by Tory Baker
“That sounds good.” I plop down beside him, grabbing the blanket to cover my legs from the evening chill.
“Yeah.” His voice is husky, and I know exactly how we’ll be celebrating the first night in his house together.
We’re sitting outside enjoying our drinks when my phone rings in the kitchen. “I’ll be right back. The only one that could be calling is work,” I grouse.
I scurry into the kitchen, and sure enough, it’s none other than Mary. I swear if she asks me to come in on my day off, I may scream.
“Hello, Mary,” I answer.
“Good, you answered. I need you to come in tomorrow morning. I know it’s your day off, but there’s a meeting to close you out of the concierge position. This way, you can go back to housekeeping. HR is being a real nightmare about this.” She’s almost too nice. I’m used to her being gruff and demanding.
I think nothing of it and say, “Sure, is there a time you would like me there?”
“Can you be here before shift change, say ten-thirty?” she asks.
“I’ll be there. Have a good afternoon.”
“See you then.”
I’ve never been in this position, so I don’t know what to expect, but in the back of my mind, I’m worried they found out about my relationship with Easton. It’s not as if we’ve tried to hide it completely. Though, we didn’t make it deliberately obvious either.
“That was weird,” I tell Easton as I return to him.
“What was? Your phone call?”
“Yeah, that was Mary. She was nicer than her usual. Oh well, at least she’s not demanding I go in tonight to get back on rotation. I need to go to the hotel tomorrow, though.” My body sinks back down beside him, Easton’s arm going around my shoulder.
“I’ll take you, then we can get some groceries afterward,” he offers.
“Yuck, nothing says let’s be an adult like going grocery shopping.” Easton laughs, but I know he’s tired of ordering out and eating hotel food.
“I know, but I think we’re both ready for real food. Plus, you promised to make us your lasagna when we got settled. Now, I have a craving for it.” He wiggles his eyebrows, and I bust out in a fit of giggles. I got his double entendre with no problem, and that’s how we spend the rest of our night. Outside on the patio, wrapped in each other’s arms, and laughing.
Chapter Fifteen
Easton
I’m sitting in the truck, waiting for Cam to come out after her meeting. When she goes back to school and work Monday, I’ll be doing the same thing, minus school. It’s time I get my business up and running now that our house situation is settled. It’s going to be a few weeks of long hours, but it’ll all come together soon enough.
It’s not twenty minutes later that I see her storming out of the elevator and striding to my truck. She looks pissed, but not only that. She looks devastated. I hop out of my truck, moving quickly toward her. I hate the look she has on her face.
“What’s wrong?” My hand goes to the nape of her neck, my other grasping her hip. I stoop down to look into her eyes, hating how she’s hanging her head in defeat. My girl is not one to ever give up, even when life kicks her in the balls.
“I was fired. Can you believe that? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Apparently, the penthouse was trashed after you checked out, and they accused me of sleeping my way to being in the concierge position. Which, hey, I guess they aren’t wrong in that department, but to take my last check away for the penthouse issue? I wasn’t even there. I wasn’t even working that day.” Tears trail down her cheeks, and I wipe them away as fast as they appear.
“You and I both know that’s bullshit. The penthouse was fine when I checked out. You didn’t sleep your way to anything, either. I should spank your ass for even repeating it.” My voice is gruff; I’m trying to hold back my anger as much as possible. I do the one thing I know that will help her and hug her. Cam loves to be held, and right now, she needs it. “We’ll get to the bottom of this. I’ll be looking into it as soon as we get home,” I offer.
“It just sucks. I have some money saved, but I wanted to do my part and help with our house.” Her voice is muffled by my chest.
“You being there is making it a home. You already have your tuition covered for school. You can find something else if you want, but you don’t have to. Lean on me. I want to be there to help you. Take this time to focus on school, and if you still want a part-time job in a few weeks, I’ll need the help at my office.” It’s a suggestion I’m sure she’ll be reluctant to take.
