Beyond Layers: Layer Series Book Four (Layers Series 4)

by Alexander, TL

  Nick turns and looks at us. Tears threaten to spill. “She said the guy used a condom; it must have torn or punctured.”

  Jaxson downs his vodka. “Fucking hell.”

  I look at Nick.

  “I had a vasectomy a couple of years ago,” he tells me.

  I down my drink. “Fucking hell!”

  Jaxson gets up, walks to the bar, and picks up the bottle of Gray Goose. He walks back, putting it on the coffee table in front of us. “Sit,” he tells Nick, nodding toward the sofa.

  Nick sits and Jaxson pours a round of drinks. “She left you?”

  Nick nods. “I asked her to leave.”

  Jaxson shakes his head.

  “I thought she would be here. I need to talk to her. I was angry, said some unforgivable things to her.”

  “You know you’re not getting anywhere near her until she’s ready.”

  “I have to see her, Jax. I need to explain.”

  “I love you, Nick, you’re my best friend, but Jules is one of my wife’s best friends. And if Lex tells me you’re not going near her, you’re not.”

  Nick frowns.

  “I’m not going to cross her. I don’t want this shit upsetting her more than it already has. She’s going into the hospital for a cesarean in two weeks. You know how much she worries about everyone. How she tries to solve everyone’s problems.”

  Nick holds up a hand. “I’m not going to cause any trouble. I want to see Jules, talk to her, but… I’ll settle for knowing she’s okay.”

  Jaxson raises a brow.

  “As okay as she can be,” Nick adds.

  “I’ll make sure Jules gets your message. That’s the best I can do.”

  “I need time to think about all this shit. I can’t go back to Miami and I don’t want to stay in the city. Do you think I could stay at your lake house?”

  “I’ll need to discuss it with Lex. I’m sure she won’t have a problem with it. However, we haven’t been there in months and it will need airing out. I’ll have Mary call the caretakers and have it readied for you.”

  “I don’t want to put you out, Jax. I know you’re worried about Lex, and the babies.”

  “It’s no trouble.”

  Nick stands and Jaxson follows. They man-hug. “Thanks, man. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  “Don’t worry about Jules. She’ll be safe and well cared for.”

  I stand and Nick shakes my hand. “Sorry about this. Wish I’d met you under different circumstances.”

  I nod. “Good luck.”

  “Thanks. I’m going to need it.”

  Nick exits and Jaxson sits on the sofa across from me. He runs his hands through his hair. “Sorry about that, Logan.”

  “It’s okay.”

  He shakes his head. “Stupid man. When he called and told me he was working with Kimber, I told him to be careful. She was nothing but trouble in college; and apparently, she still is.” He sighs. “I don’t get it, Logan.”

  “Get what?”

  “This sharing thing. I’d never let anyone touch Lex, man or woman.”

  I nod. “When guys look at Sam, and they all do, I want to throttle them.”

  He chuckles. “I hear ya.”

  “I’ve never been possessive or this protective. It’s… scary.”

  He refills my drink. “It’s called love, Logan. And let me tell you, when you’ve fallen for a Grant, your life, your universe, will never be the same. From the very moment I met Lex, I knew she’d change my life forever.” He shakes his head. “I had no idea how much. It took us years to get our shit together, but now… I can barely breathe without her and my boys.” He pauses, taking a sip of Gray Goose. “Girls,” he says and sighs. “Three baby girls. I am never letting them out of my sight.”

  I smile. “I can’t even imagine. I have three sisters and my dad… well, let’s just say many boys wet their pants or went home crying, never to be seen again.”

  He laughs. “I like you, Logan. I hope you know how lucky and privileged you are to have Sam’s heart.”

  “I’m constantly pinching myself.”

  “She’s been through a lot, Logan. We all have.”

  I nod.

  “Lex is more than a sister to Sam. She all but raised her, they had an… unconventional childhood, and Lex is very protective of her. So be careful, Logan. I won’t let anyone hurt my wife, my family, ever again.”

