“You okay, Sheppard?”
It would be so easy to lie and say that he was, but he couldn’t. Although he’d told Carson not to get her hopes up that Imerson might find something to make him a free man, he had done the unthinkable and gotten his own hopes up. Each time he saw Carson, he’d wanted to believe that his time behind bars would soon come to an end. Imerson had been excited about whatever he’d uncovered and had refused to share it with anyone. Unfortunately, that meant whatever he’d dug up had gone to the grave with him.
He saw the worried look on his father’s face. “Yes, Dad. I’m fine. But I prefer if we keep our suspicions about Imerson’s death to ourselves and not share them with anyone. Not Jace, Caden or Dalton. Hannah or anyone.”
Richard nodded. “Will you tell Carson Boyett what we suspect?”
Sheppard slumped his shoulders. “No. At least not now. If I were to tell her, she might want to hire that PI she works with to take over Imerson’s investigation and I can’t let that happen.” He couldn’t help but remember how her life had been placed in danger when she’d re-opened Roland Summer’s case. If anything were to happen to her because of him… He drew in a deep breath. “And Dad?”
“Yes?”
“Because we have no idea who we’re dealing with, I suggest you not hire another PI to clear me.”
“Are you giving up Sheppard? Don’t you want to be free?” Richard Granger asked with concern.
“Of course I do. But I refuse to risk anyone else’s life. If what you and I suspect is true, then whoever killed Sylvia will stop at nothing to make sure they aren’t exposed. We need to just let it go for now…until I can come up with another strategy, another plan.” One that won’t put the people I love at risk. “Promise me you’ll do that.”
Silence filled the room and then Richard Granger clapped his hand on his son’s shoulder. “All right. I promise to do as you ask, Sheppard. For now.”
#
Later that night, Sheppard paced the confines of his jail cell with thoughts of Marshall Imerson weighing heavily on his mind. The more he thought about it, the more he was glad he and his father had agreed to keep their suspicions to themselves. It would serve no purpose to get others involved. Especially when he had no idea who he was dealing with. But he wouldn’t give up. He would continue to do research. His father had asked him more than once over the years if he had any idea who might have wanted to kill Sylvia, but he’d admitted honestly that he was clueless. He’d known Sylvia’s secrets even when she thought he hadn’t. Evidently, he hadn’t known all of them.
His thoughts shifted to Carson. Thinking of her kept him motivated and he refused to give up the belief that one day the two of them would be together beyond the walls of Delvers. He woke up every morning in a state of happiness because he had her in his life. She was his rock and his strength. And he couldn’t lose that. He couldn’t lose her. She, his sons, his father and Hannah were the people who meant the most to him.
Carson was now his in all the ways that mattered and he loved her with every part of his being. He believed that one day things would be different for them. That he would be a free man. And when that day came, he would bask in what he knew was a forever kind of love with her. That was his hope. His dream. What kept him going, day after day.
No matter what, he had to keep believing. And he would.
PART TWO
THE PRESENT
The future depends on what we do in the present. – Mahatma Gandhi
14
Carson Boyett Granger slowly opened her eyes as she curled into the heat of her husband’s body. Early morning rays from the sun dipped across the bedroom denoting a brand new day. Waking up with her body plastered to Sheppard's had been the norm for the past three-hundred and sixty-five days.
After making love to start off their day, they would stand together with their arms wrapped around each other to stare out the window to watch the sun rise over the mountains.
An overwhelming feeling of love settled around her heart as she glanced over at him while he still slept. She thought the same thing now that she had when they’d first met six years ago. Sheppard Granger was an extremely handsome man. He had a certain sexiness that could make her hot all over just from looking at him. Even now, her heart was pounding wildly against her ribs and she felt a tingling sensation between her legs.
Happiness surged inside of her. Yesterday they'd celebrated their first wedding anniversary and although they'd agreed not to exchange gifts, he had surprised her with one anyway. A beautiful diamond necklace. It had almost brought tears to her eyes when she'd seen it. She had married such a loving and giving man. He gave so much of himself to others and asked for nothing in return. The mere fact that he'd fallen in love with her and had wanted her as his mate for life was still overwhelming at times.
Since returning to Sutton Hills, Sheppard seemed more relaxed, laid-back and untroubled. Although she knew that he was glad to finally be free after serving fifteen years for a crime he didn’t commit, she also knew that he often thought about the young men he’d left behind. Men who’d considered Sheppard as a father figure, a leader, a man they admired. That’s why she wasn’t surprised by what he’d told her last night about handing over the running of Granger Aeronautics to his oldest son, Jace, while Sheppard pursued other things.
During the first year of its existence, the Sheppard Granger Foundation for Troubled Teens had become a beacon of hope for so many. But Carson knew her husband wanted to do even more.
Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, she saw it was after seven already. Typically she would be up and dressed by now, but she had no regrets in oversleeping this morning. Not when she’d spent the better part of last night making love with her husband.
