He unlocked the door and held it open for her. “I just couldn’t wait to get you all to myself.” Bryan secured the door with his eyes on her. His physical appetite had been satisfied with food. Now he was hungry for her.
She slipped out of her heels and dropped herself on the bed. Her hair was tousled, but she was beautiful. “Are you all talk?”
“Judge for yourself.”
He lunged onto the bed and braced himself over her. He bent his head down and stole her lips, consuming her with a hunger that needed satisfying.
She responded, greedily, taking as much as she was giving. She put her hands through his hair and grabbed at the roots. He left her mouth and trailed kisses down her neck, breathing in her smell and soft flesh. Her skin was dewy and her breathing rushed in time with his.
She wrapped her arms around him and pulled on his hips to bring him closer to her. His erection pressed against her thigh and he heard a soft moan escape her throat. He pulled back. His heart beat rapidly. Her eyes were half mast and ravenous. Her hands roamed over his body as he did hers. He cupped her round breasts and lowered to take her mouth again. She pulled on the waistband of his pants with one hand; the other slid down and fondled him, their breaths, clipped and thready.
He squeezed her breasts and her back arched. He lowered and took her mouth, a lustful taste to satisfy the meld between their minds and bodies. His hands traveled down her sides until he had a hold on her dress. He lifted it up and sat back, poised over her.
He ripped off his shirt and tossed it to the floor. Her hands reached for him as he worked the dress up her back and over her head. He bent down, his tongue flicked her nipple, and he bit her tenderly. Groans escaped her throat. Her fingers tugged at his hair. He continued to pleasure her.
Panting and starving for her, he moved back and positioned himself between her legs. She undid his pants, and he pushed her lace panties to the side. He rubbed his finger on her nib before wetting a few fingers with her hot center and caressing her sex in a circular motion. One hand stayed there while his other went to her bare breasts. Her nipples were hard.
“I need you now.” Her husky words carried on breath. “Please.”
She put her hands on his bare flesh and fed his erection into her.
Both of them moaned with arousal, an aching fire in their centers as they met.
She placed her hands on his chest, and then his legs. He lowered close to her, braced a hand on the side of her head and took her mouth. She gave of herself and he took it, covetously without remorse, without thought. Willed on instinct alone, he continued to give it to her hard until they both climaxed.
“SO I’M JUST TALK?” Bryan teased her and rolled over to his side to face her. Starting at her throat, he ran his index finger down the middle of her torso.
She smiled, but it faded. She must have noticed the intensity in his eyes change.
“What are you thinking about?” She moved her body to face him and brushed a hand through his hair.
His heart raced. He couldn’t breathe.
“Marry me.”
Those words had escaped before he thought them through. He didn’t want to propose to her like this. In fact, he thought he had convinced himself not to at all.
She remained speechless.
“Please say something. I love you Jessica and I want you as my wife.” He asked again. “Will you marry me?” He wanted to beat himself. She deserves so much better.
Her eyes left his. “Bryan, I love you, but…”
Great. I exposed my chest for the slaughter and she is wielding the knife.
He knew where her reasoning was headed and had to rebuff her.
“But nothing. Jess, it has nothing to do with the recent situation, Dimitre or his men. It has to do with us and the love we share.”
He was getting agitated. It was said and now he had to fight for it. But ultimately the decision was up to her.
Her lashes fell in a prolonged blink. Her eyes welled with tears. “Yes, Bryan, yes then.”
They moved closer and hugged tightly, sealing their commitment with a kiss. He pulled back and jumped from the bed.
“Stay there.”
He reached into his suit jacket pocket and walked over to her side of the bed.
The way everything was transpiring made him uneasy. Hopefully, she didn’t sense any apprehension.
He smiled and pulled out the ring from a small silver box.
-
Chapter 12
JESSICA OPENED HER EYES TO the wood beams on the ceiling. Her mind had been awake for hours. Tossing and turning did little to shut the thoughts off and now her stomach growled.
The sound of Bryan’s exhausted breathing next to her caused her to smile—the irony. He had been partially responsible for her losing sleep, yet he slept soundly.
She loved him but struggled to accept her dependency on him. He would become a permanent fixture in her future. The engagement solidified this for her. When she gave her word, she kept it.
The heaviness of that thought made her realize all the things that would change—really her entire way of life. She didn’t want to forfeit her single identity but realized she would likely lose some of it. They had never even discussed children. She didn’t know if he wanted them but had assumed he would. Her focal point was her career and that pushed the thought of being a mother to the background.
Her mind spun. Isn’t this what she wanted? She loved Bryan since that night at junior prom when he hugged her and offered his condolences. He had been there in the following days for her to talk to and he never made an inappropriate move on her. She was the first one to kiss him.
When his father took him away, her world came to a pause again. She had to find her way on her own. Running into him years later was the best thing that could have happened to her, wasn’t it? She had dreamed of him throughout the years and when they literally brushed each other’s shoulders, it was meant to be.
