Silk

by Heidi McLaughlin

  “He’s going to come with us to see Claire, and if she tells us what we need, then he’s going to start hunting for information. I’m sure once we talk to her we’ll figure out what to do next.”

  When Brett strolled out of the bathroom his shirt was off and he was in his boxers. “Are you ready?” he asked, a devilish smile taking over his face.

  Narrowing my eyes, I crossed my arms over my chest and grinned. “Ready for what?”

  He stalked over to me and pulled me into his arms, placing his warm hands at the back of my neck. Bending his head down, he whispered in my ear, “I ran you a nice, hot bath, firecracker. I want you loosened up before I make love to you.”

  Taking the hem of my shirt in his hands, I lifted my arms so he could slide my shirt up and over my head. He unhooked my bra and undid my pants, letting them fall to the floor while carefully pulling my underwear down as he sank slowly to his knees. Smirking, he bit his lip and gazed up at me. “You should be proud of me. I didn’t rip them off this time.”

  I shook my head. “Thank goodness for that. I’d be keeping Victoria’s Secret in business if you kept it up.”

  Lifting me up under my legs, he carried me into the bathroom, which smelled like roses and lavender. I took a deep breath in and sighed. The moment I saw the bathtub my mouth dropped open in awe. It was huge! It looked like four average sized adults could fit in it. What made it even better was that Brett had lit a dozen or so candles around the tub, making the room give off a sensual and romantic glow.

  “Thank you for this,” I whispered. “It’s beautiful.”

  Brett kissed me, holding me tight in his arms, before kneeling over the tub and setting me into the bubbly, hot water. Closing my eyes, I moaned as the water engulfed my body and instantly relaxed my muscles. When Brett made no headway to get in, I asked, “Why are you not getting in with me? There’s more than enough room.”

  “All in good time, baby. But first I want you to feel completely relaxed.” He came up behind me and tilted my chin back so I’d have to look up at him. “Are you ready?”

  “Ready for what?” I breathed.

  Kneeling down by the tub, his warm hands closed over my shoulders and he worked his fingers into my skin, massaging, kneading the knots that had built up over the past few days. Brett’s fingers along with the jets in the tub were heaven to my tensed up muscles.

  I moaned and my head fell back against the side of the tub, completely liquid under Brett’s touch. Slowly, his hands left my shoulders and down to my breasts, cupping them gently. He tugged on my nipples and rolled them around with his fingers, making me moan and arch into his touch.

  “Do you like that?” he whispered gruffly in my ear, trailing his tongue along my neck.

  “Mm-hmm …” I mumbled languidly. “Don’t stop.”

  With one hand massaging my breast, he slid the other one down my stomach and into the water. I gasped when he thrust one large finger inside me, teasing me … feeling me. “Please get in here with me,” I begged.

  He chuckled by my ear and released his finger from my sex. Climbing into the hot water with me, he pulled me onto his lap but didn’t yet enter me. Wrapping his arms around my back, he brought me closer and surrounded one of my nipples with his mouth, licking it with his tongue. My sex twitched as his hardness pressed against my opening, pulsating as I moved my hips along his cock. I delved my hand down into the water, feeling his erection jump at my touch, and took him in my hands firmly. My hands glided up and down his length as he groaned and sucked harder on my breasts.

  Only when my pace picked up did Brett growl and remove my hand from around him. “Not like this, firecracker. I want your first orgasm to be with me inside you tonight.”

  “My first?” I asked incredulously.

  Smirking, he lifted his head from my breasts and licked my lips before sliding his tongue inside. “Yes, baby, your first. The first of many tonight.”

  Lifting my hips with his strong hands, he glided me gently over his straining arousal. Inch by glorious inch I slowly slid down him, my sex clenching with each second, until I had him fully inside me. Brett hissed as I slowly rocked my hips along his length. Water sloshed along the sides of the tub and out onto the floor, but we didn’t care. All that mattered was us being with each other … making love.

  “I’m so close, Brett,” I muttered, picking up my pace.

