol said. “I’m not abandoning you.”
Lexie linked her arm through mine. “I’m so glad I don’t live there anymore.”
“Me too.”
Chapter Four
Roland
Switzerland was amazing.
Heath and I shacked up in a chalet and admired the snowcaps of the Swiss Alps. The Matterhorn was just as beautiful as we imagined, and pictures didn’t do the mountain justice. We spent most of our time making love or eating cheese fondue and hot cocoa.
It was the best honeymoon ever.
But I noticed something strange.
It was our last day in the village, and it was hard to shake the feeling that settled on my shoulders. A man wearing a beige sweater and jeans was passing the restaurant we were sitting in, and like always, he turned and looked at me discreetly.
“Earth to Roland.” Heath waved his hand in front of my face.
I turned back to my husband, still unable to shake off the paranoia that settled into my bones. “Hmm?”
“What’s with you?” He dipped the bread into the pot of melted cheese and took a bite.
“Nothing.” My eyes went to the window again. And the man was still there.
“You’ve been distracted for the last few days. Are you homesick?” Switzerland suited Heath. His blonde hair and blue eyes blended well with everyone in the town. He practically looked like a local.
“No.” I wasn’t sure if I should tell him the truth. It might alarm him.
“Then what is it, Ro?”
“Try not to panic…”
Heath abandoned his bread and cheese. “This should be good.”
“There’s this guy hovering around the restaurant. I’ve seen him everywhere since we got here.”
Heath didn’t hide the sarcasm in his voice. “It’s a small village, Ro.”
“But I see him everywhere and he’s always alone. Right now he’s pacing in front of the restaurant and he keeps staring at me.”
“You’re being paranoid.”
“I thought that at first but every time I turn around he’s there—every time.”
Heath still wasn’t buying it. “Just relax, alright? We’re going home tomorrow.”
“I’m not being ridiculous.” I turned to the window. “Look. He’s the one in the black baseball cap.”
Heath followed my gaze and stared at the man who followed us everywhere we went. “He looks pretty harmless.”
“All men look harmless until they pull out a pistol.”
“Ro, just relax. If this guy really has been following us the whole time then he has no ill intention toward us. If he did, he would have done something by now.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better at all.”
“Just chill out and eat your cheese.”
Heath may not think this is alarming, but it still bothered me. I dropped the argument and helped myself to the bowl of bread set before us, but my eyes still glanced to the window every few minutes.
Perhaps being a Preston made me unnaturally paranoid. Perhaps having the most paranoid father in all the land made me so uneasy. But in this case I was grateful for my observation.
Because I knew something was up.
***
“I don’t want to leave.” Heath just finished packing all of his belongings. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at his suitcases.
“I don’t want to leave either.” I sat beside him and rested my hand on my thigh. “But I had a great time with you. Best honeymoon ever.”
“It really was great.” He looked at me with those glorious blue eyes and pulled me into his own private winter wonderland. The slight smile of his lips was adorable, and I found myself wanting to kiss him until his lips were chapped.
“We’ll come here again. Maybe next year.”
“Maybe for our anniversary.”
“There you go.” I patted his thigh.
“Well…I guess we should get going.” He eyed his suitcases on the floor.
“Yeah.” I wasn’t eager to get home either. I would return to the office and start slaving over the magazine again. But I was eager to be husband and husband, doing regular things like having dinner together and going grocery shopping together.
Heath rested his fingertips under my chin then directed my look on his face. He gave me that look of appreciation that I’d become used to, that he loved me. Then he pressed his mouth against mine and gave me a slow kiss.
Like always, I felt a million things at once. I noted his soft lips and his deep breathing. I felt every nerve come alive from the gentle touch. I could feel everything.
“I love you, Ro.”
I opened my eyes and saw the face that always floated in my dreams. “I love you too.”
***
After we dropped off our luggage and headed through security we hung out at the terminal. Our plane wasn’t boarding for another hour so we took a seat and watched the snow fall outside.
“Makes New York look hideous, huh?” Heath said with a laugh.
“It really does.”
“Maybe we should move here someday.”
The idea of living in Switzerland was initially exciting. But when I thought of all the people I loved in New York, my friends and my family, I realized there was nowhere else I’d rather be. “Maybe for a year.”
Heath pulled out his phone and checked the time. “Still have another hour to go…”
“And then a fourteen hour plane—” I stopped in mid-sentence when I spotted the man I’d been seeing everywhere. He was standing on the other side of the terminal, wearing a thick coat with glasses. He looked different than the last time I saw him, but it was definitely the same guy.
“What?” Heath asked.
“That’s him—again.”
