"Ian, if you are playing more games with me, I swear." She sniffs and I can tell she is crying.
"Aubrey Jackson, I am not playing a game. This is serious, and Michelle has gone off the deep end. I think she might try to hurt you. I need you to let me come get you.
"Why would she try to hurt me, Ian? I've done nothing to her."
"I'm afraid she thinks you are the only thing standing in the way of me and her being together." I grate, getting more and more anxious by the minute.
"Well, you are free to be together now. So, please, go be together." Her voice is anger and sadness all in one, and it is tearing me up inside.
"Aubrey, please just listen. I. Love. You...never been in love with Michelle." I'm trying to stay calm. I don't want her hanging up on me. Damn I wish she was standing in front of me right now. All I hear are sobs on the other end of the line. "Can you hand the phone to Rex, baby." Maybe if I can get through to him, tell him she is in danger, he can make her see reason. I hear some muffling sounds and Aubrey crying even harder.
"Ian?" Rex says.
"Look, Michelle is the one who found your dad. She is the one who tipped Tandi to the tape. She is gone, and by what Sam said, I think Aubrey is in danger." I explain to Rex the seriousness of the situation.
"This Michelle is an employee of yours, right?" Rex is being condescending and not taking me serious.
"OK, just forget everything you think you know. This is not a game, she is a dangerous woman. She thinks we ARE married. We are not, never have been. She thinks that Aubrey is the only thing standing in the way of our happiness. We are talking dangerous, highly trained Special Forces on one mission-to destroy the one thing she thinks is standing in her way of happiness." I grate into the phone, annunciating every word for emphasis.
"All right, Ian. What do you want us to do?" Rex has finally got it, and now there is anxiety in his voice.
"I am going to come get her. Keep her in the house and don't let her out of your sight."
"No you are not. I will come to New York on my own." Aubrey is now speaking, so I know Rex had put me on speaker phone.
"Aubrey, I don't want you in New York. I need to take you somewhere safe." Damn, I know she is stubborn, but I have a feeling she is going to fight me tooth and nail.
"Ian. I said no. I will take my jet to New York. Meet me at the airport and that is final."
"Rex?" Please talk some sense into her.
"I'll drive her personally, right up to her jet," Rex says, and I want to throw my phone I'm so angry. They don't know what exactly Michelle is capable off.
"Fine," I snap. "Aubrey Jackson, I love you." Dial tone, she hung up on me. Stay calm, stay calm. I punch the steering wheel. I wish Michelle was standing in front of me right now, I'm pretty sure I would shoot to kill.
Chapter 5
Aubrey
"Don't you think you should let him come get you?" Rex says to me after I hit the end button on the cell phone.
"No, I'm not even sure I believe him." God I'm messed up. My heart and brain are pulling me in different directions. I am so mad and so sad all at the same time. His employee, the one he "trusted," is the one who found Jim Olsen. How could he be so oblivious if it is true?
"Aubrey, I believe him," Rex says, stopping me from my pacing around the room. I give him a disbelieving look. "Hey, no one is more surprised than me, but I saw the way he looked at you. I saw the way you looked at him. I could hear it in his voice just now. He's in love with you, baby girl. I know you are confused right now, but if you can look me in the eye and tell me that you are not totally head over heels in love with him, then I will believe you."
I can't do that, hell I do love him. I feel like the whole in my chest can only be fixed by Ian. I think back to Michelle in Ian's living room. How smug she was, like she had won a battle. She wasn't mad that her "husband" was screwing another woman. She was happy that she was getting me out of the way. Shit, shit, she found Jim Olsen to get me out of the picture. Ian didn't go. He stayed when I told him the story.
"That's what I thought," Rex says seeing my mind going a mile a minute. "He really seemed scared for your safety. Call your pilot and then let him know the exact minute you expect to land. I want him there waiting for you."
I run to the guest room to find my cell phone. Turning it on, I have 105 missed calls. Most are from Ian, some from Miry, and a couple from Ethan. Shit! I start listening to the voicemails as I pack. The first one is from Ian, telling me he needs to talk to me. That it's not true, please call him back. The next one is from Miry.