  Crushing me to him, his grip on my hips tightened as he thrust upwards and back as hard as he could. He growled low as he took my lips in a searing kiss and held me captive, his teeth biting into my lip. My orgasm was coming quick and I could feel his cock hardening and pulsating inside me, letting me know he was close as well.

  My insides quivered and clenched as my body exploded along with Brett’s as he released his warm seed inside of me. Breathing hard and satiated, I sagged in Brett’s arms and held him tight while a wave of tears burned behind my eyes. Everything was so right in his arms, but until things got settled with Daniel there was no way I would ever be able to relax.

  I needed Daniel out of my life for good.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  The next morning we met Mason down at the café and ate breakfast before heading to Sonoma Valley where Claire lived. I was taking a gamble going out there to see her, because if she was supportive of Daniel he would for sure find out about my lying to him, and hence, I would see his wrath. However, the feeling in my gut was telling me I had to see her. I had to trust my instincts even if it caused a shit ton of problems when I got back home.

  When we arrived at the main estate where I assumed Claire still lived, I walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. Mason and Brett stayed in the car while I tried to listen for movement inside. Nothing … it was quiet. I looked back at the guys and shrugged. I waited a few more minutes, and when it was clearly apparent that she wasn’t there I marched right back to the black Honda Ridgeline which served as our rental car.

  Sighing, I climbed up into the truck and buckled my seat belt. “She’s not there. I guess she’s still in London.”

  Mason spoke up from the back seat. “What are we going to do if she doesn’t come back while we’re here? Do you think she’s ignoring your phone calls?”

  “No, she wouldn’t do that. We were really close when Daniel and I were married. I’d talked to her a few times after the divorce, but she was busy trying to finish up college and I had started teaching. Time just wasn’t on our side.”

  Brett took my hand and kissed my knuckles. “We’ll come back tomorrow, okay? Maybe you should try calling her again.”

  Nodding, I grabbed my phone out of my purse and dialed her number. After pulling out of the long driveway we headed down the country road that was surrounded by nothing but rows and rows of vines with succulent grapes. Memories flooded my mind of the times I spent wandering through the fields and enjoying the peace it offered. I smiled just thinking about it, and also about the times Daniel’s mother would teach me about the various grapes and how the winery worked. I was so fascinated by it all.

  Before I could press ‘send’ on my phone to finish the call to Claire, my gaze caught a bright yellow FJ Cruiser flying down the road toward us. My eyes went wide. “It’s her,” I shouted. “That’s Claire coming this way. Turn around!”

  Brett slammed on the brakes and waited for Claire to fly past us before he turned the truck around. Mason growled behind us, “What the hell is she doing? She needs to slow the fuck down. “

  Giggling, I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Oh, Mason, have you forgotten her already? I don’t think she knows what driving slow means. I think she got pulled over three times for speeding in just the one weekend she came to visit.”

  “Yeah, I remember her,” he started, “she also jumped off the roof of your house into your pool at the annual summer party. She had all my friends drooling over her.”

  I raised my brows at him. “I seem to remember someone else drooling over her, too.” Brett tried to cover up his smi
le by turning his head.

  Mason scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest; he was in denial. “Yeah, yeah, Mel. Keep telling yourself that.”

  When we pulled back into the driveway, Claire was unloading her bags out of her car but turned when she heard us sidle up. Squinting her eyes, she tried to figure out who was pulling in behind her, but as soon as I stepped out of the car, her eyes went wide and she squealed, “Melissa, is that really you? Oh hell, girl, come here.”

  She waved her arms impatiently, so I rushed over to her and tackled her in my arms. She was a couple inches taller than me with long, straight blonde hair and legs for days. She was a dancer for years and was accepted into Julliard, but after an extensive ankle injury she gave it up to go to college and learn business management. I don’t think she ever regretted following in her family’s footsteps.

  “I am so sorry about your mother,” I whispered to her. “She was a magnificent woman.”

  I could feel her nodding against my shoulder as she hugged me. “Yes, she was. She asked about you all the time you know. I don’t think she ever got over being mad at Daniel for what he did to you.” She let me go but held onto my hands when she faced me. “So what are you doing all the way out here? Does Daniel know you’re here?”