Heath followed my gaze. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” I snapped. “I’ve been seeing this asshole everywhere. Now he’s in the airport with us—about to take the same flight. I’m not crazy. There’s something going on here.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. But it’s not a coincidence.”
Instead of telling me I was paranoid, Heath finally believed me. “I admit it’s a little strange…especially since he’s trying to look completely different than the last time I saw him.”
“Exactly.”
“What do we do?”
“We aren’t getting on this plane—that’s for sure.”
“What about our luggage?”
“Who gives a damn?” I snapped. “This guy is a murderer or a terrorist or something.”
“Do you think he wants you for ransom?”
“Wouldn’t be surprised. Bad shit always happens to my family.”
Heath tensed when he realized just how serious things became. “What do we do? Call the police? Which police? American or Swiss?”
“No. We’re calling my father.” I pulled out my phone and stepped away so the stalker couldn’t hear me. I hit the send button, and Dad answered by the second ring.
“Hey, Ro. How was the honeymoon?”
“Dad, I need help. I don’t know what to do.”
Dad immediately kicked into psycho protective father mode. “What do you need?”
“A guy has been tailing me for the entire trip. Heath kept telling me I was being paranoid but now the guy is at the airport—and he’s on my flight. Dad, I think he’s up to something. He either wants to kidnap me or kill me. Both of those are bad in my book.”
Dad sighed into the phone. “What does he look like?”
“What the hell does it matter?”
“Just tell me what he looks like.”
I discreetly glanced at the man. “Six foot, thick build, blue eyes, and dark brown hair.”
“Does he wear a black ring on his pinky?”
When I turned to the man I spotted the ring sitting on his finger. “How did you know that…?” Did I just walk into a bigger and more complicated situation? What was my father up to?
“Because I hired him.”
Blood pounded in my ears. “You hired someone to spy on me?” I couldn’t keep my voice down because I was so furious.
“Not to spy on you,” Dad said calmly. “I just wanted to make sure the two of you were okay in a foreign country. That’s all. I told him to only contact me if there was a problem, so he hasn’t given me any updates on what the two of you have been doing, where you’ve been going, and where you’ve stayed in Switzerland.”
Despite his good intentions I was still irritated. “Dad, I don’t need a bodyguard.”
“You can never be too careful. In a different country you’d be easy to snatch.”
“Dad, no one wants to snatch me.”
Dad fell quiet.
“Dad, I know you’re protective but I’m a grown man that can look after myself. Shit, I’m on my honeymoon. I don’t need protection.”
“Ro, I’m the third richest man in the world. And when you have something everyone wants, you’re never safe. I understand your irritation. I would be upset too. But I have to do what’s best for both of you. When you got married I got another son.”
When he said things like that it was hard for me to stay angry. “It’s still unnecessary.”
“He didn’t interrupt you or eavesdrop. He just watched you. That’s all.”
“How would you feel if I had someone tail you and Mom?”
“I wouldn’t care because I already pay people to do that. You think your mother is really just home alone all day? Or do you think I always have eyes on her?”
“That’s not creepy…”
“I protect my own, Roland.” He turned serious, even aggravated. “I apologize for breaching your privacy, but I honestly don’t have a clue what you’ve been doing this entire time. He doesn’t send me pictures or update me on anything. I’m completely in the dark.”
That made me feel a little better.
“I know you’re a grown man who’s capable of taking care of himself, but I will always look after you as long as I’m alive. Wherever you go, I’ll always be a step behind you. Whenever you turn around, I’ll always be there. Because you’re my son, Roland Andrew Preston.”
Chapter Five
Sean
“How mad was he?” Scarlet sat beside me on the couch with her knees pulled to her chest. She wore one of my t-shirts that were way too big for her, and it covered her like a blanket.
“Pretty mad.” I drank my scotch and felt the welcomed burn down my throat.
“He’ll understand we meant well.”
“I don’t blame him for being upset. On a certain level, our actions are unforgivable. But I still don’t regret it.”
“When he gets home I’ll explain it was my idea. You always take the heat for the bad stuff. Let me take some this time.”
“No.” I didn’t believe in the good cop, bad cop routine. “We stand together—like always.”
She moved my arm between her knees and wrapped her small hands around my bicep. “Did Ro mention the honeymoon?”
“No. The conversation wasn’t exactly friendly.”
“Hopefully, he’ll tell us all about it when he gets back.”
“Let’s give him space for a week. I doubt he wants to see me right now.” My kids had been angry with me a lot during their lives, but we always got through it as a family. They understood exactly why I was the way I was. Skye understood it better than Roland since she’d lived through something so terrible. After taking a stab for Roland, I thought my own son would understand it. Perhaps not.