"Aubrey, it's Miry. I know you are mad, but it's not true. I've known Ian a long time. I have to admit, I did know that Michelle still had a thing for him, but I swear to you it was all one sided. No one knew it was as bad as it was. I know you're hurting, but please call him and hear him out."
I stop listening to the voicemails after that. I sit on the bed, my head in my hands, and I start crying again. Jesus, I'm an emotional mess. I haven't cried this much in years. Get it together Aubrey, put on your big girl panties and get it together.
After calling the pilot, I text Ian to let him know when we plan to arrive.
Should land at 9:45 pm.
I grab my bag and head out, ready for Rex to take me to the airport. I hear a buzz on my phone.
Please, please keep your phone on. I love you. I will be waiting for you. Ian's text says. It actually puts a small smile on my face. How could I have assumed the worse? How could I have not confronted him about Michelle? I just ran away, like I am so good at doing.
I love you too. I will keep my phone on. I text back, and it makes me feel good to do so.
Those words are music to my ears baby. Hurry to me. I need you and I need to see those beautiful eyes. Ian returns my text within a second.
"Look at you, all happy now," Rex says when I come into the garage, and he puts my bags in the trunk. I must have a stupid grin on my face, because he rolls his eyes at me.
Pulling up on the tarmac, my company jet is waiting for me. Rex hops out of the car grabbing my bags. He pulls me to him, hugging me tight. Before he lets me go, he wraps his hand around the nape of my neck and stoops so we are eye level. "If you need me, call. I can be there in a jiffy. I love you, baby girl," he says, then kisses my cheek.
"I will and I love you too." I give him one more hug before I turn to board the plane. The pilot greeting me takes my bags.
I settle in, telling the stewardess that I just want water. I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I know I'm being awakened by the pilot announcing that we will be landing in about five minutes. I sit up looking around the dimly lit cabin. Its dark out and I look at my phone to see it is 9:30.
I see someone coming from the back end of the plane, and the hairs on my neck stand up. Immediately, I realize it is Michelle walking toward me. She's not dressed in her business attire like I've seen her in the past. She is wearing black skinny jeans, black shirt, and a black leather jacket. Her black boots are clicking on the plane's hardwood floor as she nears me.
I don't have time to stand or do anything as she reaches me. She takes my cell phone from my hand as I look down at it trying to think what I should do.
"Don't say a word." She hisses, moving her jacket to the side showing me her gun. "I'm giving you one warning, you leave Ian. You disappear from his life, and you live. You don't, and you will pay." She is leaning down, her face so close to mine I can feel her breath on me. The plane hits the runway with a jolt causing her to grab the seat of my chair. "I will mess up this pretty face," her voice is a low whisper as she draws a gloved finger down my cheek. The plane comes to a stop and I hear the stewardess moving around in the front of the plane.
Turning to look for her to find help, I look back to see Michelle disappearing toward the back of the plane. I'm frozen. I can't move. I can't speak.
"Miss Jackson?" The stewardess says, now standing in front of the open cabin door. I turn toward her as she says someth
ing else, but I don't know what. I stare at her blankly still not able to move.
Ian comes barreling in the plane, looking around when he sees my face.
"Aubrey?" He says coming to me and falling to his knees in front of me. "What's wrong, baby?" He takes my face in his hands, staring into my eyes.
"Michelle," I say, pointing to the back of the plane where she had disappeared.
"She was in here?" He says pulling out his phone. I also see that he has a gun holstered at his side. I nod yes, and he is on his phone. "Sam, come get Aubrey. She was on the plane," he says into his phone. In a matter of seconds, Sam is through the cabin doors. Once Sam has me, Ian pulls his gun and points it toward the floor. He walks sideways down the tiny hall towards the back of the plane. Sam takes me out of the plane and puts me in the backseat of the black SUV parked just outside of the plane. He stands outside of the truck and pulls his gun as he surveys the area, but never moves from standing in front of my door.