She fixed her gaze intently on the ceiling, trying to derive the answers from the wood. Feeling the ring on her finger, she lifted her hand. The light coming through a crack in the curtains bounced off the diamonds. She moved her finger to catch more light.
Bryan stirred beside her.
She focused on the platinum band that encased the two point five karats and sadness leeched into her being.
Her father wouldn’t be able to walk her down the aisle and give her away. Her mother wouldn’t be there to fuss over her dress and makeup.
“So are you going to give it back?” Bryan smiled and moved on his side to face her.
“There’s no way you could pry this from my hands.”
She laughed lightly as the seriousness of her thoughts melted away. She held her hand up for a moment longer.
“I’m glad to hear that.” He braced his torso over her and kissed her lips. His phone vibrated on the nightstand.
“Who would want you at this hour? On a Sunday?” Jessica’s brows shaped inquisitively.
“Being this early I doubt it’s good news.”
A wave of anxiety brushed over Bryan’s face. He reached over and picked up his cell.
Jessica heard the excitement in the caller’s voice from her side of the bed. The person talked loudly and quickly.
“You’ve got to be kidding me?” He sat on the edge of the bed, his back toward her. “That son of a bitch! I’ll be there in about an hour.” He closed his cell phone but kept it in his hands. He shook his head.
“Bryan, what is it?”
She came up behind him and put her hands on his shoulders.
He shrugged her off. His eyes focused in the distance. There was a look of vengeance in them.
“Bryan?”
“The bastard burned down the office!”
He stood with a hand on his forehead and paced the floor.
/>
She didn’t know what to say or do in offer of support.
“That asshole has gone way too far this time. We have to leave.”
He got dressed and threw his items into the suitcase.
She jumped up and rushed around the room, but her mind was groggy. She stumbled on the legs of her jeans and nearly fell headlong into the dresser.
“Don’t do anything stupid. Please.”
“Jessica, please just be quiet. I don’t want to talk about it! First he starts harassing you and now he’s tried to destroy my business.” He snapped his cell into its belt clip. “Ready?” He held the door open, suitcase in hand. “Let’s go.”
She paraded through the doorway, her feelings hurt by his outburst.
How could he go from being so affectionate to this? Combined with the earlier hour and lack of solid sleep, she choked back the urge to cry. “I’m moving as fast as I can!”
He squealed the wheels of the car pulling out of the parking lot.
“I’ve got to get to the office. Do you need me to drop you off at the house?”
She refused to give him eye contact. She was furious that he was treating her like this. She never set the fire.
“I’ll just go with you.” She continued facing the window, the colors of the landscape blurred together. “Maybe you should slow down before you kill us.”
“When someone burns down your business, then we can talk.”
“You’re being an ass!”
She crossed her arms and stared straight ahead. She felt somewhat childish but couldn’t control it. She twisted the ring on her finger.
He exhaled loudly, the tension palpable.
Neither of them said a word for minutes.
“It’s not your fault.” He reached over for her hand. “I’m sorry.”
She molded both her hands around his. “I know.”
She attempted a smile but failed. She was emotionally bruised, but her logic excused his behavior. After all he was a pawn in Dimitre’s game, wasn’t he? And more importantly, he had actually apologized and she felt he meant it.
“OH MY LORD.” Jessica gasped when she saw Bryan’s office, or at least what was left of it.
The bones of the structure remained but were stained black from soot. Huge holes were punched randomly in the roof and most of the windows were broken. Burnt debris surrounded the building. Wood splinters and glass littered the yard and parking lot. The air was heavy with the smell of fire.
Bryan parked the car abruptly. Colleen and Richard stood with a couple of firemen. Bryan walked over to them. Jessica followed.
“Here he is,” Colleen said.
The group separated to make room for him.
“Mr. Lexan.” The older of the two firemen addressed him and reached out to shake Bryan’s hand.
Bryan surveyed the damage to the building before directing his attention to the man shaking his hand. He wore a department-issued uniform.
“I’m Peter Fulton, Fire Chief. This is Clayton Jeffries.” He nodded toward the firefighter beside him who wore protective gear and a hat. Bryan glanced at him, and he took the hat off and braced it under an arm.
“I was just telling your partners you were fortunate the whole place didn’t come down,” Fulton said.
Richard stood there with his feet shoulder width apart, his hands in his pockets.
“The security system notified us and we got here as soon as we could. If it took any longer, we would have lost the place.”
“Funny, because from what I see it’s pretty much a write-off.” Bryan snapped in response to their assessment. Everyone remained quiet. “How did the fire start?”
“It’s still too soon to tell for certain, but it seems to have been an electrical fire caused by a short in a fan.”
“A fan?” Bryan looked around at his partners.
He never recalled having one in the building. He had his own supposition on how this fire started. It was too coincidental to have happened without Dimitre’s men. His mind didn’t let anyone’s words sink in. He coughed to open his tightening throat.
“What fan?”
“It was a standard floor model, the osculating kind.” Jeffries glanced nervously from Bryan to Colleen and Richard.