  Was that a threat?

  There’s a soft knock on the door. It opens and Sam pops her head in. “It’s it safe to come in?”

  Jaxson stands. “Come on in.”

  She steps in. “I didn’t want to run into Nick.”

  “How’s Jules doing?” Jaxson asks her.

  “She’s a mess. The whole thing is crazy.”

  He nods. “I told Nick to give her space. Which reminds me, I need to talk to Mary. Nick’s staying at the lake house and she’ll need to have it opened and prepared.” He picks up his tumblers and the bottle of vodka, placing them on the bar. “I’ll see you two later,” he says and walks out the door.

  Sam takes the tumbler out of my hand and sets it on the coffee table. “Pretty crazy stuff.”

  “I don’t know Nick from Nack, but I could see that the guy was hurting.”

  “They both have a lot to think about,” she says, holding out her hand.

  “Where are you going?”

  “We are going for a drive.”

  “We are?” I ask, standing.

  We walk through the house, out a side entry, and toward one of three car garages.

  “How many cars do you all have?”

  “According to Lex, Jax has twelve too many and I have four too many.”

  Sam walks up to a lock box and inters a code, then a thumbprint. The Grants are serious about security.

  “When you were at the cottage, on the Outer Banks, did you have security?”

  She nods. “Always. You just don’t see them.”

  “I see.”

  She frowns. “It’s the way it is, Logan.”

  I shrug.

  She opens the lockbox and removes a garage opener and a set of keys. She shuts it, punching in another code. “Okay, Mr. Romano. Before I open the garage I have to tell you something.”

  “I’m not going to like it, am I?”

  “You’re going to love it. I just need to explain.”

  “Okay,” I tell her, but don’t mean it.

  “Since we’re going to be in Whistler on your birthday, I wanted to give you part of your present now.”

  “Sam. What have you done?”

  She smiles like an idiot. “It’s all your fault.”

  “What’s all my fault?”

  “Every time I asked you what you wanted for your birthday, you said nothing. So I asked Allie and Matt.” She frowns. “They told me to buy you a jet. Krissy told me to buy you a castle.”

  I chuckle.

  “I told them, maybe next year.”

  I shake my head.

  “Getting zero, or I should say, too much help from them, I called your parents.”

  “You talked to Ray and Carol?”

  She smiles. “Yes, I had a lovely chat with both of them, but your mother was as helpful as a grain of sand.” She pinches her fingers together. “But your dad,” she says, and smiles, “he gave me plenty of possibilities.”

  “What kind of possibilities?”

  “The kind you’d put in a garage.”

  “You bought me a car?”

  She lifts a brow. “Not just any car, my dear boy. The car.” She presses the opener; one of six doors glides open.

  We step in. We walk past four Porsches and then…

  “No fuck-me way.” I think I just had a cargasm.

  She grins and steps beside it, showing it to me in car-show-girl fashion. “You like?”

  I run my hand over the hood of a baby-blue 1966 Corvette Stingray Convertible. The car I’ve wanted since… forever.

  “Your dad said you
had an uncle who owned one and you and Luke had dreams of buying it from him and fixing it up.”

  “He told you about Luke?”

  “Of course not. He only mentioned his name. Please don’t be mad.”

  “I’m not. Did they… say anything else?”

  She raises a brow. “Like what?”

  I shake my head. “Nothing.”

  “Aren’t you happy?”

  I walk over and pull her into my arms. “Angel, I’m over the moon.”

  She holds the keys out. “How much did you drink?”

  “Not a lot, but…”

  “I want to show you something. How about I drive there and you can drive back?”

  “That works for me.” I cup her chin, kissing her breathless.

  “Wow, there will definitely be more cars in your future, Romano.”

  “I can’t believe you did this. It’s too much, but… it’s perfect.”

  “There’s more. But you’ll have to wait.”

  “There you two are.”