Another black SUV comes screeching to a halt just behind us. I see Kory and another Bradson Security giant exit the vehicle. Kory enters the plane while the other one runs around to the other side, both with guns drawn. Two cop cars, with sirens blaring, are pulling up on either side of the plane. They have flashlights out searching the rear of the plane. Holy shit, who we dealing with here the terminator?
Ian emerges from the plane talking to one of the officers and the pilot. I then see Kory come out speaking with the stewardess. Where's Michelle? Why are they leaving her in there? Why isn't she coming out in handcuffs? Ian looks at me and I am drawn straight into those deep blues.
Chapter 6
Ian
After talking to the pilot and him telling me that everything was normal at takeoff, they had done a normal sweep of the plane. The only people on the plane at the time of take off were him, one stewardess, and Aubrey. Just as I was afraid of, Michelle followed Aubrey to Colorado. She had to have been hiding in the luggage hold. An officer comes up saying the back storage flap was unlocked. She slipped out into the night disappearing, no doubt she was dressed all in black.
I head straight for the SUV. Opening the back door, I grab my girl and pull her to me. She is trembling and fists my jacket burying her face in my chest. "It's OK, you're safe baby." I lift up her chin with my fingers and drink in her beautiful green eyes. They are tired and puffy, but are still absolutely gorgeous.
I climb in the back with her holding her to me as Sam and Kory get in the front. "I'm sorry. I should have let you come get me," she says, sobbing into my shirt.
"Shh, it's OK. You didn't know." I soothe her, rubbing the back of her head. She looks up at me and there is so much fear in her eyes. God, what I wouldn't do to take all that away. "Did she speak to you?" I ask her gently, wanting to know everything that happened in the plane. She explains to me that she didn't see her until they were about to land.
"She said that if I didn't leave you she would make me pay," she says while grabbing my neck and burying her face into me. "I'm not going to, Ian. I know now I never want to be without you again." She cries grabbing me tighter.
"Baby, it will never happen. She will never take you from me. God am I glad to hear you say that." I grip her face with my free hand. Leaning my head down, I take her lips with a gentle kiss at first, then another. She wraps her hand in my hair pulling herself up to meet my kisses. Slowly, as if we are familiarizing each other with our lips, her mouth parts and I slip my tongue in. She lets out a soft moan at the contact, and I hear Kory or Sam, not sure which, clear their throat.
I feel myself getting hard just from the need in her kiss. She pulls away from my lips aware that we are not alone. Her hand travels down my chest and she cups my erection through my jeans, rubbing back and forth, her lips by ear. "I've missed you very much," she whispers making me twitch in my jeans. I wrap my hand around the nape of her neck and move her head so she is looking up at me again.
"I've missed you too." I smile down at her as she rubs her hand back and forth over my jeans.
"I feel that." She chuckles lightly.
When we arrive at the castle, we are greeted by Ethan. He looks frazzled, no less, because I've had my security team here all day making sure everything was checked and double checked. I wasn't planning on staying in New York long, but I hadn't really talked to Aubrey yet. I really didn't know what was going to happen when she arrived. We would stay the night here and decide what we were doing in the morning.
"Hey, Ethan," Aubrey says, giving him a hug. "Sorry about all the commotion, apparently I have a crazy woman who wants to kill me," she says with a half laugh holding her arms up for affect.
"It's OK. You know I go with the flow," he says as we walk into the kitchen. I had seen it all earlier, but didn't really notice how great the house looked. She had a crew in here to put down new floors, paint, and all new furniture.
"The place looks great, Ethan," Aubrey says while looking around. Sam excuses himself to go call Miry. "I owe her a call also, tell her hi for me, and tell her I will call her tomorrow." She says to Sam before he goes to the other room. He gives her a nod and says he will.
"Do you want me to show you everything?" Ethan says to Aubrey. Please say no.
"You know what, I am beat. I think we will go to bed and you can show me tomorrow." That's my girl. "I guess we will go see what the master suite looks like," she says to me with a wink, then takes my hand and we fly up the stairs. As soon as we are behind the closed door, Aubrey is jumping in my arms wrapping her legs around my waist.
