Silk

by Heidi McLaughlin

  I giggled. “Brett, what are you doing? I see you made it back in one piece at least.” Instead of speaking to me, he placed a finger to my lips and slowly nudged me back. “Okay, I get the hint,” I mumbled against his finger.

  Slowly, I settled back in the lounge chair and fought off the shivers that crackled along my body. I didn’t know how long I had been asleep, but I could tell the temperature outside had dropped a little so I was assuming it was pushing the evening hours. Thank goodness Brett made it back in good time.

  He trailed his fingers over my breasts in my bikini and let them glide down my stomach all the way to my thighs. I moaned as he separated my legs and settled his weight on top of me, making my lounge chair dip lower to the ground. If we weren’t careful the chair would break.

  “I’ve missed you,” I breathed.

  My body tingled in anticipation for Brett’s touch. I’d spent the past two nights almost in withdrawal from missing his kisses and feeling his hands on my body as well as on the inside. His touch was addictive. I could feel his warm breath on my stomach as he trailed kisses up to my breasts. Untying my bikini top, the straps gave away and exposed them as he lowered his lips to my taut, sensitive nipples that had been deprived of his attention.

  I groaned and thrust my hips against his hard cock. “Please make love to me, Brett. These past two days have been torture without you.”

  A growl rumbled in his throat and I thought it was sexy as hell. He delved his fingers inside me hard and penetrated me like he was a starved man. It was wild and feverish the way he plunged in and out with his strong fingers and with his lips sucking vigorously on my breasts. When he pulled back I could hear him undoing his pants and removing his clothes.

  When I tried to remove the blindfold again, he smacked my hand away and held my arms to my sides. “Why won’t you let me see you?” I asked, exasperated. “I haven’t seen you in two days.”

  He closed over my lips before I could say anything else, and that was when I knew something was wrong. His kisses weren’t the same, he didn’t taste the same, and he sure as hell didn’t smell the same. Holy shit! I should’ve known something was wrong when he didn’t speak to me, and now I knew why. It wasn’t my Brett kissing me and about to make love to me, it was Daniel.

  Catching him unaware, I bit his lip hard—drawing blood—and pushed him off of me. “What the fuck?” he shouted.

  Immediately, I undid the blindfold and the second I adjusted to the light outside I punched him on the side of his cheek, making his head snap back. Angrily, I pushed him again and this time he fell on his ass on the concrete.

  “What the fuck is right, asshole. What do you think you’re doing? I could have you arrested for this,” I yelled vehemently.

  Sitting there in his boxers with blood running down his chin, the smirk on his face turned into an evil grin. He rubbed his now bruising cheek and lifted an appreciative brow while wiping away the blood with his hand. “Damn, I didn’t know you could hit like that. And don’t think about going to the police because if you do I’ll go on my search for the perfect high school boy of your dreams. Besides, why are you fighting me? I could feel how turned on you were to have me there between your legs. I just wanted to show you what you were missing.”

  Disgusted, my mouth flew open. “Are you kidding me? I thought it was Brett you arrogant asshole, and he’s probably going to be here any minute. How did you get in? I had all the locks redone.”

  Wolfishly, he smiled. “I can’t tell you all my secrets now can I? And by the way, Brett’s not going to be here for a while. I just got off the phone with him before coming here. He’s still stuck in Texas. So … sorry to disappoint you.”

  My hands trembled as I tied my top back on and grabbed my towel, wrapping it around my body. This had gone too far. There was no turning back now … I had to tell Brett as soon as he got back.

  Through clenched teeth, I hissed, “If you know what’s good for you you’ll leave now. I don’t know why you feel the need to have to blackmail me, and believe me I’m going to find out. I don’t know what you’ve got going on, but I’m not going to let you bring me down with you.”

  Nonchalantly, he shrugged his shoulders and put on his shirt. “Good luck with figuring it out. Let me tell you you’re wasting your time.” I backed away as he approached me. “I need Brett on this project as soon as possible. Make sure he does that, will you? My investor is getting impatient with me.”