  “No,” I replied hesitantly, squeezing her hands. “I need to talk to you and I don’t want Daniel knowing. Can we come in for a while?”

  Narrowing her eyes, she slowly said, “Sure, no problem. Is there something wrong?” She looked past my shoulder at the guys and smiled, acknowledging them.

  I turned my gaze to the men and introduced them. “Claire, you already know my cousin Mason.”

  “How could I forget?” she said, grinning from ear to ear.

  “And the other one over there is Brett Walker. He’s the guy I’m seeing right now.”

  Claire’s eyes went wide and she whistled. “Wow, he’s a handsome one. I wonder where I can find a guy like that.” I hooked a glance over at Mason who lowered his head and shifted on his feet. She blushed when I raised my brow at her, but then shook her head and led me to the door; the guys followed.

  When we got inside, Claire asked, “So what has my brother done now for you to come all the way out here to talk to me? Did you try to call me?”

  “I did,” I replied. “I called several times, but you never answered. I also left messages. I was starting to get worried about you.”

  Ambling into the kitchen, Claire grabbed a bottle of wine and opened it. “Yeah, I lost my phone in London. Daniel shipped me off there after Momma died, and said I needed to get away while he handled everything here. I should’ve checked my messages, but I just wanted to get away, you know? Most of my messages were probably from people saying how sorry they were about my mom’s death, and I didn’t really want to listen to it.”

  Pursing my lips, I sat there confused, chewing the inside of my cheek. She didn’t sound distraught over losing the vineyards at all. Surely, I didn’t make a mistake coming out here. When I looked over my shoulder, both Brett and Mason were waving me on to continue talking.

  “So Daniel was the one who shipped you off? It didn’t sound like that when I talked to him,” I began.

  Wide-eyed, she stopped pouring her wine. “You talked to him? He won’t even answer my calls.” She glanced over at Brett and then back to me. “What does loverboy say about you hitting it up with the ex?”

  Brett grumbled in the background. Claire immediately put her hand over her mouth and groaned. “Sorry, didn’t mean it like that. But seriously, what did he say? I don’t know why he’s not answering my calls.”

  “See that’s funny, Claire, because he basically said the same thing about you. He said that you aren’t really speaking to him right now because of the whole situation with your mother’s will.” Okay, I brought it up. Let’s see where it goes.

  “Excuse me? What are you talking about?” she questioned. “Why wouldn’t I be speaking to him? He’s the one not speaking to me for some reason.” She finished pouring a glass of wine and slid it over to me. Confused, I took it and drank the fruity, sweet goodness in a matter of seconds. I was going to need more … lots more.

  “He told me what was in your mother’s will,” I informed her.

  She smiled and poured me another glass. “Yeah, I was wondering if I was going to have to call and tell you. I bet you’re excited, aren’t you?”

  Taken aback, I looked back at the guys and shrugged my shoulders. “Umm … why would I be excited?” I asked, turning back to her and furrowing my brow.

  She crossed her arms over her chest and gazed at me incredulously. “Did he not tell you about you being in the will also?”

  Wide-eyed, I spewed out my wine and coughed. “I was in the will? No, he didn’t tell me that. What did your mother put in it?”

  Claire lifted a finger for me to hold on. She walked out of the kitchen and disappeared down the hall. Immediately, I turned around to see Brett and Mason were just as confused as me. I was completely lost.

  “I was in the will,” I whispered incredulously. “I had no clue.”

  Brett shrugged and shook his head. “I don’t think she knows what Daniel’s doing. She seems clueless. He probably sent her off to London so he could get this all planned behind her back.”

  “That would make sense,” Mason cut in. “Especially, if he’s ignoring her calls. I bet he doesn’t plan on answering them any time soon.”

  At that moment, Claire came back with a folder clutched in her hands. She laid it gently on the kitchen table and motioned for me to sit down with her. Brett and Mason both hovered over our shoulders. She pulled out the thick cream colored paper and set it in front of me, excited.

