The DECEIT Collection: A Romantic Suspense full of lies, deception, passion, and DECEIT... (The DECEIT Series)

by Emma Shae

  Emry had faked his illness and then faked his death, but that was only part of the craziness. He had managed to lose his entire inheritance, which Sasha knew would have been enough money to last an average person an entire lifetime. Now, Emry was back trying to squeeze more money out of Vanessa, which was just plain crazy.

  Sasha did not know Emry that well, but she couldn’t justify his insane behavior, even if he were Damon’s brother. Damon was right about Emry. He must be losing his mind.

  Damon walked back into the bathroom at that exact moment and caught Sasha daydreaming. It was a good thing that he arrived when he did because the whirlpool was full to the brim, with lots of delicate bubbles trying to escape over the top.

  “I think the tub is full, sweetheart.”

  Hearing Damon’s voice, Sasha snapped back to the present. “Oh, my goodness, you’re right. I’ve almost allowed it to overflow.”

  “Just let a little of the water out so you can make room for both of us. Vita will be up any minute. Why don’t you go ahead and climb in, and I’ll help her with Trenton’s bassinet when she gets here?”

  Sasha smiled, and her facetious little dimple in her chin became prominent. That gave Damon a reason to smile back. “I’ll join you just as soon as Vita gets here, so keep my spot warm for me.”

  Sasha giggled as she began to slowly, demonstratively undress.”

  Damon could hardly wait to join her, the bath looked inviting, but Sasha was even more inviting. She was still wearing the long green evening dress from the night before. Through all of the confusion, she hadn’t taken time to redress. Sasha slowly slinked out of her long green gown, teasing Damon with her veritable strip-tease act. She wore nothing underneath the beautiful gown, which caused Damon to raise his eyebrows.

  “I didn’t know that there was nothing underneath that dress this morning, or that would have made it even more difficult for me to keep my hands off. I fought hard enough as it was.”

  Sasha’s smile widened, and then she eased into the bath, looking up a Damon a couple of times, teasing him, before finally settling into the warm folds of the water.

  Damon let out a long sigh, and then after clearing his throat a couple of times, he said, “Vita is here, so I have to go in the other room-but don’t go away.”

  Sasha continued to smile, saying, “Oh, you don’t have to worry, I’ll be right here, darling, just waiting for you to join me.”

  Then Sasha blew bubbles at Damon as she watched him disappear through the door.

  Vita arrived to take Trenton, so while she carried the baby, Damon carried the bassinet. They eased the baby downstairs into Vita’s room. Trenton stretched and yawned, but he never woke up. With the baby now safely in Vita’s care, Damon quickly rejoined Sasha.

  When Damon returned to Sasha, she had her eyes closed and was languishing in the fluffy bubbles with just her eyes and nose peeking out from the top.

  When Damon started to take his clothes off, Sasha opened her eyes. She enjoyed looking at his long, lean muscular physique. His skin was naturally dark and silky smooth to the touch. Sasha enjoyed touching him. As she watched Damon remove his clothes, her senses heightened. Seeing him in the flesh again reminded Sasha of the dreams that she had about that olive-colored mass of muscle.

  In her dreams, though, Sasha had not been able to touch that hard masculinity, but now she could, and Sasha could hardly wait for him to climb into the tub with her.

  Just thinking about holding Damon close to her and feeling his rock hardness against her, excited her even more.

  “Take your time, handsome. It’s nice watching you for a change.” Sasha, sheepishly said, causing Damon to halt mid-stream, unzipping his pants.

  “Oh, you want a striptease act, I get it. It is your turn now to stuff twenties into my waist.”

  “Nope-I don’t plan on you having on anything to stuff bills inside. Ease those pants off and go slow. I may not be paying for this show, but I want to enjoy every second of it.”

  Damon laughed softly and smiled as he slowed his pace of disrobing. He put on a slow show of removing his remaining articles of clothing. Much to Sasha’s delight, Damon eased off his pants and followed them with his shirt. By the time he was completely naked, he was rock hard. All of Sasha’s teasing had excited him.

