Unspoken Bundle - Box Set Books 1-6

by Danes, Ellie

  What did you think about Carter? Drinks tonight?

  My initial vibe on Carter wasn’t good, but I didn’t want to put Aimee off him. There had been a lot going on when I first met him, so maybe there was a chance I was wrong. I decided I would give him the benefit of the doubt.

  Rain check on the drinks. Exhausted. C seems nice. Let’s double date later this week? Call you 2morrow.

  Perfect! :)

  I was on auto pilot and somehow made it home without even realizing where I was going or how long it had taken. The snow had melted during the day and made for a sloppy and wet trip. I was happy to pull into the private garage of my apartment and see Cain’s car in the guest parking. I could barely keep my eyes open, but at least I’d get to finally crash for the evening with him. I dragged myself inside, work bags in tow, and looked for my handsome man.

  “Cain? I’m home!” The fragrant smell of garlic and wine sauce filled my tiny apartment. It seemed even smaller now, packed with boxes ready for my upcoming move.

  “Hey, gorgeous! I hope you’re hungry.” Cain peeked out of my tiny kitchen with a sauté pan in his hand. “There’s a bottle of wine chilling on the table if you want to grab a glass. I’ll be out in a minute.” He ducked back into the tiny galley and I caught a glimpse of his toned ass, which woke me from my work daze.

  I turned my attention to the bottle of wine on ice and began pouring myself a glass. “That smells amazing—Cain!” My raised voiced was startled as Cain sneaked up from behind and kissed my neck as he wrapped his right arm around my waist.

  “That’s just the start of the evening. There’s more.” He spun me around and kissed me softly on my lips, holding my bottom lip between his for just a moment longer. “I didn’t like how we left each other on Sunday morning. It bothered me all day, but I wanted to give you space.”

  “Thank you, I believe that’s what I needed…but I am so exhausted right now. It’s been a long day and nothing went as I—”

  “Shh… No work talk right now. Sit and relax. Dinner is almost ready.”

  Cain pulled out the dining room chair and I plopped onto it. He easily slid me into position and disappeared, only to return a moment later with two perfectly prepared and garnished plates of chicken with wine sauce.

  We didn’t say much during dinner. We didn’t need to. The one thing I have with Cain that I never had with anyone else is our connection. We could sit and say nothing and just get lost in each other’s presence.

  “Cain, that was amazing. Thank you so much. I can’t even begin to tell you…”

  A sly smile crept back onto Cain’s face as he gazed into my eyes. He reached for my hand and kissed it gently. “I’ll be right back.” Tonight Cain was a magician, as he disappeared and reappeared time and time again, each time with a new surprise. “Jennifer, can you give me a hand for minute?” Cain’s voice echoed from my bedroom.

  I dragged myself out of the chair and made my way toward the bedroom. The hollow, white door was ajar and soft light spilled into the hallway. I opened the door to find candles lit throughout the room and a trail of rose petals leading into the bathroom. I followed the trail to find Cain waiting for me beside the tub, which was filled with bubbles and rose petals. More candles filled the bathroom and a bottle of champagne was on ice in the corner. I was glad I had held out for an apartment with the perfect bathroom and an oversized tub.

  “Come on. Slip out of those clothes and into the tub and relax. I’m sure it was a crazy first day at your new job.”

  Cain’s large hands unbuttoned my shirt ever so slowly and slipped it over my shoulders and to the floor, as I unzipped the skirt to my black suit, allowing it to fall to my feet. He kissed my neck and reached around my back, unhooking my bra. His hands brushed against my breasts as they eased toward my panties to slide them off.

  I stood naked in the candlelight, too tired to react, but not tired enough not to want Cain right here and now. He stood up slowly, brushing his cheek gently against my nipple and finally bringing his mouth to mine. He gently kissed me and reached for my hand, leading me closer to the tub. I tried to touch him, running my hand up his leg, but he pulled it away.

  “Not yet.” He smiled. “Enjoy the bath.”