"God, baby, don't you ever run from me again." I moan into her mouth that is frantic on mine. She wraps her fingers in my hair pulling me tighter to her sweet mouth.
"Never," she breathes. I turn her around so her back is up against the wall, which she uses as leverage to push herself into me. Grinding against my rock hard cock, she pulls at my t-shirt. I carry her to the bed laying her down and finish pulling my shirt off. Her hair is splayed out as she looks up at me with now very red lips from the hard kissing and her cheeks are flushed. I just stand there looking at how beautiful she is.
"Beautiful baby, you take my breath away." She sits up on her knees pulling her shirt over head then comes to the edge of the bed.
"Why aren't you touching me then?" She says looking up at me through her eyelashes.
"Just taking a moment to drink you in," I groan, grabbing her face I move my lips over hers. Our tongues are dancing as Aubrey's hands move to the button of my jeans. I reach down to do the same with hers. After I remove my jeans, I grab her ass lifting her up and lay her back down on the bed. I take her legs pulling her to me and tear at her jeans to get them off.
"Ian," she moans as I grab one of her ankles. Bringing it up to my lips, I kiss her instep lightly then move to her calf, licking and kissing as I go.
"I want to kiss every inch of you." I growl, my mouth now on her inner thigh. I move to her other leg, gently sliding my lips down her soft skin.
"That tickles." She giggles making me smile against her inner thigh.
"I need to freshen up my marks baby, they are fading." I suck lightly on one of the pink hickey's that's on the sensitive flesh just below her sex. I smell her arousal making me growl against her. She arches her back at the sensation and I feel myself get even harder.
"Please." She moans fisting my hair as I move lightly over her panties to her belly button. Licking around it, I kiss up her stomach reaching the swell of her breasts. Running my finger under the lace of her bra I work on another mark. Her fingernails scratch down my back leaving her own marks on my body. "Ian," she pleads, pushing her breasts up. I see her nipples straining against the silky thin fabric of her bra.
"Patience baby, I have work to do." I look up at her to see her eyelashes fluttering as she squirms under me. I pull down on the bra releasing her breasts from their cups. I take one nipple in my mouth lightly biting. She jumps, not the usual reaction I get from her. "Are you OK?"
"Yeah, they just f
eel very sensitive." She answers looking down at me.
"Well, I will be more gentle." I kiss it now, lightly licking my way over to the next one. I move so my knee is between her legs and bring my lips to hers. Running my finger under her lacey panties to her silky folds, I insert my finger inside her very wet very tight center.
"Oh." She moans pushing herself into my hand. I insert another finger, feeling her tighten around me. With my thumb I rub her clit, making her body start to tremble.
"You're so wet, baby." I work my fingers in and out of her as she pushes into me. Kissing her neck, I lightly lick the hollow of her throat. I feel it dip in when she orgasms and she lets out a cry of pleasure. "Let me see those eyes baby." I kiss her chin, and she focuses on me as she comes.
"Yes!" She cries, running her fingers through my hair. I remove my hand from her panties and she groans as I do. She watches me, her eyes half closed as I suck lightly on my fingers tasting her sweetness. I slowly remove them and gently rub her lips with the same two fingers. She kisses the tips drawing them into her mouth.
"Ian, I need you." She pleads grasping at my back. Running her soft hands down to my boxer briefs, she cups and squeezes my ass. She pushes them down trying to free me from the cotton barrier. I help her, sliding them down my thighs and kicking my feet to get them off. I feel like I am about to explode. I'm so hard I can't wait to bury myself in her. I want it to be slow and gentle, but I don't think I will be able to control myself.
Positioning myself between her legs, she pushes her hips up to me. Pulling my head down to her lips she kisses me hard, thrusting her tongue in my mouth. I enter her slow at first, but when she pushes into me again I can't hold back. I bury myself deep into her warm wet center.
"Oh, God!" She cries, her head goes back arching her breasts into my chest.
"You feel so good, baby. You are mine." I growl as I feel her tighten around me.
"Yes, Ian, Oh God, yes!" She screams out clawing at my back, and I can tell she is close to another orgasm.
Deep Blue Forever (Deep Blue Series) Page 2