Heated Secrets (Rose Garden Apartments Book 1)

by Elizabeth Lennox

  But she had to be strong. Drako was strong. He was strong and powerful. She loved him so much, but she also knew that he wasn’t looking for love. He’d had love when he’d married his first wife. Sophia had been gorgeous, loving, and everything that Drako had needed in a wife.

  Lilly could only bring him to his downfall. Lilly firmly believed that Janice was that powerful. And her mother wouldn’t hesitate either, she knew. She’d destroy Drako if Lilly defied her mother in any way.

  Chapter 20

  He couldn’t find her! Drako pushed through the door of her apartment, but Lilly wasn’t there!

  “Where is she?!” he demanded.

  “I don’t know, Drako,” Maggie replied, wringing her hands.

  Jimmy hurried up the stairs, out of breath but standing upright, shoulders back. “The bitch has her,” he announced. “Mick and I followed her in his truck. She’s at her mother’s place. The woman hasn’t allowed poor Lilly out of her sight unless accompanied by a woman by the name of Ruth Hassland.”

  Drako’s eyes narrowed, panic nearly flooding him. He had to find Lilly! He had to save her! “Is Lilly at her parents’ house now?”

  Jimmy shook his head. “No. Mick is watching her while I came back here.” He reached into his pocket and fished out a paper. “Here’s the address where she is right now. But I don’t know how much longer she’ll be there.” There was a pause before Jimmy added with an ominous tone, “It’s a wedding dress shop. She’s being fitted for her wedding dress.”

  Drako looked up from the paper to stare at the other man, utterly horrified. “Wedding dress?” he echoed, his chest constricting with the news. “Who is she marrying?”

  Jimmy shook his head, his hands fisting at his sides. “I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure that out. But from what I’ve heard, it’s going to happen in about five weeks.”

  Drako didn’t bother to reply. He was already halfway back down the stairs. He had to get to that address. He didn’t recognize the name, but he knew the street.

  Speeding through the streets, he swerved between cars and ran several red lights. When he got to the store, fate must have been watching over him because there was a parking space right out front.

  Drako burst into the dress shop, ignoring the gasps of the women standing around. “Where is she?” he demanded.

  Looking around, he spotted one woman who looked pretty tough, and four others who were clearly store employees.

  “I’m sorry sir, but you can’t be here,” one of the employees began, reaching for his arm.

  “Where’s Lilly?” he snapped, getting into the tough woman’s face. It had been three days since he’d seen Lilly and he wasn’t stopping until he had her back in his arms where she belonged.

  “Drako?” a soft, feminine voice called out.

  “Lilly?” he yelled, looking around for her.

  A moment later, Lilly stepped out of one of the dressing rooms in a voluminous, white dress that looked…well, it overwhelmed her. Lilly was petite and curvy. This dress was made for someone tall and slender, with no curves. It looked horrible on her!

  “What are you doing here?” she gasped, inching forward while holding her skirt up with both hands so she didn’t trip. “You can’t be here! It’s too dangerous. If my mother finds out…” she trailed off meaningfully. She shook her head, looking around to make sure that they hadn’t been caught.

  Drako laughed. “Lilly, you are not marrying some stranger!” he told her firmly. Grabbing her gently by the upper arms, he held her still and locked eyes with her. “And you’re never going to lose faith with me again, love. You’re going to believe in me!”

  “I do!” she whispered, leaning into his touch. He saw the tears form in her eyes, and one slipped down her cheek. “I do believe in you!”

  “So much that you’re going to marry someone else, just to protect me from your parents?”

  Lilly gasped, then pulled herself together and nodded. “You don’t understand! My parents are so powerful! My mother says that she’ll destroy your business. She’ll ruin everything you’ve built if I don’t marry him.”

  He laughed and hugged her, amazed all over again at how perfectly she fit in his arms. “Lilly, you have no idea how powerful I am,” he said, laughing and shaking his head. “Right now, your father is under investigation for election fraud, and probably several more criminal charges.”