  Crossing my arms over my chest, I turned my head and clenched my jaw. I wasn’t going to do a damn thing for him except bust his ass in whatever shady business he had going on.

  Daniel chuckled. “Still as stubborn as ever aren’t you? I’ll admit I hated it when I was married to you, but right now I think it’s fucking hot.” Anger boiled in my veins as he ran his finger down my bare back. He leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Sleep tight, angel. I’m sure you’ll be getting a visit from me again soon.”

  Like hell you will, I thought to myself.

  I huffed and moved away from his touch. “Leave,” I snapped violently.

  “Okay, firecracker, I’ll leave. Oh wait, that’s what Brett calls you, isn’t it? Have fun with him when he comes back, but I know you won’t forget how slick I made you between your legs. I bet he can’t do it half as good as me.”

  It took all I had not to spit in his face, but doing that would only fuel the fire. Instead, I stayed quiet until his laugh filtered out when he disappeared around the side gate and completely went silent. As soon as I heard his car leave my driveway, I bolted inside the house and packed a bag. I wasn’t going to stay in my house another moment alone. I threw on some clothes and hastily loaded up my car with a day’s worth of things I’d need before heading to Brett’s condo.

  My hands shook as I dialed his number. Please let him pick up.

  He sounded agitated and tired when he answered the phone, “Hey firecracker. I know you’re not going to like this, but I won’t be back until sometime in the middle of the night. My flight got delayed an extra couple of hours.”

  “Yeah, I see that. Can I stay at your place tonight?” I asked hesitantly. I had to get away from my house and all I wanted to do was surround myself with his things and his smells. Daniel had lost his mind and there was no telling what he’d do, and with him saying he’d see me again, that was a chance I didn’t want to take.

  “Are you okay? Did something happen?” he asked, worried. “You don’t sound right.”

  I took a deep breath and tried desperately to calm down. The last thing I needed to do was get Brett all upset when he was halfway across the country. “No, babe, I’m fine. I’m just tired is all. I haven’t slept too well since you’ve been gone.”

  Brett chuckled. “Aww … have you missed me that much?”

  “You have no idea,” I remarked sadly. “So do you mind if I stay at your place?”

  “No, I don’t mind at all, but there is one thing …” he began and stopped.

  My heart tightened in my chest because I knew I wasn’t fooling him. “Yeah, and what’s that?” I questioned.

  He blew out a frustrated breath. “When I get home you’re going to tell me exactly what’s wrong with you. I could tell something’s been eating away at you for the past couple of weeks, but I’ve kept quiet about it. Are you pregnant and scared to tell me or something? I’ve been trying to stay patient with you in hopes that you’d confide in me, but you haven’t.”

  “Shit,” I whispered mainly to myself. “No, I’m not pregnant, but we’ll talk about everything when you get home. Just be safe and know that I love you. Please remember that.”

  “Oh hell.” He groaned. “I don’t like the sound of that.” He huffed out a breath. “Okay, my flight is about to start boarding. I’ll be home in a few hours.”

  “I love you,” I blurted out before he could hang up.

  “I love you, too, baby.”

  So now the waiting game began. I could already tell my stomach was going to b
e in knots until Brett got home, but I had more phone calls I needed to make in the meantime.

  Chapter Twenty

  The second I walked into Brett’s front door I rushed to the shower. I had to wash any and all traces of Daniel off my body and quickly. I felt sick and disgusted with myself with the thought of letting him touch me even though I had no clue it was him doing the touching.

  Once out of the shower, I changed into pajama bottoms and a tank top and laid across Brett’s king size bed. Ever since Brett and I got together he’d been spending all his time with me at my house. I didn’t realize how safe I would feel in his place surrounded by all of his things. It brought me comfort, if only for a little while.

  I knew with everything going on that once I informed Brett of my situation I would have a long night and morning ahead of me. I called one of my friends who happened to also be the woman who substitutes for me and asked her if she was free. Thankfully, she was going to cover for me so now I’d have an extra day to deal with my problems. However, my problems didn’t just deal with me and Brett … it dealt with his company as well and also Daniel’s sister.

