Heart's Desire (Game of Hearts Series Book 2)

by Sarah Alabaster

  “Honey, I’d take your place, with the enormity of the love we share, over this monstrosity, any day of the week.”

  “That’s so sweet, honey, but I know you’d like to be here more.”

  Then I think about moving my items into his place.

  “You do realize that my cats are gonna love it here?”

  He laughs, taking my feline children into consideration.

  “They are going to love it here. If we ever see them again after letting them loose to roam, that is.”

  “Ha! That’s so true! Butterscotch and Walter will be gone as soon as the cage doors open to freedom. Oh, my God! Do you really think we’d never see them again?”

  “We’ll starve them out if we have to.”

  We laugh and walk hand and hand through the foyer to the grand living area. It isn’t a room, really, because it’s too big to be considered that. It’s more a living area that connects to the kitchen. Something I’d do if given the opportunity.

  The tour lasts longer than those coordinated guided ones in the art museums I often frequent. As we make our way through the house, I feel as though someone is watching our every move.

  Can I live here? Can I feel safe in this place, with its so many nooks, where someone could hide and watch us? Can we really make this place a home?

  “Too much?”

  His concern is evident on his face.

  “It’s beautiful, Devin. So… big.”

  “It’s just a house. If you don’t like it, we can move. Doesn’t matter to me if we stay here or not, I’m happy wherever you are. To me that’s where home is. It’s a place to share with you. It doesn’t have to be big or small, or heck, it doesn’t even have to have walls, so long as you’re there, it’s all perfect to me.”

  Could this man be for real?

  I take a vow here and now to give it a shot. After all, this house is gorgeous, and not a hardship to endure.

  “No, it’s okay, it’s just something I need to get used to. After all, this is the first time I’ve set foot in a place so big that wasn’t a resort or hotel. To think it’s just you that lives here! What in the world do you do with all this space?”

  “Oh, you’ll see, and I can’t wait to show you. It’ll be an awakening, that’s for sure. I look forward to watching you experience it all. Now, let me show you to our bedroom.”

  “Dev, really, don’t we have enough things to do today?”

  I’m trying to stand my ground, but he just chuckles and keeps dragging me along behind him.

  “Not for that.” Looking as sinful as he can, he stops in his tracks and looks at me. “Though I wouldn’t mind another go if you’re game, sweetheart.”

  Shaking my head, I just laugh.

  “You’re insatiable!”

  “Thank you. It’s pretty easy to be, with you around.”

  “Thank you, I think?”

  I take in the man before me as he adjusts his pants. They look about ready to burst at the seams.

  Man, he is magnificent—and all mine.

  Why not christen our bedroom? It wouldn’t be a too much of hardship.

  But seriously, who am I kidding? I already know I’ll love every minute of it.

  Chapter Nine

  “You know that you don’t have to do that, right?” Devin once again asks me as I lift the dishes and place them in the sink to be rinsed.

  “The staff will think they are on vacation with you around, doing their jobs for them. It’s bad enough I don’t have much for them to do as it is, but I just don’t have the heart to cut back on the people who have worked here for so long.”

  I think of the enormity of the building and the grounds surrounding it.

  “Are there a lot of people that work here on the grounds?”

  “Not really. It really only requires the groundskeeper for general maintenance and the housekeeper for the rest, but the staff have been with me for so long that I just can’t reduce them to just those few.”

  “You’re a good man, Devin.”

  Blushing, he takes the dish from my hands and places it in the dishwasher.

  “You know, we really should think about what to do with all this room. Why did you buy this house for only yourself, anyway?”

  “At first, it was just that the position and CEO title came with the house. It was originally my parents’ place, that they used rarely, to entertain and welcome out-of-town guests. Though I let my siblings use it when they have their own guests. I recall you mentioning that it could be a hotel, and well, in a way. I guess it is. A company and family hotel of sorts.”

  I’d said that out loud? I couldn’t recall it, but since being with Devin, it had become clear that if I thought it, I either said it, or he somehow knew I’d said it. Turns out we are just that in sync with each other.

  It also feels as though I can say anything that comes to mind when he is with me. The guard I plaster to the general populous regarding my inner sanctuary of thoughts slips away when we are together. It’s a refreshing realization, to say the least.

  How often does it really happen that you find someone that values your thoughts as well as their own? This is a quality I rather enjoy, and I hope it never fades as time goes on. More to that, I find myself wanting—no needing—to be around him, to see where my thoughts will lead.

  I watch Devin pile the dishes into the dishwasher as I hand them to him. A family hotel of the sorts? Hmmm, I could do something with that… Maybe.

  ***

  It’s one of those rare occasions I find myself alone. Devin’s had to take care of a matter at one of the manufacturing facilities several hours away, and all I can think about is his safety—both to and from. I’m not really alone at the moment, as true to his word, Devin hired a security team to watch the grounds of the place I named “Le Château Robinson.”

  I love the sound it. With the château part, it sounds as though it’s a resort on the French Riviera, instead of a plateau off the mountain. The grand scale of the name calls for reservations and bookings, instead of the few people that call this place their home. I think that maybe after a while, Devin will allow me to rectify this situation by opening it up to the public as a bed-and-breakfast type of place, but given the current situation with our own safety, I’ve decided to shelve the idea for another time.

