Bravura (Portentous Destiny Series Book 3)

by S. E. Rose

  “Not negotiable. I can wrap up my work tomorrow morning. I’d planned on staying one more week, but I can do everything else by computer, and I’ll just pop down here a few times between now and the spring,” he says.

  “It’s up to you,” I say as I decide it’s not worth the fight.

  “Princess, what does that mean?”

  “It means, it’s up to you. You’re a big boy, do what you want.”

  He’s quiet, and so am I. If he’s going to break it off, then why bother coming back here? But, maybe I’m not the reason he’s coming back. Part of me wishes he’d just end it now before any more emotional damage is done. Part of me is saying I should end it now before any more emotional damage is done. Cody interrupts my thoughts.

  “I will pick you up from the train station tomorrow night, and then you will tell me what exactly is going on in that pretty head of yours,” he says after a very long minute of silence.

  “Fine,” I mutter.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he says, and we hang up.

  Cody fills my thoughts for the next fifteen minutes until my train pulls into Penn Station. I grab my bag and walk out to find Lily waiting for me. We do a silly slow-motion run toward each other and hug. We’re both in a giggle fit by the time we pull away.

  “Missed you, cuz,” she says.

  “Missed you too, Lil.”

  “Come on, I want to take you back to Lance’s place. He’s meeting us there.”

  “OK, lead the way,” I say, and she grabs my hand and drags me out into the congestion that is Manhattan. We find a cab right away and head toward Lance’s home. It’s a beautiful penthouse that’s really like a small two-story home. I’m surprised by the size, the view, the rooftop deck, and the cat, which is huge.

  “This is Brooklyn,” Lily says and picks up the dog-sized cat.

  “I didn’t know mountain lions were legal in New York City,” I say with a smirk.

  “Oh, be nice, Zoe. Brooklyn, don’t mind Zoe, she’s a pain in the ass,” she says to the cat as she sets him back down.

  She leads me to my room which is down a hall off the main living space. It’s very private and has a nice view. I hear Lance opening the door, and Lily runs out of the guest room and down the hall. A minute later, Lance is at my door.

  “Hey, Zoe,” he says, and we hug.

  “Hey, Lance, long time no see.”

  “You look great.”

  “Thanks, I’m feeling good, finally.”

  “Glad to hear that. So, Lily said you have some USB drive that you want me to look at?”

  “Oh, right,” I say as I reach into my bag and pull it out. I hand it to him, and he looks over it.

  “Give me a few minutes, and I’ll take look,” he says.

  “Sure thing. Thanks, Lance.”

  “No worries. Make yourself at home. We’ll go out to dinner in a bit, and then I know of a fun club in the warehouse district.”

  “Great, I’ll get changed,” I say.

  I pull out a cute little dress I’d packed and some matching heels. I do my hair in a fun “updo” and then head out into the main room. Lance is on his laptop at the kitchen breakfast bar, and Lily is pouring three glasses of wine.

  “OK, ready when you are,” I say as I sit down next to Lance. “Any luck?” I ask him, peering over his shoulder.

  “What is this stuff, Zoe?” he asks. I watch as files begin to pop up on his laptop. I frown, as none of it looks familiar.

  “I…don’t know,” I finally say as Lily walks around the counter to glimpse the screen.

  “So far, it’s a lot of data,” says Lance. “Let’s let my program run it while we go out. We can sit down tomorrow morning and figure it all out, OK?” He clicks a few more buttons and turns to me. “Do you mind if I have Jesse take a look, too? His software is better than mine and might be able to uncover more.”

  I shrug and nod. Lily’s uncle is a computer genius, who designs software for the government, so it can’t hurt to have him take a look. But something about what I see on the screen bothers me, in particular, a list of cities, ages, and dollar amounts. I push aside my unease, and we head to dinner. Dinner is a cute little sushi bar, and after three bottles of sake, I’m game for some dancing. Lily and I sit in the back of the cab giggling over who knows what, while Lance gives us sideways glances and eye rolls. I can’t help but notice he keeps a protective hand on Lily’s thigh at all times. They both seem oblivious to the small circles he is making on her exposed skin. It’s so intimate that I almost feel like a voyeur watching them together. I can see the happiness radiate from both of them and it puts me at ease. By the time we pull up at the club, I’m feeling great, maybe a little too great. Lance gets us past the line and into a VIP section. I squeal when I see one of my favorite pop stars sitting nearby. Lily joins me and for the rest of the night, we try to play it cool, until I decide we need to hit the dance floor.

