by Autumn Grey
Ten minutes later, a huge house, well, not a house, a château came into view, growing larger as we drove up a hill. We pulled up a cobblestone driveway minutes later and my eyes couldn’t absorb the view fast enough.
Holy freaking WOW!
“Welcome to Château St. Germain, Selene.” Remington sounded content as he said those words. “Your mouth, ma belle,” Remington whispered, as soon as Luc climbed out of the car. “Or I might just crawl back there and do something about it.”
I gave him a dirty look and snapped my mouth closed. He chuckled as he slid from his seat and rounded the car and scooped Adrien in his arms. The boy’s eyes blinked open. After scanning our surroundings, he squealed and wiggled out of his father’s arms and dashed toward the front entrance. I smiled, enjoying the little ball of energy that was Adrien.
Stepping out of the car, I was immediately wrapped in the faint scent of lavender. Teasing me. Seducing me. The weather was still warm around here. I stared at the enormous Renaissance stone building, painted in a very pale yellow color. Several rooms spanned both the east and west sides. Rows and rows of grape vines, now blazing in gold, brown and bronze colors of autumn, striped one side of the château’s hillside and bushes of lavender covered the other side.
It was simply beautiful.
“How old is it?”
“The west wing, which is the oldest part dates back to the thirteenth century, while the east wing, around the eighteenth.”
By the time I was done taking in the view, Remington’s arms were wrapped around my waist and his chin rested on my shoulder. Everyone had already gone inside the house and our luggage had magically disappeared.
“Gilles and Èric took the luggage inside,” Remington said when he saw the frown on my face.
I nodded. “How do you keep this place so well maintained?”
He twined his fingers with mine, leading me toward the entrance. “We have staff who drop by at least three times a week. This place would fall apart if we didn’t have people to help take care of it. My mother travels a lot, although she knows more about wine making than I do, and Lucien is mostly on racetracks or practicing. As for Dominique, he’s either traveling or racing his horse. They are hardly ever in Provence. We have someone who’s in charge of all the workers in the vineyards and keeps an eye on things.”
The inside was as breathtaking as the exterior. The walls were a light shade of terracotta with a few colorful portraits decorating the open space. A fireplace stood at one side of the big living room. Pillows in soft hues of blue, yellow, and red were scattered on the black leather sofas, the only thing taking away the historic feel of this place. However, they suited the room just fine. On one of the walls stood a realistic painting of Adrien as a baby, cradled in a woman’s arms—Remington’s mother, if I had to guess. Their resemblance was uncanny.
“This place is beautiful.”
He smiled, seemingly pleased with my words. “I’m glad that you like it. Our rooms are on the west side. Adele, Èric, and Gilles are on the east,” he said, guiding me up a flight of stairs that curved smoothly, leading to the next floor. About ten rooms lined the hallway. “This is ours.” He pointed to a door to our left. “And Adrien is right next to us.”
Ours. He had used that word twice. My heart skipped a beat as the words caused little flutters of bliss inside my stomach. I loved the intimacy that word elicited.
As we entered the room, someone shrieked, followed by a child’s laughter. I made a beeline for the window and once again, my lungs couldn’t absorb air fast enough. Two small brick houses—I supposed one was a shed—stood to the right, then a flight of steps leading directly to open, green lawns with trees placed strategically to offer shade from the sultry summer days, their autumn gold and orange coloring adding to the already landscape-like scenery. A fountain bubbled gently a few feet away, close to the patio, the sound hypnotizing, relaxing. I moved my gaze to the swimming pool I had bypassed while taking in the view, and smiled. Èric and Adrien were in the pool, splashing water at each other. Adele had changed into a conservative black swimsuit and sat with her back to me, her legs submerged in the water. Had Remington and I stayed that long outside? Or had Èric, Adrien, and Adele been too eager to get in the water? Clearly, despite Adrien growing up without a mother figure in his life, he was surrounded by a lot of love.
Adrien was one of the happiest children I’d ever come across. I couldn’t remember a time I’d seen him sad or anything like that.
“I love this place,” I said, turning around to find Remington standing near the bed, his intense gaze on me.
“And I love looking at you. You’re quite the vision, standing there.” He held out his arms to me, and I walked into them happily and willingly.
“Thank you for inviting me.”
“You’re very welcome,” he said. “I’m glad you said yes.”
AFTER UNPACKING our luggage, I left Selene inside our room and went in search of Luc. I had seen the way he’d stared at her when he picked us up from the hangar. He must have noticed the same thing I did when I first saw her at Hotel L’Arc. The infinitesimal resemblance that caught someone off-guard until they really looked at her and realized she and Colette didn’t really look alike.
I found Luc sprawled in a chair in the living room, reading one of his race car magazines. He lifted his gaze and sat up as soon as I lowered myself onto one of the seats.
After updating each other on what was going on in our lives, I leaned back in the chair and stretched out my legs. I knew we were dancing around the topic and it was making me jittery and impatient. I wanted to get it out in the open.
“So what do you think of Selene?” I asked him, watching him carefully.