  Sam and I turn as Mary approaches, picnic basket and blanket in her arms.

  I take them from her.

  “You didn’t have to bring it out. I was going to run in and get it,” Sam tells her.

  “It was no biggie. Have fun,” she says and walks back toward the main house.

  “Is she okay with us?”

  “She’s good with you. When Mary looks at me, she’ll always see Lane. I wish…”

  “What, angel?”

  “Nothing.”

  We get in and Sam fires up the engine. “Well?” she asks.

  I can’t stop grinning. I can’t believe she went to all this trouble to please me. I would have been happy with a cake. Okay, a big cake. I lean over and kiss her. “Thank you.”

  “If you kiss me like that again, we’ll never get out of the garage.”

  Smiling like idiots, we make our way out of the estate and travel south for about ten miles. Sam pulls off the main highway and travels down a narrow tree-lined road. When we reach an iron gate, Sam stops and punches in a code; the gate glides open.

  We go through the gate and drive on a bricked road that leads to a circular driveway. The driveway is located in front of an old boarded-up Spanish-style house.

  She pulls the car to a stop and shuts off the engine.

  “What is this place?”

  She tosses me the car keys. “Get out and I’ll show you.”

  Sam grabs her satchel and we get out. There’s a lockbox on the door. Sam punches in a code and a key pops out. She opens the door, and we walk in. The inside of the house has been gutted, torn down to the studs.

  “Follow me and watch your step,” she says.

  We walk through the house until we reach what looks like an old sunroom. She removes her tablet from the satchel, sits it on a saw-horsed plank, and turns it on. After a few seconds, she brings up a file. Opening it, a 3-D image of a house pops up.

  “You have to use your imagination a bit but this is going to be my new home.”

  Her new home?

  “What do you think?” she asks, handing me the tablet.

  “It’s… incredible.”

  “I bought the property a year ago. It’s taken me months to plot everything out.”

  I nod.

  She frowns. “You don’t look very happy, Logan. What’s going on?”

  I hand her the tablet, and she shuts it down.

  “Nothing.”

  She puts it into her satchel. “You’re obviously upset. I looked for over a year for property near Grant house. And like I said, I’ve spent months on the plans. If you don’t like them, tell me.”

  “I love the plans. I don’t mean to sound presumptuous, but you said my house. And I thought…?”

  “If I put your name on the deed will that make you happy?”

  Now I’m pissed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I’ve put my heart and soul into this project. It represents more than a home to me, Logan. It represents a new start. I want you to be part of that new start. I said my house because I didn’t want you to feel obligated.”

  “Obligated?”

  “Financially, and in any way that might make you feel uncomfortable.”

  “I think you mean in any way that might make you feel uncomfortable.”

  “Let’s just let things play out.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means we’re in a committed relationship but our relationship is new.”

  “Are you having doubts about us?”

  “No, I’m not having doubts. I’m just saying we might not be ready for this big of a step. Planning and building a home is a big step.”

  “But you’re building this house regardless.”

  She nods. “I’d like us to build this house, but yes, it will be built regardless.”

  What the hell is my problem? So she wants to build a friggin’ house. You know what your problem is, dumb shit. Tell her.

  I step into her space and cup her chin. Tilting her chin up, I look into her aqua eyes. “I want to buy you the house of your dreams, angel. I want to take care of you. I know that I sound sexist and immature, but that’s the way I feel. My grandfather took care of my grandmother. My dad takes care of my mom; it’s a Romano thing.”

  “You do take care of me, Logan.”

  “Not completely.”

  “I was hoping, for once, I could not have this fight.”

  “What fight?”

  She sets her satchel on the concrete floor and leans back against a stack of lumber. “The money fight.”

  “I don’t have a problem—”

  She lifts a perfect brow.

  Fuck. I do have a problem with it.

  “Logan, I have a lot of money. I’m not going to apologize for it, or feel guilty about it. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t thank God for all I have. I was raised to appreciate and to understand wealth comes with big responsibilities and expectations. You know me, Logan; I don’t think I need to explain further.”