  “OK, but I have to pee first,” Lily giggles as she walks toward the VIP bathroom.

  Lance leans over and asks, “So, how’s my brother?”

  I shrug. “Haven’t heard from him much lately. He’s been pretty busy.”

  Lance looks back toward the bathroom. “Zoe, I need to ask you a favor.”

  I look at him with curiosity.

  “I’m going to ask Lily to marry me in a few weeks, and I want your help in planning the perfect wedding.”

  “Wait! What?!” I exclaim. I’m fairly certain my eyeballs are about to pop out of my head.

  “You heard me,” he says with a chuckle.

  “Oh…my…God!” I yell and then immediately clamp my hand over my mouth before giving him a big hug. I pull back and laugh as I see the look of amusement on his face. “She’s going to freak!”

  “I know,” he grumbles. “That’s why I want to have it all planned ahead of time. I just found the perfect place. I want to have it all ready the weekend I ask her.”

  I stare at him. I can envision that my look is similar to someone who is seeing a three-headed dragon in their shower or a pig cooking pancakes in their kitchen.

  “Zoe, I’m dead serious,” he whispers, looking back again at the bathroom.

  “Wow. I mean, wow. That is…wow,” I manage to say, feeling completely unable to speak.

  “Will you help me?” he looks at me with puppy dog eyes, lovesick eyes that make me want to roll my own, but instead I nod.

  “I am totally going to regret this, aren’t I? Please don’t make me regret this, Lance.”

  He takes my hand in his and gives it a squeeze. “I promise you, you will not regret this.”

  I sigh. “Alright, just call me and let me know what I need to do.”

  He lets out a huge breath, as though he’d been holding it for five minutes. “Thank you.”

  I smile at him. “She’s lucky to have you.”

  Lily comes and sits down next to me, eyeing us suspiciously. “What gives?”

  “Just chatting about Cody,” I say. Lily rolls her eyes and grabs my hand as she pulls me toward the dance floor. I turn back to look at Lance who is watching us. He winks at me, and I laugh. Lily and I dance and then we dance some more. At some point, Lance joins us. I close my eyes as I let my body sway to the beat of the music that pulses around me. I’m lost in my own little universe for half a second, slightly drunk, but not plastered. Then I feel hands on my waist. My eyes fly open, and I swivel around expecting to find some creep wanting a good time. Just as I start to lay into said creep, my eyes lock with Cody’s. My mouth falls open, and he takes it as an invitation to kiss me, really kiss me. It’s another moment before the shock wears off and I can respond to his kiss. I close my eyes and let his mouth claim mine. His tongue dominates every crevice of my mouth, and I feel him possess my soul with a single kiss. I’m in another universe for what feels like an hour.

  The spell is broken when I hear Lily giggling and then a “get a room” comment from Lance. I hold up my middle finger to them without stopping my
kissing. Cody snags my hand and pulls back to look at me.

  “Now, now, play nice,” he says with a smirk.

  “How…When?” I stammer as I try to recall my words and process that Cody is standing here before me.

  He smiles. “I caught my company’s jet up here early. I wanted to surprise you,” he says, pulling me closer against him.

  “Well, mission accomplished.”

  He grins as he kisses me again. I’m suddenly feeling overwhelmed and tired. I realize it’s my first night out since the crash and my body still is not one hundred percent. I see Cody’s eyes surveying me.

  “Let’s call it a night, shall we?” he asks as he looks over at Lance and Lily. They glance at me and nod. When I grab my phone, I see that it’s past 1:00 a.m. I sigh as that used to be an early night for me.

  We make it back to Lance’s apartment in record time as the traffic at 1:00 a.m. is actually not half bad. I’m throwing my purse in the guest room when I hear Lance.

