I run my hands through my hair and remember that I put it up before work, but it’s down now. I look at my nails and notice my hands are clean, too. Someone not only changed my clothes, they washed the warehouse dirt and dust off me. Flipping off the bathroom light, I walk out and go to the other mystery door on the far side of the room. When I open it, a long hallway is revealed, with not much light leading the way.
I pop my head out and as soon as I do, Bear shoots out and takes off running down the hallway.
“Bear!” I whisper-shout.
I chase him down the long hallway as he darts around a corner and down a flight of stairs. I follow him in a panic trying to catch him, but he’s too quick. Just when I’m almost close enough, and I’m about to scoop him up, he darts to a crack between two massive doors and slips inside. I make a grab for him but he’s already through. The movement causes one of the doors to slowly open.
“Bear, get back here,” I whisper again, not wanting to wake anyone who might be asleep.
I’ve never seen his ass move so fast before, and of course he’s doing it right now.
I push the door open a little more and step inside. There’s a light on, and I spot him right away. He’s on a large wooden desk, lying on top of it like he’s been doing it for years; as if he owns the damn thing.
Thunder cracks loudly again, and the lights in the room flicker before going out. My hand flies over my mouth and I try to stop myself from screaming as my eyes move to the only other source of light in the room. There’s a fire lit in the fireplace, and I freeze when I notice someone standing in front of it.
A man is standing there with one hand braced on the mantle. His back is to me, and his size is intimidating. Not to mention he isn’t wearing a shirt. He’s only wearing a pair of slacks that hang low on his hips. I can even make out the place just above his ass, and suddenly my lips are dry. I lick them as my eyes roam over his broad back, thinking about how every thick inch of him is muscled.
When I realize I’m starting to drool, my cheeks heat. I can’t believe I’m stunned into shock by the way he looks. I should have my mind on other more important things at the moment. Like where the hell am I, and how did I get here. I look down at the shirt I’m wearing and wonder if it’s his shirt. I also wonder who owns all the clothes upstairs and where she is. That sure looked like a master bedroom to me, and I don’t want to get caught checking out her man.
“Cricket,” he says.
His deep, strong voice fills the silent room and it sends a warm chill down my back. I know he’s called me by that name before because it sounds familiar.
He pushes off the mantle, and the muscles in his back flex. Jesus, is this guy an advertisement for Bowflex? I didn’t think he could look any bigger, but from the front he’s like Thor.
When his eyes land on me, I feel completely naked. My palms sweat, and I try not to stammer as I see this big, muscled, hammer-wielding god before me.
“Where am I?” I ask, proud of myself that I was able to string a couple of words together.
Thunder strikes again, only it’s louder this time. I don’t have time to cover my mouth as it makes me jump and I let out a little scream.
He moves to me, faster than one would expect with how big he is. And before I can comprehend what he’s doing, he’s wrapping me in his arms to comfort me. That deep, rich smell fills my lungs again, and I know for sure now this shirt is his. So is the bed I woke up in.
I look up into his bright green eyes, and everything comes back to me.
“You’re home,” he says, as he places a kiss on my forehead.
Chapter 8
Fritz
“Where is she?” Lilith snaps, and I can see the anger and frustration in her eyes. I’ve let her down. Just like I let my parents down. The thought sets me on edge.
“I don’t know. She couldn’t have gone far. I went by her apartment this morning, but she wasn’t there.” I check my phone again, but she still hasn’t read my texts from last night. I try to reassure Lilith. I don’t want her to think I’ve fucked up completely.
“How could you be so fucking stupid? I told you to make sure she was gone for the day before you came in my office.” Lilith places her hands on her narrow waist.
“I know. I’m sorry,” I say, reaching out to touch her hand. She jerks hers back like she can’t stand the thought of me. “What’s the big deal? She’s gone. Let her go. It was time to end things anyway.”
Lilith turns around and gives me a death stare, and I take a step back from her, realizing she is even more mad than I thought. I don’t understand how she didn’t get upset that I had to pretend to be with Blair. You’d think she would have been jealous and that she’d now be glad Blair is gone from our lives. We can come up with a new plan.