“Bryan, one of the secretaries must have brought it in.” Colleen placed a hand on his shoulder and caught a glimpse of Jessica behind Bryan.
“But for what reason? We have air conditioning, and it’s not even hot enough yet.” Bryan raised his voice.
Somehow Sergey or Anatolli got into his office, planted the faulty fan, flipped the switch, and left the building. His agitation must have been increasingly apparent to everyone. Adrenaline pulsed through his veins and made him jittery. He fidgeted with the keys in his hand.
It wouldn’t do him any good bringing up his suspicions at this point. He might as well just take the hit, clean up, and start over. The act would never be traced back to them. It would remain unsolved. Arson caused by a fan. How the hell can you prove that? Fingerprints would have been destroyed in the fire. His mind was racing. He was helpless.
“What other explanation would there be?” Colleen asked.
They made eye contact. She removed her hand from his shoulder and stepped back.
Jessica took a step closer to Bryan and took hold of his hand. His silence caused the group to watch him. Surely, Colleen had to be aware of who he suspected.
“I’ve had an issue with a client recently,” Bryan said, directing the answer to Colleen’s question to the fire chief.
Fulton jabbed his index finger in the air. “Lexan. Man, I should have known. I mean, I know the name. Who doesn’t in this city?” He was rambling, but Bryan let him continue. “That high profile case you were involved in. Dimitre Petrov, the Russian mafia boss, who was placed behind bars and in a way you—”
Bryan dared him with eye contact to proceed.
Fulton pointed at Bryan but quickly retracted his finger. “This is about revenge. He blames you. You think he did this. We should have this reported to the police.”
Now the man was skipping an all-important step.
“You haven’t even ruled it as arson, Mr. Fillton.” The moment the name came from his lips, Bryan knew he pronounced it wrong. The fire chief stepped forward but didn’t correct him. “Besides there is no way it will get pinned on him. And as you so graciously pointed out, Dimitre is behind bars. I trust that would be an ironclad alibi.” Bryan couldn’t fight the frustration and irritation. “Tell you what, start doing your jobs and first of all, find proof of arson.”
He stormed from the group and headed to his Lotus, dragging Jessica with him.
“Take care of it Colleen!” He yelled over his shoulder and opened the car door.
-
Chapter 13
IT WAS HIS FIRST VISITOR to his new home. How fortunate for him. Friday had been an endless upheaval after he received his sentencing from the judge. He was transferred to a high-security prison and faced twenty-five to life. The judge called it an indeterminable life sentence. Basically, behave while in prison and be out on parole in a minimum of ten years. And that’s what he resolved to be. Behaved. However, he couldn’t say the same of his men who would carry out his directives while he ate stale bread and drank piss water. But he would get his freedom back.
He sat across from a tiny man whose brow glistened with sweat. His brown eyes disclosed low intelligence and naivety. Dressed in a pressed brown suit and bowler hat he was out-of-date. Taking his hat off, the man sat it on the ledge and scratched his forehead. It was a vain attempt to cover the wiping of his perspiration.
Dimitre stretched out his legs and crossed at the ankles, relaxing heavily into his chair. He picked up the receiver and the man did the same.
“We had a fire in the city early Sunday morning.” His visitor s
poke cryptically, referring to the burning law firm.
Searching for any inclination of dishonesty or disloyalty, Dimitre fixed intently on the man. Just because Sergey and Anatolli put him in place to serve as a liaison didn’t mean he was trustworthy. He was simply a messenger mule, utilized solely for the purpose of communicating progress and objectives.
“Did you invite my best friend?” Dimitre asked.
“He didn’t want to come, but the boys are anxious to spend some time getting to know him.”
Dimitre sneered. He would play with Bryan, his best friend, and get into his mind before wiping him out.
“I’m sure they do. But patience. It takes time to get to know someone.”
The man’s eyes were unfocused. He rubbed his hands as if he were trying to spark a fire with them. He nodded slowly. “Yes, but at some point, you have to take it to the next stage.”
“You sniveling shit, you don’t tell me how things are done.” Anger raged through his veins like a burning fire. He pressed his face against the glass separating them.
“I tell you when you can get closer to my friend.”
The man backed up in his chair and pulled out on his collar.
“I call the shots. You tell my other friends to back off, take things slow. Play with him and really get to know him.”
He smiled to himself. He wanted Bryan to pay with his life, but he wanted to make him live in trepidation first.
NELLA GRINNED AS SHE HELD Jessica’s finger. “I can’t believe he finally did it, and the diamond is huge.”
“I know. And you should have seen the place he took me.”
Jessica’s mind went back in time. The happiness of that moment and the way it would change her life kept contrasting itself with bouts of hesitation. Nella didn’t seem intuitive today. She was too interested in the glistening rock to pick up on the quiet moments.
Nella finally released her finger and took a seat across from her. “I’m so happy for you, it’s been a while coming. So are you going to have kids?” Nella laughed.
“I’ve only been wearing the ring for forty-eight hours.”
Life Sentence Page 9