  “Uh, guys, can you come here?”

  I run out of the room and see the three of them crowded around Lance’s laptop. The looks of horror on Lance, Cody, and Lily’s faces are evident even from across the room. I stop mid-step and stare at them. No one budges for the longest minute. No words are spoken, and the stillness of the room makes my head begin to spin.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask, finally coming out of my fog and taking large strides to reach them. I look past Lance to see a photo of two men eating at a restaurant. I don’t recognize either of them. The one looks like he might be from the Middle East and the other one could be from Europe or America or really anywhere, it’s hard to say. Lily’s hand is over her mouth and tears well in her eyes. She turns to me.

  “How did you get this?” she asks, her voice shaking as she speaks.

  “It was on a chair in my dining room. I thought it was yours?” I reiterate, looking at Cody. I see Cody look at the memory stick and after a minute his mouth drops open.

  “Oh, God,” he says, his face going white.

  “What?!” we all ask at once.

  “Mohammed, we had a meeting that day before everything…he had a few memory sticks. His bag fell as he was leaving, and I found this one on the floor. I just thought it was one of the ones that had backup files for the project. I never thought that…dear God…I’ve had it all this time…I didn’t…Jesus…” He trails off staring at the screen.

  “OK, I’m lost. What the hell are we looking at here?” I finally ask when no one says anything else.

  Lily points to the screen. “That is Mohammed…and that is my biological father.” Lily moves the window over with her finger and then clicks on another window. “This is a list of children, prices paid, country of destination, and dates. I assume dates when they were to be delivered.” She clicks another screen. “There is some project data in here. I don’t understand why. It’s really quite strange.”

  “We need to call Jack,” Lance says as he picks up his cell.

  Lily places a hand over his. “Lance, it’s almost two in the morning. This can wait a few more hours. Lord knows it’s waited this long.”

  Lance looks at his watch and nods. “I’ll get up first thing and call him. Maybe he can get someone to figure out more of what’s in here.”

  Cody sits down next to Lance. “I need a drink.”

  Lance pushes a bottle of bourbon over toward him. Cody opens it and takes a long pull from it. The very slow wheels in my head start clicking. “Oh God,” I say as a possibility pops into my mind. “The break-ins…you don’t think…” I trail off looking at Cody. He nods.

  “What break-ins?” Lance asks as he pulls Lily against him.

  “My apartment…there was a break-in, well maybe two. And I was followed the other day,” I admit.

  “What? Zoe, why the hell wouldn’t you tell me something like that?” Lily asks, a look of fear in her eyes.

  I shrug sheepishly. “Sorry, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t see a connection, but now…” I put a hand to my mouth and shake my head. I feel the tears well in my eyes at the notion that I could have put them all in danger. Cody places a hand on my back and gently strokes it.

  “There was a break-in at the villa as well,” Cody states, shaking his head in disbelief.

  Lance looks at Cody, and they have some kind of unspoken conversation. Cody nods. “I’ll take the first shift,” Lance says.

  I look at him for a moment before I understand what he means. “Seriously, don’t you guys think you might be overreacting a tad bit? I don’t think anyone knows I’m here. I…” I look at their faces and see that they will not be swayed, so I stop speaking.

  “No,” they answer in unison.

  I roll my eyes, but Lily shakes her head at me. “They’re right, Zoe. I hate to admit it, but they are right. We are better safe than sorry. Mohammed is gone, but maybe one of his counterparts figured out that you have this. We can’t be too safe.”

  “Fine. I’m going to bed,” I say as I walk back to the guest room, feeling like everyone is overreacting, but me. Maybe I should be? I start to unzip my dress, and I hear the door open. I spin around to see Cody looking at me.

  “Allow me,” he says softly, and he turns me back around as he slowly pulls the zipper down my back. I feel him unhook my bra and then slowly trace a line down my spine. Goose bumps form on my skin as he painstakingly takes his time pushing the fabric to the floor. I’m left standing in a pool of my garments with nothing but a thong and my high heels (which are much less high than before the crash). “God, I missed you, princess,” he murmurs against my ear as he pulls my hair to one side and begins pressing his lips along the length of my neck. He turns me around to face him.