  Lilly pulled back, staring up at him. “I’m sorry, what did you just say?”

  He laughed and pulled her closer, but with enough space so that he could look her in the eyes. “Lilly, your mother did go after me. She threatened you and tried to get my competitors to come after me.” He rubbed her back, soothing her. “She sent me barely veiled threats that my shipping contracts would be pulled, ensuring that I couldn’t get my products to markets.” He kissed her forehead. “So, I had to explain that I owned the shipping company.”

  Lilly laughed, stunned by his brilliance. “But what’s this about my father being investigated?”

  Drako frowned at the dress, shaking his head. “First of all, this dress is not meant for you. It has to come off immediately.”

  Lilly was more than willing to do just that. “Wait! Does this mean that my mother’s threat is gone?”

  He leaned in and kissed her gently. “No one threatens me, Lilly,” he told her softly. “If they dare, I retaliate. And I don’t bother with threats.”

  Her grin was slow in coming. But when this information worked its way through her muddled thoughts, her smile grew until she was practically dancing with delight. “So, when Mother threatened you, what did you do?”

  The dancing and smiles were a good start, but Drako needed to hold her. He pulled her into his arms, finally feeling confident that his Lilly was unhurt. “I provided evidence to the FBI and the Federal Election Commission about certain…issues that your father swept under the rug. I bet the FBI is going through your father’s office, right now.”

  “You didn’t!” she gasped, snuggling closer.

  Drako reached around behind her, lowering the zipper on the miserable dress. “I did. I don’t take threats lightly, Lilly. If anyone threatens you,” he paused and looked into her eyes, “or my family, I will destroy them!”

  Lilly felt the fabric loosen around her shoulders. A moment later, she stood in front of him in nothing more than a bustier and panties. “Well, I think that I should grab my clothes and…” She let out a small squeak when Drako shook his head and simply lifted her into his arms.

  “Leave them here,” he told her, carrying her out of the store.

  “Sir! Her purse!” one of the employees called out, rushing towards them with Lilly’s purse. “If you wait a moment, I’ll get her clothes!”

  Lilly grabbed the purse. Drako kept walking. “Nope. I’m not waiting any longer,” and he carried her out, tucking her carefully into the passenger seat of his car. With that, he hurried around to the driver’s side, ignoring the gaping women peering at them through the windows.

  “Sorry about that,” he told her, as he took off his suit jacket and handed it to her.

  Lilly couldn’t stop beaming as she slipped into his jacket. “I don’t mind,” she told him, putting her seatbelt on. She turned and looked at the hated store. Ruth was standing out front, muttering into her phone, obviously telling her mother what had just happened.

  “Are you sure that you’re safe?” she asked.

  Drako chuckled as he pulled into traffic. “Your mother is no threat to me. And you should have known that. You should have had more faith in me.”

  Lilly turned to look at him. “But…our agreement. We agreed that there would be no emotions….” She stared at his jaw clenching and her happiness increased. “You love me!” she whispered with awe in her voice.

  “I’ve loved you for so damned long, it was driving me mad. I even felt guilty after that first morning, when I thought that all you had wanted was solace from your evil mother.” He stopped at a red lig
ht, looking at her. “I don’t though. Feel guilty now, I mean. I was thrilled when you came to me, and it felt even better when you kissed me back.”

  She turned, facing him as much as she could in the bucket seat and seat belt restraining her. “And my mother really isn’t a threat?”

  He chuckled. “It’s going to take you a while to believe that, isn’t it?”

  Lilly thought about that for a long time. “Yeah. It probably is. But…” she looked at him and he took his hand in hers. “I love you,” she finally admitted. “I’ve loved you since…well, since the moment that I stepped into your office to interview for my job.”

  He laughed, tightening his fingers around hers. “I think I’ve loved you since that moment too.” He looked back at her. “Think we could be a bit more honest with each other going forward?”