“You have put this entire operation in jeopardy,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest. “It took years for you to find her then get her to work here. We don’t have the time to find someone new. Do you know how difficult it was to find someone so isolated and easy to manipulate? She was the perfect person for this job and you had to go and fuck it up!”
She shouts the last part at me and suddenly I’m afraid that I may have screwed things up beyond repair. I try to think fast so I can fix this.
“I’ll make it right. I promise. I’ll come up with something.”
Lilith rolls her eyes and lets out a long breath. “Jesus, how could I get involved with an idiot like you?” she asks, but I don’t answer. I can fix this, show her I can handle things.
“You’re not going to kick me out of your guest house, are you?” I ask, wondering where the hell I would go. My family disowned me years ago, and I’m flat broke until more money starts coming in from the stolen art.
“This was going to make both of us a fortune. I don’t have time to find someone else to take the fall for this. It was years of grooming and coordination. One slip with a lousy lay and now all of it is on the line.” She turns to look at me, and there is fire in her eyes. “You get her back here and make this right. You do whatever it fucking takes for her to agree to come back to work. And I don’t care if that means you marrying her or never seeing her again. If you cost me all that I’ve built, I’ll make sure this all falls on your shoulders. Get it done, Fritz.”
She spits out my name like it’s dirt in her mouth.
“It’s late. Why don’t we go home and I can run you a nice bath?” I offer, but the set of her jaw leaves no room for debate. “You can count on me,” I finally say, trying to do what I can to smooth things over until I can fix this.
She turns and give me her back as she waves her hand and dismisses me. I leave the gallery and check my phone again, seeing nothing new from Blair. Rage bubbles inside me just below the surface as I think of where the fuck she could have ran off to.
I purposely made it so that she didn’t have any friends, had a shitty roommate, and nowhere else to turn except to me. I never wanted anything to do with that mousy nobody, but Lilith said we needed someone to pin it on. Blair was the perfect candidate and barely took any effort. She was so desperate for attention from anyone that she’s lucky all I wanted from her was this job. A lesser man probably would have fucked that cherry out of her a long time ago, but I was never interested in that. I didn’t want her trailer trash hands on me. I’m a goddamn blue blood. I won’t let some Louisiana redneck destroy my good name, and I’ll make sure she goes along with the plan. Even if I have to spell out for her exactly what I’m capable of.
“Fucking bitch,” I say to myself as I make my way back to her apartment.
Chapter 9
Ryker
“Would you like some tea?” I ask, rubbing her back up and down, breathing in her scent. I still can’t believe she’s here. In my arms. In my shirt.
“I-I don’t know,” she says, looking up at me with confusion in her eyes. “I’ve got a lot of questions.” She bites her lip, drawing my eyes there and making me want to kiss her.
&n
bsp; “I know,” I say, brushing a strand of dark hair away from her eyes. “Let’s get you warmed up and then you can ask all the questions you want.”
She nods, letting go of her lip. Her little pink tongue peeks out between her lips, soothing the place she bit and I have to fight back a groan. I take her small hand in mine, and for a second I look down to see the size difference. She’s so small compared to me. I’ll have to be careful with her.
Pushing those thoughts away, I lead her out of the study to the east wing of the house. The walls are lined with wood, and the floors are a mix of wood and stone. I check to make sure she’s still got on the socks I put on her earlier. This house can get cold at night, even in the heat of the summer.
I can practically hear the gears turning in her mind and I know she’s desperate to ask questions.
“Where are we?” she asks, and I smile.
“We’re in Perscia,” I say and look down at her. When her eyebrows pull together in confusion, I squeeze her hand. “It’s a peach grove south of Charleston. I bought it a few years back and now I call it home. It’s about a thousand acres of trees, but mostly I use it to ride horses when I need to get some fresh air.”
“That sounds big.”
“It is.” You couldn't leave this place on foot and make it out before night fall. I keep that thought to myself. We turn a corner and keep walking until we reach the back of the house. “The house here is about as big as I can stand it, and I don’t know if I’ve even been in every room.”
When I push open the door of the kitchen, Lily, my chef, stands up from the table. She’s in her robe, and her long white hair is in a braid over one shoulder. She’s having what looks to be milk and cookies.
“What can I get for you, Mr. Hunt?” she says, smiling sweetly at me and then Blair. “And you, Ms. Rosewood?”