  “I promise, I won’t let anything happen to you,” he says, cupping my jaw in his hand.

  “But…I thought…we haven’t spoken much…I wasn’t sure.” My mind spins as I speak.

  He puts a finger to my lips to stop my rambling. “I’m sorry I’ve been MIA. I thought the break-in was a disgruntled former employee. There was a lot of red tape and police reports, and it was bad. But now…well…I think it was something entirely different,” he says pausing.

  Then he goes from serious to playful, and he smiles at me. “I find you…distracting.” I start to speak, but he stops me once again by brushing his lips over mine. “Shhhh…distracting in a good way, darling. I think I need an extra dose of that distraction right now.” I feel his hands run up my back and the goose bumps form again. He caresses my breast in one hand and rubs his thumb over my nipple until it is erect. He slowly pinches it between his thumb and forefinger, and I gasp. His hand moves down my stomach and leisurely plays with the lace top of my panties, his finger grazing further down, just enough that I’m aching for him to touch me.

  He pulls back and starts to unbutton his shirt. I take over, and he works on his pants. It only takes a moment for his erection to spring free. His clothes fall on the floor next to mine, and he removes his socks and walks me back toward the bed. He pushes me down onto the mattress and pulls my panties down, and then unhurriedly removes each of my heels as he plants soft kisses on the tops of my feet. He climbs back up the bed between my legs and pushes them apart. His heavy-lidded eyes focusing on the wet flesh at the apex of my thighs.

  He takes his finger and gently traces it along my lower lip before pushing it in my mouth. I suck on it, and he pulls it back out and trails the finger down to my clit, which he then begins to circle. I close my eyes and feel him trace every line and contour of my sex as though he’s memorizing it. I’m not normally shy, but his intense gaze between my legs makes me blush. He looks up and smiles.

  “You’re beautiful, princess,” he whispers as he plunges his finger inside me. I moan and then feel his mouth circling just as his finger had done a mere second ago. I forget about everything, the crash, the recovery, my job, the USB drive, everything but the feel of his mouth on me and his fingers pushing in and out of me. I can feel my muscles begin to cle
nch around him.

  “That’s it, Zoe. Come for me.” He presses his fingers deeper and begins to rub them quickly and I lose my control. I start to cry out, but his mouth covers mine before a sound can escape. I smile against his lips as I regain my composure. “I want those sounds for my ears only.” He grins against my lips. I giggle, but abruptly stop when I feel his erection replace his fingers. I’d forgotten how he feels when he’s stretching my tissues as he claims my deepest reaches. He pulls his now saturated cock back out, and then slams back into me with such force that my head nearly hits the headboard. I grasp his shoulders to hold myself in place, and he continues to thrust all the way in and then back out of me, over and over. He takes my ankles in his hands and spreads them apart, pushing even deeper than before, and I come again, stifling my cry with my hand. A moment later, I feel the head of his erection enlarge, and then he moans as he pours his release into me.

  He collapses on me, pulling my lips to his and kissing me with such possession that my breath is momentarily taken away. “God, I missed you,” he murmurs into my mouth.

  “I missed you, too,” I admit, a bit shocked at myself for saying such a thing. I can feel him grin.

  “That wasn’t so difficult to say, was it?”

  “Maybe,” I answer as I suck on his bottom lip.

  “No more being apart,” Cody states. “I have to be with you.”

  “You have to be with me?”

  Cody looks at me, suddenly very serious. “I want to be with you.”

  I smile at him. “I want to be with you too, Prince Charming.”

  He laughs. The laughter fades as I feel his erection spring back to life. This time he moves slowly, allowing the fluids of our orgasms to coat all of him. He easily glides in and out of me, and his leisurely thrusts having me going crazy after just a few minutes. We climax together, hands interlocked, bodies flush. He pulls us over, and I lie on him for the longest time, listening to his heart beating. I feel him reach for his phone on the bedside table, how it got there I have no relocation. “I’d better go take the next shift, so Lance can get some sleep,” he says softly as he caresses my cheek. I look over at his phone and see that it’s nearly four in the morning.