  She giggled and leaned her head against his shoulder. “Yeah. I think we could do that.”

  A long time later, curled up in Drako’s arms, naked this time, since she hadn’t gone to her apartment to get her clothes, she watched as he turned on the television. “This should help you believe in me,” he said.

  The television news reporter was serious as she looked into the camera. “Senator Von Deuch and his wife were briefly questioned at the FBI headquarters this morning about issues concerning finances of his last campaign. But during the course of the investigation, several new charges have been filed, including blackmail and extortion charges.” There was a picture of Lilly’s parents in front of the FBI building, diving into the backseat of a limousine, probably arranged by her father’s lawyers. “The senator and his wife, through their lawyer, claim to be innocent of all charges. But the FBI hinted that there may be additional charges filed once all of the evidence has been reviewed by prosecutors.”

  “Wow!” she whispered, snuggling up closer to him and kissing the arm that was still wrapped around her, since it was closest.

  “Now, do you believe me?” he asked, kissing her bare shoulder in return.

  She looked at him, her eyes serious. “It’s going to take me a while. I’ve been manipulated and controlled, criticized and belittled by my parents and my siblings for so long.” She sighed, leaning her head against his wonderfully broad, muscular shoulder. “It’s going to take a while, Drako.”

  “Will this help?” he asked, pulling a black box from under the rumpled sheets. When he lifted the lid, the diamond sparkled in the dim light. “I love you, Lilly. Will you marry me?”

  Lilly gasped, her hand flying up to her mouth. “But I thought…” she blinked back the tears. “Are you sure? I mean, I know I said I didn’t want to get married. But that was because I didn’t want to marry someone political! And you said that you didn’t want to marry anyone either. Because of your wife. And you said…oomph!”

  Suddenly, she was flat on her back with Drako’s hips pressing her legs apart as he loomed over her. “Forget everything I said in the past, Lilly.” He kissed her lingeringly. “Listen to what I’m saying now. I want you as my wife. I want to be your husband. I want to protect you and love you and have children with you. I want to grow old with you and make you laugh. I want to drive you crazy and have you tell me I’m being an arrogant jerk.” He kissed her again and Lilly wrapped her arms around his neck. “I want to love you until neither of us can breathe any longer.” Another kiss. “Will you marry me?”

  She beamed, her fingers diving into his hair as she stared up into his dark, wonderful eyes. “I would love to marry you, Drako Gataki!” she whispered.

  Epilogue

  “Good morning, Jimmy,” Lilly smiled as the man opened the door for her. “You look exceptionally handsome today.”

  Jimmy chuckled, winking cheekily at her. “Thank you, Lilly. Drako is upstairs, waiting for you.”

  Lilly laughed as she pushed the stroller through the front door of their house. Jimmy was a wonderful bodyguard and nanny. She was surprised at how much he adored kids and her four little hellions seemed to soothe the man’s soul, healing the deep wounds there. Marcus was the oldest, quickly followed by Anthony, Christoph, and finally Tabella, their only girl.

  “Is he in a good mood?” she asked.

  Jimmy scooped Tabella into his arms when she started bashing her older brother with a foam baseball bat.

  “He said something about something. I didn’t pay much attention.”

  Lilly leaned over and kissed her daughter who smiled back at her. She kissed Jimmy’s cheek as well. “I got you more of that blackberry ice cream,” she whispered conspiratorially.

  “Eh,” he blushed. “Don’t tell the brats,” he said, giving Tabella a little squeeze, as she giggled. “They sneak down here at night to steal it from me.”

  Lilly knew that to be true. “Well, I’ll put it in your fridge, so they can’t get to it, okay?” she said, referring to the small house in the back where Jimmy lived. He spent most of his time here at the main house, watching the four kids. But at night, he retreated to his own space, still working on his recovery.

  After dropping the groceries off in the kitchen and saying hello to Jessy, the housekeeper who was busy making dinner and just needed a final ingredient to finish things off, she headed up the stairs to find Drako on the phone. He was pacing, which was never a good sign. But he winked at her as she walked into the bedroom, and tossed her bags onto their bed.