Shudders passed through her when she recalled the kisses he’d trailed down her body, the way he’d touched every inch of her skin and the words he’d whispered, escalating her desire and skyrocketing her passion.
As far as she was concerned, no one could make love better than Sheppard Granger. His brand of foreplay, the mix of tantric sex to stimulate her imagination, and traditional physical sex, where he would spread her legs and enter her body, made her breath catch between a sigh and a throaty moan.
“You said something, baby?”
The deep, husky sound of her husband’s voice sent sensuous chills through her. Total awareness of him filled her every cell. She tilted her head and looked up into his face, immediately feeling a deep stirring in her mid-section. The neatly trimmed salt and pepper beard slashed across the rugged angles of his sculpted jaw, emanated sexy maturity meshed with raw male sensuality.
Her gaze slid to his lips and she struggled with the impulse to lean up and take them with hers. Instead she stared at them, remembering how he’d used them on her during the night. All over her body.
“Carson?”
He was awake and she loved how he would say her name, dragging the last syllable out with a sexy drawl. “No, I didn’t say anything. I was just thinking. Remembering last night and how we celebrated our first wedding anniversary.”
“Umm,” he said, tightening his arms around her. “Did it meet with your approval?”
A smile touched her lips. “Immensely, but then, so has every day since marrying you.”
“You deserve everything you get, sweetheart. I don’t know of any other woman who would have stuck by my side for five solid years. I will love you forever for doing so.”
As far as she was concerned, it had been the best five years of her life. Sheppard had been her beacon of hope. And true to his word, it hadn’t been a full twenty-four hours after being released from Delvers when he’d married her.
“And I will forever love you, too, Sheppard.” In her heart, she meant it.
“How do you feel today?” he asked her.
Over the past few weeks, she’d battled a queasy stomach, but had felt fine for the past couple of days. “Okay. It’s probably nothing more than a stomach vir
us. But I do need to call the doctor anyway to schedule my annual physical and see about getting my flu shot.”
“Good idea. I need to get a flu shot as well. The last thing I want is for either of us to be sick…especially when there are so many bedroom activities we enjoy. Like this.”
He lowered his head and slid his tongue inside her mouth. She couldn’t help the purr that settled deep in her throat. Instantly, passion consumed her.
His tongue mingled with hers and Carson felt tremors invade her body. When he deepened the kiss, full sexual charges zapped her senses. Their limbs were entwined and she could feel the hardness of his erection press into her. Of their own accord, her legs eased opened and he shifted their positions to place her beneath him. It always amazed her just how perfectly he fit between her legs, and how his intimate touches seemed to be made only for her.
He stared down at her and immediately she felt emotions flowing out of him and pouring straight into her. Thanks to tantric sex, it was something that always happened whenever their gazes locked for any period of time. As if consumed by something surging within him, he whispered her name while easing inside of her.
A jolt of sexual delight crammed her and she could feel the hot throbbing of his erection invade her body in a way that made her moan. Feminine inner muscles clenched him and electrified her senses. Spikes of pounding pleasure ricocheted all through her. She felt wired with need. Tossed over the edge. Shaken to the core and rocked in one miraculous sensation after another.
When he began to thrust hard in a steady rhythm that had blood rushing through her veins, she couldn’t stop the whispered purr of sexual bliss sounding deep in her throat. Managing to pull her mouth away from him, she cried out as shudders of orgasmic pleasure ripped through her.
“I love it whenever I feel you come,” Sheppard murmured against his wife’s lips.
The tantric sex they’d shared for nearly five years had been off the charts, building an emotional connection between them that might not have existed otherwise. But tantric, combined with this, the deep penetration of his body into hers, was both an emotional and physical experience that took them on a level that did more than stimulate their senses. It elevated both the love and desire that encompassed them.
Instead of shifting his body off her, Sheppard felt another orgasm rolling in and kept thrusting inside of her, inciting more erotic energy. A slow ripple effect spread through different parts of his body, and he was determined that she feel them as well.
“Sheppard...”
His name was an intense whisper of longing and need. He leaned down and captured her mouth with a hunger and greed he wanted her to feel. He loved his wife’s taste and he enjoyed making love to her in ways he’d only dreamed about while confined. Now he was free to indulge whenever and for however long he wanted. There were times when he couldn’t get enough of her and now was one of those times.
The chemistry between them was just as explosive as it had always been. His goal in life was to love her forever. Protect her and cherish her. She was more than the woman who wore his name. Carson was the woman who controlled his heart and captivated his love. And because of her, he felt like a man on top of the world.
#
“We’re getting too old for this.”
Carson smiled as she eased her body off Sheppard’s. "Speak for yourself, old man. Your young wife isn't complaining."
She glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. “We missed breakfast.”
“I didn’t.”
His words caused arousal to flow through her body when she recalled having his head between her legs and how he’d practically made a meal of her. Each time his tongue had licked her clit she had moaned his name, begged him to stop and in the same breath, begged him to continue.
