What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 3)

by Lauren Hawkeye

  Walking into her tower she spotted Axel marching towards her. She didn’t wait for him, she tore open the top of the box and found a white piece of paper that said: You broke mine, I’ll break yours. Under the note she found a red glass heart that was shattered in pieces.

  “Why would you open that?” Axel’s startled her, she hadn’t realized he was close to her.

  Ripping her eyes away from the shattered heart she found him only a couple of feet in front of her. She despised feeling like this, she was normally so strong but right now she didn’t know if she could keep standing. Axel seized her arm, dragged her to the main security office and closed the door behind them.

  “Let me see the box,” he ordered her and she did what he demanded. She knew he always did things to help her, and she needed to learn to stop questioning him. She moved to a chair and sat down feeling numb. He always had her best interest in mind every time he opened his alluring mouth. “Shit.”

  She looked up at his curse and he crumpled the note in his hand. “You just destroyed evidence.” She pointed out and he glared at her. “You were right I have another stalker.” She hated that he was right because that meant she would live in fear until this person was caught.

  Axel moved to her and dropped to his knees in front of her. His eyes roamed hers and she knew what he was thinking. “You can’t rule him out, not now. He is the only thing that is new in your life.” She shook her head because she didn’t want to believe that, Angelo was starting to make her feel things that she hadn’t felt in years.

  “I don’t want to believe that. I am finally happy in my life and I can’t give him up.” He placed his hands on her knees and she didn’t push him away. Apart of herself knew it wasn’t right that she was missing something. Someone was threatening her but she couldn’t imagine her new lover was behind it.

  Axel took her face in his rough hands. “You aren’t stupid and you remember last time when this happened. You were told to look at who was new in your life and at the time it was the new janitor.” She stood up and moved past him; she was done talking about this.

  “I know you are doing what you think to protect me but this isn’t Angelo. Someone else is behind this I know it.” She said as she walked away.

  “Evangeline.” She stopped at the door with the handle in her hand. “I will do anything to protect you.” She recognized when he wouldn’t give up on something and he would keep digging on Angelo Giovanni until he found something.

  When she was alone in the elevator she thought about what her new lover was hiding. She couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that there was no information online about him. Most people in this day and age had some type of social media profile but not him.

  Once off the small elevator she was welcomed by Heather. “Welcome back Ms. Skyler.” Evangeline wasn’t in the mood to deal with Heather, she just gave a tight smile and walked passed her straight to her office.

  She paused at her door with the handle in her hand. “Please just take messages for me for the rest of the day. I don’t want to be bothered by anyone.” She walked into her office and closed the door behind her. Slowly she slid to the floor against the door and rested her head on her knees.

  The last time she had a stalker she thought she was going crazy. Every time she would walk out of her house or the Tower she thought someone was watching her. Before, she was told that everyone was a suspect and she was going to think everyone was the one wanting to scare her. She didn’t want to think that this person truly wanted to hurt her, but this stalker was more intense than the last. The last one sent her white roses with a card that always said: With all my Love.

  Then there was her feelings for two highly different men. Axel was her best friend. She had trusted him when she had no one else. He was always there for her even when she didn’t ask him to be. But Angelo was getting under her skin and she enjoyed the way he made her feel like she was the only woman around. Both were handsome and stole her breath away with their addictive mouths.

  Her life before was what she thought she wanted, she would have sex with a man and be done. Never seeing or talking to him again unless she wanted. It worked for her for the last ten years but now she couldn’t walk away from Angelo. Sighing she stood up on her unsteady legs and leisurely walked to her desk. Her life was messed up but she still had a job to do and a company to run.

  Four hours later she was turning off her computer screen. She had texted Angelo telling him to meet her at her house. Since she acquired her latest package she decided that it was best for her to be at her home where she felt safe. When she stood up her office phone beeped, she pressed the button knowing it was her personal assistant.

  “Sorry to bother you Ms. Skyler, but Axel is here and he insists that he needs to see you.” She groaned because all she wanted to do was to go home and be with Angelo.

  “Send him in,” she said and sat back down. Her driver walked in holding a red folder and his face gave nothing away. “What is that?” she glanced down at the folder.

  “I know you didn’t want me to do a background check on your new boy toy but I needed to. I am still waiting for some more information to come through but here is what I have now.” He sat the red folder in front of her. She felt anger boil up inside her. She had told him not to do what he did but he didn’t listen and did what he wanted.

  “I told you—”

  “I know what you told me, but I don’t want anything to happen to you and I don’t trust him. Just look at what I found. If you don’t want to do anything about it then it’s up to you. But you can’t tell me you aren’t curious about his past.” She was but she wanted to do what normal people did when they started dating someone and learned things from the person.

  “Axel it doesn’t matter what you learned about him, I will find out when he tells me-not from a folder.” She pushed the file back towards him and he stepped away shaking his head.