  Lilly was quiet as he finished his conversation, walking into her closet and tossing her shoes into the corner, then pulling on a pair of leggings and a big, comfy sweatshirt, so that she could be comfortable during dinner.

  “What’s going on?” she asked when she emerged. Drako was off the phone and removing his tie.

  “Nothing much,” he said, pulling her into his arms for a kiss. “I heard from your parents today. They asked if they could see the kids for Thanksgiving this year.”

  Lilly snorted. “No way.”

  “I agree. From what you’ve told me about Thanksgivings at your family’s house, I don’t want our kids subjected to that.”

  Lilly went up on her toes to kiss him. “And I don’t want any kind of relationship with them. Not after everything they’ve tried to do to us over the years.”

  He shrugged. “Every time they try to take me down, I win. So, I don’t care.”

  She sighed and pressed her cheek against his chest. “Yeah, but they’re like mosquitos, always buzzing around. Why don’t you just crush them?”

  He hugged her and kissed the top of her head. “Because they are your parents. And no matter how much they hurt you, I think you still care about them deep down.”

  She considered for a long moment, and nodded. “Yeah. I guess you’re right. But still, I wish that they would stop trying to hurt you. You’re a wonderful man, Drako.”

  “As long as you think so, that’s all that matters.” He kissed her again. “I love you.”

  She grinned and returned his kiss with interest. “I love you too! Thank you for being so wonderful!”

  A message from Elizabeth:

  I can’t tell you how thrilling it is to sit down and write a story – and then have actual readers enjoy it! It isn’t enough to just write the story. If you ladies don’t read it and enjoy it, then my world isn’t complete. Having people read my books is such a thrill! So thank you! From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!

  Last month, I asked if each of you could share my stories with a friend or on social media and…WOW! Oh my gosh, thank you! The images so many of you sent me of you sharing my book images and your recommendations on your social media pages was…well, humbling. Again, thank you! Please – keep it up! Several of your friends e-mailed me and a couple of their messages brought tears to my eyes! Thank you!

  Of course, I’m still asking for reviews on the retail sites. They are so painfully important. Here’s a QUICK LINK to the review page – and I thank you from the bottom of my heart! Reviews are the life-blood of any book’s success. Plus – I read all of the reviews and use your words to improve my s
tories. Believe me when I say that even the good reviews give me ways to improve my plots!

  (If you don’t want to leave feedback in a public forum, feel free to e-mail me directly at elizabeth@elizabethlennox.com. I answer all e-mails personally, although it sometimes takes me a while. Please don’t be offended if I don’t respond immediately. I tend to lose myself in writing stories and have a hard time pulling my head out of the book.)

  Thank you! Seriously – a big, huge hug for your help in making this book, and all of my stories, a success! I can’t do it without you!

  Elizabeth

  (Keep scrolling for a fun excerpt from next month’s “Whispered Secrets”!)

  Excerpt from “Whispered Secrets”

  Release Date: August 13, 2021

  Get Maggie’s story HERE!

  “Are you okay, Maggie?” he asked softly, his breath brushing tantalizingly over the sensitive shell of her ear.

  “I’m fine!” she squeaked.

  His chest pressed more firmly against her back, so close that she could easily feel his muscles flex as he grabbed the last pair of jeans.

  “Yes, you are,” he said, kissing the top of her head.

  When he was back in front of the fully loaded washer, she took a slow, deep, shaky breath, trying to bring herself back to “normal”.

  “Um…” she blinked, trying to remember the next step in the clothes-washing process. She glanced over at the washing machine filled with jeans and took another slow, deep breath.

  “Does that help?” he asked.

  Maggie inhaled sharply when she saw the intensity in his eyes. Good grief, he was feeling it too!

  “Detergent,” she whispered.

  Never in her life had washing dirty clothes been an erotic experience!