  Cain’s sexy whisper sent shivers down my spine and I could feel myself wanting him. “Join me, please.” I reached for the top of his pants, trying to pull him close, and could see the effect the moment had on him. I pulled him toward me and ran my hand up the inside of his leg and eventually found the zipper, pulling it down.

  Cain chuckled. “This is supposed to be for you to de-stress and relax.”

  “Oh, this will relax me…and you.” I gave Cain a sly smile and unbuttoned his pants and let them fall to the ground as I kneeled before him, taking him in my mouth.

  Cain removed his shirt and then gently guided my head until he couldn’t take it anymore. I stood in front of him and moved close and felt the large distraction I had created between us. Together we stepped into the tub, never breaking eye contact. Cain slid himself into position and I lowered myself onto him, feeling every bit of his hardness. I kissed him, pinning him to the back of the tub and controlling the moment.

  The water thrashed with our every movement and we finally collapsed in the warm water, covered in bubbles and rose petals. The stress of the day was gone and we were both speechless. We eventually escaped the tub and made our way to the bed that Cain had perfectly arranged. It looked like something from a swanky hotel.

  “Is there anything you didn’t take care of?” I laughed as I opened the dark chocolate square sitting on the pillow.

  “The dishes, but I can do those in the morning.”

  “No chance, after everything you’ve done.” I climbed onto the bed, reclining against the stack of feather pillows, and let out a deep breath. I sat motionless and speechless and took in the absolutely perfect environment. Candles still burned throughout the room and the flickering orange glow created dancing shadows on the ceiling that put me into a trance as I followed them with my eyes.

  “What are you thinking about?” Cain lay next to me, watching the same dancing shadows as if we were watching a ballet.

  “The day. My first new client ended up not being my first new client.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means I thankfully worked myself out of a job. This jerk attorney, Brice Pennington, had some case for me to work on. It turned out he missed some serious evidence in the case and his client is probably innocent.”

  “Well, that’s great for you. I mean good and bad. You possibly helped his client out.” Cain stared at the candles on the dresser as he ran his fingers through his hair. It was his tell that he was nervous. “Brice, huh?”

  “Yeah, a real jerk. Do you know him?”

  “I do. Crossed paths with him quite often. He’s a few years younger than me, and we used to see each other at the country club on Sundays when I was there with my mother for brunch.” Cain rolled over to look at me while I continued to follow the dance on the ceiling. “So you’re done working with him?”

  “I am. Why? Jealous?” I laughed. I knew Cain had nothing to be jealous about, but it seemed to bother him.

  “Well, he is younger than me, and his parents are diamond farmers.” Cain laughed but continued to watch me as I finally met his gaze.

  “You have nothing to worry about. You’re all I want and so much more. Besides, all of the diamonds in the world wouldn’t cut through his huge ego and attitude.”

  Cain laughed and nodded in agreement. “So true.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.” I took in the moment and felt content with our relationship. “Well, nowhere except on the double date I committed us to with Aimee and Carter.”

  Cain smiled and draped his muscular arm around my waist and pulled me close, gently kissing me on the cheek. Our legs intertwined as we lay in the silence, holding each other. It was the perfect end to a difficult day.

  Chapter Six


  I woke up to an empty bed. It was a terrible way to start the morning, but I knew Cain’s day was filled with meetings and he needed an early start. All that was left was the familiar smell of his cologne and a few rose petals from last night. At some point this morning, Cain had managed to clean everything up, including the kitchen. I smiled to myself thinking how I managed to find the perfect man.

  I dragged myself around the cluttered, box-filled apartment. I couldn’t wait to move and leave all the bad memories of this place behind. I showered and was dressed with plenty of time to spare. An early start in the office was the perfect opportunity for me to get things done ahead of time and skip out for a slightly longer lunch. The benefit that Cain had asked me to attend with him was on Friday and had almost slipped my mind. I needed a new dress, something flashy and stunning that would match Cain’s amazingly good taste. Everyone would be watching him and I needed to look amazing as well.