  Sasha watched as Damon slowly inched toward the tub, and her eyes widened when he reached around her and turned on the jets to the whirlpool.

  Sasha immediately felt the pulsing sensation on her back from the water jetting out. She listened as the steady humming sound of the motor softly droned on.

  At that point, Damon was devoid of clothing, giving Sasha time to admire him. Taking in Damon’s physique was something that Sasha had not been able to enjoy thoroughly, until now, so she took it all in.

  Watching his muscles enlarge and flex as he eased into the tub in front of her and seeing those luscious lips as they slowly came toward her direction was just more than she could take.

  Sasha reached out then and wound her arms around Damon’s neck as he positioned himself directly in front of her. Sasha could feel his hardness pressed against her, and with her breast pressed against his chest Damon’s lips met hers. The kiss was long and lingering as their tongues slowly explored one another. They savored each other for several minutes, enjoying a slow and relaxed pace of lovemaking.

  Sasha had her legs wrapped around Damon, and as their kissing and touching became more intense, she tightened her grip around him, encouraging him to take her. Damon felt the motion and understood the signals that Sasha was sending him. He knew that she was ready.

  When Damon eased his manhood inside of Sasha, she inhaled softly. Feeling Damon inside of her was invigorating. Sasha felt awash with pleasure. Damon’s warm breath on her neck as it passed across her skin was tantalizing. Damon softly whispered in Sasha’s ear, “God, you’re hot, and you feel so good.”

  When Damon started to move inside of her, Sasha was captivated. The humming sound of the whirlpool and the motion of the water lapping against her body only added intensity to her arousal. Damon could hear Sasha’s breathing intensify and feel her heightened senses as she was about to reach her moment of ecstasy. Just as Sasha reached her highest point, Damon reached his as well, and they peaked together in a flood of passion.

  As they both began to breathe more evenly, Damon eased back from Sasha, and when their eyes locked, they both smiled.

  Damon said, “I told you that a whirlpool would relax you. I do not think that I’ve ever been more relaxed than I am right now. How about you?”

  Sasha let out a little giggle, “I think that if I were more relaxed than this, I would probably be asleep.”

  “I have to agree on that count,” Damon said as he slowly eased out of the tub.

  Even sated, Sasha could not help but admire Damon’s lean lines. His back was glistening with water droplets from the bath they had just shared. His butt was so fine Sasha could not help but stare at it. He put his head down began to shake his hair, which hung just below his ears, and when he raised his head, that errant little curl of his fell in front of his eye.

  Damon let out an exasperated sound and pushed it back out of his line of sight. That was when he caught Sasha starring at him.

  Damon was all sinew and muscle, all man, and all Sasha could do was shake her head. Just looking at him was such a turn on to her. It was hard for her to take her eyes off of him.

  At that moment, Damon smiled and held up a big white fluffy towel, saying, “Step out, and I’ll dry you off.”

  Not a request that Sasha was about to pass up. Sasha stood up and stepped out of the tub, and then it was Damon’s turn to observe the shapely body before him.

  As he dried Sasha off, he could not help admiring her. Sasha was a beautiful woman. Her skin was soft and silky, and her breasts were perky and a lovely shade of pink, just begging to be touched.

  Her long blonde hair that always smelled of lilac was piled high on her head with only a
few wet tendrils draping her face.

  As Damon dried her legs, he could not help but admire their shapely curves. Her waist was perfect, defying the fact that she had just had a baby.

  Damon’s admiration for this woman was not just her beauty, though. Sasha was forgiving and loyal, but most of all, she made Damon whole again. She gave him back his life when he had all but given up on living. Sasha was a part of him now, and that part was alive and ready to love.

  CHAPTER 7

  WHAT’S NEXT

  After Damon finished drying Sasha off, they both dressed and just as they were about to go downstairs to get Trenton. Maida, the house cook, burst into their room.