  I chose to call Claire first, and again, no answer. I was starting to get worried about her and since her mother had died I knew of no one else I could call to check up on her. Hopefully, I would hear from her soon. Sighing, the next person I knew I needed to call was Korinne.

  She answered on the second ring. “Hey, Mel, what’s up?”

  “Oh, Kori if you only knew. Do you have time to talk?” I asked. “If you don’t I can call you back later.”

  “No, right now’s perfect. I just put Anna-Grace down to sleep so I’m all yours. You sound upset, though. What’s wrong?”

  “Are you in Charlotte or are you two at your cabin in the mountains?”

  “We’re in Charlotte until next week,” she said slowly, hesitantly. “Why?”

  “Because Brett and I will probably need to meet up with you and Galen tomorrow at the firm to discuss some things.”

  “Why are you being so cryptic?” she scolded halfheartedly. “You know you can tell me what’s going on.”

  I sighed. “Oh I know, Kori, and believe me I want to, but I owe it to Brett to tell him first. I just know that once he finds out we’re going to need to figure out our next move. And since what I have to say involves M&M it should also be told to you and Galen.”

  She groaned. “I don’t like the sound of this, Mel.”

  “Me neither,” I retorted, “but Brett and I will be there tomorrow. Hopefully, he’ll still be talking to me.”

  Jumping to conclusions, Korinne gasped and said, “Oh dear goodness, please tell me you didn’t cheat on him.”

  “No,” I shouted forcefully. “I would never do that to him.”

  “Okay, well since you’re not going to tell me I’d say you have your work cut out for you when Brett gets back. Just breathe, darling. Brett’s a good guy and I’m sure he’ll understand whatever’s going on. You have to have faith in him.”

  “Thank you,” I cried. “I’ll see you tomorrow, all right?”

  “See you tomorrow,” she repeated before hanging up.

  Lying down on Brett’s pillows, I could still smell his masculine scent on the bed sheets. I breathed him in and closed my eyes. Please hurry up and get home.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I awoke to the sound of the front door opening and closing, and the clanging of keys being tossed on the counter. Immediately, my heart hammered in my chest as if I’d run a marathon, so I sat straight up in bed and clutched my heart. I could see Brett’s shadow moving around in the living room, but he’d yet to come into the bedroom. It was like everything moved in slow motion as I waited to face my fate.

  Finally appearing and running his hands through his hair, Brett slowly made his way into the bedroom. It was dark in his room, and when his gaze flitted over to the bed that’s when our eyes locked. “I thought you’d be asleep right now. It’s three in the morning,” he informed me softly.

  I shrugged. “Yeah, well, I haven’t been enjoying sleep these days.”

  Releasing his tie, he took it off, unbuttoned his shirt, and dropped his pants on the floor. Without another word, he climbed into bed and folded me in his arms. I tried to hold back the tears but I couldn’t. I lost it and broke down into trembling sobs.

  “I’m here now, Melissa. Talk to me,” he said, rubbing my back soothingly.

  I held onto him for a few more minutes, touching him and breathing him in, because once he found out my secret I may not be allowed to touch him again. I wanted to make sure I had enough time to enjoy his final touches. Taking a deep breath, I reluctantly pulled out of his arms and turned to face him. His stormy gray eyes were guarded like they were in the pictures after his mother killed herself, and it devastated me to know I did that to him.

  “I … I have something … to tell you,” I sputtered weakly.

  Clenching his teeth, he motioned for me to get on with it by waving his hand impatiently. “Spill it, Melissa. I spent hours on a plane imagining all the sorts of things you were going to tell me tonight. And believe me, none of them were good thoughts.”

  I nodded quickly and averted my gaze. “You’re right, it’s not. Shit, I don’t even know where to begin,” I said angrily.

  “How about you start from the beginning?” he replied.