Carson released a deep breath while staring up at the ceiling. She was determined to chill a while, to allow the feverish pitch that he’d stroked her body into since she woke up hours ago, to gradually subside. There wasn’t a part of her body he hadn’t touched or tasted and she doubted she could handle any more right now. “You’re right, you didn’t. And I recall you being quite greedy.”
He chuckled and the husky sound was a turn-on. Everything about Sheppard turned her on. “I plan to keep you on your back every chance I get,” he said, rubbing his nose against her neck while he intermittently stroked her naked thigh.
“Hey, aren’t you the one who just claimed we were too old for this?” she asked grinning. “Not that I agree with that assessment.”
“I gave you fair warning that we’d make up for lost time once I left Delvers. And although I really do think we’re too old for all this, I can’t see us stopping any time soon.”
She couldn’t see that either. During the five years of his confinement, they’d managed to share a very unique kind of relationship. One based on love and not lust, where their intimate goal hadn’t been focused on orgasms but primarily on stimulating their senses in a way that was even more satisfying.
They had definitely taken the art of tantric sex to a whole other level. Indulging in both kinds of eroticism was a sexual ecstasy unlike any other. They were enjoying the best of both worlds.
“What are your plans today?”
She glanced over at him. “I’m meeting Roland for lunch. Today is his and Becca’s wedding anniversary. Had she lived, they would be celebrating twenty years together.”
He nodded and leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips. “I can imagine how he must be feeling today. Although our relationship was at an all-time low when Sylvia died, I still think about her on birthdays and anniversaries. I try to remember the good times and how things were in the beginning. Especially during the birth of our sons. I truly believed those were our happiest times.”
Carson recalled Becca telling her that she and Roland wanted to start a family once he was released from prison. She could never forget the longing in Becca’s voice whenever she talked about it. She knew that had been Roland’s one regret, not giving Becca the child she wanted. Whenever Becca would bring it up, Roland would convince her that it would be best to wait for a better time. Unfortunately, that better time never came for them.
Carson then considered her own situation. Like Becca, motherhood had always been something she’d wanted. So she’d been excited about her pregnancy, although it hadn’t been planned. Pence on the other hand, had been furious. He’d even stopped speaking to her for a full month, claiming she’d deliberately gotten pregnant.
She had been happy about her pregnancy. Overjoyed. And had looked forward to the day she would bring her baby home from the hospital. She had selected a lot of names, but had decided not to find out the sex of the child until it was born. Unfortunately, she’d miscarried at fourteen weeks.
Her in-laws had taken the loss just as hard as she had, since it would have been their first grandchild. Pence, however, hadn’t cared who knew he was glad she’d lost the baby. He hadn’t wanted it anyway. That’s when she’d left him, refusing to remain married to a man who couldn’t mourn the loss of a child he’d help to create.
She shifted her thoughts from Pence to Sheppard and how different the two men were. Sheppard was the kind of husband any woman would dream of having. Her love for him grew every day. And she was building a close relationship with his sons and their wives. She couldn’t help feeling thankful for the family he was sharing with her.
All three of his sons were tall, dark and extremely handsome men like their father. Jace was the oldest and married to Shana. They had a newborn son, Rylan. Shana owned a crisis management firm and the two met when Jace hired her to help bring Granger Aeronautics out of the red.
Caden was the middle son and a Grammy award winning musician. He was known worldwide as the man with the saxophone. He was married to his childhood sweetheart Shiloh, who owned a wine boutique in historical downtown. The two of them lived in the apartment above the shop.
Dalton was the youngest son and had married Jules Bradford l
ess than a year ago on New Year’s Day. Jules was a private investigator and was also Shana’s sister.
“And considering everything, I’m glad Roland has you for a friend,” Sheppard interrupted her thoughts to say.
“Thanks.”
That was one of the reasons she loved Sheppard so much. Because he loved and trusted her, he accepted her close relationship with Roland. And after meeting Roland and getting to know him, she knew Sheppard considered Roland a good friend as well.
“Are you still going into the office today?” she asked.
“Yes and I plan to remain all day.”
She cuddled closer into his arms. “When will you tell them that you prefer heading the foundation instead of returning to the company full time?”
“Not sure. There’s no rush since I won’t be making a final decision on anything until after the holidays.”
“Good idea. In the end, you should do what makes you happy, Sheppard, even if it means turning the running of Granger Aeronautics over to your sons. I believe they will understand.”
A part of him believed that as well. “I’ll be meeting with Striker, Quasar and Stonewall later today, after I leave the office. I invited them to join me at Canary’s for drinks. Thought I’d talk to them, find out how they’re doing. Roland has been keeping them busy.”
“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it definitely is. You want to meet up later? What about dinner at Fleurie’s?”
“Dinner at Fleurie’s sounds nice. After lunch with Roland, I’m headed into the office. Text me later with a time that works for you.”
He leaned down and brushed a kiss on her lips again. “Thanks for always believing in me.”
She reached up and stroked his bearded jaw. “I’ll always believe in you, Sheppard.” Leaning up she captured his mouth in a kiss.
Captivated by Love (Grangers Book 1) Page 12