“We’ll see. I’m ready to go home now, though.” She’s defeated, but I won’t let her give up. Especially if there’s something I can do to make it work.
We head home, my hand never leaving hers the whole way. The somberness in the truck leaves a gaping hole in my chest that doesn’t ease. Even when we make it home and out of the truck.
“I’m going to take a bath. Thank you, Easton. You always seem to be here for me when I need it the most.” She kisses me once we’re in the house.
“You do that. I’ll bring you a glass of wine as soon as I get off the phone.” We part ways, her heading up the stairs and me veering off to my home office. It’s situated right as you walk into the house, giving me the most boring view of the street.
I go inside my office, which is set up much as it will be in the office building I recently purchased. This one only has two monitors instead of the wall of screens I’ll have.
I boot up my system, and while it’s loading, I make a call to the man that seems to always be there in my time of need. It almost makes me regret leaving Nighthawk Security. Not quite, though. If I didn’t leave there, I wouldn’t have found Cam. She’s the one thing that’s been missing from my life for a long damn time now.
“Yo,” Slade answers in his typical fashion.
“Hey, you got a minute?” I ask. After Cameron’s run in today with her boss, it solidified the niggling suspicion I’ve had in the back of my mind since the phone call she received yesterday. Something isn’t adding up, so I’m making the call.
“I can make time. Does this have anything to do with Cam’s situation?” he asks, and I hear the rustling of papers in the background.
“Yep, I’m running a background check on Cam’s boss, Mary, as we speak. Seems like she has a hard-on for her. I may need you to work your magic on Mac, though. You must have more sway with him than I do.”
“Let me know what you find first. Then we’ll go from there. Have you checked the hotel cameras already?” he asks.
“Yeah, and it’s been a bust. I haven’t checked the cameras leading to the penthouse yet. Can you do that? Seems like someone thought it was a good idea to trash it after I left, and the blame was put on Cam,” I grumble into the phone.
“While you do the background check, I’ll get into their server.” We put each other on speakerphone. The click of our fingers meshes into the background noise. Running Mary Smith on three different background checks is taking a while.
“Could this woman have a more common name?” I grunt.
“You could be looking through this shit. It’s a logistical fucking nightmare. Remind me not to stay there when I come to visit,” he grunts.
What seems like hours later, but is actually only minutes, Slade says, “Bingo. Looks like her boss was the last one to enter and leave the penthouse suite.”
“Thank fucking God. Now I just need to see if we can place her at Cam’s house. I wonder if we could lift her prints somehow. Mac said all they had were inconclusive prints.”
“I’m not sure we’ll need that yet, but when you and Cam make a statement to Mac, you can tell him everything that’s happened. It may get him up and to the hotel, especially since they’re taking money from her. Most hotels would press charges, so none of this is adding up.”
My computer pinging in the background has us both quiet.
“Mother fucking shit, you will not believe this,” I grunt.
“What?
” Slade questions.
“I got a hit. You may want to put Mac in on this call. I can’t believe we didn’t connect the dots earlier. This woman slipped under so many radars. How has she not been caught yet?”
“What the fuck did you find? You know what, just email it to me. I’ll take care of it on my end, and if Mac needs you, he’ll stop by your house. Call me back if you need anything,” he rumbles. I can hear the anxiousness in his tone.
“Thanks, Slade. Sending the email now. We’ll be home all day.”
“Sounds good. Keep your phone handy. Mac, I’m sure, will be out there in a couple of hours.” He hangs up.
“Fuck,” I grumble. I’m about to have to hand Cam another devastating blow, right when she’s in the tub, naked, wet, and I’m sure there are bubbles all over her body. The only good thing about this news is, she’ll be clear of everything, and maybe Mary will find herself behind bars for the shit she’s pulled before this.
I grab a beer and pour a glass of wine for Cameron, then march up the stairs. I hear Cameron humming quietly, something she does when she’s lost in thought.