  “Read it,” she ordered with a grin on her face.

  Narrowing my eyes, I carefully read over each line of the document. I reread it twice just to make sure I read it right. Nowhere in that version of the will did it say anything about Daniel inheriting any patch of earth from his family. He did, however, have a substantial amount of money in his name. But what really got me was when I saw my name, in black print with an inheritance right beside it. I gasped the first time I read it and even gasped again the second time.

  “What is it?” Brett and Mason asked at the same time.

  Tears welled in my eyes and I searched over Claire’s face for confirmation. She nodded and took hold of my hand before saying, “You read it right, Melissa. My mother left you our other estate out past the northern vineyards. If you remember correctly it’s about two miles north of here. It’s a little smaller than this place, but personally I think it’s the most beautiful.”

  “No, I remember,” I muttered shakily.

  Claire squeezed my hand and I looked up to see nothing but truth in her bright blue gaze when she explained, “Momma asked me if I minded if she gave it to you. She really liked you and admired the way you took to her teaching you about all the different aspects of running a vineyard. She had high hopes of us working together some day.”

  “Really?” I shrieked. “I had no clue,” I admitted. But then my face fell and anger settled in my gut. Daniel deliberately kept that bit of information away from me. How could he want me back and keep this kind of information from me? It didn’t make any sense.

  Claire looked hopeful when she asked, “Do you think you’ll ever move out here now and help me? I know it’s a long move, but I want you to know that it’ll be a wonderful experience. I can’t wait to get going with all of my ideas. I have a new wine I want to try.”

  My cousin took a seat at the table and pierced me with his steely glare. He was angry and ready to get on with the action. “You need to tell her, now. She has no clue what’s going on. All I know is that I’m going to rip that fucker a new asshole by the time I’m done with him.”

  “Whoa,” Claire shrieked, sitting back in her chair, glaring at Mason. “Are you talking about Daniel? What did he do this time?”

  Brett scoffed, “What hasn’t he done is
the question.”

  Claire looked confused and terrified, so I got up and grabbed the bottle of wine, filling up her glass. I filled mine up as well and sighed. “You might want to drink up, babe. You’re going to need it after everything I’m about to tell you.”

  Her face fell and she groaned, placing her head in her hands. “Oh shit, this isn’t going to be good,” she muttered.

  No, it’s not, I thought to myself.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “I can’t believe he threatened you like that,” Claire sputtered angrily. She carefully placed her mother’s will back in its folder and tucked it away in her carry-on bag. “And what’s worse is that he thinks he can get away with fraud. He must be delusional.”

  “Or desperate,” Mason interrupted from the seat behind us. After telling Claire everything about Daniel, she insisted on coming back with us to North Carolina. I sat beside her while Mason and Brett sat behind us on the airplane.

  While Mason tried finding his buzzing phone, Brett poked his head around the side of my seat and glanced at Claire. “You know none of us have asked this yet, but please tell me you have more than one copy of that will you brought with you. If Daniel gets his hands on that then he could easily destroy it.”

  Claire waved him off and smiled half-heartedly. “Oh no, it’s not the only one. My mother also has one locked away in a safety deposit box that only her and I had access to. Daniel didn’t know we had our own little secrets. So either way he couldn’t have destroyed the truth.”

  “Smart girl,” I added.

  She snorted in disgust. “I learned at an early age not to trust my brother.”

  We had just landed and were waiting to get off the plane. Mason was staring at his phone, scrolling through what must have been a gazillion text messages. He took a deep breath and said, “Well, it appears old Danny boy has been embezzling money from his clients from what I’m gathering with this text I just got. Jacob, my partner at the PD, has been doing some investigating while I’ve been gone. It looks like Daniel has an extra account that siphons money from his business accounts. He’s going to try and find out more information on it. He’s getting blocked from accessing it, but he’ll be able to figure it out soon. It’s only small amounts at a time that he’s stealing, but definitely substantial enough to equal out to a very large sum once it’s all said and done.” He huffed and shook his head. “Is he really that cocky to think he could get away with something like that?”