  “You don’t.”

  “Can we get past this? Can we focus on the things that truly matter?”

  I give her my hand. She takes it and I pull her into my arms. “Forgive me. I’m a Neanderthal. I can’t promise you that I won’t act like one. It’s in my DNA. But I promise to turn it down a notch or two.”

  She steps away and removes her iPhone from her coat pocket.

  “What are you doing?”

  She brings up an app and holds the iPhone near my lips. “If you could repeat the part about being a Neanderthal, it’s in your DNA. I’d like it on record.”

  I shake my head. “I’ll do one better.” I take her iPhone and put it in my pocket.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Showing you.” I pick her up. Over my shoulder she goes.

  She giggles, beating on my back with her fists. Like that’s going to help.

  “Logan, put me down.”

  I pick up her satchel. “That would be such a non-Neanderthal thing to do. Not in my DNA.”

  I walk out the door. “Key,” I say, holding out my hand.

  “In my back pocket.”

  I reach up and dig it from her jeans pocket. I place it into the lock box and secure the door.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Not far.” I walk to the car and get out the blanket.

  “Hey, what about the picnic basket?”

  “Don’t worry, you’ll eat.”

  I toss the blanket on the brick drive in front of the car and put her down next to it. “Kneel,” I command.

  “What?”

  “Kneel,” I say again, pointing to the blanket.

  She grins. “Okay.” She kneels before me.

  “Unbutton me and take it out.”

  She bites her lip. “Yes, sir.”

  Fuck.

  She tugs on my fly, it opens, and she removes my cock.

  “Put your hands behind your back.
”

  “Yes, sir,” she says, looking up and batting her long lashes.

  Fuck.

  “Open your mouth.”

  She licks her lips. “Yes, sir,” she whispers, and opens her mouth, wide.

  Fuck.

  “Suck me.”

  “Thank you, sir,” she says, leaning forward and taking me into her mouth.

  Fuck.

  “More please, sir,” she says, or at least that’s what I think she said, around my cock.

  I lean in to her, giving her all of me. I fuck her perfect month until my balls begin to tingle. Then I pull out.

  “Did I displease you, sir?” She faux pouts, looking up through those lashes.

  Goddamn, we are so playing this game again. I run a finger over her wet lips. “No, angel, you didn’t displease me. Stand.”

  She stands.

  I pick up the blanket and toss it over the hood. “Pull down your Levis and lean over the hood.”

  “Yes, sir,” she says, unbuttoning them and letting them fall to her ankles.

  “Bend over the hood, angel.”

  She bends over and spreads out her arms, laying the side of her head on the blanket.

  My cock jumps when she tilts her ass. I slip her panties down and run my fingers over her sex. “So wet, angel. Who are you wet for?”

  “For you, sir. Only for you.”

  “Damn right. Only for me.”

  I slide two fingers into her wet pussy.

  She moans. “More, sir.”

  I add another and fuck her with my fingers.

  “More, sir.”

  “You want my cock, angel?”

  “Yes, sir. I want your big, fat cock.”

  Fuck.

  I remove my fingers and slide in my throbbing cock. “Feel good, angel?”

  “Feels like heaven, sir.”

  I lift her ass, needing her pussy higher so I can fuck deeper. I pull on her hair, wrapping it around my hand. The visual of my girl leaning over the hood of my car, my cock buried balls-deep, is one I will never forget. Every time I drive this car, look at this car, I’ll think of this moment.

  Pulling on her ponytail, I fuck her hard and deep.

  Sam moans.

  “Tell me how much you love my cock.”

  “I love your cock, sir. It’s mine. It was made for me. Made for your pussy.”

  Her dirty words bring me to the edge. “I’m close. I need you to come for me.” Sliding the front of her panties aside, I pinch her clit.

  The walls of her vagina tighten; she’s close. “Come for me, angel.”