  As I walked into the apartment garage I noticed my car looked strange from behind; it appeared to be listing to the passenger side. I slowly walked around the car and noticed that the front and back tires were flat. “Really? What the hell? There goes my early start to the day.” I looked around the garage for other cars with flat tires. There were none, which made me wonder whether this was intentional, maybe the work of my so-called stalker. But I quickly dismissed the situation as bad luck. Fortunately, Dad hadn’t left for the office yet and stopped by to give me a ride. I managed to keep quiet and only make idle chit chat. Things where good between us, but I didn’t want to push things too fast or too far with him just yet. I spent the drive to work making arrangements for my car to be fixed.

  “I can’t seem to escape boxes, Reese. They’re everywhere…here, my apartment.”

  Reese was sitting at his desk sorting through old cases and filing folders into boxes for storage. Now that he was partially retired he seemed happier about removing the clutter from the office. “Well, like me, they will all be out of here eventually.” Reese chuckled.

  “Not funny, Reese. You know I need you to get all of this going.” I pushed some of the storage boxes away from my cluttered desk and sat down, staring out of the window like I had done so many times before.

  “You’ll get there, Jen. I’m only here to help you when you need it.”

  I could tell that Reese was trying to ease himself out of work but I definitely didn’t have his investigative skills. I was learning, but not fast enough. “There’s just too much to get done. Sorting through these cases, taking on new cases, making appointments.”

  “Why are you putting yourself through all of this? Hire an assistant. Have someone do all that for you, so you can focus on what’s important. I can tell you I’m definitely not going to be answering your calls or getting your coffee. I’m too old and stubborn for that shit.” Reese chuckled again. He still had his gruff exterior and dry sense of humor, though I was able to see through it at times.

  “Assistant? We have the money for that?” I hadn’t even thought about running a real business other than working on the cases. Dad just dumped everything on me and I hadn’t asked those sorts of questions. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I needed his help to get this going.

  I had been in the office for a total of fifteen minutes and was already overwhelmed. I reached for my phone and texted Aimee, planning my lunchtime escape.

  Up for some afternoon dress shopping?

  I received a one word reply: Always

  I finalized my plans with Aimee and slid my phone back into my purse. I stared at the cluttered desk and grabbed a stack of folders. DDC had given us about forty leads for possible cases and firms to work with; we already had a few meetings set up, but we needed more. My perfectly timed reach for the phone to schedule another call caught it mid-ring.

  “Jennifer Dunning.”

  “Jennifer, it’s Brice Pennington. Do you have a few minutes to talk?”

  I resisted the urge to pretend to have a scheduled meeting. I hoped this was truly only going to be a few minutes. “Sure, what can I do for you?”

  “Listen. I didn’t get a chance to thank you, yesterday. The things you pointed out, those were real eye openers for us…for me.”

  I couldn’t help but feel I was being plied for something he was about to ask, but let the conversation continue. “I’m glad I could help. Hopefully that will be a win for your client.”

  “I don’t know about a win; he was impaired and that kid was hit by a car, but there’s some other information that has come to light. Some things that just don’t seem right.”

  “I see. You mean like his girlfriend driving?”

  “Yes. There’s that. He hasn’t admitted to that and she hasn’t been charged with anything, but what I did find out is that it appears he really did only have one beer. At least at the restaurant they were both at. So whether he was driving or not, there are some inconsistencies.”

  “Ok.” I spun my chair around to look at Reese. He was still sorting through folders and peered at me over his glasses. “Sounds like you have some additional digging to do, Brice. Have you…”

  “No. You do. Actually, your firm does. We’d like to hire your firm to take on the investigation for the defense team.” I bit my lip and shot Reese a frustrated look through narrowed eyes. As much as I didn’t want to work with Brice, this did seem like a good case for us.

  “Sure. We’d be happy to work with your firm. I’ll need you to send over whatever information you have.”