“Very beautiful. And curvy. Man, she has some curves on her.”
“Shut up, arsehole,” I growled at him. He grinned and I knew he’d been baiting me. He always did, even when we were children.
His face took on a serious expression. “She reminded me of Colette in a very small way. But when I looked at her more closely, she didn’t. I can’t really explain it.”
I exhaled, relieved. “She does.” I shrugged. “I wondered about her as well. However, there is a theory that we all have someone we resemble somewhere in this world. This must be it in her case.”
He studied me through narrowed eyes. “Is that the reason you’re dating her?”
I rubbed my neck, feeling tension start to curl at the base of it. “No. She is more than that. She understands me without pitying me. I don’t know how to explain this without sounding like a completely smitten fool.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Try.”
“I feel a connection toward her I haven’t felt with any woman in years.”
“Connection. Is it the sex?”
“Part of it, yes. But the other part . . .” I shrugged, letting the words trail off.
“You, my dear brother, are either starved for sex or attention,” he declared and I wanted to wipe that smug smile off his face.
“It’s nothing like that, smartarse.”
He chuckled. “What about Adrien? You made certain he didn’t meet the women you dated before.”
I dragged a hand through my hair. His question echoed my thoughts. I had no clue how to answer that, just like everything else that involved Selene. “He loves her. For once in my life, I don’t know what to do.”
“You will. You always find a way. That’s one of the things I admire about you.”
“You admire me?” I asked, raising a brow.
He leaned forward and took the glass of wine from the table, tipped it toward me, and said, “Don’t let it go to your head.”
I laughed, feeling the tension ease from my body. This was one of those things I missed in my life, spending time with my brothers like we used to do when we were children. Life had thrown us into a frenzy of busy schedules.
Selene came downstairs half an hour later, dressed in a strapless, yellow dress that hugged h
er body in all the right places, yet not giving much away. It was a sneak peek to a body I had learned every curve of with my hands and mouth. My fingers itched to touch her, yet my body had me rooted on the seat, wanting to savor the sight of her. I remembered Luc’s words, turned, and saw how his eyes unashamedly took in her body. I glared at him.
“What’s that noise?” he asked, his eyes widening in what I assumed was surprise. “Did you growl at me?”
I did? I couldn’t remember making that sound. It showed how deeply Selene affected me to the point that I did things unknowingly.
Luc lifted his hands as if to placate me. “Take it easy, Tarzan. Jane is all yours.”
I narrowed my eyes at him and he had the grace to drop his gaze back to his magazine.
I shot to my feet and strode to where Selene stood, smiling at me.
“Breathtaking,” I murmured and kissed her forehead, breathing in her scent from one of her body lotions I’d watched her rub all over her body just this morning. Citrus and uniquely Selene.
Slipping my arm around her waist, I led Selene to the patio and down the steps leading to the rest of the open grounds. Just seeing the joy and awe on her face as she took in her surroundings, or watched as Adrien played with Èric in the swimming pool, while Adele’s laughter rang through the quiet gardens made me happy and proud of my decision to bring her here.
We later dressed for dinner, while I fought the urge to pin her on the bed and have my way with her.
In my opinion, dinner was perfection. We dined on the patio together: Lucien, Gilles, Adrien, Selene, Èric, Dominique, who arrived an hour ago, and Adele. Music played softly from speakers hidden around the grounds. I glanced around the table, wishing my mother were here. These were the people in my life, and to say I wouldn’t do anything for them, anything, would be a lie. I turned my gaze to Selene. I loved having her here with me, the place where I grew up. I couldn’t wait to show her around. My eyes automatically honed in on her chest, the way the dress hugged her full breasts and my cock stirred to life. My hand resting on her knee, inched up under the short yellow dress she wore and squeezed her thigh.
I leaned into her ear. “Did I tell you how much I love this dress? So accessible.”
“Can I tell you a secret?” I nodded eagerly, loving the wicked look in her eyes. She brought her lips to my ear. “I’m not wearing underwear.”
Fucking hell! I should have fucked her earlier. I slid my hand up her inner thigh, tightened my grip, and her breath hitched.
Good. At least we were both hot and bothered.
I returned my hand to her knee and focused on Dominique.
“So how is the horse racing business?” I asked Dom while taking a sip of my rosé, made from grapes grown in our vineyards. Delicious.
“Just neighing all the way, I guess.” He laughed at his own joke.
I made a note to tell him to come up with some fresh jokes. He had been using that one for the last five years or so.
“How are you enjoying your stay in France, Selene?” Dominique asked.
“So far, it’s great. I’ve visited a few places. I’ve been to Paris before but I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I was actually there again. I have never been to Provence though. It’s breath-taking. I’m glad I got a chance to visit.” She sent me an affectionate look.
I loved how she said that with confidence and warmth. I grinned like a fool.
“Anything special you want to see while here in Provence?” Dom asked again, smiling lazily. He was obviously thinking about showing her his horses. I chuckled quietly and he sent me a scathing look before turning to focus on Selene.