  Taking a deep breath, I blew it out slowly. “Okay, here it goes. Do you remember the night we went out to dinner with your client and I said I didn’t feel well?”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, and I pushed you to join me.” He paused for a second, anger growing across his face. “Something happened between you and Daniel, didn’t it? I could feel the tension the whole time we were at dinner.”

  The tears flowed freely and in hot streaks down my cheeks. “There’s a reason for that tension, Brett, and I was stupid to have not told you from the beginning.”

  “Is he one of your past boyfriends? Did you sleep with him?” he ground out through clenched teeth.

  “Hell no,” I exclaimed and paused, thinking about the question. “Or at least not recently,” I added sheepishly.

  Brett bolted out of bed and pinned an accusatory glare my way. “What the fuck does that mean?” he shouted. “Not recently? What kind of shit is that?”

  “He’s my ex-husband,” I blurted out, meeting his gaze head on.

  Brett’s mouth dropped wide open and he angrily ran his hands through his dark hair. “Holy shit, you can’t be serious. You mean I’ve been talking to the same douche who you married and who fucked you over?”

  Hesitantly, I nodded and murmured, “Yes. He told me not to tell you who he was.”

  Incredulously, his eyes went wide. “And you listened to him? Since when do you do things he tells you to?”

  Pursing my lips, I shrugged and answered, “Never, but since he’s blackmailing me I kind of had no choice. It was either keep his secret or lose my career and possibly you in the process. But that was before things took a turn for the worse.” I moved to the edge of the bed, but I didn’t dare touch him. He was like a bomb about ready to explode and I had no clue if my touch would be welcome. Softly, I ended up saying, “You can’t build on that land in California, Brett. It doesn’t belong to Daniel.”

  Coming to an immediate halt, Brett pierced me with his stony gray eyes. “Tell me,” he demanded. “What do you know?”

  Releasing a heavy sigh, I explained, “That land was supposed to go to his sister, Claire. Daniel was furious when he found out that his sister was going to inherit it all. I even talked to his mother about it. I’ve tried calling his sister but I can’t get in touch with her. I think he paid some people off to make it look like he owned the land or something. He was very adamant that you start building as soon as possible, and he told me today that his investor was getting impatient. I have a detective looking into it who also happens to be my cousin. I just don’t have a good feeling about this.”

  “Fuck
,” he exclaimed. “I have to tell Galen what’s going on.”

  I nodded and lowered my gaze, muttering softly, “We’re supposed to meet with him and Korinne tomorrow at the firm, and I’m also going to call my cousin to join us, too. I’m hoping he has some information for us. I already set it up with Kori, but I didn’t tell her what was going on. I wanted to tell you first. Please don’t be mad at me, Brett. I knew I had to tell you. It’s just you were so excited about the account, and then with Daniel threatening me I had no clue what to do. I was going to do it the other day, but you had to leave for Seattle and I didn’t want to lay this on you before you left.”

  Shaking his head, he sighed and walked over to me, taking my face in his hands and tilting my chin up. “I know I kind of pushed you into the dinner with him, but it still doesn’t explain why you would lie to me. If you knew he was doing something illegal you shouldn’t have kept that a secret. That makes you just as guilty.”

  “I know,” I cried, unashamed of the guilty tears flowing down my cheeks. “But I have a reason. I haven’t told you the whole blackmail part and everything else that happened.” I paused and swallowed hard. Here I go. “He threatened me, Brett. He told me that if I told you who he was and what I thought I knew about his mother’s will and their land that he’d go to the school board and claim that I slept with a student. I’ll go to jail if he pulls it off and pays the right people.”

  “Dammit,” Brett hissed. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

  Desperately, I added, “I didn’t want to lose my job … or you. That’s why I lied until I could come up with a plan.”

  Brett stared at me blankly, his jaw muscles clenching over and over, before he closed his eyes and turned away. He took a seat across the room in the corner and placed his elbows on his thighs and hung his head. “Why, Melissa?” he asked forlornly, holding in the rage that I knew wanted to spill out.

  “Why what?” I whispered.