“Baby,” I grab her attention so I don’t scare her.
“Hey, is everything okay? I figured you’d be in here with me way before now.” I hand her the glass of wine, then strip out of my clothes. If I’m going to break this news to her, I’m going to do it fucking holding her.
“Nope, but it will be.” Cam sees me start to step in, and she leans forward as I sit down. Baths aren’t my thing, but when she asked me to soak in the tub while I was staying at the penthouse with her, I did.
“I’m not sure I can take more bad news,” she grumbles. I bring her back to my chest and settle my hands on her stomach. She places hers on top of mine, and I tell her what Slade and I found out.
“Slade was able to hack into the security cameras and figure out who trashed the hotel room.” Cam isn’t shocked in the least. She knows about my past and everything I do to protect myself, even when it included running a background check on her. She was pissed at first, but then realized why I did it. She even read through the lines when I said it was to protect myself; my woman is no dummy.
“Hmm,” she hums, so I keep going.
“Seems Mary Smith is also known as Mary Jenkins, also known as Mary Clark, also known as… You get the point. She has quite the rap sheet, much in the same way with what’s been happening to you. Slade is calling Sheriff Mac as we speak, so he may be over in the next hour to get your statement. I need you to think over everything that’s happened while you were working at the hotel,” I tell her.
“Jesus,” she breathes out. “You mean to tell me she more than likely gave me the nastiest rooms to clean, slashed my tires, ripped my house to shreds, and was able to pin the penthouse on me without it coming up in any database except yours?”
“Yep, I told you. I’m the best of the best.”
“No kidding. Maybe the cops should be working for you. At least, this way, more cases would be solved,” she replies. Her body isn’t stiff like I thought it would be, and tears aren’t streaming down her face. Instead, she sinks into me and says. “Thank you, Easton. You’ve been protecting me all along. I’m not sure I could have handled this without you.”
“Having you here with me is thanks enough. I hate to call our time together short, but if I know Slade, he’s already screaming at Mac to get his ass here and soon. I fucking hate that you’re about to be questioned out the ass like a criminal, but I’ll be there the entire time. Slade will be on speakerphone, too. I want his ears in case I miss anything,” I grunt.
Cam and I get out, and I rake my eyes down her body. Her nipples are hard, and her body is relaxed and open for me. I’m cursing Mary fucking Smith right now. I could be inside Cam right now, up against the bathroom vanity. My cock is already hard. Her eyes travel the length of my body.
“I’ll take care of this for you,” she offers.
“Later. We’ll take care of each other.” I know Cam will need that more than anything. We head downstairs after we’re dressed, preparing for everything to come.
Cam just sits with another glass of wine when the doorbell rings. I get up and make my way to let Sheriff Mac in.
“Hey, Reid. Hate like hell that I’m barging in on a Sunday, but Slade gave me the details. I need to know everything.” He takes his hat off before entering.
“Yeah, me too. This way, though, it’ll get solved and put to rest.” I show him to the living room where Cam is seated. He takes a seat in the chair, and I sit beside Cam for the longest afternoon of our life.
She tells him everything that happened while she worked under Mary, and I’m taken aback by how many nasty rooms she’s had to clean. The other housekeepers didn’t get rooms like that on their own. It seems Mary has had it out for Cam the whole time. This is her MO, so to speak.
When we’re done, I escort the sheriff to the door, and he tells me, “I’ll be on my way to the hotel now. I can keep you posted, but until she’s booked in the county jail, nothing will be solid. Even then, it could take a year before she’s up in front of a judge to actually be convicted.” He shakes my hand then leaves.
I shake my head in disgust at that thought, then I head back to my woman, knowing she needs me now more than ever.
Epilogue
Cameron
Two and a half years later
Today, we’re celebrating our two-year wedding anniversary, this one with more than just dinner, jewelry, or flowers. No, today, I’m giving Easton the biggest gift of our lives. My hand finds my stomach, resting there gently. I took three tests this morning, which was no easy task with him hovering. I swear he’s home more now than he was in the beginning when he first opened up his small security firm. I call it small; it’s anything but that. He now has twenty employees working for him.