  Maida was wide-eyed, and in an apparent state of panic when she sputtered out the words, “Mr. Damon, Ms. Sasha, you must come quickly. Vita has been murdered, and I cannot find Mrs. Lockheed anywhere. I do not know what happened, but there is blood everywhere.

  It did not take more than a couple of seconds for both Damon and Sasha to jump into action. As all three of them flew down the stairs, Damon asked, “Maida, did you see Trenton? Did you call 911?”

  “Yes sir, I gave them the address, and they said they were on their way, but I didn’t see Trenton. I did not know that Vita had him with her. What else can I do? I do not know where Mrs. Lockheed is either. I searched for her first, and when I couldn’t find her, I came to find you.”

  Sasha quickly asked, “Where is Trenton? Is he alright?”

  Maida looked at Sasha curiously and said, “I didn’t know that Vita had baby Trenton. I did not see him in her room. We must look for him now.

  Sasha’s voice was trembling when she said, “Vita was watching him for us for a little while. He is supposed to be in her bedroom.”

  Maida hesitated to answer because she could tell that Sasha was not in any condition to handle more bad news, but she knew that Damon and Sasha needed to know, “Ms. Sasha, I did not see baby Trenton in Vita’s room. She was the only one in there.”

  Sasha lost it then, “Oh, my God, where is my baby?”

  They had just reached the bottom of the stairs at that point, and Sasha literally flew into Vita’s room. The sight before her was devastating. Vita was lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood. Her throat was cut from ear to ear. Sasha stared down at Vita for several seconds, speechless, and eyes wide, until Damon turned to Maida and said, “Get Sasha out of here.”

  Maida grabbed Sasha by the shoulders and guided her into the living room, where she gently sat her down on the sofa. Then Maida went to get Sasha a drink of water. Sasha had never seen so much blood. She was in a state of shock.

  In the meantime, Damon called 911 himself and then stepped out on the front porch to find the guards. No one was on guard in front of the house, and when he paged down to the guardhouse at the front gate, no one answered his call. Damon called David, the police chief again, to get some assistance with the duel problem that was going on at the estate.

  Damon wanted to go out and search for his son, but David convinced him to stay put. “With your guards missing, you need to protect your wife and let us handle the search. I will notify my men to move in and do a thorough search of the grounds. In the meantime, search the house and make sure that your household is safe.”

  David told Damon that with the guards missing, he feared the perpetrators could still be on the premises.

  Damon was just getting off the phone with David when the ambulance arrived.

  Within only minutes after the emergency personnel arrived, the police were on the scene, and David pulled up shortly afterward. David took control of the situation, having his men surround the estate and start searching for the baby.

  Damon had just directed the emergency team in the direction of the body when David found him. Damon was a wreck at that point.

  Damon told David, “I don’t know exactly what happened here, David, but someone murdered our maid, Vita, inside our home. My son is missing, and no one seems to know where my grandmother is. Vita was babysitting my son, and now she is dead, and Trenton is missing. Someone slit her throat. Please, tell me that my brother is still in jail.”

  “Mr. Lockheed, I assure you that Emry is in custody. I checked his cell myself before coming over here, so whoever murdered your maid, abducted your son, and possibly your grandmother as well, is not Emry. He couldn’t have done this, Damon.”

  “I don’t know what’s going on around here, but my son is missing, and he’s just a baby.”

  Vanessa had already informed David bout the letter that Burton had received and the events that happened later. David reaffirmed with Damon, “We have Emry in custody for threatening to kidnap your son. He is also accused of allegedly killing his husband, James Bonet as well. Our forensics team is currently verifying the bullets from the crime scene, and running the fingerprints found on the gun through our database as we speak. The coroner is working to pinpoint the time of death for Mr. Bonet, so as long as our evidence is in process, we will be able to hold Emry in jail.

  Damon was confused, who could have done this, if not Emry, and where was Vanessa. He had duel concerns with both his son and his grandmother missing. What was going on?