  Being alone isn’t so bad, and with a mountain of paperwork to overcome, I’ve decided to take residence on the sofa and start on the latest analysis of numbers for the upcoming project that’s due to begin in a few months. The preliminary result of brokering deals with vendors and outsourcing resources is something I enjoy and thrive upon in my job, so this is something I look forward to digging into.

  Focusing all my attention on the task at hand, I am completely cocooned in a bubble of work, and I miss the shadow making its way across the room. Eventually it ensconces itself along the adjacent wall. As the light hits in the right spot, the shadow moves back and forth, calling attention to the cat that lays across my lap, sleeping peacefully.

  Peacefully that is, until the moment his claws extract, causing me to yelp in pain as the cats’ hair stands on end. Then it hisses at the dark-gray hue that’s menacingly calling its attention.

  I scream at the top of my lungs so hard that my throat feels like it’s ripping in two.

  Three men burst through the door as I point to the wall where the shadow once stood, but now it seems to have vanished just as quickly.

  “Ma’am, it’s okay. There’s nothing there. We have a security team sweeping outside the window to make sure, but it looks as though whatever it was is gone.”

  “Christ, what was that? Who was that? Did you see it?”

  Shaking in frustration and panic, I watch as Jason, the head of security, makes his way over to me. Then he asks again for me to tell him everything that happened.

  “Why do you think it was someone—and not something, like a bush or tree that just shadowed from a light?”

  “The cat was asleep on my l
ap, and was startled by something that caused him to extract his claws right into my leg. That made me yelp from the pain, and as I threw him off me, I saw his hair standing on end. Then he began hissing at something. When I looked, I saw the shadow across the wall. When I screamed, whomever it was turned and ran away. Gone just as quickly as they appeared. I continued screaming until I couldn’t scream anymore, and then you guys rushed into the room.”

  Jason focuses his eyes through the window the shadow came through and takes in the open fields that the person could have ran into after he or she was startled away. Then he leads me to the kitchen for a glass of water so I can calm down.

  “Jason, shadows don’t turn and run away.”

  But Jason doesn’t seem concerned about that at the moment. His men are combing the grounds, searching for clues and other things. Right now, he seems more concerned with my well-being. Handing me a glass of water, he eases me into a chair.

  “Thank you.”

  I still feel shaky, and you can hear it in my voice when the phone rings, making me jump and spill water all across the floor. If it weren’t for the glass being plastic, it would have shattered into a million pieces at my feet.

  I try to reach for the phone and avoid the mess I just made, but Jason takes the initiative instead, removing the phone from its cradle and handing it to me. Once in my hand, he walks out of the room to give me some privacy.

  “Hello?”

  Shaking like a leaf, my voice breaks as I answer the phone.

  “Clar baby, I just heard. Are you okay?”

  “Devin…”

  At that moment, this is all I need to hear, and I begin sobbing uncontrollably into the receiver.

  “Shit, sweetheart, I’m almost home. I’m just a few blocks away. Stay with me until you see me walk through the door. Then we’re going back to the condo. Clar baby, this wasn’t a good idea. We’ll pack tonight and get you back to a more secure place. I’m pulling up the driveway now, baby.”

  Taking several breaths to calm my racing heart, I feel myself relax more and more the closer he gets to me.

  “Devin, it’s okay,” I tell him when he walks into the room. “I just got scared. We don’t have to go to the condo in the city. Besides, it’s really late now, and I just want you home with me. I just need you here with me.”

  “I know, baby, and I need to be here with you.”

  “Crap, where did all this water come from? Do we have a leak somewhere?”

  “Oh, Devin!”

  I launch myself into his arms, and he takes the phone from my hand, shutting it off and placing it on the counter. Then he holds my small frame against his hard body. We fit perfectly, as if we just belong against each other. My head is tucked under his chin when he starts whispering above me.

  “I’m here. I’m home. I’m here.”

  He says it over and over again as he rocks me back and forth, soothing me. When my sobs subside and the sniffles stop, I pull away to take in the sight of him. It’s only been a little over a day, yet still it feels like I haven’t seen him in weeks. His presence calms me as I begin to breathe normally for the first time in hours. With him here by my side, I feel whole again.

  “You okay now, sweetheart?” he asks as he continues to rock me, holding onto me like a lifeline.

  Looking up from his chest, I can’t help but relax into his arms.

  “Do we have a leak honey?” he asks, looking up at the ceiling.

  Grabbing for paper towels, he pulls off several before placing them over the spilled water. As the paper towels absorb the water on the floor, I begin to speak.

  “Sorry, I dropped my glass when the phone rang. Scared the crap out of me so much that that Jason had to pull it off the cradle to hand it to me.”

  “Jason, huh?”

  He doesn’t seem all too pleased that Jason was with me. Jealousy?

  But Devin has to know that there is no one else for me but him.

  “What?”

  “Nothing, it’s just that I’m not gone but a little over a day, and Jason is already here taking care of you in your panicked state.”