  “Evangeline, you know I have feelings for you and until yesterday I never acted on them. I will do anything to keep you safe,” he placed his hand on the red folder but kept his aquamarine eyes on hers. “I do mean anything. Why in the world did he show up at the time he did? I know he called here for two months asking to interview you and each time Heather told him what she is supposed to say, ‘no’. I went with my gut and ran a check on him. More will be coming as soon as I cut through the red tape which will take some time.”

  The way his eyes melted into hers she knew he cared more for her than she first imagine. “I understand why you did this even when I told you not to. But I am not looking at what’s inside I will take my chances with him.” His eyes darkened and he removed his hand from the folder.

  “I don’t trust him, and I never will. I read what is in there so I know who he really is.” Axel turned around and walked out of her office; he closed the door quietly behind him.

  She grasped her purse and walked out after him. She knew he would already be gone, but she noticed Heather still sitting at her desk. “Heather, want to walk out with me?” she had tucked her hair behind her ears and her bright green eyes found Evangeline’s. A slow smile spread on her beautiful face.

  “Yes, I would love that,” she said and stood up. They met up at the elevators and she wondered if Axel was watching her now. She knew she was always being watched but how many times had Axel watched her with all the video cameras? Hundreds…thousands?

  The doors dinged as they were opening. “Thank you for always staying late,” Evangeline said as she turned her head to the side to gaze at her personal assistant.

  Heather beamed and a hit of red stained her pale cheeks. “I don’t mind staying late its part of the job.” Evangeline comprehended that she actually didn’t know who Heather was. She didn’t know what her assistant liked to do for fun or even what her favorite color was. She kept the rule to keep employees out of her personal life for a reason. She hated drama, and love and friendships were not meant for business.

  “I just realized I don
’t know much about you and you know so much about me.” Heather grinned. Of course she had a file on Heather but she knew nothing about the woman that worked for her.

  “You can ask me anything. I know you usually keep your personal life to yourself but Angelo is different, isn’t he?” She felt herself smiling and she liked it.

  “I think he might be. There is just something about him I can’t get out of my system.” She hadn’t decided whether it that was a good thing or not. The red folder still sat on top of her desk…unopened for now. Apart of her told her to wait to find out what was in there, but the reasonable part of her was telling her to find out who he truly was.

  The wide smile on Heather’s gorgeous face dimed a little. “That’s good. Everyone has a perfect match out there. And sometimes you just have to hold on to that person until their hearts recognize one another.”

  “Are you seeing anyone?” Evangeline placed her hand on Heather’s arm.

  Heather glanced down at her hand and shook her head. “No but I do really like someone but I am pretty sure they don’t like me like I like them. Besides I don’t have that much time for dating and I am really picky too. I have never seen you this happy with someone.”

  Evangeline patted her arm and smiled sincerely. “You never know unless you tell them,” the elevator beeped when they opened to the lobby. “Have a good night Heather.” She walked out and towards the front doors, Axel was standing next to her car with her other black BMW parked in front.

  “I wanted to make sure you made it home safe.” He had his dark black sunglasses covering his striking eyes. She despised herself for having any kind of feelings for someone that was her only friend. He had been there for her through a lot and she was the one to kiss him. She knew that they would have to really talk about what happened between them. Right now she was too worried about her new stalker and what Angelo meant to her.

  “Thank you Axel,” she said and leaned in to kiss his cheek. Her lips lingered just a little too long on his rough cheek, and his arm wrapped around her back to hold her against his hard chest.

  Neither of them moved out of each other’s arms, although she knew she should. She hated feeling like she was being pulled in two different directions.

  “You aren’t making this easy.” She moved her head to look up at him. “I know you want him but I don’t care. I am the one that has been by your side for five years now, and I always thought you weren’t interested in me. But now that I know you feel something for me, I don’t think I can stay away.” She then moved away, and hated how cold she felt when she did.

  “Axel I am grateful you have been in my life for these five years. But I don’t want to mess up what we have. You have been the constant in my life and I’m not ready to give you up.” Truth was she didn’t want to be without him, he made her feel safe.

  He ran his fingertips down her cheek and smiled sadly down at her. “I will take whatever I can get from you.” He took away his warm touch. “I will follow you home, Angelo just got there.” He said as he walked away from her and towards her other car.

  Sighing she opened her car door and got in, the men in her life were trying to drive her insane. As she pulled away from Skyler Tower she glanced in her rearview mirror and observed Axel. She wondered why neither of them acted on their feelings until now. She never realized that because she was scared to have feelings for anyone again, and she didn’t date employees.

  Why didn’t she recognize these feelings before now? Maybe she didn’t want to because she was scared. Before Angelo forced himself in her life she never saw the same man more than a couple of times. Now he was all she could think about…but Axel was starting to get under her skin.

  Axel was the one there for her when she had nothing. She was just starting Sky Tech and needed someone to start driving her. She had interviewed over a hundred men and women and she was about to give up when he walked in her office. He didn’t try to charm her like some of the others. He was straight to the point showing some of his military records to her. She was instantly impressed and hired him on the spot.