The memories take me back to when he first started out. Mary, my former boss, was not only fired but also arrested. That memory still causes a shiver to run down my spine. She’s now doing life in prison. It seems she left a wake in ten different states, causing so much damage. She tried to say it was all of our faults, but many women took the stand. She did worse to others, even cut a brake line and caused someone to die. I have no words for the death and destruction she left along the way. I’m just glad that chapter in our lives is closed.
After that fiasco, Easton refused to let me leave his sight unless it was for school. After one argument with me wanting to work at another hotel, he couldn’t handle it anymore. My big alpha man dropped to his knees, practically begging me to work for him, and I relented. I told him my fears, that we’d get tired of each other or that we’d fight nonstop. He stood strong, and we made it work. It probably helped that I only worked for him part-time.
We decided on a small service for our wedding, and we both dressed casually. It was our moment and no one else’s. It sucked that my parents weren’t alive to watch me marry the man I love more than anything in this world, but I felt like they were watching just the same.
When I graduated from school, things changed. I no longer worked for Easton, and part of me mourned that fact. We knew the day was coming when I would graduate and start to work full-time at a hospital. While my hours were crazy chaotic at first, it has all worked out in the end.
“Cameron Ann Reid, where are you?” I hear Easton say with the slam of the door following behind him. I just roll my eyes. He acts like our home is six-thousand square feet or something, when in fact, it’s a little over two-thousand. Even that is sometimes hard to maintain.
“I’m upstairs. I’ll be right down,” I respond back. It’s now or never, I suppose. I put the lid back on the pregnancy test before making my way to my husband. My husband. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. I never believed in happily ever afters until I met Easton.
“Hey, you,” I breathe out.
“Baby,” he groans as he takes in the full length of my body. I’m wearing a sundress; it’s th
e middle of summer, and it’s been a record-breaking year with a heatwave here in Beaumont. Maybe he’s noticed the changes in my body. My chest has definitely filled out more, not to mention they’re tender as hell.
“Happy Anniversary.” I walk straight into his arms, and our lips meet. I have the pregnancy test in my hand, semi-handing it to him.
“Happy Anniversary, Cameron.” His voice is deep and husky, causing me to do a full-body shiver.
“I have news for you.” I hand him the test. It takes him a moment to register what I just placed in his hands. “Remember when we went on vacation and I forgot my pills? Well, it seems your swimmers are awfully strong, Mr. Reid.”
“We’re going to be parents?” he asks.
“Yes!” I barely get the words out before I’m swept up in his arms, him spinning us around in a circle.
“Goddamn, baby, you’ve made me the happiest man. I’m so excited to see you pregnant with our child,” he coos in my ear when he sets me down on my feet. His palm goes to my stomach, and I place my hand over his.
“You’re amazing. You know that?” I murmur out. His lips find mine, and we tear at each other’s clothes as he leads me to the couch. I push him so his back is to the couch and then straddle his hips. Easton’s hands find the lips of my pussy, both of his thumbs pulling them apart. By the hiss of his breath, I know he can feel just how wet I am for him.
“You like thinking you’re in control, baby?” he asks. One of his thumbs slips inside my center, his other travels to my clit.
“God, yes,” I moan. He’s teasing me. Easton Reid is forever teasing me, heightening my senses, and pushing me over the edge.
“I know you do. Grab my cock, slide it inside your pussy,” he demands. His hands move away from my body, and then one glistening thumb goes into my mouth. I suck on it greedily. The other paints my wetness over my nipple as I grip his length. I should have known he’d take over. I don’t do exactly as he says, though. Nope, while he’s busy playing with my nipple and my mouth is sucking his thumb, I slowly tease him. My grip tightens as I move my hand in the rhythm he likes.