  “Done.”

  “And Brice. I need to talk to your client.”

  “I’ll see what I can arrange.”

  “No. Brice, I need to speak with him soon. Make that happen. Unless we can get the real story, we aren’t going to get anywhere. He’s hiding something but I don’t want you to tip him off that we know that. I’ll get it out of him when we talk.”

  “Sure thing, Jennifer. And…thank you again. I’ll be in touch.”

  I hung up the phone and sighed. “Hey, Reese, remember you said you’d be there to help when I need it? Well, I need it.”

  I filled Reese in on the details of the case and then dove back into sorting through the piles of leads on my desk. One and a half days in and I was ready for a vacation.

  Chapter Seven

  Aimee was sweet enough to agree to pick me up for our lunchtime shopping trip, since my car was at the shop. They had called earlier to let me know it was ready; fortunately the air had just been let out of the tires—a harmless prank, probably just some bored neighborhood kids. Still, I was out eighty dollars.

  I sat in the downstairs lobby waiting for Aimee’s text to let me know she was out front. The lunchtime crowd swarmed throughout the commons and flowed in and out of the revolving doors to the chilled city. I thought about the day I had first met Cain, at the very elevators I was sitting across from; I hadn’t really known who he was at the time. I smiled to myself and grabbed my phone to send him a text.

  Thinking about you. Going dress shopping for Friday. Please send me the details. Miss you today!

  Cain quickly responded. My heart always skipped a beat when I received messages from him. The newness of our relationship was still strong and I loved that I still felt that way about him.

  Pick out a sexy one! Ashley should have sent the email days ago. I’ll check after my meeting.

  I smiled. Don’t worry, I can call her later. I know you’re busy.

  Aimee’s text interrupted my conversation with Cain and I quickly blended into the rest of the swarm and followed them out of the revolving doors to her waiting car.

  “Ready for some retail therapy?” Aimee always seemed to be ready to shop. It didn’t matter if it was for her, me or someone else. Any opportunity to try on clothes and chat was a good one.

  “I am. Let’s hit that new boutique in the square. If I can’t find something, there are plenty of other shops close by.”

  “Sounds perfect. I have all afternoon.” Aimee giggled. “I have so much
personal time that I decided to just not go back to work today.”

  “That’s so unlike you, Aimee. Is everything alright there?” Aimee was always one of the most dedicated and hardest working people I knew. She had a work ethic like no one else.

  “I’m just burning out. I’ve worked so hard for this firm and it’s got me nowhere. The new division manager is this hardcore woman that’s out to get me. She excludes me from important meetings, passes me up for projects…” Aimee’s voice trailed off in frustration.

  “Aimee, she’s not out to get you. You intimidate her. She’s cutting you off and excluding you so you don’t show her up. Try making friends with her. If that doesn’t work, nothing will with those types of people. Gain her trust.”

  Aimee glanced over and smiled. “This woman is the last person I want as a friend, but I’ll try.” She pulled her tiny sports car into the open space on the street just outside of the boutique. “Now, enough about work. Let’s do some shopping.”

  I was excited to pick out something new and sexy. Something that would turn some heads and keep Cain’s attention for the evening. I milled about the store for the perfect dress. Something classy and reserved, fit to wear at a benefit, but oh so sexy.

  “How about this one, Aimee?” I held up a royal blue dress with a plunging neckline that was sure to fit the curves of my body.

  “Gorgeous. How about this one?” Aimee held up an equally amazing dress and I smiled.

  “Love that one too. Hold on to it.” We continued to look through each of the racks comparing finds. “You know, Cain told me that Ashley was supposed to have sent me the details of this benefit days ago. I haven’t seen a thing from her. I don’t know why Cain keeps her around.”

  “Jen, I wouldn’t trust her at all. After everything you’ve told me…I wouldn’t trust anything she says, and I certainly wouldn’t count on her to do that right thing when it comes to you.”