  Damon was becoming frantic, he turned to David and said, “I’ve tried calling my grandmother, and she isn’t answering her cell. That is totally unlike her. That phone is always with her, it never leaves her side, and she always answers when I call.”

  “I understand Mr. Lockheed, and you have a right to be concerned. I have my men out searching the grounds right now, and I have put a trace on your grandmother’s phone. Every available man is on the lookout for your son. I must ask, though, is there a possibility that Emry might have hired someone else to kidnap your son, rather than doing it himself. The reason why I ask is that it looks to me like he might have been using himself as bait to lure all of us into a state of complacency. He threw us all off guard by giving himself up so easily this afternoon at the front gate. I pulled my men back after we caught him, thinking the threat was over, but is it possible that he was one step ahead of us?”

  “David, I honestly don’t know,” Damon said as he ran his hands through his hair. Damon was distraught, but he had to try to figure out what was going through Emry’s mind. “I don’t think I know my brother anymore. Emry has changed from the person I thought I knew. First, he faked his death, and then he left us to marry a man on an island far away. I think that he might be capable of anything at this point.”

  David’s cellphone rang at that moment, and as soon as he hung up, he said, “Well, Damon, I’m sorry to tell you more bad news, but my men found two of your guards. Both of them were dead, with their throats slit, like your maid. We located your other two guards alive, but both are in pretty bad shape. They were both stabbed several times. The ambulance crew has rushed both of them to the emergency room, so they might both have a chance at survival. I do not know their current condition, but I’ll check on them later to see if they can give me any more information. I’ll keep you informed as to what I find out.”

  “Yes, please let me know what you find out. Our guards are all friends of our family, and they have been on our staff for a very long time. I am thinking that you may have hit upon something with your idea about Emry setting us up. He could have easily hired someone to do the job, but if Emry hired someone to kidnap Trenton, why not have them kill his husband as well. His hands would be clean then, and that sounds a little more like Emry to me. As I said, though, he has changed so much lately.”

  “Well, we investigated Emry pretty thoroughly and found that he is in deep debt to some pretty rough people, and they’re the type that doesn’t take lightly to being put off. They might have decided that they did not want to wait any longer for Emry to get them their money. We are checking into that. There is also the possibility that you might be getting a ransom request from them very soon. I would like to have some surveillance equipment installed in your home to help further safeguard your family and hopefully help u
s catch the people that killed your guards and possibly kidnapped your son and grandmother as well.”

  “Anything you need to do, David, I just want my son back. We have to find my grandmother soon too because she is getting on up in age, and I don’t know if she can hold up to being handled by a pack of thugs.”

  “Well, we have every available officer on the lookout, so hopefully we’ll be hearing back shortly. I will arrange for the equipment to be set up. I also have to ask that you stay inside your home, in case you do get a ransom call. I know it’s hard for you, not going out and searching for your son on your own, but trust me, it’s better if you stay put and allow the professionals to do their job.”

  “You’re right, of course, David. I will do as you say. I just do not know how I am going to explain all of this to Trenton’s mother. Sasha just had our baby, and she is not dealing with being separated from him very well. I cannot think about losing him, that would devastate her and me too. I don’t know if I could handle losing another child.”

  “Have faith, Damon. We will not give up until we find your son. With all of the modern technology available to us today, it isn’t easy for people to hide from us. We will find the people that did this and get your son and your grandmother back. Tell Trenton’s mother to hold onto that fact and know that we are doing everything in our power to make that happen.”

  “I sure hope so, David. Sasha and Trenton are a part of me. If I lose either one of them, I have lost everything. They are my life.

  CHAPTER 8

  LOSS

  Damon was contemplating what he was going to say to Sasha when he was face to face with her. Maida was still with her when Damon walked into the living room. Maida looked up at Damon as he entered and simply shook her head, then she whispered, “She hasn’t said a single word, Mr. Damon. I didn’t know what to do for her.”

  “It’s alright, Maida. I will stay with her now. You can go, and please shut the door on your way out.”