by Krista Wolf
“Tell Marius to get his ass down here,” I shouted into the phone. “No one’s doing anything until he does a walk-through.”
It was a crazy day at work for sure. Made crazier by the weather, which was rapidly turning everything to mud. The gas company called to say they’d be missing their inspection, and I rescheduled two deliveries I wasn’t ready for anyway. At least the HVAC guys were keeping things clean.
“Yes, he has to do it in person,” I growled. “No, he can’t do it over fucking FaceTime.”
I looked at Oscar and rolled my eyes. Was everyone an asshole today? Or was everyone just trying to cut corners?
“Good,” I said finally. “He’s got an hour. He takes even one minute longer, he can forget about me paying his people for the day.”
I hit the red button as hard as my thumb would allow. It wasn’t nearly as satisfying as hanging up an actual phone these days.
“What is it that you need, Oscar?”
My foreman looked nervous. He was shifting from one foot to another, like he was about to ask for a day off.
“You’re not asking for a day off, are you?”
“No boss,” he said quickly. “Definitely not.”
“Then what?”
“It’s the morning room,” Oscar said. “There’s… trouble there.”
My brows crossed. “What the hell does that mean?”
“Come with me,” he urged. “You’ll need to see this.”
I followed him through the lower loggia, past paneling that had been expertly sanded by one of the best woodworkers money could buy. They’d start staining soon, and then varnishing afterward. Just another few of the thousand or so loose ends that needed to be sewn up before this place could be called finished.
But God, when it finally was? Southhold Manor was going to be the most amazing place in the world.
“How bad is it?” I asked of my mystery problem. “On a scale of one to ten?”
“Not exactly sure,” Oscar answered.
My worry mounted. Honestly, I was in a good mood — a great mood, actually. I’d spent half the morning on a steady caffeine drip, to keep my body going. But my mind…
My mind moved slowly, lingering along on its happy journey through the more intimate details of last night. I could remember everything the guys had done to me. Every butterfly-inducing kiss. Every skin-shivering, electric touch. Down between my legs, I was happily, pleasantly sore. Each time I squeezed I could feel tiny, heated contractions. Aftershocks of the incredible orgasms I’d had, at the end of the guys’ hard, wonderful thrusts.
The next morning hadn’t been awkward at all. In fact, they’d treated me exactly the way I would’ve wanted to be treated. I was an equal, a consort. A partner in crime.
And best of all they wanted more.
It hadn’t even occurred to me that it would be a one-shot deal. It was just too good. Too fucking amazing. It would be cataclysmically stupid to walk away, simply chalking it up to a fantasy fulfilled. Not when all three of us enjoyed it so thoroughly. And especially not since we all lived under the same roof.
That they’d come inside me was both surprising and hot. I was on the pill, of course. Had been since forever. But the guys hadn’t known that, and they hadn’t asked. The way they took me so definitively, possessing and plundering my body… my God. It was all so unspeakably hot.
You’d asked for it, though.
I really had, hadn’t I? I’d urged them on. Ground my heels into the smalls of their backs, and told them to let go inside me. Maybe the blame was on my end, but I didn’t care. Or maybe they were just so used to doing this together. But doing it with someone else…
“Here,” Oscar said, stopping abruptly. “And up there, too.”
He pointed, and my eyes followed. Everywhere I looked, scattered across the floor and on the ledge above, I saw shards of tiny, colored glass.
“What the everliving fuck?” I swore, for about the tenth time that day. I really did have a dirty mouth. I should probably do something about that.
“Looks like it was a rock,” said Oscar.
“No.”
“No?”
“No,” I repeated, pointing downward. “It was a chunk of paver.”
Sure enough, a jagged piece of grey-white paver lay off to one side of the mess. A second one rested nearby, appearing equally responsible.
“Two pavers, two windows,” I said.
Oscar scratched at his head. “But those… those pavers are from—”
“The courtyard,” I nodded. “Yes.”
We were deep into the back end of the manor now, clear on the other side. At a place where the only things outside the broken windows were gravel and grass.
“So they took these pieces from the front entrance,” said Oscar. “Carried them all the way around the house, to throw them in the back.”
“Yes.”
“But why?”
I shook my head sadly. “To break these windows specifically,” I said. “They’re stained glass.”
“Shit.”
I sighed heavily. “You’re not kidding.”
The windows in question were more than a century old. They’d been poured by master artisans into lead frames, then annealed and assembled into beautiful patterns that would catch the morning sun.
“These are irreplaceable,” Oscar shook his head disgustedly. “The people who did this—”
“Or person,” I interjected.
My foreman frowned. “There are two chunks of paver, though.”
“Sure,” I agreed. “One for each hand.”
He spat angrily, losing his train of thought. I couldn’t blame him.
“I’ll tell the guys,” I said. “See what they want to do. In the meantime, do me a favor and get this cleaned up?”
He nodded, and I patted him on the shoulder.
“Thanks Oscar,” I smiled wearily. “What would I do without you?”
My foreman grinned and kicked at a few shards of red and blue glass. They tinkled noisily across the tiled floor.