  From the moment he walked in her office she felt something she hadn’t in a while…safe. She knew he was always checking their surroundings like he was trained to do and it made her feel protected when he was with her. He had been her “date” a few times when she needed to be at a party, but she had never had any mischievous thoughts about him.

  Lately chocolate eyes filled her vision causing a smile to form on her face. She never thought she would be able to trust someone again. She knew that she knew next to nothing about Angelo but she liked a little mystery. Earlier her heart dropped when she found nothing online about her new lover, and her mind took her back to the unopened red folder on her desk. It took so much from her not to open it and find out what Axel had found. But she told Angelo that she would try to make their relationship work and reading about his past didn’t seem like the right thing to do.

  When she pulled into her driveway she was greeted by James, the security guard that she met previously at her tower. His face still showed no emotions, but she still smiled at him as she slowly drove towards her house. Angelo was leaning against his cherry red Porsche and he grinned at her as she parked her car. She couldn’t take her eyes off of him; he was so beautiful that she was convinced he was a fallen angel.

  Taking a deep breath she gradually got out of the car, and she observed Angelo strolling towards her. He even made walking look flawless it was as if he was walking on air. He stopped in front of her, only a foot remained between them. She didn’t want to make the first move even though her body was screaming at her to touch him. He lowered his head and a low chuckle rumbled from him triggering her to shutter.

  “Hello Angel.” His deep accented voice wrapped around her. He enclosed his arms around her waist as he pulled her to him. Her lips inevitably parted as he lowered his sinful mouth to hers. Nothing has ever felt this right in her life, as though his lips were created for hers. She was aware that they weren’t alone and she felt Axel’s glare on her. She forced herself to pull away from his hypnotic lips.

  She grinned at him before she turned around to find Axel glaring at her. “Angelo, can you go inside? I need to speak to Axel about the new security.” She glanced at her lover over her shoulder and he nodded before turning around to her house.

  Neither Axel nor Evangeline moved until they heard the door close. “You know my feelings about him and about you.” He moved to her and brushed his knuckles down her cheek. “Maybe someday I’ll be what you need, but don’t wait too long. Because the day you want me, may be the day I’ve finally given up.” His words stunned her, leaving her speechless as she watched him walk away.

  She didn’t know what to say to him because she wasn’t sure what she was feeling. She had feelings for him but wasn’t sure if it was enough to give up Angelo. Her heart ached when she thought of him giving up on her, she sighed and sauntered in the direction of her house.

  When she walked in she closed the door behind her and started to look for Angelo. Briefly she wondered if he witnessed what happened between her and Axel. Her heart dropped because she promised him she would try to be an “us” and she knew enjoying caresses from another man didn’t help her.

  She found him sitting on her bed in her room he had his head in his hands. “Angelo?” she queried and she watched his shoulder straighten.

  “I don’t like how close you and he are.” He said without lifting his head from his hands.

  “I am close to him because he is my driver and bodyguard when needed and my friend.” That was a partial lie because of her newly discovered feelings for Axel. She gave into her feelings for the miserable man on her bed and moved to him. “I want to be with you,” she said and dropped to her knees in front of him.

  She placed her hands on his arms and pulled them away from his face. His dark brown eyes met hers cautiously. “Evangeline, I see the way you look at him, I know you just met me but I want you to look at
me as if I am your whole world.” She smiled at him because he was becoming her whole world and she wasn’t sure how to stop her feelings from growing.

  She framed his face with her small hands. “We haven’t known each other that long but I have never wanted anyone like I want you. When I am away from you I am eager to see you again.” His smile lit up his whole face and revealing his dimple.

  “I don’t share and I won’t start with you.” His eyes grew dark and he closed his eyes. She stood up but didn’t move away from him. When he opened his eyes they were their normal chocolate brown.

  “There is so much we don’t know about each other.” She said. He nodded as he stood up, and it was her turn to look up at him.

  He rested his hand on her cheek. “You can ask me anything.” She planned on doing that at dinner.

  Chapter Eleven

  Angelo sat at the kitchen table watching his beautiful angel cooking. He offered to help but she told him that she could handle it. He knew he would have to tell her about his haunted past soon before she found out on her own. He just wasn’t ready to give her up yet, and he had a good feeling when she found out what he was suspected of doing she wouldn’t look back at him.

  So much had happened to his life in the past three years but being with Evangeline Skyler made his life worth living again. Never in a million years did he imagine he would be able to get over what happened, but slowly he was and he owed it to her.

  “Daddy!” he smiled when he looked at his little girl. She was his whole world and so was the woman holding his dark hair beauty.

  “Hello sweetheart,” he leaned in and kissed her soft cheek, and he kept his eyes on his wife. “And hello my love.” He winked at her causing his wife to laugh.