  “Are you freakin’ serious right now?” Taking several steps back at his accusatory tone, my eyes narrow to meet his. “Devin, you son of a bitch! How dare you?”

  “What?”

  “What’s your fuckin problem, Devin?” Itching for the fight that always seems to rear from turmoil, I press on. “He was just helping me get a drink to settle down after I retold the security detail what happened. That’s all, you asshole. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to my condo—alone! And you can shove your attitude where the sun don’t shine, you bastard!”

  Storming from the room, Devin on my heels, I practically run down the hall to our bedroom. Turning to close the door on him, I find it’s too late—he’s already inside the door and peeling off his coat and suit jacket.

  “Get out!”

  “No.”

  “Yes!”

  “No.”

  “Fine, I’ll get out, then!”

  “No, you won’t.”

  Swinging on my heels, I’m not fast enough, as Devin takes me into his arms, first by my elbow, in order to pull me into his chest. Then he slams me roughly into his hard chest, causing me to puff out a gasp of hot breath that tingles the hairs beneath his dress shirt.

  “I don’t want to fight right now.”

  “Neither do I, but you practically accused me of cheating on you with the head of our security. What did you think we were going to do? Make sweet passionate love the rest of the night?”

  Pulling away from his hold, I jump back several steps before accidentally colliding with the bed and landing on it with a thump.

  “I didn’t plan that, so don’t get any ideas.”

  “Aw, come on. I thought it worked out rather well, if you ask me.”

  “Well, I’m not asking you, so don’t even think about it. Besides, I’m so pissed at you right now, you better watch all protruding members of your body.”

  “Ouch, honey.”

  “Well, what did you expect, huh?”

  “Okay, I’m sorry.”

  “Too little, too late. I’m leaving and going to my condo. I’ll be back tomorrow to get my things, and my cats.”

  I struggle to get myself off the bed as I tangle myself into the comforter and squirm away from him.

  Devin takes the opportunity to try and make things up to me.

  “I’m an ass, I know, and I’m sorry. I was just so upset that he was here for you and I wasn’t that I reacted without thinking.”

  “You know what reacting without thinking means, don’t you?”

  “What?”

  “It means that’s how you truly feel about something.”

  “Clara, I trust you more than anyone. Ever. I know you would never cheat on me. I’m just…”

  The silence between us extends longer than I am comfortable with, so I decide to prod.

  “Just what?”

  “I’m a jealous person. I never was with anyone else, but with you, I can’t stand the thought of another man near you—let alone comforting you. Even Jason, who I know would never do anything like that.” Turning to face the window, Devin runs his hands over his face. “I need to know you’re all mine, and no one else’s. I can’t seem to function unless I know that there’s just you and me.”

  Watching him work himself into a frenzy makes me realize just how much he loves me. It’s the exact same way I love him. Soul-consuming and completely crazy, if one of us is too far from the other.

  “Oh, Devin, you’re crazy. You know that, don’t you?” Stepping toward the man I adore, I give him the space he needs to get himself together. “Of course there is only you.”

  “I know, it’s just—please don’t flirt or do anything that would make me jealous. I don’t think I would handle it all that well. Christ, I trust Jason with my life, but when I heard you say his name, and that he was comforting you, I just saw red. Dark, deep red. A blindi
ng light of fury that I wasn’t sure I could handle. Hell, I don’t even know where it came from.” Shuddering at the thoughts running through his head, he turns to face me. “I don’t ever want to feel that way again.”

  “Devin, that is, without a doubt, the most erotic thing I think I have ever heard in my life.”

  When he approaches me like a predator, I step backward until I once again fall onto the bed.

  Smirking as he towers over me, he keeps his weight off me as he places his elbows on either side of my head. Then he looks into my eyes with a love and devotion that makes me stop breathing. His intense gaze has me stop everything and just feel his presence, both physically and emotionally. Not holding anything back, he kisses me as though I am his salvation.

  Finally breaking the connection to take a much-needed deep breath, I wrap myself around him and just sigh in contentment.

  “I don’t care if he is my brother. Don’t flirt with him, please.”

  “Your brother?”

  “Yes, my brother.”

  Now it all makes sense. Jason had reminded me of someone. The way his profile had looked as he watched the perimeter outside the window seemed familiar in a way I just couldn’t place.

  “You are the most exasperating boy I have ever known.”

  Smirking, I shove at his shoulder.

  “Boy? Boys don’t love like this.”

  “No, they don’t.”

  “Boys don’t hold their women like this.”

  Taking me and flipping me so I am on top of him, he draws me even closer to him, holding the back of my head for a deep, long kiss of homecoming.

  I finally find my voice when we come up for air.

  “No, they definitely don’t do that.”

  “I’m no boy, baby. I’m a man. Your man, and don’t you forget it.”

  When he smacks my ass, the sounds echo throughout the room and I yelp in response.

  Then he kisses me again, this time staking his claim on me—body and soul.

  “Come on, Devin.”

  My frustration is growing into hunger even though we’re both fully clothed, with no reprieve in sight. I try to pull away, only to be caught again in his lustful hold.