“A whole lot of sweeping.”
Sixteen
KARISSA
It wasn’t the thunder that woke me up, so much as the lightning. But once I was awake…
WHOA!
The scene outside my window outdid the screen from any movie. Even the fantasy ones, where anything usually goes.
What in the—
I shielded my eyes, as a silver streak suddenly bisected my vision. It was already too late though. The silvery after-image was already burned into my retinas, as I sat up in bed trying to blink it away.
Something’s wet.
It was my first thought, as I swung my legs over the bed and set my feet on the cold floor. I’d gone to sleep early, and I’d left the window open. Water was now gathering in puddles on the floor, the rain sweeping in sideways as the wind howled outside.
That’s when I noticed half my bed was all wet.
“Fuck.”
Stepping into the cold wet spray, I worked quickly on getting it closed. The window was older than dirt. The frame so warped and swollen with moisture, it was nearly impossible to get it done.
Somehow though, I managed.
Just outside, streaks of jagged lightning ripped blindingly across the sky. They appeared every five or ten seconds, as the eye of the storm moved even closer. Thunder, explosive and violent, shook the room almost immediately after.
What time is it?
I really had no idea. After my sex-soaked rendezvous the night before, my internal clock had been way off on things. I knew that I wasn’t going back to bed though, not right now. At least not until the storm wasn’t rocking the manorhouse off its very foundations.
By the light of the constant flashes, I made my way into the hallway. I wanted to walk around a bit. Get my feet and legs to wake up, then maybe head downstairs for a shot or two of something that could help me sleep.
That’s when I saw it again: the locked door, opposite mine.
More and more it intrigued me. I’d chalked it up to a simple case of ‘guy stuff’ being in there, but the more I thought about it, the more curious I became.
You wouldn’t want that room anyway.
Yes, actually I would. The windows of that room faced the courtyard, and therefore the front of the property. I could look down on the driveways. See which of the work crews were still here, at all different hours.
Plus now I supposed I could also watch out for rock-hurling intruders.
Trust me.
Roderick’s voice still echoed hollowly in my head. There was something in there he didn’t want me to see. If he’d been more casual I might’ve forgotten it easily enough, but he’d been too quick. Too insistent.
Since then, I’d thought more and more about the room across the hall. I’d tried the lock all different times throughout the day. I’d even thought about getting Oscar to help, but then he’d know. Even inadvertently, he might tell one of the guys I’d been in there.
My key.
The keys to the rooms in this wing were still old brass skeleton keys. They hadn’t been changed over yet, and each didn’t look all that different than the last. It occurred to me that with the right amount of jiggling and finagling, I might be able to try my own.
Stepping back to where my desk stood, I grabbed the old key just as another flash of lightning illuminated the room. I flinched, waiting for the thunder…
BOOM!
My body was wracked with a violent shudder. The storm was getting closer! At this rate the whole house would be awake soon. Either that, or obliterated.
I slipped back into the hall and began fumbling with the mystery door’s lock. At first the key went in. It slipped almost all the way, and turned a good quarter turn…
Then it got stuck.
Damn.
I pulled and twisted, yanked and pushed. Nothing I could do would get the key out of the lock. The ancient knob remained locked in position, too. Even twisting it back and forth wouldn’t free my key.
Now you’re screwed.
I was, totally. I’d have to explain how the key to my room got stuck here, in this door. A door clear on the other side of the hallway. A door I’d been told specifically not to open…
“Hey…”
The voice was deep and strong, and nearly frightened me out of my skin! I jumped so abruptly my hand jarred the key loose. I palmed it quickly as I turned around… and came face to face with Roderick.
“What are you doing out here?”
I swallowed hard, slipping the key behind my back. I was still shaking from being so startled.
“Sorry if I scared you,” apologized Roderick.
“No no,” I forced a grin. “I was just—”
KA-VOOOM!
Another peal of thunder obliterated the rest of my sentence. Somewhere during the noise I dropped the key, then reflexively kicked it with my heel to one side of the hallway.
Holy shit!
The noise was loud and total. Still, I was grateful for it. It distracted Roderick from what I was doing, and gave me time to gather my wits.
“Can’t sleep, eh?” he smirked.
“Not in this.”
“Me neither,” he shook his head. “In fact—”
He stopped, staring at me intently. As his head cocked sideways, I stiffened.
“Have you been outside?”
I shook my head. “Hell no.”
“But you’re all wet.”
Relief flooded through me as I glanced down at myself. The whole right side of my nightshirt was practically sticking to my body.
“I fell asleep with the window open,” I explained sheepishly. “Bonehead move. The rain came in sideways. Soaked half the bed.”
Somewhere above us, the wind swirled. The constant patter of raindrops against the roof was growing heavier now, as the eye of the storm passed over us.
“I was… about to grab the couch or something,” I stammered. “The window’s closed now,” I added quickly. “I’ll clean it all up in the morning of course, and—”
“Do you want to sleep with me?”
Roderick’s offer fell in the dead silence between two lightning strikes. Both were loud and obnoxious. Both made the moment a thousand times more dramatic.