Lucien perked up like a hunting dog that had suddenly caught an intriguing scent. “Actually, I was thinking of showing her around Monte Carlo.” I scowled at him and he rolled his eyes.
I knew that he didn’t mean anything other than show her his “play toys” as he liked to call his cars. He had a warehouse similar to the one in Paris, where he kept sports cars for whenever he was in the cities he visited often. He had given me a spare key so I could drive whenever I felt like it. It had been exhilarating, watching Selene’s face as we raced down the streets after our first dinner date in Paris.
But damn it, Luc was bringing out the worst in me. My hackles rose every time any man looked at her for longer than a few seconds, let alone talk to her. My selfishness to share her with the world rivalled the possessiveness I felt, and I wanted her to play with my toys and no other man’s, even though the context was different here. I was never good at sharing before, and neither was I now. But I needed to control myself before I ended up handcuffing her to my wrist to keep her by my side.
Luc was reckless at best, and letting him take Selene with him would be insanity. I loved my brother, but sometimes he drove me to madness. I can’t even count how many times I’d sat in a hospital room, praying he survived one of his near-fatal accidents. He always bounced back, more energetic than ever.
I shook my head without uttering a word and turned to Adrien. “Come on. Time for bed, Adrien. Say good night to everyone.”
After he fell asleep, I went back downstairs and pulled Selene on my lap, enjoying the feel of her body flush to mine. She was wearing a pair of heels, similar to the ones she wore on our date at the restaurant, the day she made a proposal that left my world spinning. She kissed my jaw and then rested her head on my shoulder.
“Have Gilles and his men found out who sent those letters?” she asked quietly. “And just so you know, I don’t think it is Adele.”
At the back of my mind, I knew it wasn’t her. But it didn’t stop me from being cautious about the situation. “No. It looks like the person who sent them knows how to hide their trail very well.”
Her hands tightened around my arms. “Don’t you think it would be easier to involve the police?”
“I would rather solve this without involving them, not that I have anything against the police. The only thing the person has managed to do is send letters and the flowers. Gilles is more than qualified to handle this case. I’ve known him for a long time and I trust him completely.”
Once again, I searched my mind, wondering which of the women could have been callous enough to send the messages. I glanced at Adele, chatting with Èric before sparing Gilles a look. He shook his head and I breathed out in relief at the confirmation. Nothing strange had happened so far. I liked Adele very much. She had been there for me and Adrien. How would I handle the situation if she turned out to be the mysterious stalker? How would I explain that to Adrien?
“Let’s go upstairs,” Selene whispered, sounding tired and effectively pulling me out of my thoughts.
We said good night to everyone and climbed the stairs. By the time we undressed, Selene had yawned three times in a row as she slipped between the sheets and held out her arms to me. As soon as I settled next to her and wrapped her in my arms, she snuggled into me, tucking her face into my chest and sighed contentedly.
I stayed awake long after she had fallen asleep, thinking about our conversation during dinner. If Gilles didn’t find out who this person was by the end of next week, I was going to hand over this case over to the police. We hadn’t received any new flowers or messages. I was getting nervous and didn’t like it.
I pressed a kiss to Selene’s hair. As much as my body desired her, she needed her rest. Moreover, holding her completed me and opened doors to things I hadn’t allowed myself to think or feel in a long time. And as always, my need to confirm that she was real overcame me and I slid one hand up to rest where her heart beat steadily in her chest. My arms tightened around her, enjoying the feel of her curvy body, soft and warm nestled in to me, and I closed my eyes as sleep overtook me.
RIGHT BEFORE Dom and Luc left the next day, Luc caught up with me as I was descending down the stairs.
“Can I talk to you, Selene?” he asked, the playfulness from yesterday long gone, replaced by a resolute look.
I nodded, following him a
s he led the way out the back door that led to the patio and gardens. Dom sat in one of the lounge chairs, leaning his head back on the arm of the chair as if absorbing the sun’s rays. He opened his brown eyes, so similar to Luc’s and smiled warmly as we joined him.
What is going on?
“We wanted to talk to you.” Luc shifted on his seat on my right, leaned forward and braced his elbows on his thighs.
“Is this the ‘what’s your intention toward our brother’ talk?” I grinned, trying to hide how nervous I felt, being the centre of their serious expressions.
They exchanged a look before turning to look at me.
This is not the time to make jokes, Selene.
“Yes it is,” Dom said, putting me out of my misery and my body loosened a bit. I could handle this. “Remington seems quite taken with you. We have never seen him interested in any woman before. Not like he is with you. Other than Adrien’s mother.”
I nodded, the urge to grin wide overwhelming. I was beginning to realize how special, how freeing it was to be the centre of Remington’s attention as his lover. “I like him a lot too.”
They exchanged another look, and this time I felt as if my stomach had dropped to my toes. “What’s wrong?” Was that the wrong this to say?
Luc cleared his throat. “Remington doesn’t know how to ‘like.’ He shoots straight from casual interest to love. When he loves, he gives himself completely. And when he does that, he doesn’t let go easily. He hasn’t shown any woman anything other than interest.”