But it was already a pretty big moment.
“Really?”
“Sure,” he shrugged simply. “My bed’s dry, and that couch sucks. A lot.”
I hesitated, staring at my gorgeous brunette boss in his tight black T-shirt. For the first time I noticed he was wearing boxers, not shorts. Boxer briefs actually. The kind that hugged… all sorts of things.
“I… uh…”
He was usually clean-shaven but right now he hadn’t shaved in over a week. I had to admit, the beard coming in was sexy as hell. He’d trimmed it up nicely too.
“I know the rule,” he said in mock apology, “I’m not supposed to take you to bed with me until I guess your old profession.”
“Yeah, well it’s not like—”
“You were a cop.”
My heart stopped. My body stiffened.
“H—How’d you know that?”
He shrugged his granite shoulders. “It’s obvious.”
I squinted back at him skeptically. “You looked me up.”
Roderick chuckled. “Karissa Smith? No. I definitely didn’t look you up.”
He didn’t know my name, but then again none of them did. No questions. All payments in cash. It was all part of our deal, when I was first hired.
“So am I right?” he asked, crossing his big arms.
Outside the storm raged. The rain fell. Slowly, mechanically, I nodded.
“Good,” he said, without a hint of celebration or satisfaction. “Let’s go then, while my bed’s still warm. Standing out here’s getting a little creepy anyway.”
Seventeen
KARISSA
His hand was strong, his grip firm as Roderick led me down the hallway, and into his bedroom. The confidence was sexy. So was the way his ass looked from behind, hugged tightly by his boxer briefs.
Easy, girl.
It was hard to be easy. He was just so hot. Darker and more brooding than Bryce or Camden. But also, just beneath that hard outer shell, something warmer. Something sweet.
“You need a new shirt.” It wasn’t a question, but more of a statement. “No way you’re getting into my bed all soaking wet.”
He rooted around in a top drawer for a moment, then came back with a printed Tee. He tossed it to me, then turned around to face the windows, like a gentleman.
“Red Hot Chili Peppers?” I mused.
“Uh huh.”
I shimmied out of my wet shirt and into his dry one. Right away I felt immeasurably better.
“Ever seen them in concert?”
He shook his head, silhouetted by a lightning flash. “No.”
“You really should.”
Thunder struck, loud and overwhelming. It shook the walls. Or at least it sure felt that way.
“Which side do you want?” I giggled.
“You pick.”
“Uh uh,” I teased. “It’s your bed. Besides, you won the contest.”
Roderick turned, and there was mischief in his eyes. But he was also sizing me up. Trying to figure out where this was going, and perhaps whether or not taking me to bed meant taking me to bed.
“What was it like?” he asked abruptly.
“What?”
“Being a cop.”
I pursed my lips and shrugged. “It’s a lot like other jobs, in some ways,” I said. “But in others…”
He cocked his head, really listening. He had his hands folded across his chest. With the lightning illuminating him from behind, he looked like a superhero.
“Get into bed and I’ll tell you.”
BOOM!
Thunder ripped the air between us, driving us both under the sheets of the big bed. Whether it was for warmth, or comfort, or security fr
om the storm… our hands and bodies somehow found one another.
“Fuck,” I swore. “That was loud.”
“Sure was.”
We propped our elbows on our pillows, facing each other in the darkness. It felt like a sexy sleepover. The rain was so loud now, our faces were drifting closer in order to hear.
“You have a king-sized bed,” I noted. “You all do.”
“All of us, eh?” he replied. “And how do you know that?”
Fuck.
“I’ve seen the other guys’ doors open,” I lied.
“Uh huh.”
“I have.”
“We’re big guys,” he shrugged. “These are big rooms.”
“Maybe,” I allowed.
“We like to stretch out. We have long bodies. We work hard.”
Another streak of lightning illuminated two penetrating hazel irises. I got the sense they were burning into me, stripping away the nonsense.
“Seriously, how did you know I was a police officer?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Well for one, you don’t take anyone’s shit,” he said. “You’re tough. Authoritative. You get things done. Plus you curse like a truck driver,” Roderick smirked. “Sometimes, anyway.”
I still couldn’t believe it. I lay there staring at him, my mouth slightly open.
“Up north somewhere, am I right?”
I tried to keep cool, to not stiffen. Again I nodded.
“Whereabouts?”
My silence was drowned out by the alarms going off inside my head. I didn’t know what to do, what to say.
“Listen, your secret’s safe with me,” he said. “But looking at it from the right angle, it was pretty obvious. You were either a cop or a contractor. And judging by how much we had to teach you in the beginning—”
The flash of lightning was so bright it stopped everything. It was followed by three or four more flashes, all happening in the same instant, lighting up the old bedroom as bright as broad daylight.
Yikes.
I reached out for Roderick instinctively, and his arms were already open to take me in. I melted into him just as the thunder crashed. His arms wrapped around me, protecting me from the outside world. Shielding me from the spectacular explosion as my face dug comfortingly into his big, broad chest.